Walking in the dark
Narrow hallways, all I see
This static in my heart
Is bringing out the worst in me

I look up to the light
And feel the sky is opening
I need a steady heart
To even out the frequency

Don't let me slide
Slip down this well of lies
It's dark inside
Inside this well of lies

Flyleaf – Well of Lies


After finding the address Castiel had told us about, Dean and I crept up to the abandoned building, peering inside the window to see Sam and Ruby standing in front of a man, who was tied to a chair in the middle of a devil's trap.

"Where's Lilith?" Sam asked.

"Kiss my ass." The demon spat.

"I'd watch myself if I were you." Sam threatened

"Why? Huh? Because you're Sam Winchester, Mr. Big Hero? And yet here you are, slutting around with some demon. Real hero."

"Shut your mouth."

"Tell me about those months without your brother. Without your sister to keep you on the straight and narrow. About all the things you and this demon bitch do in the dark. Huh? Tell me, hero."

Suddenly, Sam narrowed his eyes a the demon, the black smoke being forced out of the man without him having to say anything. Dean and I watched in shock and disbelief as the demon's smoke completely left the man, burning through the floor.

"How'd it feel?" Ruby asked.

"Good. No more headaches." Sam nodded, untying the man.

"None? That's good."

Dean stalked over to the door, kicking it in, clearly fuming. Sam and Ruby both looked up in shock as Dean moved inside, anger rolling off of him in waves. "So...anything you wanna tell me, Sam?"

"Dean, hold on, okay?" Sam asked. "Just let me-"

"You gonna say, let me explain? You're gonna explain this? How about this? Why don't you start with who she is, and what the hell is she doing here?"

"It's good to see you again, Dean." Ruby smiled.

"Ruby?" Dean asked, looking back to Sam. "Is that Ruby?"

Suddenly, Dean grabbed Ruby's shoulders, shoving her up against the wall, pulling out her knife. Just before he could stab her, Sam grabbed his arm, holding him back. The two struggled for the knife for a moment before Sam took it just as Dean pushed him against the wall.

Just then, Ruby grabbed Dean's pinning him against the wall. I quickly moved over to Sam, catching him off guard as I grabbed the knife out of his hand, standing behind Ruby, placing the knife to her throat.

"Don't!" Sam exclaimed.

"Let him go, or you're dead." I hissed, pressing the blade harder against her neck. I felt Ruby swallow hard underneath it, she let go of Dean's throat, stepping back with me. Out of nowhere, I felt Sam grab my arms, pulling the blade out of my hands as he did so. "Let me go!"

"Just stop!"

"Why?" I asked, glancing back at him as Ruby glared at Dean. "I swear to god, if you touch him again-"

"Ruby." Sam called, his voice hard. Ruby looked back, listening right away.

"Well, aren't you an obedient little bitch." Dean commented, gaining another glare from Ruby.

"Ruby, he's hurt."

Ruby glanced back at Sam, looking over to the man that was sitting in the chair, waking up slowly. She looked back to Dean, letting out a heavy breath before turning to the injured man, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, helping him to his feet.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Dean asked.

"The ER. Unless you want to go another round first." Ruby replied, glancing over at me. "You have a lot of nerve coming in here like you didn't know about any of this."

Dean's eyes widened at her words and he immediately looked over at me, his brow furrowed. "What?"

"I didn't."

"Sure you didn't." Ruby muttered as she left.

"What is she talking about?" Dean asked.

"Dean-"

"You knew about this? You knew he was doing this!?"

"No!" I exclaimed, watching as Dean turned without another word, slamming the door shut as he left. I shrugged out of Sam's arms.

"Tori-"

"Save it." I snapped, pulling the knife out of his hand with a glare, leaving the abandoned house.

Once outside, I looked around to see that the Impala was gone. Dean left, and I really couldn't blame him. I just wish he'd let me explain, not that it would do a lot of good right now. Through he probably expected me to ride back to the motel with Sam. But I wasn't about to do that.

I heard Sam walk out behind me, stopping when he saw the empty parking lot, aside from his car. "Dean's gone."

"No shit."

"You can ride back to the motel with me."

"I'd rather not."

"What? How will you get back?"

"I'll be fine." I said, starting to walk down to the end of the property.

"Tori, come on."

"I told you not to do this, Sam."

"What is so bad about what I'm doing?!" He exclaimed.

"If you have to ask, I don't even want to waste my time telling you." I said, glancing back at him. "But there's one thing I will say. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow…but one way or another, Ruby will end up dead. And you can bet your ass I'll be the one to do it."


I pulled my jacket a little tighter around myself as the cold air whipped around me, blowing my hair into my face. My mind didn't seem to stop working as I went over what I was going to say to Dean a million times. I just hoped he'd give me the chance to explain myself. Sam didn't give me an option to stay and help him. I didn't know what I was supposed to do.

Suddenly, the ringing in my eyes got pushed to the forefront and I looked up to see Castiel walking next to me out of the corner of my eye. I let out a small yelp, jumping back slightly at his sudden appearance.

"Jesus! You could give a girl some warning. What do you want? Because I've had a tough day, so unless you can zap be back to the motel, I don't want to hear anything."

"...alright." Castiel nodded, placing a hand on my forehead.

"What the- wh- what?" I asked, looking around to see that I was in the motel parking lot.

"This is what you asked for isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then there you go."

"Right." I nodded, placing a hand on my chest as my heart beat erratically. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"I suppose."

"Can angels see the future?"

"Not really."

"Okay."

"Why?"

"I just- it's stupid but...I wanted to know if Dean would forgive me for all this."

Castiel stared at me for a long moment, looking down to the ground before meeting my eyes again. "I think so."

"If you can't see the future, what makes you say that?"

"...because he cares for you."

"Yeah." I smiled, seeing the Impala pull up and when I turned back, Castiel was gone.

I walked over to the car as Dean started to get out, shooting me a hard look. "Where's Sam?"

"I don't know."

"How'd you get back here so fast? You didn't walk, did you?"

"No. Castiel."

"What? He gave you a lift back here?"

"Angels are better than taxi's. Who knew?" I shrugged, following him as he made his way over to the door. "Dean-"

"Not right now."

"Just let me explain."

"What is there to explain?"

"A lot." I said, grabbing for his arm. He quickly shook my hand off, turning around to face me. "You don't understand-"

"How could you let him do that?"

"I didn't know he was doing that."

"But you knew something."

"So you believe Ruby all of the sudden?" I snapped, getting fed up with him not even trying to hear me out.

"Well, you didn't argue with her."

"Listen, you have no idea what things were like while you were gone, okay? Sam started drinking. A lot. He was worse than you and Bobby combined. I had to do everything just to try and keep both of our heads above water. I wanted to give up so many times..." I muttered, my voice trailing off. "But I didn't. Because I knew you'd be disappointed in me if I did. I knew I'd be disappointed in me, too. And I knew Sam needed me. But Ruby showed up, she told Sam that he could kill Lilith if he went along with her and started using his powers again. I tried to convince him not to, but he didn't listen. And he didn't give me an option. I had to leave. I didn't want to see him like that...especially when I didn't have you anymore. I swear to you, I didn't know him using his powers would mean he could exorcise demons with his mind. I had no clue. But there was nothing I could've done, Dean. You Winchester's are fucking stubborn. Believe me, I wish things were different."

Dean nodded, turning around, starting to throw some of his stuff into a bag without saying another word.

I watched him for a moment, letting out a breath. "Do you forgive me?"

"...yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Packing my shit."

"You're leaving?" I asked, my heart dropping.

"We're leaving." Dean said, throwing an empty duffel bag into my hands.

"But Sam-"

"Can take care of himself."

"Dean, he needs us."

"For what? He has Ruby, he has his freaky powers, that's all he seems to need."

"Dean-"

"You left him before, you can do it again."

"Don't say that." I snapped. "That's not fair. I told you, I didn't have another choice. It was either watch Sam give into his powers, or keep trying to get you back. I'm sorry, but I had to choose the second one."

"I know." Dean nodded, glancing back at me, an apologetic look breaking through his anger, that had subsided slightly. "I didn't mean it that way, okay?"

Just then, Sam walked in, seeing Dean putting more stuff into a bag. "What, are you- are you guys leaving?"

"You don't need us. You and Ruby go fight demons."

"Hold on. Come on, man." Sam called, walking up behind his brother. Suddenly, Dean turned around, his anger back in full force as he punched Sam hard in the face.

"Dean!" I called, getting in between the two of them as Dean fumed.

"You satisfied?" Sam asked, wiping blood from his lip.

Dean threw his bag on the ground, clearly furious. He smacked the lamp off the nightstand, sending it crashing to the ground. I placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back slightly. "Dean, calm down. Please."

"Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone? How far from normal? From human?" Dean asked his brother.

"I'm just exorcising demons."

"With your fucking mind!" Dean exclaimed, stepping towards Sam slightly. "What else can you do?"

"I can send them back to hell. It only works with demons, and that's it."

Out of nowhere, Dean pushed me to his side, grabbing Sam's jacket, shouting at him. "What else can you do?!"

"I told you!" Sam exclaimed, pushing Dean away as I pulled him back.

"And I have every reason in the world to believe that."

"Look, I should have said something." Sam muttered, glancing over at me. "I'm sorry, Dean. I am. But try to see the other side here.

"The other side?" Dean asked incredulously.

"I'm pulling demons out of innocent people."

"Use the exorcism!"

"This way is faster! Look, I've saved more people in the last five months than we save in a year."

"Is that what Ruby wants you to think? Huh? Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers?"

"She didn't trick me."

"Oh, she didn't?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. "Tori's got a much different story. And you know what? I believe her."

"Of course you do?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. "That I'm lying?"

"He'll always believe you."

"Because I know she's telling the truth." Dean said. "Slippery slope, brother. Just wait and see. Because it's gonna get darker and darker, and God knows where it ends."

"I'm not gonna let it go too far."

"It's already gone too far, Sam. If I didn't you know...I would wanna hunt you. And so would other hunters."

"You were gone." Sam said, looking up with tearful eyes. "I was here. I had to keep on fighting without you. And what I'm doing...it works."

"You and Tori were together, you were fighting. You were getting along just fine before that bitch showed up."

"That's not true."

"Tell me. If this is so terrific, then why'd you lie about it to me? Why did an angel tell us to stop you?"

"What?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Cas said that if we don't stop you, he will. See what that means, Sam? That means that God doesn't want you doing this. So, are you just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?" Dean asked, tears forming in his own eyes.

Just then, Sam's phone rang, the shrill sound cutting through the silence before he answered it.

"Hello? Hey, Travis. Yeah, hey. It's good to hear your voice, too, yeah. Um, look, it's not a really good time right now. Yeah, okay. Uh, well, just give me the details." Sam muttered, going over to the nightstand to retrieve a pad and pen. "Carthage, Missouri. Looking for Jack Montgomery."


ROAD – NIGHT

After a good amount of silence had filled the car, Sam had asked us what happened with us last night. Dean and I went through the whole thing, from start to finish. I glanced back at Sam, seeing a shocked look on his face.

"I can't believe it. Our Mom's knew each other."

"They were like sisters." I muttered.

"And they were hunters."

"I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself." Dean said. "Mom could kick some ass. I mean, she almost took me down."

"How'd she look? I mean...was she happy?"

"Yeah, she was awesome. Funny and smart. So hopeful." Dean said, glancing over at his brother in the backseat. "Dad, too. Until of course…" Sam nodded, letting out a sigh. "What?"

"It's just, our parents. And now we find out our grandparents, too? Our whole family murdered, and for what? So Yellow Eyes could get in my nursery and bleed in my mouth?"

Dean looked over at me, the both of us sharing a suspicious look before turning to Sam. "I never said anything about demon blood."

"Oh." Sam mumbled, looking guilty.

"You knew about that?" I asked.

"Yeah, for about a year."

"A whole year?" Dean asked.

"I should have told you. I'm sorry."

"You've been saying that a lot lately, Sam. But whatever. You don't want to tell us, you don't have to. It's fine." Dean shrugged it off, staring back at the road, his jaw clenched.

"Dean." Sam called, realizing after a moment that Dean wasn't about to talk anymore. "Whatever."


CARTHAGE, MISSOURI – DAY
Montgomery Residence

After our long drive, we were now stationed out in front of a normal looking suburban home, peering into a kitchen window with a couple pares of binoculars. A dark-haired man stood in front of a refrigerator, peering inside.

"Are you sure that's him?" Dean asked.

"Only Jack Montgomery in town." Sam replied.

"And we're looking for…?"

"Travis said to keep an eye out for anything weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, well, yeah, I've seen big weird, little weird, weird with crazy on top. But this guy? I mean, come on, this guy's boring."

"I don't know, Dean. Travis seemed pretty sure."

Through the binoculars, I watched as Jack took a swig of his beer, grabbing some leftover chicken, beginning to eat it frantically, shoving large pieces in his mouth, tears huge chucks off with his teeth until there were only clean bones left, throwing them aside before grabbing a pack of uncooked meet, shoving handfuls into his mouth. The three of us lowered our binoculars, staring over at the scene in front of us with disgust.

"I'd say that qualifies as weird." Sam mumbled, shooting me a look.

MOTEL – DAY

Once we'd have enough of watching Jack pound down more raw meet, we made our way back to the motel. I went inside first, a small smile appearing on my face as I saw the older, bald man sitting at the table, a beer in his hand.

"Well, well, well." Travis mumbled, looking up at me. "You still holding up alright in this life?"

"Oh, I am. Much better than you, apparently." I commented, nodding to the cast on his arm.

"Smartass." He commented, walking over, pulling me into a hug. "Get over here."

Travis was one of the only other hunters that didn't give me a lot of shit back when I first joined the Winchester's. And whether that had to do with John and Bobby threatening him or not, I'll never know.

Travis broke away from me, giving each of the boys a hug. "Good to see you."

"You too." Dean smiled.

"Man, you got tall, kid." Travis commented, holding the tops of Sam's arms. "How long has it been?"

"Gotta be a good ten years." Sam replied.

"You still a mathlete?"

"No."

Dean grinned. "Yup, sure is."

"Been too long. I mean, look at you. Grown adults. John would have been damn proud of you, sticking together like this."

"Yeah, we're as thick as thieves. Nothing more important than family." Dean said, following Travis back over to the table, sitting in front of him. I glanced up at Sam, seeing a sad look on his face.

"So, you track down Montgomery?"

"We found him at his home." I replied as Sam and I sat on the edge of the bed.

"And?"

"Well, he had a hell of a case of the munchies, topped off with a burger he forgot to cook." Dean muttered.

"That's him alright."

"What's him?"

"We got a rugaru on our hands."

"A rugaru ? Is that made up?" Dean asked, glancing over at me. "That sounds made up."

"They're mean, nasty little suckers." Travis explained. "Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works."

"Well, that ain't this guy. I mean, he was wearing a cellphone on his belt."

"He'll turn ugly soon enough. They start out human, for all intents and purposes."

"So, what?" Sam asked. "They go through some kind of metamorphosis?"

"Like a maggot turning into a bull fly. But most of all, they're hungry."

"Hungry for what?"

"At first, for everything, but then...for long pig."

"Long pig?" Dean asked, his brow furrowed.

"Human flesh." I explained, sharing a disgusted look with him.

"And that is my word of the day."

"Hunger grows in, until they can't fight it. Until they got to take themselves a big, juicy chomp, and then it happens."

"What happens?" I asked.

"They transform completely and fast. One bite's all it takes. Eyes, teeth, skin – all turns. No going back either. They feed once, they're a monster forever. And our man Jack's headed there on a bullet train."

"Well, how'd you find this guy if he's a walking, talking human?" Dean asked.

"Let's just say it runs in his family."

Sam nodded, letting out a breath. "You mean, uh…"

"Killed his daddy back in seventy-eight. Son of a bitch mangled eight bodies before I put him down. Guy used to be a dentist. Cadillac, trophy wife...little did I know, pregnant trophy wife. She put the boy up for adoption. By the time I found out, he was long gone, lost in the system."

"You mean to tell me you couldn't find someone?"

"I'm not sure I wanted to. The idea of hunting down some poor kid...I don't think I'd have the heart. No. I wanted to wait, make damn sure I had the right man. Apparently, I do." Travis muttered, taking a swig of his beer.


Not too long after that, Sam had gone out to get some more information on Jack Montgomery while Dean, Travis and I stayed behind, fashioning small fire extinguishers into flamethrowers.

If someone told me back when I was twelve that this is what I'd be doing at twenty six, I would've laughed right in their face, that's for sure.

"So, you two kids are finally together, huh?"

"What?" Dean asked, glancing up at Travis from across the able.

"How long has that been going on?"

"How'd you know?"

"Well, I may be old, but I'm not blind." Travis laughed. "How long?"

"Like seven years." I said.

"Seven?" Travis asked, his eyes going wide. "Wow."

"Yeah."

"How'd John take it?"

Dean and I shared a glance, both of us shrugging as I looked back to Travis. "Well, he didn't really know the first year."

"You managed to keep something like that from one of the best hunters out there?"

"Two, really." Dean muttered. "Bobby didn't know either."

"Well, I'll be…you kids must be pretty sneaky."

"I guess so."

"John kind of eased up on us about it eventually." I said. "As long as we didn't let it affect the job."

"You know, underneath everything, John was a good man."

"Yeah." I nodded, sharing a look with Dean, the both of us remembering John in his younger years, something we, weirdly enough, could say we had experienced.

"So fire, huh?" Dean asked, changing the subject.

"The only way I found to kill these bastards." Travis nodded. "Deep-fry 'em."

"Well, that's gonna be horrible." I mumbled. "Is that what you did to Jack's dad?"

"Uh-huh."

"Not wasting any time, are you?" Sam asked, walking back into the room, a small stack of papers in hand.

"None to waste. The guy hulks out, we won't be finding bodies, just remains."

"What if he doesn't hulk out? I did a little homework. I've been checking out the lore on rougarous."

"What? My thirty years of experience not good enough for you?" Travis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No. No, I just wanted to be prepared. I mean, not that you didn't-"

"Sam loves research. He does. He keeps it under his mattress right next to his KY. It's a sickness." Dean interjected, gaining a glare from his brother. "It is."

"Look, everything you said checked out, of course, but uh, I found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this rougarou gene or whatever. See, they start to turn, but they never take the final step."

"Really?" I asked, taking a few of the papers from him.

"See, if they never eat human flesh, they don't fully transform."

"So what?" Dean asked. "Go vegan, stay human?"

"Basically. Or in this case, eat a lot of raw meat, just not..."

"Long pig."

"Right."

"Good on you for the due diligence, Sam." Travis muttered, getting up to pour himself another cup of coffee. "Fact is, every rougarou I ever saw or heard of, took that bite."

"Okay, well, that doesn't mean that Jack will."

"So what do we do? Sit and hope and wait for a body count?"

"No, we talk to him. Explain what's happening. That way he can fight it."

"Fight it?" Travis laughed. "Are you kidding me? You ever been really hungry? I mean, haven't-eaten-in-days hungry?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded.

"All the time." I added, glancing over at him with a small grin, shaking my head.

"Right, then. So somebody slaps a big, juicy sirloin in front of you, you walking away?" Travis asked. Dean thought it over for a moment, raising his eyebrows in a silent no. "That's what we are to him now, meat on legs. I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a stand-up guy, but it's pure, base instinct. Everything in nature's gotta eat. You think he can stop himself 'cause he's nice?"

"I don't know. But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for." Sam said, his voice hard and serious. Dean and I watched him as he turned and left, seeing Travis staring at him with a puzzled look.

"What's up with your brother?"

"Don't get me started." Dean sighed.

"Come on, let's go." I said, walking over to the door.

"Go where?"

"To talk to Jack."

"You're kidding."

"Dean."

"Fine." Dean sighed, grabbing his jacket as he walked over to me. Over his shoulder, I saw a small grin on Travis's face as he watched us.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. See you kids later."


ROAD – DAY

Outside, we found Sam waiting by the Impala, wanting to go speak to Jack as soon as possible. I couldn't say I disagreed with him, which is why we were driving through the Montgomery's neighborhood.

"Alright, so we're gonna go have a little chat with this guy, which, you know...I'm down." Dean said, glancing over at Sam, who just stared out the window at the passing trees. "But I just want to make sure, if push comes, you're gonna shove."

"Meaning?" Sam asked, not looking at his brother.

"Well, odds are we're gonna have to burn this guy alive."

"This guy has a name and a wife."

"Yeah, who we're probably gonna make a widow, okay? I mean, you heard Travis. He's gonna turn. They always turn."

"Well, maybe he won't. Maybe he can fight it off."

"And maybe he can't, that's all I'm saying."

"We'll just have to see, okay?" I interjected.

A few moments of silence passed over us before Dean spoke up again. "You sure your emotions aren't getting in the way here?"

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"You know, nice dude, but he's got something evil inside. Something in his blood. Maybe you can relate."

"Jesus, Dean." I sighed, shaking my head.

"Stop the car." Sam fumed.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Stop the car, or I will!" Sam exclaimed, the whole scene very reminiscent of what happened between Bobby and I before we buried Dean.

"Alright, alright." Dean said, pulling the car to the side of the road. Before it even came to a stop, Sam jumped out, walking around back.

"Really?" I asked, shooting Dean a look.

"What did I do?"

"Oh, come on." I huffed, getting out of the car, hearing Dean follow me.

"You want to know why I've been lying to you, Dean?" Sam asked. "Because of shit like this. The way you talk to me, the way you look at me. Like I'm a freak!"

"I do not."

"You know, or even worse, like I'm an idiot!" Sam exclaimed, placing his hands on his hips. "Like I don't know the difference between right and wrong!"

"Do you know the difference, Sam? I mean, you've been kind of strolling a dark road lately."

"You have no idea what I'm going through. None."

"Then enlighten me!"

"I've got demon blood in me, Dean! This disease pumping through my veins, and I can't ever rip it out or scrub it clean! I'm a whole new level of freak! And I'm just trying to take this- this curse and make something good out of it. Because I have to."

"Okay, why don't we all just calm down here?" I asked, looking between the boys. "Let's just go talk to Jack. Maybe we can do this. Maybe he can do this."

"Yeah, alright." Dean nodded, his voice my more calm now. "Let's go talk to the guy."

Sam shook his head, letting out scoff. "Yeah."

Dean rolled his eyes, throwing his arms out to the side. "I mean, Jack, okay?"

After a moment, Sam gave a near non-existent nod, following Dean and I back into the Impala.


MONTGOMERY HOUSE – DAY

Once we'd arrived at Jack's house, we made our way around the back, finding him standing near a small garden, a running hose in his hand. He barely even noticed our presence, seeming completely spaced out, staring down at the soil.

"Jack Montgomery?" Sam called. It took a moment for Jack to even respond, glancing up at us with bloodshot eyes. "I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother, Dean and my sister Tori. We need to talk."

"About?" Jack asked.

"About you. About how you're changing."

"Who the hell are you guys?"

"We're people who know a little something about something."

"We're people who can help." I added. "Just hear us out. Please."

"Fine." Jack nodded, shutting the hose off before dropping it on the ground. "What?"

"Things are changing for you. And you might not believe us, but you're- well, there's no easy way to say this, really. You're turning into a rougarou. It's a...creature of some kind...and-"

"You've probably been feeling your bones move under your skin. And your appetite's reaching, you know, hungry-hungry-hippo levels." Dean added, a little less eloquent that I would've put it. "How am I doing so far?"

"You're telling me I'm a- a-"

"A rugaru. Sounds made-up, I know, but believe me, it's not."

"Alright, I've noticed certain things. I mean, some strange things. But I just, I- I don't know. I'm- I'm sick or something."

"Your father was one of these things." Sam said. "Your real father. He passed it on to you."

"No. Are- are you guys listening to yourselves? You sound like you're-"

"Let's skip the whole you guys sound crazy, shall we?" Dean asked, not wasting any time. "You're hungry, Jack. You're only gonna get hungrier."

"Hungrier for...?"

"Long pig. You know, a little manburger helper, may have crossed your mind already."

"No."

"It doesn't have to be like this, Jack. You can fight it off." Sam told him.

"No." Jack repeated, shaking his head.

"Others have."

"We're not gonna lie to you, though. It's not gonna be easy." Dean said. "You're gonna feel like an alcoholic swimming around in whiskey. But I'm telling you. You gotta say no..."

"Or what?"

"You feed once and it's all over." I explained.

"And then we'll have to stop you." Sam added.

"Stop me? My dad, dud somebody stop him?" Jack asked.

"Yes."

"Get off my property right now." Jack said, suddenly getting angry. "If I see you guys again, I'm calling the cops."

"Jack, your wife, everybody you know, they're in danger."

"Now!" Jack exclaimed, calling attention to one of his neighbors that was outside.

"Okay, okay. We'll go." I said, the boys and I turning to leave.

"Good talk." Dean commented as we left the property, heading back to the Impala parked near the sidewalk.


By the time night had fallen, Jack didn't go back home, wandering around aimlessly as we followed him a good distance away in the Impala. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but to be honest, he was making me nervous. Every person that walked by, he looked at them like he was about to pounce. And each time, I felt myself stiffen in the front seat of the car, just waiting for something bad to happen.

A few feet down the street, Jack sat on a bench, looking down at his phone for a moment before glancing into an apartment building across the street. I followed his gaze, seeing him staring up into the room of a woman, who started getting undressed before shutting the curtains. Suddenly, Jack got up, sprinting across the street to the building.

"Come on." Dean said, shoving a flamethrower into my hands before giving one to Sam, exiting the car.

"Damn it. Jack. No." Sam muttered, letting out a small sigh. I patted his shoulder, following Dean out of the car with Sam behind me.

We made our way into the building, finding the woman's apartment. Dean kicked the door in, finding the woman standing there, completely topless inside her studio apartment. She let out a loud scream, covering herself as she rushed back into her bathroom, slamming the door shut.

"Wait! We're here to save you!" Dean called, moving over to her bedroom door as I looked around the room, seeing no trace of Jack anywhere. "I guess."

"I'm calling the police!" The woman shouted, her voice muffled inside the room.

"We should go." I said, looking between the boys.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, tip-toeing back to my side with a small chuckle. "Gotta tell you, I wasn't expecting to see that."

"Dean." I scolded, pushing him out of the room, towards Sam, who already exited. I shut the door behind me without much luck, finding that the hinge was completely broken.


MONTGOMERY HOUSE – NIGHT

In the time it had taken us to get back out to the Impala, we realized that most definitely lost Jack. He could be anywhere by now. The only place we could think to head back to was his own home, hoping he'd go there. Through he was walking for so long, we were a good ten minutes away from the place now. As we pulled up in front of the home, we spotted Travis's car parked out front.

"I guess we know where Travis is." Dean said as we got out of the car, flamethrowers in hand.

"That stupid son of a bitch." Sam mumbled, shaking his head. Dean shot his brother a look, raising his eyebrows at that comment.

Dean stepped in front of us, slowly pushing the door open, walking into the dimly lit room. I followed in next with Sam behind me, scanning the living room, seeing a chair knocked to it's side on the floor, ropes tied around it. I moved over towards it, finding a huge pool of blood into the white carpet, a trail of blood leading behind the couch.

As I moved closer, I could clearly see a piece of meat sitting on the floor, covered in blood.

"Oh, god."

"Is it Travis?" Dean asked from his spot by Sam across the room.

"What's left of him." I muttered.

Sam sighed, glancing over at Dean. "I guess you were right about Jack."

Suddenly, Jack came out of nowhere, his eyes dark and mouth covered in blood, slamming Dean down onto the coffee table, knocking him out. I quickly ducked behind the couch, watching as Jack pushed Sam to the floor, grabbing the fire extinguisher, slamming it down onto his forehead, knocking him out as well. I tried to keep my breathing steady as I heard Jack walking around, moving slowly.

"I know you're here." He mumbled, his footsteps coming closer as I fumbled with the flamethrower, trying to light the damn thing. But it wasn't working. "I can smell you."

Before I knew what was happening, Jack was behind me. He knocked me down onto the ground, hovering over me, blood dripping off his mouth onto my cheek. I grimaced, trying to fight him off as he grabbed the sides of my head, slamming the back of it hard onto the floor.


My eyes fluttered open to see that I was upright, sitting down in the same chair that was turned on it's side, my arms and legs tied to it tightly. I looked up, seeing Dean lying still on the coffee table. The sight hit me light a freight train, immediately bringing back memories from four months ago. I craned my neck, not able to see if he was breathing or not in the dim light of the living room.

"Dean?" I called quietly, struggling against the ropes.

"Dean can't come to the phone right now." Jack announced from behind, startling me.

"You bastard. What did you do to him?"

"Nothing...yet."

"Jack! If you hurt them, I swear to God!" Sam called from inside the closet across the room, his voice muffled.

"Calm down!" Jack shouted, making his way over to Dean, staring down at him. "They're alive."

"Dean's alive?" I asked, the desperation clear in my voice.

"Not if you don't calm down." Jack said, glancing over at me. "That goes for both of you."

"...okay." I nodded.

"Jack. Listen. Open the door." Sam said. "We can figure this out, okay?"

We'll have ourselves a little brainstorming session." Jack laughed.

"Jack. Please."

"I don't think so." Jack muttered, shaking his head. "After what you did?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You send your friend here. He tried to burn my wife alive."

"Why?" I asked, taken aback.

Jack glanced up at me, quickly looking away. "He didn't say. I guess psychopaths don't have to explain themselves."

"Listen, Jack, we never would've hurt her, okay? Never." Sam said.

Jack ignored him and with a shaking hand, he reached out, dipping his fingers in a small pool of blood that had collected by Dean's head before bringing them up, watching the blood run down his finger for a moment before sucking it off, beginning to rock back and forth.

"Oh, god. I'm so hungry."

"Please, don't do this." I said, trying my hardest to pull my wrists out of the ropes.

"I can't ever see my family again. You three, your friend...you made me into this!"

"No one's making you kill us." Sam called. "Listen to me. You got this dark pit inside you. I know. Believe me, I know. But that doesn't mean you have to fall into it. You don't have to be a monster."

"Have you seen me lately?"

"It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do." I said, finally able to slip my hand into my back pocket, taking out my small knife, cutting the rope. "It's your choice."

Jack glanced over at me for a moment before grunting in paint, moving closer to Dean as he started to wake up. I frantically worked on the rope, finally getting the knife through it. Jack started to open his mouth, holding Dean down by his shoulder. Just then, Sam burst out of the closet, catching Jack's attention. Jack stared at him for a moment before lunging towards Sam.

"Jack!" I called, breaking out of the ropes, gaining his attention. He watched me as I brought the knife to the top of my forearm, letting out a hiss as I created a deep slit down the length of it.

The blood immediately poured out, dripping down onto the floor in the beginnings of a large puddle. Just as Jack moved towards me, Sam lit the flamethrower he had behind his back, lighting Jack on fire. I shielded my eyes from the flames, looking away as Jack cried out in pain, burning alive as he fell to the floor.


Back outside in the Impala, Sam and driven a good distance away from the house, having been the only one who didn't lose blood today. After he stopped the three of us got out of the car, heading around to the trunk for the first aid kit.

"Are you crazy?" Dean asked, wrapping a bandage around the cut in my arm.

"Yes." I mumbled, glancing up at him. "How's your head?"

"Hurts."

"You okay, Sam?" I asked, glancing over at him as he leaned against the side of the Impala, staring blankly into the trees across the road, not responding.

"You did the right thing, you know. That guy was a monster, there was no going back." Dean said. "Sam, I wanna tell you I'm sorry. I've been kind of hard on you lately."

"Don't worry about it, Dean." Sam sighed.

"It's just that your psychic thing – it scares the shit out of me."

"Look, if it's all the same... I'd really rather not talk about it."

"Wait a minute, what? You don't want to talk? You?" Dean asked, trying to joke.

"There's nothing more to say." Sam shrugged. "I can't keep explaining myself to you. I can't make you understand."

"Why don't you try?"

"I can't. Because this thing, this blood, it's not in you the way it's in me. It's just something I got to deal with."

"Not alone." I said, glancing up at him.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter. These powers...it's playing with fire. I'm done with them. I'm done with everything."

"Really?" Dean asked, not able to hide the happiness in his voice. "Well, that's a relief. Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm not doing it for you, or for the angels or for anybody." Sam said, glancing over at me for a moment before looking back down. "This is my choice."


Just something I want to say because I feel like putting a little spoiler (not really) out there. Tori totally gets into Dean's head, if you haven't noticed already. And she can pretty much always calm him down when he's upset...which may or may not play a big part in the story during s9...and...stuff *wink, wink*

Thanks for reading!

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