Chapter 20. Oh my God, it's true
Sam almost had a face full of wood as the basement door appeared to have slammed shut by itself. His hands automatically made fists as he started pounding on the wood. It had happened so fast. One minute Dean had been right behind him and the next he had been landing at the bottom of the stairs and now he was locked in the basement with Carlson. Caleb had said Carlson's double. Sam wasn't quite sure what he had meant by that since he wasn't sure what had gone on after he had been dumped at Missouri's. Regardless, Dean was in danger and possibly hurt and he was cut off from Sam and Caleb.
"Dean!" Sam screamed as he rammed his shoulder into the door, only managing to hurt his shoulder in the process. He stood back and kicked out at the door like he had seen his brother and father do on so many occasions. "Dean!!" The door didn't budge and now Sam was really starting to freak out.
"Sam, get your ass outside now!" Caleb had panicked when he had heard Dean hit the floor and then call out to get John and Sam out of there.
His first instinct was to break the damn door down and get Dean out of there as well but John was still a dead weight on his shoulders and Sam … well he had thought Sam was right behind him but he should have known that Sam wouldn't willingly budge from that door when Dean was in trouble. He doubled back to find the teen trying to break down the door to the basement that separated him from his brother. The problem was that although Sam was a pretty strong kid there was no way that he was going to manage breaking down the door and Dean would so kill him if he let the kid race down there and into harms way. The temptation to put John on the floor and break down the door himself was powerful but he knew he needed to get John and Sam to safety first and he couldn't very well have Sam carry John.
"Sam now," Caleb called again.
Sam turned to him with wide panicked eyes. "But Dean …"
Caleb huffed and re-situated John on his shoulders carefully. "Sam, do not argue with me! Now move it!"
"But …"
Now Caleb wanted to strangle the kid. This was exactly what John had been trying to drum into him. Sometimes when on a hunt orders needed to be obeyed without question. There was no margin for error and this was the case right now.
"We're not going to leave him down there, now move your scrawny butt!"
Caleb watched as Sam looked once more at the offending door before nodding his head and started moving quickly toward him. Once Sam was finally listening to him Caleb moved as fast as he could with John on his shoulders. Every time the unconscious man groaned Caleb silently apologized but it wasn't like he could really help it.
Sam ran ahead of Caleb and opened the front door and stepped out into the afternoon cool air. He waited on the steps for the psychic to come through with his father. He wasn't sure what Caleb had in mind.
Caleb rushed through the door and didn't stop. "Sammy, run to the car and open the back door." Sam didn't hesitate this time and raced over to the Impala and opened the back door and then moved quickly out the way a Caleb approached.
"Okay Sammy," Caleb puffed. "I need to lower him into the backseat. Help make sure I don't drop him."
Sam nodded. "Okay." He moved closer and placed his hands on his dad's back as Caleb started to lower the older hunter onto the edge of the Impala's back seat. Sam cringed as John whimpered. It wasn't a sound that Sam had heard often from his father and he was positive that if the man had of been conscious then he wouldn't have heard it now.
"Take it easy Johnny," Caleb muttered.
"What's going on Caleb?" Sam asked. He was sick of being in the dark.
Caleb sighed. "We're dealing with a doppelganger. Deuce and I met the real Carlson, he's still alive."
Sam's eyes widened. He had studied doppelgangers, shape shifters, werewolves and so on but unlike shape shifters and werewolves he hadn't read about any strict way to kill them. They were pretty much a death omen to the person who saw them or the original person and both would die if they ever met … or so he'd read.
"How do we kill it?
"I'm not sure yet. Getting your brother out of there is my number one priority."
Once John was lying down on the backseat with his legs hanging off the edge Caleb checked his pulse. He frowned in concern when he found it to be thready. It definitely wasn't a good sign but it could be worse, he could have no pulse at all. Caleb shook his head at the thought and stood up and turned to Sam who looked like he was ready to take off at any second.
Caleb ran around to the trunk of the Impala and opened it. He found the small axe right away, picking it up, he then re-closed the trunk.
"Caleb?" Sam asked impatiently
"Give me my gun." Caleb held out his hand and Sam immediately complied, placing the .45 in his hand. "I want you to stay with your dad."
Caleb went to walk past, putting the gun in the waist band of his jeans, but was stopped by Sam's hand on his jacket. "No! I'm coming with you."
Caleb swung around and grabbed Sam by the shoulders, still clutching the axe in his right hand. "Sam, I don't have time to argue with you. Now look after your father. If you can get him awake and talking that would be even better." Caleb then shrugged away. "And don't even think about disobeying this order!" he threw over his shoulder as he ran off back towards the house.
Sam watched as Caleb took off towards the house. He trusted the psychic to save his brother but his natural instinct was to run head first into the situation. A low groan was heard from the car and Sam remembered his father. He turned around and looked down at John. He was about to say something when he heard a car pull up behind the Impala. He stood up and looked to his right and saw a silver BMW pull up to the curb. A man opened the door and got out of the car and looked up at the house before turning his attention to Sam.
He looked familiar and then it hit him that this was Carlson. He looked more frail and sick than the Carlson he had seen before but it was definitely him. This must be the original Carlson that Caleb had told him about.
Sam stood protectively in front of his defenseless father and warily watched as Carlson made his way over.
Carlson looked the boy over. This had to be Sam. The boy was only young but he was already beginning to look a lot like his father. He couldn't help but be a little disgusted. As he came closer Sam took a defensive stance but Carlson could see past him into the car. He hadn't seen John in years. The man had just disappeared from Lawrence and never really returned that he knew of. As far as Carlson could see he looked beat to hell and as much as he had wanted to beat John Winchester, the site sickened him. Dreaming about it and actually seeing it were two entirely different things.
"Stay away from him." Sam warned dangerously and Carlson got the feeling that in his state Sam would most likely be able to take him down if he felt the need and the kid looked very capable.
"Where's your brother?"
"None of your business," Sam snarled. He wasn't sure what was going on but he definitely wasn't going to trust the man.
Sam looked nervously to the house. What the hell was taking Caleb so long? He knew in reality that it hadn't been very long at all but he just wanted to get out of there. Carlson glanced at Sam and then followed his line of sight to the house. "He's in the house then."
He began walking as quickly towards the house as he could but halted when Sam called out to him. "You can't go in there!"
"Look I know it sounds crazy but if you go in there you could die." Sam said walking up to the sick man.
"Let me guess … doppelganger?" Carlson asked skeptically.
Sam frowned. "Yes actually …"
"I overheard your brother and his … friend talking. You're right. It does sound crazy but if what they said was true then it's my responsibility to stop this thing."
Sam really didn't want to be arguing with the man because in a way he was right. It was his doppelganger that had killed all those people and tried to kill his family. But on the other hand, Carlson had no way of knowing what was happening.
"It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing."
"Kid, I'm dying and I've come to the sudden and sad realization that I haven't done anything worth while in my life. So if I can do one thing before I die I want it to be something Mary would have wanted … despite my feelings towards you're father." Carlson explained. "I don't want anyone else to die because of me, least of all someone Mary loved."
Carlson didn't wait for a reply and headed towards the house again leaving a bewildered Sam standing on the front lawn.
Sam wasn't sure what to make of what he had just heard. Carlson had spoken of both his father and his mother. What the hell did his mother have to do with any of this? Sam looked back to where his father was still lying in the back of the Impala. Caleb had ordered him to stay with him but the temptation to follow the real Carlson into the house was so tempting. He started to walk forward but then stopped after a couple of steps. He sighed and looked down at the grass underneath his feet. The last time he had disobeyed an order he had nearly gotten himself killed. Besides he couldn't very well just leave his dad in the car. Ignoring the temptation to run back into the house Sam turned back to the car and walked back to stand guard over his father. Caleb was one of the most capable young hunters he knew. He was confident in the knowledge that Caleb wouldn't let him down, especially where Dean was concerned.
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Caleb had ran as quickly as he could back into the house and headed straight for the basement door, praying that he wasn't going to be too late. All he could think about was that he had taken too long to get Sam and John back to the car. The logical part of his mind was telling him that it couldn't be helped but the part of his mind that was scared of what he was going to find beyond that door wouldn't let him take solace in it.
Once at the wooden basement door Caleb stood back and then kicked at it. He had a powerful kick and usually had no problems breaking down doors but it was obvious that at the moment there was more than wood, hinges and a lock that were holding this door closed, which was exactly why he had thought to bring the axe with him. If he couldn't kick the door open he would hack at it until he could get through.
Caleb tightened his grip on the axe handle and then swung, bringing the sharp edge crashing into the wood splintering it upon impact. He ripped it out and swung again and again each time the wood giving way more and more. It seemed like it was taking forever although in reality it had only been a couple of minutes. The hole was finally getting bigger.
With three more expertly placed powerful swings of the axe the hole was finally big enough for someone to squeeze through. He dropped the axe and reached behind him and grabbed the .45 from his jeans.
He ducked and tightly squeezed through the hole and then stood up on the other side and cautiously raced down the stairs gun at ready. What he saw made his mouth dry. Carlson's doppelganger had Dean up against a support beam and the two seemed to be battling for something.
Caleb did the first thing that came to mind. He needed to get the damn thing away from Dean. He brought his gun up and took aim but never got the chance to fire. The thing had heard his approach and faster than what Caleb thought possible he had maneuvered Dean in front of him, holding him like a shield.
"Let him go." Caleb spoke calmly although he felt nothing but. He could probably take a headshot but the doppelganger had a knife pressed to Dean's throat. The wrong move and it could all end very badly.
Carlson smirked and pressed the knife a little closer to Dean's throat making it hard for Dean to swallow. "I don't think so."
"I mean it. Let him go or your going to disappear … again." Caleb warned giving Dean a quick glance. He looked like he was about to be sick and it was hard to tell from the stairs but Dean's eyes definitely didn't look focused.
Dean wasn't sure how he had managed to become a shield for the doppelganger but in a way it was a small relief. His hold on the knife was just about slipping when Caleb had made his entrance known and the doppelganger had swung him around. Caleb's voice sounded like it was coming from under water. In fact everything sounded a little foggy and his vision was blurry again and the lightheadedness had come back with a vengeance. He was sure that if the doppelganger had released his grip he would end up a heap on the floor. Of course the knife that was pressing into his throat was a good incentive to try as hard as he could to remain standing without help. He was trying to keep as still as possible so that the blade didn't cut into his skin but it was becoming harder and everything kept phasing in and out. It was starting to make him disorientated.
Caleb edged his way down the stairs as doppelganger backed up. They were in a stale mate and Caleb's finger was itching to pull the trigger. If he hit the doppelganger then he would just disappear for a while but if he accidentally messed up or the thing got a chance to slice then Dean would be hurt or dead. He had to be extremely careful. He hated these stand offs.
"Deuce, are you okay?"
"Caleb?" Dean whispered. He was having trouble forming a complete thought and he could feel something close to between a pressure and or a headache building in his head.
"Oh, so you're Caleb."
"In the flesh now let him go."
"He doesn't deserve to live, none of the Winchester's do."
Caleb could see Dean losing the battle to stay upright by himself. In moments Dean's eyes rolled back in his head and Caleb almost faltered. It was enough of a distraction and Caleb found himself flying into the wall behind him, knocking the breath out of him. The gun fell from his hand and then skidded across the ground of its own accord.
Caleb looked up confused as the doppelganger released Dean, the kid falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He watched through the stars in front of his eyes as the thing picked up his gun and studied it with a smile.
"If you can use telekinesis then why even bother with all this?" Caleb asked as his vision cleared. He rose stiffly to his feet and stood across from the doppelganger.
Carlson's evil twin cocked his head to the side and smiled at the dark haired hunter. "Because I'm a hands on type of guy."
"I hate to break it to you but you're not a guy at all you freaky ass son of a bitch. You're a copy of some bitter old nut job." Caleb's eyes quickly darted to Dean's unmoving form before bringing them back to Carlson's.
The doppelganger shrugged his shoulders. "Semantics," he quipped and raised Caleb's gun and aimed it at the psychic's head. "Now if you don't mind, I have some revenge to get back to." He cocked the gun.
"Oh my God, it's true."
Both Caleb and the doppelganger turned to look up the stairs. Caleb blinked as if he thought he was seeing things. Was that the real Carlson?
TBC ...
Fighting supernatural forces really isnt fair sometimes lol they have so many advantages lol Hope you all liked that one and i'll hopefully see you again soon :) Thanks again for the reviews so far ... you are all FANTASTIC!!!!