Chapter Six: Identity
3:45pm
He had been hiding in the bathroom for hours. Damn his luck.
Of course, how was he supposed to know that he was going to be here.
"Goddamn witch and her spells." He cursed under his breath. "Not even a week and the hunter's already on my trail." He had hoped that the library would be a safe haven. After all, the hunter hated books. But he had shown up nevertheless. Thankfully he'd been able to sneak into the back restrooms before he was spotted, but how long would he have to stay in hiding?
He couldn't risk leaving until he was sure the adversary was gone.
Subconsciously he rubbed the tattoo encircling his right wrist. It was a habit he had picked up whenever he was worried about something. It was a wonder it hadn't been rubbed away with all the worry going on in his life.
That's when the unexpected happened.
A loud squeaking sound reached his ears, announcing the arrival of a tall man as he walked into the bathroom and headed slowly over to the sinks. Finallyཀ
3:46pm
Okay, Sam had to admit. He did not see this coming.
One minute he was splashing cold water onto his face and staring at his reflection in the mirror, then the next the cold hard steel of a knifes edge was pressing dangerously against the side of his throat. Sam couldn't fathom where it come from. Had he been so out of it he didn't even see somebody sneaking up behind him? Dean would never let him live it down. 'Only if he knows.' that tiny voice in his head whispered mockingly. Why in the world he was thinking about trying to hide this from Dean while he was still in the line of fire, Sam would never know.
"Is he gone?" A harsh voice growled out. It sounded strangely familiar.
"Who?" Sam asked in confusion.
"Tall guy, ratty clothes and eye patch." The knife pressed closer until a small slit opened enough for a steady trickle of blood to come flowing out.
Sam's head was pounding still from the vision and a wave of dizziness and nausea swept over him for a moment. "No, I haven't seen anyone like that."
A dark laugh chuckled softly behind him. "Thanks."
Not a second later and the pressure from the knife was removed. . . and then replaced by a burning, gut wrenching pain flaring from his left side. "Agh." Sam fell to the floor in agony as his hand tried to find the offending object causing the discomfort. His fingers wrapped around the previously used dagger that was now protruding from his side, right above his hip bone and the dark crimson blood was pouring out like it was Christmas morning.
The grating squeak of the swinging door sounded in his ears as it opened and closed, letting it known that his attacker had fled.
Blood was quickly covering the tiles on the floor as Sam lay still on his back. "Dean." What he hoped was a yell for his brother turned out to be more of a pitiful whisper for help. 'Dean will find me.' he thought with an unfelt hope.
'Only if he finds out.'
3:50pm
The adrenaline rush that always followed the sight and smell of blood was exhilarating to say the least. He was ecstatic.
Ever since wasting that female hunter, Danielle, he had felt the insatiable desire for more. . . until now. He had never had such a buzz before. A small laugh escaped his lips as he rushed down the library hall to the nearest exit. He hadn't even killed the guy. Just a stab. It's too bad he didn't actually see the victims face. . . he would have liked to come back for more. 'If he doesn't bleed out that is.' he thought happily to himself.
Engrossed in his thoughts and still high from the recent experience in the bathroom he didn't even glance at the two people standing at the end of the hall with expectant faces as he approached. He also didn't see them as he pushed by them and rushed outside into the open air.
He didn't hear as the taller one called out for him as his vision was focused on one thing. A car. He needed something fast and it was sitting right there. In all of its sleek black glory sat a '67 Chevy Impala just begging to be taken. Without a second thought he rushed over, smashed in a window, jumped inside, and hot-wired it in less then twenty seconds.
A loud squeal of tires was all that could be heard as he drove out of the lot in a blazing line of glory, leaving dark black rubber marks on the pavement as the only sign he had been there. . .
3:50pm
Dean watched expectantly as he saw the tall silhouette of his brother exit from the bathroom, trotting toward him at a rapid pace. The dimmed hallway lights cast dark shadows across his face, hiding some of his features but the elder could tell that he was excited about something.
'Maybe he figured out whatever's been bothering him for the last few days.' He thought hopefully.
But Sam wasn't even looking at him. His eyes were glued to the library exit doors as if trying to run from something. But what?
Not a second later and he was right in front of him. Dean reached out his hand to place it on his brother's shoulder.
"Sam- heyཀ" Dean stood in confused shock as his brother roughly pushed him out of the way to get to the exit. Sunlight streamed from the open door, blinding Dean temporarily until it closed again, leaving him in synthetic light coming from the library ceiling. "Sam, what are you doing?"
The younger didn't show that he heard him as he smiled while standing still for a moment before he began to laugh excitedly and then run over to the Impala sitting peacefully in the parking lot. "What the hell?" Dean muttered quietly. Why would Sam be going to his car without him? It's not like he was going anywhere without the keys. . .
Both Dean and Colin pushed open the glazed over doors to follow him. "Samཀ" Dean yelled one more time to the turned back of his brother before he was stunned by the sound and sight of shattering glass assaulting his senses. He couldn't believe what was happening.
With mouth agape, he watched as his brother hopped through his car's window and hot-wired the vehicle, leaving burn marks on the gravel below as he screeched away. 'Sammy?' What was going on? Dean stood there in stunned confusion unable to process in his mind what had just taken place. Sam. . . stole. . . his car. His baby. Why? What reason could there be? Did something happen in the bathroom. Just as he was about to go check that theory out a small whistle interrupted his inner thoughts.
"Dude. . . was that Sam?"
Dean suddenly remembered he was with Colin. He licked his dry lips and cleared his throat in an attempt to make talking easier. "Uh, yeah."
"You want to try and catch up to him?"
"He took my car." It sounded so stale in his mouth.
"We can take mine." Colin offered.
Dean nodded in agreement and followed the kid over to where his car was parked. He was going to find his brother, make sure he was alright, and then pound him into a day that doesn't end in 'y' until the younger swears to never pull a stunt like that again.
Dean smiled at the thought. Like he could make his brother do - or not do - anything. Sam had never been the 'Do as I say, not as I do' sort of person. He was more of the 'Live by example' kinda guy. It was a characteristic Dean had been mostly proud of, but at times. . . dealing with a stubborn ass like his brother could be a real bitch sometimes. . .
'I'm coming Sammy. I'm not going to make you go through whatever this is alone.' Dean silently swore to both his brother and himself. If it were up to Dean, Sam would never be alone. Never.
3:55pm
Sam could hear Dean calling out his name from. . . somewhere. Not here.
Dean wasn't here.
Sam was alone.
But Dean was yelling for him. He must know something was wrong.
"Dean." Sam attempted to make himself heard but the deep roaring in his ears was making it difficult to tell if he was screaming or just mouthing the word. "Dean. . . help."
Why wasn't he here yet? Surely he didn't get lost.
Dean was yelling his name again.
Why did it sound farther away?
The sticky crimson liquid was pooling ominously around his fingertips as he tried to reign in his wild thoughts. Breathing was becoming increasingly harder and the pain in his side - no pun intended - covered up any agony that had previously been at the expense of his throat. His head was pulsing in a steady erratic beat as his blood rushed up, causing intense pressure in his skull.
'Looks like you're on your own Sammy boy.' his inner voice taunted him mercilessly. 'Let's see how you do without big brother coming to the rescue.'
His eyelids were like heavy weights he wasn't prepared to lift; his breaths coming out in thick unrhythmic gasps for air. His hair fell forward in an attempt to shield his eyes from taking in the sight of the red splatters surrounding him in a kaleidoscope of one color. His hands were rendered useless as one was placed on his throat like a temporary patch and the other wrapped around the handle of the scarlet covered blade conveniently placed a little above arms length.
He was screwed.
Even if the blade hadn't penetrated a vital organ, at this rate he was going to bleed to death.
The inner geek suggested he start timing himself to see how long it would take to lose enough blood to pass out.
But the rest of him screamed out the survival instinct.
Already weakened by the recent vision and the sickness he had been fighting, the odds at even being able to roll over were looking pitifully slim. Damn his luckཀ Or lack thereof. . .
'Just keep breathing.' he coached himself silently then gasped when a sharp pain snaked through his chest as a protest to the meager amount of oxygen he had managed to suck in. 'Dammitཀ' Sam knew at that moment that he had cracked at least one rib on the descent to the tiled floor earlier. What was worse was that he was now seeing stars. Or maybe they were fireworks. They were different colors after all.
He fought to control his eyes from rolling up and sending him off to the land of darkness kindly offering him a place away from the pain he was suffering, but it was no use. The blackness grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him into it's cold embrace, leaving his last memory being the increasingly irritating squeak of the bathroom door and the sound of a panicked female scream echoing around the large walls.
'Yeah.' Was his last thought. 'I'm just that hot. . .'
Witness Statement - Months later
-:- Maria Castes / Age: 20 / Occupation: Ex- library 'toilet scrubber' (her words, not mine)
If I had known what I was I going to find at work today, I probably would have just called in sick. It would have saved me a hell of a lot of time and I wouldn't have missed my favorite TV show. Yeah right, like you wouldn't have done the same thing. Walking into the mens bathroom, expecting to find fluids in only the toilet and then stumbling across a bleeding to death body on the ground isn't exactly what I call a good time. Sure. . . I admit the guy was super hot - I mean the hairཀ God the way it fell across his face. . . I couldn't really see his eyes but he had great shoulders. . . sigh
Anyway.
He was bleeding all over the tiles on the ground. I thought he was dead so I screamed. Yeah, one of those screams that should raise the dead and are strictly prohibited from being used in a public library. Needless to say, despite the circumstances, I lost my job. Damn my shrill voice and lung capacity. . . Well at least I won't be the one on clean up duty for that fiasco.
So it turns out that the guy was only unconscious. Thank you sweet Lord. Ladies around the globe may now sleep in peace. I stayed with him at the doctors bidding when no family or friends could be found immediately. - Though honestly, I didn't need any convincing after I realized I had an excuse to run my fingers through his angelic hair. . . Sorry. I tend to ramble when I'm nervous. Or excited. . . or angry, or confused, or sad, depressed, happy. . . Actually, I just like to hear the sound of my own voice and had no problem in blessing his unconscious sexy ears with hours of it. I wondered if he had a brother. If he did, was he also a 'chick' magnet? Probably.
The guy's ID was missing and so was his cellphone- Assuming he had one in the first place - so we didn't really know who to contact about his condition. He had just got out of surgery and then in recovery right after. They were allowing me to be with him but I hoped that he would wake up soon. Not only because I wanted to see his eyes, but because I had a feeling that he's important to someone. . . and that someone was important to him.
-:- Narration ends
4:56pm
"Yeah, I'm just that hot."
Samuel rubbed distractedly at his wrist tattoo with his left hand while the right remained holding onto the leather patented steering wheel of the best car he had ever stolen. He had just discovered a pair of sunglasses in the glove compartment and marveled at how it seemed that they were made for him. The fit was perfect, and it screamed 'badass with attitude'. Hence the recent remark on how 'hot' he was. Well it wasn't like he was bragging. He had run into a thousand girls who were practically paying him to jump into bed with them. And who was he to tell them that there was no Santa.
He laughed at all the memories and then turned the wheel to the right, completely disregarding the 'no turn on red' sign in front of him. The sun was on the verge of leaving afternoon and becoming evening and he still had yet to find somewhere to sleep and something to eat.
He sighed with resignation. He really should have brought the guy from the library bathroom with him. The buzz effect from the mere stabbing was beginning to wear off and Samuel was unquestionably starting to miss it. Drugs were a poor comparison to the high he had been feeling earlier.
Well, he should have thought about that while he was there. It was too late to go crying about it now.
A small movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and caused his head to turn to see what it was about.
A wicked smile tugged playfully at his lips as he cut the engine of the Impala in front of an ominous looking alleyway and opened the door to exit the vehicle.
"Looks like I'll be eating out."
4:56pm
Dean and Colin had been following Sam for about an hour now and it didn't seem like the wayward brother had any idea where he was going.
"Maybe he just needed to clear his head?" Colin suggested about thirty minutes ago.
Dean had glared at him and then roughly pointed out that if he wanted to clear his head he would have taken a walk and not smashed in the Impala's window to go out on a joyride.
Colin agreed and continued to follow Sam.
Just as he was about to admit that they needed to stop for gas Dean yelled out to turn right.
"Right manཀ" Dean yelled out. "He turned rightཀ"
"It says 'no turn on red'." Colin pointed out.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Come on. You pick now to announce what an upstanding citizen you want to be?"
Colin merely grinned and winked over at the elder, letting his blue eyes sparkle with mischief. "Are you kidding? I have a reputation to keep hereཀ"
With a sharp jerk of the wheel and squeal of the tires, Dean was almost thrown into the passenger window from the momentum of shooting between traffic and just nearly missing a truck in pursuit of his brother.
Colin sped up a little to keep up with the pace the Impala in front of them had taken while laughing quietly to himself at the surprised expression Dean had pasted onto his face. "What? If you wanted The Fast and the Furious, all you had to do was ask." Colin laughed again in obvious entertainment.
It took a minute but Dean joined him with a few chuckles of his own before breaking out in amused hysteria. "God kidཀ I haven't seen a move like that since I was thirteen and wanted to be the next-"
Dean's praise of the kid's driving ability was cut off as suddenly as engine of the vehicle in front of them. "He stopped?" Dean asked, confused as he glanced around at the location. "Here?"
Colin seemed equally bewildered. He hadn't known Sam as long as Dean, but this didn't seem like a place the guy would boast of having a good time.
He cut off his engine and Dean stepped out of the car quietly, walking over to Colin's window. "Thanks for the lift man. I guess I can handle it from here." He offered up a smile that didn't reach his worry filled eyes.
Colin nodded in understanding. "Just tell me how it all turns out." With that he backed out of the one car road and headed out to the main division.
Dean watched the car until it merged in with traffic before he picked up the pace to follow Sam who had disappeared behind the alleyway corner and lost sight of him. It didn't matter though. . .
What he heard was enough. . .
Ending Author notes: Yesཀ We have made contact with a doppelgängerཀ dances for joy Of course you probably all hate me for Sam. . .
Extra note: To make this all easier on the reader, once I had (hopefully) established that this doppelgänger looked like (is) Sam, I'm going to try to keep referring to him as 'Samuel'. This way there will be a slight distinction between the two and you will hopefully be able to keep track on which is which.
Extra, extra note: No fear. There will be plenty of ConfusedཀDean and probably HurtཀDean too. This wasn't meant to be a complete Samcentric fic. I love Deanཀ His time is coming. . . - Kerri
