Lucky Charm // Sam Winchester ✔️

20 || HELL

Turns out that finding a portal in Hell, that leads directly into Purgatory, was a lot harder than Dean or Sam could have ever predicted. And it didn't help that Dean kept leading them around in circles after having taken charge of operation rescue Vanessa.

"Dean, we've been down this way already." Sam found himself saying for the third time in the space of thirty minutes. He was beginning to regret letting Dean take charge as it was clear that he had no idea where the hell, no pun intended, he was going. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"No not really." Dean chuckled out a little nervously, a sheepish smile creeping up on his face as he scratched the back of his head and avoided eye contact with his brother.

"Dean." Sam said with an exasperated sigh as he came to a stop, not wanting to walk any further down the dark and eerie corridor, one which was filled with the stench of burning flesh and was making his nose tingle any time he inhaled.

"What? It's not like I was given the tour last time I was here." Dean replied defensively, holding his hands out to his sides. "Maybe if this place wasn't such a maze, it would be easier to navigate."

"Yeah well you take that up with Crowley when we find him." Sam muttered, running a hand down his face all while he tried to think of what to do next. He had no idea where they were or even how far they were from the place they'd entered from. He had no idea where Castiel or Balthazar were either, the two of them having split off from him and Dean to search a different part of Hell.

Although Sam was regretting not pairing up with Balthazar like he'd originally planned, least that way he wouldn't have wasted time walking around the same part of Hell multiple times. But of course Dean wanted Sam to go with him as, unknown to Sam, he'd made a promise to Vanessa that he'd keep an eye on him when it came to anything Hell related as there was still that lingering worry that the wall inside Sam's head would break and he'd spiral out of control.

"When you read through Ness's notes..." Sam began, ignoring Dean's mutters of how he didn't know what Sam was talking about and how he'd never read Ness's notes. (He did. And everyone knew it. Vanessa included). "Did they say anything about Hell? Anything we don't know already?"

"Not that I can remember, I mean, half of her notes are written in Gaelic and those that aren't are mainly stuff we already know." Dean sighed out as he leaned against the wall, which he then remembered was in Hell and quickly pushed himself off of, scrunching up his nose and wiping the sleeve of his jacket, his hands getting covering in dirt and God knows what else.

"Yeah..." Sam sighed, on the verge of feeling defeated before he shook his head and stuffed that feeling down deep inside him. This was no time to dwell on stuff he couldn't control. Right now he just needed to find Vanessa as he didn't know how much longer he could take knowing that she was trapped in Purgatory and he was out here feeling utterly useless. "Let's just... Let's go this way."

Sam gestured with his head for Dean to follow him down a corridor that didn't look as familiar as all the others. Dean nodded his head briefly before he scurried after Sam, subtly wiping the ash and dirt off his hand onto the back of Sam's jacket, which had him swat his hand away when he realised what he was doing.

"Are you..." Dean began hesitantly as he figured out how to ask Sam if he was okay without bringing up the whole cage scenario and potentially cracking that wall. "Are you doing okay? I mean, you're not... Remembering anything, are you?"

"Remembering what?" Sam asked, looking left and right as they came to a crossroads. He took a second, while Dean was trying to figure out how to reply, to debate which way to go before something in him told him to go left, as if something was tugging at him and enticing him that way.