CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
by
Phoenix
Chapter 5
The Chapters
From the previous chapter:
The boy was being watched.
But before he could get any further Sam felt a sweeping chill brush against his face, burning as it touched. He tried to jerk away but the touch, hot against his skin, curled around his chin and gripped tightly, forcing him to look up.
Sam tried to cry out, to scream, to do something but he couldn’t. He could hardly even breathe.
The wraith was here.
Chapter 5
“I do have a girlfriend, you know,” Frank felt compelled to supply as he followed Dean. His dark eyes scanned the wet woods, constantly on the lookout for any sign of his or Dean’s wayward brother as he tried to ignore the cold rain that soaked and chilled him to the bone.
The further they followed this trail, the more concerned he became; an anxiousness increased by the suffocating silence around them. They should have at least heard Joe calling for Sam or something…
Dean grinned as he continued to walk but didn’t say anything.
“She’s pretty damn hot too, if I do say so myself,” Frank added, all the while wondering where this was coming from. It was like his mouth had been hijacked by a nerdy fourteen year old. “Her name is Callie. Smoking hot….Burning down the house kinda -”
“Okay, enough with the fire analogies,” Dean interrupted, “I got a thing about burning.”
“Oh really?” Frank teased, sensing a chink in ‘Mr. Too Cool to be Anywhere near You’s’ armor. “And what’s that?”
Dean stopped, turned around and looked at Frank; fleeting pain crossed his face – a raw moment of vulnerability that raced goose bumps across the Hardy boy’s flesh. “My Mom – mine and Sam’s” he amended, his face softened with fleeting affection. “She died in a fire when Sammy was a baby.” He paused and then added, gruffly, “Now come on, I gotta find my brother.”
Stunned, Frank just followed.
‘Their mother was dead? Killed in a fire?’ Thinking about his own mom sent an ache twisting through his heart. That was horrible…
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
Dean stiffened but never replied.
ooooooOOOOOOoooooo
Joe hurried towards the edge of the gully; he just knew he’d find the young hunter down there.
“Sam?” He yelled as he approached the edge, slowing down so that he wouldn’t fall over. Carefully, he sidestepped and half slid down the incline, unable to see if the younger teen was down there or not yet because of the darkness and rain.
Rocks skittered beneath his sneakers as he absently hoped, that if Sam was down here, he’d be okay enough to walk back up himself, ‘cause if not, this could be a problem.
Tripping as he finally got the bottom of the gully, Joe glanced around and then started to run as he saw a hunched-over figure about a hundred feet down from him.
Sam.
…
Sam’s body trembled beneath the wraith’s assault as agony sliced through his mind. He could hear the creature whispering something but he couldn’t focus past the pain – it wanted something from him…
And then abruptly, the wraith just released him and was gone.
Slumping back to the ground, Sam barely closed his eyes when he heard someone calling his name.
“Dean?” he whispered, forcing his eyes open and blinking blurrily at the person hurrying towards him. No, it wasn’t Dean. It was someone else.
“Sam?”
The someone dropped to his knees next to Sam and the teen felt gentle hands on his shoulders. Again the voice.
“Are you okay?”
The voice was familiar.
“Sam. Look at me.”
He tried – honestly he did, but the pain in his head was brutal and he groaned and tried to pull away. The voice was too loud.
“Come on Sam, can you hear me?”
Sam forced his head up and gazed into the most brilliant pair of blue eyes. Sapphires? He blinked and the person’s face finally came into focus. “Joe?” he rasped, recognizing the teen he’d found trussed up in a closet only a few nights ago. It felt like a lifetime ago now…
A wide smile answered his question, though heavy concern lingered on the face. “In the flesh.”
Sam watched as Joe quickly scanned him, assessing him – it reminded him of Dean. He knew the question before it was even asked. “What hurts?”
“Oh man…” Sam tried to give the blond teen a smile. “Ask me…what doesn’t…”
Joe chuckled softly. “Fair enough.” Still keeping a steadying grip on Sam’s shoulders, the young sleuth glanced around. “Can you walk?” he asked, scrutinizing the ravine for the easiest way up.
“Maybe,” Sam offered tentatively, really having no idea but then when he tried to shift, he changed his mind. “Maybe…not.”
The blond teen pursed his lips. “Can you try? I’ll help.”
Slowly Sam nodded and then asked, “Where’s Dean?” He shifted his gaze expectantly but Joe seemed to be alone. That started a whole series of questions that the young hunter didn’t have the energy to voice, made all the more apparent when his battered body started to shiver violently.
Joe frowned and then crouched, gingerly pulling one of Sam’s arms across his broad shoulders. “He’s looking for you. Now come on – you can’t stay here.”
Sam stifled a groan and closed his eyes as the other teen slowly hefted him to his feet, keeping a steadying grip on his wet jacket as he did so.
An intense wave of vertigo almost sent the young hunter to his knees again, but Joe – as if sensing the impending – had the good sense not to try and move him again yet.
After a few long moments, Joe pressed, “You ready to move again?”
Sam winced as he took in a steadying breath. Damn ribs. “’Kay,” he finally mumbled, his body’s need to rest viciously asserting itself.
The first step made Sam hiss in pain and when Joe glanced at him, he gasped. “I’m okay.” The older boy didn’t look too convinced but continued to move anyway.
It was very slow going. With Joe’s help, Sam was walking but just barely and the worst was yet to come. They had to climb.
…
“W-where’s-s D-Dean?” Sam shivered as he asked again and Joe looked sharply at him. The kid already looked terrible. His face, and what Joe could see of Sam’s body, was bruised, cut or scraped, but now the older teen was worried that the hunter might also have a concussion. Sam seemed confused.
“He’s looking for you,” Joe reminded him, masking his concern as the lanky body leaning against him continued to shiver violently. Add hypothermia to that growing list of concerns…
“O-oh.”
They reached the bottom of the incline and looked up. It seemed all the more daunting in the dark and rain.
Sam groaned and sagged against Joe. “Y-you g-g-gotta b-b-e kid-d-ding.”
Joe flashed him a sympathetic look. “It looks worse than it really is.”
The look Sam shot him told the blond sleuth the kid wasn’t buying it but before he could offer anything else, a peculiar smell made him wrinkle up his nose. Sulfur?
Beside him, the younger boy tensed and the next thing Joe knew he was being slammed into the side of the rocky slope, his head hitting hard.
“JOE!”
He heard Sam yell his name…
Then a shot!
Then nothing…
Joe was out cold.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.