Daddy's Little Hunter (SPN Season 1)

Something Wicked [3]

The Impala pulled up to the motel parking lot and Sam and Dean got out.

"'I was sleeping with my peepers open'?" Sam laughed "Hahahaha,"

"I almost smoked that old girl, I swear. It's not funny!" Dean scolded.

"Oh man, you shoulda seen your face," Sam snickered.

"Yeah, laugh it off. Now we're back to square one," Dean noticed the owner's son sitting behind the office looking forlorn "Hang on." He walked over to the boy "Hey what's wrong?"

"My brother's sick," The boy said.

"The little guy,"

The boy nodded "Pneumonia. He's in the hospital. It's my fault,"

"Ah c'mon, how?"

"I shoulda made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't've got pneumonia if the window was latched,"

Dean looked away for a moment. "Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault. Okay?"

"It's my job to look after him,"

The boy's mother hurried out of the motel toward her car. "Michael, I want you to turn on the no vacancy sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service so don't bother with any of the rooms,"

"I'm going with you," Michael argued.

"Not now, Michael,"

"But I gotta see Asher!"

"Hey, Michael." Dean interrupted "Hey. I know how you feel...I'm a big brother too, and an Uncle...but you gotta go easy on your Mom right now, ok?"

Michael's mother dropped her handbag in her rush to the car "Dammit!"

Sam got the bag "I got it,"

"Thank you,"

"Listen, you're in no condition to drive..." Dean reasoned "why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital,"

"No, I couldn't possibly..."

"No, it's no trouble. I insist," Dean took the mother's keys.

"Thanks." The mother looked at Michael "Be good,"

Dean helped the mom into her seat then turned to Sam. "We're gonna kill this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?"

***

Sam sat at a microfiche machine in the library, Natalia sat next to him reading a small children's book. He picked up his phone as it rang.

"Hey," Dean whispered on the other end.

"Hey." Sam greeted "How's the kid?"

"He's not good. Where you at?"

"I'm at the library with Tali. I've been trying to find out as much as I can about this Shtriga,"

"Yeah, what have you got?"

"Well, bad news. I started with Fort Douglas around the time you said Dad was there?"

"Yeah?"

"Same deal. Before that, there was, uh, Ogdenville, before that North Haverbrook, and Brockway. Every 15 to 20 years it hits a new town. Dean, this thing is just getting started in Fitzburgh. In all these other places it goes on for months. Dozens of kids before the Shtriga finally moves on. The kids just...languish in comas and then they die,"

"How far back's this thing go?"

"Ah, I don't know. The earliest mention I could find is this place called 'Black River Falls' back in the 1890s. Talk about a horror show..."

"Sam?"

"Hold on...I'm looking at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed. One of the Doctors is Hydecker,"

"And?"

"And this picture was taken in 1893,"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Yeah absolutely,"

***

Dean hung up and turned to watch Dr. Hydecker sitting on Asher's bed.

"Don't worry." Dr. Hydecker told Asher's mother "Your son's in good hands. I'm going to take good care of him," He moved toward Dean standing in the doorway.

Dean resisted the urge to slit the doctor's throat right then and there.

"So what's the CDC come up with so far?"

"Well, we're still working on a few theories." Dean proclaimed "You'll know something as soon as we do,"

"Well, nothing's more important to me than these kids. Just let me know if I can help,"

"I'll do that,"