Chapter 2: Burning Up

It was Saturday which meant getting up early for physical conditioning. Sam's head was throbbing as he woke up, the alarm clock blaring far too loudly for his liking. Dean had managed to somehow sleep through most of it and was still groggily stretching before he rolled out of bed. Sam snuck into the bathroom to shower first, but squinted at the bright light of the vanity when he flipped the switch. It was way too bright. Though with the shitty motels that they always stayed at he didn't even bother expecting a dimmer switch. As he locked the door behind him-and heard an irritable Dean pounding to be let in to piss-Sam smirked. His neck looked normal in the mirror, and he so far hadn't had any cravings for blood… Maybe his hope that it had only been a surface wound had been confirmed. He begrudgingly let Dean in to piss and then shunted him out so that he could take a shower and get the two minutes of hot water the room seemed to have every morning.

Twenty minutes later both boys were dressed and ready for their regiment, John expecting them at 5:15 on-the-dot. It was still dark out but Sam didn't mind, he'd always had decent vision in the dark, and today was no different. Training was always a pain in the ass, but he kept his mouth shut because he didn't want to earn any more laps. Forty was enough. After Dean had finished the ten with him Sam went into auto-pilot. He'd learned years ago to leave himself when running, it helped keep him from the pain and ragged breathing that inevitably came to pass. As he rounded the block he heard his father yell out to him.

"Okay Sam, you're good. Time for pull-ups."

Sam blinked, there was no way it had been forty laps-obviously he didn't keep track-but it felt like it had only been an hour at most. That plus he didn't feel like he was on the verge of collapsing from the inevitable pain that normally came with that much exercise. Dad must be taking it easy on me. Maybe that solo-kill impressed him more than he let on.

Dean grunted as he finished the last pull-up, with Sam easily matching his pace-a rare feat. Dean scowled as his little brother finished the last set only a few minutes after him, despite being nearly 20 minutes behind him to start. He rolled his shoulder and walked over to the room, finished with his training and ready to finally get something to eat.

**SPN**

The next few days continued in a similar manner, with Sam realizing he had to restrain himself in order to avoid suspicion. For some reason he was feeling a lot stronger recently, and also had better than normal night vision, and wasn't super hungry all the time anymore. But that could just be puberty… Plenty of weird shit happens when you're hormonal. Dean was super agro for a few months when he was my age and then he got strong and that was it. It has nothing to do with the bite. I'm not crazy for blood or anything, and besides I've been outside plenty during the day and I'm fine…

It was Tuesday evening when John told the boys they were moving to the next hunt. "Our next hunt is in Florida-some creature has been attacking a suburb called Point Mills. People are disappearing from their backyards to have only traces of their remains found stuffed in trees a few miles away. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but according to the local blues someone reported a flying shadow a few minutes before the most recent disappearance."

"So what, some sort of pterodactyl?" Dean raised an eyebrows excitedly as he ate another slice of pizza.

John rolled his eyes and sighed, "Dean, how many times do I have to tell you that dinosaurs are extinct?"

"They aren't!" He defended, "Most of the stuff we hunt isn't even in cryptozoology books, let alone National Geographic. Dinosaurs have got to be out there!"

Sam sat quietly as he picked at his pizza, the smell of garlic was overpowering.

"Surprised I haven't heard from you yet. Don't you love all that heat and sun? You wouldn't stop bitching for the first week we were here how miserable it was." John turned to Sam who quickly felt his blood run cold.

True, Sam did love warm weather. Summer was by far his favorite season. That being said, even with the limited rays afforded by Maine winter he still felt like he was getting zapped whenever he was outside. Which was totally just a side effect of the antibiotics I'm on. Sam had gotten a nasty cut a month prior and was just finishing up the meds to stave off another infection. "Yeah. It'll be nice to not be cooped up all the time. Even if the humidity is gonna kill me." He lied, faking a smile.

"Well tough. We don't get to choose where these freaks show up." John nodded, satisfied, but Dean glanced at his brother when Sam looked down again.

**SPN**

It was Monday when they arrived in Point Mills. It had taken two days to go down the coast. John had been gracious enough to let Sam actually get his school records this time-it was easier than having the previous school fax them through-and they had left a rainy and miserable Saturday. The storm had followed them down the coast before it finally broke apart somewhere in the Carolinas. Sam had been anxiously eyeing the passing scenery as it became more and more green and more and more sun peaked out from behind the clouds. At a rest-stop in Georgia he had bought a tube of SPF 50 (the highest he could find) and liberally applied it to his arms and face.

When the Impala pulled into the parking lot of the Pink Palms Motor Lodge-a horribly gaudy flamingo and palm tree themed affair-Sam was hesitant to leave the car. He'd managed to block most of the sun by leaning his schoolbag and books against the window next to him, but he could still feel the sun radiating through the small cracks. As Dean and John exited the car Sam knew he also had to leave… He inhaled deeply to steel himself as he opened the door. The creak of the metal unleashed a torrent of sunlight on him. Sam immediately felt the sun burning his skin, causing him to quickly double over and nearly shriek in pain as his skin began to blister in the sun. John had already entered the office to get their keys, leaving only Dean to see his brother breaking out in bright red blisters.

"Holy shit! Sammy!" Dean quickly ran to his brother and dragged him out of the sun and under the shade of the portico. "I need you to stay with me. Deep breaths, come on!"

Sam complied, trying to even his rapid shallow breaths. After a minute of Dean coaching him he was back to breathing regularly-the shade of the overhang diminishing the pain he felt, though the blisters and red skin still felt like they were on fire.

John appeared and ran over to the two, Dean shielding his brother from their father.

"What the hell happened?!"

"Sam had an allergic reaction to the sunblock from earlier. He needs a shower to get the stuff off of him." Dean hoisted his brother up as John unlocked the room and threw the shower toward the cold setting. Sam tried to regain his footing as his brother walked him into the bathroom, only to stumble. "Sammy I'm gonna take off your clothes and help you into the shower. We have to get you washed off."

Dean motioned for their father to give them privacy as he gently helped his brother out of his shirt, then jeans, then averted his eyes as he offered his brother a towel and let him get into the hot-pink shower stall.

After the water stopped Dean handed Sam a towel and a pair of clean underwear from his bag. "After you get those on I got some aloe vera stuff from the Rite Aid across the street."

Sam stepped out in his boxers and tried to grab the bottle from Dean. "No way. I'm making damn well sure you're all taken care of."

"Dean I'm 14 I can use lotion perfectly fine on my own." Sam stated, angrily crossing his arms, wincing at the contact against the irritated skin.

"While I know you can masturbate just fine I need to make sure all these burns are taken care of." Dean replied as Sam immediately became an even darker shade of red, "So shut up and stay still." Dean quietly applied the lotion on the irritated skin, with Sam begrudgingly admitting that it was easier than doing it himself and trying to reach his upper back and neck.

"Alright. You're done. Now get some rest. Dad's getting dinner and I've gotta finish unloading Baby." Dean stood up and gestured for his brother to lie down as he walked out the door and across the parking lot to their car.

**SPN**

Dinner was KFC, which John knew was Sam's favorite, so the boy ate up-even if he didn't feel particularly hungry after everything that had happened. Dean finally crashed around eleven, which left Sam alone with his thoughts as he sat up in bed and walked into the bathroom. The garish yellow-and-pink checker boarded tile and pink fixtures certainly didn't help the slight nausea that the teen was feeling as he clutched the counter beneath the large boomerang mirror. Even without turning the lights on he could see himself clearly reflected in the glass.

Please God, let me not be a freak… Sam trembled as he opened up his mouth. He could see his stainless-steel braces with their cumbersome rubberbands holding his teeth in place. So far everything is normal. He slowly raised a hand up from the counter as he began to shake with anxiety, slowly peeling up his lip in order to see his upper gums. Above his teeth were miniscule white flecks in the gums. Sam closed his eyes as he began to cry, before willing himself to open them again.

His fangs were descended. The white needle-like teeth lined his jaw. There were easily a dozen of them visible, and he could feel others further back.

Sam collapsed on the floor, clutching his legs as he bit down deeply on his own lip. His fangs didn't hurt him, he couldn't drink his own blood after all.

I'm a freak… A fucking vampire freak… He began crying silently, only gasping occasionally to try and hold back the anger and desperation that were clawing to be let out of his throat. He knew he couldn't tell Dean or John, but that they'd know soon enough anyway. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll kill me before I bite someone… Sam's skin crawled at the idea, but something deeper seemed to be bubbling that made him feel like it wasn't his choice.

Half an hour later Sam had cleaned himself up and returned to bed, Dean still and silent as the younger brother wished that for once he could have a normal life.