So Not An Angel! by DeansBabyBird
Chapter 21 Revenge of the Weres
The 'Weres' had entered like wraiths through the rear window, silent on their ethereal animal paws and had merely waited, patiently biding their time until Bobby turned the door handle releasing them onto the unsuspecting hunter/angel gathering.
The surviving were-leopard of the dominant pair emerged first, exploding into the hallway snarling and ripping with his massive, razor sharp claws. His anger at losing his mate to the hunters had fuelled the flames of his supernatural fury and Bobby fell quickly before his merciless assault. Blood fountained from the vicious rents the creature tore and the hunter's head smashed into the wall as he went down, rendering him helpless before the creature's merciless attack.
The feline leader was supported by two smaller were-cats and the three remaining vulpine members of the troop. They leapt with a feral grace over their leader as he slashed and tore at the defenceless hunter as he lay prone on the ground and snarling their fury, they slunk towards the angels and hunters, howling their intent for blood.
"Bobby!"
Dean lurched forward, determined to protect their fallen friend, only to have Sam grab his arm and drag him back, protecting him from his automatic instinct to rescue. Dean pulled furiously at his brother's hand, his wild, green eyes flashing in anger.
"Get offa me, Sam! I gotta get to Bobby."
Sam held fast, suffering Dean's ire.
"Weapons for god's sake, Dean! If we're gonna have a chance of getting to him, of taking these bastards down, we need to be armed!"
The adrenaline rush of fight or flight was kicking in for the outraged hunter but even through the red rage Dean heard the logic in his brother's words. He nodded reluctantly and allowed Sam to back him away, his eyes never leaving the were-creatures ranged before him. The lead leopard raised its obscenely bloodied muzzle towards the retreating hunters and, baring its teeth almost as if it were laughing, turned to follow its companions in their stalk.
wWw
They stumbled over each other back into the living room, grabbing at whatever weaponry they could amongst the random decoration of Bobby's home, herding the angels before them as the weres moved to circle them.
Dean held a razor sharp, silver knife in each hand, courtesy of an ancient Japanese Samurai wall plaque and he noted Sam was holding the heavy, silver tipped spear that had always been stationed in the umbrella stand. Now, if they could just take down a few of the creatures, whilst protecting the angels and get to Bobby!
"Sam?"
Dean's eyes didn't leave the two wolves directly in front of him as he spoke.
"Uh huh?"
Nor did Sam's leave the were-leopard as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Dean, the angels pressed into the corner behind them.
"You packing?"
"Nope. Gun's in the car. You?"
"Sure am."
Sam risked a glance as he jabbed the spear at the third wolf, and Dean yanked his T-shirt to show the colt jammed in the waist band of his jeans.
"Terrific!"
However, Sam's voice betrayed his continued nervousness.
"I sense a but though, Dean?"
"Umm, yeah..."
The hunter didn't get the chance to finish as Uriel's voice completed the sentence.
"Used up all the silver rounds on the were-bitch in the bar."
Sam's groan was tangible as he fended off a feint from the smallest of the cats.
Sensing the hunters disquiet, the two wolves marking Dean took their opportunity to pounce and Raphael watched in horrified fascination as the older Winchester's prowess with a knife saw him sprayed with warm, sticky blood as Dean expertly sliced, in mid-air, through the jugular of the smaller wolf with a well placed slash of his right hand. The creature went down, its life gurgling away to a sticky puddle on Bobby's living room carpet.
Dean's second, left handed strike was less effective, his barely healed shoulder preventing him from delivering the full power of his thrust, but it was adequate to stick the other vulpine attacker in the hip and it squealed in pain as it scuttled away into the shadows of the furniture.
"One down, Sam."
Dean was a little breathless as he edged back towards the group and was relieved to hear his brother's steady voice answer him.
"Two, Dean."
The elder man flicked a look toward his brother to see him place his boot on the writhing carcass of the smaller were-cat and pull free the spear point that skewered the creature almost full through.
"Gimme the knife..."
Dean passed the left-handed blade to his brother and Sam bent and efficiently slit the throat of the injured leopard.
Their remaining attackers retreated at the sight of their fallen comrades, hugging the shadowed walls and growling softly as they awaited their opportunity for revenge.
"We gotta get to Bobby, Sam. I think he's hurt bad."
Anxiety for the old man oozed from the hunter though his gaze never left the prowling weres.
"I know. Dammit! We need the guns."
Sam's anxiety was evident in the tension in his voice and Dean glanced at the door to the front yard and the Impala's well stocked trunk. The lead leopard stood sentinel by the triple locked door.
"We need to get to the Impala but there's no way we're getting through there without thinning the opposition out a bit more, Sammy."
Dean observed angrily and Sam nodded his silent agreement.
"Does Bobby still stash silver shot cartridges for the Remington in the desk drawer?"
Sam's dark eyes tracked to the sawn off shot gun mounted over the fire place as he spoke and Dean's gaze followed his from the faithful old weapon to Bobby's huge old oak desk, just visible through the study's open doorway.
"As far as I know, yeah."
As he spoke the leopard's paw appeared round the side of the sofa and swiped at Dean's calf. The slashing claws tore three parallel crimson grooves into his tightly bunched muscle and staggering he growled in pain as he thrust with the knife. The small cat sidestepped to dodge his mistimed swing, inadvertently harpooning itself on the concealed blade that Uriel had withdrawn from the shaft of his walking cane. The second leopard died instantly, expertly pierced through the eye by the smiling angel.
Dean could feel the blood running down his leg and into the top of his boot as he regained his position with the others.
"Thanks, Uriel."
He nodded toward the blond angel, who saluted him jauntily with the bloodied cane.
"Pleasure. Line me up one of the dogs up and I'll skewer them for ya too!"
"Steady, Uri..."
Raphe's hand rested gently on the angel's shoulder.
"Remember your knee..."
Uriel huffed.
"I'm fine, Raphe. Stop fussing..."
The wolves attack was sudden and furious. They launched themselves over the furniture and into the midst of the huddled group, teeth and claws flailing as their targets scattered for cover.
Dean's torn calf muscles screamed their protest at the sudden movement, collapsing beneath him and his knife skittered from his hand as he hit the floor. The breath whooshed out of him as his bruised and battered ribs grazed the cupboard side and the wolf was on him instantly. Instinctively, he threw his hands up, pushing his jacketed wrist into the wolf's slavering jaws as it snarled for his face.
Raphael recovered quickly from his sprawl and rolled on his hip in time to see the wolf pounce on Dean. He leapt to his feet, hearing the hunter calling out in agony as its trap-like jaws clamped around his wrist and in an instant the angel was astride the were-creatures back, his normally gentle hands squeezing mercilessly at its thick pelted throat.
Sam kicked out hard at the second wolf, and its howl added to the other frantic calls in the room as the creature careened into Uriel knocking him from the feet he had just regained.
"Stay down!"
Sam called breathlessly as he struck at the returning wolf with the blade Dean had lent him.
"Like f...fuck I w...will!!"
Uriel's breathlessly offended response almost made the struggling hunter laugh but the creature's fetid breath in his face, and Dean's pained cry, pulled him back.
"Sam..?"
He chanced a glance towards his brother and was alarmed to see Dean virtually hidden as he and Raphael wrestled the larger wolf. Sam kicked out again at his own vulpine attacker, determined to go to their aid.
"I'm coming..."
"No!"
Dean's harsh shout halted him.
"The le...leopard, Sam..."
Dean was breathless with exertion and pain. Sam looked to the door where he had last seen the huge cat. It was gone.
"Where the hell's it gone?"
He jabbed at the wolf with the blade as he spoke, trying to back the creature towards Uriel and the waiting, lethally extended blade.
"Dunno...disappeared!"
Dean gasped, struggling to stifle his groans as above him Raphe panted, wrenching the jaw/arm combo this way and that as he tried to snap the wolf's head on its well muscled neck.
"Get to... Impala... Sam. Get...silver...rounds..."
Sam nodded his understanding as he looked back to Uriel.
"I need to get to the car, Uri. The leopard must be somewhere in the house and I need to take it down."
The small angel nodded and raising his arm gracefully to the side of his head flung the two- foot, lethally sharp blade directly towards Sam.
The cane-blade stabbed into the ground just by Sam's right foot, pinning the wolf, howling, by the back leg to the ground.
"Finish it!"
Uriel shouted and Sam thrust the small silver knife blade deep into the creature's throat.
Sam was moving for the door, sprinting towards the Impala on his long, long legs even as the creature bled out onto the floor.
"Uriel, help them take out that one. Get Raphe to Bobby..."
"I'm on it, Sam."
The angel nodded as he limped determinedly towards the fatally struggling trio, retrieving the vicious blade as he moved.
wWw
Sam reached the car in five determined strides and yanked open the trunk, all the while keeping an eye out for the remaining large were-leopard. His hand went straight to the boxes of silver tipped shells, silently thanking Dean for his insistence on tidiness and order and forcing himself to breathe evenly as his hands shook with the adrenaline rush still buzzing through him.
Automatically he chambered the cartridges, pocketing the rest and turned for the door the urgency to get back and protect Dean and the others humming in his blood, only to be halted in his tracks by the hard eyes of the were-leopard, glistening with malevolence. The beast regarded him steadily from its position only feet in front of him. In its shining eyes Sam could see traces of its long past humanity but they were held prisoner to its animalistic fury at the further loss of its pack members.
The beast leapt even as Sam raised the gun and dived to the side for cover. His honed reflexes were swift and the silver slug tore through the sleekly muscled chest of the cat, replacing black fur with crimson destruction. It crumpled to the ground, howling its pain and despair.
The gun jolted from Sam's hands as he landed beside the crippled cat and for a moment, the winded pair could do nothing but stare at each other, before the cat lurched to its feet and slunk away, blood trailing behind it as it moved.
wWw
Sam burst through the door, loaded shotgun in each hand, conscious that he didn't really know how many of the weres remained standing or what condition they were in. Nor, for that matter, did he know how his companions had fared in the bloody battle.
"Dean?"
His voice was strident, his anxiety making his heart hammer.
"Here...Sam..."
He was relieved to hear his brother's relatively steady voice call to him from the back of the house but he could hear the tension within the soft response and he hurried toward the sound. He passed the final wolf corpse, noting the disturbingly unnatural angle of its broken neck as he hurried toward the area Bobby had first fallen.
Dean and Raphe were on their knees, the angelic healer's hands were hovering over the fallen hunter's still form. Blood pooled under Bobby's body staining the floor where they knelt. Uriel stood to the side, his face anxious.
"Is he alright?"
Sam dropped to his knees, beside his brother, the shotguns laid to his side as Raphe glanced towards him.
"I'm just checking him out, Sam."
The serious look on the angel's face told Sam that it was not good.
"Is anyone else hurt?"
Sam looked at his brother as he spoke but Dean's focus was on their fallen friend and Uriel was left to answer the question.
"We're okay, Sam. Dean's leg got torn up a bit and his wrist is bruised as hell but otherwise no real injuries...Did you get the leopard?"
Sam eyes flickered to his brother as he replied, scoping him out as he had been trained to do from being a child.
"I wounded it. Bad chest wound. I don't think it'll survive."
He noted the blood soaking the leg of Dean's jeans and the way he twisted awkwardly to the side to avoid sitting as heavily on his left leg.
The blond angel nodded, relief softening his angular features.
"That's all of them then."
Sam nodded.
"How bad is he, Raphe?"
Dean's voice was soft, measured and very calm and Sam winced because he knew from experience that combination meant his brother recognised the particular severity of the situation they found themselves in. To Sam it meant that the situation was real bad and Dean was using all his internal reserves to keep from lashing out in fear and pain.
Raphe looked up hurriedly from his patient, concern in his pale, grey eyes.
"His injuries are severe. The leopard tore him up good and he's lost a lot of blood but they can be healed with patience. This head injury though..."
Sam glanced again at Bobby and registered the lump the size of an egg over his temple.
"I'm gonna need some help with this, Dean."
Raphael had turned to the elder Winchester as he spoke and Sam watched Dean start as if shocked from his reverie. His pale face and wide eyes betraying his turmoil.
"Raphe...I don't know if I can...it's not just a few cuts and scratches..."
The divine healer could see the genuine fear on the hunter's face and he understood all Dean's reservations. He remembered the first few times he used his gift. Remembered the terror of the power within him and also the wonder of it. But Raphael had always been cognisant of his destiny, had always known the life that was to be his.
"I'll be with you, Dean. I'll guide you."
Raphael watched the hunter's nervousness recede a little.
"And I'll watch out for Belial..."
Mention of the daemon's name saw terror flood the hunter's wide green eyes as Raphael had expected. He reached out and touched Dean's forearm.
"Raphe...I can't..."
Dean voice was cracked with fear, memories of his previous encounters with the daemon assaulting him.
"You can. I know you're afraid but I'll keep you safe. Trust me, Dean."
The angel's voice was calm but insistent. His grey eyes holding the hunter's panicked stare.
"You can and you will, Dean. I can't do this alone. The head injury is bad. There is a large clot forming and if we don't relieve the pressure quickly the damage will be irreparable. I need the power of your healing to augment mine. There's no other way."
He could feel the tremors of doubt rippling through his protégé. He tightened his grip, feeling the hunter start in pain as he put pressure on the bruises from the Were's teeth.
"If you don't help me, Dean, he may die."
Raphe watched as Deans eyes flickered to his fallen comrade. A wealth of emotion played across his expressive face: Fear, doubt but most of all, love for the gruff, taciturn man who lay unconscious before them.
"Okay..."
Dean drew in a shaky breath and Raphe smiled.
"Shall we get him to the couch?"
Sam's words mirrored his concern for the older hunter.
"It'd be easier for ya..."
He glanced at Raphe and Dean.
"...to heal him I mean..."
Approval for his brother's part in the task to come was overt in Sam's words and Raphael smiled to see the positive effect Sam's endorsement had on the elder Winchester. His posture straightened as he responded.
"Yeah, you're right, Sam. Let's get him on the couch..."
Dean went to take a hold of the unconscious man only to have Sam put a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Let me, Dean. You need to save your strength to heal him."
Sam's eyes said 'let me do this for him, this is all I can do!' and Dean smiled, withdrawing his hand and nodding, as Sam reached forward preparing to lift Bobby into his arms.
A low, hatred filled growl of fury was the herald of the fatally wounded were-leopard's final attack. The heavily bleeding creature's claw's skittered on the painted wooden floor as it charged, adrenaline animating its dying body, at full tilt, through the open door. Raphael threw himself over the prostrate body of their patient as angels and hunters alike scattered out of its way as it careered toward them, desperately grabbing for discarded weapons as they dove and rolled.
Dean and Uriel reached the shotguns first and Sam watched, as if in slow motion, as angel and hunter lined up their sights on the pouncing cat. From his position on his back on the floor, Dean's honed reflexes squeezed the trigger and the sleek black beast howled its final fury as the silver shot penetrated its body. The cat crumpled in mid air, falling to the ground, lifeless, inches from where Raphe lay protecting Bobby's body with his own.
Uriel was slower to discharge his weapon and being unused to the kick of the sawn-off, the smoking muzzle of the gun pulled hard to the left as it fired.
Dean was moving even as he screamed,
"NO, Sam! Watch out!"
But he was too far away to quite reach his brother and all he could do was barrel him clumsily out of the way of the angelic shot. Had Dean been a second quicker, the blast would have missed entirely but as the brothers landed in a tangle of arms and legs Sam felt the silver shot catch, piercing his chest and shoulder with sharp needles of fire. He gasped in pain as blood bloomed on his grubby T-shirt from a myriad pellet wounds.
"Sam!"
Distantly, he felt his brother's strong arms around him as he fought to find the breath to speak around the perforations in his lung.
"Sammy. No!"
He blinked slowly, His brother's anguished face fading as his strength failed.
"No, no, no! Sam. Don't do this. Stay with me..."
Darkness pervaded the edges of his vision as Dean's heavy hand pressed to his chest and Sam's last vision was of his own rich, red blood coating Dean's hand as his pierced heart ceased to beat.
Chapter ends