Splatter

11. The Champion 3093

"If things go to shit, look to the star," Charlie said, raising a glass of ginger ale over FaceTime.

"How bad can it get? I mean it's just the Bachelorette without air conditioning right?" Dean sipped on a craft beer while Sam researched the island frantically on his laptop.

* * *

Dean found the tiny star carved on a coconut tree, hidden behind a purple orchid. Below the mark of the star were two arrows. One pointed towards the north with the letters C&E, the other was due south and accompanied by MM.

"I can figure out the first sign, it tells us where Charlie and Eileen have gone but  the other arrow I don't understand."

"Meg Masters," Novak said hoarsely. "Of course it's her."

* * *

Dean wished Novak would save his strength but he insisted on not letting Dean out of his sight. As soon as Novak had awakened from his blackout, he insisted on moving on from the valley, concerned that Crowley or worse Raphael would find them there. Dean managed to convince Novak to stay horizontal until he was hydrated. To get Novak something to drink, Dean aimed his shell knife at a bird nest, somehow managing to strike it down with one throw. He caught the falling nest, the blade lodged into its side and the precious seagull egg still intact. Novak gagged a little as he drank down the yolk, while Dean gently teased him about being a fussy eater.

"Don't Mer prefer everything raw?" Dean had said.

"The only thing I like raw is sushimi," Novak had said in his low voice, grimacing as he swallowed. "When it comes to food."

Dean blushed as Novak took a long pause, unsure if Novak was insinuating or trying not to throw up. Novak stared at Dean's reddened cheeks with dazed eyes, then blinked and muttered: "I can see the blood pulse beneath your skin, fast as your heart hastens at my attention."

Dean didn't know if he should be flattered or worried. He settled for very worried since Novak could barely move but insisted on climbing out of the valley. Dean ended up scavenging some rope from Charlie's hideout and tying one end of it to Novak's waist and the other to his own, fastening it in a love knot that Mary had taught him to make as a child. Novak fingered the heart-shaped knot at his hip and complimented it. Dean told him to shut up and watch his footing. The valley walls were steep but Dean scrambled up at a pace that would have impressed even Sam who was an avid rock climber. Maybe it was all the fresh air and sunlight, Dean felt stronger than he ever did. A couple of times, he dragged Novak up by sheer force, when Novak was too out of it to notice.

Above the valley, the landscape was more arid. The northern side of the island was more exposed to the wind and the sun, the plant life more sparse and spiky. One good thing was that a Mer in their marine form would dry out real quick, though of course maybe Raphael was determined enough to stay in his terrestrial form. Though they had eaten well the night before and Novak had been made to eat the gull egg that morning, Dean could hear his stomach rumbling within hours of emerging from the valley. Maybe it was the fever Novak was fighting, he was burning through his energy reserve quickly. Dean felt a strange sense of calm as he scanned the landscape for nourishment, all of his subsistence training kicking in. There were bright jewelled globes adorning the cactus plants, covered in fine spines. Dean carefully peeled the prickly pears with his knife, tasting a segment to make sure it was fine. The fruits were lightly sweet and juicy, Dean stuffed Novak with them, patiently carving out each segment of flesh as they sheltered beneath the shade of a rock.