A/N: Hello my fellow readers and welcome to a new journey. I hope you are ready for bumpy roads because this one has it. There is some Canon from the show but I needed it to create this story. I hope you will give it a chance and come along for the ride. As always I love to know your thoughts and hope you will leave me a review. NC

Chapter 1

The machete swung swiftly through the air with enough force to separate the vampire's head from his body. The hunter stepped back as the body slid down the trunk of the Impala and to the ground. He was breathing hard as the adrenaline raced through his veins from the kill. Knowing he couldn't hang around here for long, he pulled the headless body to the side and found the head to toss on top. After sprinkling gas over it, he tossed a book of matches on the body setting it on fire. While it burned, he took a bucket and filled it with water tossing it on the trunk lid to rinse away the blood. He repeated the process until any trace of the vampire's blood was washed away. He kicked at the smothering body to be sure the fire was dying out and would not spread before going to the driver's door and getting in to drive away. He looked over to the empty seat beside him and pressed his lips into a tight, hard line pushing away the thoughts of the one that used to sit there. He couldn't help the feeling of emptiness and hollowness deep down in his soul, but tried to push those thoughts away as his chest tightened. It seemed like everywhere he looked there was a reminder of what was missing from his life. He didn't think he would feel whole again. He was alone, on his own now and had to accept it.

spn

Hundreds of miles away, the bus boy flopped a suds soaked rag onto the bar and began to scrub the length of it in long hard strokes. He didn't pay any attention to the others in the bar as he put all his focus on being sure he washed down every inch of the surface of the bar before they opened for the night. He had been working at the business for several weeks now, keeping his head down and doing what was asked of him from dishes, trash, mopping, cleaning and cooking. The work wasn't easy, but he didn't complain about any of it. It was honest work and he made enough to pay for the motel room he was staying in. He got free food at the bar so that cut down on his expenses. He would pause for a moment and stare at the doors of the bar as if expecting someone to walk through them, but they never did. The ache in his heart was never going to heal and he accepted the pain and tried to move on. With a soft, sad sigh he would get back to his work not noticing how the waitress studied him and wondered what his story was. He appeared out of no where one day and asked about the Help Wanted sign in the window. The owner gave him a once over and hired him on the spot letting him know the pay wasn't good but he could have free food. With a handshake, he had a job and the start of another life.

spn

The driver of the Impala stared out the windshield as he made his way toward another hunt. He looked over to the empty passenger seat that had been used by his brother because they were a team; they did the jobs together until he sided with a demon and got hooked on demon blood. This choice he made led him to opening the door to the Cage and unleashed Lucifer onto the world. He had tried to stop him, but was too late to stop him. Saved by an unknown source, they end up on a plane, flying over where the Cage opened. With Lucifer free in the world, he called upon the Four Horsemen to help in his battle. They encounter 'War' in a small town where he turned the town folks against each other by making it seem like everyone was possessed by a demon. The brothers stop him by cutting off his ring and afterwards, the youngest parted company with his older sibling when he realizes he couldn't hunt anymore. He needed to stay away from demon blood and he knew how his brother really felt about him. It just about broke the youngest one when his older sibling stated that he couldn't trust him anymore, that things would never be the same between them. With no argument from his brother, they went their separate ways and now one still hunted and the other buses tables in a bar.

spn

Sam was shocked when three hunters he knew through his father walked into the bar and call him by his real name. He brushed it off as a middle name when the waitress questions it.

"Hey guys why don't I buy you a beer?" Sam asked wanting to keep his identity hidden.

"Sure, sorry about that." Tim said looking to the waitress who eyed them with puzzlement.

"Got a call from Bobby to check out a town north of here for demon activity." he says quietly. "He said you were off limits. Is that true?"

"Yeah, I stopped hunting." Sam told him.

"Are you sure, you know we could use all the help we can get."

"Seriously guys, I just don't do that anymore."

"Well all the more for us." Steve grunted holding up his beer and clinking it with the two other hunters.

"Be careful out there." Sam told them before getting up to go bus the tables.

"See ya later Sam, I mean Keith." Paul calls to him with a smirk.

Sam looked back at them and doesn't like the feeling he gets from the hunters. He had never hunted with any of them, but he knew his Dad had worked with two of them once or twice. He sighed when the hunters finished their beers and got up to leave eyeing Sam for a moment before strolling out the door. He was glad they were gone and hoped they didn't come back. Sam wondered if he should pack up and move on to another town and disappear.

"Friends of yours?" the waitress, Mandy, asked watching the last one leave and the door close.

"Sort of, they knew my father." he shrugged gathering up the beer bottles and wiping down the table.

"You know, you are a strange one Keith or is it Sam. You appear out of nowhere, you're highly educated if you can do the New York Times Crossword Puzzle in ink and you don't talk about yourself. You've been here nearly a month and all I really know about you is your name." she stated looking at him curiously.

"I like to keep to myself." Sam mumbled before heading to the back to dump the empty bottles into the recycle bin.

"So what brings you here to this small town?" Mandy asked following him and watching him move the bins around. She arched her eyebrows as she saw his muscles ripple under his tee shirt, thinking he was one hot dude.

"It's where my ride was going and I saw the sign for 'Help Wanted' in the window and came in to see if it had been filled."

"Have you got any family?" she inquired, hoping to get a little information about him.

"A brother...But we're not exactly on speaking terms right now." Sam replied sadness lacing his words.

"That must be hard. What's say I play you a game of darts and when I win you answer any question I ask you?" she teased picking up the darts from the counter and looking at him with mischief in her eyes.

"And what would I get if I win?" Sam asked accepting the darts she held out to him.

"I buy you dinner." Mandy said.

Sam moved in front of the board and looked at it carefully. He rolled the dart between his fingers to get the feel for it and the balance. Taking a slow breath in, he tossed one dart hitting the bull's eye and followed that by the other two, hitting right beside the first. Sam turned to see a bewildered and surprised look on her face as she looked at the board and then back at Sam.

"I guess I owe you dinner." she finally said not sure what to make of this handsome, buff, quiet guy.

Sam dropped his head and smiled shyly to himself knowing he had played enough pool and darts over the years to be very proficient at both games. He didn't mind having dinner with her, but that's as far as it would go. He wasn't looking for anything romantic in his life right now. He just wanted to do his job and not draw any unwanted attention his way. He thought back to the dreams he had been having of Jess and wondered what brought them on. He had not thought about her for a long time and was puzzled why she was in his dreams now. His mind drifted to his brother and Sam wondered what Dean was doing and if he was staying safe. He knew Dean would be hunting because it was in his blood. It was what he knew and he was one of the best.

spn

The next night Sam was left to close up and was cleaning the tables when hear the door open for the bar.

"Hey man, sorry we're closed." Sam called not looking up at first.

"Something you wanna tell me Sam?" Tim questioned angrily as he stepped closer to Sam.

Sam quickly turned toward him seeing the blood and cuts on his face. "Tim?" he asked. "What's going on? Where are the others?"

"Oh you see, we went to that town and found the demons alright. Steve's laying in a ditch with his guts hanging out. We took one down and ten jumped us. But you know what's funny, the demon we caught, he started talking about you."

"Demons lie." Sam said quickly as he stilled himself and got ready to fight if he had to.

"Said there's a war coming and you started it by freeing Lucifer."

"Look it was a mistake...I was tricked..." Sam tried to explain as Tim bore down on him.

"Said you were one of the chosen ones since you've got demon blood running through your veins. He says you drink it like water and it makes you strong. Is that true Sammy?"

"It's Sam and he lied."

"If that's true, then you wouldn't want some of this now would you?" he asked holding up a vial with demon blood. "What say you juice up and we go kill us some demons?"

"Stay away from me!" Sam demanded when he saw what was in Tim's hand. "I'm not drinking that."

"Oh I think you'll whatever I tell you...Paul!" Tim said looking back for a moment as Paul came through the door dragging Mandy with him. He has a knife to her throat as she cried out and tried to pull away from him.

"Leave her alone." Sam growls seeing how frightened she looked. "Just let her go and we can sit down and talk about it. No need to hurt her."

"Paul..." Tim nods signaling him to handcuff her to the bar.

Paul did as Tim wanted and came to stand beside Tim as they face off with Sam. Sam backed away and into the pool table where he reached behind him and picked up a cue to quickly punch Paul in the stomach. Tim throws a blow at Sam, knocking him back but before he can recover, Paul is on him dragging him down. They get Sam over the pool table and force his mouth open to pour the demon blood into it and clamp it shut. Sam breaks free and faces them as they wait for something to happen. Instead, Sam spits the blood into Tim's face and starts throwing punches. He almost had them beat until another hunter they had called showed up and hit Sam on the back of the head, knocking him out. He lay in the floor as the three hunters stood over him.

"Well if he's not playing on our side, then he needs to be punished for what he did. I lost my best friend because of him." Tim insisted. "Help me get him up."

spn

The three men drug Sam from the bar and into the back alley where no one would see them or try to stop them. Even dazed, Sam knows something is happening to him and did his best to fight back but there were too many and he was weakened from the blow to the head. His body is slammed against the wall and punches began to rain down on him from all directions.

"You're worse than the monsters we hunt. Hell, are you even human?" one yelled into Sam's ear as he punched him again.

Sam cried out in pain when something hard was smashed into his leg making it go numb and buckle. Not being able to hold himself up when he was let go, he slipped down the wall to crumble to the ground. Before he could recover, kicks landed all over his body and the only thing he could do was try to curl up to protect himself. He felt bones breaking as the blows continued what seemed like an eternity to Sam. He was barely conscious as they cursed and screamed at him.

"You're a blood sucking vampire you sorry sonovabitch!"

"You know you deserve every blow we're giving you Sammy and even worse for what you did."

"Hell even your brother wants nothing to do with you. Does he think you're evil too? Is that why he left you? He couldn't stand the sight of you? I'm surprised he didn't take you out himself."

The words barely penetrated Sam's mind as he processed the insults and accusations thrown at him knowing deep down they were right. He un-leased Lucifer on an unsuspecting world and he needed to pay for that. Everything went black and Sam lost consciousness when one of the guys landed a hard blow to his head, causing blood to coat the side of his face. Sam doesn't feel it when his body is jerked up against the wooden wall and his arms are spread out from his body forming a 'T'. The last punishment they inflict on him was to use two metal spikes and drive them through the palms of his hands, nailing him to the wall; leaving him hanging, bloody, beaten, broken and near death.

"This is for what happened to Steve." Tim delivers one more hard punch to Sam's face before stepping back and hurrying away with the others when sirens were heard in the distant. They disappeared into the night, not caring what condition Sam was in, whether he was alive or dead, thinking he deserved the beating for what he had unleashed onto the world.

spn

Mandy watched fearfully as Keith/Sam fought for his life, but was no match for the three hunters. He did get in some strong blows, but once he took the hit to the head, he was fighting a losing battle. She watched them drag him from the bar fearing what was going to happen to him and wondering if they would come back for her. She jerked on the hand cuff but knew it wasn't coming free. Mandy didn't understand what was going on or what they were talking about. She couldn't comprehend what they were accusing him of doing, but only knew they were going to kill him if they continued to assault him.

She looked around for anything to use to help get her free but only saw a small knife and knew it wouldn't do her any good. There would be no one here until morning and she didn't think Keith/Sam had that much time. Mandy slipped off her shoes and sat them up on the bar before climbing on top and slipping over to the other side. She worked the cuff as far as it would go down the metal bar that was connected to the bar top. She stretched as far as she could but was still inches away from reaching the phone. Mandy grabbed a shoe and used it to knock the phone off the hook. With a relieved sob, she stretched her foot as far as she could to grab the cord and get the phone. She quickly dialed 911 and waited for someone to answer.

Mandy quickly relayed her location and the information about Keith/Sam to a dispatcher and begged them to hurry. She said a small prayer as she thought the worse for Keith/Sam and wiped the tears from her face as she listened for the cops. She picked the small knife back up and held it tightly wanting to protect herself if these monsters came back in the bar before the cops got here. It wasn't much, but she didn't feel as helpless with it.