Disclaimer: If you recognize it from Supernatural I don't own it. I'm just playing with it!

Hunted

John Winchester is hunted by more then just demons.

Chapter Thirty Nine

The three Winchester men were gathered in John's room at the motel they'd checked into the night before. John had spent a good portion of the evening organizing his notes on the demon to show his sons everything he'd discovered about the demon. "This is it. This is everything," he told them. "Look, our whole lives we've been hunting for this demon. Not a trace just… nothing. Until about a year ago I picked up a trail."

"That's when you took off," Dean said.

John nods and replied, "That's right. The demon must have come out of hiding or hibernation."

"All right, so what's this trail you found?" Dean asked.

"It starts in Arizona then New Jersey, California," he told them. "Houses burned down to the ground. It's going after families, just like it went after us."

"Families with infants?" Sam asked.

John could tell his youngest son was still blaming himself for what happened to his mother. John could remember the day he had begun to do that. He was only seven and it had never occurred to John that the child would feel guilt when he learned the true story of his mother's death. It had taken the child less then three minutes to connect the arrival of the demon and the death of his mother to himself. John looked at his youngest son and sighed. He'd told the boy so many times that it was not his fault but it really didn't matter. With Sam once he accepted responsibility for something he kept it and nothing would make him give it up. That's just the way his boy was. "Yeah," John told him. "The night of the kids six months birthday."

"I was six months old that night?" Sam asked glancing at his brother.

"Exactly six months," John replied.

"So basically, this demon is going after these kids for some reason," he said dejectedly. "The same way it came for me?"

John and Dean looked at Sam. They both knew him well. They knew what he's thinking.

"So, Mom's death, Jessica," Sam continued. "Its all cause of me?"

John realized Sam was looking for confirmation of his worst fears and that was something he would not give his son. He looked away unwilling to give him what he wanted.

"We don't know that Sam," Dean told his brother firmly.

"Oh really," Sam said getting angry. "Cause I'd say we're pretty damn sure."

"For the last time what happened to them is not your fault," Dean replied sternly.

John listened as Dean tried unsuccessfully to convince his brother. He didn't say anything because he new that Sam was right and he would not lie to his sons. Not even for this. He knew there was something about his youngest son that had attracted the attention of the demon. It wanted him for something and if John just figured out what that was then maybe they could stop it.

"Yeah," Sam shouted at Dean. "It's not my fault, but it's my problem!"

"No it's not your problem," Dean replied raising his voice at his brother. "It's our problem."

The argument between Dean and Sam began to get louder drawing John out of his reverie. He realized he needed to stop the discussion before they said things they could not take back. "Okay," John interrupted sternly. He stood and looked from one son to the other. "That's enough."

They may be grown men but they were still his son's and they still reacted immediately to his warning. Both looked at him and he glared at them silently until they looked away and calmed down. One thing they did not need, especially now, was to be at each other's throats.

"So why's it doing it?" Sam asked into the silence that filled the room since John's demand. "What does it want?"

It figured that Sam would ask the one of the questions he didn't have the answer too. He sighed. "Look," he replied. "I wish I had more answers. I do." John looked away from his sons at the thought of the lives that had been lost because he had been to slow to save them. "I've always been one step behind it. Look I've never gotten there in time to save…" He choked on his words. He didn't realize admitting his part in the deaths of those he couldn't save would be so hard.

"Alright," Dean asked. "So how do we find it before it hits again?"

"There are signs," John told him. "Look it took me a while to see the pattern but in the days before these fires, signs crop up in an area. Cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms. And I went back and checked and…"

Dean caught on to what John was getting at before his brother this time. He interrupted what John was going to say. "These things happened in Lawrence?" Dean asked.

John nodded, "A week before your mother died." He turned to Sam and sadly he said, "And in Palo Alto before Jessica. And these signs… they're starting again."

"Where?" Sam asked menacingly.

John could see the anger, the hatred for the demon in his young son's eyes. "Salvation Iowa," John he told him.

"When do we leave?" Sam asked.

"As soon as we get packed," John told him.

Less then an hour later they were on the road headed for Salvation. John checked his watch when they were less then five minutes outside of Salvation. They had made the eleven out trip in eight and a half hours. John's phone rang and he expected one of his son's to be on the other end of the line so he was surprised to hear Caleb's voice when he answered.

"John," Caleb said quietly. "I ah… I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you this…"

"Caleb, what's wrong?" John asked knowing from the tone of his friends voice that something was terrible had happened.

"It's…" Caleb tried again to tell John what was wrong but he couldn't.

A pit was forming in John's stomach as he waited for his friend to tell him what had happened.

"John," he finally said. "Jim Murphy is dead."

John felt like he'd been suddenly kicked by mule. The pit in his stomach turned into a gapping whole as realization of what he had been told set in. Tears formed in his eyes and flowed over unchecked.

"John," Caleb said. "You still there buddy?"

John swallowed the knot that had suddenly formed in his throat and replied, "Yeah, what happened?"

"You're not going to like it," Caleb replied.

John sighed. "Tell me."

"Someone slit his throat," Caleb said. "But that's only part of it."

"What?"

"He was in his study in the church. He'd barricaded the door but it broke right through it. It's hallowed ground John so we don't know how it got him."

"What was it?" John asked already suspecting the answer.

"It was a demon John," his friend told him. "We found traces of sulfur on the door."

"What are you not telling me, Caleb?" John asked his friend knowing the man left something out.

"Bobby and I think whoever… whatever killed him did it as a message to someone," Caleb replied. "There were no other marks on his body John and we all know if a demon had made the effort to attack him it would have made sure he suffered before it killed him."

And John knew… hell they all knew who the message was meant for. The demon knew he was getting close. It knew he was going to kill it. "Caleb," John said. "I have the gun. That's what this is about. It's my fault… I'm sorry."

"No!" Caleb told him firmly. "It's not your fault. Jim must have gotten sloppy, John or the demon would never have been able to get him."

John knew his friend didn't think that, not really. He just didn't want John to feel guilty. Too late. "Caleb, you and Bobby call the others," John said. "Tell everyone to be careful. Tell them what happened."

"Bobby's already on it," Caleb told him. "John, listen. No matter what happens you can't give the demon the gun. You can't stop this hunt it's gone to far. You need to finish it."

"I will… I will kill this evil son of bitch," said fiercely.

"Be careful John," his friend told him before hanging up.

John flipped his phone closed and threw it forcefully down onto the seat next to him. He pulled the truck over to the side of the road. Dean followed in the Impala. John stormed out of the truck and headed towards the Impala as Dean got out. "Damn it!" he said in anger and anguish at the loss of his friend.

"What is it? Dean asked in concern. He could tell something was bad wrong.

"Son of bitch!" John shouted slapping the side of the truck. He tried get his anger under control enough to tell his sons about the death of the man who had been their friend for more then twenty years.

"What is it?" Dean asked again approaching his father.

"I just got a call from Caleb," John replied sorrowfully.

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine," John replied. He glanced at Sam before continuing. There was no way to soften the blow so he didn't try. "Jim Murphy's dead," he told his sons.

"Pastor Jim?" Sam asked in shocked surprise.

John nodded miserably.

"How?" Sam asked.

"Throat was slashed. He bled out," John replied starkly.

Sam and Dean glanced at each other and John could see the hidden pain in both their eyes. He felt it beating off them and that made the rest of what he had to say that much harder. He knew they would understand. Another of their loved ones had died because of his fight with this demon.

"Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jims place," John told them.

"A demon," Dean nodded knowingly. Then his eyes widened and John knew had made the connection. "The demon?" he asked.

"I don't know," John said shaking his head and gave his son the excuse Caleb had so tactfully given him. "Could be he just got careless… he slipped up." John didn't believe it himself though so he really couldn't let his sons think something so bad about their friend. "Maybe the demon knows where getting close."

"What do you want to do?" Dean asked understanding the situation immediately.

John steeled himself. "Now we act like every second counts. There's two hospitals and a health center in this county. We split up we cover more ground," John told his sons. "I want records. I want a list of every infant that's going to be six months old in the next week."

"Dad that could be dozens of kids," Sam said. "How the hell are we going to know which ones the right one?"

"We'll check them all that's how," he said. He knew how his son felt. He'd felt the same way each time he'd begun this same search. He saw the look on Sammy's face and asked, "You got any better ideas?"

"No sir," Sam replied.

Dean headed back to his car and John turned to get back in the truck. He hoped he could do this. He hoped he could finish what he had started. He stopped as he was once again overcome by despair and sorrow. He hung his head as he thought about the loss of Jim Murphy.

"Dad?" Dean said seeing his father in such misery.

John looked up. "Yeah," turning back to his sons and this time he couldn't keep the grief out of his voice. "It's Jim. I can't…" He didn't finish the sentence instead he said. Once again he steeled himself for the fight to come. "This ends… now. I'm ending it. I don't care what it takes." Then he turned and stormed back to the truck got in and drove off.

A/N Thanks again for taking the time to read! Hope you enjoyed it. Please take the time to review and let me know what you think.