4 days earlier
John and Dean walked into their apartment after getting back from a hunt.
"I'm going to check our PO box," John said.
They knew they were going to stay put for a few months as John had promised Sam he could finish out his senior year in one school. Seemed like the least he could do. Sam was old enough to leave on his own for day at a time, and in a 3 months he would be hunting full time after graduation. John was also using the opportunity to apply for several credit cards.
"OK, dad," Dean said and picked up the remote and settled on the bed.
SSS
John grabbed the mail and started looking through the envelopes. He stopped when he saw one marked Stanford. Was Sam applying to colleges? He ripped it open and read enough to know that not only had Sam applied, he'd been accepted, offered a full-ride and had sent back his acceptance. John realized Sam had been a little too eager to go on all the mail runs and now he knew why. Well, he wasn't going to college. That much was for sure.
SSS
"Any mail, dad?" Dean asked when John returned.
"No. Expecting something?" John suddenly wondered if Dean was in on this?
"Car magazine."
There was really no way to interrogate Dean without tipping him off. He'd worry about that later. "I need you to go to Bobby's and pick up some supplies." John had called Bobby on the way back from the post office and made sure that he did indeed have something that made sense for Dean to pick up. "You can stay for a few days and help him out with the cars if you want."
"Really?" Dean's eyes lit up. He loved cars almost as much as he loved hunting.
"Yeah, there's nothing on the horizon right now."
"Will you and Sam be alright?" Dean asked, knowing how much they loved to butt heads.
"We'll be fine. Go on. Bobby's expecting you."
Dean checked his watch. "It's noon. Should I wait for Sammy to get back from school?" They'd been gone for 3 days.
"No." John said it in the tone that wouldn't brook argument and hoped Dean didn't wonder why he wanted him gone.
"OK," Dean said and started getting his stuff together. A few minutes later, John heard the Impala driving off and started to get his own stuff ready.
SSS
John went to the school to pick Sam up an hour before it got out.
"What's wrong, Dad?" Sam asked after he had been signed out.
"Dean was in an accident. He's at the hospital and they're low on blood. As you know, you boys are both A- and I'm AB-."
"Is he going to be OK?" Sam asked, understanding that his dad was rushing him to the hospital to give his brother blood.
"I think so. He just lost some blood and needs some more."
They quickly got into the truck, and John handed Sam a bottle of water. "Drink this. If you're dehydrated it will be harder to find a good vein."
Sam unscrewed the lid and began drinking. "Dad, something's wrong," he said as his vision began to blur.
"It's OK, Sammy. It's jsut the drugs."
"What?" Sam figured he must have misheard him.
"Go to sleep, Sammy."
Sam found he didn't have much choice in the matter as his eyes closed of their own volition.
SSS
Sam woke up. "How you doing, Sammy?" his dad asked.
"What's going on?" His hands were cuffed behind his back, his feet were tied and there was a rope tied around his chest and the bucket seat. "You're not my dad." Sam said realizing he was probably a shifter, or possessed, or something.
"There something you want to tell me?" John asked.
"No," Sam said, still confused.
"Stanford?" John prompted.
"Oh. How did you find out about that?"
"Picked up the mail. When were you planning on telling me?"
"Right before I left," Sam admitted.
"Well, you can forget it. It's off."
"What are you going to do? Drive around with me tied up in the car forever?" Sam asked. He was still trying to figure out if that was really his dad or not.
"Of course not. I'm going to change your mind," John said.
"I don't think so," Sam said and started struggling against his bonds.
"Relax. We're almost there," John said as he turned off the main road onto a dirt one.
"Where are we going?" Sam asked.
"A few months ago, your brother and I were hunting something. Or thought we were anyway. Turned out to be human. He kidnapped people and kept them chained up in a cell in his basement. Thought we could borrow it for a few days."
"Then what?" Sam asked, giving up his struggle. He wasn't getting loose and he knew it. He did find a paper clip in the seat and went quietly to work on his cuffs.
"Then we'll go back home."
The truck pulled up to a house. John got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side. He opened Sam's door and pulled out a knife.
"What are you going to do with that?" Sam asked as his eyes widened.
"Relax, Sam. You know I would never hurt you. I'm going to cut the ropes. And, he cut the ropes around Sam's chest and then bent down to do the one around his feet. When Sam's feet were free, he kicked out at his father and started running back towards the main road.
"SAM!" John shouted and let out a curse. If Sam made it to the road, it was all over. He hopped back in the car and took off after Sam, easily catching up and swinging in front of him, blocking the road. Sam switched direction and took off into the woods. John jumped out of the truck and followed him.
Sam turned to look back. He was quickly outrunning his father. The one thing he could do better than his father and brother was run. He was fast. Probably had something to do with his long legs, but it was more than that. He just had speed on his side. He saw the highway up ahead.
John saw Sam up ahead speeding up for one sprint towards the road, when he saw him get lifted to the trees by his leg. John gave a sigh of relief and quickly closed the distance. "That sicko we were hunting set up all kinds of booby traps on the edges of the wood. In case his victims escaped. Lucky for us, I guess."
"Yeah, real lucky," Sam sarcastically echoed. "Can you get me down?"
"Sure," JOhn said, and simultaneously let him down, while using the trap rope to tie Sam's hands, leaving enough rope for John to keep hold of. "Can't have you running off again. Let's go."
John picked his way back, pushing Sam in front of him, carefully watching out for more traps and making sure he kept a tight hold of Sam's rope. Sam tripped and fell. "Get up," John said, tugging on the rope.
"You're hurting me," Sam complained as he got up.
"Sorry, but you'll have to admit you brought this on yourself. You could be settled in your new room by now, if you hadn't taken off."
"My new room?" Sam asked as they approached the old, shoddy house.
"Here we are," John said, opening the door and pushing Sam through.
"It's empty," Sam said looking around. Like totally empty. No appliances, no furniture, nothing.
"He didn't live here. This was just his playhouse," John shuddered. "The guy was really sick." He opened the basement door and led Sam down the stairs.
"Dad?" Sam said in fear a he looked at all the chains, whips, and was that a cattle prod?
"Don't worry, Sammy? I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to make sure you don't leave."
"Look, I promise I won't leave. Let's just go home," Sam said struggling against John as he pushed him towards a cell.
"You know I can't believe that. You did just try to run away," John pointed out.
"You can't keep me here forever!" Sam yelled as John finally got him in the cell.
"This is only for a few days, Sammy. Sit down," John said as he roughly shoved Sam onto the bed. With one hand he gripped Sam's arm, with the other he reached for the chain attached to the wall and placed the shackle around Sam's ankle. He pulled out the cuffs again, untied Sam's hands from behind his back and cuffed them in front.
"What happens in a few days?" Sam asked, genuinely curious. He didn't think his father honestly thought that hold him captive for a few days would get him to voluntarily stay with him forever.
"There's a witch in the next town. I let her live once. She owes me a favor. She has spells and potions that allow someone to control someone else."
"No, Dad, please," Sam begged, horrified at being a mindless robot.
John smiled down at him. "It will be OK." John patted Sam on the head walked out closed the cell and locked it and left, plunging Sam into complete darkness. Sam tried to figure a way out of his predicament.
SSS
"Celeste, you owe me a favor," John reminded her.
"This is too huge. I'll need something else."
"What do you want?"
"You have an amulet that you took from another witch."
"I know the one you mean," John admitted.
"I want it."
"I'll have to get it. It's a couple of states away," John said.
"I'll wait."
SSS
John called a friend of his to retrieve the amulet from his storage locker and deliver it to him the next day. In the meanwhile he had to bring Sam his supper. He hadn't fed him the day before and had been busy negotiating with the witch all day.
"Good news, Sam," John said as he brought down his Big Mac. "The witch has agreed to help me. I just have to give her an amulet."
"Dad, please," Sam begged again. "I promise I'll stay."
"I wish I could believe you, son. But, you know I can't. Enjoy your meal." John backed out and locked Sam's cell door.
SSS
The next day John got the amulet from his friend. He couldn't just hand it over to the witch, though. He had to depower it first. He knew just the spell and set to work getting the ingredients and mixing it up. In 24 hours, this amulet would be useless.
SSS
John picked up the amulet and hoped the witch wouldn't notice. He had to bring Sam some food first, though. "Heya, Sammy," he said as he tossed over the fast food he had brought. "I got the amulet. I'll make the exchange tonight, or rather early tomorrow morning as that is when this particular witch likes to deal."
"Dad, please," Sam begged yet again.
"Sam, I know what's best for you."
John left his son one last time before he would become the son he always wanted. One that was more like Dean. Obedient and respectful.
SSS
The witch accepted the amulet from John. She handed over the potion. "Just inject him with it," she said."
"He'll be obedient?" John asked.
"He will do whatever you and only what you say," the witch told him truthfully. Some of her kind were skimpy with the details. "The only things he will do on his own are breathe, his heart will beat, and he will follow you if you leave the room unless you tell him to stay."
"Perfect. Thank you."