"I had him," stated the man maliciously, fixing Dean with an icy stare. "He was mine. And then you showed up and ruined it all."
Dean glared at the man as the stark reality of his words bore mercilessly into the dark recesses of his mind. This was the Aswang that had snatched Sam at the park. The Aswang that had held his younger brother firmly in its clutches and attempted to abscond with him.
The one that he had stopped just in the nick of time.
And, as that abhorrent realization threatened to overtake every decent ounce of being in his soul, Dean's indignation escalated mercilessly. His body tensed. His nostrils flared. His teeth clenched. His heart pounded. His eyes narrowed. Yet his gaze never faltered. And his callous, steely-eyed stare vigilantly scrutinized the man's face. And at the same time, his revulsion and hatred for the repugnant life-form in front of him grew.
Because this man…this creature…this supernatural abomination…had undoubtedly intended to take his brother's life.
As Dean scowled angrily at him, the man sneered, "Just a moment longer and you would have been too late to save him. Too late to stop me from taking him. From finding someplace secluded where I could have slowly and meticulously extracted everything that I desired from his body. And enjoyed his agony as I watched him die. As I devoured every succulent organ in his body. And ingested all his blood. Until I left him lifeless. His small body desiccated and drained. A mummified version of the child he used to be."
As the Aswang wickedly taunted him, Dean's anger intensified. The man was gloating about killing Sam. Making it sound as if he had actually succeeded. Even though they both knew he hadn't.
But he wasn't going to be gloating for much longer.
"You didn't kill him." rebutted Dean fiercely. "And you won't ever get another chance. Not as long as I'm around."
"Then I'll just have to kill you first."
"Take your best shot," challenged Dean, rage permeating his reply, "'Cause you're coming with me."
Dean lashed out, thrusting violently against the man's shoulders in an effort to make him release the bars and knock him away. But the Aswang was strong and Dean's attack barely scathed him. He effortlessly maintained his position and held stalwartly to the bars all the while continuing to glower at the incensed young man in front of him.
Undeterred by the ineffectiveness of his assault, Dean reached behind him and seized the Aswang's wrists. Lunging backwards, Dean wedged his body tightly against the bars of the cell in order to create some space between them before he lifted both his legs and kicked the Aswang squarely in the chest. The impact sent the Aswang lurching backwards and it lost its grip on the bars. As he tumbled roughly to the floor, the man seized Dean's shoulders and dragged him off the bench. Caught firmly in his opponent's grasp, Dean hastily repositioned his hands to the man's forearms and tried to push himself away. But the humanoid Aswang held tight and the two combatants landed brutally on the floor. Dean crashed heavily on top of the man before he was able to plant his knees firmly on the ground and propel himself away.
Rolling quickly out of his foe's reach, Dean sprang agilely to his feet. He spun around rapidly only to discover that his adversary had also risen from the floor. The two warriors circled each other cagily as they prepared themselves for battle. But neither fighter was in a hurry to challenge the other and they cautiously eyeballed each other as they circumnavigated the small cell, slowly closing the gap between them. As the seconds ticked slowly by, it began to look like the standoff would persist indefinitely. Until, finally, the Aswang leapt vivaciously at Dean.
Dean easily sidestepped his opponent and, as the man rushed past, Dean grabbed his arm. He swung him roughly around and propelled him viciously into the opposite wall. But the Aswang was dexterous and skilled and he spun around swiftly. Bouncing easily off the wall, he vaulted forward with a boomerang effect. The man's instantaneous resurgence caught Dean off-guard and he was unable to avoid the impact of the man's body into his. Knocked backwards, Dean struck the wall with a heavy thud and was unable to avoid the uppercut that vehemently collided with his jaw.
The force of the blow pounded Dean's head into the wall and he was momentarily blinded. But with a quick shake of his head, he regained his focus just in time to see the man throw another punch toward his head. He ducked just in time to avoid the punch which caused the Aswang to briefly lose his balance. As his foe struggled to regain his stability, Dean lambasted him with a brutal jab to his abdomen.
The man responded by swinging his fist astutely at Dean's torso. But Dean pushed himself off the wall and successfully evaded the blow. Spinning around, Dean deftly slammed his right fist into the Aswang's ribcage just before he landed a ferocious left hook to his opponent's temple. Momentarily dazed, the man buckled sideways and Dean swiftly kneed him in the abdomen.
But, before he could lower it, the Aswang grabbed Dean's leg and flung it upward. Powerless to stop himself, Dean smashed violently to the floor, landing brutally on his back. The Aswang quickly lunged downward and knelt heavily on Dean's chest. He clutched Dean viciously around the neck with one hand, constricting his fingers tightly while he raised his other arm in order to deliver a savage punch to Dean's skull.
But Dean managed to deflect the Aswang's blow before he began to feel lightheaded as his airway became increasingly blocked. But he had no intension of succumbing to the Aswang's assault and he jabbed wildly at the creature at the same time as he lifted his knee and struck him forcefully in the posterior. The blow jolted the Aswang forward and he released his grip on Dean's neck. But he remained seated on Dean's upper body and he snagged both of Dean's wrists before he could acquire a chance to swing again.
The Aswang indomitably lowered Dean's arms to the floor and stared evilly into his eyes as it altered its position to completely sheath its captive's body. Firmly imprisoned beneath his enemy, Dean watched in morbid fascination as the man slowly metamorphosed into its animal form. The man's odious, mocking eyes mutated alarmingly into luminescent sphere-shaped cat eyes while sleek, black fur crept steadily over its entire body. Gone were all its previous humanoid features as its body progressively transformed into the svelte, muscular shape of an omnipotent, feline predator. Dean eyes widen in adjunct terror as his nemesis' human face effervesced into a rounded, catlike muzzle and sharp, daggerlike fangs emerged in its now-snarling mouth.
Within minutes, the Aswang's hands had transmuted into strong, sinewy legs and the completed transformation was reminiscent of a ferocious, oversized Cheetah. The beast's razor-sharp claws dug brutally into Dean's skin where the man's hands had held him firmly to the floor and with the increase in both its size and weight, Dean realized he had no chance of escape.
A guttural growl emanated from the depths of the creature's throat as it crouched closer to Dean. It tilted its head slightly, preparing to sink its acuminate cuspids into the tender skin around its victim's jugular vein. In an entirely reflexive movement, Dean lowered his chin to protect his neck from the creature but the Aswang was not deterred. It maneuvered its head under Dean's chin, nudging it easily out of the way and opened its mouth wider as it initiated the deadly mastication.
Suddenly a powerful shot rang out, shattering the silence that had just recently encompassed the entire cellblock.
The creature swayed sideways, liberating Dean from its ruthless hold as it staggered off him. It struggled to regain its composure and salvage the kill. But the bullet that had penetrated its body was doing far too much damage and the Aswang weaved despondently on its feet before it fell harshly to its side.
Dean jumped up and backed steadily away from the creature even though he recognized the tell-tale effects that a silver bullet was having on the Aswang. With the doomed creature wallowing helplessly in its painful death-throes, Dean turned away, mindful of the final outcome. As he shielded his face with his arm, the Aswang burst into minute fragments, blanketing the surrounding area in bits of rotting carrion.
The battle over and the Awang eliminated, Dean carefully lowered his arm to wipe the rancid debris from his shirt before he looked in the direction where the shot had originated.
As the young man finally turned to face him, Sheriff Durham asked almost nonchalantly, "Care to tell me what that thing was?"