A/N: Just a one shot from a writing assignment I expanded into a story. Hope you enjoy. I do like reviews/comments. NC

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of SPN, and this of my own creation. Any errors are my own.

The fog swirled around the young man as he walked slowly through the lifeless forest trying to find his brother. The trees were bare of leaves and looked like creepy skeletons out of a horror film. A whipper o will's lone cry faded into the night making him stop for a second to listen. He swore to himself if he found his younger brother, he was going to kill him for going off on his own like this. He didn't want to call out for fear of alerting anyone else hearing him. He pulled his gun from the waistband of his jeans when the breaking of dry, small branches caught his attention. The sound echoed eerily through the trees, and he knew it wasn't his brother.

His danger instinct sent cold chill down his back as he pressed himself to a large tree, feeling the bark rough against his face. He waited for whatever was moving around him to show itself but suddenly the sound was gone, and he strained to hear it again. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and peeked around the trunk for any signs of what was out here with him. Knowing he couldn't stop, he eased from his hiding spot and moved on through the dense mist, straining to see any signs of his brother. Not seeing anything, he put the safety back on his gun and slipped it into the waistband of his jeans.

After pulling a small flashlight from his jacket pocket, Dean switched it on and let the beam highlight the forest floor hoping to find some signs, footprints, scuffle marks, drag marks, anything that might tell him his brother, Sam, came this way or was brought against his will. They had fought over nothing, and Sam left the motel to follow up on a lead on his own. Thinking back on it, Dean wasn't even sure what the fight was about and now he was kicking himself for letting Sam go. If something happened to his little brother, it would be his fault. He was supposed to protect him, and he let him down.

He walked slowly forward, straining to see the ground and stopped when something caught his eye. Very slowly, with a trembling hand, he bent down to touch some leaves that glistened under his light. When he raised his hand closer to his face to see, he sucked in a sharp breath because they were red, red like blood, and that only meant one thing. His brother was in trouble.

Dean picked up his pace knowing something bad had happened to his sibling and he was the only one who could save him. It was no use calling in any local cops since they would have no idea how to handle the situation. What they were after was beyond any training the cops would have received.

The brothers had come to the small town because of a rash of deaths and the one thing in common was the bodies were drained of blood. They recognized that the vampires were indulging in a deadly feeding frenzy while staying hidden from the townspeople.

Most people didn't believe in the supernatural, nor in the monsters that walked among them. The ones that did were called Hunters and took it upon themselves to save the innocent and protect humanity. It was a thankless and dangerous job that they weren't paid for doing, but it was a job that needed to be done.

The brothers were raised in the life and had been hunting together for years. They had their ups and downs like most siblings and falling outs, but all that was pushed aside if one of them was in trouble, like now.

Dean immediately stopped and switched off his flashlight when he saw a dim light among the trees. He crept closer and saw an old cabin in a small clearing. Checking closely to be sure there wasn't anyone outside, he continued to move forward with stealth, until he blended into the shadows at the side of the cabin.

Raised voices filtered from inside and he eased down the wall to the window so he could look inside. He swallowed hard when he saw three men standing in the room arguing and tied to a chair was his brother. He was not moving and looked unconscious. He clenched his jaw when he heard what they were saying.

"What are we going to do with him?" one asked.

"We either drain him or turn him," another replied.

"Do you think turning him would be a good idea? He is a hunter after all. How do we know he won't kill us?"

"I'm betting there's another one in town and if he realizes his partner is gone, he's going to come looking for him."

"Hey, we have the advantage. It's three against one. How hard did you hit the guy? He's still out cold." The vampire slapped Sam's face but didn't get a response.

"I vote we have a nice hot meal and get the hell out of here."

Dean knew he had to even the odds and quickly began to form a plan in his head. He needed to lure one of the vampires outside so he could kill him. He moved down the wall and looked around the corner and saw a rusty metal trash can. He could work with that and headed to it. After slipping the pack from his shoulders, he removed a machete from his belt. With one swift kick, he sent the can against the cabin wall scattering trash, and watched it roll away hopefully making enough noise to lure a vampire outside.

He didn't have to wait long before the three vampires stepped out the back door, one with a lantern in his hand. The vampires moved into the yard and looked around seeing the trash can laying off to the side. The leader motioned and spoke to one of the other vampires to take care of the mess thinking it had been a wild animal. Two of the three headed back inside.

Dean slipped up behind the vampire and grabbed his hair jerking his head backward as he quickly jerked his razor-sharp knife across his neck, almost severing the head. He drew the knife across the bleeding neck one more time to finish the job and tossed the head aside. Wanting to hide the body, he pulled it to the edge of the house and pushed it into the shadows out of sight.

Once the pack was retrieved, Dean pulled out a small crossbow and loaded it with an arrow that the tip had been dipped in dead man's blood. Dead man's blood wouldn't kill a vampire, but it was poisonous to them and would slow them down. He knew he would only have one shot at taking the other two out and had to make it count.

The back door was partly open as Dean slipped inside and moved to the doorway to see into the large main room. He sized up the situation and decided which one to take down first.

The vampires looked up at the same time as Dean stepped into the room and quickly shot one of them in the gut with the poison arrow. The vampire cried out in pain and fell to his knees clutching his stomach as the poison began to spread, his veins turning black, causing him to jerk and whine in agony. With one strong swing, the machete connected it with the vampire's neck and sent the head bouncing across the floor. He turned to the other vampire and advanced toward him.

The lead vampire suddenly grabbed Sam's hair and jerked his head back, revealing his neck. He pressed a clawed finger to his jugular when Dean gave him his full attention. He sneered at Dean revealing his fangs as he hissed.

"Stay back or I'll bleed him out," the vampire snarled as he pricked Sam's neck causing a thin trail of blood to run down it.

Dean growled deep in his chest as he gripped the machete and faltered in his steps. No one hurt his brother and got away with it. He looked at his brother's limp body and saw his eyes flutter open, but he didn't move. Sam remained limp like he was still unconscious. A silent communication passed between them for a moment as Dean glared at the vampire.

"Now!" Dean yelled as he charged the vampire.

Sam understood what Dean was trying to tell him and when he yelled, he launched himself sideways, sending the chair to the floor and breaking the hold the vampire had on him, losing some hair in the process. He hit the floor hard and felt his arm break, punching a hard breath out of him, while he tried not to distract his brother from the life and death fight he was dealing with. He lay there and could only watch his brother's fight since he couldn't get free from his bindings.

The vampire took a swing at Dean who ducked it as he hit him full force sending them to the floor. Dean felt the claws go into his arms as he pressed a hand to the vampire's throat to keep his fangs away from him. He managed to get a syringe from his pocket and stabbed him in the leg, causing the vampire to wail as the poison entered his body. Once he was incapacitated, Dean quickly took off his head.

"Sammy," Dean called to him as he shoved the body away. "Are you okay?" He hurried to his side and pulled out a knife to cut his bindings.

"Damn!" Sam hissed as he tried to move his left arm. "I think my arm is broken."

"Here, let me see," Dean instructed helping Sam sit up and started to examine his arm.

"Ow!" Sam grunted as Dean got his jacket off and rolled up his shirt sleeve.

"Oh yeah," Dean nodded when he examined his arm. "That's a break alright." After looking around, he stood and stomped on the chair to break two slats off the back so he could immobilize Sam's arm. He rummaged in his pack for the 'don't go anywhere without it, duct tape' and after positioning the slats on Sam's arm, wrapped the tape around it to stabilize the break. "Let's get you to the hospital and that taken care of. I don't think I can fix you up this time."

"You're bleeding too," Sam noted when he saw blood dampening the arm of Dean's jacket.

"It's nothing, just a scratch," Dean insisted ignoring the burning running down his arm. "Let's get out of here."

"Alright," Sam grunted in pain. "But you need to have your wounds cleaned and dressed too." He held his broken arm tightly to his chest and let Dean help him up. Once he got his balance, Sam leaned on his brother, and they made their way through the woods to the trail that led back to the Impala.

The mist rolling around their feet made it hard to avoid roots and ground cover, causing Sam to trip several times and cry out in pain. Had it not been for Dean having a firm grip around his waist, holding on to his jeans, he would have gone down.

Sam was so glad to see the Impala sitting in the moonlight. Sweat rolled down his face and trickled into his eyes, burning them before he could wipe it away. He eased into the passenger seat and sighed with relief as Dean shut the door for him. Dean rounded the car and dropped into the driver's seat, quickly cranking his Baby and flipping on the headlights. He drove back to the dirt road and headed for town to the emergency room to get Sammy looked after.

At least the injury wasn't bad enough for him to be admitted and they could head for Bobby's for some downtime so Sam could recharge and heal before they found another possible hunt. Any differences between them would be forgotten and they would continue to carry on the family business of saving innocent lives and ridding the world of monsters.

Carry On…

The End