Just Getting Started

"Every fifteen to twenty years, it hits a new town." Sam said worried. "This thing is just getting started. In all those other places, it goes on for months." I thought back to those faded memories of children who never reached their thirteenth birthday. "Dozens of kids before the Shtriga finally moved on." And there was already half a dozen there now. "The kids just...lay in comas and they they die."

"How far backs this thing go?" Dean demanded.

"The earlier we could find was in this place called back in the eighteen nineties."

I stopped him, having just flicked to a certain news article. "No way in hell, is that really who I think it is?" Sam took a look to confirm I wasn't losing my mind.

"No, I'm staring at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kids bed." Sam told Dean who was demanding answers again. "One of the doctors is Heidacker."

"And?" Dean asked, not getting it.

I took the phone. "And this picture was taken in eighteen ninety three."

At the hospital, Dean looked over his shoulder where the doctor was sitting at Asher's bedside telling his mom, "Don't worry. Your son's in good hands, I'm going to take care of him." Then the doctor who had no idea he'd just been discovered, walked over to Dean who looked ready to murder him by the tense look on his face and the tight grip he still had on his phone even though the conversation was long over. "So what's the CDC come up with so far?"

Dean swallowed hard and forced him voice to sound as calm as possible. "Well we're still working on a few theories. You'll know something as soon as we do."

The doctor nodded. "Well nothing's more important to me than those kids. Just let me know if I can help."

"I'll do that." Dean said even though it looked like he was ready to launch himself and strangle the doctor."

Back at the motel, "Why didn't we think of this before?" I asked, now making sure the guns were filled.

"A doctor is the perfect disguise." Sam noted. "You're trusted and you can control the whole thing."

Dean angrily yanked off his jacket, throwing it before continuing his pacing. "That son of a bitch!" He cursed his favorite phrase loudly and very angry.

"I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there." Sam stated.

I scoffed, "I'm more surprised Dean didn't come running in here an hour after the call screaming we have to go because he's done killed the doctor and now the police are after him."

Dean glared at us huffing. "Come on! I'm not gonna freakin' open fire in a pediatrics ward."

"Good call." Sam said and I nodded in agreement.

Dean waved a hand. "Besides, wouldn't have done any good because the bastard's billet proof unless he's chowing down on something." Which I personally thought was an unfair advantage. "And third, I wasn't packing which is probably a really good thing cause I probably would have just burned a clip in him on principle alone."

"I'm surprised you weren't packing." I commented curiously and Dean threw his hands into the air frustrated.

"Maybe he's finally getting wise in his old age." Sam joked since Dean was always going on about how as the eldest, he was 'always right'.

"Damn right." Dean actually agreed with the age comment. "Cause now I know how we're going to do it."

Sam and I shared a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"We don't even know where's it's going to strike next." I protested whatever Dean was planning.

"Yeah, we do." Dean said. "The nurse said it worked its way through siblings and last night..." He stopped so we could figure it out on our own.

"It went after Asher." Sam voiced. My mind started connecting the dots.

"So tonight, I'm thinking it's probably gonna come after Michael."

"So he's in trouble." I jumped up, putting my gun into the back of my pants quickly.

"We gotta get him outta here." Sam agreed, only half a step behind us. I didn't care if the kid wouldn't believe us. We'd temporarily kidnap him if we have to just to make sure the kid made it pass the night safe.

"No," Dean stepped in front of the door to stop us from leaving. I looked at him in disbelief. "That would blow the whole deal."

Now my mouth dropped open is shock. Sam got his voice back first. "You wanna use the kid as bait?" He demanded. "Forget it! That's out of the question!"

"That's just gonna get him killed."'I hissed angrily. "He's just a little bit."

"It's the only way." Dean tried to make us see things his way. "If this thing disappears, it could be years before we get another chance."

"We can't just dangle him in front of that thing like a worm of a hook." Sam tried to make Dean see reason but Dean looked pretty determined to me.

"Dad did not send me here just for me to let it walk away!" Dean said, looking more angry than I remember him being.

"You weren't the only one he sent here, Dean!" I snapped defensively.

"I'm the one that screwed up!" Dean suddenly exploded like he'd been trying to hide this fact for years. "There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me." I looked at him in rising confusion. What the hell was he talking about?

"What are you saying Dean?" Sam asked in a much softer tone then we've been using. "How it is your fault?" There was a long pause in which Dean wouldn't answer. "You've been hiding something from the get-go." Sam finally confused and I believed it. "Since when does dad bail on a hunt." Even I who've only met him once since I was two knew that wasn't usual behavior. "Since when does he let something get away?" Never, from the way I've always heard of John Winchester. "Now tell us what is going on." He said firmly.

Dean started to explain how when they were kids, he had went out to the local arcade leaving Sam asleep. He got back just in time to see the creature looming over Sam, ready to drain him. John got back just in time to attack it but it escaped although Sam was left alive and completely unaware of what had just happened as John jerked him awake to pull him into a hug. I myself got drew back into a memory of my experience. I had been so happy because I finally managed to climb the tree outside my window as high as it went. As I was trying to figure out how to get back down, I noticed something on my windowsill.

The wood was rotted with what looked like a handprint, long and thin fingers stretching out.

By the time I snapped out my flashback, Dean was just finishing with his. "Dad just...grabbed us and booked. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas, it had disappeared, it was just gone. It never surfaced until now. Dad never spoke of it again." Dean's voice seemed to change a little, cracking. "He looked at me different though. Which was worse, now that I blame him. He gave me an order and I didn't listen. I almost got you killed." No wonder Dean was so firm about going against dad's orders. The first time he did it, he nearly lost his little brother."

"You were just a kid." Sam said softly. Dad had no right in putting that kind of responsibility on his shoulders at that young age.

"Don't." Dean said firmly, refusing to let another word be safe about how it was anything but his gait. "Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it."

I sighed heavily. "So let's finish it."

"Hey, instead of Michael, can't one of us hide under the covers, be bait?" Sam suggested. Anything so we wouldn't have to use the kid.

I looked to Dean hopeful. Would it really work? But that hope dropped as Dean shook his head. "It won't work. It's gotta get close enough to feed, it'll see us. Believe me, I don't like it, but it's gotta be the kid."

We relapsed into silence. "...So whose gonna talk to him?" I asked.

Several long minutes later, Michael was standing behind the counter holding the phone in a death grip. "You're crazy!" He was shouting at us. Not nearly the worse I've heard. "Just go away or I'm calling the cops!"

"Hang on a second." Dean said quickly but I smirked, "Just listen to me." I knew Sam now owed me ten bucks "This thing came through the widow and it attacked your brother, I've seen it." Sam and I made a bet if Michael would try to call the cops or not. "I know what it looks like cause it attacked my brother once to, long before my sister came back into the picture."

This seemed to get through to Michael so he slowly put the phone now. "This thing..." Michael stuttered. "It has this long...black robe.

"Yes!" I blurted out, the memory of the one I had seen briefly resurfacing.

"I thought I was having a nightmare." Michael admitted. That was exactly what I had decided it was before forcing myself to forget about it.

Dead looked sad about it but he had to say it. "I'd give anything not to tell you this but sometimes, nightmares are real." It was a horrible fact of life and over three fourths of the planet had not a clue.

Michel looked up at us all suspicious again. "So why are you telling me?"

"Because of what happened to your brother." I put my arm up on the desk separating us.

"We need your help." Dean clarified. "We can kill it, me and them." He nodded at Sam and I. "That's what we do." It was honestly all I knew nowadays. "But we can't do it without you."

"No!" Michael blurted out panicked and I didn't blame him. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemies child.

"Listen to me." Dean now tried to get through to the barely teenage boy. "That thing hurt Asher and it's gonna keep hurting kids unless we stop it." Michael just kept staring at us with growing horror.

Back at the motel room, I threw myself onto one of the beds. "Well that was a bust."

"What did you expect?" Sam scoffed. Honestly, this wasn't to far off from what I thought he'd reaction would be. "You can't ask an adult to do something like this much less a kid."

But we all quieted as there was a sudden loud knock on the motel door. Dean was still closet to it so he pulled it open. Michael stood there, looking at all three of us with determined eyes before looking at Dean. "If you kill it, will Asher get better?"

"Honestly?" Dean wasn't about to start lying to the kid now. "We don't know."

Michael's eyes drifted over to Sam and I behind Dean. "You said you were a big brother." Dean nodded. "You take care of your little siblings? You'd do anything for them?" I straightened up curiously.

"Yeah, I would." Dean said so sincerely that I didn't doubt it for a moment.

"Me to." Michael said firmly. "I'll help." And that was how we got a temporarily new hunting partner.

We went back to Michael's room. I was pulling the cover's over Michael, making sure he was comfortable as Dean installed the camera in a corner of the room. "Need any help up there Dean-o?" I called when I noticed Dean nearly drop the small camera.

"No, I got it." Dean scowled, finally getting it. He turned to Michael proudly. "This camera has night vision on it so well be able to see clear as day. Are we good?" Dean asked Sam who was maintaining the laptop, making sure we had the camera pointed where we wanted it.

"A hair to the right." Sam said and Dean moved it accordingly.

"What do I do?" Michael asked worriedly.

I pulled the cover up to his chin. "All you just to do is stay under the covers."

"And if it shows up?" He asked, biting his lip.

"We'll be right in the next room." Dean explained. "We're gonna come in with guns." We were ready to blow this thing to pieces. "So as soon as we do, you roll off the bed and crawl under it."

"What if you shoot me?" Michael asked, thinking of anything that could go wrong. I smirked, as if we would possibly miss.

"We won't, we're good shots." Dean explained patiently. "You're not going to fire until you're clear." Michael jerkily nodded when I came up with a thought.

"You haven't happened to had ever actually heard a gunshot before?" I asked cautiously.

Michael still looked nervous as he said, "Like in the movies?" So he's never heard a real gun, I sighed heavily. To bad this had to be his first experience. He'd probably grow up afraid of guns after hearing them this night.

"It's gonna be a lot louder than in the movies." Dean said. "So I want you to stay under the bed, cover your ears, do not come out until we say so." He almost sounded like a parent. "You understand?" Michael slowly nodded looking scared to death and pale. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I don't get it, first he wants Michael to do it and now that he is, he's trying to give him an out? Michael didn't answer for a while. "it's okay, you don't have to, I won't be mad."

Michael ultimately made his decision. "No, I'm okay. Just don't shoot me."

I jokingly rolled my eyes. "No one's gonna shoot you, kid."

But Dean said seriously as can be. "We're not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."

And then we left to hide in the next room with Sam. All three of us sipping coffee in one hand and holding loaded guns in the other. My eyes never once left the computer screen, glancing for any movement that might belong to something that shouldn't exist.

"What time is it?" Dean asked, fighting back a yawn.

"Three." Sam muttered, glancing at his watch. "You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?"

I yawned loudly. "Probably should have asked that before we sat here for the first five hours."

"Don't worry, it'll work." Dean insisted. "It's what dad used last time."

"Hey Dean." Sam suddenly broke the silence minutes later. "I'm sorry." Both Dean and I stared at him in absolute confusion. "I've really given you a lot of crap for always following dad's orders." Sam explained his apology. "But I know why you do it."

Dean couldn't stay serious for long. "Oh god, kill me now." Sam laughed quietly.

I groaned. "Kill you? What about me? I wasn't even there and have to listen to this." Barely a moment passed before we got serious. I was steady standing up as the window to Michael's bedroom slowly slid open.

Dean grabbed my wrist before I could bust the door down. "Not yet." It was only when the thing was practically on top of Michael did we make our move. "Michael, down!" Dean shouted as we threw the door open. Michael rolled off the bed and disappeared under it. I didn't hesitate any longer in shooting the bastard dead, where it collapsed to the ground. Was it finally over? Dean made the move first, cautiously approaching it. Never one to be left behind, I quickly followed.

It didn't move so we relaxed but maybe that was our first mistake. I screamed when Dean was slammed against the wall by it suddenly rising. I rose my gun only to be bitch slapped into the wall. The creature jumped Sam, starting to drain in. They may prefer children but that clearly didn't mean it wouldn't take an adult.

I realized with panic that my gun had skidded under the bed with Michael. "Hey!" Dean shouted, standing with his gun firmly held up. The Shtriga turned only to get a bullet between the eyes and this time, he didn't get up.

I climbed to my feet, helping Sam up and he leaned heavily on me since he was so weak from having some of his energy suddenly drained. Some kind of energetic light started to emerge from the creature so Dean shot it again and more escape. The creature turned to dust, no longer able to hurt anyone ever again.

"it's okay Michael, you can come out now." Dean called and Michael cautiously climbed out, tentatively handing over my gun he held with the tips of his two fingers.

The next morning, "So I guess it's finally over." I muttered as we packed our bags into the impala. I couldn't help but wonder if that creature had been the same one to attack my orphanage all those years ago. But I would probably never know now that it was dead.

Michael and Asher's mom showed up and Michael came rushing out the motel in his excitement. "You're brother's gonna be fine." Joanna grinned excited, hugging her eldest son. I smirked a little, Joanna and Asher would never know that Michael had literally risked his own life to save that of his little brother's. Joanna kept taking. "No one can explain it, it's a miracle!" Or just a hunt gone right in my book. "They're going to keep him in overnight for observation and then he's coming home!"

"That's great." Dean said just as relieved as any parent to the unfortunate children.

"How are all the other kids doing?" Sam asked.

"As well as Asher, I hope." I commented. Now time for the moment of truth. Did destroying it save the rest of the children?