Chapter 26

It had been hours later, and Dean was completely devastated. He would check on his brother constantly, turning his limp form over, looking for more changes, more alterations, but so far all Dean could find was his pointed ears seemed set higher, as if they were slowly reaching for the top of his head.

But other than that, nothing else had happened which Dean was grateful for.

Bobby on the other hand had taken up pacing in the kitchen with a phone to his ear as he divulged into a heated discussion with some other guy about the differences between werewolves and The Beast of Bray Road. All that seemed to be doing though was provoking Dean's anger.

It had been a long day for Dean. He had managed to talk Sam out of giving up, only to have their father drain away their last shred of hope. And then of course, there were Sam's sudden physical alterations Dean hadn't noticed right away, that came when he fell asleep. That day was just too stressful and too exhausting, and Dean couldn't see the next day being any better.

Finally the day had come to an end – the sky was a deep dark blue, mostly black without a single star in the sky. Dean looked down at his watch and noticed to his greater annoyance that it was only eleven-thirty.

They still hadn't heard anything from their father either. They knew John and Ellen were on their way back with Jeremy, but the last time anyone had spoken to John was hours ago – he had to be close by now, right?

Dean hoped so; he wasn't sure how much longer Sam could last.

Dean watched from his seat across from the couch where Sam slept as his little brother exhaled deeply and rolled over onto his back, but turned his face from Dean's line of view. His attention was then drawn to Sam's white pillow cushioned beneath his head. Dean's eyebrows knit together in confusion upon seeing the clumps of dark hair that littered the pillow.

He pushed himself up out of his seat, and dropped to his knees at Sam's side once again to get a better look. Sure enough, Dean noticed that the hairs on the white pillows were indeed Sam's hairs.

Dean ran his fingers through Sam's hair experimentally, and pulled away only to have another clump of hair, stick to his hands. Still confused, Dean shook the clump from his hand, and bent down to get a better look at Sam's head.

To his astonishment, there wasn't any sort of bald spots – but instead some darker (almost black), thicker hairs had grown in place of his soft light brown hair. Running his fingers over the patch of coarse thick dark hair, Dean realized it wasn't hair at all.

It was fur.

"Damnit." Dean muttered to himself angrily.

Suddenly – fast enough to make Dean startle and pull himself back in surprise – Sam's head snapped upward to face the ceiling with his golden eyes open and searching. His breaths which were just slow and steady a moment ago were now coming in as hard and heavy pants as he gasped for air.

"D-D-Dean!" Sam murmured; his voice full of alarm and melancholy as his wide eyes found his brother.

"What is it, Sammy?" Dean asked; suddenly back at his brothers' side. He caught how freaked out Sam sounded, which in turn caused him to freak out.

Sam squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth together as a wave of pain assaulted his lower body – sweat beaded down his forehead and began dripping. "I-i-it'th…h-h-h-hap-happening!"

("It's happening!")

"No, no, no, no, no – come on Sammy, fight it!" Dean begged as tears began to leak freely from his eyes as he watched his brother in so much agony.

"P-p-p-anic…roo-oom…" Sam begged before his loud screams overlapped the crunching and snapping of his pelvis and spine beginning to align for his newer shape.

Just as Sam began screaming, Bobby ran straight into the room with a look of astonishment on his face as Sam's back arched off the couch leaving only his head and legs behind. To Dean's displeasure, Sam's screams only grew louder.

"We gotta get him downstairs, now!" Bobby yelled at Dean as he made a grab for Sam's legs – urging Dean to grab Sam's upper body.

But apparently, Sam wasn't ready for Bobby to grab him so harshly as he sat up with a wild look in his eyes and a snarl on his face as he swiped out at the elder hunter with unsheathed claws.

"Damnit!" Bobby exclaimed as Sam's sharpened claws raked across Bobby's right shoulder, instantly drawing blood, "Grab him!"

Not having to be told twice, Dean made a rough grab for Sam – looping his arms under Sam's armpits, causing Sam's arms to raise slightly – that sight settled Dean only a little, because this way he was out of reach of Sam's teeth and claws.

But Sam didn't seem too pleased as an animalistic roar ripped from his throat, overlapping his human sounding scream sounding like two dueling voices – causing the hairs on the back of Dean's neck to rise.

Probably a bit rougher than they should have been, Dean and Bobby hoisted Sam's body up and with Dean leading the way, they walked the struggling form through the kitchen.

Quickly, and with a skill Dean didn't know he possessed, Dean managed to shimmy the basement door open with his elbows even as Sam struggled and thrashed against his movements.

"D…ea-aenn!" Sam forced out through his gasping, screams, and moans.

"I'm sorry, Sammy. I'm so sorry." Dean murmured to Sam as he lead the way down the stairs with the heavy weight of his younger brothers' upper body in his hands.

Tears fell freely from his eyes, he knew this was it. Their dad wasn't going to make it in time to catch Sam – the real Sam, before the monster took over.

"I-It..th…hap-happ-ening…t-t-oo f-f-fa-tht!" Sam groaned as tears of his own slid down his cheek.

(It's…happening…too fast!")

"No…come on, Sammy. Fight it – show that son-of-a-bitch in there whose boss." Dean encouraged, speaking of the thing that was taking his little brother over, even as his tears still left wet tracks down his cheeks.

Sam only groaned as another wave of pain slammed into his back, and other heartbreaking 'CRACK' echoed through the basement as Sam arched his back violently through as he screamed so hard his face and neck were red as if sunburned.

As Sam arched his back in the awkward position Dean and Bobby had him, both men almost dropped him – and he would have been in more pain from falling down the stairs. But Dean gripped his brothers' shirt with both hands for dear life, and kept a firm grip – leading Bobby to follow his lead.

Once down the stairs, Dean and Bobby practically ran to the large iron door of the panic room when Sam's form suddenly relaxed as it seemed that wave of pain seemed to subside.

Sam's sudden weakness gave Bobby the perfect opportunity to release his hold from his exhausted body, and get the heavy door open with no problems.

Grateful for relief of his brothers' heavy struggling body, Dean and Bobby placed him gently on the cot in the middle of the room, and slowly backed out of the panic room again – Bobby closing the door behind him.

Dean opened the slot-like peephole instantly, he hated that he couldn't be by his brothers' side as he went through such agony, but if Bobby thought he was gonna leave him, then the man was insane.

But to Dean's surprise, Bobby didn't move. Instead he stood by Dean's side, and watched with a deep seeded fear and a sick fascination as Sam groaned in pain before rolling his muscular form onto the cement floor in an almost crouching position on his four paws.

Sam released an inhuman growl, and began to tear his shirt off with little effort when it suddenly began to feel too tight. In only a couple seconds, his gray shirt was in shreds on the ground around him. But to his greater frustration, his shorts were still binding him – so they were next.

Dean's eyes widened in horror when Sam's shredded shirt uncovered his naked chest and back. But his back was what caught Dean's attention, suddenly understanding why Sam was in so much pain in his back.

All the way from the bottom of Sam's skull, in his neck, to the base of his tail stood his thick bumpy spine protruding from his back as if it were trying to bust out of his skin causing uncomfortably large grooves all the way down to his tail.

The sight made Dean's stomach roll, but he held in his bile – not wanting to leave Sam's side for a moment.

Worse than his back, Dean soon realized was only moments later when suddenly Sam started throwing up blood in large quantities. From his first bout of blood-vomit, Dean was sure Sam was going to bleed to death and instantly grabbed the handle of the iron door in front of him with every intention of going in there.

But Bobby placed a firm hand on Dean's, and pointed back toward Sam with empty hollow eyes – as if Sam's changing had managed to somehow suck the life out of him.

Dean looked back into the room and watched Sam wretch again, only to have more blood pour from his mouth and nose, eagerly staining the cement floor around him as it spread slowly.

But through his second bout, Dean noticed to his revulsion that the tip of Sam's nose caved in and formed into a dog-like nose at the same time as his little snout started to pop and crackle loudly as it began to stretch out into a full on muzzle. His lips pulling too tight around his teeth suddenly seemed to tuck inward and darken to black like all dogs had. And as his mouth took on a new shape, it allowed room for his fangs to actually continue growing – as if they hadn't been big enough already, but it seemed to only be his incisors.

No longer able to make human screams, Sam's cried of pain choked off and turned into snarls and growls of anger as his head finished its final alterations, ending with his nose turning black and his ears rising to the top of his head.

His shoulder blades gave a loud 'POP' and the animal suddenly wailed furiously as his arms collapsed beneath him. But as soon as he got his feet out from under him, he would be able to stand more comfortably on his paws.

Dean's tears never ceased to fall from his eyes, as he watched everything that made up Sam's exterior was suddenly ripped away. The creature that lay in the room before them was not Sam, not even close.

The creatures' pelvis gave a shudder, and then popped and cracked loudly as it straightened itself out so the monster could stand on two legs and four - four legs for speed and durability, two legs to take down the larger kills.

The Beasts' body suddenly began to sprout dark, almost black thick fur all over its body. The fur was thickest and longer around its neck, giving it a mane almost, and continued down his chest getting shorter and shorter as it reached his navel; fur sprout on its rat-like tail, now beginning to look thick and bushy in just under a minute.

And just like that, the transformation was over.

Dean finally turned to get a better look at Bobby, only to see the same blank look remained plastered on his face at the same time as tears fell freely from his eyes. The elder hunter was taking this hard, Dean knew. He knew he and Sam were like sons to him in a way.

And both he and Dean and John had tried so hard to keep Sam from becoming the thing that now lay in the adjacent room – but their failure was clear as the Beast that was once Sam finally made its way to all four feet and began to growl deep and low in its throat as it smelled fresh blood coming from both Dean and Bobby just on the other side of the door.

Oh jeez...unfortunately I have to leave you lovely readers off like this for the weekend. You know, studying for finals and all... .

I wonder how John will react when he gets back to Bobby's...hmm...:)