Chapter 30

Later that night, John and Dean arrived at the small covering of trees Bobby had been talking about. Seeing it now, John knew Bobby was right, it wouldn't provide them with very much cover.

John took the lead as they entered the mouth of the woods, Dean took up the rear. Both men kept their guns raised, and held in front of them in case of any surprise threats.

Strangely though, everything was quiet.

Too quiet.

John lowered his weapon for a moment as he listened in closely for the sounds that were usually heard throughout wooded areas. Birds, other small animals, crickets.

"Hear that?" John whispered, cocking his head so Dean could better perceive his words.

"Yeah, nothing." Dean replied with a jerky nod.

"Alright," John suddenly said a little louder as he turned his back toward his son, "We need to split up. You go north, I'm headed south – we meet up at the car in exactly thirty minutes. If you find Sam…shoot, I'll find you."

Dean responded with another nod, before breaking away from his father with a slow and steady pace.

First thing Dean noticed was that ironically, the scenery around him somewhat resembled the one where Sam had first been cursed. Wet leaves splashed quietly beneath his feet, as more leaves fell from their branches on the higher trees around him – falling to the woods ground beneath him.

The leaves reminded Dean of fire, all of them telling him winter was fast approaching - as a red leaf fell directly in front of him.

Truthfully, Dean wasn't entirely sure he would be able to shoot Sam when he saw him. He knew that in his gun were only tranquilizer darts, and would do no serious harm to his brother.

But he couldn't help but think back to Sam when he was normal not so long ago asking him and their father about the demons plans for him. He was so scared of what he was supposedly destined to do, Sam never wanted to hurt anyone.

So this fate seemed so cruel to him. Sam needed something more than this. This couldn't be the end.

A sudden vibration was felt in Dean's pocket, causing him to startle. He had his phone on silent, so it wouldn't disrupt his hunt, but he had to wonder who would call him now.

Dean pulled his phone from his pocket, fearing it could be his dad – but on the tiny screen flashed 'Bobby Singer', to Dean's greater astonishment.

Why would Bobby be calling him? He knew where they were!

Dean decided to ignore the call; he couldn't chance the Beast getting the drop on him when he had his guard down. So he put his phone back in his pocket and resumed his slow pacing.

In front of Dean was a small clearing, and in the clearing was something large and hulking. But Dean couldn't see what it was, exactly standing there. He was still too far away.

So Dean crouched low to the ground and crept up on the figure silently, knowing in his heart that he had found Sam.

Dean stayed low, and stayed silent as he continued to slip through the shadows seemingly undetected like the well-trained hunter that he was. He knew it would be the end of his life if he so much as snapped a twig.

When Dean reached a small brushed mass, he peered through the leaves and saw that his suspicions were exactly right. The big giant figure in front of him was definitely the Beast. It had its back to him as it stood on four legs, definitely caught up in a meal…and from the looks of his surroundings, a rather bloody one.

From here, Dean had a pretty good shot on the creature. One shot, maybe two in the back and the Beast would be knocked out, and he and their dad could drag it back to Bobby's where it would stay till they found a way to cure him.

But he hesitated.

This thing had once been his little brother, the one he's protected since birth. The one thing that anchored him to sanity when their father was away on those long hunts when they were still children. Somewhere buried deep inside this thing, was Sam.

Letting his mind wander, Dean didn't realize he had made a noise as he shifted his weight and made a dry leaf crunch beneath his feet.

Instantly, the Beast's ears flicked back toward the noise as its head was drawn from its kill. It turned its large wolf-like head to get a better look at what would be so stupid to attempt to sneak up on it.

There, the Beast saw was Human-Side's Brother holding a gun, aiming it right at its heart.

The Beast lifted its lips into a snarl, showing off its blood-stained fangs. It was trying to intimidate Dean, but so far it made no move to kill him.

Truth be told, it had loved its time alone in its head. It didn't want its Human-Side to suddenly start acting up it the Beast broke their deal. But what was it supposed to do? Was it supposed to roll over and die because of a deal it struck with a whisper in the back of its mind?

The Beast turned its entire body toward Dean in one swift movement as a loud growl ripped through the silence around them. Dean fingered the trigger of his gun for a second, but couldn't quite bring himself to pull it back.

"Come on, Sammy." Dean whispered, sounding completely broken. His tough-guy façade dropped, and his eyes wide, showing the Beast its true inner torment. "You can fight this, little brother."

The creature cocked its head, and silenced its growls as it looked at Dean with something akin to curiosity. Had his words sunk in? Had Sam heard him?

The Beast felt its Human-Side stir for the first time in what seemed like forever, but it wasn't discomforting as it had been before. Instead, it seemed like all its Human-Side was doing was listening to his brother intently. But, it made no move to take control as he had before, which the Beast found relieving.

"That's it," Dean cooed as he raised his hands in a surrendering motion as he rose to his feet. Wrong move.

The Beast roared at him, and stood on its two hind legs. On two legs, the monster towered over Dean…hell, it was larger than Sam was when he was human. It lowered its head, to get a better look at its Human-Side's brother.

These humans were really frustrating it. Why couldn't they just leave it alone?

It wasn't naïve though; it knew why the humans wanted it. They were under the false impression that its Human-Side could be saved.

Well they were wrong, the only escape for Human-Side was death…and the Beast wasn't ready to go anywhere, just yet.

The Beast roared again as it began pacing toward Dean; the human backed away from the creature but made no move to defend himself. Once close enough, the creature raised its paw, unsheathing long and deadly claws – intent on striking Dean's throat.

But before the Beast could swoop in for the kill, a loud shot echoed through the night and the monster startled clearly.

Dean looked around him, before looking back at the creature he knew to be his brother. But what he saw was a large dart, imbedded in the Beast's abdomen.

"Sam, Sammy?" Dean called out, as the creature sort of lolled in its spot.

Its vision was beginning to blur, and its thoughts came in fuzzy. What had the humans done? What were they planning on doing?

The Beast let out a roar, which immediately choked off into a low and threatening growl as it sunk from two legs to four, no longer able to support itself with just two feet.

The Beast looked up at Human-Side's brother, and saw behind him was Human-Side's father, holding a gun at its head.

It had been so distracted by Dean; it hadn't seen John taking aim in the distance.

The Beast growled threateningly, but was rewarded with another shot in the neck courtesy of John's gun. It heard Human-Brother scream in protest before it collapsed to the woods floor in a spiraling world of black, knowing nothing but unconsciousness.

John ignored Dean's shouts, and knelt over to feel the creatures pulse. It was strong, and the tranquilizer was definitely doing its job. The Beast would be out for a few hours at least, which was just enough time to get it back to Bobby's.

John looked up toward his eldest son, seeing he was glaring back at his father with angry and accusing eyes.

"We don't have time for this Dean…we have to get him back to Bobby's, now! Help me!" John demanded as he slung his weapon over his shoulder, and lifted up Sam's upper half of his body.

Dean swallowed all grief he had toward his father and nodded. He knew his father was right. So Dean quickly headed toward the other side of Sam, and hoisted up his lower half.

Together, John and Dean got Sam to the car – where they placed his dead weight in the back seat.

Dean and John couldn't have been more relieved to have the creature back with them…but their nerves were still ever present.

What they really needed was Sam back.

xXx

About an hour later, John and Dean had managed to get the creature back to Bobby's without any problems. Together, the three of them unloaded Sam from the back of the car, and placed the Beast back in its iron coated prison.

And now that Gordon was dead, the creature would remain there until they found a cure.

Now, John sat upstairs in the living room with Dean, Bobby, Ellen, and Jeremy. It was the first time since arriving that Jeremy felt up to talking to anyone. He sat on Bobby's ratty couch with a wool blanket wrapped tightly around him, while the hunters stood in front of him – looking down at him curiously.

"Why'd you call before, Bobby?" Dean had asked shortly after arriving back to Bobby's, "You know damn well where we were."

"Watch that tone with me, son!" Bobby had warned, "Jeremy's up, finally…I think he's got something that could help Sam."

Both Dean and John lit up at that. After all this time, was there finally hope for Sam?

"What is it?" John demanded, not wanting to waste any time. If there was really a way to help Sam, he would go for it.

"Ask him…he's up now." Bobby had replied.

Now here they were in front of the little boy as he recollected everything that had happened to him since being captured by the demons…and before.

"It was really weird…" Jeremy said to no one in particular, as he stared down at his own hands, "th-the day those bad-guys took me, my mom had been acting weird all day."

"Weird, how?" Dean asked, trying to make his voice sound sympathetic as he spoke to the child, but at the same time – he just wanted to know what Bobby was getting at.

"It was a sc-chool morning, I woke up and brushed my teeth…and sat at the dining table to wait for breakfast, like I do every morning." Jeremy explained, sounding frightened, "Only…my mommy hadn't made breakfast that morning. Sh-she…she said I wasn't going to school that day, because she wanted to get to know me. She said she had my fake mommy captured, and that she was my real family."

Dean looked over at Bobby with a quirked eyebrow, still not quite understanding what the elder hunter was thinking.

"Th-then…" Jeremy continued as a tear slid down his cheek at the memory.

"It's okay, sweetie," Ellen cooed gently as she rubbed circles in the child's back, "Just tell these nice men what you told me, before. You're safe here."

Jeremy nodded before he continued softly. "Then…her eyes turned black, and she told me I'm from a long line of…w-witches. Is that true?"

"No, kid. That's not true." Bobby replied honestly.

Jeremy wasn't after all, descended from witches. They found out that it was his stepfather that was the true descendant of Elizabeth Godrick, but he had been killed by demons along with Jeremy's mother.

Jeremy nodded feverishly before gulping down the lump in his throat. "Th-then…she hit me, and told me to be quiet while she woke up Jerry…w-w-when he came out with her, she t-t-told him he had to b-be sacrificed. Then she killed h-him."

"One more thing, son." Bobby interjected, "Did the thing pretending to be your mom tell you its name?"

Jeremy gave a frantic nod before stifling a broken sob. "Sh-she s-s-said her name was Elizabeth."

John's eyes widened in understanding, as Dean's eyebrows rose in interest. Understanding flashed through John's eyes when he suddenly realized what had to be done.

Jeremy started full-on sobbing, as Bobby and Ellen placed comforting hands on the child's shoulders.

"That's enough for now, kid." Bobby said gently, before looking over at John and Dean with a knowing glint in his eyes.

The three men then left Ellen and Jeremy in the living room while they went into the kitchen to speak to each other in silent.

"So Elizabeth is still here." John murmured spitefully as he leaned his back against the kitchen counter, "That bitch."

"This all fits, John." Bobby said, sounding almost relieved, "Elizabeth goes to Hell, and comes back as a demon after a few years –"

"So the whole following Elizabeth's bloodline was just a bunch of crap." John replied, cutting Bobby off, "The demon we summoned just wanted to throw us off."

"It sent us on a Wild Goose Chase." Bobby agreed with a small nod.

"But seeing as Elizabeth is still here…there's still an origin of the curse to kill." John said more to himself than to either Dean or Bobby.

"That would also explain why they were after the Colt." Bobby offered with a shrug.

"Of course," John agreed, "because if we ever did figure out that Elizabeth is still around, we'd have a way to kill her. They wanted to get the Colt into their hands so we couldn't break the curse."

"But you didn't hand 'em the Colt." Dean interjected.

"No." John confirmed with a sly smile.

"So we have a way to gank this bitch, and end this..?" Dean asked hopefully.

John sighed as he tried to hold back his tears of relief. "Yeah, son…it would seem so."

Suddenly, a loud animalistic howl erupted from the basement – shattering their relief into pieces. The Beast was finally awake, but soon…it wouldn't be The Beast.

Sammy was coming back.

I hope this chapter was a bit more encouraging than the last one. Haha. :)

Feedback is greatly appreciated!