Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun!
Summary: A war is brewing and the Winchester boys are stuck in the middle, one group of vampires only want to be left alone while another group want to continue their evil ways. Will the boys end up on the right side? WARNING SPOILERS: This story may refer to any episode in season 1, but will not be mentioning anything for season 2.
Raven 524: This story is taking place pre-season 2 and will be referring to things in some of my previous stories. It is taking place right after Ghost Hollow, so we are starting where that story left off. But you should be able to follow the story even if you haven't read any of the other ones. Now on to the story!
Shades of Grey
Chapter 1 – On with the Hunt
Sam was standing on a foggy bridge overlooking the raging White River below. Lately his thoughts had been mostly on Jess and the life they had before the demon took her away. Sam reached into his pocket and fingered the unopened box, the box that held the ring he had bought just before Dean came back into his life. He had been working himself up for weeks to ask her and had promised himself that as soon as he had finished the interview for law school, he would spring the question. But of course, he would never get a chance to ask and the box would go forever unopened.
Sam felt the tears beginning to fall as his heart cried for what could have been. The career, the wife and the kids…he and Jess had talked about kids. He wanted at least 6, but Jess had teased him saying she would have the first 2 if he volunteered to have the rest. A small smile found it's way to the forlorn face before vanishing again as if it had never been. He now knew that the normal life wasn't meant for him and never had been his to dream. Sam slowly turned from the river that reflected his emotions when the object of his thoughts appeared.
"Sam, I've missed you!" Jess cried as she ran to him, placing her arms around him.
"Jess, I'm so sorry…I never wanted this to happen to you."
"Shhh…it's ok Sam, we can be together now so none of that matters."
"No, we can't Jess. I can't have you or anyone until I figure out what the demon wants with me. It wouldn't be fair."
"Sam, you can come with me now and you won't need to worry about the demon ever again!" Jess smiled as she leaned in for a kiss.
Suddenly a gun shot is heard and Sam recoils in horror as Jess begins to laugh. Not the soft laugh that he used to love, but an evil sinister laugh. "You can't kill me, I'm immortal!"
Dean steps in between Sam and Jess, taking a protective stance. "You can't have him, he's mine!"
Sam watched as Jess's eyes turned red and with a twist of her hand, she threw his brother over the rail and into the raging river below. "DEAN!" Sam yelled, but he knew it was too late. He looked at Jess but could no longer feel the love he had for her, all he felt was hate and betrayal. "How could you kill him…why?"
"Because you love him more than me Sam, you left me for him and I had to die!"
"NO! Jess…not my fault…Oh God not Dean!" Sam screamed as he sat up in the bed. His whole body was shaking with the horror of the nightmare.
Dean was immediately at Sam's side. "Sammy, it's ok, I'm here. It was just a dream." He watched as once again his brother fought to get his emotions under control. Ever since the brook horse had made Sam remember his feelings for Jess and the loss he had suffered, the dreams had begun again. Sam's physical injuries were beginning to heal, but the emotional ones were getting worse instead of better.
"I'm sorry Dean." Sam said quietly as he plucked at a loose thread in the blanket. He waited for the question that he knew would be coming, the question that he couldn't answer.
"Sammy, what were you dreaming about?" Dean asked for the hundredth time in the past 2 weeks.
Sam looked up at Dean and shook his head. The feelings too raw, too close to the surface. He was afraid if he told his brother, he'd fall apart. The brook horse making him believe that Dean was dead had shaken Sam to his core. No, he couldn't tell Dean that his biggest fear was that something would happen to his big brother and if it did, he might not be able to survive. "Same old dream Dean, the damn demon dredged up things that I thought I had buried. I'll be fine…so have you found us something to hunt?"
Dean knew that Sam was just changing the subject. But he decided to go along. For one thing, he was beginning to climb the walls himself. Two weeks in a small Indiana town was more than enough. But he had done it to allow Sam time to heal. He knew that Sam's shoulder was still sore and the ribs were just beginning to mend. But maybe if they could find something simple, it would get Sam's mind off of Jessica.
"Well, actually I did find an interesting news report in the paper. It seems that there has been reports of thefts of blood from the local blood banks in a town in Colorado. The police at first thought it was just someone playing a prank, but now they're not so sure."
"I don't know Dean, I think I might agree with the police on this one…why would something be stealing blood? I mean, most of the things we deal with would just take it from a living host." Sam shuddered as he remember the time that Kate had held him captive. He still had a scar on his shoulder from one of the many bites he had suffered from.
"I don't know Sam, but it also says here that they wouldn't have even known about the thefts, if the head of the blood center hadn't gone missing. Seems that during their investigations, they found the discrepancies in the records that showed blood had been taken for more than a few months." Dean looked at Sam, glad to see his brother was thinking about it.
"Ok I'm in…when do you want to leave?"
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It had taken 2 days of driving, but they were finally approaching the small town of Streamwood. A small town nestled in the mountains. Dean smiled as he looked over to see his brother sleeping in the seat beside him. He was glad that Sam seemed to be getting some rest. He knew that Sam wasn't sleeping again and it was beginning to show.
Dean pulled into a small hotel and registered them in the room on the end of the row. Pulling the car up to the door, Dean gently tapped Sam on the shoulder. "Hey Sam…we're here!"
Sam jumped as he heard his brother's voice. He looked around and yawned as he saw the door to the hotel directly in front of him. He really felt tired, but he knew that the last thing he wanted to do was sleep. "So, once we unpack, you want to find a restaurant?" Sam asked as he grabbed his bag and the computer out of the trunk.
"Sure, I saw a small diner up the road a bit. Maybe we will get lucky and hear something about our missing man." Dean grinned at the thought of food.
Sam paused as they entered the room. Something didn't feel right. He could sense something watching them. Turning around, Sam looked up into the mountains that surrounded the town. "What is it? Dean asked quietly following Sam's gaze.
"I don't know Dean, but there's more going on here than just some missing blood and a missing man…I can't explain it, but I feel like someone is watching." Sam shivered, pulling his coat tighter around his neck as he went back into the room.
Dean took another quick look around and returned to the trunk to get the salt. It didn't hurt to be careful.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
In the distance a pair of eyes watched the newcomers as they entered their hotel room. This was just one of the hotels that they watched. They were very careful never to grab victims from the local population, but rather would watch for those who were just passing through. No one ever missed them.
A smile on his face the vampire turned to report back to the leader that new blood was in town. He couldn't wait as it had been a few weeks since strangers had appeared here and their current captives were now almost sucked dry. Yes, it would be good to have a source of new blood.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Sam and Dean continued on to the diner to get their meal. Unfortunately, neither of them knew that they were to be the next item on someone else's menu.
TBC
Raven524: Ok, so here is the new fiction…hope you all like it. You know the drill, click the button below if you want me to continue!