Chapter 28

When John entered the kitchen, he was met with Dean, Bobby, and Ellen sitting at the table each holding a clear class containing a dark golden liquid, which John could only guess was whiskey.

Dean sat on one of the wooden chairs backwards, with his wide open bowlegs straddling the back of the chair. His green eyes were bright and rimmed with red, suggesting that once he got upstairs he had done some more crying.

Ellen sat in the wooden chair adjacent to Dean, the correct way – her right leg crossed over her left one as she balanced her glass on her lap. Her light hair hid her face as she kept her eyes trained on the glass in her hands thoughtfully.

Bobby had remained standing with his back to the kitchen counter and a glass of his own in his right hand. His blank face had returned, making his blue eyes look unfocused and vacant as he stared ahead past Dean, blankly.

Once John closed the basement door behind him, all eyes were instantly drawn to him – all of them looking curious, and full of melancholy.

"Where's the kid?" John suddenly asked, desperate to break the awkward silence as he paced toward Bobby.

"Asleep on the couch…the kid was scared outta his mind and refused to sleep the whole way up here, John. Poor kid's exhausted." Ellen replied before taking a sip from her glass thoughtlessly.

John nodded almost robotically as he remembered the entire trip back to Bobby's. He and Ellen had been probed by the panicking child since his rescue from the demons. Jeremy asked constantly where his parents were, and why had those mean monsters taken him from them?

After a few hours of being in the back seat of the car, and not once having John nor Ellen raise their voices at him since his rescue – Jeremy began to trust them albeit hesitantly. Ellen had even been nice enough to buy Jeremy something to eat for the car ride to Bobby's.

And once the child was certain John and Ellen weren't allied with the monsters that had kidnapped him, he asked a lot of questions…a lot of questions.

But other than that, Jeremy really wasn't a bad kid. He was alright, John had to admit. Although he still didn't have the slightest clue what he was going to do with the kid once this mess was over with.

"I'm uh…" John began in a weak voice as he coughed lightly, while keeping his head low and his eyes downcast, "I'm gonna get Sam somethin' to eat."

"What the hell are you gonna feed him?" Dean wondered aloud, "I mean, when Sammy still had his human sense of mind – sure, raw meat worked…but now..?"

"It'll have to work for now too, Dean." John quipped back firmly, "The Beast will just have to deal."

Dean opened his mouth as his eyebrows drew together to show his mixture of emotions when suddenly a loud series of banging was heard coming from downstairs, followed quickly by a loud shrieking noise sounding like sharpened nails against a chalkboard – causing everyone in the kitchen to flinch as the sound assaulted their ears.

Dean cleared his suddenly dry throat as he stood from his chair slowly, looking his father dead in the eye as the screeching noise finally ceased, only to be replaced by The Beast's loud howls.

"I'm going down there." Dean announced as he walked past his father and reached toward the doorknob.

John nodded stiffly as he did his best to ignore the sounds the creature in the basement that used to be his son continued to make. "I'll be down there in a second to feed 'im."

Dean looked at his father blankly before giving him a curt nod as he placed his now empty glass on the table. He took a deep steadying breath, and forced his legs to carry his suddenly heavy body toward the basement door to see his brother.

Once Dean was out of sight, with the door closed behind him – John listened in as he heard Dean's stomping steps down the stairs become faint, and less pronounced. The moment he was sure Dean was out of earshot, John turned toward the refrigerator and pulled the door open gently.

Without looking up at either Bobby or Ellen, John stated sounding only a little hopeful, "I think Sam's still in there."

Bobby sighed, but didn't answer right away. He knew he had to tread in this territory gently; otherwise John wouldn't hesitate to over-react.

"I'm sure he is John…" Bobby replied softly, "Somewhere."

"No, he's closer to the surface than we think." John said flatly as he pulled out a pound of raw steak, still in its plastic wrapped container. He tossed the slab of meat in the sink irritably, and turned his attention back to Bobby.

"What makes you say that?" Ellen interjected before sipping from her glass.

"It's gonna sound nuts, but when I was down there talking to Sam…the Beast started going bat-crap crazy on the door…scratching at it, biting at it…and when I kept going, it started howling…almost like it was trying to drown me out." John explained without looking either Bobby or Ellen directly in the eye, "I think Sam was fighting it."

"I heard that ruckus…I just thought it was feedin' time." Bobby muttered a little sadly.

John opened his mouth to reply when suddenly footsteps were heard pounding up the basement steps in a hurry, and moments later, the door swung open and a sweaty, panic-stricken Dean appeared with his pistol held tightly in his right hand.

"What the hell happened?" John demanded with wide-eyed curiosity as Dean slammed the basement door closed behind him, and made the extra effort to latch the chain.

"The Beast got out." Dean announced, sounding slightly out of breath.

"What?" John yelled angrily as both Ellen and Bobby swiftly made their way to their feet.

"How?" Bobby demanded.

"Damned if I friggin know!" Dean argued irritably, "I just went down there, and the panic room door was wide open, and the basement window on the other side of the room was broken. Sam's gone."

"How the hell are we gonna get him back?" John asked no one in particular as he pounded a frustrated fist into the counter.

"I've got an idea, John. But first, we should poke around downstairs and see if we can find any clues." Bobby reasoned sounding slightly less panicked than his friend.

John nodded robotically and followed Bobby toward the basement with Ellen and Dean following suit.

One thing John knew for sure though, was there was no way Sam could have gotten out of that room without help. And John had his suspicions who that person may have been…and once John found that son-of-a-bitch, he'd be begging for Sam to eat what's left of him.

xXx

The Beast stood just outside the house crouching low by the back door. It was going to kill its Human-Side's family if it was the last thing it did. It had to cling to that hope that the constant nudging in its brain and the ringing in its ears would cease, then.

But as for now, it would wait for them to come to it. It was a hunter, patient and stealthy. They would come eventually, and it had all the time in the world.

xXx

Gordon Walker stood anxiously in a spot behind an old beat up Ford, with a full view of The Beast as it watched the house it was just sprung from.

So far his plan was working perfectly. The Beast wasn't just some mindless animal, Gordon knew. It was a monster created from a witch who was powered by demons. This thing was evil.

With that in mind, it would want revenge against the Winchester's for keeping it locked in a cage…like Gordon wanted revenge for them preventing him from doing his duty, numerous times.

Normally, revenge was something Gordon wasn't too keen on – not when it had to do with people who weren't monsters, anyways. But these Winchester's were dangerous. They were blinded by their love for their youngest, that they couldn't see he was no longer there. He was a monster, now.

And the only way to free his soul from the monsters' grip would be to kill him.

If anything, he was doing them all a favor.

But they wouldn't stop getting in his way…so he had to show them just what John Winchester's youngest 'son' was now capable of.

The Beast shifted its weight from one side to the other as its ears plastered against its head. Its claws dug into the dirt below it in anticipation.

It wouldn't be long, now.

xXx

No one was really sure what they expected to find in the basement. It wasn't like whoever let The Beast free would leave a trail of muddy footprints to follow, because that would only make it easy.

But sure enough, they came up empty handed.

Now Bobby, John, and Dean were standing around in Bobby's library arming themselves up. Ellen had gone to check on the kid to make sure he was settled.

"Gordon's dead meat." John swore with a growl as he grabbed a rifle from its spot in Bobby's weapons cabinet.

"Are we even sure Gordon's the one who broke him out?" Bobby asked flatly, giving John a pointed look.

John gave Bobby a disbelieving look – his silent message clear, 'are you kidding me?'

Bobby shrugged halfheartedly as he handed a rifle over to Dean, who took it with a reproaching look.

"Are we sure these tranquilizer guns will do the trick?" Dean asked skeptically as he eyed the gun in his hands carefully.

"No…" Bobby admitted as he took a gun out for himself, "But this is the only thing I could think of to get Sam back without killing him. It should do the trick…there's enough juice in just one of these shots to take down a wild stallion."

John and Dean cocked their guns readily, before sparing guilty looks at each other. Dean knew that now was the time to set aside their differences to get Sam back to them. And once he was back – he himself, Dean – would kill Gordon.

This son-of-a-bitch wouldn't quit, and now neither would Dean. This was his final straw.

xXx

Awareness crept into Sam's foggy mind as he tried desperately to process what was going on, when suddenly his memory returned like a punch in the face. He wasn't in control anymore, but a passenger in this animals mind.

He saw out of the animals restricted eyes and felt what it was feeling. It was excited, and crouched low…outside! What happened while the Beast had him so deeply buried? How did they get outside?

What the hell did you do? Sam demanded spitefully, How are we outside?

Turns out Human-Father pissed off some humans as well…released us to kill him. The Beast replied with a gleeful snort. You know I don't mind that one bit, do I Human-Side?

Leave my family alone! Sam snapped angrily, Just leave! Walk away from here!"

I would, I really would… The Beast teased, But you aren't being cooperative. It's my time now. You are literally nothing! Not even a parasite! Yet still, here you are – a constant nagging in the back of my head, commanding me around like you have the right.

I'll stop! Sam reasoned in a pathetic whisper, Let my family live – and I'll stop. I'll leave you alone.

The Beast was definitely intrigued by Sam's sudden willingness to give up. But it wasn't sure of its Human-Side's intentions. Was this a trick? It pulled its lips back, revealing its long curved fangs as it growled aloud in warning.

This isn't a trick. Sam said flatly, submission clear in his voice.

The Beast stood from its crouching position, its growls silencing as it cocked its head. And suddenly, it couldn't feel its Human-Side buzzing around its skull. It was almost as if Sam wasn't there anymore.

Experimentally, the Beast gave its Human-Side a mental nudge…and nothing. Sam didn't stir.

Satisfied, The Beast huffed before running off away from the house – away from the Salvage Yard, away from these humans.

When suddenly, the darker human who had released him appeared from behind a car where he had been watching the Beast the whole time.

The creature came to a halt, its ears plastered against its head as it examined the human before him carefully. He had a rifle in his hands. He wanted to kill it.

"Come on, you." The human said sternly, "You want to kill the Winchester's."

As the human spoke, he raised his rifle and motioned it toward the house – telling the Beast to kill its first intended targets.

But all the Beast saw was a raised weapon.

The creature roared with aggravation before pouncing on the human suddenly, and biting into his throat. It was rewarded with the sweet taste of the man's blood and a choked off scream as they sank to the dirt ground in a blur. The human dropped his weapon, but the Beast couldn't bring itself to care.

It was finally feeding time.

Sorry you've been waiting so long for this update. :)

What does everyone think?