Soul To Steal: Sam Winchester

Chapter 14: Patience

"Death," Dean spoke solemnly, maintaining eye contact with him. "This is about your brother isn't it?" Death held a cane in his hand, tracing it slowly along the floor as he spoke. "I'd imagine his soul has gotten a little beat up down there in the past year. Is...is there a way to retrieve it in one piece?" Dean gulped hard, uneasy about the answer to the question he just asked of Death. "Try skinned down to it's very core, Dean." Dean looked off into the distance for a moment or two as though he was struggling to work a solution in his mind. Death waited patiently as one would have the patience for a child trying to figure out the answer to a simple question. He turned back to Death once more. "Can't you just hack of the hell bit?" The immortal being immediately rolled his eyes and his shoulders sagged. The look of annoyance etched the lines of his face once more.

"No Dean, it does not work that way. I could perhaps, put up a wall to hold the memories of hell at bay." "So, soulless Sam or a wall that might one day collapse. Okay yeah, let's do this." Dean turned to me with a hopeful smile. I opened my mouth to speak and was interrupted by one hard knock on the ground. Death had slammed the end of his cane in the ground and stood tall once more. "I didn't say I would do it Dean. I was merely proposing what your reward would be for the wager." "Oh, what's the wager then?" Dean inquired, sounding as though he were annoyed this time. Death was suddenly right in front of him, a look of fury in his eyes. It felt dangerous, like the calm before a storm. I stepped back closer to Bobby. Dean was a good man but he had a way of letting words fly out of his mouth at the wrong people.

Death pulled his ring from his finger and cupped it in his hand. "Become Death for a day and I will retrieve your brother's soul. Take the ring off too soon and you lose." Dean Winchester eyed the ring cautiously, suddenly timid as if he wasn't sure what to say. The anticipation was heavy in the air and it seemed as though he would never speak. "Okay, I'll do it." He looked Dean pointedly in the eyes and dropped the ring in his hand. Death was suddenly gone. Dean turned the ring around in his fingers examining it before placing it in his pocket. "I need to talk to my brother," Dean patted his pocket gently and headed towards the panic room.

Dean opened the slot to the panic room door. "Sammy, how you holding up in there?" His brother looked up, perched on the corner of a ratty and warn bed. "I'd be better if I wasn't locked up in here like some animal." "I found a way to get your soul back. Death said he could retrieve it." "At what cost though, Dean?" "Well Sammy, he said he would need to put a wall up in your mind to keep the memories of hell at bay." "And that's permanent?" "He.. said it could last a lifetime." "Could? So it might not? And what then Dean? Is it really worth the risk?" "Sammy... We've got to try." "I get it Dean okay? I'll do it just.. please let me out of here."

Dean looked to Bobby who hesitated for a moment or two. Bobby looked to Sam's pleading eyes then opened the heavy door. Sam walked out and looked to Bobby. "I could use a beer." We all headed upstairs to the kitchen. Sam and Bobby set at the kitchen table while Dean lingered by the back door. He looked at his brother with slight hesitation. "I guess I better get this over with." Without a word he made eye contact and remained seated, tipping his beer at Dean. He opened the back door and I followed. It only seemed proper that someone see him off before he left. I sensed that he wished it would of been his brother. We walked in silence about 10 feet away from the house before Dean stopped and pulled the ring out of his pocket. He sat with his head down, staring at the ring. He seemed almost afraid to put it on his finger. "I guess this is the only way," he spoke quietly to himself.

I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Dean turned to me. It seemed as though he had gotten lost in thought and forgot I was still there. He smiled at me, a tired look in his eyes. "Don't worry Alex, I'll be back." I smiled back and took a couple of steps forward. I brought my hand to his face and cupped his cheek for a moment before speaking, trying to offer some small measure of comfort to him. "I know." Dean grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into a firm hug, his face pressed to my hair. He nodded in my direction once more before turning to walk a couple more feet away. Dean took a deep breath and slipped the ring on his finger. Just like that he was gone.