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Dean raced through an dark cave, the flashlight bouncing as he ran. He had his pistol already drawn at the ready, darting around the darkness.
‘Why the hell did it have to be another hunter that went off the rails? Shouldn’t we let the feds deal with him?’
That was Dean’s first thought, but this was personal. This hunter had taken to murdering other hunters, some of which Dean and Sam were fairly close to. This was personal to them and they weren’t about to stop until this man was put down like the monsters that they hunted.
Dean continued forward and looked around the cave, sighing as it became much narrower. He would still fit, but it would be slightly tight. He came forward and saw a flash of movement. He fired two quick shots that only struck the side of the cave instead of flesh.
The walls began to shake and Dean’s heart leapt in his chest, breath coming in harsh breaths. He glanced up just as a few large pieces of shattered rocks plummeted from the sky and struck his shoulder.
Dean staggered, a few free pieces landed on his legs, pinning him down and leaving him unable to move. He let out a heavy grunt as he attempted to push it aside. All of his might couldn’t dislodge the broken up boulder from his right leg, even twisting so that his left leg could slam against it. Pain spread from his ankle and calf all the way to his thigh. It hadn’t been noticeable when the rock first struck him, but now that the adrenaline was wearing off from the chase and the fall, the first tendrils of searing pain were starting to radiate up his leg and settle even at the base of his spine.
It didn’t feel like anything was broken, though Dean was certain the overall pain was masking any pain he could contribute to movement. He would have to wait until the rock was lifted and he was free to determine the extent of his injuries, which was just great considering he was miles away from the car and even longer away from anywhere that could be considered civilization with someplace to get medical attention.
“Don’t think about it,” Dean huffed, giving the rock another solid kick. That only resulted in the pain spreading to Dean opposite foot and he reached a hand down, massaging his left ankle with his fingers.
Although this was hunting 101, Dean knew that he didn’t have many other options. He needed help and there was no cell service.
“Sam,” Dean yelled, feeling the sound bounce off the walls of the cave around him. Bits and pieces of grit and stone rained down, dropping onto his hair. He gave his head a fierce shake to dislodge the larger fragments, apprehension beginning to pass through him. He had found himself in some dire situations, but this one sent a rippling of fear through him unlike anything before. Usually when he was in these situations, Sam was with him and he wasn’t chasing a hunter. However, now wasn’t one of those times.
Dean cleared his throat from all the dirt that was hanging out there. “Sam! Come on, man! Sammy!”
His head hung forward and he tried again to pull his leg free. He grunted with effort, frowning when he still couldn’t dislodge his leg. He slumped back with his arms over his head, frustration pooling in his stomach.
Dean wasn’t sure how long he had waited there when he heard shoes scraping against the grit on the ground. Immediately Dean sat up and relief washed over him when he saw the first sign of Sam creeping close, gun tucked to his side.
Sam’s eyes glowed in relief when he saw his brother. “Dean! Are you okay,” he gasped as he rushed forward, crouching beside Dean and checking him over.
Dean pushed Sam back, attempting not to show the relief that he felt knowing that his brother wasn’t laying dead somewhere in the cave. “I’m fine, bitch! My foot is just stuck.” Dean gave a sudden jolt backwards, grunting when it did nothing.
Sam looked down to the rock and pressed his hands on it, pushing back with all of his strength. It moved an inch at best before rushing back to land back on Dean’s leg.
Dean let out a gasp of alarm and punched Sam’s shoulder. “What the hell, man? You’re supposed to be helping me; not making it worse!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Sam puffed, slumping beside beside Dean. He ran his fingers through his sweaty hair that had plastered on his forehead. “Any ideas how to get you out before this entire cave collapses? I told you that it was unstable and not to go in here, and what did you do? You rushed in without even thinking.”
Dean scraped his thumb over his left eyebrow. “Can we save the lecture for later when my foot isn’t being crushed to shit? C’mon man, get me out!”
The walls shook from the force of Dean’s shout, streams of grit and pieces of dirt falling from the roof and landing on Sam’s back and head. Sam’s hands snapped up and brushed his hair back, breath coming in short puffs.
“We really have to get out of here.” Sam sat back beside Dean and pressed his heels against the large stone, muscles rippling with the effort. He threw a glance at Dean, who was looking at him oddly. “Push, Dean!”
It took Dean a moment to register what Sam meant. Once he did, he forced his leg that wasn’t pin on the boulder as well, straining with Sam to move it.
“Push harder, Dean,” Sam snapped through gritted teeth, back arching in effort.
The two continued to push and grunt until the boulder lifted ever so slightly and Dean was able to yank his foot free. He let out a gasp of delight until it was replaced by sheer agony. It only took one look at his ankle and foot to know that something was not right. It was sprawled and broken, sure that the bones were crushed inside.
“Shit,” Dean hissed, unable to move his foot without screaming.
Sam reached down to pull the edge of Dean’s pant leg up, careful not to move Dean’s leg in the process. A long blue and purple bruise was already beginning to show on his skin. It would fade to yellow soon enough, though the crumpled bones inside wouldn’t be that easy of a fix.
“That’s pretty bad Dean. It looks like it was crushed to hell,” Sam commented, running a hand down the side of his face and giving his head a much needed shake. “Now we’re going to need to get you to a hospital. This isn’t something we can fix on our own.”
Dean couldn’t help but let out a short laugh despite the situation. “I’m not going to a damn hospital, man. I just need to get out of that damn cave and butcher that hunter! Shit!”
Sam looked around fearfully. “We gotta get out of here. We can debate on what we do after, but right now we need to leave.” He jumped up to his feet and leaned down to wrap his arms around Dean’s waist to hoist him to his feet. Dean struggled to thrust his own foot down, alarm shinning deep in his eyes. He hissed when he tried to set his bad foot down, realizing what a horrible idea it was a moment too late.
Luckily, Sam was able to catch Dean before he could plummet, though it was a lot harder than he expected. They had found themselves in plenty of situations with injuries before, but this one was certainly more difficult than most. A crush wound was much different than a casual break or simple fracture, though Sam was sure hoping it wasn’t as bad as it looked. It wouldn’t be long before Dean’s foot swelled far too much to fit in his shoe or even his jeans for that matter.
“How do you get yourself into these sort of situations, seriously,” Sam grunted, grabbing hold of Dean and their weapons.
Dean shrugged. “Just lucky, I guess.”
“You’re an idiot.”
For once Dean couldn’t exactly argue with him. Instead, he focused on taking small steps. “I know you love me.”
This time it was time for Sam to roll his eyes. “I guess I do. Though sometimes I don’t know.”
Through the heavy banter, Dean was able to momentarily forget about the absolute devastating pain he was feeling. If anyone asked, he would never admit that he leaned into his brother to help keep himself standing, but that’s exactly what was happening. He would always get himself into trouble, and Sam would always be there to help get him out.