CHAPTER 15

"How you doin' over there, Sammy?", I yelled over the blaring music. And for the first time in forever it wasn't me that turned it up. I had given him the side-eye when he cranked the volume up to 11, but I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to cause a fight. But now I was sorry I didn't say something sooner because when he didn't answer me, I looked over at him and he had sweat pouring down his face with his hands balled into tight fist in his lap. "Sam? FUCK!" I jerked the car over to the shoulder and when I shut off the stereo, I discovered why he had turned the music up so loud. He was trying to hide the sound of his racing heart from me.

"D-Dean, I... AHHHH!", Sam stammered before letting out a shout filled with agony and fear.

"Sam, talk to me! What's happening?!" I grabbed his jacket and tried to turn him toward me, but he shoved me against my door and snarled in my face. His eyes had gone yellow and his teeth had grown into sharp fangs. "SAM!", I screamed in a panic as he lunged for my throat. I just knew that was the end of me. Killed by my own baby brother! But just as his teeth touched the skin directly over my Adam's Apple, he froze. I could feel his hot breath on my flesh as he panted. "Sammy?", I croaked, trying not to move and have my throat torn out by a very frightened and confused werewolf less than a day away from his first full moon.

"Dean?", Sam whispered. I could hear the terror in his voice at what he had almost done. He suddenly pushed himself away from me and the despair I saw in his eyes nearly broke me. "I'm s-sorry, Dee! I..." Before he could finish, he turned and threw the car door open and fled towards the dark woods before I could stop him.

"Dammit, Sam!", I growled, jumping out and sliding over the hood of the car like I was Beau Duke or something. By the time I got to the other side, he was gone. It was well after midnight and the sky was overcast. If I were still an ordinary human, I would never be able to find him in this pitch blackness. Even so, the woods were so thick, it was gonna be a chore tracking him down. I ran into the trees and stopped just inside, spun in a circle, sniffing the air. I could smell the fear and anguish in the air all around me, so thick it was hard to tell where it was coming from. So, I had to use the only thing left to me, my ears. I concentrated hard and could just make out the sound of his heart beating frantically. I could hear any movement, so I had to assume he was hiding somewhere out here.

He had done this once before when he was just a kid. Well, not a LITTLE kid(he was 14). We were out on a hunt with dad and were sleeping in the Impala on a deserted road, kinda like this one. I woke in the middle of the night for some reason, I don't know, and I looked into the backseat to find Sammy gone. Dad and I must have searched those woods for an hour before dad found him under a tree, crying. He had had a nightmare and wet himself. Dad and I both tried to get him to talk about it, but he wouldn't. He never has.

"Sammy? Come on, Dude!", I yelled into the darkness as I followed the sound of his heartbeat getting louder and louder. "It's gonna be ok! I'm not mad at you!" I stopped to listen and felt something whiz by the back of my head. I spun around to face the threat, but saw nothing. A bird maybe? I slowly turned back to face the direction that Sam was hiding and listened again. He was straight ahead of me and I could hear him sobbing in great heaving breaths. It was that night when Sam was 14 all over again. But unlike that night, Sam heard me coming.

"GO A-AWAY, D-DEAN!", Sam stuttered.. "I D-DON'T W-WANNA HURT YOU!" A rock the size of my fist flew passed my face from the left, just barely missing my nose.

"What the fuck?!", I wheezed just as a large branch nailed me in the back of the head, driving me to one knee.

"I said GO!" It took me a second to clear the fuzziness from my brain and when I did, realize what was happening. My heart sank into my stomach as it hit me. I don't know how, but I knew it was him. Sam was doing this. Somehow his psychic abilities were back. They were back with a vengeance!

"Sam? I'm not going anywhere, you hear me?" I took a few tentative steps forward and had to jump to the side to avoid an entire tree that had been yanked up by the roots and thrown at me. "I know you, Sammy! You're not gonna hurt me!"

"TRY ME!", Sam spat angrily. "COME ANY CLOSER AND I'LL TAKE MY POUND OF FLESH OUTTA YOUR ASS!"

"Nice try, Baby Brother, but you can't get rid of me that easy! It takes more than a couple of trees thrown at my head to scare me off!"

"Please, Dean! I...", Sam didn't finish his plea before the guilt overtook him and he started sobbing again.

"Look, Bro, I know what you're going through!", I sid softly as I stood up and started slowly toward where I heard his voice. "I know you're hurting! I've been there! I nearly took you're head off, remember?" I could hear him sniffling, trying to hold himself together. "I gave you that pretty scar of your neck, Sam. I know about guilt." I stepped into a clearing in the trees and saw him huddled up against a giant oak tree. When he saw me, jumped to his feet, ready to bolt. "Sam, wait! Please let me help you!"

"No, Dean! You can't help with this! I couldn't control these powers when I was human! What makkes you think I'm gonna be able to control it now?!"

"Sam, come on!"

"NO! I could have killed you with that tree, Dean! I didn't mean... it was a mistake!" Instead of running, Sam slumped against the tree and dropped to his knees at my feet.

"I know, Sam. I know." I thought that he was done, but when I reached for him, he flinched and coward again the trunk of the tree like he was afraid of me. But, I knew that he was afraid for me. Out of desperation and out of options, I dropped to my knees in front of my brother and blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. "Smell me." Sam's head snapped up and he stared at me in confusion.

"Wh-what?"

"Come on, man! Stick your nose against my neck and take a whiff!", I said, baring my throat to my brother. I stared off into the darkness, waiting for him to decide what to do. I knew that this was risky, he could decide to rip my throat out rather than take a sniff. I could see him getting closer out of the corner of my eye and held my breath when he grabbed me by the shoulders and leaned into me. I could feel him shaking, but not really doing anything else. "It's ok, Sam. "We're pack... We're family." He turned toward me, his nose brushing against my neck, and pulled in a long breath through his nose. He shuttered and went limp. My heightened reflexes were the only reason he didn't bash his nose against my shoulder. I lifted him up by the shoulders to make sure he hadn't passed out. "Sam? You ok there, Buddy?" His eyes were half closed and he blinked slowly at me like he was about to fall asleep. I don't know... maybe he was.

"Wha... wha was that?", Sam slurred, his head listing to the side.

"Had to kinda give you a double dose of calming pheromones, Sam. You looked like you needed it."

"Yeah?", Sam said with a drunk smile. "I didn't even know you knew how to do that!"

"Neither did I", I retorted, trying to pull him to his feet. " Come on, Sasquatch, let's get you back to the car.

"Ok", he murmured, stumbling when he tried to stand up. Wobbling a bit, Sam finally righted himself, but stopped me from pulling him away from the tree. Dean, I'm really sorry for trying to kill you."

"It's not the first time, Sam, and, knowing this family, it probably won't be the last." I jerked him forward and he finally let me lead him out of the woods and back to the car. I dropped him in the passenger seat and went around to the drivers side. By the time I slid behind the wheel, Sam was sound asleep. I ran a hand through my hair and pulled back out onto the lonely back road. I was exhausted but wired at the same time so I knew I'd be ok to drive tonight. This incident had given me a lot to think about.

But, hey, didn't I say this would be a "fun" trip?