Sam's reality. A truckstop motel somewhere near Cape Canaveral, Florida. Trying to heal.

[i_salted_dean]

Sam woke to the sound of Petra's 'This Means War' from Rob's room and stared blankly at Leeroy for a few moments before rolling away from him and grabbing her crutches to make her way into the bathroom so that she could run some cold water and rub it on her face. The dreams had filled her sleep again, but she was still too numb to really care.

The days since Mathias' funeral all seemed to blur together; all she really remembered of them was staying close to Leeroy and trying to be supportive at the same time as she sought comfort herself. Her world had become a dark dream, and right now she couldn't see her way out of it.

She frowned at herself in the mirror, then touched the tub and found it cool. Setting aside her crutches, she got into it and settled down to stare at the ceiling, tuning out the old rock song and everything else but Leeroy's sleeping thoughts.

Comments

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

And Leeroy slept more or less soundly, except for moments where he would twitch and murmur while dreaming of what might have been.

[i_salted_dean]

Sam's eyes closed despite herself, and she suddenly found herself in a dark forest, surrounded by undergrowth and looming trees. The whole place had a hostile feel to it, and the very air seemed to stink with a charnel reek.

She frowned and reached for her shotgun, only to find that it wasn't hanging at her side. Nor were the nine millimeters in the back of her jeans... she wasn't wearing jeans.

Sam looked down at herself, nonplussed to find that she was in her underwear and wracked her brains to try and figure out why she was hunting in skivvies. Frowning harder, she tried to pray and found that there seemed to be some sort of wall between she and God.

"No way," she whispered, trying to remember words of warfare and drawing a blank.

Then she gasped as something grabbed her ankles, and looked down to see bony hands grasping them and pulling her feet into the ground. She flailed, trying desperately to call on God as she was rapidly drawn deeper, but she couldn't break past the wall. The earth sucked her down, closing over her head and cutting off her breath....

And she woke with a piercing scream.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

That woke Leeroy up, and he vaulted himself into the washroom, since the light was on in there.

"Sam?"

[i_salted_dean]

She was gasping for breath, her face sheened with sweat as she shook like a leaf and repeated, "Jesus is Lord," over and over.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

This had him scared.

"Okay... yeah... What happened?"

[i_salted_dean]

She started and went wide-eyed as she finally regestered his presence. "Dream...."

Obviously not her usual kind, though they were scary in themselves.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

He sighed. "Clearly. But what happened in yer dream?"

What happened to make her scream like that, and come out of it as doubtful as she seemed to be?

[i_salted_dean]

"I couldn't... I tried." She shook harder, thoroughly unnerved, then showed him the images that she could remember.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

He leaned back and scratched his nose.

"I have no idea what t' tell ye, apart from 'try harder'."

[i_salted_dean]

She curled in a ball and hugged herself.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

He found himself unable to handle what was happening, and so left the bathroom and climbed back into bed.

Leeroy knew he should have been comforting Sam, but lately that had no effect. So he figured it was useless to try.

[random_xtras]

"Grandpa?" Rob opened the door and stumbled inside, his shotgun held low against his leg. "Was that Grandma?"

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

Leeroy looked at Rob, his eyes blazing with anger.

"Yes."

And then he turned away.

[random_xtras]

The teen's forehead furrowed, but he closed the door and set the gun on the table, then headed for the bathroom and looked in. "Where is she?"

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

He lay down on the bed and threw the covers over his shoulder.

And did not answer Rob.

He did not know, he could not know, he could not help.

That much was obvious.

[random_xtras]

"Grandpa." He strode over and pulled the blankets away.

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

When he turned over his voice was like ice.

"What."

[random_xtras]

Rob scowled. "Where is she? I've never heard her scream like that. Where is she??"

[teh-rest.livejournal.com]

Leeroy rose.

"I don't know. And I'm tired of always having to find out."

Before Rob could say or do anything, he'd socked the younger man in the jaw and had run out the door.

Then he, too, was gone.

[random_xtras]

Rob fell back stunned, crushing the table and landing on his gun, then shook his head and rolled onto his side to pray and try to get his head to stop spinning.