Sammy

17. A New Hunt

"She's dead.  Her partner called me this morning, said she went out with her, but she doesn't remember the thing that killed her."  It was late afternoon and the sun was casting lazy rays across Bobby's yard.  Dean and Bobby were sitting across the table, discussing their next move for the nearly abandoned Chicago hunt.  Dean stared at his coffee, wondering what the right move should be and he wasn't liking the conclusion.

"I'll go out there," he said with the slightest hint of relish. 

"Don't be stupid, Dean.  That thing took out a hunter maybe more, already.  If you go out there, we're all comin' too," Bobby retorted.  

"No, you stay back, work in the shop and stay with the kids," Dean sighed.

"Do I look like your mother to you?  The four of us are going and that's final!"

"If Sam and Melody agree."

"Dammit Dean, yes if Sam and Melody agree!" Bobby yelled.  He turned from Dean and walked towards the door.  "SAM, MELODY WE NEED YOU!" he bellowed.  Dean's eyes widened--so he was really serious about this.  

"For what?" he heard Sam ask as he and Melody stepped inside.

"We need to talk about something," Dean said, which most likely wasn't the best of ideas.  Sam's face turned beet red and Melody's turned white.  

"About what?" Melody's voice was trembling ever so slightly.

"Not whatever you're concerned about. I think."  Dean paused for a few seconds as Sam and Melody's faces resumed their normal shades of color. 

"There's a hunt in Chicago.  Something's running around and its killed a few people, one of them a hunter.  Someone has to go out there and take care of it, so I'll be leaving in a few days."

There was a mix of reactions.  Bobby started yelling, Sam joined in after a few minutes, and Melody just stared out into space silently.  

"That's not the plan Dean!"  Bobby growled, "You're not going alone, we've been through this!"

"You can't leave Dean, not now!" Sam protested, nearly as loud as Bobby.  Dean held up his hands to silence the two males, but it didn't do any good.  Sam and Bobby continued to divulge the injustices of Dean's plan and were only slightly repressed when Melody spoke up.

"You will not go alone because come hell or high water I'm going with you.  You, Sam, and Bobby are the closest I have to family and I'm not going to lose you to some hunt you were too stubborn to get help on."  An acute silence followed Melody's declaration and it was almost a full minute before anyone had the nerve to speak again.

"If you're going," Sam said to Melody, "then there's no stopping me either.  Bobby?"  Bobby gave a solemn nod and Dean exhaled loudly.  They can't go with me, it's too dangerous.

"This...thing," he began, "it's unlike anything I've ever heard of.  In fact, the most we could know is what Sam can tell us.  There isn't a book Bobby has that deals with this--I've checked--and Melody doesn't remember anything even if she did hunt it once.  I don't know what I'm--"

"What we're getting into," Melody corrected.  "All the more reason for us to come with you.  Safety in numbers, right?"  Dean sighed again.  He wasn't going to win this one and there was no more use in pretending that he was.

"Fine, we leave tomorrow, but Bobby--"  Dean was interrupted again, this time by Bobby.

"I'll find someone to watch the shop.  Rufus should be in town," he mused.

"What about Dad?"  Sam asked.  "Couldn't he help us?"  Crap.

"Dad's...dad,"  Dean inhaled was no easy way to say this.  "Dad's dead Sammy.  He's been dead for about three years now."  Sam paled and he looked confused, then he did nothing.  Melody touched his shoulder and he looked up at her in a way that Dean couldn't quite find a word for.  It was pity, love, relief, and knowing all at once.  It was sweet, but that didn't mean Dean wasn't annoyed with it after a few seconds.

"You good Sam?"  Sam just nodded.  He probably wasn't okay, but he'd go and cry and mope about it tonight like he always did when he was little.  When he was little....  "Okay then, let's pack the car, get the house decent, grab some books that might help, you know the drill," he gestured to Melody and Bobby.  "We leave for Chicago tomorrow morning as soon as we can."  The group of four quickly disbanded and began their packing immediately.  

"How many days will we be gone for?" Melody yelled through the vents. 

"Um, pack for a week," Dean yelled from Bobby's study.  He was trying, again, to recover anything that might help them on the hunt.  He found a good weapons guide, a book on uncommon monsters, and an empty blue journal that he could use to write down information on the creature when it was finally dead.  He was just about to leave when Bobby walked in.

"I was just getting some books, ya'know, just in case we needed a little more help," Dean explained, as if he expected Bobby to get mad.

"I'm not mad boy, I just wanted to give you this."  Bobby held out a book thick with mismatched pages and photographs.  "There's been a lot of stuff, supernatural stuff, going on across the pond and I was researching it just before you turned up.  I figured it may help."

"How?" Dean questioned as he turned the book over.

"I don't know, but this thing might have something to do with it all.  Just read it, some of the stuff is pretty crazy, even for us."

"Like forget a monster crazy?" Dean asked as he opened the book.  Right away he was greeted by a faded drawing of a wolf, or at least something that looked like it, on very old yellow paper.  He was intrigued, but he shut the book regardless.  He could look at it while he was in the car, provided Bobby drove.  "Thanks, Bobby," Dean called as Bobby left the room.  He set the book down on the desk while he continued looking through the many volumes.

Dean went to bed early that night, as did everyone else in the house; they figured they would need a decent amount of sleep for the coming week.  He was about to fall asleep when he heard Melody whispering in the bed next to his.  "Hey, you awake?"

"Yeah, why?" Sam answered.

"Do you think he's asleep?"  Dean heard the bed creak as either Sam or Melody lifted them self slightly up to make sure he was really sleeping.  Dean evened out his breathing and kept his eyes closed, whatever this was about he wanted to hear it.

"He's out Mels, you want to talk about the memories again, don't you?"  Melody must have nodded because Sam started to talk again.  "I did see something today, something of yours.  A woman in a white room with bright hair and dark eyes.  Do you know her?"

"No, Sam.  I can't remember anything like that.  I wish I could, but I can't."  They stopped speaking for a while, but Dean stayed tuned in just in case they started speaking again.  As luck would have it, Melody began whispering again.  "I saw something today too.  Something white and red surrounded by light.  I think it was your mom, Sammy."  Sam gasped softly.

"What did she look like?"

"I could barely see her hair, much less her face.  Sorry, but I'm sure it'll get clearer as time goes on.  These things usually do."

"Yours are.  I can make out some voices in a few of your memories now; they're kinda soft and muddled, but it's still voices."  There was silence again.  "You really want to find them, don't you?"

"Yeah," breathed Melody, "what gave me away?"

"I can sense it on you and you've been talking about it every since I met you."  A loud sigh issued from one of the two and Sam resumed speaking.  "You probably shouldn't tell Dean, he might get offended.  He's not as tough as you think."

"I know, he cried almost every day in the month I was here."  Dean went red in the darkness.  He hadn't meant to be so emotional, it was just years of anger and frustration pouring out of him.  What was he supposed to do?  Bobby made sure he wouldn't drink the feelings away; he'd been doing that since Dean was thirteen.  

Dean fell asleep shortly after that, reminiscing his teenage years and how they were spent in an angry range.  He knew that he was probably missing more of Sam and Melody's conversation, but he didn't really care.  He had eavesdropped enough already and there were a few things that he'd rather not like to know.  

So, any guesses on the new monster?  I'll give you a hint--it's not original.  Thank you to everyone who has been reading so far and I hope this isn't too cliche and craptastic for you - Stella