Chapter Text
It was a relatively lazy day for the Winchester brothers. Things were quiet, no signs of supernatural activity, so Sam had decided to inventory some of the artifacts the Men of Letters had. Begrudgingly, Dean had agreed to help out as well, so now the two of them were in one of the storage rooms in the bunker, sorting through some of the chests it contained. It didn’t help that Dean was complaining every five seconds, but the work was getting done. Sam also thought it important that they were there to watch each other’s backs. They didn’t know what this stuff did, so if something went wrong, it’d be good to have the other one there.
“What the hell is this?” Dean asked.
When Sam turned to him his brother was holding up a round disc that seemed to be made out of jade. There was a hole directly in the middle that Dean was peering through.
He then passed it over to Sam who began to examine it for any markings.
“Huh,” he remarked, “I have no idea.”
“So, you gonna file that under things that are friggin’ weird?”
“I mean, we can at least describe it.”
Dean shrugged and went back to digging through the trunk in front of him while Sam put the jade disc down, picked up his journal and started writing about it. Then, something caught his eye. A faint, blueish-white light seemed to be filtering out from under some of the artifacts in the chest he’d been going through. Curiously, Sam put his journal down and then rifled around until he found the source of the light. It was a necklace of iron links, with a pendant hanging from it. The pendant was a gem, cut into the shape of a rhombus, and similarly set in iron. There was writing etched into the sides of it in a language Sam didn’t recognize. The glowing was coming from the gem itself, like some sort of energy; it swirled and danced lazily as if it had a life of its own.
He felt the sturdiness of his brother’s presence by his side, and he glanced at him. Dean was staring at the necklace in awe.
“What is that?”
Sam’s voice was quiet when he said, “I don’t know.”
Dean reached out a finger to most likely poke the gem, and Sam pulled it out of his reach, shielding it with his free hand. “Whoa, Dean, don’t just poke it!” he exclaimed.
His older brother looked perplexed. “Why not?”
Sam scoffed at that. “Because we don’t know what it does. Do you wanna get yourself killed?”
“Not really, no.”
Sam then tilted his head at him sharply, a way to say that he’d proven his point. Dean just rolled his eyes at him and then went back to work. Sam on the other hand was studying the gem. It was mesmerizing, but something felt off about it. As he watched the light move within the gem he began to feel cold, unreasonably so, and a shiver went down his spine. He glanced over at Dean to see if he’d noticed, but he was too busy admiring a golden ring with runes etched into it. He looked back at the amulet, trying to decide what to do with it. Sorting it in a few of the categories he’d come up with didn’t seem like a good idea. Most of the things he’d come across seemed inactive, like they needed someone of a particular skill in order to work at all. But this one seemed to be seething with energy of its own.
Coming to a decision, Sam turned and started going through some drawers behind him. He thought he’d seen some velvet-lined pouches in one of them before.
After finding one, which was lined in black, he deposited the amulet into it, and the room grew a little darker without its light. He put it on a shelf for now, and went back to going through the chest in front of him. He let out a huff of a laugh when he held up the next object: a tablecloth that looked like it could also double as a picnic blanket.
“Hey, Dean,” he said, showing him, “I guess the Men of Letters liked having picnics.”
An amused smile lit Dean’s face, but then he said matter-of-factly, “Sam, you’re lame.”
A laugh left him, and he put the tablecloth down to pick up his journal again. Just as he was about to categorize it under “Seemingly Normal” he heard something, almost like a whisper, but he couldn’t make out the words.
“Did you hear that?” Sam asked.
“Hear what?”
Sam frowned in concentration, straining to hear the noise again, but all was silent.
He shook his head. “Nothing, I guess. Must be hearing things.”
Dean, who had sat himself down on the floor, looked up at Sam with a worried expression on his face.
“You okay?”
“Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Sam admitted.
“Wanna talk about it? I could get you some coffee,” he offered.
He shook his head. “No, I’m good.”
Not having restful sleep didn’t bother Sam so much anymore. It was just something he was used to, an exhaustion he put up with. However, he didn’t believe his lack of sleep was the reason for hearing things.
They continued rifling through the artifacts, and they actually made a lot of progress. Sam was also relieved that they’d done so without either of them getting hurt. After Dean had started complaining again Sam decided that they’d done enough for now. Besides, it was just after noon, a perfect time for lunch. Before leaving the somewhat cramped storage room he grabbed the pouch he’d put the amulet in.
Dean gestured to it. “What’s that?”
“The amulet. I wanna study it some more.”
His brother gave him an affectionate smile. “Nerd.”
“I’m gonna put it in my room, then we can go get something to eat, okay?”
“Yup.”
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and Sam started to think that maybe he had been hearing things earlier.
After changing into the pair of black sweatpants and gray shirt that served as his pajamas, he sat down at his desk, and switched his lamp on, bathing the pictures and notes he kept there in a golden glow. Now that he had a moment to himself he wanted to look at the amulet again. He got it out of the drawer he’d put it in, and then carefully slid it from the pouch onto his desk where it landed with a clink. The glow of the gem appeared to be more potent than before, and added with the light of his lamp Sam was temporarily blinded. He quickly switched his lamp off, leaving the glowing amulet as the only source of light.
Sitting there, looking at it, he began to have the desire to touch the gem. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was some childish part of him, his curiosity.
What harm could it do? he thought.
Hesitantly, he reached his hand out towards it. But then, a heavy wave of apprehension washed over him, knotting his stomach, and he froze. He didn’t understand why he had felt that. Maybe it was some deep-seated instinct, warning him.
Deciding to listen to the terrible feeling in his gut, Sam tried drawing his hand back.
It didn’t move.
Again and again he tried. And nothing happened. It was like his hand was frozen in place above the amulet. His hand seemed dangerously close to it as well, maybe only half an inch of distance between his skin and the glowing gem.
He heard the whisper again, and a chill ran through him. He still couldn’t make out what it was saying, but it seemed to be coming from the amulet.
Fear began to course through his blood, cold and unsettling. He grabbed onto his wrist and struggled to get his hand away. The whisper sounded again, louder, the voice low and grating like the cracking of ice.
The air around him seemed to be growing colder and colder till he was nearly shivering, his breath misting the air. The whispering continued, and he began to make it out. “Sam, Sam, Sam,” it chanted, almost as if it were calling to him.
The strain of pulling his hand back seemed to grow, and he soon realized why. Slowly, his hand was being drawn towards the gem. The voice grew louder, the air colder, and Sam’s fear was now making sweat bead on his forehead. The light within the gem seemed to be pulsing ecstatically.
He let out a terrified yell, and then his hand touched the gem. The voice quieted, the air grew warm again, and the light of the gem died down to a gentle glow.
Sam breathed deeply, trying to understand what had just happened. To his surprise he didn’t feel any different. Maybe nothing was different. Removing his hand from the gem with ease seemed to prove that.
Weird…
Carefully, not wanting to touch the gem again, Sam placed the amulet in the velvet pouch before stowing it away at the bottom of his desk drawer. He felt a little better with it hidden from sight, but he remembered the voice and a chill went through him again.
Sam turned on his lamp, and sat there for a bit, trying to organize his thoughts, trying to decide if he was now in danger.
He figured that he was. It was the most likely thing after what had just happened with the amulet. But what did it mean? What would happen to him? What was that voice that had called to him? What force had made him touch the gem? Sam didn’t understand any of it, but he knew he should tell Dean. Besides, having his brother with him would make him feel a little better.
He went to Dean’s room and found the door closed. Maybe he was sleeping. Sam thought of turning back, but then he brushed that thought aside. Even if he was asleep this was important enough to excuse waking him up.
“Dean?” he called, rapping his knuckles against the wood. His mouth felt dry, but he tried again, “Dean?” When there was no answer he said, “Dean, I’m coming in.”
He opened the door, revealing his brother lying on his bed with his laptop open on his lap, his earbuds in, and a bewildered expression on his face.
Sam tapped his shin to get his attention.
Dean jumped and looked up, grabbing the earbuds out of his ears.
“Jeez, don’t do that!”
“I need to talk to you,” Sam stated, knowing it’d be best to not beat around the bush.
His serious tone left no room for Dean to think he was there to have a casual conversation. His brother relaxed, closed his laptop, and then sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed so that Sam would have room to sit down.
Dean was silent, waiting for him to speak.
After a deep breath, Sam began, “I touched the gem.”
Dean seemed a tad confused when he said, “The gem. You mean the one you specifically told me not to touch?”
“Yep,” Sam clarified.
“And?”
He shrugged. “It was an accident, really. It was like my hand got pulled towards it. And I was cold, really cold.”
“Do you think it means anything?”
Hazel eyes met green, and Sam didn’t have to speak to answer Dean’s question. As realization dawned in his brother’s eyes, Sam asked quietly, “What do we do?”
Dean looked Sam over, searching for any signs of the amulet having done something to him already. Finding none he said, “First things first, you need to get some sleep. You seem fine right now, so I don’t think we have to panic just yet. I’ll stay with you tonight to keep an eye on you, and first thing in the morning I’ll call Cas so he can come and look at you.”
“Dean, I’m not eight. I think I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Nope,” his brother argued. “I’m camping out in your room tonight.”
Sam rolled his eyes and said, “This is childish.”
“So? Just because we’re grown men it doesn’t mean I can’t look after my little brother.”
Sam relented, knowing that there was no arguing with Dean about this. And he had to admit, the plan did sound reasonable. He felt a little better having a plan, but the fear still sat in him like a heavy weight. Part of him wanted to argue that they should just call Cas now, but Dean was right, there was no need to panic. Yet.
After Dean grabbed some blankets he set up a spot for himself to lie down on the floor in Sam’s room. Sam couldn’t get over how much this made him feel like a child, but he turned his light off and got into bed.
Dean had his phone with him; Sam could see the light of it in the darkness that encompassed them. He was most likely playing a game on it.
“Aren’t you gonna sleep?” Sam asked him.
“Nope. Gotta watch you,” he replied simply.
Sam knew that when his brother got all protective like this there was no use trying to get him to take care of himself, so he rolled over, closed his eyes, and tried to fall asleep. It didn’t work. Thoughts kept going through Sam’s head, ideas about what might happen to him. He didn’t even know what dangers the amulet presented. Would it cripple him? Was he going to die?
“Dean,” Sam eventually said, knowing his brother would still be awake, “I’m sorry.”
He heard his brother take in a deep breath before saying, “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. You just wanted to study the amulet more. You didn’t know this was gonna happen.”
“I know, but-“
“No buts, Sammy. It’s not your fault. We’re gonna fix whatever this is, okay? For now, just sleep.”
Sam suppressed a groan and then said, “I can’t.”
“Then let’s stay up together.”
There was shuffling as Dean got up from his makeshift bed, and then he turned on the lights. Sam blinked against the sudden brightness, but his eyes soon adjusted.
He sat up, and Dean asked, “You got a deck of cards in here?”
“Top drawer in my desk,” Sam said as he pointed.
Dean quickly found the deck, held them up, and said, “Now it’s really starting to feel like a slumber party.”
A few miles away, something began to stir in the deep darkness of the forest. The ground shuddered, and slowly, fingertips emerged from the earth, and then a hand, followed by an arm.
The being that was emerging appeared skeletal, but it was made of gray stone.
Another arm broke free from the soil and dirt, and then the creature clawed at the ground, attempting to drag itself up. The earth seemed to be protesting against its movements, nearly groaning as the large being sprang forth.
As it emerged the air around it began to cool, and there were crackling sounds as frost began to coat the leaves around it. Its head emerged, showing yellow eyes and features that were much too angular for it to be natural. With one final push on the ground, it freed the rest of its torso and its legs.
The stone of its body was cracked, and it wore silvery bronze armor with designs that swirled about it like snakes. As it left the earth the ground filled the space back in, as if the being had never been there.
The blue-white of frost began to coat its body, making its armor creak as it stood. It was a monstrosity, nearly nine feet tall and almost as wide as two men.
Cold followed in its wake as it began to walk, the ground trembling beneath its feet. It thought perhaps it was going in the right direction, but it couldn’t be sure. After its long hibernation it knew only one thing: it had to find Sam.
