Sam closed his eyes and massaged his neck as his mind wandered over the vast amount of data he just poured over. Bobby's old friend from Andale
had made a call to him shortly after lunch, confirming the location of the second half of The Staff of Moses was indeed within a 30 mile radius and that he was
on his way to pick him up. Sam glanced at the clock, noting that it was nearing 3pm and that Booker, Bobby's friend, would be arriving momentarily. 'Still no
word from Dean.' He thought. "Well," He said aloud, "I'm not doing any good just sitting around." Sam stood up and exhaled while picking up his phone. 'I'd
better let Dean know where I'm going." He quickly shot off a text with an address and then placed the cell in his pocket. Just then, he heard a rapping at the
door. "Yeah, just a second." Sam jogged over and up the stairs to open the door. Standing in the doorway was a surly old fellow with hair more salt than
pepper, dressed in camo cargo pants and a black T. He stood there, hands in his pockets, while Sam gave him a once over. His face bore a faded scar from his
right temple to the base of his right ear and his clothes had seen better days. He looked as though he was down for business, his hair in a no-nonsense crew
cut.
"Well?" He said with eyebrows raised. "You coming or what?"
"Um, yeah. One sec." Sam left the door open as he briskly went to his room to grab his ready-to-go bag. "Let's go."
Sam closed the door behind him and made a line of salt in front of the door, just in case. Finished, he followed Booker to his black old jeep and hopped
into the passenger side as Booker started the engine.
"So, you're John Winchester's kid."
Sam looked at him with furrowed brows. "You knew my father? I thought you were just a friend of Bobby's?"
Booker chuckled, "I've heard stories. I was never close with your father, but I sure knew a lot about him. He's famous in the hunting world don't forget."
Sam looked down. "Of course. So how did you catch wind of the staff being in your area?"
"Well, there have been 7 unnatural deaths in total in the surrounding area. A man died in the middle of the street and eye witnesses swear he was vomiting
up frogs, of course the authorities didn't believe them, but when an autopsy was done, his body was filled with them."
Sam raised his eyebrows, "Sounds like something out of Harry Potter."
"There was also a guy who, while in the middle of a police interrogation, exploded and filled the room with thousands of gnats. Three more died from infectious
boils all over their body, and another died from locusts devouring his body in the night."
Sam shook his head in disbelief. "Wow, sounds like a nightmare."
Booker nodded and continued, "I was starting to piece it together but what really sealed the deal was when my nephew died."
Sam looked abruptly at Booker and was about to say something when Booker interrupted.
"They don't know why he died. It was ruled as inconclusive. But, he was their first born."
Sam looked down and said, "Man, I'm sorry."
Booker took his focus off the road to look Sam square in the eye. "We're gonna find whoever's doin this."
Sam nodded in response. His mind absently wandering to Dean, wondering if he got his message or not.
After swallowing the last morsel of his burger, Dean wiped his hands on his napkin and put a fist to his chest, letting out a deep burp.
Myles grinned, "You haven't changed a bit."
Mac and Ryan were still gulfing down their food, but Myles pushed his towards Dean. "I've had enough."
Dean's eyes lit up as he pulled the leftover food towards him. Abduel, who had ordered nothing, sat there and observed the others. Myles pulled his chair
closer to the table, his expression turning serious. "But now, onto more important matters, everyone's caught up but you Dean. We've got word that there's a
vamp pack hidden somewhere in the forest just north of here. There have been multiple attacks within the last 3 months that would suggest there's more than
one vamp."
"Who's your intel?" Asked Dean.
"A buddy of mine had been tracking a stray for a few months, he said the vamp wound up here and joined a pack. It seems that they have a type, blonde
females between the ages of 18 and 25. Not only do they bleed them dry, but these malicious bloodsuckers pose them too." Myles pulled a picture out of his
pocket and tossed it on the table. It portrayed two young women with their mouths sewn into permanent smiles and their right hands sewn above their
hearts. "I'm not sure what it means yet, but I think finding out will be key in locating these bastards. I witnessed one attack but he got away before I could
introduce my machete to his neck. He also didn't have time to sew her up, but there was thread and a needle lying by her body. Judging by the amount of
murders and time in between deaths, we're looking at anywhere between 4 and 8 vamps. I know you all have experience hunting these monsters, but a word
of caution," Myles looked everyone in the eye, his expression grim, "I've hunted many a vamp in my time, but these guys mean business. They are faster,
stronger, and smarter than any I have encountered before. And the time this vamp took to kill her was nearly half the time it usually takes them. She was dry
within minutes from the time she screamed to the time I was on the scene. We need to take extra precautions with this hunt." Everyone nodded in
agreement, except for Ryan who absently played with his fork.
"I don't see the big problem. We lure one out, scare him off and follow him home, and then wait till dawn so we can go in there and slice their heads off."
Myles sighed as Mac jumped in. "Did you not hear anything he just said? These aren't ordinary vampires. And besides, it's never that easy."
Ryan rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Well, I'll see you all in the morning then."
Myles nodded and spoke to the rest of them. "You'd best be getting some shut-eye too. We're gonna need our strength. Let's meet in the parking lot at 9am
tomorrow." Abduel, Mac, and Dean all stood and got ready to leave.
Dean threw a 20 onto the table and then nodded at Myles. "I'll see you in the morning."
Myles winked and replied, "You betcha."
Dean exited the small diner and headed for the Impala. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he withdrew his keys with one hand and opened the creaky door with
another. Sitting heavily in the driver's seat, he inserted the keys and started up his Baby; a sigh of contentment escaping his lips as he listened to the familiar
hum. It took him not 5 minutes to return to the motel where he then checked in and received his key. Climbing the stairs, he observed the layout of the
rundown motel. The off-white walls were faded and covered in graffiti and water damage. The smell of cigarette smoke lingered in the air and he heard a dog
barking and a baby crying somewhere off in the distance. "Charming." Dean said with frown. He glanced at his room key, noting the number on the sticker
listed 5B. Coming to his room, he slipped the key into the lock and turned it, but the door wouldn't budge. He shoved his shoulder into it, but to no avail.
"You gotta put your back into it."
Dean turned to see a woman holding a baby, a smile gracing her lips as she watched Dean struggle with the door.
Dean turned back to the door and again shoved his shoulder into the wood, this time it giving way and forcing Dean to almost sprawl out onto the floor. He
quickly gained his balance and turned to the woman, who was trying to hide her smile with her free hand. A flush rising to his cheeks, Dean offered a quick
smile of thanks and a wave as he entered his room, closing the door behind him. Dean threw his bag in the corner and crashed on the bed with an exhale.
Closing his eyes, he thought over the day's events. He wasn't worried about Sam; he knew he could take care of himself. This time apart was best for both of
them. 'Maybe I should call him…tell him where I'm at.' Dean reached into his pocket and pulled the cell phone out, noticing the LED light was already blinking.
Flipping it open, he read "1 new text". Dean stared at the phone for a moment longer, weighing the decision of reading the message or not. After a moment of
thought, he snapped the phone shut and returned it to his pocket. 'I don't want to deal with any drama just yet. I'll let him cool off a while longer.' With this
decision made, Dean allowed his eyes to close, and his consciousness to slip into a somewhat peaceful state of sleep.
