Four months earlier:
"I'm not saying this is our kind of gig, Dean," Sam muttered quietly from the passenger seat beside me. I just barely managed to catch it over the sound of Bon Jovi blaring over the speakers. "But you have to admit, things are not right here."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." As I said it, I reached over and turned the music down so my brother could better hear me. "And I agree. I just wish your timing was a bit better."
There was no stopping the slow sigh that escaped from between my lips. It seemed almost as though Sam's clues knew exactly when I was just a joke away from getting a girl's number. There was nothing quite like staring longingly into the eyes of a beautiful woman with your little brother tugging on the sleeve of your shirt.
"You mean you'd rather be hanging out with girls than saving lives right now?" Sam asked with that same sarcastic chuckle he used when he already knew he answer before I'd even said a word.
"Yes, Sammy, that's exactly what I'm saying. I would rather be sharing a drink with a gorgeous woman than be stuck in a car looking at your ugly mug for the rest of the night."
Sam just scoffed and rolled his eyes in a way that clearly said "you're so immature." Perhaps that was true, but there was always that glint in Sam's eye that said somewhere deep down, he actually liked it.
"Turn off up here," my brother instructed after a few moments. I was quick to obey, trusting Sam's navigation skills. He still used maps, for crying out loud. Surely a guy who could read a map could get us to a lone cabin in some sketchy woods in the middle of nowhere easily enough.
"So, demons, huh? Been a while since we handled some of those uglies." I shot a small smile Sam's way, hoping to strike up a little conversation.
"It's gotta be, right?" Sam asked, though whether he was asking me or just wondering aloud, I didn't know. "I mean, witnesses have said the place smells like sulfur. That, mixed with the abnormal amount of struck luck can only mean there are demons in town."
"But there were also a couple of cattle mutilations reported in this area recently. Maybe this is a werewolf thing." This was our kind of gig alright, but it would be nice to know what we were walking into. Killing demons was far different from killing werewolves. Walking into a building with the wrong weapon could turn out to be disastrous, as we well knew.
"And don't forget that mysterious death that took place last week," Sam was careful to remind me. "The paper said animal attack, but it sounded more like a vampire deal to me."
All I could do was scoff. "Demons; werewolves; vampires? Sounds like monsters are getting smart on us." The corner of my mouth turned up in a small, half-smile as I glanced over at my brother. "Dude, we would be hunter legends for taking down some weird monster colab."
"Dean." Sam's tone dripped with sarcasm. "We already are legends. Starting and stopping the apocalypse and coming back from the dead a few times tends to draw attention."
"Oh. Right." At times, those very facts eluded me. It was strange how easy it could be to forget you're a celebrity among an obscure group of kooky, monster-hunting hillbillies. "Well, at very least, I could cross something off my bucket list."
Sam's expression said "you seriously have a bucket list?" but what came out of mouth was a little different. "You know what? I'm not even going to ask."
"You want to know, don't you?" Of course, Sam would never admit it, but I could see it in his eyes. "You want to know what's on it."
All that my words received was another Sam Winchester eye-roll. "Dean, just look at the road, would you? You're starting to drift."
"Oh, whatever. I'm the best driver these roads have ever seen," I retorted, straightening the steering wheel and centering Baby on the long stretch of gravel road.
"And that's not saying much."
DSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDS
Five minutes later, we were pulling off to the side of the road.
"We can walk from here. If there's anyone at the cabin, we don't want to disturb them," I explained. Of course, there was no need to explain anything to Sam. By now, we both knew exactly what to do without so much as muttering a word to each other. I suppose that after so many years of teaching my brother the hunter ways, it was just second nature to explain our course of action.
As I came around to the trunk of the Impala, Sam's hand popped up, offering me my pistol as well as a couple silver bullets.
"Don't forget to bring an angel blade," Sam reminded me. "And a machete. We don't know for sure what we're up against here."
"Yeah, yeah." I quickly dug out the weapons I needed, knowing just where to find them. "Why don't we just bring the whole trunk with us? We may need it if we're facing the Space Jam of monsters."
Sam paused momentarily before turning to face me and closing the trunk door. "You've seen Space Jam?" Amusement played in my brother's eyes, and I immediately regretted referencing the movie.
"Shut up." In one swift movement, I shoved a machete into Sam's hand and turned to walk further down the road. "Bugs Bunny rocks."
DSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDS
The coarse wood siding of the cabin snagged and tugged on my navy army jacket as I crept along the outside to the nearest window. No doubt Sam was by the front door by now, but the lack of splintering doors and sounds of struggle told me that he was in a similar position as I was - finding a way to scout out the interior and see just what we were up against.
From where I stood, I could see just three figures inside, but there could very easily be more throughout the building. A couple of doors in the room suggested that there were a few other rooms in the cabin.
The figures, from what I could see, looked human, but a lifetime of hunting told me that it was very unlikely that that was the case. However, there was no way to tell for sure what they were without getting closer and seeing them face to face.
Shouldn't be too hard, I figured. If I could bust through the back door, I could take them by surprise and hopefully take them out before any other monsters in the house were alerted. And that was exactly what I would do.
Just a minute later, I was within the building, and the creatures inside were greeted with a silver bullet to the heart each. If they were werewolves, then that would be the end of things and I could move to the next room.
The problem was, they weren't werewolves - at least, not all of them were. Of the three shot, only one fell to the ground, dead. The other two's eyes turned on me, venom in their gaze.
The monster at the nearby table rose, hissing as a full set of fangs appeared over his human teeth.
That's a vamp, alright. But the other most certainly was not. Rather than hissing or growling, the third monster simply smiled a sick, seemingly pleased smile as his brown eyes flicked away, replaced by pitch black emptiness.
A demon. It was just like we imagined! Three different kinds of monsters working together, but for what they were working, we had yet to discover. No problem, though. Once we dealt with them, we could take a captive and ask questions.
Swiftly, I stowed my pistol away in the back of my trousers, my machete finding its way into my hand just in time to block a set of vamp teeth looking to sink themselves into my neck. The vampire hissed at the fresh trail of blood trucking l trickling down its arm.
"Thirsty for more?" I taunted the creature, gripping the handle of my weapon a little tighter as a smile crept onto my face. I could hear more hissing coming from the next room, as well as a gunshot. It seemed that Sam was in a similar situation as me.
"Of course, you Winchesters just couldn't stay away," the vampire sneered, fangs gleaming in the cheap, fluorescent lighting. "I'm going to enjoy biting into y-"
I didn't bother to hear what the rest of the monster said before driving my machete straight through its neck. With two thuds, the creature fell at my feet, dead.
"Man," I said, bringing a tint of disappointment into my tone as I glanced up to meet the black pair of eyes staring back at me. "They just don't make monsters like they used to. All bark and no bite."
The smile on the demon's face faltered, but didn't fail. "You'll think a little differently when I'm done with you."
Metal clanging against wood met my ears as I allowed my machete to fall from my grasp to the floor. The weapon would be useless against a demon.
All I had to do then was reach behind my back and draw out the angel blade stashed in my belt.
"Entertain me," was my sole reply. Every hunter knew that an angry monster was a clumsy monster. Lord knows I use that to my advantage like a monkey uses its fingers to dig bugs out of its hair.
"Oh believe me, I will." The demon's tone held what I could only describe as a "knowing threat." It almost seemed like he knew something that I didn't, and I had to suppress a shudder at the thought.
What could he possibly know? There was no way he had the advantage here. Surely that look was as much a bluff as all the times I claimed to have a royal flush in poker.
"Dean!"
My brother's voice cut through the tense air right to my ears. I couldn't help startling upon hearing a slight tint of panic in his voice. Even when Sam was scared, for him to show it was a rare thing. If I could hear the fear in his voice, it had to mean something was very wrong.
"Sammy!" Just like that, my demon opponent was forgotten and getting to Sam became the sole mission. I made a break for the door at the other side of the room, knowing my brother was on the other side.
"Dean!" Sam's voice called out again. The strain in it told me just how hard he was struggling. "Dean! It's not-"
Whatever he was going to say was muffled to the point that his next words were totally unintelligible.
"I'm coming, Sammy!" My hand met the doorknob as the assurance passed my lips, but just as I moved to throw the door open, I found myself ripped harshly away. The next moment, my back connected with the crudely assembled siding of the crumbling cabin.
Before I had a chance to react, I found my airways cut suddenly off. Instinctively, my hands shot up in an attempt to free my neck of whatever was constraining it.
A hand, I realized, though I couldn't say I was surprised. As I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into the pitch black gaze of the demon I was coming to hate more and more with each passing second.
"Get yer... h'nds 'ff..." I struggled to retort. My brother needed me, and this monster was standing in my way!
"No thanks." The creature simply sneered, his fingers tightening further around my throat.
Why did I have to stop the angel blade? I silently cursed myself. If dad were still here, he would've had my hide for going to Sam's rescue before killing the demon.
"Dean?" Sam's voice sounded closer to the door now. Had he managed to get free of the monsters? Clearly, he must have, for the doorknob on the other side of the room began to turn.
"Brother dearest is coming to the rescue, is he?" The demon's smile simply grew. "Or so he thinks."
With his free hand, the monster reached around me whilst keeping me firmly and frustratingly pinned to the wall by my neck. The pistol slipped from the waistband of my pants, and the demon brought his hand back around to show me my weapon now in his hands.
"A rather rude way to greet him to the party, but he doesn't exactly leave me a choice."
No... No, he couldn't!
"D'n't... you dare..." As hard as I fought to get free of the demon's grasp, it was hopeless. He was just too strong.
To my absolute horror, he turned the weapon to the door just as it began to ease open. My brother's shocked, fearful face was the last thing I saw before three gunshots cut through the air.