Disclaimer: Hahahahahaha, oh, if only, if only...
This story is COMPLETELY AU. It's based off the manga Claymore. Sam and Dean are not related. This is NOT wincest. I hope this will be a relatively short fic. We'll see how it unfolds
Dean is 20, Sam is 14
This was a really difficult chapter to write... Comment to let me know what you think. I've got a pretty good idea as far as the story as a whole, so I hope you enjoy :D
(I apologize for any grammatical errors)
Enjoy chapter three!
Time to get out of this friggin' town, Dean thought to himself as he drove toward the town's edge. Hate vampires...
Vampires were hunted nearly into extinction about a decade ago. In fact, until a few years ago, most hunters thought they were extinct. But then Daniel Elkins, a prolific vampire hunter, was murdered by a pack of surviving vamps. They now exist as packs of anywhere between five and twenty vampires, roaming the country, trying to survive.
A year ago, Dean's father finally allowed him to hunt on his own. He had only been on three solo hunts, but the Association believed he was ready to handle a vampire hunt.
Even now, Dean believed that vampires were the hardest creature to hunt. That first hunt rocked the foundations of Dean's world. To watch himself kill these creatures that look so much like humans bothered him more than he'd like to admit. With their only distortions being the set of teeth that descended when they fed...
This may have been only his second vampire hunt, but that first hunt was enough to give Dean the instincts and ability to sense them clearly. This hunt had been easier than most only because of his previous experience.
He was about the enter the woods at the edge of town when he saw a something on the edge of the road. It looked like a body.
"What the...?" Dean slowed the impala.
Normally, Dean would have just driven right by, completely ignoring whoever this Common was. But... this Common was covered in dry blood... a sinking sensation formed in Dean's stomach.
Bringing the impala to a stop, Dean stepped out, looking at the body with suspicion. Something's not right here... This isn't just some homeless Common. He approached the Common slowly, not wanting to startle whoever it was. As he got closer, the Common curled in on himself and whimpered. Dean could hear his breathing and heart rate increasing.
He knelt down behind the Common and stretched out his hand. He paused for a moment. What am I doing? He's just a Common... What do I care what state he's in?
But he could practically feel the waves of sheer fear rolling off the Common. Unexpectedly, Dean felt sorry for this person. Somehow, Dean felt that just turning around and driving away would be a little too... heartless.
So he placed his hand on the Common's shoulder, murmuring a small "Hey."
The Common jerked away from his hand, crying out in fear. Dean jumped back, startled by the Common's reaction. The Common's heart rate soared, echoing in Dean's ears. He quickly tried to stand, but he cried out in pain, and crumpled to the ground. The Common didn't move from where he lay. He just sobbed and trembled in fear. No... not fear. Terror.
Dean's chest physically hurt from the emotions and adrenaline he sensed. Of course, he was used to sensing fear from victims of supernatural entities. But usually he just shut those feelings out, focusing on getting rid of whatever entity was there. Now, not only were there no other entities to focus on, but he just couldn't seem to force himself to block the Common out.
Dean approached him again, purposely making noise to let the Common know he was there. He placed his hand on the Common's shoulder again, relieved when the Common didn't freak out. He gently flipped the Common over, ignoring his small whimpers, to get a better look at who this was.
He recognized him immediately.
"Jesus... Are you the kid I gave to the mayor?"
The kid looked at him blankly with wide eyes. He blinked a few times before recognition formed across his face. His jaw dropped open in surprise.
Dean blew out a long breath. "Jesus Christ..." What the hell happened? I gave this kid to the mayor... why is he out here?
The Common child looked a little out of it. He just stared at Dean in surprise, his eyes sweeping over Dean's body as if he wasn't sure what he was seeing was real.
Sam couldn't believe his eyes. It was the Hunter. What were the chance that out of all the people this could have been, it was the Hunter? Sam blinked a few more times, eyes darting everywhere to make sure he wasn't mistaken. Then he saw the slight unnatural gleam in the man's eyes. It was definitely the Hunter.
Sam sobbed in relief. He was safe now. He was safe.
Dean was at a loss. Now what was he supposed to do? He couldn't just leave the Common kid here. But he couldn't exactly take the kid with him either. He was brought out of his musings when the kid let out another sob. Dean sighed heavily. "Are you okay...? W-wait! What are you...?"
Dean leaned backwards in surprise as the kid leaned forward and rested his forehead on Dean's leg. He stared wide-eyed at the kid. Okay... now what am I supposed to do? Dean closed his eyes in frustration. He should have just kept driving. "Um... You..? Are you... okay?"
The Common sobbed again, this time nodding his head as well. Dean could feel warm tears starting to soak into his jeans. The kid's head trembled against Dean's leg as he continued to cry.
Despite himself, Dean felt something tugging at his chest. He couldn't just leave the kid here. Not in the condition he's in. If he did, the kid would probably be dead within twenty-four hours.
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed. He was going to regret this. "Alright, kid. You're coming with me."
Sam sat on the passenger seat of the impala, legs hanging out the door. He felt... awkward. Even though he felt safe, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to act. And the last thing he wanted to do was make the Hunter angry.
The impala was parked near a small clearing near a stream. The Hunter told him to stay put as he went to go start a fire. Sam watched the process with fascination. Vampires didn't seem to care what the temperature was, so there was never a need to create any heat; even when they weren't staying in buildings.
Sam had vague memories of his father making a fire, similar to how Dean was making one, but a lot less successful. His father was never very good with outdoorsy types of things.
Sam shook his head, pushing the memories back. Last thing he needed to do was think about the past.
Dean stood once he got the fire going. He found enough wood to last at least a few hours. Dean figured they were going to need at last that long to get settled in.
Dean turned back to his car and saw the Common child watching him. He was an unusual child, that was for sure. Usually a Common's instinct was to fear and avoid Hunters. This Common seemed almost relieved to be around Dean.
The Common noticed Dean looking at him and quickly looked down at his lap. He looked a little embarrassed.
Dean sighed and walked toward the impala. Well, might as well take care of him now.
Sam looked up at the Hunter as he walked towards him. He wrung his hands in his lap. He hoped he didn't make the Hunter mad.
"You're obviously injured," the Hunter said, kneeling down in front of him. "Let's get you washed up. Then I can look you over and take care of any injuries you've got. 'Kay?"
Sam nodded, relieved that the Hunter didn't seem angry. His ankle wasn't hurting nearly as much now, so he carefully stood up and started to limp toward the creek. He still couldn't put too much pressure on his ankle, but at least he could walk now.
Dean grabbed a couple washcloth and a bar of soap from the trunk, carefully watching the Common silently stumble towards the creek. He realized he hasn't heard a single word out of the boy. Of course, having had been with vampires, the Common was probably traumatized.
Dean joined the Common at the stream, handing him a washcloth. "Strip down to your underwear. I'll help you clean best I can."
The Common nodded and slowly started to take his clothes off. Dean couldn't help but notice him wincing in pain as he did so.
Dean stripped down to his underwear as well, not wanting to get his clothes wet. He stepped into the stream, unfazed by the cold water. "C'mon. It's cold, but you'll get used to it."
As the Common slowly stepped into the stream, it occurred to Dean that he had no idea what to call this kid. Not know if he'd get a response, Dean said, "By the way... My name's Dean. Dean Winchester. What's your name?"
Sam smiled, despite his chattering teeth. (The water was really cold.) Dean... he liked it. It was a cool sounding name.
Then Sam registered the question Dean asked. A sudden feeling of shame washed over him. After all this time with Kal and the others, Sam was used to not speaking. He was used to being punished for speaking. While he was pretty sure Dean wouldn't punish him, he couldn't seem to make himself say anything.
When he didn't get a response, Dean gave a nonchalant shrug. "That's okay." He soaped up the washcloth he was holding before handing the bar of soap to the Common. "Wash off the blood from your face and arms. I'll get your back and work on your hair."
The Common nodded and did as instructed. While he was doing that, Dean took this as an opportunity to not only clean the boy up, but to assess him for damage. He kept a steady line of dialogue going as he started to clean the kid. "You know, I'm going to have to call you something. I can't just call you 'kid' or 'Common'. You need a proper name."
As Dean wiped off the blood and grime, he started to notice just how skinny the kid was. His ribs and hip bones jutted out sharply as Dean cleaned. This kid was clearly underfed.
He also started to notice the scars and still-healing wounds. As expected, there were bites littered all over the Common's shoulders and back. Some of them were scarred over, others were relatively fresh and bled anew as Dean cleaned.
"How about I give you a name? I suggest a few, then you can nod or shake your head to let me know which one you like. Sound good?"
The Common paused in his cleaning for a moment, then nodded his head in agreement.
"Alright, then. How about... James?"
It wasn't just bites. There were also large scars that were probably from untreated lacerations. And what was even more disturbing, was the half-healed patches all over the Common's body. It looked as though someone had skinned sections of the kid's body.
The Common shook his head to James.
"Alright... what about Lars?"
The Common stopped cleaning and turned his head around to give Dean a look.
"Okay, okay. So I might have been naming off members of Metallica. Sue me."
The Common smiled, the resumed cleaning himself.
What disturbed Dean most, however, was the unresponsiveness of the Common when Dean was cleaning out the healing wounds. He hissed and flinched a few times, but nothing more than that. It was like the Common was hardened to the pain.
Dean started on the Common's hair, pulling out the clumps of blood. He noticed the kid started to do the same with the hair in front of his face.
"How about John? Straight forward, average name."
The Common quickly shook his head, obviously not liking the name.
Dean laughed. "Yeah, I don't blame ya. 'Sides, last thing I want to do is associate you with my father."
As Dean continued to clean out the kid's hair, he noticed another patch of scarred skin underneath the hair on the back of the kid's neck. It had also been skinned at some point. And not very neatly. Thankfully it was fully healed so Dean wouldn't need to clean it and cause the boy any more pain.
"How about Samuel? That was my grandfather's name. He's dead now, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind you borrowing his name."
Dean had to stop cleaning out the Common's hair when the boy turned his head around to look at Dean with wide eyes.
Dean quirked up an eyebrow. "Really? You like it? I was thinking it was kinda old for you. I think Sammy would fit you better. What d'ya think? Do you like Sammy?"
The Common just stared at Dean for a moment, before smiling and nodding his head.
Dean smiled, honestly pleased with himself. "Alright. Sammy it is. Now let's finish cleaning your hair so I can treat these wounds of yours."
Sam was still in just his boxers, but with his proximity to the fire, they were quickly drying, and Sam wasn't so cold anymore.
Sam forced his breathing to remain even as Dean cleaned the wounds everywhere else on his body with peroxide. He tried to remain mostly stoic, but he couldn't help the occasional flinch or hiss of pain.
There were only a few fresh wounds that freely bled, but Dean seemed more worried about the half-healed ones. He made doubly sure to clean those out well, which usually meant opening the wounds again. It wasn't fun, but Sam assumed Dean was doing what was best.
Sammy. Sam couldn't believe how close Dean got to guessing his name. I mean, seriously. What are the chances that Dean's grandfather would have the same name as me? But Sam was glad. It would have been weird to have been called by a different name.
Sam stared into the fire, thoughts wandering. He couldn't believe Dean actually took him in like this. He could have left him on the side of the road like most others would have done. But no. He brought Sam along for the ride and was even taking care of him.
He closed his eyes and sighed. It wasn't going to last though. Sam knew that much. Dean was a Hunter. He can't just take a Common around as he's killing entities. Sooner or later, Sam was going to get in the way. And in Dean's line of work, it could get him killed.
But Sam wasn't going to think about that now. For now, he'll enjoy just being with Dean; safe and secure.
Dean felt his stomach twisting as he treated Sammy's wounds. He really shouldn't be surprised. It's not like those vampires kept Sam around as a guest. Still, seeing the ways that they've brutalized this kid brought unwanted images into his mind.
Judging from some of the scars, Dean guessed that Sammy had been with the vampires for at least five years. Maybe more. It's no wonder the kid doesn't want to talk.
Then there were the bruises. The very fresh bruises. Some of them were even still forming. These hadn't been inflicted by the vampires. The townspeople did this damage.
Dean should have figured it out earlier when he found Sammy on the side of the road. Sometimes, the victims of supernatural encounters will be ostracized by others, usually out of fear. It didn't really make sense to Dean, but he knew it happened sometimes. And with the shape that Sammy was in, it was probably very easy for the townspeople to automatically demonize him and to want to get rid of him.
"You're all patched up, Sammy." Dean quickly got up and ran back to the impala, putting the bandages away and grabbing some clothes. "Your clothes are pretty much burn-worthy at this point. You're skinny, but you're not that much shorter than me, so these should fit."
Sam caught the clothes as Dean tossed them to him. He quickly put them on and sighed. It was nice to have clothes that weren't so thin and scratchy.
Dean couldn't help but smile when Sammy snuggled contently in his new, too-big clothes. "Here. You can use this sweater as a pillow. Try and get some sleep. I know the ground is not the best of beds but at least you're by the fire. Not to mention we'll be leaving pretty early tomorrow morning."
Nodding, Sam laid down on his side, bunching up the sweater and placing it under his head. After the emotional roller coaster that's been this day, it didn't take long for Sam to fall into deep sleep.
Dean stayed up to watch the fire. He also watched Sammy sleep. Out of all the thoughts running through his head, he refused to acknowledge the ones about what he was going to do with Sammy in the long run. That was a problem for tomorrow.
So what'd you guys think? Review and let me know!