Chapter Nine - Rescue

The situation looked desperate until Sam and Dean heard a familiar voice.

"You want me. Here I am."

John Winchester appeared through the door his boys had been heading for when they were stopped.

The head vampire greeted their guest with an invitation. "Winchester, which son do you want me to feed on first?"

"You're not feeding on either of my sons."

John reached behind his back and pulled forward a flamethrower. He ignited the gas and started mowing down all the vampires in his path. Fire was as good as sunlight in extinguishing a vampire. The fangs scurried to get out of his way as Dean and Sam hit the ground.

John certainly knew how to make an entrance.

He went past his sons and threw down a bag of stakes and another quiver of arrows. Sam grabbed a couple of stakes and Dean loaded the crossbow. These vampires were in for a fight, they were going up against the entire Winchester family. Dean began firing arrows and vamps started turning to dust. The odds were getting better every second for the Winchester boys.

John kept torching vamps until the flamethrower sputtered as it ran out of fuel and ceased working. After his massive burn, only a dozen or so vampires remained. Unfortunately, they were the most experienced and deadly hunters; they had earned their old age by being experts at surviving. Sam was too young and inexperienced to go up against these guys, even Dean was tested to the limits of his skills with these badass fiends.

"Sam, get back to the door and protect yourself," John yelled.

John pulled a crossbow from his back, loaded it and proceeded to take out some more bloodsuckers. Dean and he were starting to make progress in this battle. They were on opposite sides of the room, taking out every evil vamp they encountered.

Suddenly, Dean was surrounded by three powerful vampires at once. He tried to fire, but one of them knocked the crossbow out of his hands. He managed to stake one vamp, but the other two were on him before he could react, their speed and strength unbelievable. They threw his back up against the wall and he felt his ribs exploding again. The head vampire roared his delight as he picked up the crossbow, aimed it at Dean and fired. The arrow entered Dean's left shoulder and impaled him to the wall. The evil creature walked up to Dean laughing and taunting.

"How does it feel, hunter?"

He stood back and took his time lining up his next shot as Dean struggled to free himself.

The arrow had pierced his body and the head was securely embedded in the wall. He tried but he couldn't pull it out. He grimaced as he continued to struggle with all his might to break free. The pain was worse than anything he'd ever before experienced, but he focused on doing his job.

The vampire was enjoying the sight before him, the hunter helpless, wracked in agony, his face contorting every time he moved, waves of delicious pain shuddering through his young body. It would be so easy to finish him off, just like shooting ducks in a pond, but he savored the moment, the fear and the desperation.

Dean was trapped with no way to escape. He knew if he didn't act quickly he would be dead. The pain was excruciating but he forced himself to slide his shoulder forward on the arrow. His eyes were shedding a steady stream of tears as his face grimaced and he bared his teeth as a strangled moan slipped out, but his fierce determination accomplished the task at hand and he grabbed the shaft of the arrow protruding from his shoulder and held it as steady as he could. He used as much leverage as he could get to snap the arrow between his shoulder and the wall, falling to the ground as a scream was ripped from his lips and the next arrow whirled through the air striking above him where his heart had been.

John had seen his older son was in trouble and was coming to help. He deftly took out the two vampires that had thrown Dean against the wall, and was almost to his son. The head vampire was the last one standing between him and his son. Before John could reload and fire, the evil vamp picked Dean up off the floor and held him before him as a shield. He wrapped his arm around Dean's neck, threatening to snap it if John didn't lay down his weapon.

"Don't you do it, Dad. Dust him!" Dean yelled.

John didn't have the shot. He needed to pierce the vampire's heart and that shot was blocked by Dean's body. He had no other option but to lay down his weapon and pray that another opportunity would arise. He raised up his hands in a defenseless posture and surrendered to the will of this fang.

"Fool, Winchester. That is why we will always win. Your loyalty to your family will be your undoing."

The evil vampire loosened his hold on Dean as he raised up the crossbow to fire at John. Dean used all his will and strength to break free of the vamp's grasp. He reached in his pocket for a sharpened pencil and using the weight of his own body jammed it into the chest of the vampire piercing his heart. The look of shock on the vamp's face was priceless before he exploded in a cloud of dust.

Dean grinned with satisfaction as he stumbled back against the wall.

"I guess size really doesn't matter," he quipped as he flashed a smirk that quickly turned into a monster grimace as the adrenaline eased and the pain surged back.

Sam and his dad both raced to his side as his feet gave way and he started to slide back down the wall.

"Hold on, Dean," John called out as he knelt before his son, his hand resting on his good shoulder.

"Dean?" Sam gasped as his brother's eyes closed; his body slumped in a heap on the floor. "DEAN?"

Dean's eyes slowly opened, focusing in on the concerned looks of his family. His voice was soft, but still held a hint of snark. "Tone it down, Sammy. I hear ya."

John was maneuvering him to where he could lift him and get him back on his feet. "Let's get you home and get that taken care of." He got Dean up, unsteady on his feet and Dean leaned into his dad's embrace, strong arms keeping him upright.

Dean's wound looked bad to Sam and he was worried.

"Dad, is he going to be all right?"

Dean didn't wait for his dad's response, offering his kid brother the best smirk he could muster as his eyes gazed upon his kid brother, glimmering with the victory the Winchesters had just accomplished.

"Sammy, don't you worry about me. I'm not gonna let no bloodsucker get the best of me."