Chapter 3

Another Nightmare Around the Corner

When Lex left for the Talon, Dean opted for going back to the Kent Farm instead. Leaving the mansion in the Impala, he couldn't wait to see Clark, so they could talk about what happened in Colorado with his dad and the vampires.

The moment he turned onto Hickory Lane and saw the house and barn, Dean smiled. "It feels good to be back!"

When he pulled into the driveway, he saw Diane's minivan sitting in front of the barn, while Ryan and his aunt loaded up their suitcases. Pulling up beside them, Dean grinned, just as they turned to look at him. Diane was smiling when she saw the car, but Ryan looked a bit disappointed.

Parking it, Dean rolled down his window. "Heading out so soon?"

"Yes, it's a long drive to Edge City," Diane explained. "I'd like to get back before the afternoon traffic gets bad."

Dean made a duck face expression and glanced at Ryan briefly. "Makes perfect sense. Hey, Ryan. What's wrong?"

"Clark still hasn't come back," Ryan told him. "He was supposed to take me to Lex's before we left."

Frowning, Dean tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Maybe he's visiting Sasha. I'll call him and see where he's at, if you don't mind hanging around a little longer."

Ryan smiled. "That would be cool. Thanks."

"You got more luggage you need to carry out?" Dean asked, just as Jonathan came out the front door with one last suitcase.

Diane glanced up at the porch, right when Martha followed her husband outside. "No, I think we got it."

Carrying the suitcase over to Diane's trunk, Jonathan hefted it inside with a groan and slid it back. "That should do it! You're all set!"

Dean shut off the car and got out, while Jonathan and Ryan's aunt talked about the road ahead. Martha had her arms folded over her chest, and she seemed quite worried.

"Hey, Martha," Dean said with a smile. "Did Clark call you guys?"

Martha shook her head. "No. This isn't like him, Dean. I'm worried about him."

Suddenly, Ryan remembered something, and his jaw dropped before he blurted out. "Hey, I almost forgot! The new edition of Warrior Angel is still in Clark's room!"

Martha smiled. "You better run up and get it then! Otherwise, Clark will have to run it out to ya."

Ryan laughed when Martha winked at him, hinting at his ability to literally run there on foot. His aunt Diane was clueless about this, so if she heard the conversation, she would likely assume he was going to drive out there in a truck.

"Be right back!" Ryan said, before hurrying back into the house.

Dean put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. A light breeze rustled the amulet that was hanging down over his t-shirt, and a frown appeared on his face. "I sure hope Clark is okay."

Martha glanced at Dean. "I hope so too. Have you heard from your brother recently? How's Sam doing?"

Dean shrugged. "I dunno. Me and my dad can't get a hold of him when we try to call."

Martha smiled and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure he's fine. You and your father will figure this out, just like you always do."

Dean chuckled. "But I think Clark should sit this one out. Whatever's going on with Sam, it's too dangerous."

Jonathan shut the trunk of the van, so Dean dropped the subject and let him talk. "As soon as Ryan gets back with the comic book, you guys can hit the road."

Getting a bad feeling all of the sudden, Dean glanced up at the house. "How's Ryan doing? Has he had any more headaches?"

Diane shook her head. "Not today, but he had a nasty one a couple days ago. I've noticed he doesn't get them as much when he's here."

Dean grinned and waved his arm in a wide, half circle, gesturing towards the open fields beyond the barn with his hand. "It's the clean, country air. It makes everybody feel better."

Everyone else laughed, but Dean looked up at the house again. "I'm gonna go inside for a bit. I'll see if Ryan needs help finding the comic."

While Diane and the Kents calmly discussed the trip back to Edge City that was coming, Dean took hurried steps up to the house. Why he suddenly got a bad feeling, he didn't understand. In light of what was going on with Sam, he knew what it felt like to have a younger brother to care for. Ryan meant everything to Clark, and he needed to make sure the kid was okay.

The house was silent when Dean stepped into the kitchen and the storm door closed behind him. "Hey, Ryan! You find your comic yet?"

Hearing nothing, he headed for the stairs in the kitchen that went up to the second floor. Putting his hand on the banister, he called up, "Ryan?"

From around the corner, Dean heard Ryan mumbling, "Oh God… It's loud… So loud."

Dean stopped when he was halfway to the first landing, which was directly between the two floors. "Ryan?"

Suddenly, to his horror, he heard the sound of something tumbling down the stairs. Dean hurried up to the first landing, and caught Ryan in his arms. The kid wrapped his own arms around him in a tight embrace, as his whole body convulsed. Blood was seeping out of his nose.

"Ryan!" Dean cried. "Hey! I need some help in here! Jonathan! Martha! It's Ryan!"

Looking down at the poor kid, Dean supported him so he wouldn't fall the rest of the way down the stairs, but his seizure continued. "Hang on, Ryan, just stay with me! Somebody heeeelp!"

Finally, he heard the rushed footsteps of the Kents and Ryan's aunt climbing the porch steps. Bursting into the kitchen, they called out to Ryan.

"Ryan?!" Diane cried.

Jonathan ran over to the steps, but he stopped at the bottom when he saw Dean with him. "Dean! What's happening?!"

"I think he's having a seizure!" Dean cried.

Suddenly, Ryan lost his grip on Dean's torso, and his arms fell loosely at his sides. Carefully laying him down on the landing, Dean stepped aside when Diane and Martha pushed past Jonathan, to check on the poor kid.

Kneeling beside him, Ryan's aunt put her hands on the sides of his face and started sobbing. "No… Ryan!"

Pulling his cellphone out of his pocket, Dean flipped it open and called 911. Then he put it up to his ear and waited for an emergency responder to answer him.

After Tina beat the crap out of Sam the night before, he didn't let her win. It was morning once again, and he was sitting up on his bed, in pajamas, lost in thought. It wouldn't be long before Meg came in to talk about what happened, but while he waited, he ran the entire event through his mind, over and over again.

Going back in time in his memories, to the previous night, he remembered how the wind picked up, and the rain started pouring down while he leaned against a tree, clutching his ribs with one hand, breathing heavily. Tina was long gone at that point, but when lightning lit up the sky above, causing an explosion of thunder to blast through the forest all around him, he pushed himself away from the tree.

Looking around for a weapon and his flashlight, he grumbled to himself, "Damn it… Come on, Sam. Where did you drop it?"

As soon as he found his flashlight laying on the wet leaves where Tina fell after being shot, he picked it up and scanned the trees around him. Seeing no sign of her or Fake Sam, he started looking around for a weapon once again. At first, he didn't see anything but small sticks, pine cones, and random pebbles laying around. There were a few fallen tree branches laying on the forest floor as well, but most of them were too rotten to use in a fight; more than likely, they'd simply crumble when he picked one up.

Scanning the trees around him again, Sam looked for Tina once more, but a bolt of lightning suddenly shot down out of the sky and hit a tree about half a mile away. Ducking down and pointing the flashlight in that direction, he gasped when the thunder went off like a cannon, and he heard the trunk of a tree explode and snap before the whole thing fell to the ground with a loud crash.

"Holy crap!" Sam cried, before hurrying over to investigate. "What the hell?"

Running through the woods in the pouring rain, Sam hoped he could use a branch from the fallen tree to club, or possibly stab, the shape shifter he was after. As he got closer, he saw fire in the distance, and smoke was rising up into the air as the trunk smoldered. Another bright flash lit up the sky above, causing him to stop and crouch down again, but that is when he saw a strange man standing beside the fallen tree. The guy had short, dark hair on his head, and he was wearing a blue suit and matching tie.

Standing back up while the thunder growled at him, Sam pointed his flashlight at the guy. "Hey, you! What the hell do you want?!"

Afraid that it was Tina at first, Sam kept his flashlight aimed at him. The guy in the suit casually glanced up at him while he stood there in the downpour, but then he vanished in a flash of light.

Running over to investigate, Sam stopped when he put his foot on a part of the fallen tree that had stopped burning. Looking around for the mysterious guy, he mumbled, "Where the hell did you go?"

Glancing down at the ground suddenly, he spotted several branches that snapped off the trunk as the tree fell. Reaching down to grab one that had impaled the ground after breaking free of the trunk, he ripped it out of the mud and saw that the end had a very sharp point on it. The branch itself was as thick as his forearm, and the end that had been pointing up into the air had several smaller branches and twigs sticking out of it, but many of them were snapped off as well, giving it the appearance of a long, skinny hand that he could use to smack or claw away at Tina's shape shifting face.

Turning back in the direction of the cabin, Sam slowly headed off. His plan wasn't to go directly up to the front door, but to circle around towards the back like he did with the werewolf. In this case, he wasn't trying to lure anything around the property, he just wanted to have a look so he could see what the demons were up to.

As the storms rolled on, the rain slowed down to a light drizzle. Sam shut off his flashlight as he drew closer to the cabin, and when he reached the edge of the clearing, he was able to see the lawn furniture and the grill out back. He couldn't see anything happening at first, so he guessed that Tina and the demons were inside, planning their next move. While he waited, he occasionally caught a glimpse of one of the demon guards walking past a window, but that was all he saw.

"Where the hell are you, Tina?" Sam whispered. "And what about you, Meg? Where the hell did you go?"

Just then, he heard a voice shouting at him from deep in the woods. It sounded like Dean, but the way it spoke was off. "Hey, Sam! You out here, Sammy?! I'm here to save you, little brother!"

Turning around and creeping back into the dark forest, Sam ducked down behind a cluster of wild, thorny bushes. When the lightning lit up the sky again, he saw Dean walking through the woods in jeans and a leather jacket. Sam narrowed his eyes when he noticed that Dean wasn't carrying his white-handled colt; instead, it was the 9mm that Tina stole from him.

"Sammy!" Fake Dean shouted. "Me and Dad miss you! I'm here to take you home!"

Bursting with laughter, Sam shouted back, "I know that's you, Tina! If you want me, then come and get me!"

Coming out of his hiding place, Sam took off running through the woods. Fake Dean turned towards him and fired a shot. The bullet struck a tree trunk off to Sam's left as he ran, and then Tina pursued him through the trees.

As he led the shifter back towards the fallen tree, he heard Fake Dean taunting him. "Come on back, Sammy boy! All I want to do is play!"

When the burning trunk at last came into view, Sam charged straight for it, leapt over the top, and then ducked down behind the massive stump it fell from. The thing had to have been at least five feet tall where it snapped off, and the width was about three to four feet, which was more than enough to keep him hidden in the dark woods.

Fake Dean came to a stop when he got to the fallen tree, and then he laughed. "Come on, Sam! Why do you keep running away from your family, huh? They can't be that bad! It must be nice to have an overprotective brother watching your back! I'd have given anything to be that lucky."

Clutching the tree branch against his chest, Sam grit his teeth and pressed his back against the stump, waiting for Tina to make another move.

Laughing again, Fake Dean kicked the smoldering log, which was in the process of cooling down as the rain picked up once more. "You knew I wasn't gonna let you off easy, Sam! You figured me out quicker than I expected!"

Bending his knees and folding them towards his chest, Sam prepared to stand. As he slowly rose to his feet, he stepped on a pine cone with a loud crunch, and then ducked back down again. Getting ready to spring into action, he listened as Fake Dean charged right at him, but before the shifter had the chance to aim the gun at him, Sam smacked it out of her hands with the claw on the end of his tree branch.

The moment the broken twigs scraped Tina's hands, the gun went flying, and she cried out in Dean's voice. "Bastard!"

Swinging the claw on the tree branch again, Sam struck Fake Dean in the side of his head, knocking him down to the ground. Then he flipped the branch around and pounced on the shifter, preparing to stab the tip through Tina's chest.

Rolling out of the way, Tina escaped, and Sam stabbed nothing but the soft dirt. "Damn it!"

Tina got back up on her feet, still looking like Dean, just as Sam yanked the branch back out of the soil and attacked again.

Grabbing the branch with both hands, she stopped the attack, and glared back at him. "Just give up! You can't defeat me!"

Using her enhanced meteor strength, and the muscles of Dean Winchester, Tina spun around and flipped one end of the log forward, which sent Sam flying through the air, causing him to slam against another tree and fall to the ground.

Walking over to him with the branch in her hands, Tina lifted it up over her head, preparing to stab him instead. "Just die already!"

In a last-ditch effort to defend himself, Sam thrust his foot up, and kicked Fake Dean right in the groin. The sudden pain caused Tina to drop the log with a low moan and fall flat on her back. Transforming back into her original form, she gave Sam the opportunity to pick up the branch and pounce on her.

Pressing the log down on her throat, Sam pushed with all his strength, causing Tina to choke and gag. "You can change your outfit and your face, but you will never… Ever replace me or Dean!"

Tina grit her teeth at him, and pushed up on the log, causing Sam to lose his balance and fall over backwards on wet leaves and pine needles. Groaning in pain, she sat up. "That… Sucked!"

Getting on her hands and knees, she slowly climbed to her feet by pulling herself up with some of the thicker branches on the fallen tree. Sam took this opportunity to retrieve his weapon and charged straight at Tina. He jammed the sharp end of the branch right through her back, causing it to stick out her chest.

"Oh!" Tina gasped, before losing the ability to breathe.

Gritting his teeth, Sam put his face up beside Tina's ear and whispered, "Like I said… Go to hell you bitch!"

Twisting the spear, he yanked it back out, causing Tina to fall face down on the fallen tree. Standing over her and seeing her in oversized clothes like Dean would've worn, Sam scoffed.

Looking down at the dead shifter with a smirk, Sam chuckled. "You were wrong, Tina. I didn't actually expect you to trick me. I just didn't think you were stupid enough to let me live."

With his second monster dead, Sam limped all the way back to the cabin, carrying his tree branch. Meg stepped out the moment he ascended the front steps to congratulate him.

"Great work!" the demon said with a smile. "I knew Tina wouldn't outsmart you."

Throwing the branch down on the porch with a loud thud, Sam glared at Meg. "Screw you! I'm going to bed!"

In the present moment, while Sam sat there in bed remembering all this, he groaned painfully whenever he moved. Lifting up his t-shirt, he inspected the brace the demons put around his torso. He needed to heal, so he figured it would be a while before he had to fight another monster. Until then, he needed to come up with a plan. Meg and the other demons knew that Clark had a weakness, and he wasn't about to give them the opportunity to exploit it.