Chapter Nine
Dean was awoken by frantic knocking on the door to his room. For a moment he didn't know what was happening but then the events of the past two days came back to him in a rush- the meeting with Tanner, his solo drive to the Tranquility Motel, killing the vampires and Sam's rescue- and Dean leaped from the bed.
Yanking the door open, he stared into wild-eyed face of the nurse who he had met the day before.
"Your bother's gone!" she exclaimed, wringing her hands, clearly confused and more than a little frightened.
"What?!" Dean asked, immediately alert, "What do you mean Sammy's gone?"
"I went to check on him and his room was empty," the nurse, Melody, explained.
Dean pushed past her and started down the hallway. How the hell could they lose Sam? He wasn't even conscious when Dean had left him!
"Get Bobby," he told the young woman without even turning to look at her.
Melody, unseen by Dean who was nearly running down the corridor, nodded and hurried away from him to where the grizzled hunter was sleeping.
Dean couldn't think of any explanation for Sam's strange disappearance. Even if he had woken up he was clearly too weak to go anywhere. He could barely stand on his own two feet when Dean had seen him in the vampire's nest.
The concerned- and confused- older brother stomped down the stairs to the first floor of the mansion, swearing under his breath, cursing himself for not demanding to stay with his brother despite his friend's protests that he needed to get some rest.
"I could have just slept in a Goddamn chair," Dean muttered angrily to himself, "I've done it before."
He tore down the corridor, his way illuminated by the soft glow of the wall sconces and almost flung himself into his brother's room.
It was dark and Dean fumbled with the light-switch for a moment before he managed to find it.
The first thing Dean noticed was that the bedclothes were in disarray. Not wholly unusual; if Sam had gone in search of a bathroom- or his big brother- he wouldn't bother to make the bed up.
Moving further into the room, Dean's confusion and concern turned to fear. The heart monitor had been turned off- presumably by Melody- but he could see where the thin grey, plastic-covered cables that attached to the electrodes, hung limply down from the machine. The IV pole still stood beside the bed, the ends of the needles dripping fluid onto the floor.
"Dean! What in the hell hap-" Bobby exclaimed but stopped as soon as he saw the room, sans Sam.
The young man didn't move as the veteran hunter edged around him and scanned the hospital bed and equipment with a critical eye. He turned to glance at Melody who as standing in the doorway, still wringing her hands anxiously.
"Did you see anyone in the halls earlier?"
The nurse shook her head, "You are the only people here, besides Dr. Guthrie and her son."
Bobby narrowed his eyes. He stepped up beside the bed, pulled the top sheet down and squinted curiously at the blankets and pillow. Dean could see the nurse give the older man a confused look and he cleared his throat.
"Uh, Melody," he spoke up, "Can you go tell Louise what's happened?"
The nurse nodded and left the room.
"Hmm," Bobby scratched his chin for a moment before making the bed up as it was when they had entered the room.
"What?" Dean asked, approaching his friend.
"Yer younger'n me," Bobby said almost absentmindedly, "You mind checking the floor by the bed? Underneath it as well?"
"No," Dean answered, got down on his hands and knees, eyeing the floorboards.
"See anything?" Bobby's voice asked from over Dean's shoulder.
Now the younger man realized what his friend had been searching for- evidence of the supernatural- and shook his head, "Nothing but a couple of dust bunnies down here."
Dean stood and raked a hand through his short-cropped hair, gazing at Bobby imploringly.
"There's no sulphur or ectoplasm," the older man said, "And its clear Sam didn't walk out of here on his own…"
"What are you thinking?" Dean asked. He was exhausted and too panicked to think of much more than the fact that his baby brother- who he'd only just found again- was gone.
"This may be a long-shot," Bobby began, "But I think we missed some vamps back in Nevada."
Dean's mouth dropped open in shock, "What? How?"
Bobby shrugged, "Dunno. Usually vampires stay pretty close to their nests… especially in the daytime."
Dean's heart began to pound with real fear, "But… It could happen… I mean, anything could happen."
Bobby agreed, "A'course anything can happen, son. The supernatural doesn't really play by the rules now does it?"
Dean nodded and bit his lip.
He shouldn't have left Sam alone. Even though he had only been on the floor above, Dean felt he'd abandoned his brother for a second time.
Dean looked up when Louise Guthrie entered the room, "Are you alright? There's blood in the hall!"
"Blood!" Both hunters exclaimed at the same time and rushed past the bewildered doctor.
Oh God, Dean thought as his eyes darted across the wooden floor and green and grey runner.
"Bobby!" Dean grabbed his friend's shoulder and pointed to a small, dark spot on the golden-hued hardwood.
"I'll turn up the lights," Louise said but neither Bobby nor Dean was listening.
Staring at the floor, the two men crept along close to the wall, their eyes catching each minute spot, following the almost imperceptible trail down the corridor. The doctor walked after the hunters, her lips pursed in concern.
The drops of blood themselves were not troubling, there was certainly not enough to cause serious damage, but the fact that they led away from the room, towards the exit- the employees' parking lot- was of great unease.
Bobby pressed his hand against the bar across the door and pushed outwards. The parking lot was empty of any living presence. Dean stepped out and glanced around. He saw Melody and Louise's cars, the Impala, but that was all.
"How'd you see that blood?" he heard Bobby ask.
"I may not be as young as I used to be but my eyes are still sharp," Louise answered, "Besides, I know what blood looks like at night."
Dean shivered, not entirely sure why and stepped further into the parking lot. He didn't see anymore blood. The trail was cold.
"Damn it!"
About to turn away and head back inside, the soft flutter of paper caught Dean's attention. Nearly running towards the Impala, Dean grabbed the envelope stuck beneath one of the Chevy's windshield wipers.
"What've you got there, son?" Bobby asked, coming to stand beside Dean. Louise followed the grizzled hunter and Bobby slipped an arm around her shoulders.
Dean tore open the envelope and fished a small slip of paper from it:
We have the boy. Come to Manning, Colorado. Alone.
We shall see how this ends.
"They left a fucking note!" Dean swore and Bobby grabbed the paper from him.
"Was it the… the vampires?" Louise asked, her eyes wide with fear.
The grizzled hunter nodded, "Think so."
"We have to go, Bobby. Right now!" Dean took hold of his friend's wrist, "They've got Sam!"
"An' do what, Dean?" Bobby growled, startling the younger man, "We don't know how many there are. Its obvious they're setting a trap. All we'll end up doing is get ourselves killed."
A lump formed in Dean's throat even as anger simmered in his belly, "This is Sam! We can't just leave him!"
The veteran hunter's expression softened, "I know, son. Listen, we'll go but we need help."
"But they said 'alone'," Louise spoke up but the hunters once again acted as though she was not there.
"We'll get Sam back again, Dean," Bobby said quietly, "I promise you that."
The younger man nodded, blinking against the tears welling up in his eyes. He knew Bobby was right. They wouldn't be saving anyone- much less his brother- if they were dead.
Hang in there Sammy, Dean thought as he followed Bobby and Louise back inside the mansion-turned-hospital, we're coming for you.
SPN
The six hour drive to Manning was agonizing.
It seemed that Sam felt every pothole and imperfection in the road, the motions jarring his body painfully.
At first Sam had been wide awake; terror and adrenaline coursing through his veins. But as the car ate up the miles, the young man's already overtaxed body could not keep vigilant and Sam slipped in and out of consciousness.
W
Barely able to stop himself from passing out, Sam let out a whine as the car jumped when it hit a bump in the road. Sam was curled up, his body wracked with tremors. He was freezing and he wasn't completely sure it wasn't just from the temperature inside the trunk.
Sam blinked his eyes sluggishly, seeing only a suffocating, claustrophobic darkness. Not even the red taillights of the convertible added their glow to his temporary prison.
W
Sam was certain he was going to die now.
Why else would Felicity go to all the trouble of tracking him down and kidnapping him?
He just hoped that Dean and Bobby were alright and that the vampires hadn't hurt them.
Tears welled up in Sam's eyes and dripped down his cheeks onto the scratchy covering of the trunk. He wished he had had more time with his brother and friend.
It had been so good to see them again. He had felt happier upon seeing Dean's face than he had been in a long, long time.
Sam only wished that his father had been there as well. His time captive had given Sam many hours to think over the last time he'd seen his father and even thought they had both left angry at each other, Sam wanted to see his Dad once more.
The car took a sharp turn and the young man slide across the trunk, hitting the back of the compartment with a dull thud.
SPN
Felicity smiled when the old barn Luther's family was squatting in came into view.
Just in time too. The sun was beginning to rise, its golden rays just peeking over the horizon.
The vampire pulled the car up close to the back of the barn and shut off the engine. The two others riding with her- Otis and Cecil- got out of the car and walked to the trunk.
While Felicity exited the car, the two male vampires dragged the boy from the trunk. She smiled as she closed the door and came around to face Sam. He was barely standing, Otis and Cecil holding him up between them, the hospital gown he was wearing making him look incredibly vulnerable.
Felicity grabbed Sam's bangs and pulled his head up; his green eyes were emerald slits in an ash-grey face.
"Did you enjoy the ride, Love?"
She didn't expect an answer and didn't get one. Felicity released Sam and followed Kate and Luther inside. The two vampires trailing their prisoner along in her wake.
The barn was nice and fairly warm, it even had a string of halogen lamps handing from the ceiling. Although it was old, it had been well-maintained. The only evidence that it had ever been in use was the pervasive smell of chicken and horse shit.
The rest of Luther's nest greeted the returning band upon entrance into the building. Many of them peering curiously at the young man they had with them.
"Didn't expect you to bring us a souvenir," one young vampire crowed, his fangs dropping down over his human teeth.
Felicity hisses at him menacingly, eyes flashing dangerously.
Clearing his throat, Luther addressed the rest of his family, "This one is off-limits. He belongs to Felicity."
There were some mutinous grumbles but no one argued; Luther's word was final.
The lead vampire turned to Cecil and Otis, "You can put him in one of the stalls, I don't think he's going to try and escape anytime soon."
Felicity followed the two male vampires as they dragged Sam into an unused horse stall and dropped him unceremoniously onto a pile of mouldering straw.
Sprawled out on his back, the young man's barely open eyes slid shut as he appeared to lose consciousness.
Felicity leaned her forearms on the top of the stall's wooden half-door and watched Sam for a long moment. His breathing was slow and shallow. His face gaunt and had a sickly pallor. Blood had leaked down Sam's right arm from the jagged holes left when the IV needles had been ripped out. His long hair lay plastered against his skull with sweat.
"Felicity," the blonde vampire looked up when she heard Luther call her name, "We should go over your plan again."
Nodding in agreement, the female vampire tore her gaze away from Sam and followed her friend deeper into the barn.
W
Muted sunlight slanted through the wooden boards that made up the barn. Most of the vampires were asleep but for two women.
Felicity stood in front of the door to the stall were Sam lay, her eyes pinned on the injured young man.
Kate made her way over to her friend and peered over the stall door at the human.
"Seems a waste to kill him," she mused, one finely arched eyebrow raised.
Felicity shrugged, "He's served his purpose."
Upon her arrival at the barn, Luther had told Felicity that she was welcome to stay with him and his nest for as long as she wanted. With no nest of her own anymore- with her mate dead- Felicity had nowhere to go. She would take Luther's offer.
Unlike herself and her now defunct family, the vampires from Manning usually only kept their victims alive for a day or two. Although Felicity preferred her way of feeding, she would not argue with her friend. Although she still thirsted for Sam's blood, she knew she could not keep him. The feeding habits of Luther's family and their nomadic lifestyle made it impractical for them to keep victims.
Besides, Felicity- jealous as she was- did not trust some of Luther's family members to stay away from the young man. The smell of his blood was strong, even now, and the vampire had to steel herself against the urge to drink of it.
He had to live long enough to see his would-be rescuers die. The men who had murdered her family had to perish knowing they had failed saving their friend.
Kate's face softened and she smiled sadly, "He's kind of handsome. He's the son of a hunter, you said?"
Felicity nodded, "Yes, John Winchester's youngest son."
The other vampire's eyebrows rose in shock, "And you've had him for how long?"
"Four years," Felicity smiled smugly.
Kate's expression turned thoughtful.
"What?" Felicity asked.
"He doesn't have to die," the dark-haired vampire said slowly, as if she were speaking as a plan formed, "And you can still get your revenge."
"Keep going," the blonde vampire urged.
Kate smiled cruelly, her fangs slipping down in her excitement, "Turn him."
Felicity laughted. It was so perfect! How had she not thought of it herself?
Yes, being turned into a monster certainly was a worse fate than death; in a hunter's opinion.
"I like the way you think," Felicity said and Kate smiled, feigning humility.
The blonde-haired vampire opened the door and stepped into the stall. Kate remained where she was, watching with a look of excitement on her face.
Felicity knelt down by Sam's head. The young man stirred, his eyes opening slightly as his head rolled in her direction.
"Nuuuhhh," the protest came ever so quietly, breathed through barely parted lips, but the vampire ignored it.
Felicity raised her left wrist and dug the thumbnail of her right hand into the soft flesh, cutting deeply.
A crimson line appeared against the creamy skin and the vampire smiled. It had been a long time since she had turned anyone, usually it was Wycliffe's task to create new members for their family.
Lowering her arm, Felicity smiled almost lovingly at the human, blood beading along the self-inflicted slice, poised to drip any moment into the human's mouth.
Author's Note:
1. Thanks to Sivadkristal1447, SamDeanLover28, SPN Mum, L.A.H.H, cold kagome, sarah, BranchSuper, babyreaper, MysteryMadchen, Clowns or Midgets, 3DBABE1999 and Guest for reviewing.
2. Thanks to everyone who alerted, followed and favourited.
3. I know, another cliffhanger. What can I say, I love torturing you guys. So, here's your chance to review and give me some of your opinions; especially if you haven't before (hint hint). Should Felicity turn Sam or not? I really want to know what you think because, truthfully, I can go either way. I have thought of this and realized that now the story has come to a crossroads. Dean and Bobby could rescue Sammy in the nick of time or he could become a 'monster'. Leave me a review or whether your rooting for Vamp!Sam or not. If I don't hear from enough of you I might just have to surprise you!
