DISCLAIMER
Supernatural belongs to the WB, which will soon be the CW. I only own the plot.
In the next town over, John and Dean stopped at the crime scene. The police had long since left.
"So, what do we look for?" Sam wondered.
"Shapeshifters are generally nasty. They like to tie their victims up and torture them," John answered.
"How do you know this?" Sam asked.
"I've faced them before," John responded.
"Dad! I found somethin'!" Dean called. Sam and John walked over to the young man, who had taken something in his hand.
"Wha---what is that?" Sam wondered, trying not to sound nauseated. Yeah, he had seen a shapeshifter's remains before, but it didn't make him any less queasy.
"Human flesh. When a shifter changes shape, it leaves this stuff," John told him.
"Oh, gross," Sam said.
"Well, no one ever said these freaks were pretty," Dean stated. Sam couldn't argue with that. The trio left and canvassed the surrounding area.
"Hey. I see footprints," Sam noted.
"Yeah. Me too," Dean agreed. John looked at the ground and the three tracked the prints.
"Wait a minute. Whe---where'd they go?" Sam muttered in confusion. Dean and John looked around. Sam was right. The footprints were gone.
"Dad, wha---?" Dean wondered.
"This doesn't make sense," John muttered. They continued to look around.
"Wait a second. Where does this lead?" Sam asked suddenly.
"It looks like a sewer system," John answered.
"Should we check it out?" Dean queried.
"Yeah. But be careful," John responded.
"Yes, Sir," Dean acknowledged.
"Yeah, sure," Sam said. They went to where a manhole was and climbed down it. They continued until the sewers split.
"Sam, Dean, you go that way, I'll go this way," John ordered.
"Yes, Sir," Sam and Dean chorused. Semi-surprised, Dean looked at Sam who just shrugged. He didn't know where his response had come from. It had just spilled out. Sam and Dean went to the right and John went to the left. What no one knew, was that the shapeshifter was in the right tunnel and he began following Sam and Dean. As they walked, Sam let out a wince.
"You okay?" Dean queried.
"Yeah. Uh, I think that the cleaning job your dad did is starting to wear off though," Sam answered, slowing down.
"You want me to stop?" Dean asked.
"No. You go on ahead. I'll catch up," Sam replied.
"Okay," Dean accepted. He went on and Sam dropped to the ground. With a grunt, he pulled up a pant leg. John Winchester's cleaning job had most likely kept the burn from scarring, but what he didn't know that Sam's father mark had emitted a poison into him that would flare up occasionally over the next forty-eight hours. After the two days, the poison would fade, but in the mean time, it would hurt like heck. Sam moaned, as the pain shot through his leg. Just then, he heard footsteps.
"Dean? John? Is that you?" he asked. He watched as someone came out of the shadows. The boy gasped and backed away. The figure reared back and fist and punched Sam. Further up in the tunnel, Dean heard the noise.
"What the---?" he wondered. "Sam?" he asked. "Sam, is that you?"
"Hey, not so loud. You tryin' to warn the freak?" a voice chided. Dean threw Sam a dirty look.
"Whatever, man. Your leg feelin' better?" he questioned.
"Um, uh---yeah," Sam answered. Dean looked at the boy in semi-confusion. They continued on.
"Dean?" Sam asked.
"Yeah?" Dean queried. Sam's eyes glowed yellow before returning to their brown color. Then, he reared back a hand and hit him over the head.
"You really shouldn't trust me," he said.