Typical Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side.
I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it.
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As the left the house Sam looked towards the driveway to several people packing cars and leaving. "Where are they going?" he asked Carol. She glanced over towards them and wave to a few of them has they got in their cars, "they're going home. It's not like we all live here year round." She smiled at him and looped her arm in his as she led him towards the tent again, "think of this as a vacation or a conference. We come out here for a week or two through out the year. Catch up, receive instructions, spar, or what ever. Most everyone has a life outside of this place." She turned Sam to watch a car leave the drive, "for example, that's Marc leaving. He's a school counselor and helps put middle and high school kids on the path and provides basic instructions on how to not get caught." Sam shivered and frowned. Carol looked at him and decided she wouldn't say any more. It had taken her long enough to get him to stay, she didn't want to say anything that might start making him doubt his decision or change his mind all together. She waited until she felt him relax a little, then smiled and began walking him towards the tent again. He smiled lightly in return, but she could tell he was still hesitant.
As they reached the tent, Sam tried to smile. Carol introduced the young boy, who was probably in his late teens, as Perry and had the visions ability like Sam. She then introduced the two ladies, Marcia was probably in her late 30's and could sense emotions like Carol or Missouri, and Patricia was probably in her mid to late 20's and was a spoon bender.
Sam sat next to Carol, who kept her arm locked in his trying to reassure him. Perry shook Sam's hand with the introduction and once Sam was seated tried to start a conversation, "so what can you do Sam?" Again, Sam tried to smile but just didn't feel like it was coming across as anything but forced, "I have dreams, visions." Perry nodded his head, "excellent! Maybe I can help you out with that some time. I'm heading home in a couple of days, but I'll do what I can while I'm here." Sam frowned lightly, "what do you mean by help me?"
Perry smiled too brightly and a shiver went up Sam's spine, "help you focus of course. When I'm given a request, say for example the other day when this murder trial was going on, Karen gave me the task to determine the outcome." Perry's face beamed in delight, "I was able to tell her which juror was going to convince the others about the one piece of doubtful evident that convicted the man. Karen was able to take it from there and the guy was acquitted." Another shiver and Sam's stomach clenched as he tried to smile. Carol squeezed his arm in reassurance and Marcia just watched him intently.
"Stop that!" Sam snapped at Marcia when he noticed her gaze. He recognized it from the way Carol use to look at him before her promise. Marcia just smirked and her eyes narrowed, "make me boy." Sam scowled and tensed, but Carol gripped him with both hands and snipped at Marcia, "he's new, leave him be." Marcia turned her gaze on Carol and started to say something smart but suddenly stopped. Sam looked back and forth between the two and watched as Marcia became tenser and tenser to the point of almost being terrified of Carol. Finally Carol hissed, "you will leave him be or Karen will learn of your actions." Sam frowned and looked questioningly to Carol. She just turned and smiled at him, "I want you to feel at home Sam. So does Karen and everyone else." She glared at Marcia again, "and everyone will make him feel at home and help him to adjust to his new life." Marcia just nodded quickly and dropped her eyes to the drink in front of her.
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Missouri met John and Dean in the parking lot by the car shortly after sunrise. She could feel how anxious they were to hear any good news she may have to offer them. She smiled lightly, "nothing new, but he hasn't moved." Dean frowned, "Hasn't moved, is something wrong with him?" Missouri raised a hand, "calm down Dean. I mean what I said. He's still in the same location and feeling the same sense of sorrow and defeat." She could feel the emotions that Dean was so desperately trying to hide. She tried to help him gain determination, "He's been away from you for too long Dean and he's missing your strength. So how 'bout we bring him home?"
There was still a lot of daylight left when they arrived in Richmond. John picked a motel and got a couple of rooms. They put all their bags into the rooms, and then John and Dean got the final information on Sam's location from Missouri and left her at the motel. She wished them well and told them to be careful as she stood by her door watching them pull out of the parking lot.
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Sam spent most of the day outside with Perry, Marcia, Patricia, and Carol. Most of that time was listening to them talk about the various things they did for Karen. Patricia and Carol eventually went into the house and returned with lunch. He was beginning to feel a little more comfortable with them, but was still concerned about what they do and what might be requested of him. Some of their stories were actually funny and he noticed that Carol seemed more and more pleased as he laughed with them.
It was middle of the afternoon, as the sun began reaching the tops of the trees and casting shadows across the open field between the house and barn. Perry suddenly gripped the tabled, closing his eyes tightly, and breathing through the pain. Sam recognized it immediately and tried to help him by holding onto his shoulder like Dean would do for him. Carol and Marcia became silent, watching Perry intently while Patricia ran to the cooler and put ice in a towel for him.
When Perry finally looked up, his brow was wet with perspiration and he spoke directly to Carol, "two hunters are coming here to kill us." Marcia frowned, "kill us? What kind of hunters are we talking about?" Perry glanced at her, "they just like the other hunters, human, but they're coming with real guns and intend to do real damage." Marcia stood up quickly, "we need to get Karen, we've seen hunters before but they've never threatened to kill us … we're human too!" Carol scowled at the panic that was rising in Marcia's voice and snapped at her, "Well then run off to Karen and let her know what Perry saw."
Sam stood up, "maybe we can talk to them? I mean if they're people, can't we talk to them?" Carol and Perry exchanged glances as Patricia placed the cold cloth on Perry's forehead, then Perry said, "they didn't try to talk, they just came from the woods shooting without warning." Carol interrupted, "except now we've gotten our warning and we're going to make sure they don't catch us by surprise."
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Carol took Sam's arm, "let's get to the house and get ready. Perry, how much time do we have?" Perry shook his head and started looking around at the sun and shadows, "not much time, maybe half an hour?" They headed for the house quickly, Sam having to slow his strides to keep from outrunning them. "Do we have weapons in the house?" Sam asked as reached about half way from the tent to the door of the house. Carol stopped moving, "nothing. We've never needed them. Usually there are several people with telekinesis here that can take care of everything, but most of them have gone home now. Patricia is the only one here right now." They turned towards her with hopeful glances. She was nervous, but nodded, "I'll do what I can when they arrive. Maybe Karen will get here before them."
Perry took in a sharp breath, "I don't think so." He pointed towards the tree line where they had been just a moment or two before, "they're here. I remember that." They looked up to see a brown rabbit run frantically out of the woods, past the tent, and then turn to run towards the barn. "They scared it out of its hiding place." Carol hissed at him, "You said we had half an hour!" Perry just shrugged, "I made a guess based on the sun's position and shadows. I'm not a freaking astrologer!"
"The barn," Carol suddenly said, "we need to get to the barn, there are training items in there that might be usable." Sam frowned down at her as she grabbed his hand and started pulling him in the direction of the barn, "You might have recommended that before we ran to the opposite side of the field you know." Carol frowned back, but then smirked, "I can't think of everything all the time, you come up with something hunter." Perry and Patricia looked between him and her gaping before Patricia finally whispered, "Hunter? He's one of them?" Carol put two fingers up to her lips and shushed Patricia, "not any more. Now he's with us." She turned back to Sam, "any ideas?"
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John parked the truck a ways down the road and drove into the woods as best as he could without hitting any trees. When he believed they were hidden well enough, he stopped the truck and turned off the engine. He and Dean jumped out and readied their weapons. John nodded towards the creek running by, "we'll follow the creek up until we reach the house that Missouri told us about." Dean nodded and followed his dad through the woods.
They moved quickly until they reached a certain distance to the target location, then slowed down and started moving more quietly. They snuck towards the building they could see ahead and followed the creek as it made a wide curve away from the house, but started to loop back towards the property. As they moved Dean stepped too close to a bush and it scare a rabbit. Dean almost jumped out of his skin but shook his head in amusement as the rabbit ran towards the field.
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They continued to run towards the barn, Sam trying to stay between Carol and the woods instinctively to protect her. Carol could feel their thoughts and a terror swept over her as she suddenly realize who they were. Her mind raced and then she focused her abilities on Sam.
John noticed them first, running through the field. He stopped and watched as the group became visible through the trees every second or two. When John stopped, Dean immediately did the same and followed his gaze. He couldn't help himself when he saw Sam running towards the barn with the group. He jumped up before his father could stop him and ran for the clearing. John cursed beneath his breath, but followed his oldest in hopes of saving his youngest.
Sam heard someone coming through the woods and glanced over as a man neared the tree line. "Patricia, they're coming can you do anything until we get to the barn." Patricia was running slightly behind them, "not unless I stop completely and concentrate." Sam shook his head, "no, keep running … go, go, go."
"Sam! Sammy!" Sam almost tripped as he tried to come to a stop too quickly. He turned around, the voice had sounded so familiar and to be called 'Sammy' like that, he had to stop. But the people he was facing as they came past the tree line into the field area did not look like anyone he'd ever met before. Carol had stopped too, and Sam began to panic remembering what Perry had said about the hunters and what they were going to do to them, but this hunter knew who he was. Carol tugged on his arm, "Sam, run! Don't let them trick you!" Her fear snapped his attention around to her and he allowed her to start dragging him towards the barn again. As he heard his named called again he glanced back and saw for the first time the guns that both men were carrying.
The hunters were racing to catch up. Patricia had reached the barn with Perry and stood at the door. As Sam and Carol reached the door she concentrated on the younger man racing towards them. She picked him up and threw him back into the older man, satisfied with the grunts of pain she heard and the time she'd helped gain for everyone. They all entered the barn and began barring the doors. Sam and Carol started looking for anything that could be used as weapons. There were sparring sticks and punching bags as well as ropes that were tied to the rafters above to be climbed up from the ground.
Sam could still hear the two men outside calling his name, banging on the door, and cursing about wanting to know what was wrong with him. Sam looked over at Carol and the fear in her eyes concerned him, "what's wrong Carol?" She gave him frown, so he clarified, "I mean besides the obvious problem we're in. Something else is bothering you because you weren't this worried before they showed up." She shook her head, "it's just their emotions, the hate for us that they're feeling … I'm scared." Sam pulled her into a hug, "I'm not going to let them hurt you." Carol pressed her cheek to his chest and as he lightly kissed the top of her head, she smiled wickedly.
They couldn't kick in the main barn doors, but the side door was nothing more than a regular door with regular locks and John easily kicked it in. Perry had one of the sparring sticks in his hand and tried to attack John. Unfortunately, the boy wasn't very trained and was no match for John's skill or strength. Patricia helped Perry by pushing John back into the barn wall. Unfortunately her ability wasn't strong enough to hold him there. Perry continue to strike at John while Patricia used her ability to slow his blocks, allowing Perry to get in a hit or two.
Dean moved past John as they entered and headed straight for Sam. He had to know what the hell was going on with the baby brother and why he wouldn't acknowledge him. He found Sam near the middle of the barn standing in front of a woman defensively with a stick in each hand. "Sam? What's wrong with you?" Dean had his weapon out still and when he realized that Sam was keeping an eye on the gun as well as him, he held his hands out, "come on Sammy, you know I'd never hurt you."
Sam continued to step backwards, trying not to trip Carol, but she seemed to be doing an excellent job at staying one or two steps back but always keeping Sam between her and the stranger. This man kept talking to him like they should know each other but he couldn't remember his face at all, "who the hell are you? How do you know me?" A confused look crossed over Dean's face, "I'm your brother, Dean, who the hell do you think I am?" Sam just snarled back, "my brother is dead and I've never seen you before in my life." Sam didn't hesitate and didn't care about the shocked look on the man's face; he just used the opportunity to attack.
The words cut Dean like a knife, how could Sam not recognize him and to believe that he was dead was even worse. Dean could only imagine what they had done to him to make him believe such a thing. He didn't have time to ponder it long as Sam began attacking him by first disarming him. Not that Dean ever had any intention of using the gun on his brother, but Sam surprised him with his quickness, or maybe it was his ferociousness. Sam had the weapons and Dean was trying to fight with just his fists, but Sam was never big on hand-to-hand combat. He had to take a few hits and knew a rib or two was cracked, but he managed to get one of the sticks from Sam.
Sam rolled away from the hunter and cringed in pain. He'd lost one of his weapons to the guy, but at least he didn't have his gun anymore. Sam was panting and still trying to stay between Carol and the hunter, who was a damn good fighter. Fear was starting to win out over his determination to protect Carol, this guy was beating him and he knew it. At the same time, confusion over how the hunter knew his name and kept trying to talk to him, "come on Sammy, snap out of it. I don't know what they've been doing to you all this time, but it's going to be ok. We're here to take you home."
Sam didn't really understand why he'd said it, "I'm already home," even though he didn't feel that way. A gunshot sounded and made Sam almost jump completely out of his skin. The first place he looked was behind him to Carol, but she was still watching him intently and didn't appear injured. He turned back around and saw Patricia fall to the ground screaming and holding her leg. Carol and Perry had been right; the hunters were here to kill them. Sam began attacking the hunter in front of him with a new fever, he had to protect Carol but he also had to get to this hunters gun in order to stop them both.
John couldn't take it any more, he was trying to fight the boy without hurting him too much, but the girl was pissing him off. Either she was a weak demon or a strong telekinetic. It didn't matter; he had to make her stop. He dodged a blow from the boy and grabbed his secondary gun, taking quick aim and shooting her in the leg. When she went down screaming everyone in the barn stood still for a second, taking in the event. Then John watched as Sam's features twisted into a desperate rage and he attacked Dean again. "Sammy! What are you doing?" John's voice apparently didn't have any more effect on Sam than Dean's had. It only took John a couple more tries before the boy went down and didn't get back up. Now he had to stop his son. As he turned to help Dean he noticed the woman standing behind Sam. She wasn't watching anyone else; her eyes were fixed on Sam. He knew something was going on with her, and he intended to stop it.
Sam was losing and he knew it. This hunter was just a little bit better than him. Even though he was able to put in his fair share of hits, he was taking as many or more. He staggered back to regain his footing, just as he'd done several times without the hunter taking advantage of it, and this confused him even more. However, this time, when he stepped back he saw the older hunter raise his gun, aiming it at Carol. Sam did what his instincts told him to do, protect her, and as the older hunter pulled the trigger, Sam stepped in front of it yelling, "No!" Fire burned through his chest as he crumpled to the ground. He could hear the sounds of the two hunters yelling too as they rushed up to where he was now laying on his back. He looked up at Carol, "I'm sorry." Carol started to kneel beside him but the older hunter came up and punched her in the face, knocking her down. She crumpled to the floor and didn't move.
In anger Sam turned to face the hunters in one last fight … only this time he saw Dean and John. Confusion swept over him, as they knelt beside him, the room spun and then everything went dark.