Battle Weary...

Chapter Two.

Sam looked up at Dean "I think I may have found something".

Dean sat straighter "You think? Or you're sure. 'Cause we really need sure, Sammy."

Sam smiled weakly "I'm not a hundred percent but you said that when you caught a glimpse of one of them, the first thing that came into your head was 'army'"

Dean nodded, all he'd seen was a movement in the shadows, a hulking man, armed up the ying-yang and the flash of some type of uniform. Not a familiar uniform either, but he knew establishment when he saw it. And then it was gone. They worked like military as well. Once they'd failed, they'd moved off. Not wanting to be found by authorities and never staying around long enough to try again. Perhaps knowing there'd be more chances in the future. Knowing eventually, they'd get them.

"There's mention here…"

Dean interrupted "Here, where?"

Sam glanced up from the laptop "Aaah, it's an internet site for myths and legends" he held up his hands "Let me finish. It tries to link myth and legend to actual events, to show that what some believe to be fantasy is actually based on fact."

Dean grinned "Convert the masses"

Sam smiled "It's more pontificating than anything else, you know what those sites are like but there's mention of a war, a war that's raged for millennia. You know the classic good versus evil, blah, blah, blah….but, just at the end they talk about a new world army. An army sent to wipe out the unknown warriors. To bring forth Armageddon"

Dean tried not to roll his eyes "Sammy, good versus evil? Armageddon? How many times have we heard those phrases tossed about? We grew on up on those stories"

Sam nodded "I know, Dean. Don't you think Dad told us them for a reason?"

"So what are you saying? That we're the warriors they're supposed to destroy?"

"It fits doesn't it? I mean look at what we do? We fight evil. We do good and we do it all in secret…"

Dean grinned "So what are you saying, Clarke? The hunters are now the hunted?"

Sam gave Dean the finger "Why not? Why wouldn't they fight back? And what better way than taking us out"

Dean drummed his fingers on the table "Search for anything similar that's happened to us. Not random shootings…hits. These are hits, Sammy" he got up, grabbed their fathers journal and sat down to read.

Dean re-read the scrawl on the side of the page. He rubbed at his eyes and read it again. 'Division? Or divide and conquer? Find victory' and there were co-ordinates listed underneath it. "Sammy, I got something" he passed the journal to his brother and pointed to the page.

Sam read and re-read "Division?"

Dean nodded "Army. The divide and conquer and victory all point to a battle. Grab your bags, we're moving out"

They drove slowly down the dirt track to the property. The trees that lined that track perilously close to the Impala's paintwork. The winding path the Impala was taking meant their line of sight was limited to fifteen feet. It had been planned that way. Whoever lived here, knew what they were doing and they didn't want visitors. Unfortunately for the owner, the 'No Trespassing' and 'Private Property. Keep Out! 'signs were flagrantly disregarded by the Winchester boys.

Dean turned to Sam "You carrying?" Sam nodded, his eyes scanning the tree-line and road in front of him for any movement. They finally broke through the tree-line and into a small open area, that held a one-story, wood cabin that looked like it hadn't been inhabited for decades. The flickering light in the windows begged to differ.

Dean pulled the Impala to a stop next to an old firebird and turned off the engine. "Nice and slow, Sammy. Keep your hands where they can be seen but .."

Sam turned "Dude, I'm not an idiot" and he opened the car door slowly and got out. Dean followed suit, both of them closing the doors and walking slowly towards the cabin. They'd put one foot on the porch steps when the door was flung open. Sam and Dean looking down the barrel of a .12 gauge while the man at the door had two pistols trained on him.

"You understand the trajectory of a shotgun, boys?"

Sam smiled "Yes, sir. But there's only three feet between you and us, so the spread will only take one of us out"

Dean grinned "And you'll be dead before you can squeeze off another shot"

The man stared hard at the boys "You're rather sure of yourselves"

Dean nodded "Our father taught us well"

"Your father?"

Dean nodded "John Winchester"

"So you must be Tom and Pete?"

Dean grinned again "Unless he has another family in Florida, then no"

Sam sighed "Look, we don't have a lot of time to stand around playing twenty-questions. I'm Sam this is Dean. We found your…"

"Where's your Dad?" They didn't need to say it aloud, he saw the answer in their eyes. "Shit, when? How?"

Dean shook his head "We can't go into it right now. We found your co-ordinates in his journal…"

The man lowered the shotgun "I know why you're here. Get inside, we don't have a lot of time" he laughed "yeah, time…" he turned and walked back inside. Dean and Sam following warily.

"You can put your guns away, you're safe here. They don't know about this place"

"They?" asked Sam.

The man nodded "The ones that are after you. You and Dean" Dean and Sam glanced at each other "Sit down" and he pointed to the kitchen table. He went to a bookcase near the fireplace, removed a large leather binder and walked back, grabbing beers before sitting down with them.

"So, introduction first. My name's Gus Jackson. Your Dad and I go way back. I'm out of the game now" and he smacked at his wooden leg. "But I promised your Dad if you ever made it here, I'd help you out….cause you'd damn well need it"

Dean looked at the man, late forties, salt and pepper hair, worn short. Dark blue eyes that seemed too old for his face. "Dad never mentioned you"

Gus shook his head "He wouldn't" he stared hard at Dean and Sam and took a long swig of beer "You see, I'm your last chance, boys"

"Last chance? What the hell are you talking about?" asked Dean.

Gus opened the leather binder "You're marked, the both of you"

"Marked?"

Gus nodded "For death"

Dean grinned "Isn't that a bad Steven Segal movie?"

Sam grinned back "Is there a good Steven Segal movie?"

Gus slammed his beer bottle down on the table "I'm glad you both think this is funny! You boys are in some serious, serious shit here! I expected better from you" he shook his head "You're not you father…"

Dean tensed in his chair and said through gritted teeth "You leave him out of this. You don't know us, so you shut your mouth"

Sam intervened "Look, we're sorry but we've been on the run for over two months and we've had someone taking pot shots at us like it's hunting season…"

"It IS hunting season" he looked at them "And you two are the prey"

"Just the two of us? We figured they were going after all hunters. Not just me and Sammy"

Gus laughed "You two are the last ones left. Not the last hunters left, there's still plenty of those around. You two are the last of the new kind. More will come but you two" he laughed "you two are a prize"

"Why do I not like the sound of that?" asked Sam.

"You shouldn't like the sound of that. It ain't all that good. You see, you two …you're a new breed of hunter" he raised his hand "Don't interrupt, just let me finish. You ever wonder why it is that you two seem to be able to find evil as easily as you do? I mean most hunters don't get around anywhere near as much as you"

"Never really thought about it. I mean we just do the job and move onto the next" Dean shrugged his shoulders "Always been that way"

Gus nodded "Of course it has. You two are like the bloodhounds of the supernatural world. You pick up on the subtleties of their presence that other hunters don't…or rather can't. That's what makes you dangerous. Dangerous to them. They know it and that's why they're hunting you"

'They who?" asked Sam.

"The Cull Squad, that's what they're called"

"Culling the herd" mused Sam.

"Exactly"

"So why are we so special?" grinned Dean. "Apart from the dashing good looks and oozing sex appeal, that is"

Gus had to smile "Yeah, you're a couple of studs. I'm having trouble controlling myself. Now to answer your question, you and Sam both have gifts. What are they?"

Dean shook his head "Sam has nightmares, visions if you like…but me? Nothing"

"Bullshit" said Gus, he stared at Dean "It's not just Sam they're coming for, Dean. It's you too. So tell me what it is"

"Nothing, dude. I mean I can disassemble and reassemble a rifle in under a minute, I kick demon ass and chicks dig me but…no special powers…although x-ray vision would seriously rock" he grinned.

"Dean…" Gus turned the leather binder towards the man "Time to take your blinkers off, son"

Dean looked at the binder and started to read. He finished quickly and sipped distractedly at his beer, pushing the binder towards Sam.

Gus raised an eyebrow "So you see now?"

"I don't see shit" said Dean. There was NO way that could be right. He'd know.

Sam looked up from the binder and turned to Dean "What the hell does that mean? That Dean has some kind of in-built tracking device? That he can sense them?"

Dean shook his head "No way. Dad just taught me well"

Gus laughed "He wouldn't have had to teach you too much, Dean. It's there, inside of you. You know where they are. Any attempts at trying to hide aren't gonna work with you" he turned to Sam "And you, Sam. You have death visions?" Sam nodded "You ever wonder about who it is you're supposed to save?"

"The innocent?"

Gus smiled "Yeah, the innocent, that's part of the job. But do you think some of the ones you see could be like you? Like the two of you? The new breed of hunters? Or the parents of a new breed of hunters?"

Dean and Sam said nothing. This was seriously messing with their heads. This life was all they'd known. Dragged into it by the yellow-eyed bastard that had killed their mother. Forced to live The Life while their father hunted the demon down. Now Gus was saying …what?

"So what the hell are you saying?" asked Dean.

Gus sighed "How damn dangerous to them, to the darkness do you think you and those like you are? Think! You have an insight into their world…do you really think they're happy about that?"

"Yeah, well…screw 'em" Dean sipped at his beer.

"So we're never gonna be rid of them. They'll be hunting us until they kill us"

Gus shook his head "Nope. Universe doesn't quite work that way. You see, it's all about balance. Things must be kept in balance. The scales can't be tipped to favour one side or the other. This is a war that will continue long after you're both dead. What's happening now is ….an opportunity"

"An opportunity for them"

Gus nodded "Yeah. But you weren't given these…abilities for nothing" he stood up and went to the fridge for more beers. He turned and smiled "You boys are gonna turn the tables. No more running. It's time to send those demon-boys a message. Let 'em know their time here is over" he grinned "Time to send them back to their own time"

"Time?"

He laughed "Yeah. You've heard that hypothetical? Meeting Hitler as a kid? If you were sent back in time, would you kill him for his future sins?" both Dean and Sam nodded "Well those demons are putting that theory into practice"

Dean laughed "They're future demons? You gotta be shitting me!"

Sam shook his head "The sound, the one we've heard, Dean. The one before the first attack….and the fourth" Dean nodded slowly. Sam looked at Gus "It's like a sonic-boom, only not as loud and it makes your hair stand on end"

Gus nodded "Makes sense. They're messing with time"

Dean shook his head "How far ahead are we talking about? And I can't believe I'm buying into this"

"Believe it, Dean. Both yours and Sam's lives depend on it. Put your disbelief aside for now and listen. You beat them…you send them back, it ends …..for now"

"But they'll be back" Sam mused.

Gus nodded "They'll always be back. But right now, it's either you or them. One of you has to win for it to end" he looked at them "And I promised your Dad it would be you" he came back to the table, handed them beers "Time to get to work"

To be continued...