Chapter 3: The First Kill
1995
Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own Supernatural. Oh, and the "happy meals with legs" line is a similar one to a line Spike said to Buffy in the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I didn't even notice I had used it until I reread, and remembered that it was actually from Buffy, so just thought I'd give the amazing writers from Buffy credit for another great quote of theirs!
"Dean, watch your brother, I'm just going to get some more silver for tonight," John Winchester told his eldest son.
"Yeah, Dad," A 15-year-old Dean answered, not really paying attention, though, as he stared at the television screen. The door shutting behind his father awoke Dean from his television daze, and he turned his attention to his 12-year-old brother, sitting on the bed to their current motel room, reading a book titled "Werewolves: Fact or Fiction?"
"Sammy, why are you reading that crap? That author probably has no idea about anything supernatural, they just wanted to make a buck or two. Anything you find in that book will be worthless against a real werewolf," Dean explained to his brother in frustration. His brother was such a freaking' nerd….
"Yeah, well I don't have the hunter's instinct you and Dad have. I depend on knowledge, whether the author is telling the truth or not. I'm just going to have to take that risk," Sam said, not looking up from the book.
"What's there to learn? We shoot the bastard in the heart with a silver bullet, and that sucker's history," Dean told Sam, turning back to the TV screen.
Sam finally looked up from his book at this last comment, and just stared at his brother. He finally spoke, "Dean, you do understand that this werewolf we're after is actually a human right? I mean, how can you just say we're going to kill it?"
Dean groaned loudly as he turned off the TV and faced his brother, "Jesus, Sam, this thing's killed five people in the past week, and it only had three freaking full moons to do that! It may have the physical appearance of a human at times, but inside, it's the wolf, 24/7!"
"How can you say that? Do you think the person wanted to get bit! The poor guy was probably just strolling along on the night of a full moon, and was attacked by it, and next thing he knew he was a werewolf every full moon from then on! Look, all I know is if there's anyway we can stop it from killing people without actually having to kill it for good, I'm going to find a way," Sam finished, again going back to his book, but with much more concentration and anger in his eyes.
Dean didn't say anything back, just turned the TV back on and watched until he heard his Dad coming into the room, asking Dean and Sam to help him melt the silver into bullets-, which Sam immediately declined, much to his father's anger.
Later that night, the three Winchester's drove towards the woods a few miles from their motel room, guns loaded with silver bullets ready in the trunk of the car.
"Dad, look, there's got to be another way that we can stop this thing, I mean- Dad, please listen to me!" Sam pleaded with his Dad yet again, having failed all of his attempts back in the motel room.
"It's killed five, people, Sammy! And it'll kill a hell of a lot more if we don't stop it now! We can't let that risk lie, Sam, and there's no other way to get rid of it," John told his youngest, hoping to end any more pleading from him.
"But, Dad, that's not true! If we can kill the werewolf that bit this one, it'll break the curse, and-"
"And how are we going to find the werewolf that killed him, Sam? That'll take a long time, time we don't have. A lot more people will die!" Dean exclaimed. At the look of hurt on his brother's face, Dean calmed down and said more quietly, "Look, it's a good idea and all, but it's just not going to work, Sammy." And with that Dean turned to follow his father into the woods, gesturing for Sam to get a move on.
About an hour later, Sam looked into the sky to see that the moon had fully risen into a cloudless sky, and a visibly full moon shone brightly. "Dammit…" Sam whispered to himself, frustrated with the limited amount of time left before he knew the inevitable would happen. Sam was awakened from his thoughts by his father's hand on his shoulder, and looked to see his Dad was holding out a small gun for him to take.
"Look, Sammy, it'll be easier to find this thing if we split up; you go with your brother to go look- But you need to take this," he explained, putting the gun into Sam's hand as he continued, "I'm giving this to you because, if this thing attacks you or your brother, you're going to have to use it, Sam. Do you understand?"
"Yeah," Sam said to his father, not letting the skepticism show.
"Good. Okay, Dean, if you guys don't find this thing in the next couple of hours, I'll meet you up at the car, understand?"
"Yeah, Dad," Dean answered, then turned to Sam, "Come on, Sammy, let's go."
After about an hour and a half of searching for the werewolf, Sam and Dean had had no luck, and Sam was slowly getting a bit relieved that they may not have to kill the werewolf anymore.
"Jesus, where is the freaking thing!" Dean exclaimed kicking at the ground in frustration.
"Well, we're being pretty loud, maybe it got scared off," Sam told him with false hope.
"It was a rhetorical question," Dean answered, having not actually expected an answer, "Plus, if it did hear us, it would've attacked us, not run away. Werewolves aren't like most animals, they're not scared of humans, and they think of us as Happy Meals with legs."
"For the last time, it is a human being, Dean! And it probably-" But Sam was cut off by rustling in the trees up ahead. Dean's hunter senses immediately kicked in, and within seconds he had his gun aimed and ready for anything.
Sam froze to the spot, any relief he previously had gone, and replaced by fear and anticipation. What if he had to kill the werewolf? Sam didn't think he could do it, he couldn't bear it.
"Sam! Get your gun ready!" Dean shouted at him.
Sam took out the silver-bullet loaded gun, and got it ready, his hands shaking the whole time. But before he even knew what had hit him, the werewolf jumped out of the darkness, swiping Sam's arms with its claws. Sam clutched his arm in pain, but didn't have much time to think about it as the werewolf went for Dean next, knocking Dean's gun out of his hand.
"Sam! Sammy, shoot it!" Dean shouted, trying his best to keep the werewolf off of himself. Sam couldn't move, though, he was in such shock. He still hadn't even comprehended what had just happened.
"Sam! Please!" Dean pleaded.
Dean's desperation snapped Sam out of his trance-like state. He raised the gun, his hand shaking convulsively, he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. The werewolf cried in pain, having been shot in the leg.
"Sammy, shoot it again, in the heart!" Dean shouted, as the werewolf regained some strength and got angrier, going for Dean again.
Sam aimed the gun and fired, silencing the werewolf for good. Sam stared at its body as it turned into that of a young boy. The boy was only a few years older than Sam, it looked like.
Dean picked up his own gun and limped over to his brother, thick scratches visibly on his leg. "Good job, Sammy. You got it," Dean congratulated him, patting him on the back.
Sam didn't answer though, he just kept staring at the immobile body of the teenage boy in front of him. "Dean…How- how can you say that? Look, he's only about your age!" Sam exclaimed.
Dean looked over at the body, and Sam saw a flash of hurt pass through his eyes quickly. "Look, Sammy, there was nothing else we could do. He would've killed both of us, and many others if we hadn't stopped him. It was for the best."
Immediately Sam and Dean heard frantic running coming towards them, and they soon saw the outline of their father in the darkness.
"Are you boys alright? I heard screaming, and the gunshots, and-" John spotted the body of the boy, "You got him?" he asked.
"Yeah, he attacked Sam, and then went to get me, but Sam shot him," Dean responded, leaving out, Sam noted, that the werewolf had actually attacked him.
"Really, Sammy? That's great. Good job. You really are a Winchester," John said, smiling, ruffling his youngest's hair.
Sam couldn't believe his ears. His father was hardly excited when he came home with straight A's in school, yet when he killed someone, he was congratulated? Sam sat in silence for the rest of the night as they packed up their things and went back to the hotel, patching his arm and Dean's leg up. He still couldn't believe that he had just shot and killed a person, a thought that would guiltily lay in his conscious for the rest of his life.
In the present day, a 22-year-old Sam Winchester woke from his nightmare of the events that had taken place that night ten years ago. He had never forgiven himself for shooting that boy in the woods that day, even though he had tried to convince himself it was only in a defensive purpose to save Dean. And, though they didn't know it, and had probably never given any thought to it, he had never really forgiven his brother or father for having congratulated him on such an event. In his mind, he had murdered someone, and that guilt followed him for the rest of his life.
In the driver's seat next to him, his older brother turned to him, "Hey, another nightmare about Jess?"
"No, this one was something different. But just as bad," Sam confided.
Dean didn't look at all pleased by this response, "You want to talk about it?"
Sam thought about it for a moment, wondering if he should get it out of his system, just tell someone about the absolute guilt that had plagued him. But then he thought of the grudge he still held against Dean for that night, and decided what was best to be done.
"No, not really."
Author's Note: First of all, thank you so, SO much to everyone who reviewed! It was truly the best Thanksgiving ever because of you guys, because I so didn't expect anyone to even read the story, let alone be so kind as to leave a review! So thank you so much! Also, this chapter is more of a filler for the story, but also a bit important in events. I have an alternate version of this chapter in which (DON'T READ UNTIL FINISHED READING CHAPTER! AND IF YOU WANT TO READ ALTERNATE CHAPTER, THIS IS A SPOILER) Sam brings along a tranquilizer and finds the werewolf before Dean and John and gets the werewolf, and tells Dean or John that he killed it, but they later discover the same werewolf killing people and get angry with him. This chapter sort of adds, though, that Sam really doesn't want this life, so I chose to use this one because I felt it had more importance. Anyways if you want to read the alternate chapter just message me, and I can post it or give it to you. I'll stop blabbering now