CHAPTER 6

Sam slipped down his hallway to get geared up for the nights' work still wondering what to do about Dean. He still needed more information but there was nothing he could do about it right now. But one thing he had taken note of was the room number and name of the motel. He would do his rounds and stop by the motel. Maybe that would yield some answers.

Sam rushed through his route for that night. The streets were quiet of any daimon activity, even quieter than the night before. The entire city felt subdued and even the partying tourists seemed to avoid lingering on the streets. Some humans did still follow their instincts that warned of trouble even if they weren't aware they were doing it. He even took a detour out to Xedrix's club to check on it and again there was nothing. Not one single spark of trouble. But then again, if there had been, the Charonte probably wouldn't have told him unless ordered to by Ash. They didn't like others knowing their business.

It was just too calm and it was making Sam twitchy. The quiet before the storm.

Sam had just finished his route when out of the calm a scared voice echoed.

"Ex-excuse me, mister."

Sam automatically went for one of his many knives as the voice spoke from behind him. Sam trusted no one at his back. When he faced the voice a young girl was standing there and Sam refrained from pulling his weapon just in time. The girl looked about nine years old and had large blue eyes which widened as she let out a squeal of fright and jumped back.

Sam tried to soften his entire body as he let his weapon slide back into place but his hulking form continued to tower over her. "Hey, there kid". Sam had gentled his tone to try not to startle her further but stayed alert. What the hell was such a young girl doing out alone in this area this late at night?

"What are you doing out here?"

The girl sniffled as tears filled her eyes. "I'm lost. I just wanted to play with the puppy but he ran away and now I can't find my way home"

Sam pushed down his rising suspicion that something about this situation wasn't right. He knew better than to trust what was on the surface. He had learned painfully that things are not always what they seem.

"It's okay kid I'll help you get home. What's your name?"

She sniffled again then threw herself at Sam and hugged his legs.

"It's Meg."

"Okay Meg. Where are you staying?" He patted her shoulder uneasily. He had no idea how to deal with a child and his gut was telling him something here was off. That this child was off.

"I'm staying with my parents." The girl mumbled into his legs.

Sam peeled her off of him carefully, wanting to get her away from him "And where are they?"

"My mommy and daddy are really good people but they wouldn't get me a puppy. Heaven or Hell, I'm not sure which. Probably Hell cause they wouldn't get me a puppy. So I killed them". And the girl grinned.

Sam felt his eyes glow as he checked the aura of the little girl in the pretty pink dress and it was wrong. Dark and twisted and oh so wrong. Exactly the same as the creature he had encountered earlier. Sam pushed her away roughly.

Sam watched as the sparkling blue eyes that should have been shining with innocence were warped into the same oily black he had seen earlier. Her face morphed into an expression that was truly horrific on the face of a child.

"What's the matter Sammy? Don't recognise me?" The girl sighed sadly. "I did much prefer my other meat suit but it's not exactly fit for purpose anymore, now is it?"

Meg seemed to examine his face. "Do you not know? She felt everything you know. I made sure she felt it. She was screaming inside as you cut off her head. Screaming for help. For your help. And you killed her. You murdered a poor, defenceless, paediatric nurse and now her baby boy is an orphan. Now where have you stashed my Puppy, Big Boy?"

Sam considered the child full of corruption, the words were so familiar. This was the same creature that had grabbed Dean before. Possession. Sam shuddered as he realised he had beheaded an innocent woman. Sam didn't freeze up, he did what he had done for centuries. He forced that thought to the back of his mind and locked it away with the rest of his regrets to deal with later. He focused again on Meg. She wanted Dean for something other than to kill him. "Why do you want him so badly?"

"I want to play with his intestines"

Sam snorted. "Maybe you do, but you won't."

She smirked "And why wouldn't I?"

"Because whoever is holding your leash won't let you."

Meg let out a shriek of rage and with a flick of her arm sent him into the windscreen of a car. He let out a groan as he felt a shard of glass stab into his back before landing lightly on his feet and let out a smirk of his own. His last comment had been a guess but by her actions Meg had confirmed it. She had the opportunity to kill Dean before and she hadn't taken it. There was something else controlling her.

"So whose pet are you?" Sam asked as his eyes glowed again as he tried to search for any remaining piece of the young girls aura. There's was nothing. Whoever this poor child had been, Meg had destroyed her.

Meg narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Sam's glowing eyes before Sam felt an invisible hand tightening around his neck as he was flung against a wall. The force at his throat started to slide him upwards. Sam pretended to fight against the hold she had on him, hoping she would let slip some more information.

"I'm nobodies pet" she snarled then smirked. "Unlike you. Your just another one of Artemis's little toys just like all her other slaves. And once I've found my puppy I'm going to destroy you for getting in my way!" She tossed Sam against the opposite wall.

Sam groaned at the blow before speaking again.

"Okay. Just tell me why he's so important to you? After all, he's just another human."

This time she gave a cold smile which Sam found to be a lot more threatening than her other expressions had been. "He's not just another human you fool. He's the one." Sam felt the glass that was still embedded in his back dig in deeper as she slammed him again as she cut off Sam's air supply with a telekinetic fist. Luckily for him he didn't need to breath but it still hurt like hell when the glass shard split his flesh further. Sam felt blood begin to drip down his body.

"Where have you taken him?" the girl snarled as Sam's empathic barriers were battered by her hatred but they held firm. He had spent decades strengthening them. He couldn't afford to let her emotions infect him.

She gave him just enough air for him to speak and he managed to smirk and hiss "Took him to Disney Land you Bitch"

She screamed in rage, then all of a sudden the young girl had a machete in her hand and Sam wondered for a second where she had hid the thing so he couldn't see it. He pushed the thought aside. It was time to fight back. He broke the psychic hold she had on him with a blast of his own causing the blade to fly from her hand.

Meg shrieked in anger. "I'll find him you know. You can't hide him forever. And how do you think he's going to react when he finds out his new friend is one of the freaks he hunts? I won't have to kill you 'cause I'm sure he will." Then she was gone.

"Damn it" Sam muttered to himself. He had wanted to get some more out of her before she disappeared. Sam sighed and stretched his now complaining muscles. He may be immortal and extremely hard to kill but getting slammed against concrete still hurt. He ran his hand under his t-shirt and winced as he managed to get a grip on the glass embedded there. The shard was bigger than he thought and it sliced into his hand as he pulled it out. Sam started to head back to his car with the intention of checking on Dean but then hesitated. She didn't know where Dean was and he didn't know what she was. She might have some way to follow Sam, after all he had never come across her kind before. Dean was safe for now and Sam knew his two loyal friends were watching over him. Sam decided to stick with his original plan. Next stop was the Reynolds Motel.

Pulling up beside the Motel Sam remembered how much of a dump this place actually was. It was the type of place that rented by the hour and no questions were asked. No matter what. About anything. Ever. The outside of the building was so shabby it almost looked abandoned. The only sign of life was a flickering light in a neon sign. The light caused shadows to undulate in the dark lonely car lot. There was only one car there other than Sam's. The sleek black machine glittered in the dim glow. Sam wasn't much of a car expert but even he recognised the signs of an old classic kept lovingly pristine. It seemed logical to assume that the car belonged either to the hunter asleep in his home or his father as it was the same one in the photograph that Sam had found on Dean earlier. Sam approached the car giving it a glance over before picking the lock. Older models were so much easier to break into. Fewer alarms. The interior of the car contained no clues. It held the usual assortment of junk that most cars held. Empty juice cans, old sweet wrappers, various newspapers. The remains of a long time spent travelling the empty highways. It was a little odd though that there was not a single personal item of Dean's. Sam then did the same with the trunk. That was of more interest but not terribly helpful. The trunk of the car was brimming with the usual supplies a hunter might carry. Weapons, salt, iron, holy water as well as the other requirements of a hunter's lifestyle including a very well stocked first aid kit. The question sprang to Sam's mind. If he had such a first class first aid kit complete with antibiotics and morphine, why had that slice in Dean's chest been left to fester? Untreated, that injury would have turned into blood poisoning, maybe even septicaemia. Eventually, it could have killed him. Sam pushed that from his mind as he made his way over to Dean's twin room, instantly noticing the do not disturb sign on the door, a typical hunter precaution. Sam searched the room for any emotions that would indicate any inhabitants. There was a single man in the room. An older man. Sam could feel the emotions rolling off him amid the smell of whiskey and gun oil. Resentment, anger and bitterness oozed from the man. Sam frowned as he continued to trawl through the emotions of Deans Dad. There was no worry. Not for Dean. Sam's eyes narrowed. He tried to ignore his instinctive dislike for the older Winchester and not to make any snap judgements about the man within until he knew more about Dean. Maybe Dean frequently disappeared for a few days, maybe with a girl, but from what little he had seen he doubted it. He wouldn't be able to search the room until John left so it would have to wait. The streets were deserted as he headed home but that didn't stop Sam from feeling uneasy, his entire body was on high alert. Things were just too quiet and it gave Sam a bad feeling. And Sam's bad feelings were never wrong. Sam didn't relax until he crossed his own threshold. He hadn't seen a single Daimon.