CHAPTER 6 - You make the bed you lie in
John felt his heart jump to his throat as he eyed the barrel of the gun in who he'd thought was his son's hand. How could he have missed this? After spending years training and working with Dean, how could he have possibly mistaken a Shapeshifter for his own son? He was as ashamed as he was surprised, Sam had been right and he was the one who'd somehow been wrong. "What do you want?" He calmly started, eyeing the gun as he took a steady step back.
"What do I want?" It repeated with a sinister smile. "I want to see you and that damn kid of yours get ripped to shreds." There was a moment of silence as the Shifter locked the door. "You know what it's like to watch your friends, your family get gunned down one by one?" It asked, watching as John took another step back.
"Actually I do." The hunter replied, looking for something, anything within his reach he could use to defend himself. Though the case of silver bullets was still open on the bed behind him, throwing them at an armed Shapshifter seemed kind of pointless. If anything that would just piss it off. His gaze drifted over to the duffle bag that was open on the table nearby, his silver blade was in there but it was as close to the Shapeshifter as it was within his reach.
"We were fine. We didn't cause any trouble, laid low and kept our heads down. Then you two showed up." It paused for a moment as it eyed the veteran hunter carefully, reaching over to slide the duffle bag across the table and tossing it onto the counter top behind it. "You showed up and decided that we didn't deserve to live because we're not like the rest of you, we're the ones who are different."
"I showed up because you guys started dropping bodies." John was quick to reply, his heart beginning to race again as he watched what in all appearance, was Dean aiming a gun at him. Reaching for his duffle bag was now out of the question and the only way out of the cabin was the locked door the Shapeshifter was standing in front of. He took a nervous step back as the Shifter took another step forward, closing the little distance there was between them.
"Don't lie to me you pathetic, poor excuse of a man." It suddenly spat, the grip on the gun tightening. "We knew you two were trailing us, the only reason we started dropping bodies was because you were getting too close. We started moving around more, did it in haste and because of that a few lives were lost. You pushed us, rushed us, and then we got desperate. It's amazing what someone does just to fight for their own lives. Wouldn't you agree?"
John came to a stop as he backed into the foot of the bed. "Alright, you've got me were you want me so go ahead and take your shot already." He started, his hands clenching into fists. The confrontation was surreal and though he knew it wasn't Dean there in front of him, his mind couldn't help but drift back to some of the heated arguments he'd had with his oldest son. There were words he regretted and actions that would rank him among some of the worse fathers out there. Dean was as obedient as a well trained dog and compliant as any dedicated soldier, because that's who he was raised and groomed to be. But just like a dog, the animal in him sometimes clawed its way to the surface when he was pushed one time too many. Though the outbursts were few and far between, they were vicious attacks when they did manage to pierce the thick lair of skin on such a young hunter's bones. Thinking it over in his head, John was almost surprised that he had yet to find himself in a similar situation. Starring down the barrel of a gun in an angry Dean's hand. He swallowed hard, snapping back to reality as he struggled to convince himself that his son wasn't the one standing there in front of him. "You want to kill me?" He growled as he straightened out. "Go right ahead, avenge those monsters you call your family. C'mon, get it over with." He pushed, needing to feel the pain he was now sure he deserved.
"You're the one who's a monster." It replied, catching the veteran hunter's eyes. "The things you've done." It started, shaking its head. "The things you've done would put some of the hardest criminals to shame."
John sucked in a breath as those words circled in his head. He wasn't proud of his past but it was something he'd learned to live with because the way things were going, his future would be no different. Tragedy had helped him find his true calling and as dangerous, despicable and even horrendous as it might be, he'd come to accept the fact that this was his life and this is who he was. "Let me put it this way." He replied, his tone of voice low. "My one and only regret is not catching up to you sooner."
"Funny, it should be not knowing the difference between the monsters you hunt and your own damn kids." The Shapeshifter said, offering a smile as it pulled the trigger.
John fell to the floor as he felt the bullet from his own gun, pass through the outside of his right thigh. Painful as it was, he'd been through much worse and knew that it wasn't a kill shot the Shifter wanted, just one that would slow him down. He let out a chuckle, the blood seeping out from around and between his fingers as he applied pressure to the wound with one hand and pulled himself into a sitting position against the table leg with the other. "Is that all you've got?" He asked, the smile creeping up to the corner of his lips for only a moment before the sound of a second gunshot filled the air. The bullet he took to the left shoulder was almost gratifying in a sick and twisted kind of way. It was just the pain he needed to chastise himself for everything he'd done wrong. For the way he'd raised his boys and for the series of events that led up to this very moment, the one that found him on the floor of a cabin at the hands of a Shapeshifter. "Bad shot if I do say so myself." He continued, sucking in a shallow breath as the blood ran down his chest.
"I need you alive, you know that." The Shifter replied with a smirk, reaching over to grab a length of rope from the duffle bag nearby. "For when that son who follows you blindly comes looking for you, and we both know that he will. That is if he isn't already dead." There was a moment of silence and though John did his best to grin through the fear, he knew he was fooling no one. "You screwed up you know, by leaving him behind." It continued, gripping the gun by the barrel as it knelt down to John's eye level. "There were more of us than you thought there was. Class act parenting right there, leave a boy behind to do a man's work." The Shapeshifter growled as it used the butt of the gun to knock the veteran hunter unconscious.
Bobby watched as the handful of officers left on the scene stood around their police cars, all waiting for the next set of orders. "So you're telling me they still haven't spotted the car?" He asked, eying the river that was no longer overflowing its banks.
"The water level has dropped and we've blocked the river upstream." The lead detective replied, pointing to the backhoe that had been brought in to aid in the search. "There's no car in there and the river's not wide enough for a car of that size to have gone downstream. I'm telling you, if it was in there we would have found it."
Bobby turned to look at the washout, a slight smile to the corner of his lips as he eyed the handful of officers that were standing around. "So you're saying one of your officers chased a car that vanished into thin air? Into the night?" Bobby asked, turning his attention back to the man in front of him.
"Witness's at the bar in Scythe saw one of our officers confront a man that matched the description of a suspect we were looking for." The detective defended. "They saw him discharge his weapon and then give chase down this road. You and I both know that the only place this road leads is to town and we had officers waiting with a spike belt."
"Then where is he?" Bobby demanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Where's the car?"
"I don't know." The detective admitted.
"So have you called off the search?" Bobby asked. "Have you declared the guy dead?"
The detective hesitated for a moment as he eyed the washout in the road. "We've called off the search here but until I find a body, it's going to remain an open case."
Bobby offered a nod. "Good luck with that." He said as he turned to leave, doing his best to keep the grin off his face. "Call me if anything turns up."
"Last call I got from Dad was when he got there." Dean said, glancing up from his phone to catch his brother's eyes from behind his laptop. "That was two days ago." He added, passing the phone to Sam and watching as the younger man typed something in. Sitting among the clutter of Bobby's living room was just like the good old days for Sam and Dean, with the exception of the estrangement they now seemed to share.
"Ok, the signal came from somewhere near Salida, Colorado." Sam started, typing away as Dean walked over to the large map that was hanging on the wall.
"Look's like there's a remote ski resort of some kind in that same area. There's a few cabins that are rented out in the winter months but it's otherwise deserted the rest of the year." He continued, looking up as Dean turned to face him. "Does that sound like a place Dad would crash to you?" He asked, once again taking notice of the slight limp in his brothers step.
"Yeah it does." Dean replied, taking a quick glance at his watch. "If it's closed and deserted during this time of year there's a good chance that's where he's been squatting. It's out of town, quiet, near the woods."
"He hasn't changed a bit has he?" Sam suddenly asked, grabbing a pen and paper from the cluttered desk to write down a few key directions.
"Why would he?" Dean asked, pulling out a chair and taking a seat across from his brother. "It's Dad."
Sam couldn't help but pause, his fingers loosing grip on the pen in his hands. "I don't know, I just thought that he would have changed after I left. You know, angry because I wasn't there or happy because he didn't have to worry about me anymore."
"Dad's Dad, Sam." Dean was quick to reply, grabbing a shot glass with one hand as he reached for a bottle of Whisky with the other. "If he had changed because of what you did, he plays his cards even closer to his chest 'cause I haven't noticed anything different about him." He continued, pouring himself a drink and swallowing it down.
"He still treats you the same way he always does then?" Sam quietly asked, the words catching in the back of his throat again as Dean's eyes instantly narrowed.
"Dude don't start with this again." Dean growled, slamming the empty shot glass down on the desk as his younger brother turned his attention back to the computer screen in front of him. "You're the one who has a problem with it, not me." The silence that followed his words almost made him regret the lie he'd just told. But lying to his younger brother was the only way he knew how to keep a strong front. How to show confidence and strength even though he was loosing faith in himself and all those around him. He'd always tried so hard to live up to his father's expectations but no matter how hard he tried, he always did seem to fall short or take a step in the wrong direction. The mess he was currently in only proved that fact and it was a mistake he knew he'd never hear the end of, a mistake he'd never be able to live down.
"Good news and bad news boys." Bobby started, walking into the living room and tossing his overcoat aside. Grabbing a trucker hat from the coat rack nearby, he paused in his steps as both men glanced over. "What, did I kill the mood or something?" He asked, noticing right away the tension between them.
"Let's hear it." Dean said, breaking the awkward silence as he once again filled the shot glass in front of him.
"Well the good news is that they're giving up the search for you in that river. The bad news is, they ain't ready to declare you dead just yet." Bobby announced, pulling up a chair and taking a seat.
"So what exactly are they looking for when they can't even find the Impala?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Beats the hell out of me." Bobby was quick to reply. "The detective more or less just fell short of calling his officer a liar though because they haven't been able to locate the car he supposedly chased down that road. Congratulations Dean, you just created your very own Urban Legend. Rumors are already starting to spread because by all accounts, you and the car simply vanished into thin air." He paused for only a moment as he caught the smile creep up from the corner of Dean's lips. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen that smile. "So what did the two of you find on the whereabouts of yer old man? Any word from him yet?"
"We haven't heard from him but we think he might have been staying at a ski resort near Salida, near the foothills." Sam answered, flipping the laptop over so that Bobby could take a look for himself. "The place is vacant during the summer and it's near the spot where he would have been hunting that Wendigo."
Bobby offered a nod as he glanced at his watch, it was just past three in the afternoon. The day literally seemed to be flying by them. "All right well let's give him another hour or so and if he doesn't show up or answer his phone, then we'll head out to go find him." He announced, unable to shake his own feelings that something was in fact wrong.
John let out a groan as his eyes slowly opened, the last thing he remembered was getting pistol whipped in the face. He swallowed hard, tasting the blood in his mouth from the busted lip he'd ended up with. He didn't recall passing out but he obviously had since he now found himself tied to a chair. The ropes wrapped around his wrists and waist holding him firmly in place. Now sobering up from the weakened moment of self loathing and punishment that had taken him over, he no longer found pleasure in the pain that was slowly spreading from one bullet wound to his shoulder and another to his thigh. Such injuries would do nothing but slow him down in a fight, something he knew the Shapeshifter was counting on. He could feel his heartbeat pulsing in his wounds, feel the cold wet blood clinging to his clothes. Everything about his situation wasn't good but John knew it was only going to get worse.
His gaze drifted up as the cabin's door opened and the Shifter came in, his gun tucked into the side of its belt. Their eyes met for only a moment before John started looking for anything he could use to cut though the ropes.
"Hey guess what?" The Shapeshifter said, turning to shut the door and then making its way to the nearby window. "Your boys have been calling you, called your cell phone a few times in the last couple of hours while you were out."
"Doesn't surprise me in the least." John muttered under his breath, first noticing the setting sun over the distant tree line. "I'll tell you one thing, you'll be sorry when they do show up."
"No I wont but you will." The Shifter replied with a smile. "I'm counting on them to show up and when they do, I'm going to make you watch me slaughter them."
John couldn't help but close his eyes at those words, knowing his sons would eventually turn up in search of him. Dean was a keen hunter he'd know it was a trap, but he wasn't so sure about Sam. He'd left himself in his current situation but the last thing he wanted, the very last thing he needed on his conscious, was to drag his boys down with him. He swallowed hard, Sam's words about Dean needing help he would never ask for now echoing in his head. Maybe Sam had been right, what if he was too hard on Dean?
"The kid's smart." The Shapeshifter started, its voice pulling John's attention away from his guilt riddled thoughts. "Well trained and quick on his feet, he's just lacking the experience."
John struggled with the ropes holding his hands together as he watched the Shifter slowly pace back and forth in front of him. Why it was making an attempt at small pointless conversation was beyond him but as long as it was distracted, he'd have a better chance of slipping through his ropes.
"Found the police scanner in your truck too while I was moving it out of sight." It continued, pausing to take a quick glance out the window. The sun was setting fast now and in no time they'd be left in the dark with nothing more than a lantern to light up the room. "Couldn't help but have a listen. You know what I heard?" The Shapeshifter asked, momentarily looking over to catch John's eyes. "I heard that the hunt is still on for that kid of yours, cops from all over are looking for him. I guess he knows how we feel now, always having to watch your back."
"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you or something?" John asked, wincing in pain as he continued to pull at the ropes. "Cause I really don't."
There was a moment of silence as the Shapeshifter pulled out a large hunting knife from the duffle bag that was open on the table. "You should feel sorry for the kid, he probably looks up to you and you more or less led him to be slaughtered." "I can't wait to see the look on your face when they show up to kill you. Just like all the other monsters we've put down over the years, you're really no different." John hissed, straightening out in the chair as he watched the Shifter turn to face him.
"And I can't wait to see the look on your face, when I cut the flesh off their bones" The Shapeshifter was quick to reply as it examined the large blade in its grip. "I'm going to take my time and I'm going to enjoy it."
"The advantage is theirs you do know that right?" John asked, sucking in a breath as the Shifter made its way over towards him, the large blade still tucked in its hand. "There's two of them and only one of you. " He growled, swearing under his breath as the Shifter pressed the tip of the sharp blade under his chin to tilt it up. "They've been dealing with scum like you their entire lives."
"You seem to be forgetting one minor detail." The Shapeshifter replied with a smile, pulling the blade away and setting it back down on the table. "There might be two of them and only one of me" It started, grabbing a handkerchief from the bag and making its way back to John. "But I can be anyone that I want." It continued, shoving the handkerchief into John's mouth and tying the ends together behind his head, to be used as a gag. "And I mean anyone." There was a moment of silence and both turned their attention to the window as the sound of a car engine drifted through the trees. "Show time." It said, straightening out as it palmed the gun that was tucked into the side of its belt and made its way towards the door. "You just sit tight, I'll be right back. And don't you worry about junior, I'll bring him to you."
John let out a string of swears that came out as nothing more than a muffled gargle thanks to the piece of fabric crammed into his mouth. Watching as the Shapeshifter wandered out into the night, the door latching shut softly behind it, he could only hope that Dean wouldn't be fooled by the creature, like he had been.