Thank you all so much for the great, great reviews. i'm glad everyone enjoyed the first chappy :) enjoy this next installment. :)
A DOOR IN THE DARK
Chapter 2
Bobby scrubbed his hands over his tired face— John Winchester was going to drive him to an early grave. He's lost track of the number of time's he'd called the other hunter, knowing John's voicemail was probably overflowing with the messages, but that didn't stop him from calling again. Sam and Dean needed their father, no matter what words had been spoken at the side of the lake. But then, if the Winchesters were one thing, it was stubborn, and Bobby knew bringing John back into his sons' lives was going to be hard— but he refused to believe it was impossible. Hell, he'd battled demons, werewolves and countless other beings, how could the toughest job he'd ever had be bringing together one shattered family?
Bobby had run across a hunt in Massachusetts he thought would be perfect. It didn't seem like anything overly taxing, hell, it was probably nothing supernatural at all, but it was a starting point. He'd given Dean the information, the young hunter calling him back not even twenty four hours later to tell him they were on the job. Bobby had then sent the same information to John, but lord only knew if the hunter had gotten it. If John showed up in New Eden, fine, if not, Bobby was certain the boys could handle whatever was there.
He let his thoughts drift back to Sam and Dean, wishing he could give the boys something more than information on a hunt. Those two deserved a hell of a lot more than they ever got. They were the youngest hunters Bobby had ever known, hell, probably the youngest anyone had known. They'd both entered the field as teenagers, having been trained since before they started school— they never stood a chance. Yes, Bobby's life was taken away from him, his future lost to the hunting world after he'd seen the darkness, but at least he'd lived first.
He'd married, he'd loved, he'd had the whole white picket fence people took for granted. He had those memories, those experiences— Sam and Dean hadn't even gotten a glimpse. They didn't have normal, and Bobby knew they never would. It wasn't until he'd met the Winchesters, that Bobby Singer learned just how cruel life could be. And now, nearly twenty years later, he was still trying to piece the family together. It wasn't right or fair by any means, but it was the way things were. And all Bobby knew he could do was try and keep Sam and Dean alive, because maybe, just maybe, those boys could win this war.
Bobby didn't believe in fate, didn't believe in destiny, but if he did, he'd have bet money that Sam and Dean were what the world had been waiting for. They were broken, yes, but even as broken men, they were stronger than anyone Bobby had met— even stronger than the great John Winchester. Everyone spoke of John as the answer to the coming storm, looked to John as a leader, but Bobby knew the real strength, the real leaders, were still children.
And now Sam had the power of an Asura inside him, a power Bobby knew the boy had begun to control, and that put things on a whole new level. Bobby would never go as far as to say he was afraid of the youngest Winchester, but he was definitely weary of the young man. Sam was different, there was no denying that, the Yellow Eyed Demon having done more than kill Mary— but just how different, that no one was certain of. Bobby only speculated the Demon had done something, but based on the other 'special' children, he was pretty sure his guess was right. And he was certain Dean knew it, too.
After all, Dean had raised the kid, how could he not know everything there was to know about Sam? He didn't know everything, Bobby told himself, his mind drifting back to that day on the beach, the day he'd pulled Dean's lifeless body from the lake. Dean hadn't seen his brother, hadn't seen the power the boy unleashed, and he was never told about it either. Sam had begged Bobby to keep his secret, made the older hunter promise not to tell Dean just how much of a 'freak' his little brother was. And, while Bobby told Sam it was nothing to hide, he agreed to keep the secret.
For how long, though, he didn't know. The Winchesters didn't do well with secrets, of that Bobby was certain. Secrets had a way of snowballing out of proportion, and in the world of hunters, secrets were deadly. But this was something that only effected Sam, surely this secret wasn't as bad as Bobby's gut told him it was.
Bobby was pulled from his thoughts by the phone, the hunter checking the ID before answering. "It's the middle of the night, Dean."
"Did I interrupt your beauty sleep?"
Bobby shook his head, he could almost hear the smirk. "You better learn to respect your elders, kid."
"I have nothing but respect for you, old man."
"What do you want?" Bobby answered curtly, though a smile grew across his face. The image of Dean laying dead in his hands was something that still gave him nightmares. And so, the sound of the young man's voice was nothing short of a gift.
"Just letting you know Sam and I finished up our last hunt and are gonna head to Mass tomorrow."
"Where are you now?"
"Uh, Oklahoma I think."
Bobby heard Sam's voice in the background, the young hunter grumbling something about it actually being Nebraska, but who cared.
"So, a couple days?" Bobby asked, knowing Dean would probably drive like a bat out of hell straight through.
The young hunter's knee replacement surgery had almost cost him his life, but the look on Dean's face when the doc finally told him he was able to drive was like a light at the end of the tunnel. And ever since then, Dean had driven, racing from one side of the country to the other like a kid who'd just been given his license.
"Give or take, I'll let you know."
"Sure thing." Bobby stayed on the line, knowing Dean didn't call just to tell him they were leaving in the morning. A few moments later, he knew the real reason for the late night call.
"So, have you heard from my dad?"
Bobby sighed, taking another swig of beer before answering. "No, Dean, sorry. That man's about as easy to find as Nessie."
"Oh, alright." Bobby could hear the disappointment in the young man's voice. "I'll let you know when we get there." And with that, the call was ended.
Bobby cursed, slamming the phone closed— he really needed to find John.
6666666666666
John Winchester didn't even glance at the caller ID before hitting the ignore button. He knew it was Bobby, and he knew what the other hunter wanted. Bobby had been trying to get him to talk to the boys for weeks now, but John knew it wasn't an option. He had no place in his children's lives anymore, so why pretend the opposite was true. John knew he'd screwed up, knew he'd lost, he didn't need to be reminded of it everyday. He wanted nothing more than to see his boys, but Sam had made it clear that was no longer an option.
Sam. John still couldn't believe the power the boy possessed, couldn't believe what his youngest had become. Yes, he was different because of the Yellow Eyed Demon, but now he was on another level entirely. He could use the Asura's power better than the Asura itself, and John knew the day at the lake was only scratching the surface of what the young hunter could do. Sam had been changing, slowly and steadily, ever since that ill-fated night in Shadow Pine Forest. And now, John was afraid Sam was no longer the child he'd raised, no longer one of Mary's boys.
Dean on the other hand, hadn't changed at all. Yes, he'd grown more subdued, but he was still the hunter John had trained, the man he'd raised. At least he hoped he was. Dean was more than broken after Marshal Williamson, the doctors spending days telling them they should say their goodbyes, that the chances were slim to none. But, if Dean was good at one thing, it was beating the odds. Hell, he'd been beating the odds since he was four years old.
John never told the boys of the children he'd tried to save when Yellow Eyes had made its return. The fires were set with no regards to the houses occupants and, John sighed, not everyone had made it out alive. Yes, the mothers were always killed, but not every child was an only child, and not all the siblings woke themselves up like Dean had. John was more aware than ever of the danger his family really faced that night— of the reality that, had Dean not met him in the hall, then he'd have also been lost. John barely had time to follow his children down the stairs, he knew he never would have been able to make it to Dean's room and back before the entire second floor was in flames.
John shook the thought from his head, choosing instead to focus on the here and now. The past was the past, and John knew there was nothing he could do to change it. He was alone now, without a family, and it was a reality he knew he was going to have to accept, even if Bobby Singer didn't.
John was happy of the other hunter's involvement, though. If he couldn't look after Sam and Dean, at least Bobby could. John knew the other hunter thought of the boys as his own children, knew the mechanic would do whatever he could to keep them safe, and that gave John a little peace of mind. At least his children weren't entirely alone. John had thought of having the boys tailed again, but every time the idea crossed his mind he thought of Joshua.
John had trusted him, given him access to his children, treated him like family, and Joshua had turned on them, hell, he'd nearly killed Dean with his own hand. John could still remember it like it was yesterday, the feel of the heavy air, the smell of the forest all coming back to him as though he were still there. He'd seen the look in Dean's eyes, had seen the fear, heard his scream, watched his blood flow from beneath the knife. And that day, John had been certain he was watching his son die. It wasn't the last time, either. Not even a year later Marshal Williamson had done the same thing— and once again, the powers of a demon had stopped him.
John couldn't even stomach the reality of the statement. Whether the second time was Sam's doing or not, Dean owed his life to a demon, and that was wrong on too many levels. John himself had failed Dean, his own son, on so many occasions, that now the young hunter owed his future, his life to demons, to the very things John spent the last two decades fighting.
John cursed when the phone rang again. Why the hell wouldn't Bobby just get the hint? John grabbed the phone, not bother to check the ID before flipping the phone open. "What?"
"Quite a greeting," an icy voice answered, John's heart racing as he pulled over.
"Who is this?"
"You're the hunter, figure it out."
"What do you want?"
"I want to help you."
"Yeah right. How'd you get this number?"
"Please, John," the voice continued, so cold it made the hairs on the back of John's neck stand on end. "Be a little creative."
"What. Do. You. Want?"
"I hear you miss your boys."
"You leave them out of this."
"No can do. You, I could leave out of it, Sam and Dean, not so much."
"Who are you?"
"I'm the voice at the back of your mind. I'm that whisper you hear when no one's around."
"And you needed to use the phone?"
"Let's just say you and your family are more stubborn than most. I tried to be subtle, John, but now I'm through playing games. We both know what Sam is."
"He's my son."
"Fool yourself all you want. Sam's fair game, and I'll tell you now, I'm not the only thing after him. But me, John, I'll let him live."
"I swear if you go anywhere near them—."
"You'll what, kill me? Do you even know where they are?"
John just punched the dash, gripping the phone tighter.
"I didn't think so. Sam's powerful, and after his little escapades at the warehouse, a lot of thing know it."
"So why involve me? You want them, try and get them."
"Tough words from a man that can't even find his own children. But, since I'm in the caring and sharing mood, I'll let you in on the secret. Nothing can find them."
"I trained them good."
"Don't belittle me with 'training'. It's nothing you did that's keeping them off the radar. Well, unless looking the other way while they were being an Asura's playthings counts. Sam's got them hidden, I want you to help me find them."
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"Because, John, I'm not the worst thing out there looking for them. Sam doesn't know what he's doing, of that I'm pretty damn certain. So, once he stops it, everything's gonna descend on them. And I'll tell you now, Johnny, most wanna rip them limb from limb."
John closed his eyes, his heart beating out of his chest, blood running cold. He just wanted to give the boys a normal life, wanted to let them be, but now they could be in more danger than ever. He took several calming breaths, not letting the icy voice on the other end of the line get to him. He needed to figure out what was really going on.
"I'll make a few calls." John answered after a few minutes, hating himself for breaking his promise to Sam.
"Good. I'll be in touch, Johnny."
And with that, the line went dead.
