WhoNautral - 10th Doctor/Supernatural

6

Dean took in sharp, shallow breaths in order to save the little air he had as he commando-crawled on his belly through the ventilation shaft. His hands struggled to find purchase on the slippery metal surface, and the sweat on his palms wasn't helping. His tiny flashlight pierced through the pitch-blackness, giving him just enough visibility to navigate his way. The suffocating anxiety that came with claustrophobia was barely being held at bay as Dean tried his hardest to occupy his mind. He had been in trickier, tighter situations than this, he thought, reasoning with himself. If he had survived small tunnels, caves, even being buried alive, he could get through this. Nothing to it, he told himself. It was quiet in here, the only sounds Dean could hear were his own shallow breathing and the occasional thud of metal as he continued on his way, tortuously slow. He didn't get much farther, though, before his flashlight began to flicker on and off. Dean had lived and worked long enough in his profession to know that almost one-hundred percent of the time, this meant nothing good.

"Come on..." he whispered to himself as he smacked the flashlight a few times, hoping it was just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill malfunction. His hopes were dashed, however, and what happened next happened incredibly fast. The sound of screeching metal filled Dean's ears, causing him to gasp in surprise. The sound grew closer, as though something was following him. No, chasing him. He quickened his pace, the flickering light making it hard to concentrate. He crawled faster, reaching desperately in front of him for some kind of leverage to keep him from slipping. The sound grew closer still, gaining on him with every second. Dean had no choice but to cover his ears in protection from the deafening noise. He even tried screaming, but he couldn't hear himself. Then-

Silence. Dean raised his head, removing his hands from his ears. Twisting uncomfortably, he manoeuvred himself to look behind him, and he lifted the now working flashlight to aid his sight. He almost wished he hadn't looked. The floor of the vent behind him was a wreck. The very metal he had been crawling on had been ripped clean through in long, nasty claw marks, running all the way up to where Dean now lay. "Holy crap..." His breath shook as he surveyed what had just missed him. He peered into the darkness behind him, and saw nothing. Don't move, don't move, don't move, was all he could think, although every other muscle in his body was screaming at him to get away. After a few painstakingly slow moments, Dean chose to listen to the latter. There was no other way to go but forward. With this logic planted firmly in his skull, he shuffled his body back to its original position in order for him to continue moving. He had been crawling for barely a second before-

"Argh!" A sharp bang echoed through the vents, causing Dean to cover his head with his arms. Then he felt it. Something cold was gripping his ankle. Looking back once more, the little air he had left in his lungs flew out of him in fear, as he stared at the gnarled stone hand sticking up through the bottom of the vent, holding his leg in a death-grip. Panic began to set in as he pulled with all his strength, but it was no use. He tried kicking at it with his other foot, but he yelped in pain as his toes collided with the thick hard rock. Don't blink. Don't even blink. The Doctor's words came flooding back to him as he stared at the hand preventing his escape. There's no way this thing could move. Could it? Dean began to feel lightheaded from lack of oxygen, and almost as if on cue, his eyes began to sting. I never got to thank Cas for looking after my jacket, he thought, and wondered if that would be his final one.

-10 minutes earlier-

Sam took a sidelong glance at the man sitting next to him, still playing absent-mindedly with the sonic screwdriver between his fingers and keeping his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the door. He wondered if it was a nervous tick, a reflex to calm his mind. The silence was uncomfortable, with many unanswered questions swimming in the air, so Sam shifted slightly, clearing his throat.