CHAPTER SEVEN

"Guys, I found us a case!"

Dean practically ran into the bunker's library, laptop in hand.

John, who had just been sitting reading a lore book about demons and sipping a beer, looked up. "We just got back from the last one…" He trailed off, checking his watch. "16 hours ago."

"I know, but this one, I found! The last one Jo found." Dean corrected, smiling a toothy grin. "Come on, It's better than just sitting around here."

He sighed good naturedly. "Alright fine, let me see." He obliged, taking the laptop from Dean and reading over the articles. "Sounds like a werewolf to me." He stated after reading over the lack of hearts in the victims bodies.

"That's what I thought at first too, but don't werewolves usually only turn during full moons?" Dean tried to rack his brain, but that's all he could remember from both John and Bobby's hunting journals. Just then, Jo walked in, journal in hand.

"Well, the past couple months we've seen more werewolf attacks happening during any time of the lunar cycle. Just last month Bobby and I came across one that changed outside a full moon but it was a pure blood." John explained as Jo took a seat at the table.

"Awesome. I'm in." Dean said excitedly, standing up. "I'll go grab Sam."

"You guys got another hunt already?" She asked once Dean was out of the room. "He's really biting at the bit to stay busy." She noted, a hint of worry in her tone.

John stood up and clapped her on the shoulder, "I'm sure he's fine." He reassured before taking off to tell Mary.

When Dean made it to Sam's door, he raised his hand to knock but instantly paused as he heard muffled crying coming from his brother's room. Concern fueling his actions, Dean knocked once and opened the door.

Sam was sitting on the side of his bed, head in his hands. When he heard the door open, he sat up straight, embarrassed and pain filled eyes finding his brother standing in the doorway.

"Sammy, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Dean cried, rushing over to his brother to sit next to him on the bed. He immediately started looking over Sam to see any injuries but found none.

"Nothing's wrong, Dean, I'm fine, would you stop?" He asked, clearly not in the mood as he shoved his brother's fretful hands away.

Dean's brows scrunched as his confused eyes searched his brother for an answer. "What's wrong?"

Sam sighed bitterly, wiping at his face to try to look a little more under control. After collecting himself, Sam took a deep breath and found a spot on the floor to stare at. "I thought it was all a hallucination."

"What was?"

"This, Dean. All of it. Every second since we got back here, I thought it was just another sick joke thought up by Michael and Lucifer. I didn't even give Jo a hug when we found out about Ellen! I thought it was fake!" He admitted, guilt and self-loathing shining in his wet eyes. "She probably thinks I'm just some kind of monster who didn't even care about her mom. But I loved Ellen. You know that."

Dean nodded, trying to make his brother feel better before he continued.

"But then all this stuff with those demon's getting loose. Michael and Lucifer wouldn't throw us in a world like this. It wouldn't make sense. I finally realized it, that- that all this is real." Sam's shoulders sagged as he shook his head.

"Sammy, you gotta listen to me. Jo does not think you're a monster. No one does." Dean stated firmly. When Sam looked at him like he was about to protest, he kept going. "No, no 'but's. You believing this was all fake? Was smart, Sam. I mean, you saw me. I just dove in, let myself believe we were really here. And that would've crushed me when they pulled back the curtain. You did the only logical thing to do because then you wouldn't have fallen for their trick." When Sam still looked unconvinced, Dean added one more thing. "You're stronger than me, Sam. When it comes to stuff like that, hell, you've always been the rational one. Nothin' to be ashamed of, okay?"

When Sam said nothing, Dean prompted again. "Okay?"

"Okay." He said softly, nodding.

"Okay, great. Now, what do you think of blowin' this popsicle stand for a few days? Stretch our legs? Kill some werewolves?" Dean asked, a toothy grin spreading across his face.

Sam couldn't help but grin back; his brother's smile was contagious. "I'm in."

But as Dean got up and left him to get ready, Sam couldn't help the trace of doubt that still lingered in his gut.

….

The car ride to Parkville, Missouri only took four hours, but Sam and John were ready for an early dinner.

A bell chimed over their heads as they walked inside a local diner, stopping by the door in front of the 'Please Wait to Be Seated' sign.

The diner was small but nice. It had a long counter lined with stools where customers could sit and eat, or the windows facing the street were all lined with booths with red seats.

"Hello there! Four?" A perky brunette asked as she seemingly appeared out of nowhere in front of the group. When they nodded, she only seemed to smile brighter as she grabbed four menus from behind the counter. "Right this way."

She led them towards the far end of the restaurant, even though the place was practically empty besides a small family of three in a booth and a few people at the counter.

Once they were seated, she took their drink order before disappearing through a door to the kitchen.

As she walked away, Dean had his eyes glued to her retreating behind.

When Mary cleared her throat, Dean looked at her and immediately remembered he wasn't just sitting at the table with his brother.

Sam ignored his brother's increasingly reddening cheeks and started looking over the menu with a small smirk on his face.

"It's so weird," Sam said suddenly, looking up at his parents who were seated on the opposite side of the booth as him and Dean. "Having to actually need to eat. I'm not used to it."

"Unlike you, Sammy, I don't need a reason to eat," Dean said, smiling as he read the description of the bacon cheeseburger.

Sam rolled his eyes, looking back down. "Are Cobb Salads filling?" He asked, scrunching his brows at John.

His father laughed, eyes crinkling. "I don't know son, I have the same refined palette as your brother. Never had one before," He admitted, watching as Sam shook his head. "I do know that a burger will fill you up."

"So, it's decided! Two bacon cheeseburgers with fries for Sammy and me!" Dean declared, clapping his brother on the shoulder.

Mary smiled fondly at them. "Sam, I'm getting a salad, you won't be the only one."

Sam grinned at that, shooting his brother a 'take that' sort of look.

Moments later, the waitress returned with two coffees for John and Sam, an ice tea for Mary, and a Coke for Dean. They still ended up ordering two bacon cheeseburgers, one for John and one for Dean.

"So, tell me again exactly what is going on here?" Mary asked, picking up her fork.

Dean's mouth was too full of food to speak so Sam filled in. "Well there's been eight murders within the last three weeks, all male, all missing their hearts," Sam began, lowering his voice. "There's also been ten disappearances, all female, all in their early to mid-twenties."

"So, why kill the dudes and kidnap the chicks?" Dean asked, looking at his parents.

John shrugged. "I guess that's a question we'll have to ask the son of a bitch that's doing it."

…..

"So, Ms. Davis, do you have any idea why anyone would want to hurt your son?"

The mother, Karen, looked down at her hands, shifting uncomfortably on the loveseat she was sitting on.

Sam and John were sitting across from her on another couch, investigating what was now the ninth murder in town.

"Seth had some issues with some of the kids at school." She admitted regretfully.

"Yeah, because he was a dick."

Sam and John turned their head to the doorway of the living room where a kid of about seventeen was standing, a neutral expression on his face. The teen moved his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. John couldn't help but notice the fading bruise he had on the side of his face.

"Jake!" Karen shared a look with John before turning her shocked expression to her younger son. "What did I tell you?"

Jake's blank stare shifted from his mom to Sam. "She didn't want me to come in here and tell you how much of a douchenozzle my brother was."

Sam smirked slightly at the insult, knowing how much Dean would've appreciated it.

"Why is that?" John asked, his interest peaked.

Jake sighed and stepped farther into the room. "He bullied half the school when he was in high school. When he finally graduated, he just started focusing his energy on… other people." His eyes darted to his mom, pain flashing in them before his carefully controlled expression was back. "If you ask me, he got what he deserved."

"Okay, Jake. That's enough. Upstairs, now." Karen said sternly.

He only hesitated for a moment before he turned and left.

"Now, what about your daughter?" Sam asked, flicking through his notebook. "She goes to college a couple hours from here?"

"That's right."

"But she's home on break. She was the one who discovered Seth's body. And then before the police could question her, she disappeared." Sam said.

"Do you think it was the same person?" Karen asked, her voice cracking at the end.

John gave her a reassuring smile. "We're going to do everything in our power to find that out."

Karen thanked them before they left, the boys heading down the street to the local police station to meet Mary and Dean.

…...

"So, what'd you guys find out?" Sam asked, leaning against the Impala outside the police station.

Mary sighed. "The cops know about as much as we do so far. They have now nine dead kids and eleven missing."

"Do any of them have anything in common?" John asked.

"Well according to the sheriff, the group of guys all had records. Between getting suspended from school for drug possession, bullying, some theft, none of them were squeaky clean," Dean explained, crossing his arms, "As for the girls, one of them that went missing was the sheriff's kid. Apparently, all the girls were friends."

"So, an entire friend group goes missing and a bunch of jerks get killed? Why?" Sam questioned, his brows scrunching.

Dean shook his head. "Well, not the entire friend group. There's still two girls left that haven't been taken."

….

"Twins, Sam. We're going to interview twins."

Sam rolled his eyes as they ascended the steps into the two-story home. "Just, keep it professional."

John went ahead and knocked on the door, already pulling his badge from his pocket.

A few moments later, the door opened.

Dean couldn't help but ogle the two girls that opened the door. They were both tall, beautiful, and curvy African American girls, wearing matching outfits of jeans and burgundy shirts.

The one who opened the door tilted her head. "Hi, can we help you?"

Dean stepped forward and flashed an award-winning smile. "Hi, which one of you is Josie and which one is Veronica?"

"Well, I'm Josie." The girl who had spoken before answered, her hair falling in braids down her back, sticking out her hand with a flirty smirk. "And this is Veronica." She said almost offhandedly as Dean shook her hand. "And you are?"

"Dean." He answered, a smug grin tugging at his lips.

"We'd just like to ask you a few questions about your missing friends." Mary chimed in, figuring it was about time for her to butt in.

Josie opened the door wider, her eyes never leaving Dean. "Please, come in."

The group of four nodded and walked in, taking in the porcelain floors and high ceilings.

The girls led them into their large living room where the two sat in chairs opposite a couch where Mary, Sam, and Dean sat, John standing off to the side.

"So, you're both friends with all the girls that went missing?" Sam began, bringing out his notebook.

"Yes. It's truly tragic what happened. We're just afraid we're next." Veronica, speaking for the first time, admitted.

"What about the guys that were killed, did you know them too?" Mary asked, watching them carefully.

Josie shrugged. "Some of them went to our high school, but no, not all of them."

"Do you have any idea why anyone would want to kidnap your friends?" John asked, looking around the room of any sign of something being off.

"No, of course not." Veronica said almost offendedly. "You can't rationalize psychos. There's never any method to their madness."

John just nodded, his lips pursed slightly.

"Well there's no need to worry, ladies. We're gonna have someone watch the house to make sure you two are safe," Sam reassured, giving a small smile.

"Oh, that's not necessary," Josie said quickly, her gaze lingering on Dean for a moment before addressing Sam, "really. We've got an alarm system on this place and our parents told us where they keep the guns before they left on their cruise."

"I'm afraid we're gonna have to insist," John stated, leaving no room to argue as he leveled his gaze with Josie.

Veronica nodded. "Thank you. We appreciate the offer. Don't we, Josie?" She asked, locking eyes with her sister.

Josie forced a smile. "Yes. Very appreciated."

…..

"Alright, anyone else get a weird vibe from those two?" Sam asked as soon as they were back in the Impala.

"Maybe not so much Veronica, but Josie was definitely acting suspicious." Mary agreed, remembering how quickly she tried to discourage them from watching the house.

"Hey, I wouldn't necessarily like people sitting outside my house and watching my every move." Dean pointed out, turning in his seat so he could see his parents sitting in the backseat.

"How cute. Stickin' up for your girlfriend." John teased, watching as Dean's face went slightly pink.

Mary rolled her eyes. "No matter what, we still have to watch the house."

John nodded before leaning forward. "Settle in boys. You're about to do your very first stake-out."

…..

"Ronnie, I swear, it's like you want us to get caught!"

Veronica watched, bored, as her sister stood at the windows, pulling back the curtains to get a better look at the black Impala sitting in front of their house. "What was I supposed to say, Jos? 'No, I'm sorry officers. You can't sit outside and watch our house because we have important people to kill tonight and we don't want you to find out!'" She shook her head. "We didn't have a choice. I'm sure they'll watch us tonight and figure everything is good and they'll leave us alone."

Josie stepped away from the window, crossing her arms. "We could've told them that we were going out of town! We could've come up with an excuse! Just because you're fine with postponing the plan for a night doesn't mean I am." She snapped, her patience thinning as the sun continued to set.

"Can we talk about something else?" Veronica whined, plopping down on the sofa.

"Like what?"

"Like how you were totally into that one agent!" She said excitedly, shooting her sister a sly grin. "Who knows, maybe you could turn him."

Josie scoffed but couldn't help but consider the possibility. "You know, I'm sure at some point we could get him alone…" She trailed off, her face breaking out into a smirk.

Veronica couldn't help but get excited. Maybe if Josie had that sexy agent, she'd spend less time pestering her.

…..

"So, are we really supposed to just sit here and watch the house all night?" Dean asked, clearly getting antsy after sitting outside the twin's house for six hours.

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, Dean, that tends to be what a stake-out is all about."

"But that's so boring." Dean whined, staring outside the window.

He had to admit, he wished that Sam and him hadn't gone to shower first. Now it was their parents turn to rest and clean up and he didn't have a break to look forward to.

"So," Dean began, shooting his brother a concerned look.

"So?"

"So, how are you adjusting?" He asked carefully.

Sam sighed, silently wishing his brother hadn't caught him in the middle of a melt-down earlier. "I'm fine, Dean, really."

"No, you're not," Dean argued, making sure to keep an eye on the house while he talked. "Sammy, I know that there's still part of you that's holding on to the idea that this is all fake."

"Dean-"

"And I know that it's a big adjustment and you don't want to talk about it but what more proof do you need, Sam?"

"I don't know, Dean, okay? I don't know." Sam said, defeated, turning away from his brother.

"Sam-"

"No, Dean. I'm done talking about it."

"Sam, look."

Sam turned to look out Dean's window where a light had just come on in the dark house. The brother's watched as a silhouette moved past the window towards the back of the house.

"Think we should go check it out?" Dean asked, hand already on the door handle.

Sam hesitated. "Do you think we should call Mom?"

"No time."

Before Sam could even argue, Dean was out of the car.

Sam groaned loudly before rushing out of the car to try to catch up with his brother, who had already made it to the back of the house.

He panicked when he lost sight of his brother, his fear pushing his feet to run faster before he rounded the corner, eyes searching the darkness for any sign of Dean.

Instead of his brother, he was met with something hard hitting the back of his head, and then everything went black.

….

TBC

Guys. I know it's been so long since I've updated this. When I originally started this story, I had no intention in going with a soulless Sam story line. I personally wasn't a big fan of it when the show did it, so I had ruled it out. But then, I got to thinking that it was the expected thing, so I was going to do it even though I didn't want to. And then I hit a wall. Six months later, I'm back and decided to go with what I originally wanted to do. I figured Sam has enough going on with being newly human that the whole soulless story line would've taken away from that and I don't want to do that. I think it could go some interesting places.

SO. Here we are. When I finally decided that I should write what I want, I wrote three chapters in four days. I'm posting two of the three chapters I wrote today and then I'll post pone the third so hopefully, I won't leave another huge gap in updates. I hope you enjoyed. If you guys could, I really need to hear some words of encouragement right about now. As always, thanks for reading and following along.

Lots of love,

Lindsay