"It's silver." Dean pointed out. "None of us are shifters."

"Oh. In that case…" I smiled a little, and then finally rushed over to hug him. "Boy are we glad to see you!"

He chuckled and held me for a moment, being careful of my injured shoulder.

"You ok?" He asked, moving back to check me over.

I started to nod, then shrugged my good shoulder, "I will be."

He patted me on my good shoulder and nodded, "That's the spirit."

I rolled my eyes at him.

Once he'd finished his quick study of me, he moved over to Sam, who was still standing in the same spot he'd been in since Dean caught us by surprise. There was a faint smile of relief on his face now that Dean was here, but it was overshadowed by the pain in his eyes.

"Sammy." He said softly, with an unexpected tenderness that made me feel like I was intruding.

"Hey Dean." Sam replied and let Dean wrap him in a tight hug.

"Don't scare me like that again, dammit." Dean berated him, but there was no heat in the words.

Sam chuckled lightly, "Good luck with that."

Dean sighed, "Yeah…"

He moved back to study Sam like he had me, "That bastard did a number on you, didn't he?"

Sam let him fuss for a few moments, doing much the same checks as I had before we'd left the cabin. Finally he put his hands up, "Hey, I'm good, ok? I've already had doc in training over there check me over." He nodded at me with a smile.

Dean snorted, "And let me guess, she also told you that you have a concussion and some pretty serious contusions, not to mention that limp I saw a minute ago." He lifted the sleeve of Sam's shirt, revealing a nasty gash that he had managed to hide from me, "And you've split your stitches."

Sam shrugged. "I live. And like I promised her, I will go to the hospital as soon as we take care of the shifter." He told Dean firmly. "Now let's get moving, we need to get back to Taylor before he does."

On that we could all agree. Dean wrapped Sam's arm around his shoulders and an arm around his waist, supporting him way more effectively than I'd been able to.

We only made it a few more steps down the path though before we heard a sound that stopped us in our tracks.

It was a scream of inhuman rage, and it came from the direction of the cabin.

We still would have kept going, trying to get back to the dorms in time, if it wasn't for the following scream. This time, it was one of pain.

"Taylor!" I cried, staring at Sam and Dean as though they could make this ok.

They shared a sombre look, "Too late." Sam said quietly.

Dean swore quietly, looking between us and the direction of the cabin with a torn look on his face.

Sam made the decision for him. "You're not going in there alone. This thing is powerful…and even more so when we can't tell who to trust. We are staying together."

Dean didn't look happy, but he didn't argue. "You got any weapons? Silver?"

Sam shook his head, "He's got my gun and my knife."

I suddenly realised something, and thunked myself in the head hard enough for Sam and Dean to stare at me in concern. "Silver!" I exclaimed, pulling my necklace out from under my shirt. "I had it the whole time…" I felt like an idiot. Why didn't I remember that when he grabbed me?

Dean shook his head slightly, possibly questioning my sanity after that outburst, but Sam looked at me sympathetically. "You were scared, you don't always think straight when you're scared."

Dean nodded his agreement, "Just keep hold of it now, ok? I don't like you having to get close to him again."

I nodded, taking the necklace off and wrapping it around my wrist like a bracelet so that it was more accessible.

Dean nodded his approval. He put the silver bullet he'd passed around back into his gun, and then pulled another out of a bag that he had slung over one shoulder, handing it to Sam. "Ok, you know the drill. Silver bullet to the heart."

Sam nodded, "Let's do this quick, before he does any more harm."

I swallowed nervously as I followed them back towards the cabin we had just escaped from. To be honest I was terrified to face that thing again, especially knowing what he had already done to Sam and I, but I was not separating from them. So back to the cabin I went. I sent out a silent prayer that this was not about to end really badly…for all of us.

Hi everybody! Luckily for you, I found time for another chapter before I leave for my holiday! Sorry that it's a bit of a cliffhanger... ;)

Thankyou to Sallyannerenee for your review!

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