Sam and Dean begin the hunt for Morgan, but something unexpected turns up...
They had been tracking Morgan for days, almost a week now. Sam and Dean kept an eye out for any changes that Dean was experiencing. Besides the usual healing, Dean's hearing and sense of smell had advanced. Dean admitted to hearing a squirrel across the highway three miles away. Smelling the after scent of the people who were in the rooms before them.
He had taken off his shirt and examined himself. His muscles were more defined, more built, not like ever before. Everything seemed clear and vivid. So much was coming at him at once that Dean had to just sit there for a while and just tune out, sit under the shower and think about what he had become, and what was going to happen to him.
What was weird was that they had followed Morgan all the way across Mississippi, and in a small town they found traces where she had crossed paths with another were. The scratch and claw marks that they found in the woods seemed to show that they had fought, whether over territory or the man-which they had found lying nearby, they couldn't tell.
Dean trembled at that memory. The stench of blood was heavy in the air. But Dean found that he didn't turn his nose at it like he used to, but actually indulged in the smell. His olfactory senses were going crazy, and his mouth actually started to water. He followed it, while Sam was busy taking pictures with his phone. Behind a bundle of trees, he found the young blond man with his chest ripped wide open. Morgan must have been interrupted in her meal, because the heart hadn't quite been gotten to, yet. The young man's dead eyes stared up at him desperately. His neck and the underside of his chin were splattered with his own blood.
Dean knelt down next to the body. The ribcage had been torn wide open, and Dean could practically see the heart resting there. Just waiting for the taking…Dean leaned forward and dipped his fingers into the man's open cavity, drenching the tips of his fingers in blood. His fingernail brushed against the heart, and he felt a shiver go up his spine. He took his fingers out and held them up to his face, closing his eyes. He inhaled the fumes, letting them overcome his senses, flood his conscience. His fingers were drifting closer and closer to his mouth, his tongue leading to his lips, desperate for a taste…
"What did you find, Dean?" Sam asked, coming around the trees. Dean quickly snapped out of it and wiped fingers on his jeans.
"Maybe what they were fitting over." Dean said, turning to Sam. "Come on, let's get out of here before anybody important shows up."
Now they were back in the hotel room, and Dean had an unbelieving feeling towards his behavior. Had he actually wanted to…? Dean felt sick.
"Huh, you know what's weird?" Sam said, not looking up from his laptop. " It doesn't seem like they were the same animal."
"What?" Dean asked, puzzled.
"Come take a look at this. I downloaded these pictures from my phone." Sam clicked on a picture as Dean sat down next to him. "See, this is what a regular North American canine footprint looks like. But this one…"
Sam clicked on another photo. It was another paw print, but the toes were a lot bigger and more spread out, as well as longer in the way that resembled fingers, almost. The pad was narrower, but it was almost as wide as the span of the toes. This thing had huge feet.
"What do you think that's from?" Dean asked, looking at the picture curiously.
"If I had to guess, I'd say some sort of African wild dog, or a hyena." Sam shrugged at the look he got from Dean. "They don't need nimble feet on the savannah."
"So, what, do you think there's different where animals out there?"
"It could be. There's tons of lore on it, Dean."
"Yeah, but Sam, don't you think that if there were different kinds of were's, don't you think a hunter would have seen one by now?"
"There's a certain theory that the animal in question is different based on the region. Whatever animal is a symbol of power is bound to be the shape of the were." Sam explained. "In North America and Europe, it's a wolf because we share so much culture. In Africa, it may very well be a hyena, or a lion, or any other huge predator that prowls around. And it doesn't even specifically have to be a dog. I hear in South America, they have wereleopards."
"Alright alright, I get the gist." Dean said waving it off with his hand. "So what's a werehyena doing in America."
"You got me there, bro." Sam said. He and Dean stared at the picture of the paw print.
Nothing was making sense.
A/N: So another short one. I think the next one is one of the good ones. Maybe. Stick with me, it's going somewhere. Read, review, and enjoy!