With Fire & Fury || Dean Winchester

32. Time On My Side.

*Dean POV.* 

Two days later, Sam, Dean, and Riley headed to the town of Erie, Pennsylvania. They checked into a motel and decided to go straight to the local hospital mortuary where the victim with the missing liver had died. They spoke to the doctor who had observed the body, standing in a small circle inside the mortuary. 

"Yup, the rest of the body was intact. The liver was the only organ missing," The doctor confirmed. 

"Now, where the liver was ripped out, did you happen to notice any teeth marks?" Dean asked. 

The doctor looked at the three of them with scepticism. "Can I see your badges?" 

"Yeah, of course," Sam nodded, reaching into his pocket for his badge while Dean and Riley did the same. 

"Fine. So you're cops and morons," The doctor grunted. 

"Excuse me?" Riley's head jerked back. 

"No, no. We're very smart," Dean said quickly. 

"The liver was not ripped out," the doctor sighed. He walked over to where the bodies were kept, opening one of the doors and sliding out the body in question. "It was removed. Surgically." He pulled back the sheet covering the body to reveal a perfectly straight incision across the man's lower torso. "By someone who knew their way around a scalpel. Didn't you read my report?" 

Dean glanced at Riley before nodding his head. "Of course we did. Oh, it was, uh, riveting. A real page-turner. Just delightful." 

The doctor looked less than impressed with Dean and sighed heavily. "You done?" 

"I think so," Dean nodded with an awkward smile. 

"Please, go away," The doctor said. 

"Okay," Dean nodded and allowed Riley to pull him away. 

"Sure," Sam nodded, following his brother and friend. 

When they reached the hall, Dean could tell that Sam was thinking hard about something. He glanced at his brother. "What?"

"Nothing," Sam shook his head. "So, that kind of punches a hole in our zombie theory, huh? That scalpel thing?" 

"Zombie with skills? Dr. Quinn, medicine zombie," Dean smirked. 

"Maybe we're on the wrong track, Dean, looking for hacked up corpses," Sam suggested. 

"What should we be looking for?" Dean asked. 

"Survivors," Sam said. He glanced over at Riley. "What do you think? This is kind of your area of expertise." 

Riley scoffed and looked up at Sam with furrowed brows. "How? I was training to be a nurse, and I did less than a year of medical school. This is surgery, or as close to, I suppose." 

"It's all medical related," Sam said. 

"I can treat a common cold and wrap an injured leg. I can even stitch up a cut. I can't perform surgery, Sam," Riley glared. 

"So, you mean I can't rely on you if I have a heart attack?" Dean smirked at her. 

"You already had the equivalent of a heart attack, remember?" Riley narrowed her eyes at him. "Was I any help then?" 

"Actually, I believe you saved my life during that hunt," Dean nodded. "So, yeah, you helped." 

"As a hunter, not a medical professional," Riley rolled her eyes. 

"Alright, moving on," Sam said firmly. "This isn't zombie lunch. This is organ theft." 

"Alright then," Dean nodded. "Let's talk to any survivors."