Dean Winchester sat in the driverâs seat of the Impala, fingers drumming against the wheel. The old radio hummed a classic rock tune, but it sounded distant, like an echo from another life. Sam was in the passenger seat, eyes glued to some old book on lore, murmuring about their next hunt. Another job. Another monster. Another day in the life of the Winchesters.
Except there was no book. No murmuring. No Sam.
Deanâs chest tightened. He forced himself to glance sideways, and the seat was empty. It always was.
He swallowed hard and gripped the wheel tighter. âDamn kid, always leaving me to do all the work.â His voice was rough, strained, but the joke felt familiar, something to fill the silence. He turned his eyes back to the road, refusing to look again.
If he didnât look, maybe Sam was still there.
They had a job tonight. A wendigo, deep in the Minnesota woods. But Dean couldnât shake the feeling crawling up his spine, the one that had been there for years, whispering in the back of his mind. Something was wrong.
Still, he ignored it. He had work to do.
The cabin was dark, rotten wood creaking under his boots as he moved through the abandoned place. His flashlight flickeredâtypicalâand the shadows seemed too thick, too deep. Sam was right behind him, gun raised, always ready.
Deanâs breath came faster. âYou see anything?â
And then, the shadows shifted. A figure stood across the room, barely visible in the dim light.
Butâno, that wasnât possible. Dad had been dead for years. Hadnât he?
John stepped forward, his expression unreadable. âDean.â His voice was heavy, something between exhaustion and sorrow. âItâs time to stop.â
Dean frowned. âStop what?â His grip tightened on the knife in his hand.
Johnâs eyes flickered to the empty space beside Dean. The one Dean refused to acknowledge.
Deanâs pulse pounded. âNo, no, you donât get to do this. You donât get to act like Iâm crazy. Samâs right here.â
Johnâs face twisted with something painful. âDean.â A beat of silence. âSam died when he was six.â
The words hit Dean like a shotgun blast to the chest.
No. No, that wasnât right.
They had been hunting together for years.
Theyâd fought demons. Theyâd saved people. Theyâdâ
His breath caught. His mind reeled.
Memories surfacedâones he had buried deep, hidden beneath layers of fabricated hunts and imagined victories. He saw a hospital room, sterile white walls. His motherâs sobs. His fatherâs quiet, broken prayers.
Sam had been sick. Too sick. Too small. Too young.
There was no supernatural. No demons. No monsters.
Just a little boy who never got the chance to grow up.
And a big brother who couldnât let him go.
Dean stumbled back, the weight of the truth crushing down on him. His hands trembled, his body shaking as the cabin around him flickeredâmelted.
The Impala. The hunts. The road.
All of itâjust his mind trying to keep Sam alive.
A sob broke from his chest. He hadnât been saving people. He hadnât been hunting things.
He had been running. Running from the truth.
And now, there was nowhere left to run.
John took another step forward, his voice soft. âCome home, Dean.â
Dean squeezed his eyes shut. He could hear Samâs voice, distant now, fading like a dream upon waking.
And when he opened them againâ
The cabin was gone. The gun in his hand was gone.
He was standing in the middle of an empty road, the cold wind biting at his skin.
Dean took a shuddering breath.
And for the first time in yearsâ
He had no idea where to go.
(I won't lie I'm a horrible writer so i had a little help)
@sams-princess-hair @dark-dragon-8