And the Ground Shook (18/22)
May. 1st, 2007 03:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sams1raCharacters: Hurt!Dean, John, Sam.
Comments: Are loved and coveted.
The moving rocks of Racetrack Playa, Death Valley, Ca. are real. No one knows for sure why they're moving. I just like the mystery. And although I did research the area, some things, like the caves, are made up.
And the Ground Shook
Chapter Eighteen – Search And Rescue (Part One)
John walked over to the car, opening the driver's side door. He didn’t look up to see Bobby still at the door, still holding the gun in his hands, still cursing. He ignored the still barking dogs.
He couldn’t ignore the fact that his oldest was still outside the car though.
"Dean?" Dean's eyes were on the other hunter, on the gun he was holding. At the sound of his name, he turned his eyes to his father. "Get in the car." It came out a little more impatient than John would have liked, but he was tired, angry, cranky, and his nerves were completely frayed.
"Maybe we shouldn’t." Dean said in a small voice, looking at the other hunter again. John frowned. "Bobby wouldn’t just hide this thing from us. I don’t want…"
"Get in the freakin' car, Dean. Now!" John snapped. Dean hesitated. Bobby wasn’t one to hold out on information.
"I'm just saying, maybe we shouldn’t go after…" John slammed the door, effectively shutting Dean up.
"I told you to get in the car." He clipped, glimpsing back at the house; Bobby was gone. Dean followed his father's gaze. He pressed his hand unconsciously to his chest to try to alleviate the pressure he felt. It didn’t feel right. Bobby came after them with a shotgun, for crying out loud. He really didn’t want them to have that scepter. There had to be more to it. Why would a witch want this thing enough to trade Sammy for it?
Seeing his son just standing there grated on John's already frayed nerves. "Dean!" he snapped.
"It just feels wrong." Dean tried to explain. "And now Bobby's angry with you…" he scratched his eyebrow, "I never wanted this, it doesn’t feel right…" but his father cut him off again.
"Well, if you didn’t let her get the drop on you, if you weren’t so cocky as to think you can do this on your own, none of this would've happened!" John snapped angrily, "And then we wouldn’t be in this position, would we?" he barked, regretting the words the moment they left his lips.
Dean looked like he'd been physically kicked in the gut, punched in the face, pushed off a cliff and then had an Acme anvil dropped on him. The color was gone from his face, his eyes misting over for a second, before he swallowed hard, gave a slight nod and got in the car. John ran his fingers through his hair, cursing, and got in the car. He took the papers he got from Bobby out of his pocket, practically shoving them in Sam's lap, and started the car.
"Read those. They'll tell us where to go. You navigate." John said dryly. He glanced in the rear-view mirror. Dean's head was resting against the window, looking outside. John turned the radio on, turning the volume up, and started driving.
They pulled over at a motel a couple of hours later. After spending days in the car, with the prospect of spending many more, and after having a couple of hours to think of what he'd said to his hurt son, John decided they could all use a break.
Dean hasn’t said a word in two hours, hasn’t looked at him, hasn’t even complained about the music, and John was feeling more than a little guilty.
It wasn’t Dean's fault. He was the one that let his son go on a solo hunt. He was the one that didn’t push for information right from the start. And the witch got the drop on him just as easily as she had on his son. John hoped a shower, a good meal and a decent sleep would make things better.
He had Sammy check them in, using the time to take a look at the pages he took from Bobby's book. Written in Latin, in calligraphy, the text did look ancient. From what he'd managed to gather by the time Sam got back with their room key, Amara was a powerful demon. There were few references to prophecies concerning the demon and its part in some sort of terrible war; where it would wield its scepter and wipe out the hopes of Man. That sounded painful.
John folded the pages, stuffing them in his pocket again as he got out of the car. Sam already grabbed one of the bags and was heading for their room, calling first shower. John took the other bag, noticing that Dean was still sitting in the car, still staring blindly out the window, and making no move to get out. He sighed, opening the door to the back seat and startling his oldest.
"Come on, buddy. I think a shower and some breakfast will do you good." John said. Dean gave him a quick glance and got out of the car, saying nothing.
They got in their room, Dean slumping down on one of the beds, his head resting on his arms as he stared at the ceiling. John sighed.
"You feeling alright?" he asked. Dean shrugged. "Go on, take a shower. It'll make you feel better." John suggested. Dean shrugged again and Sam was quick to disappear into the bathroom.
Things didn’t get much better at breakfast, either. Dean just picked at the paper placement mat on the table, ignoring the waitress and everyone else. He glanced up for a moment when a plate of food was placed in front of him, but then went back to ignoring the world.
Sam and John both practically inhaled their breakfast. John glanced at his oldest from time to time, feeling worried, guilty, and even a little annoyed.
"Why don't you eat something?" he suggested in a tone of voice that made it clear that it was really an order. Dean forked his food around for a moment.
"I'm not hungry." He said eventually, not having eaten a bite, and pushed his plate away, getting to his feet. "I'm gonna wait outside." He said, leaving before John had the chance to say anything in the matter.
Sam looked at his father. "You're just letting him go?" he demanded. John took a sip from his coffee, calling for the waitress to make Dean's order to go.
Dean was sitting on the ground with his back against one of John's truck's tires. He seemed a little green, his hand wrapped around his stomach, his eyes closed. The smell and the little puddle next to him a clear evidence that he had thrown up. Sam rushed to his brother's side, helping him to his feet, and then rushed him back inside the diner, to the bathroom, where Dean threw up some more.
When he was finished, they went back to the motel, Dean ignoring his brother and father as much as he could, and just crawling into bed. He answered their questions with an impatient 'I'm fine', but he wasn’t. The Leech attacked again, and this time, the pain didn’t go away. Dean swallowed a couple of painkillers before pulling his covers up over his head, and went to sleep.
Sam glared at John, practically burning a hole in the older man. John raised his eyes from the old pages he was reading.
"What?"
"Are you keeping something from me?" he demanded. "Because he's not okay. And this, whatever it is we're doing, it's not helping." He said flatly.
"It will, once we get it done." John stated.
"This scepter will make him better? What, does it have some healing powers or something? And why did Bobby come at you with a gun? What aren’t you telling me?" John stared at his youngest for a long moment, before scrubbing his face.
"Sammy, this thing, this symbol that Dean has on his chest… It's killing him." he said. Sam rolled his eyes, making a 'duh' expression. "It's draining him." John continued tiredly, glancing in his oldest's direction. "There is only so much it can drain before there's nothing left." John went on. "This scepter, it's Dean's only chance. But we don’t know how to use it. We have to give it to someone else so they could help Dean." he figured there was enough truth in that to make it believable.
Sam worked his jaw, and John could have sworn he could see the wheels turning in his son's head. Sam looked up at him. "So, what you're saying is that we could get this thing, and it could still be too late?" he asked eventually. John swallowed. He gave a small nod. Sam turned to look at his sleeping brother, and then turned back, snatching half the pile of pages from John. He slumped on his own bed, stretching out, and started reading.
California.
They had to get to California, and it was taking them forever to get there.
John seriously considered taking a plane there. He would have, only that would mean leaving his truck and the weapons behind. He had no idea whose side Bobby was on; for all John knew, Bobby could have called everyone by now, tell them what John was planning to do, tell them to stop him. John couldn’t trust anyone else to lend him a car or weapons. They had to drive there.
John had already decided to take a flight back from California to Maryland, save time. They'll have the Impala and another stash of weapons back home. No point wasting time.
Sam was being more helpful than John ever remembered him being. He made notes on the pages he read, even translating a few paragraphs, in case they'll need them. He kept an eye on Dean, making sure Dean remembered his pills and antibiotics. He picked up all the slack, even volunteered to drive. What was more remarkable was that he didn’t pick any fights with John. At all. He did as he was told, followed orders without question, for the first, and last, time in his life.
Dean, on the other hand…
John was growing more and more worried about him. It felt like Dean was retreating into a world of his own. He barely spoke to his father, barely ate, and he was always tired, but would wake up every couple of hours. It was obvious Dean was trying to hide it, but John knew his son was in pain. The occasional grimaces and winces, and the fact that the bottle of painkillers suspiciously disappeared from the first aid kit were obvious clues.
John brought his attention back to the road ahead, back to their destination.
Death Valley, California. How appropriate.
Truth be told, John has long been fascinated with Death Valley, especially with the moving rocks of Racetrack Playa. He nearly rolled his eyes when he figured out that's exactly where they were going. Rock movement caused by ice and wind or magnetic fields, oh please. Could it be more obvious there was something supernatural behind it? Death Valley had sulfur springs, moving rocks, stories of people disappearing… The only reason he hasn’t checked the place out sooner was that most of it was covered in salt.
And now he was about to have his proof of supernatural activity in Racetrack Playa. Or, as the papers taken from Bobby's book revealed, beneath it.
Somewhere under the usually dry lake was a long set of tunnels and caves that were buried and hidden ages ago. Finding it, though, was going to be a bitch. Way too much ground to cover and he didn’t even know if the EMF would pick up a signal that was buried deep underground. There was a ritual he thought of trying, something that will direct them in a general direction of supernatural activity, but it was a long shot. He had his fingers crossed that no creature was out there to screw it up.
"Dad?" John flicked his eyes to the rear view mirror. "Want me to drive for a while?" Sam suggested.
"No, I'm good." John said, reaching for a bottle of water somewhere on the seat beside him and taking a few sips. "Finished with the research yet?" he asked a couple of moments later.
"Yes." Sam answered. "Couldn’t understand most of it, though. I wish we could cross-reference this with something else, get some more information." Sam said. John nodded lightly.
"But you figured out the general position, yes?" he asked. Sam nodded.
"Yes. We'll need to do some digging, but we'll get there." He said. John glanced in the mirror again. Dean was awake, staring off into the monotonous blur of the view, keeping his thoughts to himself. John sighed, turning the radio on.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, Sammy?"
"Um… You know, this is actually tourist season." Sam said hesitantly, "The place will be busy. It'll make things more difficult." He noted.
"Don’t worry about it." John said offhandedly. In his mind though, he cursed and shouted, and punched someone. Probably Bobby.
The sky was a mix of purple, orange and gray by the time they turned west from Last Chance Range to Eureka Valley. John was ever so thankful for the truck's four-wheel drive. He glanced back at Dean, who had his headphones on, listening to his walkman, his eyes closed. John couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or just resting his eyes.
The past three days alternated between highs and lows; with the highs being a tired, sullen Dean, and the lows... John shook his head. He didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to think about Dean being in so much pain. John turned the high beams on, driving up the gravel road to Teakettle Junction. He couldn’t suppress a little smile at Sam's wide-eyed enthusiasm at the view around them.
Driving the rest of the way to Racetrack Playa was like driving around inside a blender, but the alternative was walking, and they needed too much gear to carry.
It took John and Sam over an hour just to set everything up for the ritual John wasn’t even sure was going to work. Dean, who dozed off a while ago, stepped out of the car, holding a couple of water bottles just as they started. He walked slowly towards his brother and father, looking around with interest as he tightened his coat around him.
"What are you doing?" he asked, handing them each a bottle of water.
"We need to find the caves. Obviously, they're not a part of the National Park." Sam said, lighting the last candle and cursing as the wind blew it out, along with a few others.
Dean looked around, turning slowly, taking in the surrounding mountains; dark against the darkness of night. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and winced, pressing his hand over his heart.
"It's that way." He said after a moment, pointing. John glanced up at him as Sam straggled with the candles.
"What is?" he asked.
"The scepter." Dean answered simply. "It's far though. Underground, probably."
"That's why we're looking for a cave. Help your brother with the candles, would you? Damn it!" John cursed as the wind snatched the paper with the ritual out of his hand, but Dean caught it.
"Yeah." He said, looking back at the direction he pointed. "Anyway, it's that way." He repeated. Sam straightened.
"How do you know?" he asked. Dean looked from his brother to his father; both looking questioningly at him, waiting for an explanation. He shrugged.
"I think that thing's leading me. I think maybe it can sense it. Whatever, it's that way." Dean finished quickly, turning back to the car and taking out the three shovels from the bed of the truck. Sam and John exchanged a look before the older man blew out the candle next to him and got to his feet.
"Better get the EMF and the weapons bag out of the car, too." He said.
"Why, I'll be damned. How the hell did you do that?" John asked in awe, looking at his son. Dean looked impassively around, and then sat down stiffly on a large rock, pressing a hand to his chest. He had led his brother and father for nearly fifteen minutes before he stopped and said they should start digging somewhere around. John looked at him skeptically and then turned the EMF reader on. The readings were low, but still considerably higher than they were near the truck.
Sam offered Dean a couple of painkillers and a bottle of water, which Dean accepted gladly, and John ordered him back to the truck. Dean didn’t even argue, he just got up and sauntered tiredly back to the truck, quickly falling asleep.
The car door opening woke Dean up. He grunted, covering his eyes from the glaring sun, and blinked up at the bleary figure of his father.
"You okay there, buddy?" John asked, wiping sweat off his brow. Dean laid his head back, making a small guttural sound. "Come on. Breakfast time." John said. Dean pushed himself to a sitting position.
"Not hungry." He said, rubbing his eyes.
"Not a suggestion, boy. Come on." Dean grunted as he pushed out of the car. Sam handed him a cup of old coffee from the thermos they brought with them, offered him a doughnut. Dean thanked him, taking the coffee and the doughnut and sitting down next to him, munching at the meager breakfast.
"I think we're gonna have to drive out for a while, get some real food. Some more water. A shower maybe. I mean, right now, the smell alone could kill any demon." John said with a slight smile. "We'll get us a couple hours of sleep, some better coffee, and get back here." He wiped the remaining doughnut glaze on his jeans and looked at Dean. "Unless we're pressed for time?"
"I can help you dig." Dean suggested.
"No need." Sam said, devouring the last doughnut, and licking his fingers clean of the glaze. "We're done. Found it." Dean blinked owlishly at him for a moment, and then turned his eyes at his father.
"Then can I go back to sleep now?" he asked. John sighed, exchanging a glance with his youngest. Sam nodded.
"Yeah, kiddo. You can go back to sleep now."
TBC
Where it all started >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >> 5 >> 6 >> 7 >> 8 >> 9 >> 10 >> 11 >> 12 >> 13 >> 14 >> 15 >> 16 >> Rift
Next
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-05 12:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 05:35 pm (UTC)Don't worry, Dean's misery will soon end (and so will this story).
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 07:22 pm (UTC)OMG. Don't worry. YOU TELL ME THAT IT SHALL ALL END SOON AND THEN YOU TELL ME NOT TO WORRY. Now I am super worried. Killing me. You are killing.
I like it. LMAO.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-07 04:41 am (UTC)lol
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-05 12:16 pm (UTC)Dean is appearing more and more drained .. the leach sapping him of everything ... it looks like it's going to be a close call, this saving of Dean.
It's sad to think that John can't go to anyone for help now, that it's just him and his boys against the world ... but I guess that's the Winchesters' lot in life isn't it?
Still enjoying every word.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 05:38 pm (UTC)And yeah, I guess it is sad, but if you think about it, it's sort of like IMToD - he's not really trying, now is he?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-05 12:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 05:41 pm (UTC)There's more Sam/Dean banter later though ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-05 02:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 05:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-05 10:31 pm (UTC)Dean seems disinterested in everything. Is it because of the leech or because he scared about what John is doing? Whichever this is riveting reading.
Looking forward to more.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 05:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 05:59 pm (UTC)Hope you update soon.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 06:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 01:36 pm (UTC)It's all getting very tense! What on earth are they going to find down there??
On tenterhooks here!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 05:54 pm (UTC)*evil grin* What do you think they're going to find down there? Trouble, that's what =D
Glad you're enjoying this!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-06 06:00 pm (UTC)Pile it on I say!! And yes, I am definitely loving it! You are going to keep up the whumping on Dean I trust? ;-)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-07 11:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-05-07 03:13 pm (UTC)Thanks for letting me know, and glad you're enjoying the story!