A/N: ooo, finally the action i have been so eager to write. this chapter is a little shorter, but i like it, i hope you all will too. thank you again for all the reviews, i am glad you are enjoying this as much as me.

D: the title is mine, that's about it.

SHADOW STALKER

Chapter 13

John jogged quickly through the dense forest, the gray fog pushing at him from all sides, a hollow wind holding him back, trying to force him to the ground. But they were weakening, he could feel it. The sun was shinning through the clouds with a brilliance he hadn't seen since he first used the banishing spell. And so he pressed on, his mind oblivious to all else, his only goal to save his boys. He needed to be a father for them, needed to be strong for them, needed to save them. He had put them in so much danger, trained them to be warriors, to fight the good fight. But this was something he had never expected.

John, along with many others, believed the supernatural to be single minded killers, nothing more then darkness hiding in the light. He had never suspected something like this; a plot to trap and hunt his sons, to sell them to the highest bidder. And that changed everything. No longer were they just hunting angry spirits or dull minded monsters, now they were fighting beings with just as much cunning as them. At some point he and his sons had crossed a line, ventured into the major leagues, and he knew that they were not prepared for it. He had made his boys targets, mistakenly giving them up to the darkness he had sworn to fight.

But no more. He would save them, he would show all those who dare touch his family what their punishment would be. Nothing, not god or man or supernatural being would hurt his boys. If those he hunted were afraid of him now, just wait until he got his hands on the thing that had done this to his sons. Then, they would all see what a force John Winchester really was.

He continued on into the silent forest, the air around him pressing in, blinding him with the haze. He slowed down to a quick walk, not wanting to run into any unforeseen obstacles that may lay in his path. He quickly pulled out the small walkie talkie when he heard the three clicks come through the static.

"I'm here, Sam."

"Any problems yet?" His son's voice broke through the white noise of the handset.

"The wind and fog. Same as before. You?"

"Not really, it's pretty clear."

"Have you made it to the south river?"

"About half way."

"Ok, Sam. Stay sharp. Next check in ten."

"Yes, sir. Be careful."

"Same to you."

"Out."

"Out." John clipped the radio to his belt as he tightened his grip on the shotgun. Something wasn't right, there was nothing impeding his youngest son's progress. 'Why isn't the thing going for Sam?' John knew he should have been grateful but the entire situation did not sit right with him. Something else was going on. He quickened his pace, now running through the forest. He had to get to the river and back, he had to be with his boys, something about all of this just wasn't adding up.

A sudden burst of air caught John between his shoulder blades, knocking the air from his lungs and pushing him to the ground. He had made it about another three miles before the attack, and he could hear the rushing of the water off in the distance. He pulled himself quickly to his feet, shotgun raised, eyes scanning the forest for his attacker. Slowly the shadow formed in front of him, eyes steely gray, face contorted in a hideous smile.

"Getting clumsy in your old age."

"A pretty low blow for something that's supposed to be powerful."

"Funny."

"I try."

"You won't win, you know."

"It seems I'm ahead of the game."

"What things seem and what they are are not always the same thing."

"Enlighten me." Just then there was another great groan from the forest as the light above brightened again. The shadow before John suddenly misted away before reforming, its outline less defined from before. 'Sam blessed the south river. Only two more.' "Looks like my boy's done his job."

"For the moment."

"You don't seem too worried about your impending defeat."

"That is because I have no intention of being defeated."

"Sam can fight off your shadows."

"Yes he can. But you have trained them to fight the supernatural. You never trained them to fight the living."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know."

"Joshua?"

The shadow only laughed, it vulgar smile growing wider at the look of horror and unrestrained anger that crossed over the seasoned hunter's face. "Yes, Joshua."

"What did you do to him? Why are you controlling him?"

"Controlling him? I am doing nothing of the sort. He came to me."

"That's a lie."

"Oh, John, you are so blind when it comes to matters of humanity. Joshua betrayed you, sold me your boys of his own free will."

"Why would he do that?"

"Ask him yourself, I believe he is following Sam at the moment. Or maybe, he has already made it to Dean. You know, salt can keep me away, but a man, well, you have no protection against him."

"You want to make a trade, fine. Me for my boys."

"But I don't want you."

"You can't have them."

"John, you are in check mate, it is a little late for ultimatums now." And with that the shadow misted away, leaving John alone again in the dying fog.

Joshua. The name sounded vial in his mind, a sickening taste building in his mouth. He had trusted him, believed in him, relied upon him. He had put his sons in his care, entrusted him with the most important things in his life and this was how he repaid him. He lured them here, traded them to the Asura for something, given the boys up to the very evil he had sworn to fight. John had thought of Joshua as a brother, a part of his extended family of hunters. But now, who could he trust, who could be rely upon, who would care for his children. Jim and Caleb were dead and now Joshua had turned against him. In that very moment John felt his senses crumble. He had believed, blindly that evil and good were black and white. But now all he saw where the shades of gray, the shadows of what he had trusted, what he had believed in. 'How many other would sell them out. How safe were the boys?'

John turned back in the direction of the river, the winds picking up once again. He had to bless it, had to finish his job. He wanted nothing more then to be with his sons, to break Joshua's neck then slowly tear him limb from limb, but he knew that would accomplish nothing. He needed to get rid of the shadow, then he would have a talk with his old friend.

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Sam knelt silently on the banks of the south river, the water before him running deep and clear, the shadows around him wavering behind the trees, falling back into the forest. He could feel the air clear, feel the wind diminish. They were winning, they could do this. 'Dean will be fine.' He kept repeating that to himself, willing himself to believe it, forcing himself to forget how hurt his brother really was. He needed to know that he would be ok, because he couldn't think of life without him. A world without Dean would be an empty world. He was so full of life, so loud, so ready for anything, that Sam knew his absence would be all too noticeable. Dean would take too much with him, too many of Sam's memories were tied up with the older boy.

He took a long steadying breath and looked once more at the clear, cold water, his mind running over with memories. 'Why do I feel like I already lost him?' Sam shook his head and stood, he couldn't let his mind wander, he had work to do. His brother, his family needed him, now more then ever. This was a winner take all fight, and there was no way he was going to let some lowlife shadow demon steal Dean from him.

Sam turned and headed off in the direction of the second river, tightening the grip on his shotgun as his brown eyes scanned the woods around him. This was too easy, something was wrong. Nothing had tried to stop him, not wind, or fog, or shadows. He had been ready for an attack, waiting to see the shadow in front of him, bracing for the wind that would force him to the ground. But nothing came, nothing stopped his progress towards the river, and that unnerved him greatly.

He knew that blessing the water was making the shadow weaker, he could feel it in the air, see it in the way the fog dissipated as the water ran clear. There had to be something else, some other way for the thing to draw power, something it could do to release itself from the pure land. 'Dean.' He was the key, he was what the shadow needed. Dean's soul was strong enough to free it from the forest, separate it from the land. As long as the thing was bound to the area the holy water would be able to destroy it, but the moment it had Dean, the rivers would make no difference.

Sam quickened his pace, his heart beginning to race, the thing had a plan, something Sam and his father had missed. There must be another way for the Asura to get to Dean, something Sam had overlooked. He had to get to the other river before that thing had the chance to steal his brother. He just hoped he was ahead of the game, and that his father had been able to bless the north river. It was all or nothing, and the prize was Dean's life.

The lone figure watched Sam as he stalked away from the river, heading back in the direction of his family. He was amazed at the hunter Sam Winchester had become. As a child he was always the weaker of the three, the one less inclined to fight, wishing more for the safety of home. He was so different, so much more innocent then the other two. But now, he was no longer the child that Joshua had remembered, the young man he saw before him was a warrior. He was so much more like his brother then Joshua had thought possible, so much stronger then he thought he could be. He steadied himself as he moved to follow the young man before him, clearing his mind of the memories.

He had watched Sam grow, watched both of the boys become the men they were today. He had been there for them, protected them, been given the privilege of caring for them. But he had no choice, it was kill or be killed and he would not wait to die because of them. 'This is what has to be done. There is no other way.' He did care for the boys, a great deal, but lately being in contact with the Winchesters was like a death sentence. Joshua told himself that something would eventually take the boys, that they had no way of making it out of the supernatural world alive. He convinced himself that what he was doing was justified, needed, expected. 'If it wasn't me, then it would be someone else.'

He continued to follow Sam as he made his way through the forest, knowing that he had to stop the young man from reaching the other river. He had no hope of reaching John in time to stop him, and quite frankly, he had no desire to meet the hunter face to face. There was no doubt in his mind that John would kill him on the spot for what he had done to Sam and Dean. No, he was no match for John, but he knew that he would be able to over power Sam. He would stop Sam, turn him over to the shadow before heading to out to find Dean, knowing that he was the shadow's real prize. He needed to have at least one of the boys in his possession, have some kind of bargaining chip when it came to the demon and he knew the older boy would be the perfect bribe. He was severely injured and greatly desired, two things that Joshua had working in his favor.

He was brought back from him musings when he heard three clicks break through the static of Sam's radio, his father calling in to check on the boy once again.

"Yeah, Dad."

"Sam, I just had a run in with the Asura again."

"What did it say?"

"It's Joshua, he's working with the thing. He set the whole thing up."

"What!"

"He made some kind of deal with it. The Asura gave him something in return for you two."

"So why did he come here?"

"I don't think he was supposed to, I'm guessing part of the deal was to keep me away."

"You said he tried to talk you out of this road."

"Yeah, like you said before, the shadow wanted more time with you."

"Do you know where Joshua is now?"

"The shadow said he was somewhere near you."

"It could be lying."

"I don't want to take that chance. Did you get the south river."

"Yeah, I'm on my way north east now, what about you?"

"I am almost there, another mile or so."

"Dad, Dean doesn't have anything to protect himself. What if Joshua is there."

"Finish with the river, then we'll get back to him."

"Yes, sir."

"Sam, be careful. Joshua is a good hunter and tracker, you gotta keep your eyes open for him."

"What if I find him?"

"Shoot him on sight."

"Dad."

"I mean it Sam, it's him or us and I am not about to let that back stabbing jackass be the death of you two."

"And I'm not about to let you two bastards be the death of me." Sam spun on the spot, brown eyes meeting stone blue, Joshua's eyes cold and indifferent.

And before Sam could react Joshua slammed the butt of his shotgun into the boys face, sending him to the ground in an unconscious heap. He sneered down at his prey, blood running from the gash across his face. He would not lose his life to mere children, he would not die because of a long held grudge. He stepped over the young man's still body, not even looking back as the shadows wove their way from the forest, encircling the boy, the echo of the walkie talkie the only sound in the dying air.

"Sam, are you there? Sam, answer me. Sammy!"

TBC