Dean drives the Impala, Sam in the passenger seat, and Miranda is in the back.
"Whoo! Listen to her purr! Have you ever heard anything so sweet?" Dean asks.
"You know, if you two wanna get a room, just let us know, Dean." Sam teases.
"Oh, don't listen to him, Baby. He doesn't understand us." Dean tells the vehicle. The couple share weird look.
"You're in a good mood." Sam chuckles.
"Why shouldn't I be?" Dean asks.
"No reason." Sam shrugs.
"Got my car, got a case. Things are looking up." Dean states.
"Wow. Give you a couple of severed heads and a pile of dead cows and you're Mr. Sunshine." Sam says.
"How far to Red Lodge?" Dean asks.
"Uh, about another 300 miles." Sam informs.
"Good." Dean floors it.
+++
They talked to the sheriff, though he wouldn't tell them much since they posed as reporters and he wasn't allowed to give out much information. He denied the satanic ritual possibility that Dean gave.
The three walk into the morgue and see an intern sitting at a desk.
"John." Dean says.
"Jeff." He corrects.
"Jeff. I knew that." Dean laughs. "Dr. Dworkin needs to see you in his office right away."
"But Dr. Dworkin's on vacation." Jeff says.
"Well, he's back, and he's pissed, and he's screaming for you, man, so if I were you, I would--" Dean whistles and Jeff practically runs out. Sam shuts the door. "Okay. Hey, those Satanists in Florida, they marked their victims, didn't they?"
"Yeah, reversed pentacle on the forehead." Sam says.
Dean gives them gloves before getting his own.
"Yeah. So much fucked up shit happens in Florida." Dean says.
Sam wheels open the drawer with the recent victim on it.
"All right, open it." Dean says.
"You open it." Sam retorts.
"Not it." Miranda says.
"Wusses." Dean comments. He carries the box to a table and opens it, grimacing at the woman's head inside. Sam walks over. Miranda grimaces, keeping her distance. "Well, no pentagram."
"Wow. Poor girl." Sam mumbles.
"Maybe we should, uh, you know, look in her mouth, see if those wackos stuffed anything down her throat. You know, kinda like the moth in Silence of the Lambs." Dean says.
"Yeah, here, go ahead." Sam turns the box so the girl's head is facing Dean.
"No, you go ahead." Dean turns the box to his brother.
"What?" Sam asks.
""Put the lotion in the basket."" Dean quotes.
"Right, yeah, I'm the wuss, huh?" Sam asks.
"Well, then, have your little girlfriend do it." Dean says.
"Ah-ah, no." Sam prevents Dean from dragging Miranda closer. "Heads are her no-go. If she throws up, I'm making sure she pukes on you."
"Okay, okay, jeez." Dean mutters.
Sam starts to dig around in the woman's mouth.
"Can one of you get me a bucket?" Sam asks.
"You find something?" Dean asks.
"No, I'm going to puke." Sam grimaces. He takes his hand out of the woman's mouth.
"Wait, lift the lip up again." Dean says.
"What? You want me to throw up, is that it?" Sam asks.
"No, no, no, I think I saw something." Dean says, pulling the lip up. "What is that, a hole?" He presses on the gum and a sharp tooth descends.
"It's a tooth." Sam notes.
"Sam, that's a fang. Retractable set of vampire fangs. You gotta be kidding me." Dean says.
"Well, this changes things." Sam says.
"Ya think?" Dean retorts.
+++
They get to a bar and go to the counter.
"How's it going?" Dean asks the bartender.
"Living the dream. What can I get for you?" The bartender asks.
"Three beers, please." Dean says.
"So, we're looking for some people." Sam says.
"Sure. Hard to be lonely." The bartender says.
"Yeah. But, um, that's not what I meant." Sam says. He pulls out 50 bucks and puts it on the bar. The bartender looks at it before taking it. "Right. So these-- these people, they would have moved here about six months ago, probably pretty rowdy, like to drink--"
"Yeah, yeah, real night owls, you know? Sleep all day, party all night." Dean adds.
"Barker farm got leased out a couple months ago. Real winners. They've been in here a lot -- drinkers. Noisy. I've had to 86 them once or twice." The bartender says.
"Thanks." Dean says, the three leaving.
The brothers pin the guy that was following them to the wall outside the bar and Miranda stands behind them, a knife in hand. Dean holds a knife to the man's throat.
"Smile." Dean orders.
"What?" The man asks.
"Show us those pearly whites." Dean demands.
"Oh, for the love of-- you want to stick that thing someplace else? I'm not a vampire." The man says. "Yeah, that's right. I heard you guys in there."
"What do you know about vampires?" Sam asks.
"How to kill them. Now seriously, bro. That knife's making me itch." The man states. Gordon starts to pull away, Sam pinning him harder to the wall. "Whoa. Easy there, Chachi." He tells Sam. He lifts his hand to his lip and pulls his upper lip up to reveal normal gums. "See? Fangless. Happy?" He lets go of his lip and the brothers let go of him. "Now. Who the hell are you?"
~ ~ ~
"Sam and Dean Winchester. I can't believe it. You know I met your old man once. Hell of a guy. Great hunter. I heard he passed. I'm sorry. It's big shoes. But from what I hear you guys fill 'em. Great trackers, good in a tight spot."
"You seem to know a lot about our family." Dean says.
"Word travels fast. You know how hunters talk." Gordon says.
"No, we don't, actually." Dean says.
"I guess there's a lot your dad never told you, huh?" Gordon says.
"So, um, so those two vampires, they were yours, huh?" Sam asks.
"Yep. Been here two weeks." Gordon says.
"Did you check out that Barker farm?" Dean asks.
"It's a bust. Just a bunch of hippie freaks. Though they could kill you with that patchouli smell alone." Gordon says.
"Where's the nest, then?" Dean asks.
"I got this one covered. Look, don't get me wrong. It's a real pleasure meetin' you guys. But I've been on this thing over a year. I killed a fang back in Austin, tracked the nest all the way up here. I'll finish it."
"We could help." Dean offers.
"Thanks, but, uh, I'm kind of a go-it-alone type of guy." Gordon says.
"Come on, man, I've been itching for a hunt." Dean says.
"Sorry. But, hey, I hear there's a Chupacabra two states over. You go ahead and knock yourselves out." Gordon gets his in car. "It was real good meeting you, though. I'll buy you a drink on the flip side." He drives off.
+++
After saving Gordon from getting killed by a vamp, the four are now at the same bar as earlier and sitting around a table. A waitress brings them another round and Dean reaches for his wallet.
"No, no, I got it." Gordon says.
"Come on." Dean argues.
"I insist." Gordon says. "Thank you, sweetie." He puts some money on the waitress' tray and she walks off. "Another one bites the dust."
"That's right." Dean and Gordon toast.
"Dean." Gordon says before laughing. "You gave that big ass fang one hell of a haircut, my friend."
"Thank you." Dean says.
"That was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." Gordon says.
"Yep." Dean says. "You all right, Sammy?"
"I'm fine." Sam says.
"Well, lighten up a little, Sammy." Gordon says.
"They're the only ones who get to call me that." Sam nods.
"Okay. No offense meant. Just celebrating a little. Job well done." Gordon says.
"Right. Well, decapitations aren't my idea of a good time, I guess." Sam says.
"Oh, come on, man, it's not like it was human. You've gotta have a little more fun with your job." Gordon says. Miranda isn't sure whether she wants to smack him or run away from him.
"See? That's what I've been trying to tell him. You could learn a thing or two from this guy." Dean says.
"You really couldn't." Miranda mumbles.
"Yeah, I bet I could. Look, I'm not gonna bring you guys down. I'm just gonna go back to the motel." Sam says.
"Ditto." Miranda says.
"You sure?" Dean asks.
"Yeah." Sam gets up, starting to leave, Miranda also getting up.
"Sammy?" Dean calls. "Remind me to beat that buzzkill out of you later, all right?" He tosses Sam the keys.
"Remind me to beat that douche nature out of you later." Miranda retorts.
"C'mon." Sam mumbles, grabbing her hand.
"Hey, put a sock on the door." Dean says. Miranda flips him off.
+++
They're at the motel and Sam calls Ellen, putting it on speaker.
"Harvelle's Roadhouse." She answers the phone.
"Hey, Ellen, uh, Sam Winchester." He says.
"Sam, it's good to hear from you." Ellen says. "You guys are okay, aren't you?"
"Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine." Sam says. "Got a question." He glances at Miranda when she lies down in bed.
"Yeah, shoot." Ellen says.
"You ever run across a guy named Gordon Walker?"
"Yeah, I know Gordon."
"And?"
"Well, he's a real good hunter. Why are you asking, sweetie?"
"Well, we ran into him on a job and we're kinda working with him, I guess."
"Don't do that, Sam."
"I-- I thought you said he was a good hunter."
"Yeah, and Hannibal Lecter's a good psychiatrist. Look, he is dangerous to everyone and everything around him. If he's working on a job you kids just let him handle it and you move on."
"Ellen--"
"No. Sam, you-- just listen to what I'm telling you, okay?"
"Right, okay." Sam hangs up with her after a bit. "I'm gonna go get a soda, you want one?"
"Mm-hmm." Miranda nods.
Sam gently scratches her head before leaving.
+++
Miranda wakes up and tries to move, but is unable to. She feels the rope tying her to the chair and something tied around her mouth to prevent her from talking. She tries to see anything, but the sack over her head prevents her from doing so.
The sack is ripped off her head, Miranda glaring at the guy she recognizes as the bartender. She looks around, eyes widening at Sam next to her.
The vampire advances towards both of them, the two struggling against the rope.
"Wait!" A woman yells. "Step back, Eli."
Eli steps back, his fangs retracting. The woman walks over and pulls the gags out of Miranda and Sam's mouths.
"My name's Lenore. I'm not going to hurt you two. We just need to talk." Lenora says.
"Talk? Yeah, okay, but I might have a tough time paying attention to much besides Eli's teeth." Sam says.
"Yeah, and the only person allowed to tie me up or bite me is him." Miranda nods to her boyfriend.
"Miranda." He hisses.
"I'm just saying." She says.
"He won't hurt you either." Lenore assures. "You have my word."
"Means a lot, thanks." Miranda rolls her eyes.
"Your word?" Sam scoffs. "Oh, yeah, great, thanks. Listen, lady, no offense, but you're not the first vampire we've met."
"We're not like the others. We don't kill humans and we don't drink their blood. We haven't for a long time." Lenore says.
"What is this, some kind of joke?" Sam asks.
"Notice you're still alive." Lenore says.
"Okay, uh, correct me if I'm wrong here, but shouldn't you be starving to death?" Sam questions.
"We've found other ways. Cattle blood." Lenore says.
"You're telling me you're responsible for all the--"
"It's not ideal, in fact, it's disgusting. But... it allows us to get by."
"Okay, uh, why?"
"Survival. No deaths, no missing locals, no reason for people like you to come looking for people like us. We blend in. Our kind is practically extinct. Turns out we weren't quite as high up the food chain as we imagined."
"Why are we explaining ourselves to this killer?" Eli asks.
"Eli!" Lenore chides.
"We choke on cow's blood so that none of them suffer." Eli says. "Tonight they murdered Conrad and they celebrated."
"Eli, that's enough." Lenore says.
"Yeah, Eli, that's enough." Sam quips.
"What's done is done." Lenore says. "We're leaving this town tonight."
"Then why did you bring us here?" Sam asks. "Why are you even talking to us?"
"Believe me, I'd rather not. But I know your kind. Once you have the scent, you'll keep tracking us. It doesn't matter where we go. Hunters will find us." Lenore says.
"So you're asking us not to follow you." Sam says.
"We have a right to live. We're not hurting anyone."
"Right, so you keep saying, but give us one good reason why we should believe you."
"Fine." Lenore gets in Sam's face. "You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to let the both of you go." She says. "Take them back. Not a mark on them."
+++
Miranda and Sam go into their motel room, finding Dean and Gordon sitting at the table.
"Where you two been?" Dean asks.
"Can I talk to you alone?" Sam asks him.
"You mind chillin' out for a couple minutes?" Dean asks Gordon who shrugs.
The three go outside.
"Dean, maybe we've got to rethink this hunt." Sam states.
"What are you talking about? Where were you?" Dean asks.
"In the nest." Sam states.
"You found it?" Dean asks.
"They found us, man." Sam informs.
"How'd you get out? How many'd you kill?" Dean asks.
"None."
"Well, Sam, they didn't just let you go."
"That's exactly what they did."
"All right, well, where is it?" Dean asks.
"We were blindfolded, we don't know." Sam shrugs.
"Well, you've got to know something." Dean says.
"We went over that bridge outside of town, but, Dean, listen. Maybe we shouldn't go after them." Sam says.
"Why not?" Dean asks.
"I don't think they're like other vampires. I don't think they're killing people." Sam states.
"You're joking. Then how do they stay alive? Or undead, or whatever the hell they are."
"The cattle mutilations. They said they live off of animal blood."
"And you believed them?"
"Look at us, Dean. They let us go without a scratch."
"Very true." Miranda nods.
"Wait, so you're saying... no, man, no way. I don't know why they let you go. I don't really care. We find 'em, we waste 'em." Dean says.
"Why?" Sam asks.
"What part of "vampires" don't you understand, Sam? If it's supernatural, we kill it, end of story. That's our job." Dean says.
"Okay, well, apparently not everything is so black and white, dumbass." Miranda sneers.
"No, Dean, that is not our job. Our job is hunting evil. And if these things aren't killing people, they're not evil." Sam says.
"Of course they're killing people, that's what they do. They're all the same, Sam. They're not human, okay? We have to exterminate every last one of them." Dean says.
"No, Dean, I don't think so, all right? Not this time." Sam says.
"Gordon's been on those vamps for a year, man, he knows." Dean says.
"Gordon?" Sam questions.
"Yes." Dean nods.
"You're taking his word for it."
"That's right."
"Ellen says he's bad news." Sam states.
"You called Ellen?" Dean asks and Sam nods. "And I'm supposed to listen to her? We barely know her, Sam. No, thanks, I'll go with Gordon."
"Right, cause Gordon's such an old friend." Sam remarks sarcastically.
"We've known neither of them for more than a month, but I definitely trust the mother over the loner psycho who called the waitress "sweetie." Guys calling any woman they don't know or any waitress any term of endearment is, just, ugh." She shivers.
"You don't think I can't see what this is?" Sam asks.
"What are you talking about?" Dean asks.
"He's a substitute for dad, isn't he? A poor one." Sam says.
"Shut up, Sam. You know what? I'm not even going to talk about this." Dean says.
"You know, you slap on this big fake smile, but I can see right through it. Because I know how you feel, Dean. Dad's dead. And he left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can't take it, and you're also confused about your feelings for him since you're no longer fucking brainwashed, but you can't fill that hole up with whoever you want to."
"Okay." Dean mumbles. He turns away but then punches Sam in the face, hard.
Miranda seethes, punching Dean in the face making him stumble back.
"What the fuck was that?!" Dean exclaims.
"Don't fucking hit him!" Miranda orders.
"I'll hit him if I want, he's my brother." Dean shoves her.
"Which is a pretty basic reason for why you shouldn't hit him." Miranda says, shoving him back.
"You do not wanna get started." Dean shoves her again.
"Oh, trust me, I do." She coldly laughs.
"All right. Listen, Randi--" Miranda punches him again.
"Do not call me that." She lowly demands.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Sam pulls Miranda back as Dean swings at her. "Enough! Don't touch her!"
"Tell her not to touch me!"
"Look, you hit me all you want, it won't change anything. And I'm not letting you hurt her again." Sam says.
"I'm going to that nest. You don't want to tell me where it is, fine. I'll find it myself." Dean states, walking back to the motel room.
"Dean." Sam follows him, Miranda trailing behind. They go inside and find it empty.
"Gordon?" Dean calls.
"You think he went after them?" Sam asks.
"Probably." Dean says.
"Dean, we have to stop him." Sam says.
"Really, Sam? Because I say we lend a hand." Dean argues.
"Just give me the benefit of the doubt, would you? You owe me that." Sam says.
"Seriously?" Dean asks.
"You're gonna trust some rando over your own little brother? Are you fucking serious right now?" Miranda scoffs. "How idiotic are you, Dean?"
"Give me the keys, I'll drive." Dean says.
Sam points to where he put the keys, but they're gone.
"He snaked the keys." Sam states.
~ ~ ~
"I can't believe this. I just fixed her up, too." Dean says as he hotwires the car. "So the bridge, is that, uh, is that all you got?"
"The bridge was 4 1/2 minutes from their farm." Sam informs.
"How do you know?" Dean asks.
"I counted." Sam says. He traces a path on the map as he talks. "They took a left out of the farm, then turned right onto a dirt road, followed that for two minutes slightly up a hill, then took another quick right and we hit the bridge."
"You got all that with a sack over your head?" Miranda asks.
"Yeah." Sam nods.
"What the fuck?" She mumbles. Sam chuckles at her bewildered expression.
"You're good. You're a monster pain in the ass, but you're good." Dean says.
+++
The three get to the farmhouse and go in, finding Lenore sitting on a chair and there's cuts on her chest, face, and arms. Gordon is standing next to her with a bloody knife.
"Sam, Dean, Miranda. Come on in." Gordon says.
"Hey, Gordon. What's going on?" Dean asks.
"Just poisoning Lenore here with some dead man's blood. She's going to tell us where all her little are friends, aren't you? Wanna help?" Gordon asks.
"Look, man--" Dean starts.
"Grab a knife. I was just about to start in on the fingers." Gordon says. He drags the knife across Lenore's forearm.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, let's all just chill out, okay?" Dean says.
"I'm completely chill." Gordon says.
"Gordon, put the knife down." Sam orders. He takes a step forward. Dean puts a hand on his chest to stop him.
"Sounds like it's Sam here who needs to chill." Gordon says.
"Just step away from her, all right?" Sam says.
"You're right." He throws the knife down. "I'm wasting my time here. This bitch will never talk." He grabs a larger knife out. "Might as well put her out of her misery." Gordon says. "I just sharpened it, so it's completely humane." Miranda gives him an incredulous look.
"Gordon, I'm letting her go." Sam states, walking forward. Gordon points the knife at Sam's chest, forcing him to stop.
"You're not doing a damn thing." Gordon declares. Miranda tenses up, keeping an eye on the knife. She slowly walks closer.
"Hey, hey, hey, Gordon, let's talk about this." Dean says.
"What's there to talk about? It's like I said, Dean. No shades of gray." Gordon says.
"Yeah. I hear ya. And I know how you feel." Dean says.
"Do you?" Gordon asks.
"That vampire that killed your sister deserved to die, but this one--" Dean is cut off as Gordon laughs.
"Killed my sister?" He asks. "That filthy thing didn't kill my sister. It turned her. It made her one of them. So I hunted her down, and I killed her myself."
Miranda's eyes widen in horror, her mouth falling open in shock.
"You did what?" Dean asks.
"It wasn't my sister anymore, it wasn't human. I didn't blink. And you wouldn't either." Gordon states.
"Oh, you are, like, way past psychotic." Miranda mutters.
"So you knew all along, then? You knew about the vampires, you knew they weren't killing anyone. You knew about the cattle. And you just didn't care." Sam says.
"Care about what? A nest of vampires suddenly acting nice? Taking a little time out from sucking innocent people? And we're supposed to buy that? Trust me. Doesn't change what they are. And I can prove it." Gordon says.
Gordon grabs Miranda's arm and cuts her forearm, the blonde letting out a small cry of pain. Sam pulls his gun out, cocking it and aiming it at Gordon. Gordon holds the knife to Miranda's throat. He drags her over to Lenore, the two standing on either side of her.
Gordon holds Miranda's bleeding arm over Lenore in a tight grip while keeping the knife pinned to her throat.
"Let her go." Sam seethes. "Let her go!"
"Relax." Gordon assures. "If I wanted to kill her, she'd already be on the floor." He says. Sam's grip on his gun tightens, his glare hardening at the man, keeping a careful eye on the knife. "Just making a little point."
Gordon moves Miranda's arm a bit so her blood drips onto Lenore's face. Lenore hisses, her fangs extracting. Miranda winces, getting a little deja vu, remembering the last time she was stuck near a vamp.
"Hey!" Dean calls.
"You think she's so different? Still want to save her? Look at her. They're all the same. Evil, bloodthirsty." Gordon says.
Lenore is able to get control of herself, her fangs retracting, and she turns her head away.
"No. No." Lenore says.
"You hear her, Gordon?" Sam asks.
"No. No!" Lenore denies.
Sam carefully walks over. He keeps his gun pointed at Gordon and uses one hand to grab Miranda and drag her back and behind him.
"We're done here." Sam states.
"Guys, get her out of here." Dean orders.
"Yeah." Sam gives puts his gun up. Sam picks Lenore up. Gordon takes a step forward, Dean keeping his gun on him.
"Uh-uh. Uh-uh." Dean denies.
Sam and Miranda quickly leave.
+++
It's morning when they get back and they go in to find Gordon tied to a chair, both him and Dean pretty beat up.
"Did we miss anything?" Sam asks.
"Nah, not much. Lenore get out okay?" Dean asks.
"Yeah." Miranda nods.
"All of 'em did." Sam states.
"Then I guess our work here is done." Dean says. "How you doin', Gordy? Gotta tinkle yet? All right. Well, get comfy. We'll call someone in two or three days, have them come out, untie you."
"Ohh, only two or three days? I-- I was thinking seven or eight. Cause you'll probably be dead by then, so... won't have to worry." Miranda remarks.
"Ready to go?" Sam asks.
"Not yet. I guess this is goodbye. Well, it's-- it's been real." Dean hits Gordon, knocking his chair onto the floor. "Okay. I'm good now. We can go."
The three leave the house.
"Sam?" Dean calls. "Clock me one."
"What?" Sam asks.
"Come on. I won't even hit you back. Let's go." Dean says.
"No." Sam denies.
"Let's go, you get a freebie. Hit me, come on."
"You look like you just went twelve rounds with a block of cement, Dean. I'll take a raincheck." Sam says.
Before either brother can react, Miranda punches Dean in the face.
"Oh! What the fuck, Miranda?" Dean questions, rubbing his jaw.
"Hey, you offered." She defends.
"Not to you!" He exclaims.
"Yeah, but it-- it's just so fun." Miranda says.
"I'm gonna--" Dean hisses, going towards her.
"Ah-ah, no." Sam shoves him back. "No." He orders his brother. Miranda smugly smiles at Dean who sneers at her.
Dean huffs and walks over to the Impala, Sam and Miranda following.
"I wish we never took this job. It's jacked everything up." Dean says as they reach the Impala.
"What do you mean?" Sam asks.
"Think about all the hunters we went on, our whole lives."
"Okay."
"What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing? You know? I mean, the way dad raised us, to hate these things -- and, man, I hate 'em. I do. When I killed that vampire at the mill, I didn't even think about it. Hell, I even enjoyed it."
"You didn't kill Lenore." Sam says.
"No, but every instinct told me to. I was gonna kill her. I was gonna kill 'em all." Dean states.
"Yeah, Dean, but you didn't. And that's what matters." Sam says.
"Yeah. Well, cause you're a pain in my ass." Dean says.
"Guess I might have to stick around to be a pain in the ass, then." Sam says.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"I get no peace in my life." Miranda sighs, getting in the car.
"Please let me punch her." Dean begs.
"No." Sam sternly states.
"Slap? Pinch?" Dean suggests.
"No." Sam's tone is final and he gets in the car.
========================
season six is gonna be really fun, but, like... not in a fun way, yk?