CHAPTER 47

Sitting in a booth at the local diner Sam was scanning the newspaper while Caleb and Dean engaged in a heated debate about why gummy bears were superior to jelly beans.

"Hey Dean, here's your favourite Italian meal again." Sam said folding his paper and handing it to Dean.

"Italian meal?" Caleb asked.

"Exsanguination." Sam explain.

Caleb just stared blankly.

"Sounds like our kind of thing." Dean said after scanning the article.

"Please explain?" Caleb asked.

"Vamps." Dean said pushing the paper towards her friend. "Feel like a detour before we head back to Bobby's?"

"Sure, why the hell not." Caleb said.

•

Dean was laying alone the back seat with her feet up on the parcel shelf and her head hanging of the seat listening to a Metallica album through head phones. Seems the 'driver picks the music' rule had back fired on her and Sam was playing all that 'Emo crap' that Dean hated, mostly just to piss her off! Caleb was working on the case on his laptop and Sam was concentrating on the road when a thought occurred to Dean.

"Hey!" She said suddenly sitting up and scaring the crap out of both the front seat occupants.

"Don't do that!" Sam shouted after steering back onto the road.

"Sorry." Dean said, not sounding it at all. "Anyway. Out of all the missing person in the US, how many do you think are ours?"

"What do you mean?" Caleb asked.

"Well, it's just that, demons, vamps, werewolves, they were all people at one time. We can occasionally exorcise a demon but vampirism and lycanthropy have no cure except death. We come along and kill them and then burn their bodies, so they are never seen again. How many do you think are reported missing?"

"I don't know Dean. What brought this on." Sam asked.

"I dunno." Dean answered with a shrug. "Just was thinking about stuff."

"I guess a few of them might be reported missing but some of those vamps and werewolves we kill are really old. Like centuries." Caleb pointed out.

"So no one left to report them. That's sad." Dean said.

"You know what?" Sam said. "Let's just agree that that's another thread we're not gonna pull."

"Too bad, I wanna pull it." Dean said. She suddenly leaned over the seat and tried to grab the computer from Caleb's lap.

"What are you doing?" He asked holding it tightly.

"Gimme! I wanna see!" Dean said giving the laptop a yank.

"Fine."

Dean settled back and logged into the missing persons website. She began searching.

"Here's one." She said after a few minutes then a few minutes later. "And I remember this guy."

She worked silently for about 15 minutes more before closing the computer and laying it to the side. She slid across the seat and curled up against the door, resting her chin on her hand.

"What's wrong? Given up?"

Sam asked, looking at Dean in the rear view mirror.

"There's too many." She said.

"Too many missing people?" Caleb asked.

"No. Too many of ours." She said curling up tighter.

"How many did you find?" Sam asked.

"Six."

"That's not that many, really." Caleb said.

"I know but that's six families that will never know what happened to their loved ones. I just wish there was a way to let them know what happened."

"It's not like we can just call these people and say 'oh, by the way, we just chopped your husbands head off because he had been turned into a blood sucking monster'." Caleb answered.

"I know. Anyway, here take your laptop back. I'm going to sleep."

Dean handed the laptop back over the seat then lay back down with her headphones on.

"Are you sure he's not pre-menstral?" Caleb asked.

"Dunno, maybe." Sam answered with a shrug. "He gets like this from time to time. So what did you find on our case?"

•

"So the attacks all seem to happen around here." Caleb said circling an area on the map in front of them. "There's a small bar here." He said marking a cross on the corner of one of the blocks. "And most of the victims had been there before they were attacked."

"Do we need to go undercover?" Sam asked.

"Nuh. I don't think we need to involve the authorities on this one. Seems pretty open and shut."

"Do we know if it is one vamp or a nest?" Dean asked.

"Well, only one kill each time and the body is drained where it drops so I would say just one rogue." Caleb said.

"Okay, so we go down tonight and check the place out then Sam and I will see if we can't bag this fugly tomorrow." Dean said.

"Wait, what about me?" Caleb asked.

"You've got six stitches in your leg." Dean pointed out.

"So?"

"What if you tear them?" Dean answered. "I don't want to have to do them again. We are getting low on suture kits and I really don't feel like using dental floss again."

"Sam has a dodgy shoulder. Why does he get to go?"

Dean looked at Sam then back to Caleb.

"Because I said so, that's why. Sam is coming with me and you are staying here and that's final." Dean said, hands on hips and staring down the older man.

"Fine!" Caleb huffed as he dropped into his seat.

"Really? Just like that?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, you used that scary Mum voice, I'm not going against that."

"Huh! Well that was easy." Dean said. "Okay let's go."

•

Sam staggered drunkenly down the dark narrow street. He occasionally bumped against a wall then righted himself again. He stopped walking and stood swaying as he patted his jacket, searching for something.

"Hey studly, need a hand?"

Sam turned to the voice beside him. He smiled lopsidedly.

"Heeey...you're pretty." He said, poking the woman on the nose.

"Well thank you." The woman replied. "My names Monica. What's yours?" She asked looking around to see if anyone was watching.

"S'm." He slurred.

"Hi Sam. What are you doing out here all alone?" She asked taking hold of his arm.

"Tryin' to find my hotel."

"Okay, which hotel you staying at?"

"It's called.." Sam giggled then leaned in close. "Is pink."

"I know the one. I think it's right down this alley." Monica said. With one last glance around she lead Sam down a dark alley.

•

Sam allowed himself to be taken down the alley and around a corner.

"This doesn't look right." He said looking around. "You said you w's gonna take me to the p'nk thing"

"No it doesn't, does it? And I did say that. But I thought one of us could have a snack first.

She shoved Sam and then reared back revealing rows of sharp teeth. Grabbing onto his jacket she tried to pull him close so she could bite at his neck but was caught off guard when her mark began to fight back.

Sam pulled the syringe of dead mans blood from his pocket and swung it down toward the yellow haired vampire he was battling. She reached up and grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm until his, already injured, shoulder popped from its socket. Sam dropped the syringe and fell to his knees with a cry of pain, spinning to try and lessen the pressure on his injured shoulder. Monica took advantage and bit down on Sams neck. She pulled back wiping her mouth and looked at Sam as he still struggled.

"Your blood. It tastes different." She said, an evil smile appeared across her blood stained mouth. "I like it."

Sam felt around beside him with his good arm, trying to find the fallen syringe. Finally his fingertips connected with it and he dragged it to him. He lifted it and stabbed it into the vamps back just as she leant down for more of his blood, depressing the plunger.

•

Dean watched Sam silently from the shadows as he stumbled down the street. A tall, blonde woman with pale skin quickly walked up behind him. With Dean looking on Sam played his part perfectly allowing the woman to lead him down the alley. When they were out of sight she left her hiding place, crossed the road and followed at a distance. As she crept silently down the alley she sensed someone behind her. Turning she saw a man of medium build step out of a door way.

"Didn't ya momma teach you it ain't safe for a woman to be in dark alleys all alone at night?" The man asked.

"Jesus! Not now. I'm busy." Dean said.

"Yeah, and I'm hungry." The man smiled and showed Dean his fangs. He advanced on her but faltered a moment when Dean neither screamed or tried to run, but just rolled her eyes.

"I told you I'm busy." She said then swung the machete hidden in her hand and separated the vampires head form his body. She kicked the head towards the dumpster and resumed creeping down the alley.

Hearing Sams cry of pain, Dean picked up the pace and rounded the corner just as Sam stabbed his attacker with the blood filled needle.

•

"What have you done!" The vampire screamed as she drew away clawing at her back.

Sam used his legs to shuffle backwards away from the vampire, holding his injured arm against his body and trying to put pressure on the vampire bite with his good hand. He watched as Dean strode up to the disabled monster and grabbed her by the hair. She pulled its head back then swung the machete cleanly through its neck, severing it in one strike.

"My brother is no ones meal." She said at the head then threw it aside in disgust. "Sammy! Are you okay?"

Dean was in front of Sam in a second, monsters forgotten, Sam being her only concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, trying to stand.

Dean put her hands on Sams shoulders and gently pushed him back down. She quickly withdrew them when Sam gave a grunt of pain.

"Okay, let's see that." She said taking Sams hand away from the wound. "That's gonna need stitches."

She pulled a flask of holy water and a bandana from a pocket and poured the water over the wound to cleanse it. Sam drew a breath through his teeth and tried to back away from the pain.

"Hold still." Dean said, placing her hand on his chest to hold him steady. "It's almost over."

She returned the flask to her pocket the placed the folded cloth against the wound.

"Hold this tightly." She said putting Sams hand back over it.

"Shouldn't you have been wearing that to avoid the splatter?" Sam asked sounding drunk again.

"Probably but I wasn't expecting any resistance so it didn't really matter." Dean said with a shrug. "This might hurt a little."

She began to examine Sams shoulder.

"Okay, I'm going to have to put this back in before we move you." She said.

Sam nodded.

"You want something to bite?"

Sam shook his head.

"Okay, on three. One..." She then quickly manoeuvred Sams bone back into the socket.

"Fuck!" He shouted, kicking out and trying to pull away from Deans hands. "You said three!"

"Three." Dean said grinning at her brother.

She gently pulled Sams arm across his chest and looked around. She saw a large kilt pin on the dead bitches skirt and leaned over and removed it, using it to pin Sams sleeve to his jacket, forming a makeshift sling. She got to her feet and helped Sam up. Supporting him they slowly made their way back out of the alley.

"What about the body?" Sam asked.

"Not worried about them right now little brother. Gotta go get you patched up."

"Them?" Sam asked. Just then they rounded the corner and Sam saw the headless body of another vampire lying in the ground. "That one yours too?"

"Yep. He got in my way." Dean said stepping around the corpse. "But at least two families will know what happened to their loved ones."