Where Do We Go From Here? ↳ Dean Winchester

Twenty- Three

"Come out, come out, wherever you are."

I turn the corner of the dark hallway, tightening my grip on the machete in my hand. Two vamps charge at me from out of nowhere. I curse under my breath as I swing my machete, decapitating one of them. The bloody machete is knocked out of my hand by the other one. I curse again as I am slammed into the wall, a pair of hands around my neck.

"Choking?" I question, laughing as I feel blood dripping down the side of my face. I just found it kind of funny that he was trying to choke me instead of turning me into a vampire or drinking my blood. He removes one of his hands from my neck to punch me in the face. I take this opportunity to slide out of his grip, punch him in the face, and grab my machete. A few seconds later his head falls to the ground with a thud, and I leave the building.

Sam and Dean haven't called or prayed in the past few days, so I figure they don't need me right now. That's why I've been hunting on my own.

As I walk back to motel I'm staying in, my phone rings. I take it out and answer it, seeing it's Dean calling.

"Yeah?" I ask, wiping some of the blood off of my face.

"Where the hell are you? Where have you been?" Dean asks, sounding pissed.

"Aww, you care. That's so sweet!" I say in the most dramatic voice I can muster up. "I've been working cases, Dean."

"Oh." He replies, his pissed off voice quickly changing. "Well, I got a lead on a vamp nest, and I---"

"I already took care of it." I interrupt. The line is quiet for a minute. I keep on walking towards the hotel, and stop when I see the impala parked in the parking lot. "I didn't know you were staying in the same hotel as me."

"Where are you?"

"Well, I just got in my room. Why, what's it to you?" The words come out a little harsher than I wanted them to.

"God, Riley, I just wanted to make sure you're okay." He replies, and I can tell I pissed him off a little.

"Just...what room are you staying in?" I ask softly. Once he tells me his room number, I just teleport into his room, being too tired to walk. He sees me and gives me a look that is filled with concern. "I'm fine." I say, quickly.

"You have a black eye, and your head is bleeding." I wipe the machete off on my jeans and toss it on the bed before going to the bathroom to wash up. I leave the door open so I can talk to Dean.

Suddenly, I realize there is something very wrong.

"Where's Sam?" I ask, turning on the water and wetting the wash cloth, not turning to look at Dean. But I do when he doesn't answer for a while. I dry my face and look up at him. "Dean?" I ask. He looks at me. "He's okay, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's fine, he's just not here." I shut off the bathroom light and step back into the room.

"I see that. Where is he?" Dean looks at the floor before walking over and sitting on his bed, absentmindedly cleaning his weapons.

"We're better off apart, me and Sam." I shake my head. "You know that, Riley." I laugh in disbelief. He looks at me in question. "What?"

"That's bullshit." I say, filled with amusement. Dean lowers his eyebrows. "You're brothers, for god's sake." I keep on waiting for him to tell me that Sam just went out or something, but he keeps his serious expression, and goes back to cleaning his stuff. "Do you really not see a good thing when it's right in front of your face? Jesus, Dean." I wipe a hand across my face and walk a few steps towards the door.