CHAPTER 7 -Where do you turn, when you hit a dead end?
"Next left." Sam pointed from the back seat as Bobby slowed to make the turn. They'd waited long enough for John to turn up at Bobby's place, but when he never showed or even returned one of their calls, the trio hit the road to find him. The sun had set miles ago and the small towns that dotted the old country road had become more and more scarce. A lone rundown gas station at a secondary highway crossroads was the last they'd seen of civilization. The further they went, the more wilderness seemed to surround them.
Turning off the main road, weather cracked pavement gave way to loose gravel. "You sure?" Bobby asked, eyeing the dark road ahead for any sign of the remote ski cabins they were looking for.
"Yeah I'm sure." Sam was quick to reply, passing the map and the flashlight he'd been holding to his older brother in the front seat. "It's the only road that goes down this way and we've already passed a sign for the cabins and resort just a little while ago."
Dean glanced at the map for only a moment before shutting the flashlight off and setting it down in his lap. He could feel it in his gut and he knew he wasn't the only one, something was wrong. His Dad had left him for weeks at a time before but this was different. While still caught up in his own mess they were now on the hunt for their father, who was convinced that he was actually there at his side. It still hurt to think about, that their dad would be so easily fooled and not know the difference, but he also knew just how smart that Shapeshifter was.
"How you doing kid?" Bobby suddenly asked, his simple question pulling Dean's attention away from his thoughts. He didn't bother looking over, the eye contact would only make the silence that filled the car that much more uncomfortable for both of them.
"I'm good." Dean replied simply.
Bobby nodded only to acknowledge he'd heard the answer, but that answer wasn't enough to satisfy him. He knew the younger hunter was anything but fine, that he was still struggling to cope with his failed hunt and the resulting carnage. But perhaps even more damaging then that last hunt gone awry, was Dean's vain attempts to prove himself to his father. "Just good?"
"What do you want me to say, Bobby?" Dean growled, his hands clenching into fists as angst and anger collided. "You want me to say that I'm great? That I've never felt better?" He continued without missing a beat.
"No, I just want you to stop lying to us and actually tell us how you feel." Bobby was quick to reply, keeping a calm and steady tone of voice.
"You want to know how I feel?" Dean started, the frustration once again seeping out in his voice as his tone suddenly dropped. "I feel like there is NOTHING I could EVER possibly do, to show Dad that I can be a great hunter. Hell I'm starting to think that I deserve the amount of crap and bullshit I put up with because it doesn't seem to matter what it is that I do, I always manage to screw it up somehow. I mean look at me? I let a pair of Shifter's slip through my fingers, now one of them has Dad and the other put me on every cop's radar!"
Sam sank down into his seat as Dean's voice echoed in the car. The emotions were raw and not a single word was forced. He knew his older brother often kept to himself, he'd witnessed it in the past and had seen the flood gates open like this before in random spurts of drinking and reckless violence, but never before had he heard Dean use such a tone. There was just something in his voice. The chill went down his spine and as the silence between them once again filled the car, he couldn't help but watch in the reflection of the front window as Dean turned his stern eyes to the darkened scenery that was flying by. Just like the argument they'd had earlier in the day when they'd found him at the cabin in the woods, the look of dismay on his face was downright heartbreaking.
"Dean, your dad's proud of you. Of both of you." Bobby quietly started, his gaze drifting up to the rearview mirror to catch Sam's eyes in the back seat.
"Then how come he never says it?" Dean asked bluntly, embers of hate and resentment still smoldering deep inside. "How come he never shows it?"
"Cause that's just the kind of person John is." Bobby replied. "He doesn't know how to react and the only reason he keeps pointing out your flaws, is because there's too much good in ya to mention. I know he pisses you off sometimes, hell he pisses me off sometimes too, but you can't let him get under your skin. Your dad only has the best intentions in mind when he gives you grief about a bad hunt. He just wants you to learn from your mistakes and be better prepared for the next time."
"That doesn't sound like dad to me." Dean grumbled under his breath as he passed a hand over his face to hide the slightest trace of a tear.
"Well it is, you just don't know him like I do and that's his fault. If he'd stop giving you orders and barking commands every once in a while, maybe he'd realized that he raised you two well enough to think for yourselves." Bobby said, eyeing the large gate that was blocking the road up ahead of them. "Looks like this might be the place." He announced only to change the subject. "You two get your guns ready with silver rounds, I'll go see if the gate's locked." He continued, sliding the shifter into park and pulling the keys from the ignition.
Watching as the veteran hunter made his way towards the large gate, Sam couldn't help but suck in a breath. "He's probably right about dad." He admitted, thinking over what Bobby had said about their father and the way he often acted. No sooner had the words left his mouth, Dean turned in his seat to face him.
"Twenty-four hours ago you're arguing with me about the way the man treats me and now because of Bobby's little speech, you're telling me that..."
"Maybe I was wrong." Sam was quick to admit as their eyes locked for only a moment. Talking to Dean was like walking on eggshells. He didn't know what to say or not say and had no idea what would set him off next. "What Bobby said makes sense, you know how dad is. All the orders he expect us..."
"Yeah I know how Dad is alright." Dean cut in, watching as Bobby pulled the chain from the gate and simply pushed it open. "Problem is the Dad I know and the one you know, don't seem to be the same person." Dean continued as he loaded silver bullets into his handgun and straightened out in his seat, the movement reminding him of the wound in his side. He swore under his breath, momentarily pressing a hand up against his shirt and feeling the square bandage through the fabric. "If you knew the side of him that I do, you'd never disobey a direct order. NEVER."
Sam let out a heavy sigh, his brother's blind faith troubling. "Dean, I just want you to understand you don't deserve the crap you put up with." He quietly started, swallowing the lump caught in his throat. "The orders you get from him, the stuff he expects you to do without question." "C'mon we've got work to do." Dean muttered under his breath, ignoring his brother's comment as he stepped out of the car, flashlight in one hand and loaded gun in the other.
Sam took a deep breath as he climbed out of the back seat, trying to remember what he was really doing there as he watched Dean make his way over towards Bobby. Things between Dean and their father never would change, so why was he there trying to change them? Explaining to his older brother that he was worth so much more than their fathers orders or approval would more than likely result in him getting a punch to the face, rather than getting his point across. He turned his flashlight on as he joined the pair at the gate, the words exchanged in the car still circling in his head. "We're not driving in?"
"Not if we're going to catch them by surprise." Bobby replied simply as the trio started walking along the well traveled dirt road, armed and ready for an encounter with the Shapeshifter that had slipped through Dean's fingers and had somehow managed to get to John. After a short walk through the woods, they reached a clearing and paused. "Lights out boys." The veteran hunter whispered, pointing out a dozen or so small cabins that could be seen in the distance. "Alright here's the plan." He started, thankful that the full moon high above was bright enough for them to get around without the flashlights. "I'll make my way around to the far side and start from there, you two start at this end and comb the cabins."
"What about the only one of those cabins with a light on?" Sam asked, pointing out a cabin in the middle that stood out among the rest. "Don't you think that's a good place to start?" He asked, eyeing the warm glow of a dim light in the center of desolate darkness.
"That's a good place to fall into a trap." Dean was quick to reply, pointing out the obvious his younger brother seemed to have missed.
"Look in each cabin and don't forget we're after a Shapeshifter. The thing could be anyone." Bobby warned, loading his gun. "You boys be careful." He said, watching as the pair gave him a nod and started sneaking their way to the first of many cabins. The place was deserted, but the light in the cabin and the fresh tire tracks in the mud had him convinced that they weren't there alone. Clutching his gun, he eyed the lone cabin that glowed with the dim ray of flickering light, as he made his way towards the far side of the resort grounds. "John you son of a bitch." He muttered under his breath, thinking of Dean and the toll this last job had had on the young hunter. "You'd better be here."
Guns drawn and loaded, Sam and Dean meticulously made their way from one cabin to the next, each door latched shut and locked with a padlock and each cabin just as empty as it was when spring came around and the resort was closed for the season. "See anything?" Sam asked, standing watch as his brother used a flashlight to peer in through the window.
"Empty." Dean replied simply, shutting his light off and stepping off the front porch to make his way to the next cabin. "I've got a bad feeling about this." He quietly admitted, his eyes drifting down the row to the only one that showed any sign of life. "If Dad's in there and that Shapeshifter is just sitting there waiting for us to bust through that front door."
"What if Dad's de..." Sam trailed off as Dean paused in his steps and turned around to face him, just like he had done when they were sitting in Bobby's car. Their eyes met and even in the moonlight, the look he got from his brother was enough to send the chills running down his spine. "I was just..."
"Don't." Dean growled, eyeing the younger man for only a moment before pointing him across the dirt road. "I'll take these last three, you check out the ones across the road." He said, shifting both the mood and the subject as he turned his attention back to the job at hand, pushing aside the thoughts of what would greet them when they eventually did make their way to the lone lit cabin nearby. He knew what his brother was getting at but he just didn't want to hear it.
Sam gave his brother a nod as he crossed over to the other side of the dirt road, climbing up the porch steps and turning to watch as Dean made his way up the steps of another cabin across from him. Walking between the shadows, the flashlight only came on when he peered into a window to take a look around. Sam couldn't help but let out a sigh as he watched the other man move on to the next one. Another empty cabin and another locked door, he wondered if Bobby was having better luck across the grounds but doubted it. They were wasting time, time he wasn't sure their father could spare. Turning his own flashlight on he peered in through the window he was standing next too, not surprised to see the cabin just as empty as all the other's they had already searched. He swore under his breath, shutting his light off and turning his attention back towards his brother across the road. With the moonlight casting his shadow on the ground as he walked, the limp in his step was still obvious though he was trying to play it down. For such a silent night, every single thing Sam could hear in the woods nearby had him on edge. This was one of things he didn't miss of the job. The late nights spent out in the middle of nowhere with the monsters they were hunting, lurking nearby, sitting and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Across the road, Dean looked in through one more window, almost hoping something would catch his eye but knowing this cabin would be no different than the one that came before it. He was so focused on what he was doing, that he never even heard the footsteps come to a stop at the base of the steps behind him. He should have been paying more attention to what was going on around him, but it was just one more mistake in the list of many he would struggle to deal with.
"Drop the gun, drop the gun!" Came a man's demanding voice. "Hands where I can see them!"
It had come out of nowhere and Dean froze as the flashlight hit him like a spotlight. His heart jumped to his throat as he turned slightly to take a glance at the armed, uniformed officer that was now standing at the bottom of the porch steps. He swore under his breath, his mind starting to race as he tried to think of what to do next. "Officer, I can explain." He started, reaching out to place both his gun and flashlight on the floor at his feet. He didn't have much more than that to offer but figured it was as good a place as any to start, considering anything that left his mouth from this point on would be a flat out lie. "See, I was driving by and thought I heard a scream." His eyes momentarily drifted over the man's shoulder as Sam took cover in the shadow of the cabin directly across from him.
"I'm sure you did." The officer replied, doing little to hide the skepticism in his voice. "Put your hands behind your head and turn around to face the wall." He ordered, keeping his gun on Dean as he made his way up the few steps.
Dean sucked in a breath as he placed both hands behind his head, his eyes catching the gleam of moonlight off the officer's badge as the other man approached with heavy steps. Turning to face the wall as he'd been told, he could have sworn his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. Very few situations left him at such a loss but just like the hopelessness he'd felt when he was behind the wheel of his car, barreling down some country road with the cops on his ass for murder, at that very moment the young hunter had no idea what to do. Dealing with the law was a whole other story than dealing with the supernatural.
The officer tucked his flashlight away as he reached for his handcuffs. "This is private property son and you have no right to be out here." The law man growled as he grabbed one of Dean's hands and brought it down behind his back. "Neighbors up on the ridge called about a light on in one of the cabins. You been squatting here long?" The officer continued.
"No sir." He replied simply, swallowing hard as he felt the cuff close around his wrist, the cold metal against his skin now all he could think about as he leaned his forehead against the cabin wall in front of him. Bottom line was, that regardless of the lives he'd saved in the process, he was a wanted man and it was the end of the line for him even though his job was far from being over. He'd failed to find a solution to the situation he was in and by doing so, had once again failed to prove himself a hunter or even a man, his father could count on and trust. Though a life sentence was more than likely hanging over his head, the only thing he could really focus on was how he'd disappointed his father. Again.
On the other side of the resort grounds, Bobby paused in his steps as his flashlight reflected off the tail lights of John's truck. For a short moment he was relieved. This was good news, this meant that John was actually there somewhere. Quietly making his way over to get a better look he couldn't help but notice the tire tracks in the mud, they were much too small for a truck of that size to have made. He approached cautiously, his gaze drifting to the lone lit cabin for only a moment before focusing on the large black truck that was tucked between a wood shed and what he could only assume was another vehicle covered with a tarp. The truck was parked out of sight and had been put there for a reason whereas John would have left it in plain sight, ready with a badge or excuse to justify his presence if need be. Using his flashlight to have a look, Bobby took a quick glance inside, the keys were still in the ignition and a duffle bag of clothes was open on the seat. He then moved to the box, nothing seemed to be missing from the arsenal, which could either be a good thing or a really bad one.
When his eyes scanned the muddy ground for footsteps, he couldn't help but notice the pile of goo sticking out of the large tarp nearby. He knew what it was and knew right away that they would have another problem on their hands if that Shapeshifter had turned into John Winchester in a desperate bid to evade them. He was starting to understand why Dean had a hard time keeping up to the thing. Fast and smart just like he said it was, it had already shed the young hunter's skin to stay one step ahead of them. He swallowed hard as he lifted the corner of the tarp, his curiosity getting the best of him when he felt the heat radiating from under the hood of a vehicle that hadn't been sitting there long. That's when his eyes focused on a Marshal's patrol car, the unfortunate officer slumped across the backseat. His heart hit the bottom of his stomach. "Shit."