Once we were back at Becks house, she put in the footage.
'Here he comes' Beck said as Zach was shown walking across the street around 10.04 PM.
'2204, that's just after 10. You said time of death was about 10.30' Dean said as he sat on the arm chair of the lounge. Beck sat on the lounge while Sam stood up with the remote and I leant against the wall.
'Our lawyers fired some kind of video expert. He says the tape's authentic. It wasn't tampered with' Beck said as I saw Zach's face. I pushed myself off the wall and stood next to Sam. He looked at me confused and motioned silently for him to get rid of Beck.
'Beck, can we take those beers now?' Sam asked
'Oh, sure' Beck said standing up as Dean looked over at us.
'Hey… maybe some sandwiches too?' Sam asked coyly
'What do you think this is, Hooters?' Beck asked laughing
'I wish' Dean groaned
'What is it?' Sam asked me once Beck was out of the room and Dean walked over to us.
'Check this out' I said, grabbing the remote from Sam and rewinding it a few seconds. I paused it just as Zach's face hit the camera and his eyes flashed yellow.
'Maybe it's just a camera flare' Dean suggested
'That's not like any flare I've ever seen' Sam said
'A lot of cultures believe a phot can catch a glimpse of the soul' Sam aid
'Right' Dean agreed
'Remember that dog? Maybe this is what scared him' I said
'Maybe this is a dark double of Zach's, something that looks like him but isn't' Sam said
'Like a doppelganger' Dean suggested
'Yeah' Sam said
'That would sure explain how he was in two places at once' I added
…..
'All right. So, what are we doing here at 5.30 in the morning?' Dean asked as we pulled over and got out of the car. I gave Dean his coffee back and he looked at it confused.
'What?' I asked innocently
'You drank it' Dean said annoyed and I grinned and nodded.
'I realized something. The videotape shows the killer going in, but not coming out' Sam said to us
'So he came out the back door?' Dean asked
'Right. So there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never purse' Sam said walking across the street.
'Because they think the killer never left. Zach was inside when they caught him' I replied leaning against the car with Dean.
'I still don't know what we're doing here at 5.30 in the morning' Dean muttered sleepily. I laughed before looking past Dean to find blood on a pole.
'Sam' I said and walked over to the pole.
'Blood. Somebody came this way' Sam said
'Maybe the trail ends. I don't see anything here' Dean said from his spot on the car.
'Maybe if you got off your ass and looked around you would find something' I joked as Dean gave me the finger. Suddenly we heard sirens and an ambulance drove past us. We all shared a look before jumping back into the car and following it to a house.
'What happened?' Dean asked a random runner as they watched the scene get taped off by cops.
'He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her' The runner replied
'Really?' Sam asked
'I used to see him going to work in the morning. He's wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy' The runner said as I walked away from them and around the back of the building to an alley way. I looked in the bin but found nothing.
'Hey, remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem?' Dean asked as Sam and he walked over to us.
'Yeah' I said
'Definitely our kind of problem' Dean said
'What did you find out?' I asked
'I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene who heard this guy Alex's story. Apparently the dude was driving home from a trip when his wife was attacked' Dean explained
'So he was two places at once?' Sam asked
'Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house. Cops say he's a nut job' Dean finished
'Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way' Sam said
'Could be the same thing doing it too' Dean said
'Shapeshifter? Something that can make itself look like anyone?' I asked as Dean shrugged
'Every culture has a shapeshifter lore. Legends of creatures who transform themselves into animals or other men' Dean said
'Right. Skinwalker…' Sam said
'…Werewolves' I added softly
'We got two attacks within blocks of each other. I'm guessing we got a shapeshifter problem in the neighbourhood' Dean said
'Hey Dean, have you ever heard of a flying shapeshifter?' I asked curiously
'Not that I know of' Dean said
'I picked up a trail here. Someone ran out the back of this building, headed off this way' I explained
'Just like Zach's house' Sam said
'And just like there, the trail suddenly ends. I mean whatever it is just disappeared…' I said before smelling something. I looked around confused before Dean saw what I was looking for.
'Well, there's another way to go. Down' Dean said as we looked at the manhole to the sewer.
'Damn' I muttered as Sam opened the manhole and we all jumped down one by one, landing in filth.
'I bet this runs right by Zach's house too. The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around' Sam suggested as I tried to get my senses under control. All these smells in one place was making my nose go into overdrive.
'I think you're right. Look at this' Dean said bending down to pick up something bloody and slimy.
'Is this from his victims?' Sam asked
'No Sam, I think it is from him. When the shapeshifter changes shape, maybe it sheds' I explained
'That is sick' Dean and Sam said at the same time as we climbed back up to the road and walked over to the car.
'One thing I learned from Dad: no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there's one sure way to kill it' Dean said
'Silver bullet to the heart' Sam said smirking as Dean pulled out a box of silver bullets. I eyed them wearily.
'That's right' Dean said happily before Sam's phone rang and he answered it as Dean and I loaded our weapons. Dean and I looked at Sam as he was obviously torn a new one by Beck.
'I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talking about. You lie to your friends because if they know the real you, they'd be freaked' Dean said as I wacked him up the side of the head.
'Ouch! I was just trying to say it'd be easier if…' Dean started to say
'If I was like you' Sam finished for him
'Hey, like it or not, we are not like other people. But I tell you one thing, this whole gig… it ain't without perks' Dean said as he handed Sam a gun. I laughed as Sam took it and smirked.
We climbed back down the manhole and started walking through the sewer with torches. I had a hard time smelling any blood or skin down here because my senses were hit by so many different and strong smells.
'Think we're close to its lair' Dean said
'Why do you say that?' Sam asked
'Because there's another puke-inducing pile next to your face' Dean said casually as Sam moved away from it gagging. I would have laughed if I wasn't smelling it so strongly.
'Looks like it's lived here for a while' Dean said as he shined his light on a pile of clothes when I heard a noise in the distance.
'Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with' Sam said as he shined his light on Dean and I.
'Dean!' He called out as we spun around to see the creature. He hit Dean in the head before Sam and I took shots at it but he quickly ran away. I went to help Dean but he shrugged me off.
'Get the son of a bitch' Dean said as Sam and I ran after him. We followed him up into the streets.
'Hide your gun' I whispered to them as I helped Dean out of the sewer.
'All right, let's split up' Sam said to us
'All right. I'll meet you guys on the other side' Dean said as we all split up and took different streets, searching for the shapeshifter.
'Damn this guy is silent' I muttered angrily to myself for letting him get the jump on us and injuring Dean.
I soon found Sam.
'Hey, you find anything' I asked and he shook his head.
'Where is Dean?' Sam asked and I shrugged looking around until I saw him walking over to us.
'Hey, anything?' Dean asked
'No, he's gone' Sam said annoyed
'All right, let's get back to the car' Dean said, but as we walked through the streets, I couldn't help but notice something was off with Dean. He didn't smell like Dean, well he did… but something was off about it. I needed to get him away from civilians though so I lead him and Sam back to the car.
'You think he found another way underground?' Sam asked before catching my eye and I gave him a very clear look that said 'something isn't right'.
'Yeah, probably. You got the keys?' Dean asked and Sam knew what I was talking about straight away.
'Hey, didn't Dad once face a shapeshifter in San Antonio?' Sam asked, trying to trick him.
'No, it was Austin and it turned out not to be shapeshift. It was a thought-form. A psychic projection, remember?' Dean corrected and to Sam and my surprise he was correct.
'Oh, right. Here you go' Sam said throwing Dean the keys. He caught them easily with his 'injured' arm. 'Dean' opened the boot and looked at our weapons collection, grinning.
'Don't move! What have you done with him?' I shouted, holding up my gun.
'Dude, chill. It's me, all right?' Dean asked
'No, I don't think so. Where's my brother?' Sam asked coming up the other side of the car.
'You're about to shoot him. Sam, calm down' 'Dean' said firmly
'You caught those keys with your left. Your shoulder was hurt' Sam explained
'Yeah, it's better. You want me to cry?' 'Dean' mocked
'You're not my brother' Sam said firmly
'Why don't you pull the trigger, then? Because you're not sure. Dude, you know me' 'Dean' said stepping closer to Sam.
'Don't fall for it Sam' I warned before 'Dean' had quickly knocked both Sam and I out with lightning speed.
….
