Five Seconds Later

Chapter Two: The Creature

A low, guttural growling came from outside the overturned and completely wrecked Impala. Cas took a deep breath, feeling a terrible ache in his lungs as he did this. It was a sharp pain that dulled to a pulsing, quiet wound when he exhaled. He instinctively reached for his chest to feel for something that may have impaled him, but there was nothing – just the pain as it persisted with each breath. 

The growling from outside turned into ragged moans, and it was growing louder. Cas moved his only free arm to unbuckle himself, noting that the other was pinned to the side of the door by his mangled seat. He pulled himself as free as he could, pleased to feel a lack of pain as his arm was loosed from its captivity. He had nearly forgot about Dean and Sam, who had been quiet until now. Sam stirred in the backseat with a pained groan.

"Dean, what-" he blinked, glancing over at Cas in a dazed, surprised state. "Why were you driving, Cas?"

"Your brother was intoxicated." Cas shifted himself out of his seat and carefully maneuvered his body until he was on the roof of the Impala, which now served as the floor. Sam grimaced, as he was much too tall and gangly to try and attempt something like that. His face was already turning red as a result of being upside-down for so long.

The groaning erupted from outside again as something – or someone – banged on the exterior of the Impala. There was a rough scraping noise, and Sam winced, unbuckling himself. He fell against the roof of the car, attempting to contort himself into a proper position. 

"Something tells me we've got to go." Sam twisted himself around once he had landed to remain upright. "Is Dean okay?"

"I haven't checked." Cas tilted his head slightly at Dean's silent figure. "Dean?" Only silence greeted him. 

"Let's go. We need to salvage everything out of the trunk that we can." Sam opened the cooler, which miraculously had not spilled out its contents. Inside were three of the twelve original bottles of Dean's beer. 

"Nothing good in here." Sam glanced up at Cas, his eyes worried.  "Get Dean out. I'll get out and see what's making that noise."

"Agreed." Cas gave a slight nod and waited until Sam had left the Impala to free Dean, who was still buckled in upside-down. Cas checked for a pulse, and was relieved to find one amid the blood that was pooling on Dean's head and slowing trickling downward. With a surprising feat of strength, Cas managed to free Dean, who slumped lifelessly into his arms. Many muttered curses later, Cas managed to drag him outside the Impala's nearest shattered window.

"Cas, watch out!" Sam yelled, and Cas looked up just in time to avoid being crushed by some humanoid creature that Sam had been wrestling. It was stumbling backwards in a dumbfounded sort of way, its face contorted into a grisly expression. In the darkness, it was difficult to see, but the stench of its body was enough to alert Cas to its location. It collided with the Impala and collapsed against the side of the car, still growling. Sam brandished the weapon he was carrying, towering tall above both the overturned car and creature.

"I've already tapped it with salt and the handle of this knife is iron." Sam watched the creature warily as he flipped the knife over in his hand. "The blade itself is silver. If this was anything we've seen before, it'd be dead by now. I've stabbed its heart and its lungs."

"Try its head." Cas stood and heaved Dean into an upright position, attempting to balance the mass of a man on his left shoulder. The pain in his lungs appeared again most inopportunely, and he coughed, which aggravated the agony.

Sam obliged and knelt by the growling creature, which clacked its teeth at him and impulsively reached out a pair of what appeared to be rotting arms to grasp at him. Sam quickly stabbed it in the skull and almost immediately, the creature lay still.

"I think... I think it worked." Sam frowned, rubbing the blade of the knife on his jeans. "How is Dean?"

"He hasn't responded to me yet." Cas adjusted Dean onto his back, realizing that Dean had no ability to support himself, even with help. "What do we do now?"

"We can turn the Impala back over, maybe. Stay in it for the night." Sam rubbed his chin worriedly. He looked exhausted. Dark circles were drawn under his hazel eyes, but the long brown hair that framed his face worked well to hide them. "The last town we passed wasn't for miles. With whatever that was around and Dean the way he is, I don't think we can walk back... at least until he's conscious."

"Can we call the authorities?" Cas asked, feeling Dean's ragged breath against his ear. 

"And tell them what?" Sam narrowed his eyes, glancing at the broken shards of Dean's empty bottles on the pavement. "We're on grounds for arrest with these bottles. We can try to walk a ways and then call in the morning to get help for Dean at least, but it'll be obvious the car was ours. Plus, Dean would be pissed if we saved his life but left his Baby behind."

"True." Cas frowned. He heard a rustling from behind him and shuddered. "Let's try to flip the Impala over then. We can wheel it off the road."

"No, we can't," Sam stepped back to look at the vehicle and ran an anxious hand through his hair. "We really can't. See how it's crushed there?" He indicated the front of the vehicle, where the windshield had caved in. "There's no way that's safe to sleep in."

"Neither are the woods." Cas took a shaky, painful breath as his lungs throbbed. "But I suppose the shelter of trees is better than nothing. Let's at least get the tools out of the car."

"You take Dean past that line of trees over there." Sam nodded just past where the Impala's skid marks began. "Travel for five minutes straight. I'll meet you there after I get what we need."

"Okay." Cas took another staggering breath, wincing with the pain. "See you there."