Author's Note – Wow, this one's been a long time coming! First of all, I'd like to apologise to all those I promised an update to weeks ago. In my defence, I was on holiday but I still should have gotten this chapter out sooner. Anyway, here it is. Hope you enjoy. =)

Chapter Seven

Sam was right. Living under the care of Gordon and his two sleazy minions was anything but pleasant.

They decided to spend the rest of the night in the tavern and whilst Walt and Kubrick tended to Dean's arm, slathering on some foul smelling gel and wrapping it in clean bandages, Gordon lashed Sam's wrists to a pipe in the corner of the room. He seemed to take great delight in the action and tied the ropes a little tighter than was strictly necessary. He even gagged him which Sam felt was entirely uncalled for since he had barely uttered a word to them this whole time.

Dean and Adam quickly fell asleep on the mattress whilst the other three hunters took shifts in watching their captive.

Sam tried to sleep but he was too highly strung and kept jerking back to wakefulness only a few moments after drifting off.

So instead he feigned unconsciousness and observed his captors from underneath his eyelashes.

It was obvious that Gordon was the one in charge here. The way he barked orders and threw his weight around made that abundantly clear. He was a big man, broad and tall, with dark eyes that glared murder at Sam during his watch.

Kubrick was the eldest of the hunters, maybe forty or so, and although it was obvious that he hated Sam, the look in his eyes didn't seem half as lethal as his partner's. Although that could have been due to the fact that both eyes were now so swollen they were barely slits thanks to the broken nose Sam had given him.

Walt was deemed the least dangerous of the group. He was young and eager to please the older, more experienced hunters and didn't seem to do anything without their permission. Maybe one day he would prove to be a deadly hunter but that day was far into the future.

Morning came slowly but when the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window, the room gradually came to life as everyone woke up and put together a breakfast of bread, cheese and fruit.

Sam looked on from his place by the pipe, trying to keep the hunger from his eyes as he watched them eat and drink their fill.

"What about him?" Adam asked suddenly, talking around a mouthful of apple and giving Sam an almost quizzical look, head cocked to the side.

"What about him?" Gordon replied in a bored tone.

"Shouldn't we give him something to eat?"

Kubrick guffawed loudly. "Are you offering, kid?"

Dean growled at him. No words. Just a growl of warning and Kubrick shrugged before gulping the rest of his water down.

Adam had gone several shades pinker than was healthy. "I didn't mean we give him blood. But we could give him bread or something so he doesn't starve."

"Vampires don't need human food to survive, kid." Walt explained.

"Oh," Adam said.

And that was the end of that discussion. No breakfast for Sam. He hadn't really expected any different but it didn't stop his stomach rumbling gently in protest.

A half hour later, the hunters had packed up everything they deemed necessary for their journey and were ready to head out.

As Adam helped Dean up and ushered him down the stairs, Gordon untethered Sam but kept his wrists tied behind his back.

"Can't we just kill him already and be done with it?" Walt complained quietly.

Sam sent him a defiant glare and wished the gag would come off already so he could send some very choice words his way.

"If only we could," Gordon snorted. "But our fearless leader wants him alive so what can we do?"

Kubrick scoffed. "He's no higher on the chain of command than you are. He wouldn't really be able to do anything if you decided to off the ugly brute."

Sam's eyebrows rose so high, they almost hit his hairline. Well, that was a little harsh.

"Maybe," conceded Gordon as he pushed Sam, non-too gently through the door. "But his father could."

It was too early for Dean to be travelling. Sam had known that from the start but he'd come to the conclusion that humans must be stupid because they hadn't seemed to see the problem.

They didn't at first anyway. They might have had an inkling that there was something wrong several hours into the trip, when Dean came to a sudden stop in the middle of a vast, green field, curling in on himself and dragging in deep, ragged breaths.

"You doing okay there, Winchester?" Walt asked, looking a little concerned.

Dean waved him away. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Just….just give me a minute."

Sam rolled his eyes. He didn't need a minute. He needed a week of bedrest, some powerful pain medication and the care of a very good doctor.

"I guess we can take a break here. We've made good progress so far." Gordon stated and the relief on Dean's face was obvious. He slumped to the ground instantly, needing no further encouragement.

The others began to settle down but before Sam had the chance to carefully lower himself, Gordon shoved him hard in the back, sending him sprawling, face first into a patch of prickly weeds.

He hissed as pain flared across his shoulders. The burn still hadn't healed completely. Oh, how he hated his human side right now.

"Hey!" Dean barked, his voice not holding half the power it should. "There's no need to treat him rough."

"I can think of a few reasons." Kubrick grumbled from where he lay prone on the floor.

"He's already injured," Adam stated. "There's no need to hurt him even more."

"Injured? You mean the bullet hole I put in his leg?" Walt asked. "That'll be long gone by now."

Actually it wasn't. It was still most definitely there but it had stopped bleeding sometime during the night.

"No, I meant from the explosion. He was hurt then." Adam replied.

Sam wished the kid would just shut up already. He did not need attention being drawn to his injuries when he was supposed to have super-fast healing abilities.

"You seem to care a lot about the fang, boy." Gordon growled.

Adam faltered, "Well, yeah…I mean, he did save Dean so…"

Gordon sighed the sigh of a very put upon man. "Alright, you know what? Lesson time. Vampire lore 101." And with that, he grabbed hold of Sam, hauled him up roughly and proceeded to untie his bonds.

"What are you..?" Dean began, eyes widening.

"Listen up, Adam." Gordon snapped as he clumsily struggled to pull off Sam's coat as the vampire writhed is his grip. "First thing you need to know is that a vampire's body ain't like ours. You injure him, without the aid of dead man's blood, and he'll heal right up within minutes."

The coat was thrown carelessly to the floor and then there was an almighty rip as Gordon tore the shirt underneath clean off. Sam's clothes had been in tatters already but they were all but unsalvageable now.

Gordon sucked in a breath when he saw the state Sam's back was in. "Well I'll be damned. The kid was right. He's still hurt."

Kubrick came up beside him. "Maybe he needs blood to heal?" he suggested.

"No," Gordon said, voice low. "Even without feeding, vamps should heal faster than this."

Sam didn't wait for the conversation to progress into even more dangerous waters. He couldn't. This was the one thing he had always kept a secret. The one thing he could never let anyone know; the fact that he was different.

He took a deep, steadying breath to prepare himself and then turned sharply, jerking his arms out of a surprised Gordon's hold and bringing his hands smashing down on either side of the hunter's head as hard as he could.

Gordon roared in pain and fell to the floor.

Before anyone else could react, Sam hooked his leg behind Kubrick's and pushed so that he landed on top of his fallen friend, and then he ran, whipping off his gag as he went.

Thinking back, running probably wasn't the smartest move he'd ever made. They were surrounded on all sides by miles of field and meadow. Just a vast expanse of flat land with not a single tree or even a bush in sight. Where did he think he was going to go?

The hunters shouted after him and gave chase. Sam didn't turn to see how close they were. He just ran, panic fuelling his every move until finally, inevitably, the hunters caught him again.

He gasped when the bulk of a hunter smashed into him and sent him sprawling to the ground for a second time that day.

"You must have a death wish or something, fang." Walt growled into his ear as he wrestled his arms behind his back to tie again.

Sam snarled and bucked under him, trying to dislodge the heavy hunter.

"Stop," a voice said calmly as the sharp sting of a blade touched Sam's throat, stilling him instantly. "Just stop."

Sam glared up at Dean, who at least was feeling well enough to be running after captive vampires again.

Dean crouched down, keeping the blade on him but not breaking the skin. "Look, I'm sorry things have worked out this way but we can't let you go. And you can't keep trying to escape. You're gonna' get yourself hurt."

Having nothing to reply with, Sam just continued to glare and Dean who had the gall to actually look slightly guilty.

Once he was securely tied, Walt heaved him to his feet again as Gordon, Kubrick and Adam caught up.

Gordon stepped up to Sam, drawing himself up to full height like he was trying use his build to intimidate even though he was a good deal shorter, then without uttering a single word, he balled up a fist and punched it into Sam's stomach.

Sam curled a little but refused to give the hunter more than that.

Adam and Dean both looked ready to protest again but Gordon was done and just readjusted his rucksack before stalking away.

Silently, everyone else followed.

Sam never did get his coat back.

By mid-afternoon, it wasn't only Dean who was struggling but Sam as well.

The Sun was beating down hard and he no longer had anything to protect him from the rays.

The skin on his face, back and chest was reddening fast and his eyes stung in the surrounding light.

Sam found Gordon and Kubrick smirking at him a few times as though his pain was something they found highly amusing.

Walt may have done as well but he always kept himself right behind the vampire just in case he tried to run again.

"Doing all right there, fang?" Dean asked quietly from his side.

Sam glanced at him, taking in his paling complexion and sweat drenched hair. "Are you?" he replied simply.

Dean grunted as if to say 'Touché'. "I never did get your name," he spoke again after a moment's silence.

"I never gave it."

"So what is it?"

Sam sighed.

"You can't seriously want me to keep calling you fang?"

No, he really didn't. That was a nickname he could quite happily drop.

"It's Sam," he finally said.

Dean looked thoughtful for a second. "Oh yeah, I remember now. That other vampire, that dark haired one back at the Inn, he called you that right before he…"

"Blew us up?" Sam suggested, thinking back to the moment Luther had burst into the room and winked at him before throwing the grenade with a 'Sorry, Sammy.'

Dean breathed out a chuckle. "Yeah, that. Friend of yours?"

Sammy couldn't help a short laugh of his own. "Not even close."

"Oi!" Kubrick shouted over. "Do we need to stick a gag on you again?"

Sam shook his head.

"Then shut up."

Sam did.

"Sorry," Dean breathed.

Sam nodded his understanding and winced. He couldn't help it. The pain in his eyes was getting worse and had spread so that his whole head felt like it was going to implode.

He shut his eyes against the glare of the sun and wished for rain.

Dean caught on immediately. "Your eyes hurt?"

Sam nodded minutely. He heard Dean rummage around in the bag he was holding before something brushed against his face. He flinched.

"It's just me," Dean assured him. "Hold still."

Something soft was tied over his eyes, blocking out the sun completely.

"One of Adam's spare shirts," Dean said by way of explanation. "I'm sure he won't mind. That any better?"

Sam could only nod for a third time. There was no way he was going to admit that the blessed relief the darkness provided was enough to make him want to cry. No, that wasn't going to happen at all.

"I can take him from here." Dean said and Sam felt Walt's presence behind him slink away before the young hunter took hold of his arm to help guide him the rest of the way.