Survive, Boy, Survive

Chapter 7

Dean and I walked out of the gas 'n sip, he opened our drinks, I took mine. Sam was on the phone,
Sam said" Right. No, I-I, uh... Yeah, hey, you know what? Uh, Dean's here. He really wants to talk to you." He handed the phone to Dean,
Dean said" Ms. Tran, yeah, hi, uh..." He hung up," Tunnel." Tossing the phone back to Sam," What's going on in Tran-land?"
" Well, uh, Garth finally got them to his houseboat, but Kevin's having a lot of trouble reading their half of the tablet. So far, bits and pieces. Nothing about boarding up hell."
" Garth has a safe-houseboat?"
" Dude, I don't even ask questions anymore." I sat on the ground, as Dean walked over to Cas and Sam kneeled down to get the gas pump. I was staring at my constantly tapping foot, it was starting to bug me!
I heard Cas say" I couldn't say. I turned that off."
" You can do that?"
" Yeah, it's a simple matter of blocking out certain subsonic frequencies. I could draw you a diagram if you want."
Dean said" No, that's- we're good. Why'd you flip the switch?"
" Because it's a direct link to heaven. And I don't want anything to do with that place- not anymore."
" So what now? Move to Vermont, open up a charming b&b?"
" No. I still want- I still need to help people. So... I'm gonna become a hunter." Sam scoffed,
He said" Really?"
" Yeah. I could be your third wheel." I laughed,
Dean said" You know that's not a good thing, right?"
" Of course it is. A third wheel adds extra grip, greater stability. I even found a case. Oklahoma City- A man's heart jumped 10 feet out of his chest. It sounds like our kind of thing, right?"
I said" He's got a point."
" Excellent. I'll see you there."
Dean said" Wait, Cas, Cas. If you want to play cowboys and bloodsuckers, that's fine. But you're gonna stick with us, okay? None of this zapping around crap.
Capiche?"
" Yeah, I capiche."
" All right, then."
" Can I, uh, at least ride in the front seat?"
Sam and Dean said" No." I laughed and crawled into the back.

They got back into the car from going into the morgue,
I said" So?" I scrambled up, getting half my body into the front, to look at my brothers.
Dean said" There's a heart sized hole in the middle of the guy's chest. Uh, one point to our way, and Cas can learn everything about a person by sniffing their body. The guy was having an affair, which Sam found out."
" Cas sniffed a body?"
" Is that all you got from that?"
" Pretty much."
" Good to know." He pushed my face back, I went back into the backseat.
" The heart thing sounds like a Looney Tunes skit, though."

We were in a motel room, there was another weird one, a guy was in air then fell after a few seconds of just standing there, then he looked down. Which is when he fell. Cas was watching Looney Tunes,
Cas said" I understand. The bird represents God. And Coyote is man, endlessly chasing the divine, yet never able to catch him. It's... it's hilarious."
Dean said" I got no idea what we're hunting. Maybe it's a Tulpa. Maybe it's some-some crazy god who watched too much Robot Chicken. I-I-I mean, is there a link between Heartbreak Hotel and Free Fallin'?"
Sam said" Not that I can find."
" All right, well, I'm gonna call it. Cas, you gonna book a room or what?"
Cas said" No, I'll stay here."
" Oh, okay. Yeah. We'll have a slumber party and braid Sam's hair." I smiled, Sam did too," Where are you gonna sleep?"
" I don't sleep."
" Okay, well, I need my four hours, so..."
" I'll watch over you."
" That's not gonna happen."
" Something's coming across the police band."
Sam said" Wait, you can hear that?"
" It's all waves. A bank has been robbed. It sounds loony."
Dean said" Define Loony."

I went to follow them out as they left, Dean lifted me up and turned me around, nudging me back into the room.
I said" Traitor."
He said" If you're not asleep by the time we get back, I'm drugging you up with melatonin."
" Empty."
" Sure about that, bud?" He raised his eyebrow,
" Sam won't let you."
Sam said" Don't bring Sam into this. And uh, it's like your 6th day without sleep, so yeah, I'm getting pretty desperate for you to sleep."
" You're traitors!"
Dean said" Sleep, little man."
" Mmm!" I stuck my tongue out at him, he sighed,
" Sleep, I'll give you $10 bucks."
" Fine." He smirked then they walked out, locking the door, I sighed then walked to a bed. I jumped onto it, my bag came to me and a pulled out Rexxy," Hi, Rexxy." I cuddled him, laying down, I held him in my arms, sighing, then pulled the pillow over my head. I relaxed, closing my eyes, and falling asleep.
———
I was running away from ghouls, there was way more than I thought, I slid into a tombstone. I yelped but jumped back up, running again, then my arm was grabbed and I was thrown backwards. I hit the ground, rolling, then I was pinned down by a ghoul, I screamed, trying to get out, trying to power up. But I was... I was too afraid. I cried out as one chomped down on my arm,
I screamed" Sammy! Dean!" I breathed heavily, tears streamed down my face, my eyes glowed," Ahhhh!" The power inside me went atomic, blasting all of the ghouls and killing them. I cried out, trying to get up but I couldn't." Sammy! De! Sammy! Deee!"

I screamed" Dee! Sammy!" I screamed, then fell out of the bed, I breathed heavily, looking around. I cried, the ground was quaking, things started zooming around the room. I screamed and pulled my knees to my chest, covering my head.

After a few minutes, everything slowed down then stopped, I breathed heavily then fell to my side. I was soaked in sweat, I could barely breathe, I couldn't even think.

I heard the door open,
I heard Dean say" Whoa, Riv, have a party or what, man?"
I cried out" Dee!" Then I heard them run to me, then I saw them, I cried and made weak grabby hands.
" Whoa, hey, what happened?" He walked over to me and lifted me up, he sat me on the bed." Hey, bud, focus on me." He snapped his fingers in front of my eyes, I flinched, then looked at him." What happened?"
" Nightmare. Atomic. I'm sorry."
" It's okay, it's cool, hey, you okay?" I shook my head," You hurt anywhere?" I shook my head," Okay."
Sam said" Hey, how about we get you out of the sweat-soaked clothes and into something dry?" I nodded," All right." He grabbed my bag and pulled out my clothes, Dean helped me pull my clothes off before helping me get dressed again. I just couldn't find the strength to move anymore, I flopped against the bed, sniffling.
I heard Dean whisper" We can't leave him alone."
Sam whispered" Yeah, no. Definitely not leaving him alone. I don't think he can stand on his own right now. This atomic surge of power drained him, he needs time to boost it back up."
" Those nightmares, how the hell did he survive alone?"
" Not sure, but I'm betting he probably rarely slept to begin with. We make him sleep, he's on his own... he ain't sleeping."
" I'm not going to force him to sleep if it means these things take him over."
" He needs sleep, Dean. He's a kid, and he needs to eat which we're slightly letting him get away with not eating."
" Yeah, I noticed. And those scars... he's covered in scratches and marks."
" He hunted, Dean. Solo. Even if he had help, scars are in the job description."
" Yeah. I know."

We walked into a place,
Dean said" Hey. Bearer bonds. Maybe these belonged to Sheila Tate."
Cas said" So this man is our thief."
Sam said" Yeah. Dean." I walked to him, we walked behind a table and a guy was on the floor, bleeding. Dean turned on the lights, the guy woke up, Dean moved the table.
Dean said" Cas."
Cas said" Stay still. Move your hands." Cas healed the guy from a bullet wound,
The guy said" How did you-"
Dean said" Guy eats his wheaties. Sam, come on."
" What did you..."
" Get up. Come on. Sit down."
" Wait a second! What did you just do to me?!"
" Hey, hey, hey! Listen to me. Where is Fred Jones?"
" I- He-He took him."
" Who?!"
" Dr. Mahoney. That guy's evil, man, okay? He's using Mr. Jones."
Sam said" How?!"
" Look, all Fred does is watch cartoons, but he is magic, okay? A few weeks ago, I-I slammed my foot in his door. I smashed it flat- and I mean flat. And then when I shook the thing, it popped back up, like something out of a cartoon or whatever."
Dean said" Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know."
" So I told Dr. Mahoney, and then he started doing experiments. Just- We just wanted to see what he could do."
Sam said" What about the robberies?"
" Oh, Mahoney's been skimming off Sunset Fields for years. A lot of those folks- They got stuff stashed away, like, off the books. So Mahoney would track down the loot, and then we should take Fred for a drive."
Dean said" Right, and use his bubble of weird to rip people off. How did you end up gut-shot?"
" Mahoney- After-after he anviled that guard, he started freaking out, and then you showed up, and then the cake blew in the day room and then he lost it."
Sam said" What does that mean, he lost it?"
" I mean he's on his way back to the bank right now for one last score. Doc's blowing town. I mean, he said that Fred was a loose end. He was gonna kill him. And then I like Fred, so I said that if he hurt the guy, I'd go to the cops. And I didn't know that he had a gun."
Dean said" Okay."

Cas said" Do you think Mr. Jones knows what's happening?"
Dean said" I don't know. Seems to me like the dude's living in a dream world." He opened my door, I got in as he closed it, then he got in. Cas and Sam got in, then he started the car, driving.

They left me in the car, while they dealt with everything. I zoned out, exhausted and too numb to do anything.
———
Sam and Dean came out to the car, I jumped into the front seat, and they got in, I raised my hand a little. Sam's arm moved up and I squeezed into the space, he looked at me. 
He said" You could've just asked, buddy." I laid my head on his stomach," Okay." He rubbed back my hair, I sighed and relaxed, holding his jacket in my fist.