Tares City

67. Just Live...(Until I Die)

DEAN STRAKEN 

Dean gets in his car, starting the engine before he properly ends the call. His heart was racing, panic settling in his bones, his mind thinking up the worst of scenarios as he speeds his way through the city. Arrow's broken voice was still clear in his head, her pain evident. She didn't elaborate, and Dean didn't ask any follow-up questions besides to find out her location. Explanations could wait until he had her. He would find out everything then, and he would help her any way he could. 

~

Pulling up to the location, Dean pulls his car to the side of the road, spotting Arrow sitting on the pavement, an older couple standing behind her. 

"Arrow," Dean calls, his eyes taking in her state as he walks to her.

"Oh! Are you the friend?" The woman begins. "We didn't want to leave until we were sure she'd be alright."

"Yeah... yeah, I'm here for her," Dean tells them, his eyes not leaving Arrow. "Thanks, I'll take it from here." He says to the couple who say their goodbyes and walk away.

"Arrow?" Dean calls softly, crouching down to look at her face. Her eyes remain downcast, Dean seeing the tears that ran down her cheek, the hiccups in her breathing. 

Judging from her appearance, Dean guessed that this was the aftermath of a mission. The most obvious answer for her disheveled state was her being held hostage or tortured. The most obvious answer for her presence here and calling on him for help was that she escaped her capturers. The scenarios were plausible, though they didn't explain everything. A mission gone wrong didn't answer all Dean's questions, as Arrow didn't tend to involve him in her Lycan hunting activities. Her escaping a Lycan situation also didn't explain why she'd call him. There was a bigger piece to all this he was missing.

"It's all over, Dean," Arrow whispers to him, her voice so soft he almost didn't hear here.

"What happened? What's over?" Dean presses.

"My life." She answers dully, raising her head to look at him and then to her arm. 

Dean eyes go wide as he takes a sharp intake, "Shit," He hisses out in disbelief. Out of all the possible scenarios Dean could have conjured up, this was not one of them. He couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at Arrow's arm. A little ways above the fresh rope burns on her wrist sat a Lycan's bite mark. There was dried blood caked around the individual teeth punctures, but it had evidentially stopped bleeding a long time prior. The bite hadn't begun to heal or fade as yet, meaning this all happened recently, no more than a day or two ago. 

Arrow looks back up at him, his heart breaking at the expression on her face and the absolute defeat in her eyes. Moving slowly, Dean brings his hand to brush a stray strand of hair away from her face, a soft sigh escaping him. "Let's go." He says to her, moving to slip one hand behind her back, the other going beneath her knees - lifting her off the ground with ease. 

Arrow's head lulls onto his shoulder as he walks them to his car, placing her in the passenger seat and buckling the seat belt across her. 

Climbing into the driver's seat, Dean drives them back to his home, the drive silent and  filled with dread, the reality of her situation heavy in the air. 

At his house, Dean takes Arrow out of the car the same way he placed her in - secured in his arms. He carries her to the master bath attached to his room, setting her down gently. "Take as long as you need... I'll find you something you could wear. I'll leave it in the room, okay..." He says to her softly, Arrow giving him a weak nod in response. Dean leaves the room, closing the door slightly on his way out. Going through his drawers, he pulls out one of his jerseys, placing it onto his bed. He goes through his other drawers, picking out a pair of boxers for her as well, placing it on the bed.