Remember Tomorrow

21. In My Time of Dying

The demon-possessed truck driver stepped out of his truck and walked over. John, Dean and Austin were unconscious. Sam swallowed, barely awake. The demon pulled the driver's side door off its hinges and Sam pointed the Colt at him.

"Back," Sam demanded. "Or I'll kill you, I swear to God."

"You won't," the demon said. "You're saving the bullet for someone else."

Sam cocked the gun. "You wanna bet?"

The demon smiled before black smoke poured from the man, who collapsed. Sam uncocked the gun and dropped his head back in relief.

"Oh, my God!" the man cried.

"Dad?" Sam called.

"Did I do this?"

"Dad! Dean? Austin? Dean! Austin!"

The next morning, a rescue helicopter arrived on scene.

The four were being loaded onto stretchers. John, Dean and Austin were still unconscious, Sam was awake.

One paramedic looked over Austin. "Significant passenger side intrusion. Unresponsive. BP is 180 over 60, heart rate 95."

"Tell me if they're okay!" Sam cried.

"You have to stay still!" a female paramedic told him.

"Are they even still alive?"

HOSPITAL

In his room, Austin sat up, worked his jaw, and got out of bed. He was wearing a white T-shirt, hospital pants and nothing else.

He went into the hallway. "Sam? Dad? Dean? Anybody?"

He went down the stairs to the front of the hospital and found a nurse's station.

Austin said, "Excuse me. Hi. I, uh, I think my brothers and I were in a car accident, my dad and my brothers, I just need to find them." The nurse was unresponsive. "Hello?" He snapped his fingers before going upstairs, panicked, and found himself intubated on his bed, dying.

Sam and Dean entered Austin's room. They stopped at the door and stared at their brother's body, breathing heavily.

"Sammy! Dean!" Austin exclaimed. "You two look good. Considering."

"Oh, no," Sam and Dean said.

"Man, tell me you can hear me."

"How's Dad? Is he okay? Come on, you're the psychic. Give me some ghost whispering or something!"

The doctor entered. "Your father's awake. You can go see him if you like."

"Thank God."

"Doc, what about our brother?" Sam asked.

"Well, he sustained serious injury; blood loss, contusions to his liver and kidney," the doctor informed. "But it's the head trauma I'm worried about. There's early signs of cerebral edema."

"Well, what can we do?" Dean asked.

"Well, we won't know his full condition until he wakes up. If he wakes up."

"If?"

"I have to be honest-"

"Oh, screw you, doc, I'm waking up," Austin said. "I have to for Tucker. He's already lost his mom. I won't let him lose his dad."

The doctor continued. "Most people with this degree of injury wouldn't have survived this long. He's fighting very hard. But you both need to have realistic expectations."

"Come on, Sam, Dean," Austin said. "Go find some hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me. Sam? Dean?"

Sam and Dean walked away.