20. Good Ole Vampire Hunt
"Jo! Hey, Jo! Come on. Wake up."
My vision swims at first, but once it comes into focus, I've got Dean in my face. He lets out a sigh of relief. "Hey, Dean. Ow."
"I got you. Sit up. Come on."
When I do, the world tilts. I sway, using Dean heavily as support. I close my eyes, but the tilting doesn't stop. It feels like I'm thrown into a washer, tumbling.
"Where's Sam?" I slur.
"He's checking the house. What happened?"
"Vampire." I clear my throat. "I wasn't sure who it was, never saw him before. Probably our custodian. Ow." I rub the back of my head, seeing dried red on my fingers. "I'll kill that son of a bitch."
"You're not doing any killing of any kind, Jo."
"Why not?"
"You've probably got a concussion. You're no good fighting like that."
"But, Dean—"
"Nothing!" Sam comes back. "No one." He runs to my aid. Dean shows Sam and me a knife. How did I overlook that? "It's Claire's knife. So whatever it was, it was lying in wait for them when they left."
"Vampire, Sammy. He's a vampire," I rasp, panting lightly.
"You okay, Jo?"
"I've been better."
"She's got a concussion," says Dean.
"I do not."
"That ain't fooling us." Dean's phone goes off and he answers. "This is Agent Noon...no I have not seen the sheriff either. I'd be happy to pass on the information. I'm just here with my partners, what do you got?" He looks at the two of us. "They identified the custodian."
"Good."
"Richard Beesome? A trucker out of O'Neill, Nebraska, he's been missing for three years. Thank you." Dean hands up. "His family was found exsanguinated. Throats ripped out."
"Told you, vampire," I say.
"O'Neill, isn't that where Alex is from?" asks Sam. "Where her nest was?"
"So, what, Beesome was part of Alex's old nest?" asks Dean. "Came here looking for Alex and then found Jody and Claire instead?"
"I don't know, something still doesn't sit right."
"We gotta warn Alex."
"Yeah, all right you pick her up, I'll go check Beesome's office. There's bound to be something there."
"Sounds like a plan," I grunt.
"Um, no. Jo, you're getting inside the house and icing that bump on your head," Dean says adamantly.
"What?" I give him a strange look. "No way, dude. I'm coming with you. I care about them too, it's not just you guys. I'll prove that I'm good to go." I nudge Dean away. It takes me some time to get my balance in order, but I stand. Truthfully, my head is still spinning. "See? Good to go."
My brothers look at me critically.
"Guys, we don't have time to do a diagnosis on me!" I say hysterically. "Alex could be in danger, and we gotta find Jody and Claire. Come on!"
"It's your turn to babysit her," I hear Dean say to Sam. "Take her with you. Try and drop her off at a hospital if you can."
"I heard you, asshat!"
* * *
Sam doesn't, after much badgering on my part, take me to a hospital.
We discover a map in Beesome's office. We figure out that an old, shut down building is where the vampire has Jody and Claire.
Sam and I are the ones to reach the building first. We enter inside, armed with sharp weapons. I keep behind Sam so he doesn't notice how wobbly I am behind him. My vision is still a little distorted, but I can still fight, for the most part.
"Claire," I whisper as I hear a bloodcurdling scream.
We enter another part of the building, and that's when we see them. Claire, on the ground, bloody neck, unconscious. I feel anger bubbling inside of my chest.
"Sam! Jo!" Alex screams.
I get a sledgehammer to my chest, sending me catapulting towards the ground, away from Sam. My weapon isn't dislodged, but I remain on the ground—that bastard knocked the wind out of me. I wheeze, sitting up as Sam hits the floor, the machete flying from his grasp. He quickly grabs it and gets up.
"No!" Jody screams. I notice her tied up near a pile of rotting bodies. How traumatizing. On the other side of the room, Alex is tied up too.
Fuming, I see Henry, Alex's boyfriend, smack Sam from behind. My brother falls into the empty pool, with Henry jumping in after him. I rush at Beesome, who's grabbed my brother's weapon. He notices and clashes our weapons together.
"Nice try," he croons. "You just won't give up, will you?"
"Not in my nature." I smirk. I go on the offense, slicing at Beesome, most of the time missing. He's backing me up towards Alex. I see Sam is still fighting off Henry. I scream as my hand is sliced into, and I drop my weapon. Beesome grabs the back of my head gruffly, and I kick at him.
I hear Alex scream my name as Beesome's fangs tear deep into my neck. I swear I can feel them chomping on the muscles and tissue. I try to pull away, but his jaw is firmly clasped and has no intentions of letting me go. I punch, feeling my vision shake violently.
Fangs release my neck, and I fall in front of Alex. I turn my head, seeing a crowbar protrude from Beesome's body. He doesn't fall, he turns to Claire. Dean rushes in, ending the vampire's life by taking his head off. I cheer weakly, rolling onto my back. I can feel the blood leaving my neck—it's possible that Beesome hit an artery.
"Fuck," I curse, seeing bright red on my fingers. My pulse thunders in my ears, so I can't hear anything, but I can still see. I can see Sam drag Henry out of the pool, Alex punching him, Claire ending the pathetic excuse of a vampire's life. I give a watery smile. I'm actually proud of that girl.
"Jo, hey!" Sam's hovering over me as I sputter for breath. "Damn it." I feel his hands put pressure on my neck wound. "Guys, we gotta get them out of here." I hear ripping fabric, and Sam ties a piece of cloth, which is quickly soaking in blood. "I've got you, Jo. I've got you." He picks me up into his arms. "Don't go on me again, you hear me?"
I cough. "Wouldn't dream of it, Sammy."
"Is she gonna be okay?" Alex panics. "If she..."
"She's gonna be okay," Sam assures her.
"You got her, Sam?" asks Dean.
"You help Jody, I've got Jo."
"Okay."
"We gotta stop doing this, Sammy," I joke weakly. "You carrying me into hospitals looking like I'm on my deathbed."
"Shh, just shut up, okay?"
I snort. "You got it, boss."
**God damn, Jo. You gotta stop getting yourself hurt!**