Blood Ties: The Winchester Legacy

Chapter Twenty-Four - Driver Picks The Music

I walk into the library and see Bobby finishing up with rebandaging Sam's hand.

    "Well, look who finally returned to the land of the living." I smile as I sit down next to him on the couch.

    "Yeah, hey." He says before wincing at the pain in his hand.

I don't blame him though. He literally sliced a chunk of his hand off and Bobby sewed it back on. It's no wonder his injury is taking so much longer to heal then mine. I don't even need a bandage on mine anymore.

    "Well, now on to our other big problem." Dean sits down in a chair across from the couch. "How are you doing? And do not say 'okay'."

    "Oh yeah. With your brain stuff." I say, just now remembering that.

Everything from the day before yesterday is still a little cloudy.

    "I'm not okay." Sam shrugs.

    "You think?" Dean asks.

    "Hey. Go a little easy." Bobby says.

    "There's nothing easy about it, Bobby, okay? We acted like he had everything under control." Dean raises his voice.

I sigh obnoxiously.

    "Okay, but getting pissed about it isn't going to fix it or make it better."

    "Oh, you're one to talk." Dean snaps.

    "Yeah, and who's fault is it that I have anger issues to begin with?" I counter.

Nobody answers and I stick my tongue out at Dean as Sam speaks again.

    "I get it. I'm sorry. Look, I didn't exactly want to crack up, you know?"

    "What the hell happened back there?" Dean asks.

Sam hesitates for a moment.

    "Well, it's not just flashbacks anymore."

    "Then what is it?" I ask.

    "It's more like... I'm seeing through the cracks."

    "What does that mean?"

Sam is silent for a minute.

    "It means I'm having a difficult time figuring out what's real."

There's a beat.

    "Hallucinations?" Dean asks.

    "Like what Death said." I say.

    "For starters." Sam nods.

    "Well, for starters, if you're tripping hell's bells, why would you hide that?" Dean asks, sounding offended.

    "I wasn't hiding it, Dean. I was just... not talking about it. I mean, it seemed like you guys had enough going on as it was. Look, I just figured try to hold on to the safety bar and ride it out, you know? But now... it's getting more specific."

    "As in, specifically what?" Dean asks.

Sam hesitates again for several moments before speaking.

    "Lucifer."

Dean sighs and stands up, shaking his head.

    "Wait, I don't understand." I say, confused.

    "I'm... seeing him and he's telling me that I'm still in the cage. With him. And this is my torture. Thinking that I'm free and then having it ripped away from me."