Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, but I wish I did. It would be so much fun!

Hunted

John Winchester is hunted by more then just demons.

Chapter Nineteen

Five days had past since John had left Albuquerque. A few stitches had taken care of the injury to his shoulder. The wound was sore, but healing nicely.

He was in the small town of Van Horn in west Texas. He was investigating the death of a half dozen cattle and he had just finished speaking with the owner of the ranch where the cattle had died. Two nights ago the man had lost six cattle in what he called unusual circumstances.

It had taken John over an hour to get the details from the man. He simply could not believe what had happened was possible. They had all died by having their hearts viciously removed from their chests and none of them had seemed to fight the process. There was no blood in or around the bodies of the cattle and they had died during a freak electrical storm.

The demon was targeting a family here in Van Horn and John needed to find them before the demon struck. The odds were definitely in his favor that he would find them. With a census of just over twenty three thousand people there were less then a thousand families living in the town. To narrow the search down more he decided to start by checking birth records at the local hospital and see if he could determine which children would be six month old this week. Thankfully there was only one hospital in town so Culberson Count Hospital would be his next stop.

Using the guise of a U.S. Marshall he was able to con his way into the medical records department and gain the assistance of a few clerks to help in his search. When they were done he had a list of only six children that had been born during the correct time frame. Thankfully his task was made a little easier because all but two had been born on different days. He would be sleeping during the days this week because his nights would be full watching the homes of the children. How he was going to choose which of the two born on the same day he was supposed to watch was beyond him, but he had a few days to decide.

He also needed a plan to destroy the demon once he found it. He had several exorcism ritual committed to memory, but he didn't think any of them would be strong enough against this thing. Besides, he really wanted to destroy it, not send it back to hell. He would just have to do the best he could with what he had.

John spent the first night outside the home of the first little girl on the list. He spent the night reviewing his notes and listening to the scanner while watching the house. When the sun began to rise he decided the child and her family were safe. After breakfast at a diner close to his motel room John went back to his room and slept for several hours before waking to take up the search again.

He noticed the temperature was not nearly as hot as it had been the day before it was at least fifteen degree's cooler then the previous day. And that was a blessing because this was Texas and one thing about the damn state was that it was always hot in Texas.

He spent the next two nights much the same as the previous one with the same results. He was beginning to get frustrated with the whole thing and the weather wasn't helping his temper. The damn temperature had risen again to over a hundred degree's when yesterday it had held steady at just over eighty degree's.

Then came the night he was worried about. He had to watch two families at the same time and he was very glad this was a small town. The homes of the two children he was watching were only three blocks from each other but if the demon struck while he was at the wrong house it would be impossible for him to get back in time. It was an exhausting and frustrating night ending with the same results as the previous nights.

The demon had not appeared and there was only one family left on the list. That meant the demon would attack tonight and John intended to be there to stop it. After a few hours of sleep and several hours of preparation John was ready to face the demon. He had loaded several guns with the special rounds Caleb had made. They were hollow points made with consecrated iron and holy water. They may not stop the damn thing, but hopefully they would slow it down long enough for John to perform the exorcism.

It was just after dark when John arrived and parked outside the home of the final child on his list. He waited using the time to review the ritual and commit it to memory. The ritual he had chosen was the most powerful one he knew, but it was also the longest one. It would take some time to complete and John could only hope Caleb's new bullets would give him that time.

John was staring intently at the home he'd been watching for the past several hours when he noticed the lights begin to flicker not at the home he'd been watching, but at one two houses down. His eyes darted around the neighborhood revealing that the electrical problem was affecting only that home. A sudden though came to John and he realized he had made a mistake. The child was not born in this town, but lived here now.

John put the truck in gear and drove to the house in question. He jumped out and ran to the front door as flames burst from the upstairs window. Adrenaline added strength to his efforts allowing him to bust the door down and enter the home. He ran up the stairs and found a child about of about six year's old standing at an open door. John picked up the child and quickly checked the other rooms. They were empty. He took the boy downstairs and sent him out the door telling him to go to the neighbor's house while he looked for his parents. The child was scared, but he did what John said.

Smoke was stinging his eyes and the heat was becoming unbearable as John made his way back up the stairs. He pulled his gun as he went to the room that was burning. He knew it was already too late to save the rest of the family, but if he could take out the demon he intended to do it. This was not going to happen to another family if he could help it.

Flames shot from the room as he neared it, but just as suddenly as they appeared they disappeared. Through the smoke and the haze John saw someone standing over the burning crib of the child he was too late to save. The flames danced around him, but did nothing to harm him. Slowly he turned in John's direction a smile crossing his face as his eyes met John's. One look at the yellow eye's of the man standing so still in the fire was all it took to confirm John's worst fears. This was the demon that had taken his wife and tried to take his son. Without further thought John raised the gun and fired twice.

The demon flinched but that was the only reaction it showed. It walked through the flames towards John as he backed away firing again. The flames were now licking the sides of the walls in the hallway where John was backing away from the demon. But as it entered the hall the flames went from mere wisps to blazing inferno almost instantly. The demon took one last look at John and with a flick of its wrist it knocked the gun from his hand and sent him tumbling down the stairs to land in an unconscious heap at the bottom of the stairway.

John's eyes fluttered opened as he groaned. He hurt everywhere. "Son of bitch," he said or tried to say since it was interrupted as a series of coughs wracked his abused body. He tried to sit up but found himself was strapped down unable to move. Panic immediately took hold and he struggled harder to break free of the restraints that held him prone.

"Sir, you need to lay still." Some one said.

John continued to struggle. He did not like restraints of any kind. Realizing his hands were not restrained he reached for the straps holding his chest and began to loosen them.

"Sir, please, we're trying to help you," said the decidedly famine voice as she placed her hand on his stopping him from loosing the straps. "You're in an ambulance."

John realized she was telling the truth. The sound of the siren, though muffled because he was in the ambulance was still loud and he could tell they were moving. John looked at the woman who had spoken. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" she asked.

"Fire," he replied weakly. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate. His eyes felt so heavy, but he needed answers.

"Yes, you saved the little boy."

He tried to ask about the boy's parents and sibling, but he could no longer keep his eyes open and his world once again went black.

It wasn't until late the next day that he woke in the hospital and received the answers he was dreading. The remainder of the boy's family had all perished in the fire.

John himself while hurting was relatively fine. He had three broken ribs and a mottling of bruises covering his entire body but other than that he was fine. His phone started ringing and by the time he found it stuffed in a drawer it had rolled over to his voice mail.

He had two missed calls since the fire. One yesterday morning was from Dean and the one he had just missed was from Missouri.

He called his voice mail and listened to the message his son had left.

Dad. I know I've left you messages before. I don't even know if you get them, but I'm with Sam and we're in Lawrence and there's something in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed mom or not, but… I don't know what to do so whatever you're doing if you could get here… please. I need your help dad.

His eye's filled with tears as he listened to the emotion filled message his son had left. "Oh, Dean, I'm sorry," John said. He knew his son was shaken to the core by what they'd found. The boy was practically begging for his help and Dean did not beg, ever. John was afraid it may be a trap. He needed to get to Lawrence as fast as possible. The message was already more then a day old because he had been unconscious when his son had called.

He pulled out his I.V. and got dressed praying he was not too late.

A/N Please read and review. Thanks again for taking the time to read this I really enjoy the reviews and I'm glad so many of you like the story!