Chapter Nine: Scared
Kicking and punching, Sam struggled in vain, "What did you do to my Dad, you bastard?"
"Don't worry about that, Sammy, your Daddy's just taking a little nap," The shapeshifter said as if that was no big deal.
Sam tried to pry the shapeshifter's fingers away from his throat but the monster just shoved him even harder into the wall.
"If you hurt my Dad I'll kill you!" Sam threatened uselessly- he wouldn't be killing anything if he didn't get his gun.
The shapeshifter smirked, "Isn't that cute? Defending a father who doesn't give a shit about you!"
Sam didn't answer- he was too preoccupied with trying to get free of the monster, and simply glared at the creature wearing his Dad's face.
The shifter leaned close to Sam, "John doesn't love you, even a blind man could see that, Sammy boy."
"Fuck you!" Sam growled because that was the only thing he could think of to say.
The shifter pulled Sam back from the wall and slammed him into it again, "Language! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"
Sam gasped as his already sore back made contact with the cement again.
"Now where were we? Ah yes," the shapeshifter said as though it had forgotten what it was talking about.
"DAD!" Sam shouted out, catching the shifter off-guard for a moment, "Dad, help!"
With its free hand, the shifter covered Sam's mouth, smothering the boy's cries.
Sam's eyes widened as he tried to breathe evenly through his nose, his hands still attempting to pry the shapeshifter's fingers from his throat.
"That's better, now you're be all ears," the shapeshifter chuckled as Sam stopped fighting, struggling to just keep getting oxygen into his lungs.
The monster narrowed its eyes at the boy and Sam was unnerved at just how similar the expression was to the one his father got whenever he was displeased with something.
"You're a waste of space, Sam- a disobedient son and a terrible hunter," the shifter growled, mimicking John's voice to a T.
"You'll never amount to anything, you can barely take care of yourself!" the shifter continued, relentless.
The creature moved in even closer, so close that it's nose almost touched Sam's; the boy could smell its breath and almost gagged on the scent of beer and onions and pastrami- John's dinner before they had gone to watch the Cameron house.
The shifter broke out into a grin- a very strange expression on John's face- and pulled Sam away from the wall.
The boy now found himself held above the sludge-filled river that ran down the center of the sewer. The stench of refuse made him gag even worse than the sandwich and alcohol smell of his father's (the shapeshifter's) breath.
"You know what you are, Sam? Hm? You know what Daddy thinks every time he sees your face?" the shifter asked; Sam could feel it shaking with mirth- it was laughing at him!
"You're a mistake… you're a murderer!" the shifter crowed, "If you hadn't been born than Mommy would still be alive! If you weren't around, Daddy would be living the American Dream with dear, sweet Mary and perfect little Dean!"
Sam wanted to cry out that it wasn't true; he wanted to deny the shapeshifter's words but he couldn't.
He felt tears well up in his eyes and the monster laughed in his face, "So now you're going to cry like a little baby? Pathetic!"
The sound of a gunshot caused Sam to jump in the shifter's grip. The creature's smile faded from its face as it looked down- a bullet hole through its heart oozed blood.
The shapeshifter released Sam who tumbled into the slimy water with a belated cry of surprise and torment.
Sam thrashed, trying to pull himself out of the debris-filled liquid, fingers scrabbling against the cement sides of the sluice.
He felt a strong hand grip his wrist and pull him from the water, dripping and coughing.
John peered worriedly at his youngest son for a moment.
Sam shivered and saw a young girl about his own age standing behind his father. She had her arms folded around her mid-section and her pale face was smudged with dirt and sweat.
"Take her to the top, Sam," John instructed, "I'll deal with this," he nudged the shifter's body with the toe of his boot.
Sam looked down; shocked that the creature still looked like his Dad- it was kind of surreal actually- seeing one John dead on the ground and the other giving him orders as usual.
The boy nodded numbly and put one hand on the girl's- he realized now that she was Natasha Cameron- back and led her down the tunnel he'd come from.
"It's gonna be okay," Sam said, unsure if he was speaking to Natasha or himself.
The girl just trembled and said nothing. Her eyes were wide with fear and glazed with shock.
Sam caught Natasha whenever she stumbled- the only illumination coming from Sam's lighter- and wished that his brother was there to help guide them out onto the surface. Sam's back ached terribly and his throat throbbed from where the shifter had been strangling him. His skinned palms stung but they were the least of Sam's worries at the moment.
He managed to find a ladder leading up to the open manhole cover and breathed a sigh of relief.
The girl stared upwards with an uncomprehending expression.
"We gotta climb up these rungs," Sam gestured to the metal hand- and foot-holds set into the concrete wall.
"Oh," Natasha whispered softly and set one trembling hand on a rung.
Sam watched as the girl moved as if in slow-motion.
Definitely shock, Sam thought and moved forward to help steady her when her feet left the floor and she teetered on the ladder.
Sam climbed just behind Natasha, one hand steadying her back because he was afraid she'd fall.
Once the two of them were out of the sewer, Sam sat down, unsure of what he was supposed to do now.
The girl looked around the alley like they'd just popped up in some crack-house and Sam remembered she was one of the rich students at the school. She'd probably never ventured down any alleyway in her life, much less visited the underground world of the city's sewer system.
W
At least twenty-five minutes had passed before John's dark-haired head appeared from the manhole. Sam had been sitting at the edge of the circular opening, waiting anxiously for his father's return while Natasha leaned against the brick wall, her knees drawn up to her chin, muttering about somebody named Louis Vuitton.
John slipped the cover back into place over the sewer and peered at his youngest son.
"You forgot this," Sam held his hands out as John dropped his gun onto his palms.
Sam's face grew warm with embarrassment. They would be in pretty hot water if anybody had found the misplaced weapon.
"Sorry," Sam muttered.
"C'mon, we have to take her to the hospital and then get out of here," John indicated the girl and Sam nodded, standing slowly as his injured muscles protested the movement.
John bent down and picked up the girl as though she was a small child. The frightened teen didn't protest, instead, if anything, she curled into John's chest.
Sam followed behind his father as they walked cautiously down the street back toward the Cameron house. Red and blue lights flickered as they approached and Sam heard his father swear under his breath. He set the girl down and crouched down to her level.
"You see those lights?" Sam's Dad pointed in the distance.
Natasha, her eyes as wide as saucers, followed John's finger and nodded in affirmation.
"You need to go toward them. They're the police," John instructed, speaking softly but forcibly.
The girl didn't answer but began to walk away from the father and son.
"Dad, she's hurt; we can't just leave her alone," Sam tugged at his father's sleeve to get his attention.
"Do you want to explain to the police how we found her?" John snapped at his son, pulling his sleeve out of his son's hand.
Sam ducked his head, "No sir."
"We'll have to wait until the cops leave before we can get to the car… damn it!" John pushed his hair back from his brow and glared down at his son. Sam saw a goose egg forming on his father's temple where the shapeshifter had hit him in order to steal his likeness and incapacitate him. Sam looked away from John and didn't mention it again.
"You could have shot the shifter long before it took off down the street, Sam! What's the matter with you?" Sam's father hissed and tugged his son along with him as they ducked into the shadow cast by a two-storey brownstone house with no cars in its driveway.
Sam's lip trembled, "I thought you'd been killed."
If Dean had been with them, he'd make sure his father was alright before killing the monster, wouldn't he?
All Sam wanted to do was make Dean and Dad proud and as usual he had failed.
W
The police and paramedics left the cul-de-sac the Camerons (had) lived on, blaring sirens and flashing their lights. Sam shrank back into the shadows as the cruisers sped past his and John's hiding place.
Sam yelped when his father grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him forward.
Keeping an eye out for any cops who might have been left behind, John walked casually down the street as if he owned it. He even hummed a little as he walked, an old classic rock song that Sam couldn't put a name to, and took the car keys out as he reached the Impala.
Sam scrambled into the backseat gratefully and closed his eyes as his Dad turned the car's engine, causing the muscle car to thrum gently beneath him.
As they drove back to the motel Sam tried not to think about what the shapeshifter had said to him. He knew that shifters could not only take on a person's physical appearance but also their memories and Sam hoped to God that the monster had been lying.
Sam knew that he was not John's favourite son. He knew that he would never live up to his father's expectations and be the great hunter that his Dad wanted him to be but he couldn't be a murderer, he couldn't be a mistake!
Sam just wanted to forget the whole episode even if he knew his father would ream him for it later. He closed his eyes even before the Impala skidded into the Summit Motel's parking lot and didn't even hear as John grabbed all their gear from their room and drove off, not even bothering to check-out.
Author's Note:
1. Title comes from a Three Days Grace song of the same name.
2. Edited by BerserkerHellHound- you're the greatest, sis!
3. Thanks to LeighAnnWallace, pendragon2000, pottyandweezlbe89, murphy9202, cold kagome, OtakTouch, missingmikey, Eris-R-Renee, Guest, AlxM, Doctor's Other Companion, and SPN Mum for reviewing.
4. Thanks to everyone who alerted and/or favourited.
5. Review please! I love to hear from you!