sammessiah: CHALLENGE CONTEST

Little Yo (

dreamlittleyo) wrote in

sammessiah,
@ 2008-08-22 17:46:00

Entry tags:

announcements

CHALLENGE CONTEST
New episodes are drawing nigh, oh loyal faithfuls, with all the hope and promise our Dark Lord Sammeth has to offer. We've spent the summer wondering. Just how badass will the demon jesus be this season? The world wants to know!

So a challenge, to stir things up. No spoilers allowed, based solely on where we left off with the season 3 finale and whatever powers of precog you may possess, write the first episode of Season 4 in 500 words or less. Make up a title for it (if you know the episode's real title, pretend you don't, more hijynx that way). Make it a genuine guess or, an idea so out-there it couldn't possibly happen, or hell, somewhere in between. Make it serious or satire, dialog or description, whatever format you're feeling.

Here are the rules:
(1) No S4 spoilers, even so far as the title for the real episode. We don't want to ruin the fun for those who have somehow succeeded at avoiding any and all hints so far.
(2) Word count maximum: 500. No minimum.
(3) Submit your episode via comment to this post. With a 500 word limit this shouldn't pose any problems.
(4) Only one episode entry per participant. (You can resubmit, so long as I know which entry I'm including in the final lineup).
(5) A title is not required, but would sure entertain me. Must be completely made up, no reference to actual S4 titles is permitted.
(6) Go ahead and cross-post your entry elsewhere. So long as I have a copy here in the comments, you can do whatever you like with it.

Deadline: Submit your episode by the end of Friday, September 5th.
(If you submit an episode, and subsequently write a new one that you would rather have count as your submission, that's totally fine. So long as you're before the above deadline, just let me know you're changing it up.)
ALSO NOTE: "by the end of Friday" means in your own timezone. I won't round stuff up until the next day.

What happens next:
Next, winners get selected!

Poll #1246692 The Very Important Hypothetical Episode Contest Question
This poll is closed.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

How do YOU think winners should be decided?

View Answers

By putting it to a poll, open only to members of sammessiah. Results viewable to everyone.
7 (18.9%)

By putting it to a poll, open only to members of sammessiah. Results locked from view.
6 (16.2%)

By putting it to a poll, open to any LJ user. Results viewable to everyone.
8 (21.6%)

By putting it to a poll, open to any LJ user. Results locked from view.
7 (18.9%)

By putting it in the hands of dreamlittleyo, who will decide via a mix of caprice, personal preference and whatever she thinks will be the most fun to illustrate a complicated equation balancing only the most important factors.
9 (24.3%)

Winners will be announced Friday September 12th, whatever the method chosen.

Prizes!
Two winners will receive victory banners and bragging rights. One additional winner will get a banner and bragging rights PLUS an illustration of their episode. Because I like drawing illustrations. I get to choose what element(s) to illustrate, but it will come from the winning episode.

— // — \\ —// — \\ —

So. yes. Rock out. You can start submitting any time after you've read all the rules.

(Post a new comment)

	mass_hipgnosis 2008-08-27 02:09 pm UTC (link)
	first? no way. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	dreamlittleyo 2008-08-28 12:36 am UTC (link)
	Yes way! I'm having to resist the urge to read all these until I've got my own put together (because no WAY will I be able to ignore other people's brilliant ideas), even though my own won't be in the running. Weeeeh! (Reply to this) (Parent)

Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire

mass_hipgnosis
2008-08-27 02:27 pm UTC (link)

::The learning curve is insane.::

Well Ava, when you're right, you're right, you murmur, as the shovel squishes and the stink of decomposition fills the air. The year in the ground has not been any kinder to Ava than it was to Andy, or Jake, or any of the others you've managed to find. Your teeth flash white like a wolf on the hunt as you bend to uncover her body. You pluck two hairs from the soggy, rotting mess of her head, tuck them carefully away. Collect a fistful of grave dirt stained with blood and other nasty things.

You begin to hum under your breath. I put a spell on you...because you're mine... You're in Cold Oak after dark on Samhain and the ghosts trail you like supplicants, remaining a respectful distance away.

It's so nice to be popular, you purr, and when the moonlight flashes on your eyes they are oilslick-black.

Your sacred circle is traced in chalk first, then your own blood, and the grave dirt of the demon-tainted dead. The other children like you, but now there's only you, and you will rip your way into Hell to find your brother, or upend it like a laundry bag and shake 'till he comes out. Either one may mean Hell on Earth and you don't particularly care.

You would have opened the Devil's Trap, but Ellen and Bobby witched it shut and wouldn't give you the spell. Turns out, Ellen is impressively witty and stoic under torture.

The hair of Azazel's special children-including your own, is mixed into the cup with wine and more of your own blood. You feel lightheaded from the first sip; blood loss or power or both.

You strike the earth with the heel of your left hand and feel it shudder, cringe from your touch.

Knock knock.

Ready or not, here I come.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire monicawoe 2008-08-28 02:55 am UTC (link)
	Very nice. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire -

hime2emeh, 2008-09-04 02:27 pm UTC

Re: Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire -

mass_hipgnosis, 2008-09-08 12:40 am UTC

Re: Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire -

mass_hipgnosis, 2008-09-08 12:39 am UTC

	Re: Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire samidha 2008-09-07 02:16 pm UTC (link)
	This is so cool. And you also have the coolest title EVAR. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire -

mass_hipgnosis, 2008-09-08 12:41 am UTC

Re: Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire -

samidha, 2008-09-08 01:05 am UTC

	Re: Title: You Plant A Demon Seed, You Raise A Flower Of Fire creepylicious 2008-09-09 10:55 pm UTC (link)
	Okay...I just really, really, really like evil/creepy/insane Sam. Turns out, Ellen is impressively witty and stoic under torture. Somehow this line shows all the desperation more than anything else...I love it. (Do I make any sense?!) (Reply to this) (Parent)

Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come

egoteprovoco
2008-08-27 10:43 pm UTC (link)

One moment Dean is in hell suffering the torments of the damned, the next he is in Disneyland. On the carrousel. Riding around and around as the calliope plays “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.”

Before he can get his bearings, before his brain can process anything beyond “merry-go-round” and “giant pink castle,” the horses glide to a stop. When he climbs down, Sam is waiting for him, smiling. Sam hugs him and digs his chin into Dean’s shoulder like two arms just aren’t enough to hold him in place.

Sam’s still grinning and prattling on about how much he’s missed Dean and how good it is to have him back when the incongruity of the situation of the situation really sinks in. The carrousel has resumed spinning happily behind him, but there’s no one to ride it. As far as Dean can tell, there’s not another soul in the whole park. “Sam,” he asks, “what the hell is going on?”

Sam’s expression changes from joyous to shifty in the blink of an eye. “There have been some…changes…since you left,” he evades, “but don’t worry. You’ll be perfectly safe here. There’s a train that goes around the whole park. Iron rails. Walt sure knew what he was doing. And it’s the happiest place on Earth, right?”

The general sense of uneasiness that has been teasing Dean since he woke up here congeals into a lead weight in his stomach. “That’s not much of an answer.”

For a moment Sam looks even more uncomfortable, but he shakes it off. “It’s the war,” he shrugs, “It’s been threatening for a while. Now it’s here. You’ll be fine, though. I’ve made sure of it.” Sam wanders over to a nearby cart and grabs a couple of Mickey-shaped ice cream bars. He tosses one to Dean, and then sets about biting the ears off his own.

“Now, make yourself at home,” he tells Dean, “If you don’t mind, I have some business to take care of in Los Angeles.”

“No way, Sammy. I’m coming with you.”

Sam tilts his head and examines Dean as if he’s some kind of puzzle. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, “I didn’t mean to phrase that as a question. You will stay here – where you’re safe. I didn’t bring you back from the dead just so you could get yourself killed again. I’ll be back later.”

Dean trails Sam as he walks toward the front of the park, but Sam ignores his arguments. To his surprise, he is stopped abruptly when he tries to pass the train station. Apparently, the iron rails do more than keep demons out; they keep him in. As Sam strides through the turnstiles, the smoky forms lurking in the twilight clear a path for him – or maybe they cower from him. That night, from the castle’s highest balcony, Dean can see the light of a massive fire burning in the northwest. He thinks that it’s probably Los Angeles, or what’s left of it.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come blincolin 2008-08-28 08:10 am UTC (link)
	Oh, damn. Ouch. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come hime2emeh 2008-09-04 02:54 pm UTC (link)
	oh gosh! can someone said ironic? i mean, that was just wonderful disney...well, twisted disney but still, he! AND Dean in GIANT PINK CASTLE!!! only he'll be belting Pour some sugar on me... is getting impropriate thoughts in DISNEY setting Lordy... (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

samidha, 2008-09-05 03:27 pm UTC

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

egoteprovoco, 2008-09-14 06:14 am UTC

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come frodobagginsz 2008-09-14 03:48 am UTC (link)
	::::Shivers::: Wow, the imagery of something so completely innocent as Disneyland in the setting of Armageddon is beyond creepy. Bravo! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

egoteprovoco, 2008-09-14 06:10 am UTC

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come briethehippo 2008-10-16 07:02 am UTC (link)
	Oh, damn. I love that last paragraph so much!! (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come

dreamlittleyo
2008-12-24 02:00 am UTC (link)

Hi! *waves* I know it's been ages now, but I'm almost finished illustrating this lovely piece of yours, and I had a question/request: basically wondering, would it be okay if I reposted your episode when I put the art up? The art is of specific images, and I think will stand stronger if immediately juxtaposed with the words. If you'd rather I not repost it, that is totally fine, I'll just link back to this comment. But I promise not to muck up your paragraph breaks or anything if you let me. ;p

Just let me know one way or the other, you can PM me with your answer if you'd prefer.

Thank you so much for your patience!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

egoteprovoco, 2008-12-24 06:19 am UTC

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

dreamlittleyo, 2008-12-24 06:28 am UTC

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

dreamlittleyo, 2009-01-18 11:10 pm UTC

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come roxymissrose 2009-01-18 05:51 pm UTC (link)
	Wow!! That was like biting into a sweet chocolate truffle and finding out the filling is terror. Beautiful! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

egoteprovoco, 2009-01-19 02:10 am UTC

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come delphinapterus 2009-01-18 07:15 pm UTC (link)
	I really like the sense of dreaminess in this piece. It's unsettling from the start but its the end as Sam walks out past the not quite seen demons that it gets chilling. I love the idea of Sam keeping Dean safe in Disney land and just not getting it that Dean might ever object to having to stay there. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

egoteprovoco, 2009-01-19 02:12 am UTC

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come darthmokona 2009-01-18 07:45 pm UTC (link)
	Chucked over here by dreamlittleyo. Your version of the Demon!Jesus is amazing. This was cracktastic and made me want to laugh at some parts, but was really depressing towards the end. Urgh. I can't do maximum word counts. So nice job keeping it brief--you have skills there because some of us (like me) are incapable. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

egoteprovoco, 2009-01-19 02:14 am UTC

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come pinkfinity 2009-01-19 01:50 am UTC (link)
	Oh, wow. And I can't even articulate how bizarre it is reading this at Disney World with the castle in eyesight (if I stand on the balcony and squint at the reflection in the windows of the building next door). Fan-bloody-tastic and of course demons can't get beyond the ticketing area! Here via dreamlittleyo, btw. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

egoteprovoco, 2009-01-19 02:17 am UTC

	Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come sadelyrate 2009-01-20 10:39 am UTC (link)
	This is happy-making all by itself; the sense of something being irrevocably wrong in the, presumably, happiest and most innocent of all places in the world... a child's dream the adults can see just as a nightmare. Just lovely. You've succeeded wonderfully in installing that sense of the world being just a tad off its axis. Thank You. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: Title: Some Day My Prince Will Come -

saavikam77, 2009-03-22 11:46 pm UTC

Raise A Little Hell

angstpuppy
2008-08-31 04:47 pm UTC (link)

Bobby told him not to do it and Sam had just enough of the old Sammy left in him to think twice before he slit Bobby's throat. He needed the blood to open the path that would lead him to Dean.

Dean saw the last of that old person Sam had been bleed out his eyes when he told him that Bobby had been known to raise a little hell in his time. He was simply fulfilling his potential.

Dean didn't know wether Sam was talking about himself or Bobby. Didn't care either after he started screaming louder than he ever had in hell.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Raise A Little Hell creepylicious 2008-09-09 11:01 pm UTC (link)
	I should just slap you for killing BOBBY! (oh Bobby...sniffs) But I will not because this is brilliant. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	tj_smartz 2008-09-02 01:28 pm UTC (link)
	claps happily What a brilliant idea! I love love love what we have already. tags (Reply to this)

Moscow

creepylicious
2008-09-04 08:01 pm UTC (link)

So, you knew how it would be because you’ve been here before. Done that, seen it all.
That of course doesn’t make it easier, doesn’t mean you’re prepared. You aren’t because hope is a bitch. Defeat isn’t a concept your family understands well – it isn’t something you can deal with very good. (The concept of sacrificing you fucking embrace!) Usually it’s a simple thing: Something hurts you, you kill it. Worked for your dad, worked for Dean…works for you.
But you aren’t prepared, weren’t prepared to lose, to lose the fight, to lose Dean.

The cell phone rings. You don’t have to check the caller-ID to know it’s Bobby. Nowadays it’s always Bobby. You don’t have anyone else left.
You don’t want to talk to him and you know he’ll leave another message. He’s working on it. You know he does. And you, you aren’t dealing with Dean’s death.
“We can’t bring him back…right now.” Bobby says. He cornered you and you want to leash out, scream but it’s Bobby. You still don’t want to listen to a GodDamedThing he says.
All these weeks with him and his books and you have nothing. Nothing.

You are working on other things. Trying to wash away the anger, hate, guilt with as much demon blood as possible. There is a lot of it out there. You’re drenched in it, you think sometimes that your skin absorbed the tastes and smell of it. .

The City looks abandoned, broken. Like an old whore. There is still life but it’s forsaken, dark, crawling - greedy. Life here is insects on a windowsill.
“They are hiding…” a raspy voice says, you turn around, gun in hand – ready to pull the trigger -, to see an old woman standing in the shadows.
“Who?”
“The demons. Of course.” she giggles like a girl…a horrible sound. Reminds you of Lilith, your skin crawls. You don’t ask how she knows, you are chosen, special, damned…all that crap.
“You’re not.”
She shrugs. “Well…I’m not afraid.”
You thing she should be and as she chuckles you know she knows what you’re thinking.
“I never was…” she says and steps out of the shadows. She’s slim, her hair white and short, full lips and she has these eyes…
“Oh my god…” you whisper. She giggles again and looks at you – indulgent.
“No…but, I suppose it’s a near enough call.” She grins, charming – without teeth.
You can’t say a fucking word and the silence stretches. It feels like an eternity.
“I hope you didn’t mess with my car Sammy.” She says.
“No…I…” you stammer.
“Good. Let’s go.” She answers and steps forward. She’s slow, broken – near death.

End.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Moscow samidha 2008-09-04 11:00 pm UTC (link)
	Oh my God. That's awesome and creepy. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Moscow -

creepylicious, 2008-09-09 06:20 pm UTC

Re: Moscow -

samidha, 2008-09-09 06:49 pm UTC

The Summons Home

samidha
2008-09-04 10:35 pm UTC (link)

The pain stops long before Dean registers that it’s gone. That hasn’t happened since he’s been in Hell, and he can’t stop the dread that surfaces where there should be relief.

His chest hurts, hot and deep, where the amulet would be resting against his skin if he still had a body. It’s a new pain, and probably not a good sign, either. Then:

Arise. He knows that voice. He doesn’t want to know that voice. The shadows part to reveal its origin. Twin fires in an inky black mess. Azazel. Dean snaps his eyes away from the sight, so different from the yellow glint he knew topside.

The Boy King has called for you. And what Little Master wants, he gets. You should thank him. Tell him his godfather says hello, hm?

No. No.

Dean is ripped out of the hooks and chains and rockets up, up, and to Sam.

If he had known it would be this way, he never would have screamed for Sam. Not once.

*~*~*

Dean can actually breathe real air again for the first time in forever and the colors of the world topside hit him like a million tiny knives. This world hurts now as surely as Hell did. He has to look for Sam, but he doesn’t want to find him. The Boy King has called for you.

He finds himself lying in the grass amid tombstones and the forced peace of a cemetery. He senses Sam before he dares to look around, chances tracking things amid the blossoming of a thousand new pains and old sensations gone wrong. Sam is here, and thick, dark, power, but mostly Sam, and that may be the most terrible part of it all. What does he do now? What does he do?

His eyes are pulled to his brother. Sam is sitting on one of those little benches people get sometimes to put in front of a grave—Jesus, Sam bought one of those for Dean. Jesus fuck. Sam’s hand is balled up, but Dean can see the leather cord poking out of one side of his brother's white-knuckled fist. He would know it anywhere. Sam’s holding Dean’s amulet. Sam has the amulet, and Dean thinks maybe—maybe—it’ll be okay. Maybe it’s still Sam.

Maybe-Sam, Maybe-Boy-King looks up, sees Dean watching him, eyes open and alert, breath allowing his chest to rise and fall again. And Sam Winchester crumples forward, chest heaving with sudden sobs, as he rushes to join his brother on the ground.

Sam’s barely been upright, barely alive, since Dean went underneath the earth. Dean knows it now. No wonder they found a way to send him back.

He can’t stop the dread that blots out everything, leaves no room for relief at all.

*~*~* End.

Edited very slightly for clarity and a typo because I am obsessive.

Edited at 2008-09-05 08:12 pm UTC

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: The Summons Home maharet83 2008-09-06 02:48 pm UTC (link)
	awww so they just sent him back 'cause Sam wouldn't go on without him? Guess they need their antichrist up and walking ;) (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: The Summons Home -

samidha, 2008-09-06 04:21 pm UTC

Re: The Summons Home -

mass_hipgnosis, 2008-09-08 12:49 am UTC

Re: The Summons Home -

samidha, 2008-09-08 02:55 am UTC

(Deleted post)

	Re: The Annointed One samidha 2008-09-05 05:50 am UTC (link)
	Ooo. Ooo. We can has this, please? :D Oh this is AWESOME. smishes (Reply to this) (Parent)

With The Burning Flesh Of Men

chasingtides
2008-09-06 02:37 am UTC (link)

You are special. Chosen. Once dead, always living.

You remember what he said. Before. The dead should stay dead. Well, nothing is as it should be anymore, is it?

Her pretty head is on the floor, the blond ringlets pooled and stained in the blood. The neck is all wrong, bent out of shape like a sad, broken toy. With a flick of the wrist, though, she's pretty again, pretty and perfect, except for the dead gray skin. You are tempted to call her back - she's not far - but you know she'll just scream and scream and scream until you snap her neck again. They always do.

His pendant, still on its leather thong, rests in the palm of your hand. You smear the mask with a little bit of the fresh blood, smooth and warm and salty. Little Ruby already laid down the chalk and iron for you, before you dispatched her for betrayal. Thinking she could control you. You! The heir-apparent, the boy-king, the child-god.

"You don't want to do this. Think of your father! Think of Dean!"

They gave their lives so that you might live. Your father, your brother, even that surrogate father whom you never wanted, who gave you the world and everyone in it. They died so that you might be here, back in Palo Alto, by the sea, where it began. Lose a lover, take one back. It’s all about exchange and balance.

Ellen has become tiresome lately. She was so useful when Caim had his sway over Jo, but even simple Caim could see the limitations there. Ellen, though, has such sweet memories, memories of things you could never touch, not even before. And she's so much more fun than Bobby. Bobby is so quiet now, always watching, always waiting. You need to keep the knives away from Bobby.

You step into the chalk circles, concentric and marked in Sumerian and Hebrew, the languages native now to your once American tongue. You smile and hang the necklace in the air, along with his jacket and his boots.

The tears on Bobby's cheeks are warm and wet, salty like blood, and Ellen is begging you, begging so sweet, but inside she dying with such glorious sorrow. Your army is on the move, across the Rockies, sweeping the country with storm and wind and you can feel their glory and exhilaration. The world burns alive with fear and pain and exaltation and deliverance.

The moment has come. You know that he won’t mind the colour of your eyes, won’t be bothered by your irises, not when his are a sweet and endless black.

*

Edited for grammar, spelling, and better demonology.

Edited at 2008-09-06 03:05 am UTC

(Reply to this)

GAH!

chal
2008-09-06 06:18 am UTC (link)

In JUST under the wire. 500 words. Yeesh. My handy-dandy word counter says I'm right at 500, and may the Dark Messiah help me, I NEVER thought I would make it. But yes. Here we go.

- - - - - - - - -

Episode 4.01 - Before the Devil Even Knows

Sam is alone in a massive warehouse. He looks terrible, physically and emotionally exhausted. He pauses, cocking his head at a faint sound. Breaks into a staggering jog.

Behind him, the shadows move strangely. They writhe, tangle like bickering cats, then scatter. One follows Sam...

An earthquake! Or is it? Sam stumbles painfully as the warehouse disintegrates, supports driven into the floor, walls crumbling... and then he's in a desert, white sand and stars, impossible-bright.

"Not again..."

TITLECARD!

ONE WEEK AGO. Lilith's light recedes; Bobby wakes in the backyard, rushes inside to find Sam cradling Dean's corpse. Stricken, he quickly composes himself, bullying Sam up with gruff commands. Authorities are coming.

They cremate Dean. Sam watches, dry-eyed, solemn. Bobby watches Sam, concerned.

Later, Sam retires too willingly. Come morning, Bobby's guest-bedroom is ominously quiet.

Sam lies amidst the remains of a ritual: he's sent his own soul to Hell after Dean.

NOW. Sam's still unconscious. Tending him, Bobby and Ellen commiserate, reminisce. Narrative keeps switching between here and Hell.

The desert has become a dark forest, fairy-tale setting. A voice repeats Sam's name until he wakes. He blinks at the raven perched on a tree-root near his face.

Overlong story short(er). The raven is Ruby, the now-forest is Lilith's own Hell (ever-changing, at her whims). In this, her favorite version, she twists hard-dealt-for souls into trees, from which grow black apples. When these fall, they burst, and ravens struggle free: newborn demons. Hellhounds stalk as big bad wolves. Because Sam has a living body, he's not completely here. Ruby can see him; Lilith cannot. If he stays too long, he will weaken, die and be damned.

With time, struggle, and Ruby's help, Sam finds Dean. He's been crucified, hung from a tree by dozens of nails. Cackling ravens surround him, tearing him. His eyes are gone.

Lilith is there, doll-child stuffed with malice, enjoying Dean's suffering.

Above, Sam stops breathing.

Below, everything breaks loose.

The raven-demons attack and Ruby flings herself at them. They tear her apart, but her sacrifice gives Sam time to reach Dean. He tugs fruitlessly at the nails, cursing; Dean is horrified to recognize his voice. There's no time, so Sam just clings to Dean and starts chanting.

Lilith is all monster now, a dragon uncoiling as the air becomes flame and feathers, hellhounds howling, everything attacking Sam. He keeps clinging, keeps chanting. A light swells around them, golden...

Bobby and Ellen, trying to resuscitate Sam, startle when he gasps a sudden breath, surging up. He staggers off without a word, downstairs, grabs the coffee-can of Dean's ashes and runs outside into the rain, shirtless, barefoot.

He pours out Dean's ashes, then falls to his knees.

Nothing.

Until, a miracle.

Slowly, Dean's body reforms from ashes, mud, rain, Sam's own breath. He appears naked, unmarked, new, curled in peaceful sleep. Crying with joy this time, Sam cradles him, tossing a triumphant grin toward the porch... but the others recoil.

Sam's eyes are yellow.

END.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

AND! LYRICS!

chal
2008-09-06 06:21 am UTC (link)

Posted in a second comment because of LJ's grumpy-face comment size limits. And because wouldn't it just be a lovely piece of irony if this song came on the radio at Bobby's house while he and Ellen were looking after Sam? Except I ran out of words up there. So, you know. Just ignore me.

If You're Going Through Hell - Rodney Atkins

Well, you know those times
When you feel like there's a sign there on your back,
Says I don't mind if you kick me?
Seems like everybody has.
Things go from bad to worse.
You think they can't get worse than that,
And then they do.

You step off the straight and narrow
And you don't know where you are.
Use the needle of your compass
To sew up your broken heart.
Ask directions from a genie
In a bottle of Jim Beam,
and she lies to you.
That's when you learn the truth.

If you're going through Hell,
Keep on going, don't slow down.
If you're scared, don't show it.
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there

Well, I've been deep down in that darkness.
I've been down to my last match,
Felt a hundered different demons
Breathing fire down my back,
And I knew that if I stumbled,
I'd fall right into the trap that they were laying.

But the good news is,
There's angels everywhere out on the street,
Holding out a hand to pull you back up on your feet,
The ones that you've been dragging for so long.
You're on your knees,
You might as well be praying.

Guess what I'm saying is,
If you're going through Hell,
Keep on going, don't slow down.
If you're scared, don't show it.
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there.

Yeah, if you're going through Hell,
Keep on moving, face that fire.
Walk right through it.
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: AND! LYRICS! -

dreamlittleyo, 2008-09-07 02:41 pm UTC

Re: GAH! -

mass_hipgnosis, 2008-09-08 12:47 am UTC

before the devil -

auroramama, 2008-10-07 10:20 pm UTC

Re: GAH! -

briethehippo, 2008-10-16 07:00 am UTC

Re: GAH! -

amikara, 2008-10-27 09:51 pm UTC

maharet83
2008-09-06 02:19 pm UTC (link)

No more books.

You’ve picked through every single one, read and re-read until your fingers felt sore from tracing the words on the page, sandpaper in your eyes. Bobby sat with you a while; awkward attempts at comforting you at first, gently trying to persuade you to let go, one last gruff attempt at snapping you out of it before resigning.

You’re a Winchester, and a Winchester is nothing if not stubborn.

****

You follow every flimsy bit of “information” you can get your hands on; myths, fairytales, local legends – grasping for straws and you know it, but you have nothing else to hold on to. Every step carries more dangers than the last, but nothing could be worse than what’s playing across your eyelids when you sleep.

You charge forward.

****

Blood runs freely down your chest and left arm, soaking your shirt and dripping from your fingertips, leaving crisscrossed spatters behind like a trail of breadcrumbs(major fuckup, right this way).

By the time you make it back to the car you’ve almost blacked out twice, relying on sheer will alone to put one foot in front of the other, fully knowing that if you go down out here there’s no getting back up.

It takes three attempts to pry the door open.

****

Close calls.

Too many fucking close calls; each and every single one of them taking place at another god damned dead end. You find no comfort in the reflection staring back at you from the mirror, a dull throb emanating from the freshly stitched gash on your shoulder, joining in the litany of failure marring the rest of your body.

You should be more careful, but you’ve exhausted every cautious option there is. The thing is, sooner or later, something will stop you. The grubby mirror cracks as you punch it in frustration. You have to find a way, you just have to.

Your reflection keeps staring back at you, fragmented and disfigured.

****

Eerie, Pennsylvania is quiet.

You’re in a desolate field, shovel in hand, digging your way into the ground. Luckily enough the frost hasn’t settled just yet, though it wouldn’t really matter if you’d have to spend half the night thawing the moist earth. You’ve got time now.

Nothing to stop you, and all the time you need to get him out.

And if you don’t? Well, sooner or later Dean will rip loose, have himself a party and tear through every single son of a bitch standing in his way. And when he does, you’ll be here.

You’ll always be here.

****

Remember what dad taught you
(obsession).

And remember what I taught you
(sacrifice).

Can you dig it?

Edited at 2008-09-07 01:01 am UTC

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