Hey guys! So I realized that I left a lot of unanswered questions in this story so I've decided to add a few more chapters to clear things up. This one focuses on John, I really hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.
Chapter Seven
John's POV
My hands shake as I lift the half full whiskey bottle to my lips, the adrenaline of the encounter with my sons has worn off and left me drained. The familiar burn of the alcohol as it spills down my throat no longer comforts me as I sit in a rickety old wooden chair in the middle of a farmhouse that had been abandoned decades ago. The scene is all too familiar to the night that I crossed I line that I promised I never would, the night that I hurt my family. My grip on the glass tightens and I slam it down on the table in front of me and watch as it shatters, sending bits of glass flying in a million directions.
The floorboards behind me creak and I turn around to see a man come walking into the room, the same man that only hours ago had shot my eldest son. He slowly makes his way to the chair across from me and takes a seat, eyeing me carefully.
"John.." He starts.
"Don't." I interrupt him. "Just don't." A sigh escapes him and he rests his elbows on the table, leaning forward as he does so. My jaw clenches and I avoid his gaze. Despite my earlier warning my companion plows on.
"John, what you did tonight, it was the right thing to do. Dean deserved everything that we did, even that night in the hotel." I scoff and finally look up at him through squinted eyes.
"Right, because every child deserves to be beaten by their parents." Sarcasm drips from my words and the man across from me frowns. "What I did wasn't right, I never should've reacted the way that I did. Don't even try to convince me otherwise, Brian." Brian's eyes harden and he grips the table tightly.
"Have you forgotten what he put you through John? Did you forget that Dean broke his promise, the only promise that ever mattered? He failed you, that's not something that can just be forgiven." My eyes fall to the glass in my hand and I shake my head ruefully.
"You sure did a hell of a job convincing me that that was true."
I listen to the familiar dull roar of the Impala's engine as I pull into the motel parking lot and a tired grin adorns my features. The Raw Head hunt had gone off without a hitch, especially when an old hunting partner of mine happened to be in the same town and offered me a hand. I glance over at the passenger seat where said partner was currently snoozing with his head against the window. With a quick roll of my eyes I reach over and shove him slightly. He wakes up with a jolt and shoots a glare my way.
"A simple 'We're here' would've been fine, John." I shrug my shoulders.
"You're such a hard sleeper that I could've blown a damn car horn in your ear and you wouldn't have woken up, Brian. Now quit your complaining and help me unload the gear, the boys'll wanna see ya before you head out." He sluggishly rises from his seat and clambers out of the car before walking to the trunk of the car. I follow his lead and make my way around back before inserting the key into the trunk and pulling it open with a loud creak. My duffel sits on top of the multitude of weapons that clutter the space and I grab it, slinging it over my shoulder as I do so. Brian grabs the rest of the gear and trudges behind me as I lead the way to the motel room.
Once I reach the door I raise my hand and knock seven times in rapid succession, a clear sign to the boys that it's me. I wait a few moments and frown when they don't answer the door. My hands clench in annoyance at their antics and I knock again, with the same result.
"Open up guys, it's me." An uneasy feeling settles over me at the lack of commotion inside the room. "Dean? Sam? You boys in there?" I immediately drop my duffel on the ground and search it for the motel room key that I'd brought with me just in case. After a few moments I locate the blue piece of metal and insert it into the knob before pushing the door open with a sigh.
"You kids know better than not to answer the door. What are you..." I stop short when I see that the room is empty and I look around in confusion. My eyes land on the bags sitting next to the beds, or should I say bag, one of them is missing. I let out an exasperated sigh and throw my duffel on the mattress nearest to me.
"I told them not to go on any hunts until I got back." With a huff I pull out my cell phone and dial Dean's number. It rings three times before his voice sounds over the line.
"This is Dean. Leave your name, number, and nightmare at the tone." I hang up and try again, getting the same result. I repeat the process with Sam but end up in the same situation. My muscles tense slightly as my anxiety grows. They know to answer their phones, especially if I'm the one calling. Brian's voice pulls me from my thoughts.
"Everything alright, John?" I shake my head.
"I don't know." In a last ditch effort I punch in the only other person that might have an idea where my boys are. The phone rings twice and for a minute I don't think he's gonna answer but finally a gruff voice greets my ears.
"John. I figured I'd be hearing from you."
"And why's that Bobby?" There's a slight hesitation over the line and my concern grows. "Bobby?"
"Have you talked to Dean?" Anger is starting to build in me as my question goes unanswered.
"No. Thats why I'm calling you. Do you know where he is?"
"I'm not his babysitter John. That idgit comes and goes wherever he pleases, and he sure as hell doesn't tell me where he's going." I can tell he's stalling and my hands clench into fists at the delay.
"Robert Singer you'd better cut the bull crap right now or I swear I'll..."
"You'll what?" He interrupts. "If you wanna know where those boys are you're just gonna have to find out for yourself. I don't know where they are and I sure as hell ain't gonna deal with your pissy attitude all night so you can bitch about them not following orders."
"Bobby..." He hangs up the phone before I can get another word in and I slam the device shut in frustration. Brian gives me a questioning look and I shake my head. "Something's going on, and I'm gonna find out what." Suddenly my mind snaps to the bag sitting by the bed and I walk over, picking it up off the floor as I do so. Under closer inspection I realize that it's Dean's, the abundant number of black t-shirts are a dead giveaway, and I glance around one more time to make sure I didn't miss something. Sure enough Sam's duffel has disappeared.
My face burns red hot and I toss the bag onto the ground. Brian sees my frustration.
"He left, didn't he?" My eyes narrow into slits at his words. There's no other explanation for Sam's sudden vanishing act, he never would've brought all of his stuff with him just to go on a hunt. Even his precious laptop's gone, which has no use out in the middle of things.
"Sure looks that way." My companion tenses at my agreement and takes a seat in the chair across from me.
"Didn't you give them strict orders to stay put?" I offer him a nod and he frowns. "They should've known better. Dean should've done a better job of keeping an eye on Sam." I give him a weary look.
"Dean is a lot of things, but a miracle worker isn't one of them. There's no way he could've kept Sam here any longer than the kid wanted." Brian shakes his head.
"Do you really believe that? Dean's the big brother, he should be competent enough to keep his sibling in a motel room long enough for you to get back."
"I guess, but..." He cuts me off.
"What's the most important promise that you made Dean make? What's the number one priority in his life?" I rest my elbows of my knees and cock my head to the side.
"Take care of Sammy."
"Exactly. And what's the one thing he failed to do?" Anger is slowly building in my soul and I spit out heatedly.
"Watching out for Sam." Brian nods.
"You gave him one job, one simple job, and he couldn't even do that. I'll bet he just let him walk out the front door, you know the soft spot he has for the kid. Hell, he probably encouraged it." I rise to my feet and begin pacing the room. "Dean doesn't know the difference between helping Sam and hurting him, you're his father you know what's best for him. Dean should know better than to make that sort of call. He wants to be like you so bad that he decided that he had the authority to let Sam walk out of your life." My hands clench in anger and I glance at him, taking in every word.
"He's a pathetic excuse for a hunter, John. A pathetic excuse for a son! He had no right to take your boy from you!" I stop in my tracks and set my jaw. "Are you just gonna let him get away with it?! Are you just gonna let that son of a bitch steal your Sammy right out from under your nose?!"
"Enough!" I slam my fist into the wall and grimace as the flesh hits the sheetrock. Brian takes a step back and I motion to the door. "It's time for you to go, Brian. I have some business to attend to." With a nod my friend exits the room and I take a seat at the table in the corner. My hand closes around the neck of the unopened bottle of whiskey that sits on the surface and I unscrew the cap before hoisting the bottle to my lips. An unrelinquished fury settles deep into my bones and I grip the glass tighter. Brian was right. Dean needs to be punished. I sit with my back pressed firmly against the chair and I watch the door, waiting anxiously for my eldest son to return.
My hand releases the glass that I'm holding and I throw a glare at Brian.
"I never should've listened to you. This wouldn't have happened if I'd just walked away. Dean wouldn't be injured, probably dead, right now and Sam wouldn't give me that look of betrayal every time he sees me." I shake my head in dismay. "I would still be their father."
"Oh it still would've happened. With you as their dad, it was inevitable." I glance up at Brian confused. A sly grin is plastered on his face and he nods. "That's right, even if I hadn't shown up that night, you still would've snapped eventually. And deep down you know that it's true. All that anger, all that bitterness, all that hate; it's been boiling in that skin of yours way to long not to make an appearance." I stand from my chair, anger shining in my eyes.
"Shut the hell up! This is your fault!" He offers me a sad smile and shakes his head.
"No John, this is all on you. It was always there, I just gave it a little push." The second the sentence leaves his mouth, my companion's eyes flash pitch black and I stumble back a step. I recover quickly and shout in anger.
"You son of a bitch!" My hands immediately coil around the gun tucked into my waistband and I whip it out, aiming it at the demon. "How long have you been in Brian?" The demon chuckles.
"Why, ever since the two of you met all those years ago, and boy did I get results. You know I was expecting you to get a little rough with Dean, but I never imagined that you'd actually try and kill him." He shrugs. "Oh well, it was just the icing on the cake I guess. Let me tell you John, I'm impressed." Rage fills me and I fire into the man's leg causing blood to gush from the wound. He looks down at the injury.
"Cute. You know that you'll have to kill me in order to get results though John." He traces an x over his heart. "Right there Johnny boy, or you'll never get rid of me." I don't say a word and he sighs. "I knew you couldn't do it. Too many memories with this meat suit I guess, oh well maybe.." His sentence falls short when a gunshot rings through the air and I watch as his body falls limply to the ground. With a grunt I put the safety back on my gun and tuck it safely away. Black smoke flows from Brian's mouth and I watch as it curls in the air before disappearing. I look down at the body of my friend, or the man I considered a friend. It turns out I never even met the real man behind the mask, I guess that's what made killing him a little bit easier.
"You hurt my son, there's no forgiveness for that." I spit at the lifeless form. The truth of my words rings in my ears and I bow my head, ashamed. There's no forgiveness for beating my son, no matter what the circumstances.
The reality of my situation suddenly comes crashing down on me and I sink to my knees. I let a demon trick me into beating one of my own kids, what kind of hunter does that make me? What kind of father does that make me? Dread fills me as I realize there's only one thing left to do and I stand to my feet, leaving the body behind. I pull out my cell phone and with a moments hesitation I punch in the number of the man whose life I've destroyed.
well thats it for chapter seven. I hope you liked it! I would also like to thank everyone for giving me suggestions for this chapter. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.
