Carly gave the boys the address of the nest, which was a few hour drive from the apartment. They packed everything they would need as a knock sounded at the door. Sam set down his machete and opened the door to reveal Ruby on the other side.
She strode into the room as Sam quickly closed the door behind her as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm here and ready to babysit."
"You know you could've just teleported in," Sam pointed out.
"I know, but sometimes I enjoy the walk. Now, where is she?" Ruby asked.
"Over here,"
Sam and Ruby looked toward Carly who was sitting up on the couch ten feet away from them. Ruby looked Carly up and down with disapproval but tried to smile nonetheless. Neither had liked each other before, but now even less so.
"Thank you for doing this," Sam said, trying to break the awkward silence. "I truly appreciate it."
"Well, of course. Anything for you Sam," Ruby said.
She leaned forward, meeting Carly's gaze as she lightly grasped Sam's hand, squeezing it. Carly's fist clenched as Ruby's smile widened. Ruby and Sam separated as Dean came into the room with a duffle bag strung over his shoulder.
"We'll be back in a few hours. Make sure she stays in this room and away from humans. If she consumes human blood this cure will not work and this will be for nothing. Can you do that, Ruby?" Dean asked, annoyance in his tone.
"I will do my best," Ruby said, lifting her hand into the air. "Scout's Honor."
Dean rolled his eyes with a sigh as he made his way out of the apartment and down toward the car. Sam thanked Ruby one last time, waving back at Carly before following after Dean. When the boys were down the hall, Ruby closed the door and turned toward Carly.
"Looks like we get to have some girl time," Ruby said.
"Great, I'm thrilled," Carly sarcastically replied with a fake smile.
Dean and Sam were on their way to the nest when Dean decided to give Bobby a call. After a few rings, he answered with a hello.
"Hey Bobby, we're heading toward the nest now," Dean said into the phone.
"Do you have machetes and dead man's blood?" Bobby asked.
Sam wanted to say something, so Dean put the call on speaker. "Of course, when are we ever not prepared?"
"You know you boys are damn idjits. Going into a nest with that many vamps could get you both killed. This is probably the dumbest thing you've ever done," Bobby sighed.
"I don't know if it's the dumbest. I'd say there are dumber things we've done in the past," Dean pointed out.
"Yeah, well, it's pretty damn close," Bobby said.
"We need the cure, Bobby," Sam insisted.
"I know but you could've waited for backup," Bobby pointed out. "If you had waited, I could've joined, so you'd have a better chance of winning."
Dean shook his head. "We couldn't wait, Bobby. The longer we wait, the more the hunger within Carly will grow. We need to get this done as fast as possible."
"Do you think she's okay with Ruby?" Bobby asked.
"Ruby can handle Carly, I trust her," Sam admitted.
"I hope you're right, Sam. I truly hope you're right," Bobby muttered.
Dean noticed a building up ahead. "Gotta go, we're pulling up to the nest now,"
He hung up the phone as the boys got out of the car. They went around to the trunk, pulling out their dead man's blood and machetes. Dean noticed a rocket launcher at the back of the compartment. He began to reach for it when Sam slapped his hand.
"Stop," Sam warned.
"What?! It could be fun!" Dean whined, rubbing his now red hand. "We could blow a hole in the side and walk in all action movie star style. May even take out a few bloodsuckers in the process."
"Blowing a hole in the building could attract attention from the police, Dean. We're only a few blocks away from the main part of town. Do you want the police to intervene when we are cutting off vampires' heads with machetes?" Sam pointed out.
Dean thought about it for a moment and realized Sam was right. "Fine, but we are going to use this baby one day. I promise you."
"And that will be a glorious day...now come on," Sam said, shaking his head as he made his way around the car.
Dean looked down at the rocket launcher and mouthed soon before reluctantly closing the trunk. He caught up to Sam as they made their way to the door, which was ajar. They strode in machetes raised, and dead man's blood in their pockets.
It was silent...too silent. The two noticed the lights in the dining room were on, so they made their way inside. Soon after, the door closed and locked behind them. Another set of doors opened to have a man walk in with a smirk.
"Well, well, well looks like the bait worked," He said.
"You must be the scum that attacked our friend Carly," Dean said, clutching his machete tight.
The vamp took a bow. "Yours truly."
"She didn't deserve what you threw upon her!" Sam snapped.
"Didn't she?" The vamp asked with a shrug. "Your friend Carly came here to kill my people. I think it's only right for her to become the thing she wanted to destroy. Poetic in a way...don't you think?"
"You son of a…" Sam yelled.
He began to lung forward when Dean held his arm out to stop him. Attacking out of anger wouldn't get them anywhere. They had to be smart about this.
"Feisty...I like that, but you will not be leaving alive," The vamp said.
"I figured, but if we're going down, it'll be swinging," Dean threatened.
"Get 'em boys!" The Vamp yelled as at least twenty vampires entered the room from all directions.
Sam and Dean looked toward one another as Dean whispered beneath his breath. "This'll be fun."
The vamps surrounded Sam and Dean. They clung to their machetes and attacked the closest vamps to them. They kept going, slicing and dicing. Yet, they weren't invincible. The vamps got a few good hits on them both, cutting and bruising their flesh.
When only a few were left, they were getting tired. Dean kept his ground, but Sam was faltering. His detox of demon blood was weakening his strength as one of the vamps got a good hit on him, knocking him back into the wall and causing him to go unconscious.
Dean saw this and became furious. He killed the last few vamps, so it was only Dean and the head vamp left standing. The vamp's eyes went dark as he lunged at Dean, grabbing his throat and slamming his back into the wall, causing him to drop his machete.
"What are you going to do now, Dean? Your weapon is gone and your brother is out for the count. You've lost," The Vamp smirked.
Dean reached into his back pocket, grasping the vial. "I never lose."
His hand flew out as Dean jabbed the needle into the Vamp's neck. He injected just enough to cause pain without instantly killing him. Dean pulled the needle out as the Vamp collapsed onto his knees with a gasp.
"What the hell was that?" The Vamp asked, gasping in pain.
Dean held the syringe in clear view. "Dead man's blood, a poison that only affects bloodsuckers like yourself."
Dean bent down and grabbed his machete. He turned back toward the vamp as he lifted the machete into the air. As he went to strike, the vamp spoke.
"I know about your brother, Dean," The Vamp said, meeting Dean's gaze. "His powers are growing stronger with every drop of demon blood he consumes."
"How did you know that?" Dean asked, pointing the machete at the Vamp's throat.
"Monsters talk," The Vamp admitted.
Dean grabbed the vamp by the front of his shirt, getting in his face. "Whatever you freaks have planned for Sam is not going to happen."
"There's no escaping it, Dean," The Vamp said, smugly smiling. "Your brother's already on a path to darkness. Your friend...Carly will be the same if she gives in like Sam has. The demon blood in their veins has tainted them and the more your little brother drinks the less human he becomes."
"I won't let either of them turn into a monster like you," Dean insisted.
The Vamp shook his head. "You may be able to save Carly's soul, but Sam's could be too far gone."
"Well, that is something I will take care of, but for now, I'm going to get what I came for," Dean said, standing back up.
"And what's that?" The Vamp asked.
"This,"
Dean swung his machete upward and then down upon the vamp's neck, clearing his head from his body. The vamp collapsed as his head rolled away. Dean crouched down beside him, emptying the syringe and replacing the dead man's blood with the vamp's.
Once he had the blood, Dean slid the syringe in his pocket. He rose to his feet and went over to Sam, helping him to his feet. Dean got Sam to the car and sat down beside him.
"Did I miss anything?" Sam asked.
"No, nothing at all. Just me being a badass as usual," Dean bragged.
"Yeah, whatever," Sam said, lightly laughing beneath his breath. "Did you get the blood?"
"Yes, now let's hope this works,"
Sam nodded as Dean started up the car. The two began their drive back to the apartment in silence. Dean glanced back toward Sam with worry. He should've told Sam what the vamp said, but he didn't want to worry him. Dean would save his brother from darkness or die trying.
Carly sat up on the couch, holding a washcloth to her neck. Ruby sat down on the chair across from her, reading a magazine. Carly wanted to watch TV but Ruby didn't like the noise and hid the remote. So, the two sat in silence as Carly stared off at the wall.
The hunger within her was building. Like a fire being lit in her gut. The flames slowly reached up her throat as the burning intensified. It was as if she had never had a drink in her life and her throat was desert dry. She just wanted the pain to be gone, but she knew then the second she gave in it was all over.
She sat there in silent agony, Ruby looking up from her magazine to notice Carly's scrunched brow. The sight of her pain made Ruby smile as she set the magazine on the coffee table, taking a seat beside Carly on the couch.
"How does it feel? The hunger?" Ruby asked with intrigue.
"Like the inside of my stomach is filled with flames, which are etching their way up my throat. If a human were near me, I'd do anything to get the blood from them to extinguish the flames," Carly admitted with a sigh.
"Are you attracted to my blood?" Ruby asked.
Carly looked toward Ruby, listening to her heart beat in her chest. The tug to feed rising in the back of Carly's mind, but not strong enough where she couldn't control it.
"Yes, but it's manageable. Probably because it's tainted with evil," Carly snapped.
"Ouch," Ruby said, pretending to be offended. "I honestly think my demon blood tastes better than a human's. Well, that's what Sam has told me at least."
"What are you talking about?" Carly asked with a raised brow.
This confusion made Ruby smile wide. "Oh, he didn't tell you, did he?"
"Tell me what?" Carly asked.
"Sam's been consuming my blood. Not for a good while due to Dean's influence, but he has. It's reawakened the powers within him. Instead of premonitions, he can expel demons with a," Ruby said, lifting her hand and snapping. "Of his fingers."
"But our powers vanished the night Azazel died," Carly insisted.
"Oh no they did not vanish. They just became dormant within you. If you consumed demon blood like Sam, you'd have far more abilities than you know," Ruby said.
"So, Sam drinks from you like you're a juice box?" Carly asked.
"It's a lot more...sensual than that, but yes. If you'd like I can do the same for you," Ruby said.
"Sam may have given in to whatever you did, but I won't," Carly said, leaning forward so their faces were mere inches apart. "I'm not going to degrade myself in such a manner."
"You know it's possible my blood will not affect the cure. Since mine is tainted it's possible you could consume some to relieve the pain and the cure would still turn you back to human," Ruby suggested.
"I'd rather suffer for a thousand years than put my mouth on your skin," Carly snapped.
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked.
She raised her wrist and sliced open the skin with her nail. Blood pooled on the surface of her skin as Carly's eyes locked onto it. Her breathing became labored as the scent wrapped around her like the musical notes of a song.
Her mouth opened, licking her lips. She leaned forward, but realized what she was doing and slapped a hand over her mouth. Carly slid back on the couch as far as it would let her.
"You don't have to fight it, Carly. Just give in…" Ruby taunted, moving closer to her.
"No...I won't," Carly refused, gritting her teeth.