These Ones Don't Sparkle (1. 20)
"And what are they?" I finally asked. "What are the cold ones?"
He smiled darkly.
"Blood drinkers," he replied in a chilling voice. "Your people call them vampires."
Oh Bella, Maggie thought to herself, You are in way over your head.
Maggie's attention was pulled away from her book as a waitress placed her refilled drink in front of her. Maggie thanked her and took a sip and sighed. It had been over a month since they finally saw their father, and they had no idea when they'd see him again. Honestly, Maggie wasn't sure if she wanted to see him again.
Maggie's relationship with her father had always been strange. John didn't rely on her like Dean, and he wasn't constantly fighting her like Sam. For the most part, John always seemed indifferent towards Maggie, and she resented it.
Maybe he didn't want a girl, she thought. Maybe I remind him of Mom. I wish I knew more about Mom.
"All right, dudes," Dean said, folding his newspaper and pulling Maggie from her thoughts, "Not a decent lead in all of Nebraska. What do you got, Sammy?"
Sam kept his eyes on his screen as he spoke, "Well, I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota. Here- a woman in Iowa fell 10,000 feet from an airplane and survived."
Maggie shook her head and closed her book, "That sounds more like 'That's Incredible!' than 'The Twilight Zone."
"Yeah."
"We could keep heading east?" Dean suggested, "New York, upstate. Could stop by and see Sarah again. Huh?"
Maggie gave a small smile at Dean's suggestion, "Yeah, you guys seemed to hit it off. Maybe we swing by for a quick visit?"
"Yeah, I dunno, maybe someday," Sam said. "But in the meantime, we got a lot of work to do, and you guys know that," He ended his sentence with a pointed look at his siblings.
"Yeah, you're right," Dean nodded, "What else you got?"
Sam looked back at his laptop, "Uh, man in Colorado, local man by the name of Daniel Elkins, was found mauled in his home."
Maggie closed her book, "Elkins? I know that name."
"Doesn't ring a bell."
"What do the cops think?" Dean asked.
Sam answered Dean as Maggie reached into her bag on the floor and pulled out John's journal. The name was definitely familiar to her, she just wasn't sure how.
"The police don't know what to think. At first they said it was some sort of bear attack, and now they found signs of robbery."
Maggie flipped through the list of hunters John had in his journal. While Sam and Dean were working the wendigo case their father sent them on, Maggie had called almost every hunter in that list, trying to find any leads on John. Guess we didn't need to worry about him, she thought, still annoyed with her father, Not like we thought he was dead or anything-oh, here!
"Bingo," she exclaimed. She placed the journal in the middle of the table so her brothers could see, "Check it out."
On the page were the name and phone number "D. Elkins: 970-555-0158".
"You think it's the same Elkins?" Dean asked.
"It's a Colorado area code. What've we got to lose?"
It was night by the time they made it to Elkins' cabin. Maggie limped behind her brothers, with her newest cane, up to the front door. Dean held his flashlight steady as Sam picked the lock. The door opened with ease and Dean took the first step inside. Sam stepped aside to let his sister follow.
"Looks like the maid didn't come today," Dean shone his flashlight around a messy living room.
Maggie dug through some cluttered papers on a desk, "You could say that."
Sam took watch at the front door. He noticed a white substance scattered across the ground and crouched down to inspect it, "Hey, there's salt over here, right inside the door."
"You mean, like, protection-against-demon salt, or 'oops, I spilled the popcorn' salt?" Dean asked while checking out some broken furniture.
"It's clearly a ring. You think this guy Elkins was a player?"
"Definitely," Maggie stated, flipping through a journal on the desk. Sam and Dean joined her.
"That looks a hell of a lot like Dad's," Dean said.
"Yep, except this dates back to the sixties."
Sam and Dean stepped further into the room to investigate. It was completely destroyed. Broken lamps and destroyed furniture littered the floor. The skylight was smashed and broken glass was scattered everywhere.
"Whatever attacked him, it looks like there was more than one," said Sam.
Dean nodded, "Looks like he put up a hell of a fight, too."
"Yeah."
Maggie set the journal back down and followed them. More of Elkins' belongings were strewn about the room. Maggie stood next to Sam who was going through items on a table. Dean carefully stepped around broken furniture until stopping and crouching down.
"You got something?" Maggie asked
"I don't know," He said, Sam stepped over some debris to join him, "Some scratches on the floor."
"Death throes maybe?" He asked.
"Maybe," Dean looked around. He nodded at his sister, "Paper and pencil?" She found each item on the table and handed them over. Dean placed the paper over the scratches and rubbed the pencil over them, "Or maybe a message."
He peeled the now bloody paper off the ground and handed it to Sam. "Look familiar?"
Maggie leaned over to Sam to get a good look at the paper, "Three letters, six digits?" She asked.
"The location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop," Sam answered.
"Just the way Dad does it."
"J.W.-you think? John Winchester?" Sam asked. The siblings had gone to the nearest post office and checked the maildrop. Inside was a singular letter addressed to "J.W.".
Dean turned the letter over in his hands, "I don't know. Should we open it?"
A knock on the car window startled all of them. Dean reeled his fist back instinctively before they all realized who was at the window.
"Dad?" Dean asked. John smiled at them then climbed into the backseat of the Impala. Maggie scooted over from the middle to make room.
The boys turned in their seats to face him. "Dad, what are you doing here? Are you alright?" Sam questioned.
"Yeah, I'm okay," John nodded, "I read the news about Daniel. I got here as fast as I could. I saw you guys up at his place."
"Why didn't you come in?" Maggie said softly.
"You know why," he looked at her, "Because I had to make sure you weren't followed. By anyone...or anything. Nice job of covering your tracks, by the way," he added.
"Yeah, well, we learned from the best," Dean boasted.
Maggie scoffed. John stared at her confused, not used to that kind of reaction from her.
"Wait," Sam pulled his attention away from his daughter, "you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?"
John nodded and spoke slowly, "Yeah. He was...he was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting."
"You never mentioned him to us."
"We had a- We had kind of a falling out. I hadn't seen him in years...I should look at that," he gestured to the envelope. Dean handed it over and all eyes were on John as he opened it. He read, "'If you're reading this, I'm already dead'...that son of a bitch."
"What is it?" Maggie asked.
"He had it the whole time."
"Had what?"
"When you searched the place, did you-did you see a gun? An antique, a Colt revolver, did you see it?"
Dean thought back, "Uh, there was an old case, but it was empty."
"They have it."
"You mean whatever killed Elkins?"
"We gotta pick up the trail," John started to get out of the car.
"Wait," Sam said. John leaned down to the driver's side window, "You want us to come with you?"
"If Elkins was telling the truth, we gotta find this gun."
"The gun? Why?"
"Because it's important, that's why."
"Dad, we don't even know what these things are yet."
"They were what Daniel Elkins killed best...vampires."
"No way," Maggie shook her head, "There's no such thing."
"You never even mentioned them to us," Sam added.
"I thought they were extinct. I thought Elkins and-and others had wiped them out. I was wrong," John nodded, "Most vampire lore is crap. A cross won't repel them, sunlight won't kill them, and neither will a stake to the heart. But the bloodlust, that part's true. They need fresh human blood to survive. They were once people, so you won't know it's a vampire until it's too late."
"Well," Dean turned to look at his sister, "looks like it's your day, Twilight."
Back in their motel room, Sam, Dean, and Maggie slept peacefully. Dean on one bed, the twins on the other. John stayed awake with his radio, listening in on police scanners.
"Unit 22 let me confirm. Mile marker 41, abandoned car. You need a workup?" A voice came through the speaker.
"Copy that. Possible 207. Better get forensics out here," another voice replied.
John set the radio down and rushed to grab his jacket and wake his children. Slapping their feet, he called out to them, "Boys, Maggie, let's go."
Sam sat up halfway and nudged his sister, who was still trying to wake up. Dean made a sound of acknowledgment at his dad and rubbed his eyes.
"I picked up a phone call," John said.
Maggie pushes herself onto her elbows, "What happened?"
"A couple called 911, found a body in the street. Cops got there, everyone was missing. It's the vampires."
Sam rose from the bed, "How do you know?" He held a hand out for Maggie and helped her to her feet too.
"Just follow me, okay?" As John said that, he was already leaving the room. Maggie and Sam walked across the room to grab their jackets.
"Huh, vampires," Dean said, finally sitting up but clearly still half-asleep, "gets funnier every time I hear it."
The siblings stood waiting next to the impala as John talked to a cop at the scene. He had insisted they stay back while he talked to the cop.
Maggie wasn't happy about that. She could tell her twin wasn't either. She was sure if it was the same reason she was upset. Sam and their dad had always butted heads, that was normal. Not very fun for her and Dean, but normal.
John left them. He let them think he was dead for weeks before Maggie and Dean went to Sam's. And then he avoided them for months and sent them on a wild goose chase. And now, they're up against a monster they've never faced before and he's talking to the cops while they have to wait by the car.
John finished up and made his way back to the impala.
"I don't see why we couldn't have gone over with him," Sam sulked.
"Oh don't tell me it's already starting," said Dean.
"He has a point," Maggie chimed in, "We deserve to know what's going on."
"Seriously? You too?" Dean said to her. Before either twin could respond he turned towards John, "What have you got?"
"It was them all right. Looks like they're heading west, We'll have to double back to get around that detour.
"How can you be so sure?" Sam questioned.
"Sam…" Dean warned.
Sam answered back sharply, "I just want to know we're going in the right direction."
"We are." John nodded.
"But how do you know?" Maggie asked.
Not taking his eyes off the twins or missing a beat, John pulled a small object out of his pocket and handed it to Dean, "I found this."
"It's a…" Dean looked closely at the tiny white object, "A vampire fang."
"Not fangs, teeth. The second set descends when they attack." He stared down at Sam and Maggie, "Any more questions?"
Sam stayed silent and refused to meet John's eyes. Maggie stared back at him.
"Nope." She popped the p-sound at the end.
"All right, let's get out of here," John started walking back to his truck, "We're losing daylight." The twins and Dean stepped away from where they were resting against the impala. "And, Dean," their dad spoke again, still walking away from them, "why don't you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it."
Dean looked over the car like he was inspecting it and grimaced. Maggie and Sam both gave him looks that said "I told you so."
The siblings followed behind John's truck in the impala. Sam drove, with Dean riding shotgun and Maggie in the back reading their father's notes out loud.
"Vampires nest in groups of eight to ten. Smaller packs are sent to hunt for food. Victims are taken to the nest where the pack keeps them alive, bleeding them for days or weeks."
"I wonder if that's what happened to that 911 couple," Dean noted.
"That's probably what Dad's thinking," Maggie handed Dean the notes so he could look over them himself.
Sam sighed, "It would be nice if he just told us what he thinks."
Dean stared at his brother, "So it is starting."
"What?" Sam feigned cluelessness.
"Sam, we've been looking for Dad all year. Now we're not with him for more than a couple of hours and there's static already?"
"Look, no one's saying it's not good we're all back together," Maggie cut in. "I'm glad he's okay and I'm glad he's here it's just…"
"What?" Dean looked expectedly at his sister.
"I don't know, Dean," Maggie leaned back against the seat and picked at the threads on the holes of her jeans, "he just keeps us out of the loop."
"Exactly, he treats us like we're children," Sam agreed with his sister. "He barks orders at us, Dean, he expects us to follow 'em without question. He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal."
"He does what he does for a reason," Dean defended.
"What reason?" Sam fired back.
"Our job!" Dean shouted and Sam scoffed at him, "There's no time to argue, there's no margin for error, all right? That's just the way the old man runs things."
"Yeah well, maybe that worked when we were kids but not anymore, all right," Sam looked between Dean and the road, "not after everything we've been through, Dean. I mean, are you telling me you're cool with just falling into line, and letting him run the whole show?"
"If that's what it takes," Dean stared at Sam.
"After all the times we needed him this year and he wasn't there?" Maggie asked.
Dean repeated, much less confidently, "If that's what it takes."
Inside a seemingly abandoned barn, music plays, people dance, and a couple sits, tied to a pole.
A vampire broke from having a good time and walked over to the scared couple.
"Have some beer, buddy," the vampire, out of breath, offered the man his bottle, "It will calm your nerves."
"No thanks," the man didn't look at his captor.
"Aww, come on. You drink enough, I can taste it in your blood," the vampire tried to coax him.
A woman, another vampire, walked up behind them, "That's gross."
He looked at her and chuckled, then moved back to taunting the couple. He focused on the woman this time, "How about you, babe?" He lifted the bottle up to her mouth and forced her to drink. The female vampire smiled watching. "Atta girl," The vampire said.
He pulled the bottle away from her lips and she wasted no time spitting the beer in his face. Furious, the vampire pulled his arm back to strike her.
"Bo!" The female vampire shouted, "Wait for Luther."
Bo glared at the human woman and walked away.
Then, the big barn doors swung open and a man with shaggy, dark hair and a leather jacket walked in. The female vampire rushed to him and threw herself up into his arms. She kissed him with fervor and he smiled as they parted.
"I missed you too, baby," he cupped her face with one hand.
She smiled playfully, "We got presents."
Luther and the vampire walked over so he could inspect the couple. He smiled and stroked the woman's face as she took shaky breaths, "She looks interesting." He turned to look at the man and grabbed his face, "He doesn't. Lock him up," he signaled to the other vampires.
Luther resumed kissing the female vampire as the others grabbed the man and started dragging him away. "On second thought," he pulled away, still holding her face, "Go ahead and treat yourself."
The vampires holding the man laughed in excitement. They dragged the man away from the woman and threw him on the ground. The two other vampires there joined their friends in attacking the man. As he screamed, the woman started sobbing.
"There's more," Luther's partner led him over to the bar. There's cash, booze, and silver littering the surface.
He sifts through some of the items, "This all theirs?"
"No," she smiles, looking proud, "It's from an old friend of yours. Daniel Elkins. I caught his scent. I thought I'd surprise you."
Luther's face fell at her admission, "Kate, what did you do?"
"I made him suffer."
"You shouldn't have done that."
"Luther…" Kate stopped looking so pleased with herself.
"There's others like him. They'll know the signs and come looking for us. We have to be careful."
She shook her head, "Luther I did it for you, for what he did to your family."
"Revenge isn't worth much if you end up dead," he fired back. He turned and looked at all of the loot.
"I'm sorry babe," Kate pleaded, "I'm sorry." Luther noticed an old revolver and picked it up. "I thought you might like that. It looks like it was made around the time you were born."
He held the gun carefully and gently ran his fingers along the handle and barrel, "I've seen this before."
"Elkins died with it in his hands," Kate smiled, "He should have known better, using a gun."
"This is no ordinary gun."
"Yeah, Dad," Dean spoke on the phone, "All right, got it." He closed his flip phone, "Pull off at the next exit."
"Why?" Sam spoke low and annoyed.
"Cause Dad thinks we've got the vampires' trail."
"How?" Sam spoke more sharply this time.
Dean glanced at his brother, "I don't know, he didn't say."
Sam put more pressure on the gas. Dean glanced between Maggie and their brother as Sam sped up and passed John's truck. Sam was seething. Once in front of John, he slammed on the brakes, making the car swerve sideways in front of their Dad's truck. John managed to swerve and stop before hitting the impala.
"Shit, here we go," Maggie spoke, watching her twin exit the car.
She and Dean followed Sam over to where he and John stood face to face. Their father is equally angry.
"What the hell was that?" John asks.
"We need to talk."
"About what?" John stepped closer to Sam.
Dean took a couple of steps toward the pair.
"About everything. Where we going, Dad? What's the big deal about this gun?"
"Sammy, come on, we can Q and A after we kill all the vampires," Dean tried to reason with him.
"Your brother's right, we don't have time for this."
"Last time we saw you, you said it was too dangerous for us to be together. Now out of the blue, you need our help." Sam started yelling, "Now obviously something big is going down, and we wanna know what!"
"Get back in the car," John ordered.
Sam refused.
"I said get back in the damn car."
"Yeah. And I said no," Sam challenged him.
"Okay, guys," Maggie stepped forward, "It's cold and we're all tired."
"Come on, Sammy," Dean pulled Sam away from John and towards the car. Sam kept his eye on John as the siblings walked away.
Almost under his breath, Sam turned away and mumbled, "This is why I left in the first place."
"What'd you say?" John heard him.
Sam turned back, "You heard me."
"Yeah, you left." John pointed at Dean, "Your brother and me, we needed you." He pointed at Maggie, "Your sister needed you. You walked away, Sam. You walked away!"
"You're the one who said don't come back Dad, you closed that door not me. You were just pissed off that you couldn't control me anymore!" Sam yelled in his face.
John grabbed Sam by the collar and Dean forced himself between them before it could get too physical, "Listen, stop it, stop it. Stop it! That's enough!" Dean faced John, That means you too."
John and Dean stared at each other while Sam climbed into the impala. John walked away and climbed back into his truck.
Maggie and Dean stood alone in the road. Dean looked annoyed.
"Thank you," Maggie spoke softly, "for stop-"
"-Get in the car," Dean pushed past her impatiently. He did, however, open the back door and wait for Maggie to climb in first before joining Sam upfront.
The woman, Jenny, had finally stopped crying. It was long after her fiance stopped screaming. She tried to keep her gaze off of Luther and Kate. It was hard though, with the obscene noises they were making. The two were passionately kissing access from her, Kate seated on the bar, and Luther standing between her legs. The two vampires turned to their uncomfortable victim.
"You like to watch, huh?" Luther asked, panting. "Me too." He turned back to Kate, pushing her hair out of her face, "Ready baby?" He leaned down to kiss her.
Kate got off of the bar and walked over to Jenny, Luther following with his finger through her back belt loop. Kate stroked Jenny's hair.
"Are you gonna kill me?" Jenny started crying.
Kate leaned down close to her face, nose brushing against Jenny's forehead, "I'm going to take you so high you're never going to come down."
Luther pulled Kate's wrist towards him. He pulled a know out of his pocket and made a deep cut along her wrist. He released her arm and Kate put her mouth on the wound and sucked on it. With her mouth now covered in blood, she straddled Jenny's lap. She held her face and kissed her, forcing the blood into Jenny's mouth.
Luther watched them. He tucked a strand of hair behind Jenny's ear, "Welcome home, baby."
A long night of driving and a short break for sleep led the Winchester family outside of the barn. They were staking out the barn's inhabitants from a nearby cluster of trees. They watched a vampire pull up in a rusty Camero and. Another vampire met him at the barn doors and let him in.
"Son of a bitch," Dean spoke quietly, "So they're really not afraid of the sun?"
"No, direct sunlight hurts like a nasty sunburn. The only way to kill 'em is by beheading. And yeah, they sleep during the day - doesn't mean they won't wake up," John answered.
"At least these ones don't sparkle," Dean joked.
"What?" Maggie asked. Sam and John looked confused at Dean.
"Like your book," Dean explained to Maggie, "the vampires' sparkle."
"Dean," Maggie smiled at him, "I haven't gotten to that part yet. How do you know that?"
Dean paused, staring at his sister, and realized he was caught. It's not like he read her copy of Twilight every time she was in the shower and Sam was out to pass time. It was only once...maybe twice. Anyway, he just flipped to a random page and started reading. It wasn't a big deal. Dean obviously decided to completely change the subject. He turned to his dad, "So we probably shouldn't just walk right in?"
"Actually," John said slowly, deciding to ignore whatever just happened, "that's the plan."
They left their hideout in the trees and made their way back to the vehicles. The boys started picking out their machete's. Dean tossed his keys to Maggie, "Getaway Driver."
"Fine?" Maggie looked annoyed. She went to the driver's side and leaned against the car while the guys geared up.
"Dad, I've got an extra machete if you need one," Dean looked over at John at his truck.
John unsheathed a long, serrated machete, "I think I'm okay. Thanks." He sighed and looked between his children, "So, you kids really wanna know about this Colt?"
Sam finished putting the machete sheath onto his belt, "Yes, sir."
"It's just a story, a legend really. Well, I thought it was. Never really believed it until I read Daniel's letter… Back in 1835, when Halley's comet was overhead, the same night those men died at the Alamo. They say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us only on horseback. Story goes he made thirteen bullets, and this hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. And somehow Daniel got his hands on it. They say... they say this gun can kill anything."
"Kill anything, like supernatural anything?" Maggie asked.
Sam put the pieces together, "Like the demon."
"Yeah, the demon." John nodded. "Ever since I picked up its trail I've been looking for a way to destroy that thing. Find the gun...we may have it."
The weight of that statement hung heavily in the air. The same thought ran through the siblings' minds at that moment, We could end this.
As Maggie waited in the car, John and her brothers climbed in through one of the barn's open windows. Vampires slept in hammocks throughout the room. The trio quietly wandered through past the vampires, further into the barn. As Dean passed one of the hammocks, his foot collided with an empty beer bottle on the ground. He froze and watched to see if the vampire would wake. He didn't.
Nearby, Sam finds Jenny, still tied up, unconscious. He crouched down next to her and whispered for Dean to come over.
Towards the back of the barn, John finds Kate and Luther. They are sprawled across the bed, asleep. Next to them, John spotted the holster holding the Colt. John slowly walked towards them to collect the gun.
As he did this, Sam began untying Jenny. A noise came from behind him and Dean. Dean looked back and whispered, "There's more." He walked over to a locked metal cage. Multiple people inside were tied up and unconscious. He grabbed a metal hook and looped it through the padlock. Pulling up quickly, he snapped the lock. Both he and Sam paused at the noise and wait. The vampires remained asleep.
Sam went back to untying the woman when she started to wake up. Sam tried to comfort her, "Hey. Hey hey, shh, I'm here to help you." Seeing him, the woman unleashed a monstrous scream, waking the vampires.
"Sam!" Dean called out. Sam readied his weapon.
In the back of the barn, John turned towards the noise. Distracted by that, he didn't notice that Kate and Luther also woke from their slumber. Luther pushed John towards the wall. He felt the ground next to him and found a bottle. He threw it through the blackened window next to the bed. With the vampires distracted by the sun, he ordered his boys to run.
Sam and Dean bolted out the front of the barn doors into the safety of the sunlight. They ran back to the vehicles.
Maggie saw her brothers run up the hill and quickly got out of the car. "What happened?" She asked worriedly.
"Dad's still in there," Sam glanced at her and then back at the barn.
Dean called out for their dad but received no answer. After a short, tense moment, John came running up the hill. Seeing him okay, the kids turned to leave but he stopped them.
"They won't follow. They'll wait till tonight. Once a vampire has your scent, it's for life."
"What the hell do we do now?" Dean asked.
"You gotta find the nearest funeral home, that's what."
The kids look at each other confused.
"Dude, that was so gross," Maggie chuckled, looking at the glass bottle of blood they just stole from a dead person. John had tasked Dean with going to the morgue and getting dead man's blood. Maggie, not wanting to be in a room alone with Sam and their Dad, tagged along.
"Yeah," Dean agreed, "just don't tell Dad I let you go in with me."
"I won't," Maggie put the glass back into the paper bag.
A moment of silence passed between siblings. "Why are you agreeing with Sam all of the sudden?" Dean glanced at her, "You never got involved with their shit before."
"Neither did you," Maggie referenced to Dean getting between them on the road.
Dean nodded, "Yeah. But last time we saw Dad you were just happy to be with him. Now you barely look at him."
He wasn't wrong. When they found him, she thought about what her brothers had thought. That they would be together. And then John pulled that "It's safer if we're apart" nonsense. Maggie wanted her family together, and John seemed to want anything but that. "I don't know, Dean." Maggie sighed. "I just didn't think he'd leave us again."
Dean took a deep breath, "I know, kid."
"I just feel like he doesn't want me sometimes."
"Hey," Dean looked at her, "Dad would never not want you." She didn't look convinced. "He's just trying to end this thing, you know? Then he can be with us all the time."
"I guess," Maggie wouldn't look at Dean. She kept her eyes towards the window, looking at the scenery.
While Dean and Maggie were off at the morgue, Sam and John waited in their motel room. John tried to focus on his notes but was distracted by Sam pacing nervously.
"It shouldn't be taking this long," his younger son spoke, "I should go help."
"They've got it," John responded tiredly. Sam looked between his dad and the door and continued pacing. John kept watching him. He didn't mean to fight with him yesterday. Or any other day. Sam was just so headstrong, so stubborn. Just like him. Just like Mary-Nope, John thought. He wished their relationship was less strained. He wished they could get along like Dean and Maggie. Maybe not Maggie anymore. He might be losing Maggie. He didn't want to completely lose Sam too. "Sammy."
Sam stopped pacing and looked at him, "Yeah?"
Time for an olive branch, "I don't think I ever told you this but ... the day you were born, you know what I did?"
"No," Sam looked at him confused.
John played with the pen in his hands, I put a hundred bucks into savings accounts for you and your sister. I did the same thing for your brother. It was a college fund. And every month I'd put in another hundred dollars, until... Anyway, my point is, Sam, this is never the life that I wanted for you."
"Then why'd you get so mad when I left?"
"You gotta understand something. After your mother passed all I saw was evil, everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you kids alive. I wanted you...prepared. Ready. Except somewhere along the line I ... uh ... I stopped being your father and I ... I became your, your drill sergeant." Sam walked over to sit across from him, "So when you said that you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about... my only thought was, that you were gonna be alone. Vulnerable. Sammy, it just... it never occurred to me what you wanted. I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me...we're just different." Sam huffed out a laugh. "What?"
Sam looked at his father, tears in his eyes, "We're not different. Not anymore. With what happened to Mom and Jess…" He gave a bitter chuckle, "Well we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone."
John smiled sadly at that. This is something he didn't want to have in common with his kids ever. "I guess you're right, son."
Sam furrowed his brow in confusion at something his dad had confessed, "Hey Dad? Whatever happened to that college fund?"
"Spent it on ammo," John replied matter of factly.
They both cracked up at that and for a moment, things are normal. That's when Dean and Maggie returned from their morgue run.
"Whew," Dean shook his head, "Man, some heavy security to protect a bunch of dead guys."
"Get it?" John asked. Maggie limped over to stand behind Sam's chair. She reached over his shoulder and handed her dad the paper bag. John pulled the glass bottle out and smiled at it. He set the bottle in front of the kids, "You know what to do."
Dean was leaned over the inside of the impala's hood, looking at the engine.
A woman approached him from behind, "Car trouble?" Dean turned at the voice and came face to face with Kate. She walked closer, looking him up and down, "Let me give you a lift. I'll take you back to my place."
"Nah, I'll pass," Dean grinned, "I usually draw the line at necrophilia."
Kate backhanded him and he fell to the ground. Another vampire approached as she gripped his face and lifted him off his feet and into the air.
Dean grabbed her wrist, "I don't usually get this friendly until the second date."
"You know, we could have some fun," She lowered him to her level. "I always like to make new friends." She pulled him closer and kissed him against his will. Still gripping his chin and cheeks tightly. The vampire behind them smiled, watching.
Kate pushed Dean's face away and he was slightly out of breath, "Oh, sorry. I don't usually stay with a chick that long. Definitely not eternity."
As he finished, an arrow pierced through the watching vampire's back. Seconds later, the same thing happened to Kate. She dropped Dean and looked down at the arrow coming out of her chest.
"Damn it…" Out of the nearby bunch of trees came the rest of the Winchesters. Sam helped Maggie through the branches then readied his machete at the other vampire. Maggie readied her crossbow at Kate. "It barely even stings."
"Give it time sweetheart. That arrow's soaked in dead man's blood. It's like poison to you, isn't it?" John smirked.
Kate's face fell and she quickly lost consciousness, falling back into Dean's arms.
"Load her up," John nodded at Kate and Dean picked her up. He gestured to the other vampire, "I'll take care of this one." Sam looked between the vampire and his dad before holding an arm out for Maggie and following Dean. John stood in front of the vampire who looked up from the ground. With a quick strike with his machete, John finished him off.
"Toss this on the fire. Saffron, skunk's cabbage, and trillium. It'll block our scent and hers until we're ready." John handed Dean the bag and they walked from the impala over to the campfire. Sam and Maggie stood near the fire, their weapons ready.
Dean sniffed the gag and recoiled, "Stuff stinks!" He sprinkled some of the mixture into the fire.
"That's the idea. Dust your clothes with the ashes, and you stand a chance of not being detected."
"You sure they'll come for her?" Maggie asked.
"Yeah. Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun. But the blood sickness is going to wear off soon, so you don't have a lot of time."
Sam sheathed his machete, "A half-hour oughta do it."
"And then I want you out of the area as fast as you can."
"But…"
"Dad, you can't take care of them all yourself," Dean told John.
"I'll have her," John nodded to Kate, "And the Colt."
"But after, we're gonna meet up, right?" Sam asked, "Use the gun together. Right?"
The kids looked expectedly at John but he wouldn't meet their eyes.
"You're leaving again, aren't you?" Maggie realized.
Sam grimaced, "You still wanna go after the demon alone? You know, I don't get you. You can't treat us like this."
"Like what?" John asked.
"Like children," Sam fired back.
"You are my children. I'm trying to keep you safe."
"Dad, all due respect but, uh, that's a bunch of crap," Dean told him.
Everyone looked at Dean in shock. John looked at his oldest, "Excuse me?"
"You know what we've been hunting. Hell, you sent us on a few hunting trips yourself," Dean chuckled bitterly, "You can't be that worried about keeping us safe."
"It's not the same thing, Dean."
"Then what is it?" Dean questioned, "Why do you want us out of the big fight?"
"This demon? It's a bad son of a bitch. I can't make the same moves if I'm worried about keeping you alive."
"You mean you can't be as reckless," Dean concluded.
"Look…" John was emotional, "I don't expect to make it out of this fight in one piece. Your mother's death...it almost killed me. I can't watch my children die too. I won't."
"What happens if you die? Dad, what happens if you die, and we coulda done something about it?" Dean also became emotional, "You know I been thinking. I...think maybe Sammy's right about this one. We should do this together." Sam and Maggie nodded in agreement. "We're stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it."
"We're running out of time," John changed the subject, "You do your job and you get out of the area. That's an order."
He walked away.
Bo pulled up outside of the barn where Luther and the rest of the vampires were waiting.
"Is there any sign of those three?" Luther asked him.
"No. something else."
"What?"
"Luther, they cut off Frank's head!" Bo responded frantically.
A few seconds passed and then Luther asked, "And Kate?"
"I don't know. She wasn't there." Bo was breathing heavily, overwhelmed, "What are we gonna do?" The roar of a far-off engine stole their attention. "It's just a truck up on the highway."
Luther stared into the distance where the truck would be. He took a few steps past Bo and whispered, "Kate. She's in that truck."
Bo stayed behind as the rest of the vampires went after Kate. He walked through the barn, taking swigs over his beer. He stopped and watched the barn doors, worried someone might be out there. When he heard nothing, he shrugged and turned around. Behind him stood Dean and his machete.
"Boo," Dean said and then swung his machete through Bo's neck, decapitating him. After killing Bo, he quickly made his way back to the cage of people.
"I told you I'd come back," He said as he pulled out a tool to start breaking the hinges off the door.
John drove down the road with Kate still passed out next to him. There were a couple of cars following behind in the distance but after a few miles, he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw that they disappeared.
John came around a corner and had to slam on the breaks. Luther and three other vampires and the two cars blocked the road in front of him.
"Get out!" Luther shouted. John listened and stepped out of his truck. "Who are you?"
"Name's Winchester," John replied.
"Where are your friends?"
John smiled, "Cleaning out your nest."
Luther smiled back tightly, "Where's Kate?"
"Come here, sweetheart," John turned to the open door of the truck and pulled hard on the rope Kate was tied up with. He pulled her out of the truck and held a large hunting knife to her throat.
"Kate, you all right?" Luther asked as John walked closer with her.
"Dean man's blood," she responded tiredly.
Luther looked at John, "You son of a bitch."
"I want the Colt," John bargained, "Elkins' gun. Trade."
"Is that what this is all about? I mean, you can't shoot us all right?" Luther gestured to the other vampires, "We'll kill you."
"Oh, I don't need it for you. I'm saving it for something else. Put the colt down, or she goes first."
"All right. Just don't hurt her," Luther agreed. He stepped forward and placed the gun on the ground.
"Back up," John ordered. Luther walked backward, "Further." John walked towards the gun and bent down with Kate to pick it up.
"It's a nice move," Luther nodded, "you almost made it."
Kate loosened the ties around her hands and swung backward, hard. John was knocked back against his truck, dropping the Colt. Luther walked to him and hit him into the truck's open door. The window shattered and John fell unconscious to the ground. Luther walked closer to John.
Before he reached him an arrow pierced through one of the vampires. Sam and Dean run out of the trees with their machetes. Maggie slowly followed them with her crossbow. She paused to take aim at a vampire that was charging in their direction. The arrow hit the vampire in the center of his chest and he dropped to the ground.
Sam moved towards Luther but was slammed into the ground when he struck him across the chest. He pulled Sam up to his feet and held him in a headlock. Dean stood in front of them, machete ready.
"Don't! I'll break his neck." Luther threatened, "Put the blade down."
Dean did nothing and Maggie kept her bow trained on the vampire. "You too," he looked at her. Luther tightened his arm around Sam's neck and a horrible choking sound forced its way out of him. Dean dropped his blade and Maggie lowered her bow but didn't drop it. "You people. Why can't you leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do."
A gun cocked behind him, "I don't think so."
Luther turned around. John had the Colt raised and shot straight between Luther's eyes. He released Sam who was pulled back by Dean. Maggie moved towards them and checked Sam over for injuries.
Blood dripped out of the wound and Luther's skeleton glowed brightly as he fell to his knees. Kate cried out his name as he glowed once more and died. Emotional and furious, she charged toward John. Just before she reached him, Maggie raised the crossbow and fired.
The arrow stopped her in her tracks. She looked down, expecting to see another arrow piercing her chest but only found the wound. Behind her, the newly turned vampire, Jenny fell to the ground. The dead man's blood arrow having gone through Kate and piercing her. Kate fell to the ground next to her.
"Huh?" Maggie said, looking between the two women and the crossbow. She chuckled, "This thing is awesome."
With all of the vampires being disposed of and the Colt now in their possession, the family returned back to their motel.
John walked into the siblings' room as they packed up their belongings. They turned their attention towards their father.
"So kids..." John spoke and Sam, Dean, and Maggie stood in front of him.
"Yes, sir?" Sam replied.
"You ignored a direct order back there."
Maggie nodded, "Yes, sir."
"Yeah but we saved your ass," Dean told him. The twins looked sideways at their brother. John leveled his gaze at his oldest and Dean swallowed nervously.
"You're right," John finally agreed.
"I am?"
"It scares the hell out of me," their dad admitted. "You three are all I've got. But I guess we are stronger as a family. So...we go after this damn thing. Together."
"Yes, sir," the siblings responded in unison.
They had the Colt. And they were going to end this.