Chapter 13

After showering and changing his clothes, Sam sat in the Salvage Yard for the remainder of the night thinking things over. He had walked his way through the maze of cars for what seemed like forever, until he came across the Car Graveyard where the dead body was placed just last night.

It still reeked of death and blood, Sam noted – along with the potent scent of ashes, and fire. Probably when Dean torched the corpse, Sam recalled.

Part of him found the scent of death to be actually somewhat inviting. He wanted to curl up in that space and hide out there, until the scent eventually faded. But Sam fought that part of him too hard, without another thought he turned past the towers and checked out the rest of the Graveyard.

He knew what Dean and their father would say to him later, and he just didn't want to face it. He knew that they would say he didn't have a choice, and they would have to trust the demons' word. They had to test the theory out. But Sam didn't want to do it. He didn't think he could. How could his father and brother ask him to kill a child and eat his heart?

Sam sighed to himself as he kicked his feet through the dirt lazily. Trust a demon to make a cure that was completely sadistic.

Sam noticed that the sun was starting to rise as the sky became a lighter shade of purple, and the dark clouds were beginning to roll away slowly.

Suddenly, an abrupt ringing coming from Sam's pocket made him jump nervously. He instantly relaxed when he realized it was his cellphone. He exhaled sharply to calm his shakiness as he reached into his pocket and retrieved his Blackberry.

His brothers' number flashed on the screen and Sam rolled his eyes as he pressed the green button and held it to his ear.

"What?" He asked sharply.

"Where the hell did you go?" Dean asked heatedly, "Did you happen to forget that a raging psychopath is after you?"

"No, I didn't forget, Dean. I have my gun." Sam reassured sounding tired.

"Well dad's awake and wants to talk; it's time for you to head back anyway."

"Fine." Sam said in defeat, "I'll be there soon."

Without waiting for a response, Sam hung up on his brother and slid his phone back into his pocket as he started walking back.

In all honesty, Gordon Walker was the last thing on Sam's mind. His mind was a little preoccupied with the whole killing a child to save his own life idea.

But wouldn't Gordon just love to know that that's what Dean and John were planning to save his life? Sam rolled his eyes and ignored that thought as he quickened his pace back toward the house.

Sam suddenly came to an abrupt halt at the sudden cocking of a gun coming from just behind him. His eyes narrowed as he thought of a way to get his gun out of his waistband without drawing attention.

He slowly turned around to face his captor and wasn't the least bit surprised to see Gordon Walker standing a couple feet in front of him holding his shotgun at the ready, pointed directly at Sam's chest.

"Heya, Sammy." Gordon greeted with a half smile, "Long time, no see."

Sam shrugged and kept his face relatively blank as he eyed Gordon suspiciously. "Can't say it's a pleasure to see you."

"Likewise." Gordon spat back as his smile faded. His eyes traveled up and down Sam's form slowly as if he were evaluating his opponent. Now he could see just how much this curse had changed Sam. And Gordon knew it still wasn't done.

"So how'd you know where to find me?" Sam wondered aloud, not taking his intent golden eyes from Gordon.

Gordon shrugged, but the gun in his hands never wavered. "An anonymous tip."

"That's…vague." Sam commented, still rather curious.

"All he said was someone called him from here asking about The Beast of Bray Road lore…and that he found out about you, and said I had to take you out." Gordon explained, "I wasn't complaining. I mean…I know about your psychic abilities too, Sammy. And if you hadn't gotten hit with this curse, I'd have still been the one to take your ass out, you demon freak."

Sam lifted his upper lip into a snarl, and Gordon caught sight of his incisors, which were once rounded and dull – were now pointed and sharp.

Gordon adjusted the shot gun in his hands, and looked at Sam with a mask of pure revulsion on his face.

xXx

John Winchester sat on the couch rubbing his throbbing head slowly as he talked to Bobby about what happened while he was possessed. His eyes widened when Bobby spoke about the cure. Finally, they had one in their grasp…but he doubted Sam would be able to do it on his own. Maybe if that animal in his mind took over, that thing would kill that child with little thought.

But John knew he couldn't do that to his son. That was completely unethical, and he knew it. It would be taking advantage of Sam's situation.

However, he wasn't sure of any other option.

Just then Dean came into the living room with his phone grasped tightly in his hand, and a worried look on his face as his eyebrows rammed together.

"What's up?" John groaned tiredly.

"Sammy should have been back by now. I should go after him." Dean muttered.

"Dean, you just hung up with him. Give him a minute." John said with an eye-roll.

Just then, Bobby's home phone rang out loudly from the kitchen causing Bobby to swear under his breath and race into the other room to answer the call.

Dean just stared his father down intently.

"I'm going after him." Dean announced as he headed toward the front door, "I think something's wrong."

Without waiting for a response, Dean opened the door and stepped outside, slamming the front door shut behind him as he went out to look for his brother.

xXx

Sam and Gordon still stood in the Salvage Yard staring each other down intently. Gordon held his gun in front of him, and was about to fire it when Sam spoke up with more questions. It was apparent to Gordon that Sam was stalling. Maybe he thought someone would come and rescue him.

And they would, Gordon knew. Sam was all Dean and John had and he knew it. If little Sammy was away from the nest for too long, one or both of them would come looking for him.

Gordon had to get this over with, and soon. But he had to get one thing off his chest first.

"I thought you were a hunter." Gordon spat at Sam angrily, "At least that's how I know you were raised. I mean I know you won't be soon, but that's what you were."

"What's your point?" Sam snapped.

"You knew you were cursed the minute you got sight of those claws…why didn't you take yourself out?" Gordon questioned.

Admittedly, Sam didn't have an answer. He knew he probably should have, and now that this cure had come to surface, Sam considered it now more than ever.

But then he would think of his father, and his brother, and Bobby. He remembered when he was weak with a raging fever as he laid in the bathtub full of ice. He remembered what he promised Dean, and what Dean said back to him and it filled him with a small amount of hope.

"'M not giving up." Sam mumbled weakly.

"Me neither, dude." Dean reassured in a hoarse voice.

"I have people watching my back." Sam told Gordon a little more calmly, "They make sure I don't get outta line."

To Sam's surprise Gordon actually started laughing as if he had said something humorous. "They're not doing a very good job, Sammy. I saw what you did to that girl last night. I left her as a warning! Not a snack!"

Suddenly, there was a loud 'BANG' of a gunshot coming from just behind Sam, causing him to jump in surprise. But he instantly relaxed when he heard Gordon scream in agony and drop his weapon as he himself sank to the dirt ground as he grasped at his right shoulder.

Sam turned around to get a look at who had saved him, and sighed with relief when he saw Dean storming toward them with his pistol held out in front of him, pointed at Gordon. His face contorted in pure rage that Sam hadn't seen in a long time.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here and now." Dean spat spitefully as he approached Sam's side, with his eyes fixed on Gordon non-blinkingly.

Gordon said nothing as he looked up at Dean grudgingly, still keeping a tight hold on his bleeding shoulder with his shotgun lying at his feet.

"He's human, Dean." Sam tried to reason as he breathed through his mouth trying not to get a scent of Gordon's blood as he remembered last night.

"He's a moron!" Dean yelled, shaking his gun as emphasis.

"Just let it go, Dean!" Sam yelled, now desperate to get out of there.

Dean saw the hurried look on his little brothers' face and nodded curtly. He then turned his face back toward Gordon and grumbled. It looked like this bastard would live to torment them another day. But not before Dean roughed him up a little more.

Taking aim at another spot on Gordon's body, before anyone could protest or before Dean lost his nerve – he fired a shot directly into Gordon's right leg, just above his kneecap.

"Let's go, Sam." Dean muttered as he bent down and took Gordon's gun.

Appreciative that Dean let Gordon live, Sam nodded and both Sam and Dean headed back toward Bobby's house. Neither of them spoke during the walk as they listened to Gordon's howls of pain in the distance.

xXx

When Dean and Sam arrived at the house moments later, Bobby and John were instantly at the door to see if the boys were alright. John looked angrier than Bobby did, but that was because John told Dean it would be best to stay behind.

But his look of anger faded suddenly when he saw the shotgun that wasn't his, nor Dean's in his sons hand.

"What happened?" John demanded.

Dean then went off telling Bobby and John about how when he got to Sam, Gordon Walker had a gun on him. But he scared him off with a shot in the shoulder and another in the leg. Unbeknownst to them, John was filled with pride at the lengths Dean was willing to go to protect his brother – his family. But John's face however, was a mask of emptiness as he listened to his sons' recollection.

"So I think Gordon's taken care of…for the time being at least." Dean commented as he rested Gordon's shotgun against the wall next to the front door, and slid his own pistol back into his waistband.

"That should keep him off our trail for a little while." Bobby muttered, seemingly deep in thought, "But you know he'll be back."

"Yea, I figured as much." Dean agreed with a stiff nod, "But when he is, I'll just have to shoot him again…but next time it won't be in the shoulder or leg."

"Ya know…last time Gordon paid a visit here, I shot him in his left shoulder." John recalled with a humorous chuckle, "You think he would've learned something."

"Stubborn bastard." Dean muttered to himself as he took a seat on the couch. Sam kept his eyes fixed on Dean and sighed as he followed his brother to the couch and sat down next to him.

"Gordon said that someone who we called to help look for any information on The Beast called him." Sam finally spoke up, his eyes now fixed on his father and Bobby. "Who did we call?"

Bobby immediately made a grab for his hat, and ran his fingers over his balding head as he muttered something to himself.

"Well…only three of four people, honestly." Bobby admitted, "And I know for a fact it wasn't Ellen, or Jo."

"What makes you say that?" John asked suddenly alert. He still hadn't squared things with Ellen. As a matter of fact, he wasn't sure he could really bring himself to look her in the eye after what happened with her husband.

Guilt immediately filled John's being at the thought of Bill Harvelle. He was a great hunter, and a good man. He certainly didn't deserve what happened to him.

"Well for one…" Bobby began with a wary eye on John as if he knew what he was thinking, "They want in. They heard about what's happening to Sam, and they wanna help us get him normal again."

"How'd they hear?" John snapped suddenly very fearful for his sons' life. How had this information gotten around, and who had it gotten to? Where other hunters going to come after him? Was Gordon just the tip of the iceberg?

"She didn't say." Bobby mumbled.

"Tell them thanks, but no." John said sternly, "Sam is not some sideshow freak to be gawked at! This is a family issue, and we'll deal with it our way!"

"What way?" Sam suddenly chimed in, "You gonna have me rip some kids heart out? Is that the way you're talking about?"

"I don't know yet, son." John said honestly as he gave Sam a firm look, "But if that's what it comes down to, then yes."

"You would ask me to kill a kid?" Sam asked rhetorically, knowing the answer all too well.

"We'll think of something, Sammy." Dean promised, his voice small as he kept his eyes averted to the ground. "We'll look for something else."

"We may not have much time left." Sam said solemnly.

Dean sighed deeply as he thought of a way to lighten his brothers' spirits, but he knew that it wouldn't happen like that. He knew that Sam, and even the demon was right when they said that he was losing himself. And it wouldn't be much longer.

"When will Ellen and Jo get here?" Dean asked Bobby, trying to keep his voice leveled.

"They said sometime tomorrow." Bobby replied soberly, "But still…we outta be on the lookout for anyone else."

Dean knew he was right. But he hoped that the news about what was happening to Sam hadn't spread to other hunters. Maybe it was really only Gordon and Ellen who knew.

But who was he kidding? Dean thought to himself, miserably. Hoping wasn't getting him anywhere these days. Luck it seemed, had abandoned them.

Dean cast a curious look over to his father, who also seemed uncomfortable. And somehow Dean knew that his father was thinking the exact same thing he was.

But then again, last time Dean saw Ellen and Jo was when Jo had followed Sam and Dean on a hunt for a particularly violent spirit, against her mothers' wishes. Jo ended up getting kidnapped by the spirit, and (just their luck) that was when Ellen found out that Jo had lied to her and gone with them.

She called Dean in a rage, and he had no choice but to tell her what happened to Jo. He listened guiltily as Ellen's anger melted into panic as she informed him she would be there soon to collect her daughter.

And sure enough, by the time Sam and Dean had rescued Jo and put the spirit to rest – Ellen was waiting for them in the apartment they rented.

Later when they got back to the Roadhouse, Ellen told Jo that her father – Bill Harvelle had gone off on a hunt with other hunter before he died. She said how weird it was because usually both men worked alone, so they guessed they figured that just this once they could trust each other.

As it turned out, John Winchester had gone on Bill Harvelle's last hunt with him. He was there when Bill died.

Neither Dean nor Sam found it in them to ask their father about this, but instead never spoke of that information ever again.

But now that John and Ellen were forced to meet again face to face, Dean couldn't help but wonder what tomorrows encounter would bring.

This chapter was pretty hard to write actually. Haha. I hope everything came across like I hoped it would. :)

Lemmie know what you think!