Welcome to SU: Legacy, a next-gen Supernatural RP that takes place in the year 2040. The Men of Letters has expanded to include three base locations across the continental US. Angels and demons have gone mostly dormant but there are still supernatural evils lurking in the shadows. The legacies could use your help. Are you in?
Giving credit where credit is due. A big thank you to all the coders at PBS and various resource sites for any codes, plug-ins and templates.
Thanks to Nick @ Fidelius for the fabulous mini-profile. Everything else was created by our own staff. If we missed someone please let us know.
We don't own Supernatural, we just enjoy it's awesomeness. Thanks Eric Kripke for creating it, all the writers/producers for putting out a great show and the CW for keeping it on the air for almost 10 years now!
Sully dreamed of home. A place she had long realized she would never again have. When she was little though, it was different. She remembered Lyle teasing her when they were in the backseat. He would yank on her pigtails and steal her stuffed rabbit. It would frustrate Sully to no end and her parents would turn around and tell them to behave. Even though they tried to act stern the siblings often noticed the smirk their parents shared with each other for a moment when they would settle a squabble.
This time when they smirked at each other, their lips curled into a more nefarious twist. Their eyes swirled and changed from the kind, loving parents Sully had once known. They became darker, more sinister and the younger version of herself tensed up in the back seat, hugging her bunny tightly. Sully could feel something was wrong, but she was too scared to ask.
The dream shifted and Sully was screaming for her mother. Her yellow dress was still intact, the ribbons still in her hair. Her father was dragging her away from the car. Away from her mother. Why was she leaving? Had Sully done something wrong? Why wouldn’t her father let Sully go with her. She didn’t understand. To this day she didn’t know what had caused the fight. What had made her mother pack up and leave?
Sully blinked and the dream shifted again. It was dark and her arms were stretched farther than they should have been. Fire burned through her muscles as they ripped to accommodate the stretched position they were in. Her chest tightened with the familiar feeling of it and she worked to keep her breathing under control.
She jerked and yanked against her bonds. Her body flared with pain, but she ignored. “No, no, no, no, no!” She screamed it. A dim light illuminated the darkness. Her mother was standing across from her. She wasn’t human. Black fur covered her body and she stared with glowing red eyes. Her mother was a wolf the size of a truck.
Her mother growled, and Sully knew what was coming. She fought against her bonds again, with more force ignoring the pain, trying to throw her arms up in defense.
“Please mom.” Her voice was pleading. She hated the sound of it, but this was her mother. Sully was lost and confused and she didn’t understand what she had done to warrant such punishment. “Don’t do this! Please!”
The wolf stalked towards her slowly at first. It snapped it’s jaw, drool dripping down being caught in it’s fur. At first Sully thought she was going to bite her. Then there was a blur of speed. Razor sharp claws tore through her skin. It was like a knife cutting through warm butter. Warm blood trickled down her body and it took Sully a minute to realize what had happened.
As soon as her brain registered it, the pain came. Sully began to hyperventilate as she watched the shining crimson wash over her. White bone and tendon peeked through the river, gleaming when light reflected it off for it.
When the pain first hit, it made Sully’s breath hitch. Then it grew, quickly and steadily. She bit on her tongue to keep from crying out. She didn’t want to give her mother the satisfaction. The skinwalker that was sitting there watching with amusement in her eyes as her tongue lolled out of the side of her mouth in a canine grin.
Sully grunted and groaned, but the wound was raw and fresh and the pain wasn’t finished with her. It flared in one agonizing spike, and Sully couldn’t hold the sound that accompanied it inside of her. She screamed, a loud chorus of echoing screams that bounced off the wall and smacked her in the face. She was so weak she couldn’t even contain the sounds of pain her mother was inflicting on her. God she hated herself.
Sully felt hands gripping her. The sudden touch scared her. She had no idea where the rack had gone, but suddenly her hands were free. Christ if the pain wasn’t still there, but she her threw firsts, swung her arms, and kicked her legs. Sully wasn’t sure if she made contact with anything, but the pain of it made her scream again and this time, her eyes flew open.
Last Edit: Mar 21, 2011 14:31:59 GMT -8 by Deleted
Post by ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED on Mar 22, 2011 11:49:40 GMT -8
Hours passed uneventfully leaving Dean stuck somewhere between restlessness and exhaustion, forcing his body to get up and walk around when he felt himself beginning to doze in the constant silence. It wasn’t even as if he could look at the scenery, there wasn’t any. Just miles and miles, in every direction, of the same dreary desert, all hidden from view by the darkness anyway. At least he had the stars to look at, but even that got boring after a couple of hours, leaving him with a stiff neck for his efforts. Once or twice he’d thought he’d glimpsed something at the very edge of his ability to see into the dark, swearing blind that he’d seen red dots - eyes - moving low to the ground, but when he shone his flashlight at them there was never anything there.
Just your mind playing tricks with you Dean…but stay alert anyway…just in case…
He’d hoped that moving away from the fire might cool him down, even though there was barely any heat reaching further than where Sully was balled up under the blanket, yet his skin felt prickly, like it was slowly burning underneath the surface. Every once in a while a wave of fever washed over him, overwhelming his sense of balance leaving him dizzy and in need of sitting down. It worried him but he kept telling himself it was nothing more than heat exhaustion coupled together with a little dehydration and not enough food. Any one of those things on its own ordinarily wouldn’t have bothered him, but all three together with the added bonus of not having slept in a real bed for a while, and he was feeling the strain. There was nothing he could do about it except to soldier on, something he had become very good at over the years. One more day of this was nothing in comparison to some of the things he'd been through.
The night dragged on forever, punctuated only by occasional movements of Sully as she slept on and an incident with a scorpion that met an untimely end under Dean’s boot when it ventured too close to their camp. He ran out of fuel for the fire long before the sun came up and had ended up huddling closer to Sully so he could share his excessive body heat with her. One of them might as well benefit from it if nothing else.
In the early dawn Sully began to get restless herself, jerking Dean out of his glazed over stare at the horizon to see what she was murmuring about. It didn’t take long to realise she was having another nightmare and he debated for a moment whether or not to shake her awake or try and soothe her back to peaceful slumber. In the end he chose to rouse her now that the sun was hitting the horizon and the lack of conversation was slowly making him go crazy.
“Sully, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.” At first he didn’t move from his spot sat right next to her, his back against the now cold rocks, but his nonchalant tone wasn’t getting through to her so he leaned over and repeated himself. He wondered, watching her struggle with her own mind's darkness, if this was how she had begun every day she’d been here, fighting with her nightmares when she slept only to wake and find they hadn’t actually ended.
“Sully.” He said it a little louder this time, growing concerned that Sully might actually be in some pain when she screamed out. In hindsight, it may have been a mistake to reach out and steady her with his hands, but words alone were not getting through to her.
He should have known to expect a flying fist.
“Ah!” He grunted, more out of surprise than actual pain, when Sully’s white knuckled fist smacked him right in the eye. His eye socket throbbed and for a few moments, opening his eye stung too much to do comfortably. Give it a few hours and he‘d have a hell of a shiner. Still, he shuffled over more and braced her arms, more careful now he knew she was dreaming about being attacked, not wanting to get smacked again even if there wasn‘t so much power in the strikes. It would only take one more lucky swing and he’d have two black eyes, or worse, the family jewels would suffer.
“Sully wake up!” He commanded more forcefully, relieved when she responded, though he’d never know for sure if it was his voice that pulled her from the nightmare of if she simply got too scared to stand it any more.
“Relax, you’re okay. Just a nightmare.” Once she’d gotten her bearings he let go, turning away slightly to press the heal of his hand tentatively against his now pulsating eyeball. A few blinks to clear away the eye watering and a shake of the head managed to merge the three blurry Sully’s he could see into one clear version again.
Jeez, even when she’s not trying to break my nose and she’s asleep, she still manages to clock me one…
The first thing Sully registered was that she was outside. The cool night air of the desert clashed with the warm sweat from her nightmare making her flesh break out in goose bumps. Her breathing was ragged and irregular and she whimpered from the pain from having thrashed around. She closed her eyes trying to concentrate on pushing it back and on making the noises stop.
“Relax, you’re okay. Just a nightmare.”
Dean’s words were soothing, comforting even. He was reminding her that she wasn’t going to wake up in that hell hole again.
Dean’s right. It was just a dream. Just a nightmare. It’s over.
It seemed like an afterthought that she realized Dean had grunted. Slowly she opened her eyes and tilted her head to look at him. She had to gasp. Why she hadn’t noticed it before, Sully wasn’t sure. Maybe she’d been too self absorbed, too lost in own fears. She had been selfish.
Dean looked like hell.
He was pale with a slight flush in his cheeks, making Sully frown. She wondered if he had a fever. How long had it been since he found her? Time was relative to Sully at the moment. She didn’t know how long she’d been here or how long it had been since Dean found her. Hell she didn’t even know what the date was.
So how long had he been watching over her? Neglecting himself to make sure Sully was safe? Had he ever tended to the wound on his arm? There was a red mark on his eye like he’d been struck. It made Sully frown. Had her flailing limbs not only been in her dream? Had she been striking out physically? For a moment she was tempted to ask if it had been her fault, but she already knew the answer.
In fact she knew all the pain and discomfort Dean was feeling was because of her. The dark circles from lack of sleep were because he was watching over her. For a moment, she liked the idea of someone watching out for her. Then as quick as it came she pushed it away. That was wrong to think. She shouldn’t like that. She shouldn’t get used to it. Especially seeing the state Dean was in.
She was still confused as to why, but she didn’t ask. She hadn’t understood his answers before. Sully doubted she would now. What she did understand was how truly sorry she was that Dean was suffering because of her. It wasn’t right and he shouldn’t have to bare this burden with her. No one should. That was the point of it all. Sully was supposed to be alone and Dean was suffering because he was trying to make it so that she had someone to rely on. Even if only for a little while.
“I..I..” Sully clamped her mouth shut unsure why she was stuttering. Clearing her throat she tried again, keeping her despairing eyes on Dean. “I’m sorry, Cowboy. This all happened to you because of me.” She sighed wearily and shook her head. “You shouldn’t have to go through this. Especially not for me.”
Swallowing thickly, Sully took a steadying breath. “You need to rest. Then, we’ll figure out a way to get out of here.”
Sully was not at all sure of her words. It seemed like true freedom was so far away, but Dean didn’t deserve to be punished because of Sully’s idiocy. She had to try and be strong just long enough to get him out of here. Then, when she was alone, well….she’d figure that out then. If she could get Dean to rest for a while, she could use her mojo on him. Sully knew he’d be pissed, but it made her heart ache to think of someone else being hurt because of her.
At this moment in time, especially Dean. He’d been the only one to realize she was gone. He’d been the only one to take the time to track her down. He’d been the only one ever, in her entire life to do that much for her. He barely knew her and for whatever reason, seemed to care more than her own family. She didn’t understand it, but she knew Dean deserved better than a mauled arm, black eye, and exhaustion for it.
“I can keep watch for a little while. You need to sleep.”
Post by ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED on Mar 23, 2011 6:05:15 GMT -8
“I’m sorry, Cowboy. This all happened to you because of me.”
“What are you talking about?” Dean asked, slightly confused by this apologetic version of Sully. He wasn’t used to it because usually when she smacked him in the face, it was on purpose. One time she’d even punched him in the nose just to get him to shut up, so this concern for his well being was unusual to say the least.
“You shouldn’t have to go through this. Especially not for me.”
Was it guilt he detected in her voice? Or was she worried that his coming to her rescue would somehow leave her in debt to him, making him just another person in her life that wanted something from her that she simply couldn’t give. Didn’t she realise that it wasn’t about that? That Dean needed to do this for himself? Suffering for others was standard procedure now, his punishment for past wrongs, only he just saw this as helping out a friend. He didn’t want anything back from her at the end of it.
“This is not the worst thing I’ve gone through by a long shot, so don’t sweat it.” He said matter of factly, pushing off the rock behind him to get to his feet, subconsciously showing Sully that he was fine since she was looking at him like he might fall apart at any moment. He took a couple of steps to retrieve a bottle of water that he’d refilled from the tap down in the bunker and handed it to Sully so she could drink.
“Besides, if it wasn’t you, it’d just be some stranger instead. Hunting things, helping people…it’s what I do. No big deal.” And it really wasn’t. Saving people’s lives came as naturally as breathing or crossing the street to a Winchester. He’d been doing this kind of thing for decades although it was true, perhaps he’d taken it a little more personally because this missing person was someone he knew. Still, it didn't change the fact that if he had to do it all over again, knowing what he knew now, he'd still put himself through it, whether it was for Sully or someone he didn't know, because it was the right thing to do.
“You need to rest. Then, we’ll figure out a way to get out of here.”
“I already figured a way out of here.” He replied, choosing to ignore the comment about him needing to rest. For hours he’d done nothing but sit on his ass and stare into space, he wanted to take action, not rest. Even at times like this, in fact more so at times like this, sitting around doing nothing didn’t come easily to him.
“I can keep watch for a little while. You need to sleep.”
“You need to eat something if you’re coming back to the car with me. I think I can put her back together enough to get the engine going again. The tyres are shot, but I got one spare which should hopefully give us a chance of limping out of here on four wheels. It’s worth a shot at least.”
Sully frowned at Dean’s obvious stubbornness. He had called her just that once or twice, but sometimes he made Sully want to bang her head against the wall. Seriously she’d probably get more results that way. Better yet, if she banged his head against the wall maybe she’d knock some sense into him. Unfortunately she didn’t have the strength or energy to do that.
Despite the fact that she had just woken up, Sully was still exhausted. She felt like she could sleep for another month and only then just get a portion of her strength back. It was frustrating as hell. Sully looked over at her shoulder. The bandage had become dirty, a yellowish ooze seeping through it. That was going to be another problem in itself.
“You need to eat something if you’re coming back to the car with me. I think I can put her back together enough to get the engine going again. The tyres are shot, but I got one spare which should hopefully give us a chance of limping out of here on four wheels. It’s worth a shot at least.”
Sully’s gaze went out to the vast desert. She didn’t even remember where the Impala was. The sun was rising quickly, taking away the chill from the night and moving up on the list of stifling dry heat. She knew it wasn’t feasible to stay out here all day. She’d pass out from dehydration and the last thing she really wanted was to be carried around again.
She took another look at Dean and figured that in his state, if he could stand up on his own two feet, than so could she. Sully wasn’t weak. Not that she really believed that, but Sully was good at pretending. All she had to do was play the part at least until they were out of there. Until she was away from Dean.
Her legs were wobbly on the uneven sand. The world spun and Sully staggered. She felt Dean grip her around the arm. After taking a steadying breath, the world evened out. She eased her arm from his grip and gave him a small smile. “I’m okay, Cowboy.”
She knew that he probably didn’t believe it. Sully wouldn’t if she were in his place. Her stomach was tight maybe with nerves, maybe because of the food she ate earlier. Either way she wasn’t really in the mood to eat. Dean would probably press the issue. She sipped the water he gave her for good measure, hoping that would appease him a bit.
“I can eat once we get to the car,” She told him. Sully couldn’t let him carry the brunt of this burden. Not anymore. She had to be a help, not a hindrance. If she could do that, they could get out of there quicker and Dean could finally get some much needed rest.
“How far out is it?” She put a hand on her forehead to shield herself from the suns glare and looked out across the vast area, wondering if she could see it from where she was standing. Her arm shook from the position it was in and she quickly dropped it. “We should probably move soon before the sun is over head at noon.”
Her voice was hoarse and scratchy and not nearly as confident as she would have liked. She was trying though. That’s all she could do. Hopefully she didn’t collapse in the middle of the desert. Dean didn’t look like he had the strength to haul her up if she did.
Sully was trying to be as nonchalant as possible. If she acted like it was no big deal, hopefully Dean would think she was capable. Hopefully they would make it. Then when she was stronger, she’d come back and burn this place to the ground.
Post by ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED on Mar 25, 2011 7:19:03 GMT -8
“I can eat once we get to the car,”
“If you think you’re walking to the car, you can eat now.” He pressed, picking up the leftover jerky and handing it to her as though it was some kind of ultimatum. There was a sense that she would rather beat him around the head with it, but he didn’t back down.
“It’s about a mile trek north over uneven ground, which is probably gonna take you an hour at least. You need to fuel up before we go wandering off into no man‘s land. Unless you want me to carry your ass when you pass out from exhaustion that is.”
One good thing about already knowing Sully was Dean knew exactly when her pride would work against her. There was no way she would willingly let him carry her like an invalid, she was far too stubborn to admit she needed the help, so if he could use that fear of being the weak link against her to get her to eat, then yeah, he’d stoop to blackmail.
“I’m not asking you to eat the whole packet, just get something in your stomach, you look like you need it.” To help encourage her, he pulled out a strip of dried meat and shoved it in his own mouth to chew while he handed her the rest and began packing up a couple of things that he wanted to take with them to the car, first and foremost being the shotgun.
“The Impala has AC right?”
Dean chuckled.
“Yeah, it’s got AC. Makes a rattling noise when you turn it on ever since I put legos in the vents when I was a kid.”
The promise of some cool air was probably a little over-exaggerated. The Impala had air vents that could blow air around the car, but it didn’t necessarily mean that it was cool when the inside temperature of the car was probably over a hundred degrees anyway. It would be like sitting in a baking oven expecting a hand held fan to make you feel cool relief when all it would actually do is direct hot air at your face. He figured he’d mention that though when they got there, having already decided on a better way to give Sully some shade while he worked on the engine.
Taking the water bottle from Sully to finish off the last quarter, he headed towards the entrance of the bunker, gathering up a second, empty bottle on his way.
“I’m just gonna refill these, then we’ll get moving. You sure you’re gonna be able to walk?”
After eyeing the jerky for a moment, Sully begrudgingly took it from Dean and took a bite. She was worried that if she ate, she wouldn’t be able to hold her it down. Her stomach was mix between hunger and sharp pains. That was something she had become accustomed to from the small portions they gave to her when they wanted to.
“Happy?” She mumbled. Sully sounded more like a petulant child than her normal stubborn self. This wasn’t going to be over any sooner if Sully made trouble. Or if she continued whining and dwelling on herself. Sully was used to pain. Maybe her father had been preparing her for this. Not that he could have known it was going to happen, but maybe it would have made Sully feel a little bit better to know that she wasn’t so worthless that both of her parents felt the need to destroy her.
The jerky went down hard in her stomach making her grimace. Sully took a deep breath using all her will power to keep it down.
“Yeah, it’s got AC. Makes a rattling noise when you turn it on ever since I put legos in the vents when I was a kid.”
Sully shook her head. Dean always had these odd little stories from when he was a kid. He had horror stories just like her, but he definitely had more good memories. She envied him for that. Actually Sully envied Dean for a lot of reasons. He had a brother who he would die for and would probably do the same for him. A girl to go home too. Dean had a family. Even if it was dysfunctional it was more than Sully ever had since she was a little girl, too young to remember most of the good memories.
“I’ll take it.” She tried to give Dean a reassuring smile but it turned more into a grimace as she took another bite of jerky. “Anything’s better than the stagnant heat and dank smell of sweat and blood.” Mostly it had been her blood. She pushed the thought away and took a deep breath full of sultry desert air.
“I’m just gonna refill these, then we’ll get moving. You sure you’re gonna be able to walk?”
The realistic and smart answer was no. It was getting hotter by the minute. Sully had been locked in a dark room for a while and the glare was already making her eyes ache. She wished she had a pair of sunglasses…or new eyes. A new body. A time machine would even be good. Then she could go back and prevent all this from happening.
She brought her squinted gaze to Dean. “I can do this.” She hoped. It would be entirely too pathetic and embarrassing if she collapsed in the sand. Sully was about to say she’d dealt with worse, but she wasn’t so sure that was true anymore. “I can do this.”
After getting about half the jerky down, Sully looked at the rest of it with a sigh. She felt like she’d just stuffed herself on an all you can eat buffet. She pocketed the jerky and leaned against the warming rock, sweat trickled down her back. Sully was not used to strong heat anymore. It was going to be tough, but she just needed to get out of here. Once Dean thought he’d accomplished his job, Sully could go her own way and handle this on her own. One way or the other.
“Go get the water.” She glanced at the entrance to the bunker. “I’ll wait here.”
Post by ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED on Mar 25, 2011 12:32:30 GMT -8
Sleep seemed to have done wonders for Sully though he was aware she was still dangerously undernourished and weak, they’d have to take it slow and steady rather than rush ahead. Perhaps wonders wasn’t the right word to describe it, but she definitely had a little more of her usual self about her after a night’s worth of rest. Dean on the other hand, felt like a zombie, shuffling along down in the bunker, allowing his exhaustion to show where Sully couldn’t see him. It was hard to pinpoint why he felt so rough, he’d gone night’s without sleep before, in fact he spent more of his life in the dark than he did in the daylight, so really staying awake all night shouldn’t have left him so out of sorts.
When he got to the bathroom, a place he felt so familiar with now, he tilted his head to see into the remnants of the shattered mirror, wondering how bad his eye really looked after Sully’s reflexive boxing had caught him off guard.
Great…that doesn’t look red or anything…awesome…
No wonder Sully was looking at him so oddly. Ideally, a bag of ice would have brought the colour down a few shades, easing the throb around his eye socket, but since they were out in desert, that luxury was off the menu. Water, on the other hand, had so far been in plentiful supply, but when Dean went to refill the plastic bottles, he was sorely disappointed by a tap that’s flow rapidly decreased to a dribble before stopping altogether.
Oh, what now?
Frowning in annoyance, Dean turned the faucet on and off again, trying both taps to see if he could get water out of either of them. The only response he got was a rattling shudder of the pipes and then nothing.
“Son of a bitch.”
Dropping both bottles in the sink, he brought his hands up to his temples and tried massaging away the building headache, biting off the curses he wanted to yell up at God for his consistent interference with anything remotely going right since Dean had brought Sully back to life.
There was no water, which he really should have anticipated being as they were relying on the supplies of an underground bunker. It wasn’t as though they were hooked up to the mains, sooner or later the water had to run out and now he felt like an idiot for letting Sully run the shower for as long as she had the day before. He’d just gotten so distracted by everything that he didn’t think. But the water had to have been stored somewhere, didn’t it? There must have been a tank hidden away, with any luck he could find it and figure out how to refill it again.
Sure enough, when he traced the pipes back along the ceiling, they led him to a discretely hidden panel in one of the corridor walls which he quickly figured out could be slid to one side to reveal a dark little hollow in the walls of the bunker. Behind it was a large cylindrical tank about as tall as Dean, obviously used to store the water they’d been using. Next to it was a pump handle that was attached to a pipe that ran straight down into the ground, most likely to some sort of underground well. It made sense that whoever had built the bunker would situate it somewhere they could get a fresh supply of water.
Using the light from the corridor to see what he was doing, he began pumping the lever to get water moving up through the pipes, rapidly realising after a few up and down strokes that it wasn’t going to be as easy as it looked. The entire mechanism was old and rusted, it probably hadn’t been used much before Sully was brought out here, and the effort to pump it made his heart race. He was out of breath after a couple of minutes and had to stop when dizziness hit him, figuring that he would have enough water by now anyway for their journey out to the Impala.
His arm throbbed but he ignored it, stumbling back out to the bathroom to check whether or not the sweat had been worth it and thankfully, when he turned the tap back on again, water lazily trickled out into the bottle he’d put underneath it.
Finally, something works…but damn, is my heart thudding…that’s not normal…
When the two bottles were full, he capped them, tilted his head down to drink straight from the tap and then rubbed the sweat from his brow with a towel, heading back up to meet Sully again when he felt he could without panting like a racehorse. At least he had a plausible excuse for taking so long.
“Damn water tank was empty, had to refill it by hand.” He stuffed the bottles into his duffel and then slung that over his shoulder and picked up the shotgun. Carefully stepping over the trip wire hooked up to the grenade, he began leading them in the right direction, staying close to Sully should she need him to lean on.
The sand shifted unevenly under Sully’s feet making her grunt with effort and from the pain of it. Her muscles were taking a toll and her ribs were shifting this way and that. It wasn’t a good thing since they were cracked and broken. The sweat multiplied from the exertion and the heat. Christ it was getting hotter. It felt like someone stuck her in an oven and put it on broil. It was sweltering.
It didn’t take long before her feet began to feel like dead weight, sinking into the sand. The tiny grains added to the weight when she went to lift her feet up. It seemed like the world itself was dead set against her walking. Her mouth was already drying out and her breath was quick.
For some reason, Sully felt like she should apologize to Dean again for being such a burden. Christ she’d never apologized so much in her life. Hell she’d made a habit of not being sorry for what she did. Sully used to avoid apologies at all cost, turning her guilt into anger and lashing out with it. It was just how she was. Or at least it was how she used to be. Sully didn’t know who or what she was anymore.
Dean was close to her and she knew it was because he was worried about her face planting in a mound of sand, but she was trying not to be any more of a burden on him than she already had been. He didn’t owe her this. He was suffering because of it too. Suffering because of a girl who was too far broken to be put back together. Dean had enough of his own wounds, his own memories, and now because of her, he was adding to that list. It wasn’t right. Not because of her.
They hadn’t gotten very far from the bunker when Sully fell to her knees. She was out of breath and in a lot of pain. Sully wrapped her good arm protectively around her ribs and leaned back on her heels.
Post by ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED on Mar 29, 2011 10:04:39 GMT -8
Trekking like this was going to take some time. In fact a lot of time, because when Sully went down, Dean cast his gaze back to the little lump of rocks that indicated where the entrance to the bunker was, finding it dishearteningly still within easy sight. He’d hoped she’d be able to make it further than that before she needed a break. Apparently he’d miscalculated.
“If you don’t think you can manage this, we can go back.” He suggested, taking the duffel off his back so that he could get some air to the sticky sweat patch that was hidden underneath it. Rummaging, he pulled out a now too warm bottle of water and uncapped the lid, crouching to offer it to Sully.
“I don’t want to leave you alone back there though, yet I have a feeling you won’t let me drag you on a stretcher, will you.”
The sunburn on the back of his neck from the previous day was on fire again, making him wish they had water to spare so that he could pour some over his head. By now his fever had climbed high enough for him to wonder if it wasn’t the morning sun that was generating this air stealing heat, but rather his own body radiating out like a burning star all on its own. If he’d had any bacon, he would have tried to cook it on the back of his neck just to see how hot he really was. Plus, then he’d have some real food to stop his empty stomach from growling at him.
Sully felt like shit in so many ways. The fact that they’d barely gotten very far was disheartening and reality slapped Sully hard in the face. She couldn’t do this. There was nothing for her anymore. Maybe Lyle if she ever found him, but if her mother and her father hated her this much, what would Lyle think of her. Sully was starting to think she gave new meaning to the world worthless. She couldn’t walk, could barely use the bathroom on her own, but she’d be damned if she let someone help her with that.
Now she was holding Dean back. Sully was what was standing between him and being free of this place. She went back to the thought that this wasn’t his burden to bear. Maybe it was only supposed to be hers. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to leave this place.
Sully wanted to chug the water Dean had given her, but it was warm, and heavy in her stomach. Christ, was she ever going to be able to hold anything down again? She was frustrated and tired, and honestly, she just didn’t want to fight anymore.
Shaking her head, Sully looked down to the sand. “I’m tired.” She told him honestly. “Just go. Get to the car, fix it. Go back to your family.” Sully closed her eyes against the sweltering heat and the brightness from the sun that was burning her eyes. “I think I’m meant to die out here, Cowboy.”
Everything to this point had been working against Dean’s rescue. It had been a constant struggle, a constant battle. Just like the rest of her life. The weariness, was just too much for her to take. She didn’t have the fight. For a moment she tried to pretend that she could come back from this. There was no coming back. Even if there was, Sully wasn’t sure she wanted too.
Post by ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED on Apr 8, 2011 4:14:58 GMT -8
“Just go. Get to the car, fix it. Go back to your family.”
“Yeah, I plan to, but I’m not leaving you here when I do.” Dean stood up again, moving so that his shadow would fall across Sully, maybe give her a little bit of relief from the heat while she gathered her strength. The climbing temperature was beginning to make him feel sickly, he couldn’t imagine how it was making her feel. Leaving her here to cook was simply not an option. She was either going back to the bunker, though he knew she wouldn’t go back inside, so that was sort of pointless, which left the only other option in that he had to get her to the car instead. Unfortunately, it appeared she wasn’t following his logic.
“I think I’m meant to die out here, Cowboy.”
“No, you’re not. C’mon.” He hooked a hand under her good shoulder to prompt her to get up but she wasn’t cooperating and although she had lost weight, getting her to get up was tantamount to trying to force a mule to move when it didn’t want to. Sully had had enough and was giving up.
“Get up, c’mon. We’ve got a way to go yet, you’ve had a rest, time to get moving.”
He crouched again, pulling her arm over his shoulder to get her back to her feet that way, but her stubbornness kept dragging them both down. She was digging her heels in, accepting fate that Dean didn’t believe she deserved.
“Help me out here Sully, we don’t have time for this.”
One last heave and so help him he really was going to drag her if she didn’t put some effort in, but it tugged too much on the wounds on his chest, strain making him feel dizzy enough to sink down to his knees too, depositing Sully in a heap again beside. Her tone said it all. She didn’t want his help.
“Just go. It’s better this way.”
“No.” Dean panted, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his left arm, annoyed that she wouldn’t listen to him.
Pain in the ass…stubborn woman…alright, fine…you wanna play it like that?
Without saying another word, Dean fell back and sat in the sand on his ass, stretching his legs out in front of him and folding his arms like a five year old that was refusing to budge on principal. If Sully was anything like he was, and Dean was pretty sure that she was, then she wouldn’t allow him to simply give up too for the sake of her. It was the kind of emotional blackmail that Sam was good at, making Dean do something to help himself so that he didn’t have to feel guilty for Sam suffering right along side him. It was a low blow, but he didn't care. Sully was not dying when there was a chance he could save her. He had to save her.
Why was he so stubborn? Why wouldn’t Dean just get up and leave Sully to her death. Didn’t he realize that this was how it was supposed to be? Every effort they’d made to leave this place had knocked them on their ass. It was the story of her life and Sully was truly tired of fighting. What was the purpose anymore? No one cared about her. Sully had fought, bartered, or bargained for every breath she’d ever taken. She was done paying such a high price just to live.
Then Dean squatted down in the sand. She rolled her eyes, head lolling to the side to look at him. What was he doing? Dean had a family, friends, a life worth living. There was no way he was just going to sit here and throw it all away. Not for Sully, especially not for Sully. He had to have realized by now that she simply wasn’t worth it. Even Dean was starting to pay his dues for just being around her.
Sully sighed wearily. “You’re not going to stay here, Cowboy.” She shook her head. The game he was playing was obvious. He was bluffing. Dean wasn’t going to die for her. Not like this. Not when she was just giving up. Dean was a better person than that. He wasn’t going to simply leave his family because Sully didn’t have the strength.
“Go,” She said quietly at first. Even the strength to fight had withered from her body.
Only Dean made no effort to move. He was acting like he wasn’t going to move unless she did. Sully rolled her eyes. He’d leave eventually….
Wouldn’t he?
Dean was a loyal person. He was a twisted boy scout with an odd sense of honor. Maybe since he had been granted a second chance, been ripped out of hell, Dean thought he had to make up for a lot of things. Maybe that was true, but not with worth.
“Just go!” She yelled it, the desert wind sweeping it quickly away. Her brain bounced off her skull from the effort and she groaned. Putting a hand to her head, Sully closed her eyes. “Please.” It was soft, pleading. “Just go, Cowboy.”
Post by ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED on Apr 10, 2011 16:06:09 GMT -8
”You’re not going to stay here, Cowboy.”
“Yes I am.” Replied Dean, just a simply as that. If there was one trait he had in abundance, it was determination and he was solidly determined not to move an inch until Sully got back to her feet and started moving again.
“If you can just sit here, then so can I and we’ll both be stubborn until the vultures come and start picking at our bones.”
”Go.”
“Get up and come with me and I will.” He said plainly, rubbing the sweat from his eyebrow with the back of one hand.
“Just go!”
Dean shook his head because no, he was not moving anywhere just because she yelled at him. Admittedly, he did need a little bit of a break himself, his body was weary and his bones ached, but sitting out in the heat was not doing his fever any favours. The sweat was practically running down his back like a waterfall under his sticky wet t-shirt. They both needed shade and he started to wonder whether or not he had it in him to carry Sully over his shoulder like a roll of carpet if she continued to be so self sacrificing.
“Please. Just go, Cowboy.”
God, he hated that she sounded so desperate.
“Do you really think I could just leave you here, now?” He snapped back, slightly offended that she imagined he could abandon her like her family had. She obviously had no idea how far Dean could go for other people, especially those he considered friends.
“You called me remember. You left a message on my phone asking for back up before you disappeared. Clearly you needed help and I know you, it would have taken a lot for you to ask me for it, so I couldn't ignore it. I looked for you for months, for months when everyone else said you were probably dead. I tracked you down to the middle of no-where, I slept in my car and ate crappy gas station snacks day in day out, just hoping that somewhere out here there’d be a clue to what happened to you. I put everything else on hold, even the goddamn apocalypse, and when I finally find you, you’re barely alive. But I never, not once, gave up on you, so you don’t get to give up like this just because it’s too hard! Don’t you dare throw your life away now when I’m right here offering to help you.”
He’d started out feeling angry with her, but by the end of his speech he could almost feel the emotion threatening to steal his voice away and though he’d kept his eyes firmly focused on hers the entire time, now he had to turn away and take a breath. It felt like he was losing her and he didn’t know what else to do.
Dean was so god damn stubborn! He was pissing Sully off. She felt that familiar wave of anger that she had clung to for so long. It’s what kept her going when she was a little girl. It’s what kept her alive and gave her the fuel and fire to survive.
Why didn’t he just leave like everyone else? Why was he still here? Sully knew he would leave eventually. Everyone did. It’s just how the world worked when it came to her. She had accepted a long time ago that she was meant to be alone.
The fact that she had called Dean in the first place had been a lot for her. She listened to his heated words, gaze on the shifting sand. Her gut clenched with guilt. Honestly, she never expected him to sacrifice so much for her. They’d only been on one hunt and they’d almost killed each other in the process. Why did he consider her a friend when she knew for a fact he’d been happy when Sully had gotten out of his hair?
Still, she was in his debt. Something inside of her softened by the end of his speech. A small spark making her think maybe she was worth it. Either that or he was playing some horrible, cruel joke. There was that bit of nagging doubt again. Either way, she owed Dean, and she realized he wasn’t going to move unless she did. Whatever honor system Dean went by would not let him just walk away and leave her to die of dehydration and heat stroke in the middle of the desert.
Sully didn’t trust her voice. Her throat was tight and she wanted so desperately to believe that someone had actually cared about her. To what end though? When this was over Dean would go back to his family and she’d be hunting alone like she always did. Sully didn’t have a family. Not anymore. She realized that. The day her mother left had been the first domino to fall. The ripple effect was shattering.
Grinding her teeth, Sully forced herself to her feet. Her body protested the movement, but she ignored, reverting back to times when she’d been injured on a hunt. She bit back a pained grunt and started trudging through the sand. Her muscles burned with the exertion and she felt the sweat slipping from her pores and down her skin. The sun was drawing the moisture from her body and quickly drying it on her skin.
If Dean spoke she didn’t hear him. She chose to ignore him. Sully had to focus. It was the only way she was going to be able to make it. One step after another. The sand swallowed her feet with each step, almost as if she were quicksand giving her calves and thighs a workout. She stumbled a few times, feeling Dean’s hand on her arm to keep her from face planting. Sully didn’t jerk away from the help, but when her feet were steady again, she pulled away gently, not wanting to use any more energy than she had to before trudging along.
Sully sure as hell wasn’t doing this for herself. If it had been her choice she would have stayed back there in the sand and died. She would have let the vultures pick at her flesh. It couldn’t be any worse than what her own family had already done to her. Death was a welcoming thought, but not now. Not yet.
Dean would never forgive himself if Sully died on his watch. He considered her a friend. That was almost a foreign concept to Sully. She’d never had anyone she could trust or rely on. That’s what friends did, wasn’t it? She’d hadn’t had a friend in so long she wasn’t sure how these things were supposed to work. All she knew was she couldn’t let him down. Sully couldn’t just lie down and die. Dean would get over it eventually, but the thought of causing him pain when he had done so much for her just didn’t sit well with Sully.
By the time they reached the Impala Sully’s body was in pure agony. Her skin felt like it had been set on fire from head to toe. Her muscles were tight with strain. Her shoulder was screaming and her ribs felt like they were attacking her nervous system so that she felt nothing other than pure, intense pain.
Sully went to lean against the Impala, but the scorching sun had heated up the metal enough to burn her hand. She jerked away, giving a soft cry, before stumbling back. She was spent. Sully had done what Dean had asked her. She made it to the Impala, but she didn’t have the strength to do anything else. She was tired and in pain. Her mouth was dry from thirst and before Sully knew what was happening, her eyes rolled into the back of the head and she went down, hard.