The propinquity of the shadows has me holding my breath; I wait for the wave of panic to pass. I am not one to fear many things, so I will not be afraid now.
Snow falls and rests neatly on my shoulders. Esoteric is the darkness surrounding me and I wonder what mysteries this night might hold.
"Now."
My whisper carries far enough and deft hands expertly handle the necessary weapon somewhere behind me. My brother allocates a low grunt in my direction and I take it as a sign to begin moving forward.
We reach the end of the silent alley and step into the street, carefully. A single street light illuminates our surroundings.
"Dean, look."
At first irritated by Sam's urgent command, I barely glance back at him. But then I also notice the footprints in the snow. They lead into the alley rather that out of it. It has only been snowing for a matter of minutes.
I spin around, already predicting what I will see.
A double of my brother. The shifter is holding a knife to Sam's throat. I see a trickle of blood trill down the nape of his neck.
What the monster does not know is that I have perfect shot of his head. It is only a matter of taking him out before he hurts Sam further. Nor does he know the synchroneity between Sam and me.
I lock eyes with Sam, and keeping a mask of solemnity on my face for the shifter to see, I let him know what I am thinking.
Sam's elbow swiftly collides with the shifter's ribs. It is enough distraction for me to aim and fire. The shifter falls to the ground, at once dead.
"Dean, what happened back there? Why did you hesitate?"
Concern laces Sam's voice.
"You mean with the shifter? It—it looked just like you. You should take it as a good thing that I didn't shoot it without a thought."
Sam shakes his head and his mouth twists to the side.
"I meant before, in the alley."
"Oh."
I know this. Of course I know what he is talking about. He is questioning my dalliance. He wants to know why I stumbled in the dark. Why I delayed before leading the charge. He wants to know if I was afraid.
I can't tell him the truth, so I lie.
"I don't know, Sam. Guess my mind was just on something else for a minute. Won't happen again."