Chapter 14
Russ sprinted through the woods, his long, loping strides covering the ground faster than any ordinary human could. The wind whistled in his ears. He'd run for at least five minutes when he paused. He stood in the woods listening. To one side, he could hear a TV in one of the houses he'd checked earlier when he was looking for that delicious woman. He didn't hear anyone running behind him, no steps or voices in the woods.
They can't keep up with me. Not with my new strength, but they're coming after me. Adrenaline coursed through him again. He'd seen the look in Dean's eyes. This was going to end bloody for one of them.
He turned and sprinted again and within a few minutes had reached the road and his car. He looked behind him and laughed. It had taken hours to find the woman because he'd moved slowly, deliberately as he searched each house he found for her scent. Those idiots would stumble around in the woods for at least a half-hour before they gave up. But he knew they would eventually come to his house. And he intended to be ready for them. Russ' hand was on the car door when he stopped and looked around. He heard… something. It wasn't the two men who were chasing him. It was on the street. Out of the dark, a young man on a mountain bike pulled up.
"Dude, didja get a flat or something?" the kid asked. Along with his other senses, Russell's night vision had improved. The boy who stopped was maybe 17 or 18.
"Just finished changing it." Russell's nostrils flared, drinking in the boy's scent. "Dangerous to be biking on these roads with no headlight, kid."
"Yea, I lost track of time. You know how it is. Have a good nig…" The boy's voice turned into a frightened gurgle as Russell lunged and bit down hard on his neck. Blood ran into his mouth, hot and salty, and Russell felt his body convulse and twist. It felt like his bones were reforming, moving beneath his skin and he fully embraced the strange change. He felt complete now, but he was as hungry as ever. With little effort he tossed the kid's body into the back seat. He didn't care what blood splashed on the upholstery. He grabbed the bike and threw it into the woods. It would take a while for them to find it if anyone missed the boy. Russell wiped his face and mouth with his shirt sleeve, got into the car, and headed for home.
The Winchester boys were about 20 minutes behind. It had taken them a little time to get back to the house and gather their gear. And Dean's brief argument with Stella had slowed them down, too. They parked the Impala on the opposite end of Uncochief. This end of the street was filled with cars. Clearly someone's bar-b-q was going to last well into the night, and the Impala was much less conspicuous mixed in with all of the other vehicles. They made sure the homemade flame throwers they'd brought were well concealed under their coats and walked down the road with purpose, just like they were supposed to be there.
"What do you think they'd do if they knew?" asked Sam as a party guest walked past him towards the house carrying a six-pack of beer.
"If they knew what?"
"That a rugaru lives down the street? That all of the monsters under the bed and ghosts and ghouls are all real? If they knew what a freak show the world really is?" Sam just shook his head. The world that he, Dean and Stella lived in was so different from what everyone else experienced.
"Most of them would piss themselves," said Dean. "They wouldn't be able to handle it."
The sounds of the party and its blasting radio started to fade. They were around the street's curve and out of sight of the party when they arrived at number 75. It was an average looking house for the area—log cabin style, two floors and a wrap-around porch on the front. The house was mostly dark. One room upstairs had a light on, and a room in the back did as well. Just enough light filtered out through the front windows.
"This is the one," said Sam softly.
"Where's the damn truck?" Dean was staring at the little tan car.
"I don't know about the truck, but the registry said he lives here. And the mailbox has the name Roy on it."
"Let's get this over with," muttered Dean. "Let's deep fry this freak and get out of here."
They kept to the shadows and took care when they stepped onto the porch, trying to avoid squeaky boards that would betray them to the rugaru. Sam reached out and twisted the door knob on the front door. It turned easily and there was a small click. The brothers looked at each other and Dean nodded. Sam opened the door softly and they both glanced inside. Nothing moved but they were both apprehensive.
They took a step inside and waited for their eyes to adjust to the dim light. It would be easier to see with flashlights, but then they might lose their element of surprise. Light from the kitchen illuminated the living room enough for them to see there was no one in front of them, but there was a blind corner ahead that they couldn't see around. Sam and Dean moved slowly trying to step as quietly as possible. Dean took one more step forward into the living room and closed his eyes as his boot sank into a section of wet, squishy carpet. Sam felt the same sensation a split second later. They looked down and even in the poor light it was easy to see the dark stain spread across the carpet leading to a prone body.
We're screwed, thought Dean. He's had his bite of human flesh. He's a full rugaru now.
Russ had heard them on the porch despite their efforts to be silent. Even if he hadn't, the cool night breeze carried their scents along and he knew exactly where the Winchesters were. He narrowed his eyes in the dark. He was ready for them. He fingered the lump in his pocket. He'd eaten part of the poor fool who'd had the misfortune to find him on Huckleberry Road and with human flesh and blood warming his belly, Russ felt stronger than ever. And he knew he had surprise on his side.
"Dean, look…" Sam never finished the sentence as Russell charged out of the darkness. He threw all of his body weight into Dean and the momentum carried them both into Sam. All three crashed into the opposite wall and then onto the floor. Dean kicked out, making solid contact with the rugaru but Russell hammered him with a punch to the face. It stunned Dean and he saw stars. The power behind the blow truly was supernatural.
"I know you're here to kill me," said Russell as Sam started to scramble to his feet. "And I can't let that happen." His hand came up and Sam screamed in agony as Russ unloaded a canister of pepper spray into his face. Dean, his head still spinning from the first blow, struggled to his knees when he heard Sam's cries of pain.
"Sam!"
"My eyes! Dean, my eyes are burning. I can't see…"
"You stay down!" Russell kicked Dean in the ribs and nailed him with a second punch. Dean collapsed back to the floor with a grunt while Russ grabbed Sam by the shirt and lifted him off the ground. He flung Sam down, hard and everything around Sam went dark. A short time later, it was Dean's voice that finally brought Sam back to reality.
"Dean? Dean, what the…"
"You okay Sam?"
"I can't see… everything's blurry… friggin' thing pepper sprayed me." Sam tried to move and felt a twist of fear in his gut when he realized he couldn't move. He thrashed and then stilled, realizing it would be better to conserve his energy.
"You're on a coffee table, Sam. Your arms are duct taped to the table legs. I'm in a chair. Got my arms and legs duct taped tight."
"Just like last time," grumbled Sam.
"Not exactly; if I recall, I was the one trussed up to be the rugaru buffet last time. You were locked in the closet."
"You're awake." Russell came in from the kitchen. "Sam and Dean, is it? Welcome to my home…"
Dean glared at him and thrashed again, almost tipping the chair over.
"Now, now," said Russell. "Don't knock yourself over. Your view won't be as good." Neither brother asked what Russell intended them to watch.
"You're not human anymore," spat Dean.
"No? What am I then?" Russ watched Dean carefully.
"You're a rugaru, a monster."
"A rugaru…" Russell rolled the word around in his mouth, tasting it like wine or blood.
"You changed forever when you took a bite of that poor bastard over there." Dean flipped his head towards the corpse on the floor.
"You could have stayed normal," added Sam. "If you'd just resisted the urge to eat human flesh."
"Normal? I wouldn't have been normal. You would expect me to walk around fighting the urge, like some kind of freakish alcoholic?" Russell snorted. "I was nothing before. Unremarkable. Now I am stronger, faster… I am a predator." His grin flashed, his teeth looking very white against his blood-stained face. He inhaled deeply and looked at Sam.
"Get away from me…" Sam's warning was impotent and all three of them knew it.
"I can smell blood. Every person's smells different… Your blood. It smells different, dark." He circled around the table, watching Sam, savoring his fear. All Sam could see was blurry outline. In his chair, Dean's heart was hammering in his chest. There was no way he was twisting out of the duct tape; no way he could help Sam. Russell lunged forward and tore open Sam's shirt, exposing his chest and waist.
Sam's breath was ragged and he tried to twist, to get away from the rugaru, but every time he moved excruciating pain shot through his shoulders. Russell knelt down next to Sam and inhaled again. In the next instant, Russell leaned in and sank his teeth into Sam's body, just below his ribs.
Sam screamed in agony.
Dean screamed for his brother.
Russell laughed and began to lick the blood that ran freely from the bite marks in Sam's flesh.
"Sam! SAM! You sonofabitch, I'll kill you for this…" Dean was practically snarling at the rugaru. Russell tore himself away from the blood and turned his attention to Dean.
"Time for you to be quiet."
He ripped a piece of duct tape off of the roll and grabbed Dean by the hair. Jerking Dean's head back, he plastered the tape over Dean's mouth and slapped it to make it stick. Russell went back to the table and started to bend over Sam. He ran a finger through the pooling blood and licked it off of his finger.
He smiled at Dean. "I'm going to start with your brother here. I'll drink his blood and I will eat the meat from his bones. You'll get to watch him die; you'll get to hear him die. Then? Then I'll move on to you…"
Russell yanked Sam's head to the side and bit down again, sinking his teeth into Sam's shoulder, just short of his throat. Blood spattered as the rugaru dug his teeth in and the pain and terror in Sam's voice nearly killed Dean. His brother was in agony and all he could do was watch. Russell toyed with Sam, sticking fingers into the wounds and licking the blood, starting to bite but then backing off. Finally, he looked up at Dean again. Peering over Sam's body, he grinned slyly. Dean felt sick looking at his brother's blood smeared all over Russell's face. Sam, now only semi-conscious, moaned.
"And that's just the beginning, Dean. Once I'm finished with the two of you, I have a very sweet treat in mind for my dessert. You know who I'm talking about. That woman of yours…" Russell paused, delighting in tormenting Dean. "Oh, and I won't just kill her. I'll have her first, then I'll drain her. I'll put her blood in a champagne glass and savor it as I devour her sweet flesh. Do you think she's going to call for you when I take her? Scream your name? Beg for you to come and save her? Will she cry when I tell her you're dead?"
Dean's scream of rage was muffled by the tape but his hatred and fear didn't need any translation.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, there's the next installment and clearly the boys are up to their eyeballs in trouble with our newly minted rugaru. I hope you've enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and—as always—I would love to get feedback from any readers willing to leave it. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon, so stay tuned for more!
Disclaimers: Of course, the whole concept of Supernatural and Sam and Dean Winchester were created by someone else. I'm only playing in his world for my own enjoyment—I don't get any compensation for this at all. Stella is my own creation and my contribution to the Supernatural universe.