10x02 - Bad Rain - Part Two: Veins
Episode number: 10x02 of Season 10 Fan Fiction (S10FF)
Title: Bad Rain
Subtitle: Veins
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word count: 2,455
Rating: PG-13/Teen
Warnings: violence, transformation atrophy, language
Dean's phone rang, echoing throughout the Men of Letters War Room. He balked when he saw the incoming call was from 'UNDETERMINED.'
"You got me," Dean answered the phone.
"Hey bitches, you sound craptastic," Charlie replied.
"Charlie?" he asked. "Where you calling from?
"Same line, new phone. Military-grade encryption."
"Why? No, scratch that, where'd you get it?"
"Remember that guy you dropped off at the hospital after the Amazon frenzy?" Charlie asked.
"Vaguely."
"Well, he's the one who helped me hack the droids. We've kinda become hunter buds."
"Hunter buds?"
"Those Amazons slaughtered people he served with," she replied. "His friends, his family. You didn't think he'd just let it go, did you?"
"No, but, be careful. Training a new hunter isn't all blood, guts, and stolen military equipment."
"You and Sam roped me in. How hard could it be?"
"I'm serious, Charlie. If he's giving government secrets to a hacker, he's putting his head on a chopping block."
"You mean like how Dodge and Sam are working together?"
The elder Winchester cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Right, uh, so did you find anything on this Talim Orm crap?"
"Hell yeah. First, people just call it The Serum. Second, the guy who makes it is super-stealth. Completely off the grid and old-school. No electronic footprints. Sales are done in person via distributors. If we wanna get this guy, we're gonna need a full-on sting."
"A sting?"
"Yeah, I've got most of it worked out, except we'll need a legit monster to be in on it, so I thought maybe Benny - "
Dean interrupted, "Whoa, whoa, Charlie, slow down. So far all we know about this dude is that he gives herbs to monsters. He's not the one dropping bodies in New Jersey. We gotta put him on the back burner for now."
"Fair enough, but don't think this is the end of my sting operation."
"Trust me, I wouldn't miss it, but right now what I really need is a line on Sammy."
"He's missing?"
"He hasn't answered a call in hours. Could be nothing - "
Charlie interrupted, "You mean like he and Dodge are too busy to answer the phone."
"That's what I'm hoping, but the last thing he said was that they were looking into the EDA. So, could you, I dunno, load up a GPS thing on him?"
"His phone must be off, because it's not pinging," she replied. "And the GPS on his truck hasn't moved in hours. Looks like it's parked at a motel. Sending that address now. Gimme a few hours, I'll find out where he's been for the past two days."
"I thought you said his phone was off?"
"But his computer sure isn't," she replied.
Sam's head ached like it was stuck in a vice. The pain was so acute that he instinctively covered his still-closed eyes with the palms of his hands, and it took him a minute after that to realize that he could freely move his arms, which meant he was no longer bound to the chair.
His eyes snapped open.
"What the hell?"
"We've been spending too much time together," Dodge mumbled. "Said the exact same thing not two minutes ago."
Dodge was behind the wheel of her rental car with Sam in the passenger seat. In the back, an unconscious man was bound with heavy steel chains.
"He's alive," Dodge said. "My head feels like its gonna fall off, but I had enough sense to check for a pulse. You okay?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," he replied.
"I ask because you haven't really moved."
"I just did," he replied doggedly. "I'm fine."
"He must've knocked you harder than me," she said. "Let me check you out."
"No, it's - "
But it was too late. Dodge came dangerously close to him and took his head in her hands, slowly examining his face. Something about her closeness took the words right out of his mouth, so he sat breathlessly staring at her. She checked his hairline and the back of his head, putting as little pressure as possible on his skin as she pushed his hair out of the way.
Pain hit him so hard he gagged.
"That's gonna need some ice, and probably an x-ray to be sure it's not fractured," she said softly. "You could be concussed."
"Don't worry, Cas can heal pretty much anything," Sam said, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. He added, "Who is our new passenger?"
"Dunno, he was like that when I woke up," she replied. "My guess is he's another hunter."
"Seems like they're more afraid of him than us," Sam commented. "Did they really just let us go?"
"Either that, or we sleep-fought our way out," she said. "I think we should get out of here, take a look at that guy, see what he knows. The motel should be safe enough."
Sam bit his lip but nodded.
"Seat belt," she said.
"What about him?"
"He's practically bolted in."
Sam clicked on his safety belt and smiled, but it didn't last long. Crosby had said that he was going to send a message with Sam and Dodge. A message to warn all hunters to stay away from the EDA. So why were they still alive? His heart raced as the ideas started coming to him.
What if Sharvari had bitten them? It would only take a nip, and both he and Dodge would be wolfed out with no possible cure. What happened with a naga bite? Sam read that they were extremely venomous, but the lore wasn't always right about these things. Was it similar to a werewolf bite? How many other monsters had been lurking around? Maybe Crosby had a wraith poison them, or he could've had conworms crawl into their ears. Hell, Crosby could've recruited a shifter to impersonate Dodge.
As the endless possibilities overwhelmed him, Sam changed tactics and began to eliminate things. If he were a vampire, his senses would've overwhelmed him by now. Wraith poison would make him paranoid. Or well, more paranoid. He couldn't think of the symptoms of becoming a skinwalker, a werewolf (before the full moon), an arachne, or a Jefferson Starship, and, worse, he knew that there were dozens, maybe even hundreds, of other monsters that could turn humans.
"Whatever it is you're thinking, spill," Dodge said.
"Huh?"
"The look on your face makes it pretty clear that whatever you're thinking isn't good."
"Right, it's just..." Sam hesitated to continue. "Let's get back to the motel. I'll grab what we need from my truck and explain it all then."
"What we need for what?" she asked.
"To test ourselves," Sam replied.
Dean received a text from Sam just as he and Cas pulled up to one of the addresses Charlie had gotten from Sam's computer.
FROM: BRO
EDA = monsters. Got out okay. Will update you later.
"Of course we get this now, instead of eight hours ago," Dean muttered. "Cas?"
"You need to see this."
Dean joined the angel inside, where he found a basic meeting room set up with chairs, tables, and a podium.
"See what, Cas?" he asked.
"You can't see it, exactly, but this room has energy signatures for dozens of monsters. Some even I don't recognize."
"You mean like six vampires, five werewolves, and a skinwalker?"
Castiel shook his head, no. "I mean dozens of different species of monster, Dean."
"Very not good," he said. "Anything in particular?"
"In terms of numbers, there were mostly skinwalkers, vampires, and werewolves."
"What else was here last night?"
He took time between each answer, as if confirming each one before speaking.
Cas replied, "Ghoul. Siren. Hakutaku. Kitsune. Phoenix. Piasa. Crocotta. Naga. Kamaitachi. Vetala. Leviathan. Oni. Burrokeet. Lamia. Shifter. Tanuki. Kishi. Kumiho. Onikuma. Liderc. Bakeneko. Shunka warakin. Jackalope."
"Stop, stop," Dean interrupted. "At some point you just started making stuff up. Shunka warakin pushed it, but Jackalope? Really?"
"They can be benevolent, but when they turn violent they kill everyone around them," Cas said with complete conviction. "I assure you, I would never claim one was here unless I had reason to believe it was."
"A Jackalope is a rabbit with horns on its head."
"That is what folklore has made them to be, hundreds of years after their assumed extinction. They are dangerous warriors and tend to be solitary."
"You're serious?" Dean asked. "Because I've only dealt with half of the crap you just said. The rest I only know about trying to find stuff in the Men of Letters library."
"Some of these creatures I haven't seen in centuries," Cas continued. "And yet they all gathered here."
"Kelvin Colt said this is Eve's Descendants Anonymous. You think this is part of something bigger?"
"At the very least, monsters are gathering together. Regardless of their intentions, I believe concern is in order."
He was in a bathroom.
Sliver had no idea what was going on, but he knew that someone had put him in a bathroom. What reason would anyone have for that, other than to dispose of his body? Panic began in earnest.
The chains were so heavy that they bruised him, and he could barely move, let along break free. He needed to do something ridiculous. Something drastic. Something, anything, right now!
Sliver took a deep breath and pushed. He sucked in the scream that bubbled up in his chest as his skin began to liquefy and slide off. He had learned to control the reaction but never the pain. When trying to describe the transformation to others, all he come up with was that it was like having sunburn so deep that the skin buckled, melted, and peeled. The process burned, ached, ripped, and itched.
Usually Sliver resented the sloppy, slippery mess he became mid-transformation, but it was just what he needed to slip the chains. He imagined himself in a smaller body, directing the transformation to suit his needs. Once he freed his arms, he'd make his escape.
Then everything went wrong, all he could do was howl in pain and fury. His body ached for - no, demanded - hearts and blood, and the sound of two human heartbeats nearby became deafening. At the same time, his insides felt as if a fire slowly consumed them. His muscles first contracted wildly and of their own accord, then became sore, strained, and atrophied.
His skin wouldn't molt; instead, the deliquesced pieces began to reabsorb, returning him to his previous shape. But the skin wouldn't thicken. It remained dangerously thin and light, leaving every artery and vein visible through the barely pigmented covering. The blood vessels stood out all the more because they had taken on deep, dark colors: the arties, an almost-black red, and the veins, a midnight blue.
The bloodlust subsided, and his fingers and toes turned clawed. They refused to retract.
And his chains weren't any looser.
"Holy shit," someone said.
Sliver looked up and saw a woman in the doorway. She was human, by the smell of her. Another human joined her immediately. Their confusion was palpable.
"Sam, what the hell is happening?" the woman asked.
"He's a shifter," the man replied.
"Name's Sliver," Sliver said as pleasantly as he could manage. "And as you can see, I'm in a bit of a bind. Any chance you came to rescue me?"
From the looks on their faces, tell they hadn't.
"They've covered their tracks," Castiel said. "I'm afraid I can't follow them. Perhaps we should speak with your brother, see what he has."
"He's not picking up, and I don't want to interrupt," Dean said.
"Interrupt? How can we interrupt when we're working the same case as they are?"
"Uh, Cas, Sam is with his girlfriend. Alone. At a motel."
"None of this is new information."
"What I'm saying is, they might not be working on the case right now."
Cas took a moment before he replied. "You're suggesting they may be engaged in sexual activities."
"Yeah, Cas, that's what I mean. You know, you were getting better with innuendo - "
The angel became distracted. He could hear it, just barely, the beginning of a prayer.
"Hush, I'm trying to listen," Cas interrupted Dean.
Misunderstanding the angel, Dean pulled a handgun out and cased their immediate area, but he remained quiet, even when he found no signs of danger.
Castiel? Cas? It's me, Kevin Tran. You said you can always hear me, which is good because I can't find my cell phone. I've been getting these ideas... thoughts, dreams, messages, whatever you want to call them. I'm pretty sure they're not just inspiration or whatever. I think Metatron is contacting me, like a reverse prayer or something. I'm pretty sure it's Metatron because when I called him on the phone he didn't deny it. Come to think of it, it was right after I called him that my phone went missing...
Not important, right. Keep on track, Kevin. Listen, Metatron said that this Talim Orm guy created a drug or serum for monsters. The Serum was the miracle every monster wants. And, in case you're wondering, no, Metatron didn't elaborate on what he meant by that. A few months later, a new batch of serum was released under a different name. I don't know what it was supposed to be called, but eventually everyone wound up calling it The Purge because anyone who takes it dies. Something about a new formula for this serum, I'm not too clear on that.
Actually, I don't think anyone really knows what happened, but The Serum went from monster miracle cure to horrible-death-poison overnight. Metatron told me all this because even the monsters are scared. That's what he said. Monsters are scared. The creatures with superpowers and a taste for human blood or body parts are scared. So I thought you should know right away. Be careful. Okay? And call my mom to let her know you got the message. Best I can do until I find my phone.
The angel absorbed this information slowly, and Dean couldn't help but notice his tension, confusion, and anger.
"Cas?"
"Kevin Tran just contacted me."
"Is he okay?"
"The Prophet is fine, but he had a message from Metatron about Talim Orm and The Serum."
"What'd he say?"
"He said The Serum went from cure to poison," the angel replied. "And we should ask Sam if he has encountered the name 'The Purge' on this case - "
"Hang on," Dean interrupted. "What do you mean the Serum is a cure?"
"Was a cure," Cas corrected.
"For what?"
"THE cure," the angel repeated with emphasis. He added, "It makes them human, Dean."
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