A/N: I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY! THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!
Chapter 5: Dead Man's Blood
"Someone's not very hungry," Dean Winchester stated sarcastically as he watched Mia gobble down mouthful after mouthful of French fries.
The young girl shot him a dirty look before she shoveled another handful of fries into her mouth.
"Give her a break, Dean. She hasn't eaten anything all day," Sam Winchester replied.
The three young hunters were treating themselves to an early dinner as they'd been driving all day. Mia had ordered an extra platter of fries at the Diner as Sam and Dean rifled through old newspapers and checked online to find anything that could lead them to their next case.
"You're disgusting…" Dean scolded as he grimaced at Mia's table manners.
"Maybe I wouldn't be this gross if you'd actually let me eat breakfast this morning before we headed out on the road!" The brunette managed with her mouth full of fries. Despite Sam's efforts, no progress had been made between Dean and Mia.
Sam sighed in irritation. "Have you found anything yet, Dean?"
His older brother closed the newspaper and shook his head. "Nothing… you?"
"A woman in Iowa fell from a plane and survived," He read off the screen of his laptop.
"That's more like a miracle than an actual case," Dean responded.
Mia mumbled in agreement before she took a large sip of her cola.
"Oh wait, there's something else. In Colorado, an elderly man by the name of Daniel Elkins was found dead in his home-"
"Elkins?" Dean interrupted while he began to flip through his father's journal, "That name sounds familiar."
"-the police believe he was mauled by a bear but there were also signs of thievery." Sam finished.
Mia joked, "Sounds like Yogi Bear got tired of only eating food from picnic baskets."
Dean looked at her as though nothing would give him more pleasure than to push her off the edge of a cliff.
"Here," Dean said as he handed the journal over to his brother.
Sam looked at the entry with the name Daniel Elkins along with a phone number. "Do you think that's him?"
"It's a Colorado area code," Dean replied.
Sam frowned, perplexed by the strange circumstances.
Dean noticed his brother's hesitation and smirked. "Or, we could just keep heading east and visit Sarah again."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Maybe another time. We've got work to do, I think you're right and this could be a case."
His older brother grinned, "Perfect. I'll go get the car ready, and you can pay for our dinner."
He stood and left the Diner before Sam could offer a protest.
"You know," Sam muttered to himself, "sometimes I regret ever coming back…"
Mia, who had finished her food, leaned towards him out of interest. "What do you mean, 'coming back'?"
Sam shut his laptop and took a deep breath, "it's a long story."
"Try me."
Then he told her everything. That when he was six months old, a demon broke into his family home and set it on fire with his mother inside. Ever since his father had raised him and Dean like soldiers. Training them all their lives to handle the supernatural, to save people, hunt things, and carry on the family business.
"Dean and I, we never had a normal childhood. We lived out of motels and traveled most of our lives. Finally, I'd had enough of it. I wanted desperately to be normal, so I applied to Stanford University, got accepted, and left. When I told my dad I was going to College, he flipped. He told me if I walked out that door, I'd never see him again. Dean drove me to the bus station and we lost contact for a few years until a few months ago…" At the end of his explanation, Sam glanced out of the window sadly.
"What happened a few months ago?" Mia asked patiently.
Sam frowned uncertainly, and she began to backpedal, "It's okay if you don't want to tell me."
Sam shook his head, "It's alright. I had a girlfriend in college. Her name was Jessica. One day, Dean showed up out of the blue and told me that Dad had gone missing during a hunting trip. He dragged me into helping him look for our dad. I helped for a little while, then I decided to head home since I had an interview with a law firm the next day. When I got home, I found Jessica dead. She was lying on the ceiling with her stomach cut-the same way my mom died. The demon that killed my mother, killed my girlfriend and I won't rest until me and my Dad personally drag it to hell," Malice reigned in Sam's tone as he spoke and it caused Mia to flinch in discomfort.
"I'm so sorry," She said to him sympathetically, "I had no idea what you guys have been through. How tough it must have been to grow up in this environment, especially without your mom."
Sam shrugged it off, "You get used to it. Besides, once I kill the demon that murdered Jess, I'm gonna go back to living like a normal person again."
At this bit of news, Mia's face fell. She hadn't known that this was Sam's plan, and she felt disappointed that he was going to go back to a normal, boring life when he lived a life of such adventure. Then again, growing up knowing the monsters under the bed are real, isn't exactly the type of life Mia would've wanted as a kid either.
"So, Jessica... I remember you mentioning her to Dean. Did she know about your-"
"My hunting background?" Sam interrupted, "No. I wanted to leave that part of my life behind and start fresh. I had a wonderful life with her, the whole couple of years we spent together."
Mia nodded solemnly as she stared outside the window. It had begun to rain.
By the time the three of them arrived at Daniel Elkins' house, it was extremely late. Nevertheless, they broke into his house to look for any sort of clues as to how the old man died, as well as any indication of his association with the Winchesters' father.
"There's some salt by the door," Sam observed as he walked into the house.
Dean turned to him, "Are we talking, 'oops, I spilled the popcorn, salt', or protection from demons salt?"
"That's either a lot of popcorn, or he was trying to protect himself from something-it's a circle of salt," Mia replied, as she had learned from Sam that salt warded against evil spirits such as demons, ghosts, and apparitions.
Dean ignored her comment as he closely examined the state of the kitchen. It looked as though it had been ransacked; there was upturned furniture everywhere and blood spatters on the floorboards.
"What do you think did this?" Dean asked as he bent down to get a closer look at the bloody markings.
"Maybe it was a vampire? It would explain the bloody mess," Mia suggested as she walked into the kitchen behind Sam.
Dean laughed loudly and sarcastically, "Yeah, good one. Did unicorns get in on the action too?"
The young girl frowned in confusion and turned to Sam who had a small smile of amusement on his lips.
"Vampires aren't real, Mia. Us, and no one we know, has ever come into contact with them," Sam explained to her patiently.
"That's ridiculous. Vampires are on the top of the monster list and they don't even exist? Geez! What about werewolves?" Mia replied in exasperation.
Suddenly, a hazy memory came to Sam. He was a little boy, about ten or eleven years old, he heard the voice of an older man talking to his brother. "-she's helping me hunt down the werewolf, Dean."
"Sammy? You okay?" Dean asked in concern as his brother slowly returned to reality.
Sam shook off the weird recollection, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just had this really weird feeling of déjà vu."
"As I was saying to little miss Princess who thinks she knows everything," continued Dean in a condescending manner, "it's not a full moon, so it couldn't be a werewolf."
Mia crossed her arms indignantly, "Well so-rry."
Dean ignored her and looked at an open journal lying on the kitchen counter.
"That looks like Dad's," Sam commented as he watched his brother flip through the detailed pages of monster lore.
Dean nodded, "Yeah but this thing dates back to the 60's… Well, one thing is for sure, Elkins was definitely a hunter."
Mia, who had walked over to see the journal herself, tripped over a box but caught herself on the edge of a desk.
"Klutz!" Dean hissed angrily at the loud noises she had produced from tripping.
"What the heck was that?" Mia asked as she picked up the object she'd tripped over.
Sam studied it closely, "It looks like some sort of antique gun case."
"But no guns or bullets inside of it…" Mia remarked quizzically.
Suddenly Dean reached over to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. He then placed the paper over a particular scratch within a blood pattern on the case and colored over it with the pencil. It produced an impression on the paper.
"Look familiar to you?" The older Winchester asked his brother as he held up the finished paper.
Sam's eyes widened in recognition, "Three letters, six digits; it's the location and combination of a post office box. A mail drop…"
Mia's eyes widened in surprise as well. She was in complete amazement as to how Dean and Sam could see the numbers in the splatters of dried blood. She glanced up to Sam to ask him where the lockers were but out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement through the window. It looked as though a shadow was moving in the trees.
"Guys," she choked in terror, "I think there's someone, outside."
Sam's face fell in fear while Dean brushed off her concern, "Calm down Wilkins, it was probably just a bear. In case you haven't noticed, this cabin is in the middle of the woods. Anyways, I think we should check out this location, it's just the kind of thing Dad would set up for us."
"What if the thing that killed Elkins is out there?" Sam interjected.
Dean rolled his eyes in reluctance, "Fine, I'll check the perimeter."
He left the house and circled it with his gun, in case he ran into anything. After ten minutes of wandering around aimlessly, he returned to the cabin.
"I told you, there's nothing outside. She probably just saw an animal going for a midnight snack," Dean told his brother.
Mia flushed pink in embarrassment as she followed the brothers out of the cabin and back into the car. She scolded herself for being so jumpy, but when she recalled what she'd seen, it didn't look anything like an animal. In fact, it looked like…a man.
The three of them arrived at the post office and used the combination given to open the locker. Inside was a single letter, addressed to the initials J.W. They headed back to the car to discuss their theories without being publicly overheard.
"J.W.? Who could that be?" Mia pondered as she studied the address on the envelope. For some reason, the initials weren't clicking in her head.
Dean snatched the letter from her, "John Wayne. Who do you think?"
Mia looked furious at him for making fun of her. She leaned towards him to yell in his face but Sam gave her a stern look and she retreated instead.
"The big question is; if it is for Dad, should we open it?" Sam said to them as he looked at the envelope.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the rear door window and the three young hunters jumped in surprise.
Sam and Dean, who recognized the stranger banging on the window as their father, instantly relaxed. However, Mia, who had no clue that the man currently standing outside her window was John Winchester, began screaming loudly.
She continued to scream, even as John opened the door and slid into the backseat next to her.
"Mia! Relax! That's our Dad!" Sam reassured the hysterical girl.
Mia stopped screaming and began to study the man beside her. Besides looking extremely freaked out, Mia could see the features that his sons had inherited from him. Sam and his father shared the same color hair and face shape. Dean had his father's eyes and his cheeks. Between the two of them, she could safely say that Dean looked the most like his father.
John frowned at her, "I'm sorry, who are you?"
Mia blushed when she realized she'd been staring at him longer than what was deemed socially acceptable.
"Oh! I'm Mia Wilkins, it's a pleasure to meet you. You have such beautiful handwriting from what I've read in your journal."
She smiled unsurely but knew that she'd screwed up once she heard Sam smack his hand against his face out of second-hand embarrassment.
"You let this girl read my journals!" John bellowed loudly as he turned to glare at his sons.
"Dad she's-" Sam began to explain but was cut off.
"What have I told you boys about bringing girls on hunts!?" John thundered as he glared at Dean.
"Don't look at me! I've never brought a girlfriend on a hunt, and even if I did, it sure as hell wouldn't be Mia. I never even wanted her here in the first place," Dean replied as he shot Mia a dirty look. The brunette sank lower in her seat.
"With all due respect Sir," Sam began softly, "we met Mia right after we separated with you. She really helped us with one of our cases and wanted to pursue hunting. I offered to let her travel with us so we could train her to become a hunter on her own. She's been a great help on our past few cases."
John's harsh demeanor softened at his youngest son's words. "Is that true, Dean?"
Dean looked down and forced himself not to answer. As much as he hated Mia, he couldn't deny the fact that she had been a good helper.
John nodded, taking his son's silence as a yes.
"I may not like it, but I'll deal with it later," He said coolly to Mia who began nervously twisting her necklace.
Dean smirked at the knowledge that his father didn't like Mia traveling with them as much as he did.
"I'm here because I heard the news about Daniel. I got here as fast as I could and I saw you guys at his place," John explained.
Mia shot Dean a smug look as they realized that she had been right in saying that she'd seen someone in the woods at Daniel Elkins' house.
Sam frowned, "Why didn't you come in?"
"You know why," John sighed, "I had to make sure you weren't followed by anyone or anything."
"So you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?" Sam asked.
"Daniel was a good friend. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting…" John drifted off in his memories for a moment before returning to reality.
"I should look at that," He said as he extended his arm to receive his letter.
Sam handed it to him, and the Winchester father made quick work of opening the letter and reading it aloud:
"If you're reading this, I'm already dead… that son of a bitch."
Mia frowned at the man's sudden change in tone.
"What, Dad?" Dean questioned.
"He had it the whole time!" John groaned as he put down the letter.
"Had what?" Sam and Mia asked in unison.
The older man looked at them, "When you were in Elkins' house, did you see anything that looked like an antique gun- a Colt revolver?"
Mia shook her head, "There was an antique-looking case but it was completely empty."
"They have it," John stated as he began to climb out of the car.
"Wait! You mean whatever killed Elkins has the gun?" Dean inferred in confusion.
"Yes, and we need to pick up the trail fast. If Daniel is telling the truth it means that they have the gun and we need to get it," John explained, managing to reveal little information about the gun or its importance.
"But wait, we don't even know what we're even hunting, or why this gun is so important!" Sam exclaimed to his father in bewilderment.
Mia felt just as confused as the Winchester brothers, as she attempted to understand what their father was going on about.
"He was killed by what he hunted best, vampires," said John.
Sam and Dean exchanged confused looks while Mia spoke up, "Wait, I thought vampires weren't real."
John shook his head, "They're real alright. Although for the longest time, I was convinced they'd been hunted to extinction, I was wrong."
"How do you kill a vampire then? Stake through the heart, like the movies?" Dean asked.
"Vampires aren't like the ones in movies. Sunlight won't burn them, crosses won't repel them and a stake to the heart won't kill them. But the bloodlust part is true-they need human blood to survive. They were once people, so you won't realize that they're a vampire until it's too late. I'll explain more later…" John told them before heading off to his own car.
"Vampires?" Dean asked in shock as he turned to his brother.
Sam shook his head, "What does Dad want with that gun anyways?"
Mia, however, bit back a smile. "I told you it was a vampire."
Dean turned around, "Yeah, yeah... What do you want, a medal?"
Mia laughed sarcastically, "I was right about seeing your Dad too. So that's two points Mia, zero points Dean."
"Yeah whatever, it doesn't matter anyway," Dean retorted in irritation as he started the car to follow his dad.
"['Doesn't matter anyway'-yeah right. It will matter when you win one of our arguments and you won't let me forget it," Mia muttered to herself as she curled up in the backseat with her own journal.
The three of them followed John to a motel where they decided to rest for the night. Or at least, Sam, Dean, and Mia rested while John spent the majority of the night listening to the police scanner he had for any supernatural activity.
"Up! Everyone up, we've got a lead!" John called to Mia and his kids.
Sam and Dean slowly got up and stretched while Mia continued to snore in her cot.
"What's happening?" Dean asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"A couple just called 911 from the highway, reporting a dead body. When the police showed up, everyone was missing. It's the vampires."
Sam yawned, "How do you know?"
"Just follow me," His father groaned as he left the motel room.
"Mia, wake up- we've got a lead," Sam said to his friend as he gently shook her.
Mia moaned and rolled over but didn't wake up. Sam sighed in exasperation.
"I got this," Dean groaned as he walked over to the sleeping girl. He began to shake her violently, "Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!"
Suddenly, Mia reached out and swatted at Dean's face in a sleepy daze. The boy retreated in shock and Mia sat up.
"Sorry, Sam! It was an instinct from when I-" She paused when she realized that she'd hit Dean instead of Sam.
"Oh.. never mind then," Mia shrugged as she got up to grab her bags.
Dean put a hand against the part of his face that Mia struck "I hope she gets eaten by a vampire," He cursed under his breath.
Sam, who overheard his brother's muttering, brushed it off. He was growing extremely tired of the constant exchange of bitterness between his friend and his brother.
They arrived at the crime scene and John spoke to the police.
"I don't see why we couldn't go with him," Sam muttered angrily.
Dean groaned, "Please don't tell me it's starting again."
"What's starting?" Sam questioned, but before Dean could answer, John returned.
"They're heading West, we're gonna have to double back to get past the detour."
Sam glared at his father, "How can you be so sure?"
"Sam," Dean butt in but his brother ignored him.
"I just wanna know that we're heading the right way," In response, John pulled out a small white item from his pocket and gave it to Sam.
"Is that a vampire fang?" Mia exclaimed in surprise.
"It's a vampire tooth, the second set of teeth descends when they attack. That's how I know we're heading the right way. Any more questions?" John asked impatiently.
Sam looked down in defeat.
"Now, let's go. We're losing daylight," John snapped before heading off to his truck, "and Dean, why don't you touch up your car? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if you weren't gonna take care of it."
Dean looked so hurt and offended Mia didn't dare venture a laugh at his expense. However, Sam half-smiled before climbing into the Impala.
The three of them were off, following closely behind John. Dean offered to let Sam drive while he rested. Mia lay in the backseat, half-asleep as she read off a sheet of information about vampires, that John had given them, aloud.
"Vampires nest in groups of eight to ten, smaller packs are sent out to hunt for food. Victims are taken to the nest where the pack keeps them alive, bleeding them for days or weeks."
"Do you think that's what happened to the couple on the highway?" Dean mused but his brother was still annoyed with their father.
"That's probably what Dad's thinking, of course, it would be nice if he just told us what he thinks," Sam mumbled angrily.
Dean sighed, "So, it has started."
Mia began to zone in and out of the conversation as she fought off sleep deprivation. Dean seemed to be irritated that Sam and their father were already fighting, and he wanted them to work the case together like a family again.
Sam argued that he didn't think it was fair that their father treated them like children; leaving out important information, refusing to trust them, and barking orders at them. Dean defended John by stating that his method worked.
"You're seriously okay with letting him call all the shots, even after everything we've been through?" Sam scoffed.
Dean nodded solemnly, "If that's what it takes."
Mia pondered to herself how such a headstrong person like Dean was able to take orders from his father without question. She understood Sam's opposition to trusting John, after all, he had been kicked out of the house for simply wanting to change his lifestyle, and she could sympathize with that. She barely knew anything about John but she did know that he frightened her a little. Mia fell asleep shortly after and snoozed until the car stopped a few hours later.
Mia awoke to the sound of the engine revving loudly and the tires burning. She feared they were going to crash but it turned out that Sam had just pulled over and cut off his father in the process.
"What the hell," Mia mumbled to herself as she climbed out of the car.
"Here we go again," Dean groaned as he followed Sam out of the car.
Sam ran towards his father and the two of them began heatedly arguing.
"Where are we even going, Dad!? And what the hell is the deal with the gun!?" Sam snapped at his father angrily.
"Sam, we don't have time for this. Look, we're all tired and we can talk later," Dean said, coming between the two of them.
Mia watched helplessly from the sidelines. She personally agreed with Sam and believed that John needed to tell them what was going on. But she didn't want to involve herself in their family affairs.
"Get in the car," John demanded his youngest son.
Sam glared at him, "No."
"I said, get in the damn car!" John repeated furiously.
"And I said no."
Dean grabbed his brother, "Sam, we need to go. We can talk about this another time."
Sam allowed his brother to pull him away but when he saw Mia watching nearby he turned and said to her, "This is why I left in the first place."
"What did you just say?" John demanded after overhearing Sam's comment.
"You heard me," Sam snapped.
"Yeah, that's right Sam. You left. Your brother and me, we needed you and you just left!" John yelled.
"Stop it!" Dean cried as he tried to pull Sam back.
"You're the one who slammed the door, Dad! YOU TOLD ME NEVER TO COME BACK BECAUSE YOU WERE JUST PISSED OFF THAT YOU COULDN'T CONTROL ME ANYMORE!" Sam shouted, his voice gaining volume and power.
Mia's eyes widened in fear at how terrifying her friend could be.
"Alright, stop. That's enough! Both of you, back off." Dean shouted as he forced the two of them apart. Sam glared at his father as he climbed back into the Impala and John glared right back at him as he climbed into his own truck.
Mia glanced at Dean who threw up his hands in exasperation. "Terrific!" He cried angrily before he got back into his car, with Mia behind him. She almost felt bad for Dean, it must be hard to play peacemaker within your own family.
By the time they finally reached the nest, which was an abandoned farmhouse, it was morning.
John, Dean, Sam, and Mia hid in the tall grass nearby in order to stalk their prey. They watched two vampires come out into the sun and act as though it didn't bother them.
"The sun is like a nasty sunburn, the only way to kill them is decapitation. And just because they sleep during the day, doesn't mean they won't wake up," John explained to the young hunters.
"So I guess walking right in isn't the best plan of action then," Dean noted but John smiled slyly.
"Actually, that's our plan."
He went on to explain it was their best chance to sneak in silently and steal the Colt before any of the vampires noticed it was gone. No one would get hurt, and they could leave the monsters in peace.
Everyone headed to the cars to gear up. Dean and Sam grabbed their machetes while John grabbed his. Mia went to take the extra one Dean had and practiced fencing with it.
"That's not how you use a machete," Dean said with an eye roll at Mia's antics.
She immediately stopped playing around and turned to him, "Then how do you use one?"
He sighed, "Look, I don't have time to give you a formal lesson. Use your common sense if you even have any."
Mia glared angrily at Dean.
"So," John began softly, "you guys really wanna know about this Colt?"
Dean and Mia glanced up from their argument and even Sam, who had been ignoring his father, was intrigued.
"Yes, sir," Sam answered and his father launched into the legend behind the Colt as well as its importance to them.
He explained to them that Samuel Colt made the gun back in 1835. It was a gun meant for hunters. He made thirteen bullets and used the gun at least half a dozen times before he and the gun both disappeared.
"These were legends, bedtime stories for hunters. I didn't even believe it until I found Daniel's letter… The legends say that the gun can kill anything..." John finished.
Sam's eyes widened in realization, "Like the demon that killed Mom and Jess."
His father nodded. "Ever since I caught the demon's trail, I've been looking for a way to kill it, and this gun just might do the trick."
Mia looked at Sam to gauge his reaction. He looked excited, the thought of revenge on the demon being so close brought him relief.
"Let's go, we're losing time," John commanded the three of them.
They snuck silently into the barn. John headed straight towards the back while Dean, Sam, and Mia cautiously made their way to the center of the building, where a young girl was gagged and bound to a post.
They ducked around the various hammocks, which, housed the sleeping vampires, to get to the girl. Sam and Dean attempted to slowly untie her, without emitting any noise.
Mia looked on worriedly and jumped when she heard a noise nearby. "There's more of them," she whispered in horror.
Dean stood up and followed her to a giant cage that housed about fifteen other victims, all tied and bound like the girl.
"Hand me that Allan key," Dean said to her as he realized that, with the right amount of pressure, the hinge could come undone and they would be able to free the people.
Mia tossed him the strange-looking piece from the floor and he got to work at once. Unfortunately, in applying pressure to the hinges of the cage, a loud squeak was made.
The three hunters held their breaths in order to see if any of the monsters had awoken from the sound. But the vampires continued to snore.
Dean continued his work while Sam untied the young girl. She began to slowly awake, and the boy tried to tell her that they were trying to help, but it was too late. What they hadn't realized was the hostage had been turned, and she didn't want to be saved. The newborn vampire let out a ghastly shriek that awoke the rest of her pack.
The three of them froze until they heard John's shouts from the next room, "Guys, run!"
The hunters didn't need to be told twice and bolted out of the barn. All except Mia, who was grabbed around the ankle and knocked down by the same girl Sam had tried to save.
She fell onto her stomach and dropped her machete. "Let me go!" Mia shouted as she tried to reach for the weapon.
The vampire girl only emitted a throaty laugh and held tight to Mia's ankle.
Luckily, Mia was able to slide herself forward and whip the machete out of its case. She swung her arm back as hard as she could in order to wound her captor but only succeeded in flinging the weapon further away from her.
John, who watched the weapon whizz by, glanced over at Mia who was struggling. He knew he couldn't stop to save her. There were murderous vampires on his tail who had seen him try to grab the gun and he needed to get out, so he ran.
He ran out to the woods where they had agreed to meet and caught up with his sons.
"Dad!" Dean sighed in relief.
Sam looked relieved as well until he noticed that Mia wasn't with him, "Where is she?"
John continued forwards, "They got her."
"WHAT?!" Sam shouted in complete shock, "But she was right behind us."
"One of the vampires grabbed her before she could make it out. I would've helped her but I was chased out," The boys' father explained as he made his way to his truck.
"Dad, we can't just leave her in there to die! We have to go back!" Sam exclaimed angrily as he grabbed his father's arm.
John pulled it away, "Listen to me. I've been in this situation before, what we need to do is come back tonight, when we have a better plan. We can get both the Colt and Mia, back."
"How do you even know that she'll still be alive?" Sam demanded.
"Because Sam," His father yelled, "I know vampires! I know they keep their victims alive for weeks. They won't kill her, but they will feed on her."
"We need to go back, now. I know you don't care about her, but she's my friend and I'm not just going to abandon her when she needs me," Sam shouted as he stormed off towards the barn.
Dean grabbed his brother, "Hey, Hey wait! Dad's right Sam. We need to resupply, come up with a better plan and then we can come back tonight and save Mia."
Sam scoffed, "Why should I even listen to you!? You hate her! In fact, I bet you're glad she's going to die. You said that hoped she'd get killed by a vampire this morning!"
His brother winced, "I know what I said. But this is what I'm saying now. We can save Mia, but you have to listen to Dad."
John came over to them, "Sam. You can't go back in there without a plan, the vampires are already awake and they'll kill every single one of us if we go in there now. I promise you, we'll figure this out. Besides, they have our scent, and they'll be looking to capture us anyways, tonight."
Sam glared at both his father and brother although he knew they were right. They needed a plan. He agreed to come back with them and figure things out before they returned that night to rescue Mia.
"I caught this one trying to sneak away," The vampire girl who had captured Mia, exclaimed to her brethren. She dragged the young hunter into the group and threw her into the center of it.
The head vampire of the clan walked over to Mia and smiled sinisterly. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A pretty little hunter."
Mia shook with fear. This was the closest she'd ever been to a monster, and right now she wanted to get out of there more than anything.
"Are you going to kill me?" She asked in a shaky voice.
The leader threw his head back and laughed, "Oh no! We never deny ourselves a snack when she walks all too willingly into our lair. We won't kill you, yet."
The young woman felt hot tears pricking her eyes, "Please let me go! I won't tell anyone about you I swear!"
"Shut up!" One of the other female vampires shouted as she backhanded Mia.
"Who are you and how did you find us?" The leader demanded.
Mia choked as she clutched her cheek, "I'm Mia Wilkins."
"Did she say, Elkins? Is she related to that old guy we killed; Daniel?" One of the other vampires asked.
With the name 'Elkins,' Mia came up with an idea. She knew if she told the vampires the truth about how she found them and who had helped her break into the barn, they would kill the Winchesters so she decided to lie.
"Yes! I'm Daniel's niece. He wanted to train me to hunt vampires like you and that's how I found you. I tracked you here after you murdered my uncle," She lied convincingly.
The vampire leader stiffened at the mention of Daniel. "Did he tell you that he's the one who wiped out my entire family!?"
The young girl shook her head, "I had no idea. I was just looking into his death."
"Who were the others that came with you?" The vampire leader asked.
"I don't know," She lied uncertainly.
"Don't play games with us little girl! Who were those men?" He shouted at her.
"I'm telling the truth, I don't know! The hunters that agreed to work this case with me, I don't even remember their names! And it doesn't matter because they've already left town, they don't give a damn about me. They were only in this because I offered them money to help me."
Although Mia was lying, she knew in her heart that Dean wasn't going to come back for her. He and his father didn't like her, and they would probably convince Sam to leave her behind. She felt a tear run down her cheek at the thought, which made her lie all the more convincing to the vampires.
"Luther, I think she's telling the truth," A redheaded vampire whispered to the leader.
Luther smirked, "Then it's your lucky day Miss Elkins. You get to survive the night."
Mia sighed in relief and let the vampires drag her into the cage of hostages and tie her up. However, not before she kicked the strange-looking metal piece Dean had been fiddling with, into the cage along with her.
"What a beautiful addition to our collection," Luther sneered before he bared his fangs at her and buried them in her neck as she screamed.
Back at the motel. Sam was pacing the room anxiously. Their father had sent Dean out to the funeral home to retrieve a dead man's blood, an hour ago.
"Sam," John said calmly to his son, "it's going to be okay. Dean will be back soon." He sat at the desk of the motel and devised a plan in his new journal.
Sam shook nervously. "I'm worried about her, Dad."
His father reassured him that Mia was going to be alright and told him to relax.
"Sammy," he said after a moment of silence, "did I ever tell you what I did when you were born?"
Sam shook his head.
"I put one hundred bucks into a savings account for you. And every month I'd put in a hundred more. It was a college fund-I did this for your brother too until…" He paused as he recalled the horrible memory.
"Anyways," he continued, "my point is that I never wanted this life for you."
"Then why did you get so mad when I left?" Sam asked.
John sighed, "Because after your mom died. All I saw was evil, and all I wanted to do was protect you and Dean. I wanted you prepared against every kind of evil, and I guess somewhere along the lines I stopped being your father and I became your drill sergeant."
Sam walked closer to his father, his expression was stunned at how honest and father-like, John was being with him.
The older man went on, "When you told me you wanted to go away to school. All I thought was, that you were going to be alone and unprotected. It never occurred to me that we both wanted different things; that we're different people."
Sam laughed sadly, "We're not different. If anything, you and I are more similar than ever. You losing Mom, me losing Jess…"
John smiled fondly at Sam, "Yeah, I guess that's true, son."
"Hey Dad, what happened to that College fund?" Sam asked, trying to lighten the mood.
His father grinned, "I spent it all on ammo."
The two of them both laughed. Real genuine laughs. And for the first time in ages, Sam felt closer to his father than he ever had.
Dean came in through the door moments later with a bottle of dead man's blood- a poison to vampires. John then went on to explain the plan while Sam and Dean prepared their weapons.
Mia awoke with a stinging pain in her neck and gasped when she remembered what had happened.
"Shhh," one of the other victims in the cage whispered, "if we make noises, they come in here and bleed us until we can't make a sound."
Mia's eyes widened and she pressed her hand against her wound in order to stem the blood flow. She felt woozy from blood loss, but it didn't keep her from remembering that she'd brought the tiny Allan key into the cell with her.
She scooted herself to the edge of the cage and pressed her ear against it in order to listen to what the vampires were doing. Night had fallen, and it seemed as though they were getting ready to hunt.
"Luther, we caught the hunters' scents nearby the highway. What do you want us to do?" One of the vampires asked.
"Kate, my love, go with Hank and bring those hunters to us. But feel free to treat yourself to one of them," Luther said to the redhead woman beside him.
Kate smiled in delight and planted a passionate kiss on Luther's lips before she and another vampire ran off into the darkness.
Mia bit her lip to keep from shouting. The Winchesters were in huge trouble! She needed to get out and warn them.
She slowly began to jam the key between the hinges, as Dean had done and pushed it with all her might. However, since her hands were bound, she was capable of very little movement and the cage wouldn't budge. Mia went at it desperately for an hour, until one of the vampires saw what she was up to. She was knocked out, handcuffed, and tied to the furthest end of the cage.
Mia hoped the boys would be okay and continued to eavesdrop on the vampires for any sign of news.
The Winchesters' plan was put it into action. Dean posed as a motorist with car trouble on the highway and awaited the vampires who would inevitably smell him out. Meanwhile, John and Sam waited nearby in the trees with crossbows dipped in dead man's blood.
When Kate, the redheaded vampire showed up and taunted Dean with one of the other vampires, Sam and his father took their shots. The accomplice and the girl were both shot in the chest. A deadly, but not fatal, wound.
"Damn, that stings!" The girl groaned as she realized that everything had been a set up.
John smirked as he and Sam emerged from the trees nearby. "Give it time, sweetheart. The arrow is soaked in dead man's blood, that's like poison to you isn't it?"
Kate's eyes glazed over and she collapsed. Dean and Sam loaded her unconscious form into their father's truck, while he decapitated the accomplice.
The next phase of the plan involved the burning of saffron, skunk's cabbage, and trillium as it would block the scents of both the hunters and the vampire girl from the rest of the clan.
"Dust yourselves with the ashes and you just might be able to sneak into the nest undetected to rescue Mia," John instructed.
Sam wearily glanced at the woozy-looking vampire. "Are you sure they'll come for her?"
John nodded, "Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun. But her blood-sickness will wear off soon so you don't have much time."
Sam strapped his machete to his belt. "All we need is a half-hour."
"Good. Then I want you three to get out of this area as fast as you can," John added.
"Whoa, wait," Dean said, "you can't take on the whole clan by yourself."
"Just to get the Colt," John replied.
Sam frowned, "But after, we're gonna meet up right?"
His father's face remained impassive.
"We're gonna use the gun together, right?" Sam added.
John said nothing and Sam sighed, "You're leaving again, aren't you? You're going to face the demon alone."
Sam groaned when his father looked away in shame. "You can't keep treating us like we're children."
"You are my children, and I'm trying to protect you."
Dean finally spoke up, "Dad, with all due respect, that's a load of crap. You know what Sammy and I are hunting. Hell, you sent us on a few trips yourself. So you can't be that worried about our safety."
John appeared to be stunned by his oldest son's words. Dean was his obedient child, the one who always followed orders and never questioned a command. He fought to find a suitable response.
"This is different," He finally said.
"Why do you want us out of this fight anyways?" Dean questioned angrily.
John sighed, "Because… I don't plan on making it out of this one. Listen, your mother's death killed me. I wouldn't be able to bear it if I lost one of you either."
"And what if you die Dad? What then?" demanded Dean.
"I think Sammy's right. We're stronger together as a family, and that's how we should take on this demon." He added in a hopeful voice.
"We're wasting time." John replied, "Get in, grab Mia, and get out. That's an order."
He walked away, leaving a frustrated Sam and Dean to their own thoughts of the upcoming battle.
Mia was beginning to feel woozy again. She clung tightly to the cage wall as she strained herself to hear what the vampires were discussing. From the tone of their voices, they sounded worried.
"Good," Mia thought to herself, "maybe the Winchesters gave you guys a well-deserved ass-kicking."
She then heard Luther talking to two of the other vampires that had returned to the nest.
"Luther," one of them said to their leader in a terrified voice, "there's no scent of those hunters. But Hank, they… they cut his head off!"
"What about Kate?" The vampire leader demanded.
"There was no sign of her."
Suddenly, the vampires paused, as if they were listening to something intently.
"It's just a truck on the highway," One of the vampires dismissed.
"Kate. She's in that truck," Luther announced worriedly. He then gathered all the vampires except for one and headed out to ambush whoever had Kate.
Mia silently hoped that the boys would be prepared. She hugged her knees to her chest and began singing softly to herself like she did when she was a child. It made her feel better. She coaxed herself with the belief that maybe the Winchesters were going to save her! Or at least, Sam was.
The last vampire guard sat alone and drank bottle after bottle of whiskey. Mia figured he was probably still in shock after hearing what had happened to his buddy.
"S.O.S please someone help me, it's not healthy, for me to feel this way," Mia sang softly to herself.
The vampire grunted as though he could hear her, but Mia continued to sing in spite of the fact.
"Y.O.U are making this hard, you got me tossin' and turnin' can't sleep at night," Mia sang.
Finally, the drunken vampire stood and stormed over to the cage. "Shut up! Can't you think of a better song to sing?" He yelled at her.
Mia was filled with fear but that soon faded when she recognized two shadows on the walls nearby. Instead of shutting up as the vampire suggested, Mia rolled her eyes and retorted, "I'm not a jukebox, buddy."
He growled at her and bared his fangs, "Stop singing that fucking song!"
Mia glared back at the vampire, "Why don't you come on over here and make me!"
Just before the infuriated vampire could charge over to the cage door to kill her, Dean appeared behind him and sliced his head off while Mia averted her eyes.
Mia grinned, "Man, I never thought I'd say this but I sure am glad to see you, Dean!"
He quickly unlocked the cage and uncuffed her arms. Mia wrapped them around him out of pure happiness and relief. Dean awkwardly returned the hug. He hadn't told anyone but he had felt guilty about Mia's capture. If he had just taken two seconds to explain to her how to use the machete properly, maybe she wouldn't have that giant bloody scar on her neck or bruises all over her arms.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You owe me your life. But right now, we need to get everyone out of here," Dean told her and released her from the hug.
Mia nodded and they gathered all the prisoners within the cage who were asleep or unconscious and awoke them to help them out of the barn. Sam appeared in the doorway of the cell and Mia ran to hug her friend.
"Mia, thank God you're alive!" Sam exclaimed as he hugged his friend tightly.
"Thank you for coming back for me. I honestly thought you were gonna abandon me," She admitted.
Sam scoffed at her words. "Us, leave you here? After everything we've been through? No way. Mia, you're part of this team, whether you like it or not. And that means that no one gets left behind."
"Or forgotten," Mia added with a small smile.
"Sammy. There comes a time in every boy's life when he has to rebel against his parent's wishes. I think this time is now," Dean said to his brother.
Sam nodded, "We're going after Dad."
"What?" Mia asked in confusion.
Sam and Dean dragged her out of the barn and back to the camp as they explained the elaborate plan their father had organized. Including, the current phase in which, John took on the entire vampire clan alone to trade in Kate for the Colt.
"He's crazy! Of course, we're not gonna just leave him to die!" Mia exclaimed as she and the boys sprinted towards the highway.
When they reached the clearing adjacent to the roadblock set up by the vampires. Sam, Dean, and Mia watched as John held Kate at knifepoint as he bargained with Luther.
"Here," Sam said as he handed a crossbow to Mia, "these arrows are soaked in dead man's blood. It's poisonous to vampires. Aim for their hearts."
Mia nodded in understanding but Dean elected to go into depth with her on how to use the weapon.
"It's almost like a gun. Aim through this scope and release the trigger when you have a target. You've only got one shot, so try to be accurate," Dean explained and Mia nodded gratefully.
"A machete is different, if we get up close you want to swing it like you're swinging a baseball bat; fast and hard," He added.
"I've got this," She told him honestly, as she aimed the crossbow at Luther.
Suddenly, Kate snuck out of John's grasp and knocked him backward. Luther then threw him through the window of his car.
Sam shot first at one of the nearby vampires. Dean shot second as the three of them emerged from the woods. Mia aimed her crossbow at Luther and prepared to shoot him but before she could, another vampire knocked her to the ground.
"Not you again!" Mia shouted as she fired the crossbow arrow straight into the head of the vampire girl who had tackled her. The vampire immediately released her but by the time she got to her feet, she saw that Luther had Sam by the neck, and was forcing Dean to back down.
Luther growled angrily and tightened his grip around Sam's neck, "You people! Why can't you leave us alone? We have as much of a right to live as you."
"I don't think so," came the voice of John Winchester. He fired the Colt and the bullet imbedded itself within Luther's skull.
Sam squirmed out of the dying vampire's grasp and ran to his brother and Mia, who pushed him behind them protectively.
Luther's face turned black from the point of impact and his body seemed to go into convulsions until he finally crumpled to the ground; dead.
"NO! LUTHER!" Kate screamed in agony as she stared at the dead body of her mate. Suddenly, anger filled up her features, she turned to charge at the Winchesters in order to kill them, but Mia was quicker. She grabbed Dean's machete from his waistband and swung it hard and fast like he'd said in order to chop off Kate's head.
This time, she was successful with her efforts. She watched as it fell to the ground and rolled toward Luther's dead body.
"Rot in hell!" Mia cried as she put her blade away. She hated the pair of them, they'd both fed on her and caused her enormous pain. She felt their deaths were justified, in a way.
When she looked up, she saw the utter shock on Sam and Dean's faces as well as pride beaming from John's face. Mia glanced back down at the vampire's beheaded form and realized, this was her first real kill. Sure she'd help put some vengeful spirits to death but this seemed more horrifying. Kate had been human once, and Mia knew that her first kill would haunt her.
Back at the motel, Mia dined on a plate of fries purchased by Sam to help get her energy back up. Mia was feeling a lot better, and healed up considerably despite the abuse she'd endured.
As they packed up to head off, John came in to speak to them.
"Boys," he began. Mia took his fatherly tone as an invitation to leave the family to themselves but John gestured for her to join them. "You disobeyed a direct order," He continued.
Sam and Dean stood up straight and replied; "Yes sir."
"But we saved your ass, back there,'' Dean muttered and John stared him down.
"You're right," John agreed, to Sam, Dean, and Mia's surprise. "It scares the hell out of me, the thought of losing you two, but we are stronger as a team. So we're gonna go after the demon, together."
Mia looked down awkwardly as she didn't know how to respond, but John addressed her next, "Mia. Although I've only known you for a short time, I can see that my sons are doing a good job training you."
The young girl met John's eyes, "Thank you, Sir. They really are."
He smiled, "And the way you protected us by killing Luther's mate, it's just the type of quick thinking that makes a good hunter. I know you may not know much about hunting, but I think Sam is right. You could be a great help on this case, but I do warn you, you may not make it out alive. Do you still want to help us?"
Mia glanced at Sam who looked concerned, and Dean who seemed confused. These boys were all the family she had now, and Sam was right; they were a team now, and if the boys were going up against this demon, then so was she.
"I would be honored to, Sir," Mia replied with the ghost of a smile playing on her lips.
John smiled brightly at her. "Then it's settled."
Thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated as well if you'd like to make my day! Just saying... :P Next next chapter will go more into depth on Mia's childhood.
Song Used: S.O.S-Rihanna
Next Up: Mia and the Winchesters face the demon Meg in a battle for the Colt.