February 28th - March 7th, 2006
Dean pulled up to a gas station, we had been driving for days now and still had a long road ahead of us, but now we were finally going to keep our focus on Dad.
"All right, I figure we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight," Dean said and then looked over at Sam, who had been staring at his phone and completely ignoring us for the last hour. Dean looked back at me and smirked. "Sam wears women's underwear."
I giggled, and Dean smiled at me.
"I've been listening, I'm just busy," Sam said, not taking his eyes off his phone.
Dean furrowed his brow. "Busy doin' what?"
"Reading e-mails," Sam said.
Dean got out of the car to fill up the gas tank. "E-mails from who?"
"From my friends at Stanford," Sam said, still looking at his phone.
"You're kidding..." Dean said, "You still keep in touch with your college buddies?"
"Why not?" Sam asked.
"Well... what exactly do you tell 'em?" Dean asked, "Ya know, about where you've been, what you've been doin'?" He leaned on the car next to Sam's window after he finished filling the tank.
"I tell 'em I'm on a road trip with my big brother and little sister. I tell 'em I needed some time off after Jess," Sam said, looking up at Dean.
"Oh, so you lie to 'em." Dean smirked.
Sam shook his head. "No. I just don't tell them... everything."
"Yeah, that's called lying." Dean laughed. "I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin' the truth is far worse."
"So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life?" Sam asked.
Dean shrugged.
Sam furrowed his brow. "You're serious?"
Dean shrugged. "Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can't get close to people... period."
"You're kind of anti-social, ya know that?" Sam smiled and turned back to his phone.
"Yeah, whatever." Dean shrugged.
Sam gasped. "God..."
I sat forward, wondering what was going on.
"What?" Dean asked and leaned in through Sam's window to see what he was reading.
Sam shook his head. "In this e-mail from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine—"
"Is she hot?" Dean asked.
I just rolled my eyes.
Sam ignored him and continued, "I went to school with her, and her brother, Zach. She says Zach's been charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca says he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case."
"Dude, what kind of people are you hangin' out with?" Dean asked while staring at Sam's phone.
"No, man, I know Zach." Sam turned his attention to Dean. "He's no killer."
Dean shrugged. "Well, maybe you know Zach, as well as he, knows you."
"They're in St. Louis," Sam said, "We're going."
Dean laughed. "Look, sorry 'bout your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem."
Sam nodded. "It is our problem. They're my friends."
"St. Louis is 400-miles behind us, Sam," Dean said, not wanting to budge, but Sam gave him a pleading look. He sighed and walked around the car to get into the driver's seat. "Fine, let's go," he said and pulled out of the gas station.
I sighed and leaned back in my seat because now we were going to have to hold off on finding Dad... again.
I was shaken awake a couple hours later. I sat up and saw Sam looking back at me. I yawned, stretched, and looked out of my window. "Where are we?"
"We're at Rebecca's house. You can come in with us if you want." Sam smiled.
"Really?" I smiled. "Let's go." I got out of the Impala.
Sam laughed. "Wait up, Maddi."
I stopped and waited for Sam to lead Dean and me up to the door. He knocked, and a few moments later, a young blonde woman answered.
When she opened the door, her eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Oh my god, Sam!"
"Well, if it isn't, little Becky." Sam smirked.
"You know what you can do with that little Becky crap?" Rebecca smiled at him, and they hugged.
"I got your e-mail," Sam said.
"I didn't think that you would come here," she said.
Dean stepped forward and offered his hand. "Dean. Older brother."
Rebecca shook his hand. "Hi."
"Hi." Dean smiled.
Sam reached back and put his arm around me, pulling me to the front. "And this is Maddison, the little sister."
Rebecca looked down at me, smiled, and then looked back up at Sam. "When you said you were on a road trip with your big brother and little sister, I didn't realize how young she actually was."
"Well, we're here to help," Sam said, "Whatever we can do."
"Come in." Rebecca smiled, and we followed her into the house, shutting the door behind us.
"Nice place," Dean said while looking around the living room.
"It's my parents'," Rebecca said, "I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zach's free." She continued to lead us through the house.
"Where are your folks?" Sam asked.
"They live in Paris for half the year, so they're on their way home now for the trial," Rebecca said as we followed her into the kitchen. "Do you guys want a beer or water or something?"
Dean smiled. "Hey—"
"No, thanks," Sam said, cutting Dean off. "So, tell us what happened."
Rebecca looked down and sighed. "Well, um, Zach came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn't breathing." Her voice began to break as tears came to her eyes. "So, he called 9-1-1, and the police... they showed up, and they arrested him. But the thing is, the only way that Zach could've killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time. The police... they have a video. It's from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zach coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but I swear, he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight."
"Ya know, maybe we could see the crime scene..." Sam said, "Zach's house."
Dean nodded. "We could."
"Why?" Rebecca asked, "I mean, what could you do?"
Sam shrugged. "Well, me, not much. But Dean's a cop."
Dean laughed. "Detective, actually."
"Really?" Rebecca asked.
Dean nodded.
"Where?" she asked.
"Bisbee, Arizona," Dean said, "But I'm off-duty now."
"You guys, it's so nice to offer, but I just—" Rebecca sighed. "I don't know."
Sam sighed. "Bec, look, I know Zach didn't do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he's innocent."
Rebecca nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna go get the keys." Then she walked off down the hallway.
Dean turned to Sam after she left the room. "Oh, yeah, man, you're a real straight shooter with your friends."
"Look, Zach and Becky need our help," Sam said.
Dean shook his head. "I just don't think this is our kind of problem."
"She doesn't really seem like she's lying though," I said, trying to help Sam, "She said she knows her brother was with her when it happened."
"Yeah, two places at once?" Sam asked. "We've looked into less."
Dean didn't say anything, and a moment later, Rebecca came back into the room. She held up the keys and shook them. "You guys ready?"
Dean pulled up next to the sidewalk, and we all got out. Rebecca handed Sam the keys, and we started walking up to the house. The front porch was wrapped with police tape.
"You're sure this is okay?" Rebecca asked Dean as we walked up to the door.
Dean nodded. "Yeah. I am an officer of the law."
"And what about her?" Rebecca asked, pointing to me. "It's kind of messy in there."
"I'll be fine," I said, "I want to be just like my big brother one day." I turned to look at Dean, I winked and stuck my tongue out at him and then hurried off to the house before he could tell me to wait in the car.
Sam had already made it into the house.
Dean laughed. "She's a rascal, that one."
When I reached the porch, I ducked under some tape and entered the house. I looked around the room, and my heart dropped. Everything was splattered and smeared with blood. I was astonished, whatever happened to that poor girl was awful. Sam walked past me back to the door.
Dean put his hands on my shoulders and knelt in front of me. "It's pretty gruesome in here, are you sure you don't want to wait in the car?"
"No, I'll be fine," I said, "I want to help. And plus, I should get used to this kind of stuff anyway."
Dean's expression became a little sad, but he nodded and left me to start looking around the room.
"Bec, you wanna wait outside?" Sam asked.
I turned around to see Rebecca still standing on the porch, just looking around the room.
"No." She shook her head and then ducked under the tape. "I wanna help."
Sam closed the door behind her. "Tell us what else the police said."
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears. "Well, there's no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in. The lawyers... they're already talking about plea bargains." She looked around the room at all the blood and started crying. "Oh, god..."
"Look, Bec, if Zach didn't do this, it means someone else did. Any idea who?" Sam asked with sympathetic eyes.
Rebecca shook her head, but then she seemed to remember something. "Um, there was something about a week before. Somebody broke in here and stole some clothes... Zach's clothes. The police... they don't think it's anything. I mean, we're not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed."
Sam walked away from her, and Dean walked to the front door and opened it slightly. The neighbor's dog was barking outside at us.
Rebecca walked up behind Dean. "You know that used to be the sweetest dog."
"What happened?" Dean asked.
Rebecca shrugged. "He just changed."
"Do you remember when he changed?" Dean asked.
"I guess around the time of the murder," Rebecca said.
Dean turned to look at her and then walked off to find Sam. I followed Dean and saw Sam standing in front of the refrigerator staring at a picture of himself, Rebecca, and who I assumed to be Zach.
"So, the neighbor's dog went psycho right around the time Zach's girlfriend was killed," Dean said.
"Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal," Sam said, turning his attention to Dean.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, maybe Fido saw something."
"So, you think maybe this is our kind of problem?" Sam asked.
"No." Dean shook his head. "Probably not."
Dean definitely believed that this could be one of our cases, but I knew that he was also hoping it wasn't so that we could get back to finding Dad. I felt the same way, but there was no way that we could let an innocent man rot in jail for something he didn't do.
Dean cleared his throat. "But we should look at the security tape, ya know, just to make sure."
Sam nodded. "Yeah."
"Yeah," Dean said and turned toward Rebecca as she walked over. "So, the tape. The security footage... you think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it? 'Cause I just don't have that kind of jurisdiction."
"I've already got it. I didn't wanna say something in front of the cop." Rebecca shrugged. "I stole it off the lawyer's desk. I just had to see it for myself."
Dean nodded. "All right." He then gestured for everyone to leave.
I looked around the room at the horror one last time, feeling sorry for Zach's girlfriend. Then I felt a hand on my back.
Sam was looking down at me. "You okay?" he asked.
I nodded, and he looked at me with concern in his eyes and then guided me out of the house.
When we got back to Rebecca's, she set up the security footage on the TV in the living room. We all sat and watched, while Sam leaned against the arm of the couch.
"Here he comes," Rebecca said, pointing to the screen.
"22:04, that's just after ten," Dean said, "You said time of death was about 10:30."
"Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert," Rebecca said, "He says the tape's authentic. It wasn't tampered with."
"Hey, Bec, can we take those beers and water now?" Sam asked.
"Oh, sure," she said, getting up from the couch.
"Hey." Sam smirked at her. "Maybe some sandwiches, too?"
"What do you think this is, Hooters?" Rebecca laughed and left the room.
"I wish." Dean chuckled and then walked over to Sam. "What is it?"
"Check this out," Sam said as he rewound the tape.
One of the frames showed Zach staring directly into the camera, and Sam paused it. Zach's eyes were bright silver.
Dean shrugged. "Well, maybe it's just a camera flare."
"That's not like any camera flare I've ever seen," Sam said, "Ya know, a lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul."
Dean nodded. "Right."
"Remember that dog that was freakin' out?" Sam asked. "Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zach's, something that looks like him, but isn't him."
"Like a Doppelgänger?" Dean asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah. It'd sure explain how he was two places at once."
Rebecca returned and handed the boys their beers and me a glass of water. We all thanked her, and since it was getting late, Sam and Dean decided that it was probably time to change the subject for now. Sam and Rebecca caught up on some things, and I ended up falling asleep with my head on Dean's shoulder.
After a while, Dean woke me up, and the three of us left for our motel room.
I was shaken awake. "Maddison."
I opened my eyes to see Sam smiling down at me with a cheese danish and a peach tea in his hands.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and spotted the clock. "It's five in the morning." I flopped back down. "What do you want?" I threw my blanket over my head, hoping he would leave me alone.
Sam laughed and pulled the blanket off. "Come on, we are going to Zach's house."
"Fine," I said as I got up and hurried into the bathroom to get ready for the day.
When I came out, Sam handed me my breakfast, and we all hurried to the Impala.
When we arrived at Zach's house, Dean parked, and we all got out.
"All right, so what are we doin' here at 5:30 in the morning?" Dean asked.
"I realized something," Sam said, "The videotape shows the killer going in, but not coming out."
"So, he went out the back door?" Dean asked as he leaned against the hood of the Impala and took a sip of coffee.
I walked around to the front of the Impala and joined Dean on the hood.
Sam nodded. "Right. So, there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue." He looked in the dumpster outside of Zach's house.
"'Cause they think the killer never left," Dean said, "And they caught your friend Zach inside. I still don't know what we're doin' here at 5:30 in the morning."
"Blood. Somebody came this way," Sam said as he pointed at a blood-stained telephone pole.
"Yeah, but the trail ends." Dean looked down at the ground. "I don't see anything over here."
I got up and started to walk across the street to Sam when sirens wailed out. An ambulance turned the corner and came speeding toward me, Dean grabbed the back of my jacket and pulled me back to him. Once the ambulance raced passed us, we all looked at each other and got into the Impala to follow it. Dean stopped outside of an apartment complex that was being taped up by the police. We got out and walked up to the scene. A man in handcuffs was being escorted out of the building to a police car.
"What happened?" Dean asked a woman who was watching.
"He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her," she said.
"Really?" Sam asked.
"I used to see him going to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello." The woman shook her head. "He seemed like such a nice guy."
"I'm going to go check around back," Sam whispered to us.
"Okay, Maddi, go with Sam," Dean whispered back, "I'm going to try to get some answers."
Sam grabbed my hand, and we snuck around to the back of the apartment complex. Once we were out of sight, Sam let go of my hand and started looking into the trash cans behind the building.
"What are you looking for?" I asked.
"I don't know." Sam shrugged. "Anything that could give us a clue."
"There's no way this is a coincidence. It's the same story. And did you see his face?" I asked. "It was bloody and bruised."
"No, you're right, this can't be a coincidence," Sam said. He put the lid back on the last trash can and turned to me. "All right, let's go, there isn't anything back here." Then he started walking away.
I looked down and saw drips of blood coming from the front of the building. "Hey, wait."
Sam turned around, and I pointed out the blood. He nodded, looking at it curiously. "Weird, it just ends." He put his hand on my shoulder. "Let's go find Dean."
I followed Sam back out to the front of the building on the other side.
"Hey," Dean said as he walked over from the crowd to us. "Remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah."
"Definitely our kind of problem," Dean said.
"Took you this long to figure that out?" I smirked, and he gave me a look.
"What'd you find out?" Sam asked.
"Well, I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene, heard this guy, Alex's story," Dean said, "Apparently, the dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked."
"So, he was two places at once," Sam said.
Dean nodded. "Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house. Police think he's a nut job."
"Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way," Sam said.
Dean nodded. "Could be the same thing doin' it too."
"Shapeshifter?" Sam asked, "Something that can make itself look like anyone?"
"Every culture in the world has shapeshifter lore," Dean said, "Ya know, legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men."
Sam nodded. "Right, skin-walkers, werewolves."
"We've got two attacks within blocks of each other," Dean said, "I'm guessin' we've got a shapeshifter prowlin' the neighborhood."
"Let me ask you this... in all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?" Sam asked.
Dean furrowed his brow and shook his head. "Not that I know of."
"We picked up a trail here." Sam pointed in the direction we had just come from. "Someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way."
"Just like your friend's house," Dean said.
Sam nodded. "Yeah. And, just like at Zach's house, the trail suddenly ends. I mean, whatever it is just disappeared."
"Well, there's another way to go..." Dean said, looking down the street. "Down."
Sam and I turned to see he was looking at a manhole in the street. The boys gave each other a look and shrugged.
I groaned. "No, come on, guys. I don't want to go down there."
"That's fine." Dean smirked at me and then walked over and took the cover off the manhole. "Go back to the Impala." He climbed partially down the ladder and then smirked up at Sam.
Sam looked around to make sure no one was looking and then started to follow Dean.
"Wait. Don't leave me," I said as I ran over to Sam.
Sam laughed. "Okay, go down first."
I climbed down the ladder and jumped off when I was close enough to the ground.
"I thought you weren't coming down." Dean smirked and walked over to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and ruffled my hair with his other hand.
I smacked his stomach. "Stop."
Dean laughed and looked up at Sam as he climbed down the ladder and replaced the cover before getting off. Then Dean walked down one of the sewer tunnels.
"I bet this runs right by Zach's house too," Sam said, looking around, "The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around."
"I think you're right. Look at this," Dean said.
We walked down the tunnel to find Dean. He was kneeling and staring at a pile of bloody, fleshy sludge.
"Ew, what is that?" I asked as I walked up to him. I rested my elbow on his back and peered over his shoulder.
Sam walked up and knelt next to Dean. "Is this from his victims?"
Dean pulled out his pocketknife, picked up some of the sludge with it, and examined it. "Ya know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape... maybe it sheds."
I made a disgusted face and stood up.
"That is sick," Sam said and stood up.
Dean let the sludge slip off his knife and looked up at us. "All right, now that we know where it hides out, let's get back to the Impala."
Back at the Impala, Dean opened the trunk and started loading some guns with silver bullets. "Well, one thing I learned from Dad, is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there's one sure way to kill it."
Sam nodded. "Silver bullet to the heart."
Dean smiled. "That's right."
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Sam answered his phone, "This is Sam." (...) "We're near Zach's, we're just checking some things out." (...) He furrowed his brow. "What are you talkin' about?" (...) "Why would you do that?"
Dean and I looked at each other, concerned.
"Bec..." Sam sighed. (...) "We're trying to help." (...) "Bec, I'm sorry, but—" He shook his head and put the phone back in his pocket.
Dean sighed. "I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talkin' about. You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they'd be freaked. It's just... it'd be easier if—"
"If I was like you," Sam said.
"Hey, man, like it or not, we are not like other people. But I'll tell you one thing. This whole gig... it ain't without perks." Dean smirked and held a gun out to Sam, and he took it and put it in the back of his jeans.
Dean walked over and knelt to look me in the eyes. "All right, Maddi—"
"No." I put my hand up to his mouth. "I'm going with you. I've been with you guys this whole time. You aren't ditching me now."
Dean stood up. "Fine, but you have to stay close." He handed me a flashlight and walked back toward the manhole.
Down in the sewer, we walked back to the sludge we had found earlier and continued past it. The tunnels continued on and on, but it felt like we weren't getting any closer to finding the creature. We turned a corner and walked down a narrow corridor.
"I think we're close to its lair," Dean said.
"Why do you say that?" Sam asked, turning around to look at Dean.
"Because there's another puke-inducing pile next to your face," Dean said, shining his flashlight on more bloody sludge right next to Sam.
"Oh, god!" Sam quickly jumped away from the pile.
"Look." I pointed my flashlight at a sludge-covered pile of clothing.
"Looks like it's lived here for a while," Dean said.
"Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with," Sam said, turning around to face us and then he gasped. "Dean!"
We turned around and saw the shapeshifter still in the shape of the man that was arrested earlier. It punched Dean, and he fell to the ground. Then the shapeshifter turned and ran off. Sam fired his gun at it, but then he walked over and helped Dean up.
"Get the son of a bitch!" Dean yelled, clutching his left shoulder.
We ran down the tunnel after it but couldn't find it until we came across an open manhole. We climbed up the ladder and didn't see the shifter anywhere.
"All right, let's split up," Sam said.
"All right, I'll meet you around the other side. Maddi stay with Sammy," Dean said as he tucked his gun away and ran off.
I followed Sam through the crowded streets. I couldn't believe how many people were still out since it was so late. But once we reached the end of the block, the shifter was still nowhere to be seen.
Sam turned to me. "Okay, let's head back. Make sure you stay close."
I nodded at him and grabbed the back of his jacket as he walked past me. We weaved through the crowded sidewalks all the way back to where Dean had told us to meet.
We waited there for a few minutes when Dean walked up behind us. "Hey. Anything?"
"No." Sam shook his head. "He's gone."
"All right, let's get back to the car," Dean said, gesturing us to walk across the street.
"You think he found another way underground?" Sam asked once we reached the car.
"Yeah, probably. You got the keys?" Dean asked.
Sam made a curious expression. "Hey, didn't Dad once face a shapeshifter in San Antonio?"
"Oh, that was Austin," Dean said, "It turned out not to be a shapeshifter. It was a thought-form. A psychic projection, remember?"
Sam smirked. "Oh, right. Here ya go." He threw the keys to Dean, who caught them with his left hand. Sam walked around the front of the car as Dean opened the trunk.
Suddenly, Sam pulled me behind him and pointed the gun at Dean. "Don't move!"
Dean put his hands up.
"What have you done with him?" Sam asked.
"Dude, chill. It's me, all right?" Dean asked as he took a step forward.
"Sam, what are you doing?!" I yelled.
"Maddison, stay back." Sam quickly glanced at me, then turned his attention back to Dean. "No, I don't think so. Where's our brother?"
"You're about to shoot him," Dean said, "Sam, calm down."
"Are you sure about this, Sam?" I asked.
"Yes, he caught those keys with his left hand. His shoulder was hurt," Sam said, still pointing the gun at Dean.
Dean shrugged. "Yeah, it's better... what do you want me to do, cry?"
"You're not our brother," Sam said firmly.
"Why don't you pull the trigger, then?" Dean asked. "Hmm? 'Cause you're not sure. Dude, you know me." He took a step forward and quickly grabbed a crowbar out of the back of the Impala.
"Maddison, run!" Sam yelled.
I didn't question him and took off as fast as I could.
"Don't!" Sam shouted, but then I heard metal hitting flesh.
I ducked into an alleyway and hid behind a dumpster, looking for anything I could use to hurt the shapeshifter.
"Oh, Maddison! Come out and play!" the shapeshifter called out in Dean's voice.
A shiver ran down my spine because I knew that if it found me, it might kill me, and the worst part was that I would be staring into my brother's eyes as it did it. I could hear its steps getting louder, I ran my fingers across the ground, searching for any form of weapon. Finally, I found a decent-sized rock, but that was it. Maybe if I hit it hard enough, I could buy myself some time and run to the crowd of people that was still on the streets.
Suddenly, it jumped in front of me and squatted down. "Found ya."
It leaned forward, about to put its hands on me, but I grabbed the rock and hit it as hard as I could across the face. When the shapeshifter fell back, I got up and ran as quickly as I could. I saw the crowd of people just off in the distance when I was grabbed from behind and flung over its shoulder.
I kicked and screamed, "Help me!" But no one heard me, and it carried me back to the alley. "Let me go!" I yelled and continued to kick.
"Oh, shut up, you little brat," the shapeshifter said as it threw me down next to Sam's limp body.
I crawled over to Sam and shook him. "Sammy, please wake up." I felt tears come to my eyes because Sam wasn't moving, and I knew I was alone. I looked up at the figure of my brother, and as it squatted down in front of me, a tear fell down my cheek.
The shapeshifter put its hand on my cheek and wiped the tear with its thumb. "Aw, don't cry. It'll all be over soon." It took its hand off my cheek and backhanded me across the face, and then everything faded.
I woke up in what I figured was the shapeshifter's lair down in the sewer. It was a dark, dingy room filled with boxes and random sheets of fabric hanging on the wall. I was tied to a pole with a rope around my neck and chest, and my hands were tied behind my back.
"Damn it," Sam said in the distance.
"That better be you, Sam, and not that freak of nature." Dean coughed.
Sam laughed. "Yeah, it's me."
"Sam? Dean?" I called out.
"Maddison? Is that you?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, it's me." I smiled, relieved that my brothers were okay.
"Are you all right?" Sam asked.
"Uh, I think so," I said, unsure because my face really did hurt.
"Dean, he went to Rebecca's, looking like you," Sam said.
"Well, he's not stupid." Dean chuckled. "He picked the handsome one."
I turned my head as far as I could to see Dean starting to break through his ropes.
"Yeah, that's the thing," Sam said, "He didn't just look like you. He was you. Or he was becoming you."
Dean finally broke through his ropes. "What do you mean?" He walked over and untied me.
I pulled off the ropes and followed Dean over to Sam.
"I don't know," Sam said, "It was like he was downloading your thoughts and memories."
"You mean, like the Vulcan mind-meld?" Dean asked as he started untying Sam.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, something like that. I mean, maybe that's why he doesn't just kill us."
"Maybe he needs to keep us alive," Dean said, "Psychic connection."
Sam looked at me. "Oh my god. Maddison, did he do that to you?" He pulled his ropes off and ran over to me. He grabbed me, looking at what I assumed were bruises and dried blood on the side of my face.
I pushed his hands away. "Ow, you're hurting me."
"I'm going to kill this guy," Dean said.
"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Come on. We gotta go. He's probably at Rebecca's already."
We made our way out of the sewer and up through a manhole that led out to an alley.
Sam got out first and then helped me. "Come on. We gotta find a phone, call the police."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean said, waving his hands. "You're gonna put an APB out on me?"
Sam shrugged. "Sorry."
"This way." Dean gestured down an alley, and we all started running.
After Sam called the police, we tried to navigate our way to Rebecca's without getting caught. As we were running, we came across a storefront with TVs displayed in it, all of them were on a news station. We stopped when we saw a sketch that looked a lot like Dean appear on the screens.
"An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a SWAT team discovered a local woman bound and gagged," the news reporter said, "Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home."
"Man! That's not even a good picture," Dean growled.
"It's good enough," Sam said, looking around cautiously and then walked away.
"Man!" Dean snarled, and then we followed Sam into another alley.
"Come on." Sam waited for us. "They said attempted murder. At least we know—"
Dean nodded. "It didn't kill her."
"We'll check with Rebecca in the morning, see if she's all right," Sam said.
"All right, but first, I wanna find that handsome devil and kick the holy crap out of him," Dean snarled.
"We have no weapons. No silver bullets," Sam said.
"Sam, the guy's walkin' around with my face, okay? It's a little personal, I wanna find him," Dean said.
"Okay. Where do we look?" Sam asked.
"Well, we could start with the sewers," Dean said.
Sam shook his head. "We have no weapons. He stole our guns. We need more."
They both paused.
"The car?" Sam asked.
"I'm bettin' he drove over to Rebecca's," Dean said.
"The news said he fled on foot," Sam said, "I bet it's still parked there."
Dean shook his head. "The thought of him drivin' my car."
"All right, come on." Sam waved us to continue.
"It's killin' me," Dean said.
"Let it go," Sam said as we all ran off.
We finally reached Rebecca's house and spotted the Impala sitting right beside it.
"Oh, there she is!" Dean exclaimed happily. "Finally, something went right tonight."
Then a siren wailed, and a police car pulled up next to the Impala.
"Oh, crap," Dean said.
We turned around and spotted another police car parked a few yards away.
"This way, this way," Dean said, heading for a fence.
"You go," Sam said, "I'll hold 'em off."
"What are you talking about?" Dean asked. "They'll catch you."
"Look, they can't hold me," Sam said, "Just go, keep out of sight. Meet me at Rebecca's."
"Maddison, it's probably better if you stay here," Dean said as he started to climb over the fence.
"Dean," Sam said, causing him to stop and turn around. "Stay out of the sewers alone."
Dean turned and hopped the fence.
"I mean it!" Sam yelled.
"Yeah, yeah!" Dean yelled back.
The police officers approached us with their guns raised. "Don't move! Keep your hands where I can see 'em."
Sam and I raised our hands but lowered them once the police officers realized one of us was a child.
"We're just on our way home. Is there a problem officers?" Sam asked.
One of the officers approached me. "Did this man hurt you?"
I shook my head. "No."
Once the police officers concluded that Sam had not been beating me, they let us leave the police station. Sam and I went to visit Rebecca to make sure she was okay. When we got there, Rebecca welcomed us in, she looked awful, she had bruises and cuts all over her face and arms. Sam and Rebecca started talking about what happened with the shapeshifter.
Rebecca handed Sam a beer and me a glass of water. "So, say this shapeshifter is real... by the way, you know you're crazy?" She shook her head. "But, um, say it is real. How do you stop it?"
Sam sighed. "Silver bullet to the heart."
Rebecca laughed. "You are crazy." Then she smashed her beer over Sam's head, and he fell off the couch onto the floor.
I stood up quickly, and Rebecca turned, flashing silver eyes at me. "Not again." I groaned, throwing my glass of water at the shapeshifter.
It ducked, and I ran for the door, but it grabbed me and threw me against the wall. "Ah, ah, ah. There's no point in running. You remember what happened last time?" It spun me around, tied my hands behind my back, and walked me into the living room. It forced me to sit on the floor next to Sam and then tied my feet together. Once I was properly tied up, it proceeded to tie up Sam and then propped him up against the couch. "Wait here." It smirked at me and stood up.
Once it left the room, I scooted closer to Sam and kicked his leg, trying to wake him up. "Sam..." I whispered and kicked him again.
Sam slowly gained consciousness and looked at me. Once he saw that we were tied up, he snapped out of it instantly. "Are you okay? Where did she go?"
"Yes, I'm fine," I said, "I don't know where it went, though."
The shapeshifter reappeared in the form of Dean. "You guys whispering about me?"
"What are you gonna do to us?" Sam asked.
The shapeshifter approached us. "Oh, I'm not gonna do anything." It smiled. "Dean will, though."
"They'll never catch him," Sam said.
"Oh, doesn't matter. Murder in the first of his own siblings? He'll be hunted the rest of his life." The shapeshifter held up a knife and examined its blade. "I must say, I will be sorry to lose this skin. Your brothers got a lot of good qualities. You should appreciate him more than you do." The shapeshifter poured itself a drink and held it up. "Cheers." It took a sip and then stabbed the knife into the pool table.
As it walked closer to us, Sam kicked it and knocked it down to the ground. Sam quickly stood up and rubbed the rope against the knife, freeing himself. The shapeshifter got up, Sam pulled the knife out of the pool table and took a swing at it. The shifter grabbed Sam's arm in mid-swing and twisted it, causing Sam to drop to the floor.
"Oh, you son of a bitch," Sam growled as he stood up and continued to fight with the shapeshifter. Then he finally got a good hold of it.
The shifter chuckled. "Not bad, little brother."
"You're not him." Sam tried to pin it.
After some struggle, the shapeshifter threw Sam across the room into a bookshelf, which caused it to fall apart and drop books onto Sam.
The shapeshifter walked toward Sam. "Even when we were kids, I always kicked your ass." It grabbed a pool cue and swung at Sam but missed him as he dodged out of the way.
The shifter was able to kick Sam in the face and knock him to the ground. Once Sam was down, the shapeshifter pinned him and began to choke him.
"Sam!" I screamed, terrified that I was about to watch my brother die.
The shapeshifter looked up at me, flashing its silver eyes. "Oh, I forgot about you." It stood up and ran to me, leaving Sam coughing on the floor.
"Don't touch her." Sam choked.
"Hey!" Dean yelled as he walked through the door, pointing his gun at the shapeshifter.
When the shapeshifter saw Dean, it quickly stood me up and used me as a shield, holding the knife to my neck. Dean shot at the shapeshifter, hitting it in the arm, which made it let go of me and drop the knife. It lunged for the knife and tried to stab me, but Dean shot it in the heart... twice, and it fell to the ground, dead.
Rebecca entered the room. "Sam!" She rushed over to him.
Dean ran to me, putting his hands on my face and looking me in the eyes. "You all right, baby sis?"
I nodded, speechless from what had just happened. Dean hugged me, then quickly untied me and helped me up. We walked over to the shapeshifter's lifeless body, Dean ripped his necklace off it and replaced it around his neck. We all gave each other looks and then walked out of the house. Dean and I walked to the Impala and waited in it for Sam to finish saying goodbye to Rebecca. Once they were done, Sam got in the car, Rebecca waved to us and walked back to the house.
"So, what about your friend, Zach?" Dean asked.
"Cops are blaming this Dean Winchester guy for Emily's murder," Sam said, "They found the murder weapon in the guy's lair, Zach's clothes stained with her blood. Now they're thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with..." He nodded. "Yeah, Becca says Zach will be released soon." He smiled.
Dean nodded and pulled away from the sidewalk. "Sorry, man."
"About what?" Sam asked.
"I really wish things could be different, ya know?" Dean asked. "I wish you could just be... Joe College."
Sam shook his head. "No, that's okay. Ya know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in."
"Well, that's 'cause you're a freak." Dean laughed.
"Yeah, thanks," Sam said sarcastically and smirked.
"Well, I'm a freak, too. We all are." Dean winked at me in the rear-view mirror. "We're right there with ya, all the way."
Sam laughed. "Yeah, I know you are."
"Ya know, I gotta say..." Dean sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry I'm gonna miss it."
"Miss what?" Sam asked.
"How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?" Dean smirked.
