On to the next chapter, hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Supernatural owns me, not the other way around.

Chapter Four

"Stop it Sam."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Yes you are."

"Am not."

"Sam, I swear if you don't quit I'm gonna come over there and kick your ass."

"Grouch."

"Grouch!. What d'you expect. I can't so much as twitch without you jumping out of your seat and checking I'm still breathing. What you gonna do when I need to take a leak or a shower? You gonna watch me then too? Quit Sam, now, please, I'm fine." Dean had had enough being treated like a bug under a microscope. Even before he'd opened his eyes this morning he knew that Sam was watching him, observing him, checking he was okay. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the concern, it just made him uncomfortable. Dean didn't like being the centre of attention; it wasn't something he was used to and he just didn't like it.

I was just worried about you is all and I promised dad, Pastor Jim and Bobby that I'd look out for you." Sam couldn't quell the tremor in his voice as he spoke, after all it was just a few days ago that his brother had nearly died right in front of him and to make matters worse, it was all his fault, it wouldn't have happened if he'd not allowed himself to become distracted.

"I know, and thank you Sam, but it's over so lets ju………….."

"I'm sorry Dean. If I'd been doing my job properly it would never have happened."

Dean's eyes sought out his brothers but Sam wouldn't meet his gaze. Oh no, nonono he was not gonna let his brother go down that path. There was nothing he could have done to prevent what happened but convincing the kid of that was not gonna be easy.

"Sam."

Sam answered with a "Yeah." But still didn't make eye contact with his brother.

"Sam, this wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could have done. Look at me."

Dean remained silent as he watched his brother nervously trying to decide whether to do as asked or, if Dean knew anything, make some excuse and bolt for the door. Luckily for the both of them Dean's request won out with Sam turning to face his older brother his big brown puppy dog eyes slowly rising to meet the familiar, comforting green gaze of the one constant in his life.

"Sam, this was not your fault."

"But Dean, if I'd……….."

"But nothing. Hell Sam, if it's anyone's fault it's mine, I'm the one who insisted we went into that damn basement even after dad and Bobby told us to stay out, I'm the one who disobeyed an order. So let's end this, now. It's not your fault, you couldn't have done anything to stop me. Okay!"

"But….."

"No buts Sammy. Please, let this go. For me."

Sam could see the sincerity shining in his brother's eyes and couldn't help but comply with his wishes. "Okay Dean." His brother's next words causing him to snort with laughter.

"What I'd really like to know is how the Three Musketeers could have left me at the mercy of my pain in the ass, geek boy little brother."

"The Three Musketeers? You sure you didn't hit your head? Hey, maybe I should check it out."

Sam ducked as a pillow sailed through the air towards him followed by the word that told him everything was right between he and his brother.

"Bitch."

Sam and Dean instantly sobered when they heard the gruff voice of their father. "What the hells going on here." John held on to the pillow which had been meant for Sam. "Sam you were supposed to be watching out for your brother, instead I come back to find you both acting like a pair of five year olds. John took a breath, looked at the guilty faces of his boys and had to use every ounce of self control not to burst out laughing, it was good to see them having a little fun, particularly after the events of the past few days. He again addressed his youngest son. "How's he doing."

Sam was prevented answering by the grunt he heard coming from his brothers mouth and couldn't suppress a chuckle at the disgusted pout that appeared on his face at hearing his dads question of his younger brother.

"Er hello, I am in the room y'know. Geez dad, I don't need that little runt to look out for me, I'm quite capable of doing that for myself thank you very much. Now, you got anything to eat in those bags."

"Glad to see you're feeling better Dean." Pastor Jim quickly stepped in to prevent a mini war of words between the Winchester family, he quickly sidestepped John giving a grinning Bobby an elbow to the ribs as he passed, grabbing a bag containing a burger and fries and handing them to Dean followed by a steaming cup of coffee.

Dean kept his eye on his father as he took the long awaited food and was relieved to see him hand Sam his food and sit and eat with the rest of them.

Sam finished his food and couldn't wait a moment longer. "Dad………………"

John knew what was coming and cut his son off before he could ask. "I know Sam, I just wanted to wait until your brother was well enough to take in all the details. This is a dangerous bastard and we can't afford to take any risks the next time we hunt this son of a bitch. We have to end it once and for all.

"I'm fine dad."

John looked at his eldest, appraising the young man for any signs that he was covering up how he really felt. After all Dean was a master at disguising his own pain, but this time John was not going to let that happen. He had to admit though that the boy did look pretty good considering what he'd been through just a few short days ago.

John took a deep breath, steadied himself and began recounting the story of the hunt that had come back to bite them two decades later.

"You boys were real young, Sammy, you were little more than a baby when I got a call from Jack ,the hunter who'd been tracking this thing for a month, asking me to join him because he was getting nowhere fast and the body count was rising. I took you boys to Jim's and left, fully expecting to be gone two, three days at the most but after a week I knew I was gonna be away a lot longer than I'd first thought."

"That first basement we found, I had never before seen bodies so badly mutilated, they were literally turned inside out, apart from the head that is, the head and face was always left untouched, except for the symbol painted on the forehead in the victims own blood, the terror filled, lifeless eyes illuminated in the dark. The internal organs had been torn from the bodies, some had the bones ripped out or simply snapped into pieces and all were impaled to the wall with a dagger through the left side of the stomach, a dagger engraved with the same symbols each victim was marked with." John nodded towards Dean. "The same dagger as was used on you Dean."

"I knew this was big, bigger than anything I'd come across, I hadn't been hunting for too long, I'd done plenty of salt and burns, dealt with low level demons, poltergeists, angry spirits and the such like but nothing like this. I really thought that this was gonna lead me to yellow eyes, I was finally gonna get that bastard for what it'd done to my family. I couldn't see beyond that, I was at last gonna avenge Mary's death. But of course things didn't quite work out like that. The body count continued to rise, Jack and I would get close, real close, sometimes the bodies were still warm, we even found one alive, the skin stripped from practically his whole body, his broken bones visible through the shredded flesh, his intestines hanging from a gaping hole in his stomach, the blood dripping from the raw flesh and a dagger impaling him to the wall, and still the poor bastard was alive, how the hell he'd survived that long I don't know. We tried to find a way to help him, his name was Gary, that was one of only four words he was able to speak, one of the others being' please' as his eyes stared at my shotgun begging me to end his agony. We tried everything we could think of Jack and I, but there was no cell reception and we were miles from anywhere. I remember looking around that old building, desperately trying to find something we could use to get him out of there. It was then I found the traces of sulphur, the air was too thick with the smell of rotting flesh for the aroma to be noticeable at first.

I wanted to look at anything but the terrible sight in front of me. As I looked around I remember my eyes were drawn to a movement along the wall, towards the corner of the room where there was a tiny hole in the wall, making their way in what I could only describe as a military formation were at least ten to fifteen spiders, all scurrying towards the hole and disappearing from the room. I so wanted to be one of those spiders, I wanted to just get out of that room, away from the agony of the latest victim and away from what I knew I was gonna have to do. I was gonna have to end his suffering, there was no way I could leave him like that and getting help was not an option. As I pulled the trigger I swear I heard a thank you. Jack and I salted and burned the body, made drawings of the symbols and got out of there. We staked the place out for twenty four hours but nothing showed. This thing had obviously moved on. It was then that I decided we needed help."

John paused for a moment, took in the expressions on his sons' faces before glancing at Jim and Bobby, both giving him a nod of reassurance to continue with the story.

"Jack and I made our way back to Jim's place where we researched for info on the symbols, Bobby, Caleb and Joshua, joining us, the thought being that out of the six of us we would undoubtedly come up with a way to find and get rid of this bastard, and sure, we managed to identify the symbols, knew we were dealing with something big, very big, this was definitely a nasty son of a bitch, but we couldn't pinpoint a location, it moved around a lot, left no pattern, left us no clue as to why demons and witches would join forces when usually, to my knowledge anyway, the two wouldn't inhabit the same air space without one trying to obliterate the other."

John stopped his commentary of what had happened all those years ago to explain to his sons something he had neglected to do as he was training them for the life he had led them into. "It's rare, very rare for a witch and a demon to collaborate on anything. Witches are peace loving and would usually not harm another without provocation."

Dean interrupted his dad. "I thought it was white witches who were the peaceful ones and the black witch who was the one to be wary of."

"You're right in a way Dean. The white witch will use her powers to heal and to help others. I have never come across a white witch who has done harm to another, in fact, a white witch will do only good. What I'm basically saying is that if you come across the signs of witchcraft, such as the symbols you found, you need to get away, stay away and call for help from one of us. I do not want you to try and figure it out. Ever. Understand."

Both Sam and Dean nodded but didn't speak, only listened as their dad continued the story of that long ago hunt which had led them here today.

"Jack, Bobby and I left Jim's place after a couple of days. Caleb and Joshua had hunts they needed to get to and Jim stayed to research some more and take care of you boys. Over the next two weeks we found another twenty six bodies, all in the same condition as the others, thankfully non still alive, and all were marked with the same symbols. We just kept drawing a blank on getting any nearer to catching this thing until one night, three weeks later as we drove past an abandoned school building Jack caught sight of movement at the entrance to the basement. We decided to check it out, not really expecting to find what had eluded us for so long. We split up, each of us covering one of the three exits we'd found after scouting around the area. From inside we could hear the screams of the poor bastard that was now at the mercy of this thing and knew we at last had it cornered but knew we couldn't rush it, we had to take it slow, careful, we wanted to catch it and end it and this was the best chance we'd had in all the time we'd been after it. The screams from inside the room became louder, filled with agony, god, it was awful to hear, we could only imagine what was happening in there.

We decided, Jack, Bobby and I, that we would seal the other three exits allowing us to enter together, giving us a better chance of fighting whatever was inside.

Thirty minutes later we were ready, the screams had become mere whimpers by now, but we could still hear movement so we readied ourselves and together we entered, being as quiet as we could but couldn't prevent the old door squeaking as we inched it open. What we saw when we entered sickened each one of us..

There had to have been at least twenty' people', various ages, even children and elderly amongst them, all with blood on their hands and around their mouths, each of them, we surmised, had had a go at the latest victim who was now mercifully no longer breathing. What happened next happened so fast neither Bobby nor I could prevent it.

Jack, so horrified at what he was seeing rushed headlong into the 'beings' crowded around the body and began trying to pick them off one by one with his gun, but the bullets appeared to have no effect on them. They merely shrugged each hit off as no more than a small irritation. Bobby and I made a move to help him but found ourselves flung against the wall, unable to move, we had to watch as Jack was impaled to the wall with a dagger and literally gutted before our eyes, the skin peeled from his body, his bones snapped into small pieces. I swear I will never forget his screams of agony for as long as I live. He must have survived for a good ten minutes as each of them picked at him before finally marking him with the symbol, painted in his own blood."

John looked at Bobby as he continued, to find his friends eyes downcast as he too remembered the terrible events of that day.

"We thought our time was up. Now they'd finished with Jack they were gonna start on us we were sure, but instead, one by one, each of them disappeared right in front of our eyes. At least that's what we thought. It wasn't until there was just one of them left that he turned to us, gave a triumphant smile and said just four words before he too disappeared.

"You've seen. You next."

We were released from the wall only to stare at the blood filled room. It was Bobby who noticed the movement along the bottom of the wall. There, again moving in formation, was a long line of spiders, they just looked like common spiders, not too small, not too big, just a common spider you'd find in the bathtub. I remembered the time we'd found the guy Gary alive, there were spiders there too. I didn't even think about it, I just pulled my flamethrower out and toasted the bastards as they scurried along the wall. Bobby and I soaked what remained in lighter fluid and salt and burned them again. We salted and burned the entire building before we left.

We continued to hunt this thing but the only victims following Jacks death were his wife and children, all died in the same way as the others. Three months we looked, searched everywhere, killed every damn spider we saw but no more bodies showed up, nothing. I was still uneasy about it though, the words 'You've seen. You next.' Just wouldn't leave me and the fact that Jacks family had been targeted worried me enough to keep searching to make sure we'd obliterated every last one of them but in the end we both figured that as nothing was happening we must have killed em all so we ended the hunt and I moved on with tracking the demon and Bobby did the same. We both forgot about it until you boys called us."

"So now it's back to avenge the death of it's kind at your hand." Dean spoke the words the others were thinking.

"Looks that way. We have to finish this, this time there can be no doubt that we have finished every last one of them. As soon as you're well enough Dean we need to get moving on finding it, before the body count starts to rise again."

"I'm fine. Let's just get started. Sammy you can start on the research, dad you need to scout around, find out if there are any missing persons, any strangers around, anything that's out of the ordinary. Dean was itching to get moving and was unaware of the amused expressions on the faces of his family and friends as he issued his orders.

Bobby gave Sam a nudge and a wink as he stood, walked over to stand in front of a rummaging through his duffle Dean and just waited. Dean had finally managed to find a clean pair of jeans and t-shirt before he noticed the pair of feet standing to the side of him. He raised his head to look at the serious face of Bobby Singer and raised his eyebrows in question, waiting for Bobby to speak.

Bobby gave a salute before he spoke. "Sir, what would you like private Murphy and me to do, Sir?"

Dean looked at Bobby wondering what the hell was up with the man, then he caught sight of the faces of the other men in the room. "What?"

John grinned at his eldest. "Nothing son, nothing at all."

The small group spent the rest of the day researching but came up empty handed. This thing seemed to have disappeared off the radar, not a trace could be found.

Dean was impatient to get this hunt underway properly and could see only one possible way to bring it out of it's hiding place. Now the only thing left was to convince the others that it was a good idea.

"I know how we can get it to show itself." Dean spoke as they were having dinner which consisted of pizza and beer. Once all eyes were turned his way he took a deep breath and laid out his plan, confident that once they all thought about it they would agree. "We find an abandoned building, which shouldn't be too hard around here, and then I go inside and wait whilst you four keep watch outside. Onc…….."

"Are you out of your mind?" Sam could hardly believe his ears, his brother, the same brother who had just days ago practically been killed, now wanted to act as bait. "No way Dean, you're not doing it. Dad tell him."

"Your brother's right Dean, it's too dangerous. This thing will not hesitate to finish the job it started, no, you're not doing it." John was both proud and horrified at his sons' suggestion. Proud that he would be willing to do such a selfless thing and horrified at the pictures his mind conjured up of what his son would look like if they failed to get to him in time.

"Dad, we really don't have a choice. We could spend the next god knows how long waiting for this thing to show up and then be unprepared when it does. At least this way it's fresh in our minds, we're ready for it, we could finally put this hunt to rest." Dean watched his fathers face, could almost hear his mind turning over what he'd just said and knew the moment his father was going to stamp on the idea.

"No, Dean, it not happening."

"But……….."

"No. end of discussion."

"Your dad's right son, it's far too dangerous, this things fast, we couldn't guarantee getting to you in time. We can't risk it." Jim watched as the young man he'd watched grow from a little boy into the adult he now was try to find the words to continue his argument, to convince his dad that his plan would work when a knock at the door drew all eyes toward it. Bobby went to open it only after ensuring they were all prepared for the unexpected. He opened the door to find the motel manager standing outside.

"Hello, sorry to disturb you but I just wanted to warn you to take care. The police have just dropped by to let me know that a body's been found, down at the old bakery. Apparently it's the fourth this month and as badly mutilated as the others were. They're thinking it may be a wild animal and have asked me to alert everyone to be on the lookout, to take extra care. They say it's probably best to stay indoors during dark as all of the disappearances have happened at night. Well that's all I needed to let you know so I'll wish you a good night. If you need anything just give me a call. Goodnight now." With those words the motel manager left to return to his office.

"Dammit" John Winchester brought his hand down hard on the table, his frustration clearly getting the better of him. "There's no way this fucking bastard's gonna kill anyone else. We know where it is so I say we go get the shit. What d'you say." He looked around the room, waiting for a response. His eldest son was the first to speak. "Well you know I'm in."

"How d'you wanna do this." Bobby was ready to go, he too needed closure on this but at the same time he wasn't gonna let one of these boys put themselves in the line of fire. They'd find some other way.

John avoided his sons' eyes as he laid out his plans. "Sam, Dean, you're staying here, I don't want you involved in this, I can't risk it. This thing knows who you are and will more than likely make you it's first target."

*********************************************************************

Outside the room two moths fluttered around the warm glow of the lamplight, intermittently making their way to the door housing the five men who would suffer at their hands for wiping out many of their kind. The insects could hear the raised voices coming from within the room and knew their time was close, they would soon have the revenge they had waited so long to wreak. John Winchester would lose his son. Tonight they would take the eldest, the one they had nearly taken the last time, they would not fail this time. The boy would suffer, his end would not come quick, of

that they were both sure.

*********************************************************************

"What, no way dad, no way am I sitting this one out." Dean could barely contain his anger at his dads words and was determined to change his mind. "We c……."

"Dean I said no, that's final, my minds made up and I will not discuss this any further, am I understood." John Winchesters voice a low growl as he spoke. He knew that his sons would want to be involved but he couldn't risk it, particularly after what had happened over the last few days.

Sam and Dean shared a glance before Dean once again tried to change his fathers mind. "We are gonna be a part of this. I know you have a score to settle with this thing but so do I, hell I want payback for what that bastard did to me and theres n……"

Deans words were cut off by his fathers angry voice "I said no, that's final." John Winchester walked to the door, pulled it open and turned to his sons, surveying them for a moment before adding, "I'm gonna get the weapons out of the trunk and when I get back I don't want to hear anymore of this. Understood." As he left he heard the quiet voice of Jim explaining to his sons why it had to be this way. John was thankful he had the priest as a friend, the man had a calming influence on all of them when things got a little heated.

Once at his truck John pulled it open and began retrieving the items he knew he would need. First and most importantly he pulled out the shotgun loaded with the 'special' bullets, quickly followed by another shotgun, this time loaded with rock salt, he grabbed a couple of knives and salt and was just about to slam the trunk closed when he suddenly remembered lighter fluid, "Can't leave that behind now can we" he grabbed the can and thrust it into his pocket where it lay within easy reach along with his never without flask of holy water before securing his truck and turning to make his way back into the motel room.

*********************************************************************

None of the four occupants of the motel room noticed the two moths glide gracefully into the room as the eldest Winchester had left.

None of them knew what hit them. One minute the four of them were having a heated debate concerning the, as far as Sam and Dean were concerned anyway, unbelievably unfair decision for the two younger men to be left out of this hunt, the next they were lying unconscious where they fell.

The closer John got to the motel room the more his anxiety increased. He had no idea why, he just knew he had to get into that room and fast. He could see the light glowing through the partially open door but could hear no sounds coming from inside, he quickened his pace and was just feet from the door when it slammed shut. He ran as fast as he could considering the weapons he was carrying and on reaching the door shouted for someone to let him in. Silence. He tried again. Silence. He dropped the weapons and thrust his shoulder into the door with all his might and still it didn't give. Standing back John raised his leg and kicked with all the strength he had shattering the lock and allowing the door to swing open.

He ran inside only to find the unconscious forms of his youngest son, Jim and Bobby, his eyes scanned the room for his eldest but found no trace. John, on hearing a groan from Sam rushed to his side and helped him up, sitting him on the bed, next he moved to Jim and bobby and did the same for them, all the time his eyes scanning the room but still finding no Dean, he frantically checked the far side of the bed, thinking his son could have fallen, but again found nothing. The bathroom, Dean must be in the bathroom. He made his way to the small room and pushed the door open, the dim light only revealing an empty space. He checked behind the shower curtain and was just about to make his way back into the main room when his eyes landed on the broken window, the jagged edges of glass tipped with blood, fresh blood, Dean's blood. He turned as he heard a sound behind him and gasped as his eyes took in the sight of a symbol painted on the white tiled wall behind the door, the same symbol which told him exactly where his son was.

"Dean, wha happened, you o……………" Sam stopped as he saw his dad walk towards him, "Dad, I thought it was Dean, is he okay" Sam tried to look past his father and into the room but found his vision blocked. He let himself be guided back into the main room, the pit in his stomach telling him that something was very wrong, but not wanting to accept it. "Dad where's Dean, is he getting the weapons? He shouldn't be out there, you heard what the motel manager said" He made to break free from his father's grasp but found himself gently lowered to the bed.

John checked each of the three hunters over, the only injury being found on his son in the shape of a nasty bump under the shaggy hair at the back of his head. He fetched each of them a drink of water and then demanded to know what had happened.

Sam was the first to speak, his words only reiterating what John already knew. "One minute we were all just sitting here, discussing the hunt and the next you were here. I don't have any idea what happened."

John explained about the symbol painted in the bathroom and the broken window, surmising that Dean had been taken by the demon. He quickly began planning the best, quickest and safest way to get his son back, Jim and Bobby working just as diligently. After thirty minutes a plan was in place and they were ready to leave. Sam stood, looked his father in the eye and stated his intent "I'm coming too."

John stood and went to the door, returned his sons gaze and simply said "I know."

*********************************************************************

Dean awoke to the feeling of something stroking his face, murmured words of encouragement reaching his ears. The sickening feeling of déjà vu forced his eyes open, revealing the very same bitch he'd encountered the last time.

"Hi Dean, good to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same but no offense, you're the last freak I wanted to see."

"Now that's not very nice is it Dean? I thought we were friends."

"You always slice your friends open? I gotta tell you, you need to work on your social skills."

Before he could say anything further Dean felt himself pulled upwards, an iron like grip on his shoulders. He was thrust backwards, his head hitting the wall behind him with a loud thud. "I really don't like you Dean, or your family and so called friends, so if you're as smart as you think you are you'll shut up right now. You see, I'm not as friendly as my partner here, I want nothing more than to make you suffer, make your father suffer for what he did to my kind."

Any words Dean was about to speak were cut off by the burning agony of the skin on his stomach slicing open as the dagger the demon was holding was thrust into the flesh underneath, the blood once again soaking his jeans as he tried to hold onto conciousness, his breath coming in short sharp gasps.

"Having fun yet Dean?"

"Fuck off."

"Now now Dean, such language and in front of the little ones too."

"Little ones, what in gods name are you talking about."

"Why our children of course."

Dean's attention was drawn to the female demon slowly walking across the empty space in the middle of the room, a proud smile on her face. "Hey kids, you wanna see what Daddy's gonna do today."

Dean watched with unbelieving eyes as right before him the three tiny spiders following the female demon morphed into three children, two boys and a girl. The little girl excitedly jumping up and down as she looked at him "Daddy daddy can I help, please daddy please." The male scooped the little girl up into his arms and swung her high, her delighted shrieks echoing around the room "Not today sweetheart, mommy and daddy have been waiting for this one for a very long time and we have to get it just right, but you can go have a look if you want to." The little girl was gently lowered to the floor and along with her two siblings tentatively walked towards their 'parents' captive.

Dean involuntarily tried to shuffle backwards but found he was unable to move, his body held rigid by invisible bonds. The 'children' came closer and closer, stopping at his feet. The little girl put out a foot and kicked his leg, the unexpected flash of pain as the movement pulled on the dagger causing him to draw in a gasping breath. Delighted by the reaction their 'sister' had received the two boys knelt and crawled closer to Dean's upper body, peering at his face as they moved. Dean once again tried to edge away but found himself still unable to move. The boys giggled as they as one grasped the handle of the dagger and twisted it a full 190 degrees, watching with undisguised joy as the object of their fun cried out in agony, the excited shrieks of "again, again" ringing in his ears.

Dean knew he was on the verge of losing consciousness, the black spots clouding more and more of his vision, the insurmountable pain racking his body was almost more than he could cope with when his face was hit by a wall of ice cold water as the children were lead away by their 'mother.'

All hope of oblivion gone for the time being Dean tried to calm his breathing, tried to quell the nausea and fight the all consuming pain as he watched the female hug each of the children, instructing them to go stay with their cousins until 'mommy and daddy' came for them, which wouldn't be too much longer she assured them. He knew what was going to happen but was still amazed when he saw the 'children' change back into the three tiny spiders and scurry towards the corner of the room disappearing through a tiny hole at the bottom of the wall, the female watching them lovingly until they were out of sight.

"So what do you think of my kids Dean." The female joined her partner at Deans side.

"Must…….cost…..a ……fortune……in…..shoes." Was the only thing Deans fevered mind could come up with.

"Funny Dean, real funny. Y'know, I'm beginning to like you, too bad you're a Winchester, we coulda been friends under different circumstances."

"Don't….think….so….you….shit….ass….freak."

Dean's head snapped back as the demon smashed it's fist to the side of his face, splitting the skin and almost shattering his cheekbone. He felt himself lifted from the floor before being dragged to the centre of the room and dropped unceremoniously into a heap at the demons feet, hearing the unmistakable crack as the bone in his arm snapped. The young hunters body could take no more, the darkness enveloping him, giving him temporary respite from the pain.