Turn the Page -Sequel to More Than a Feeling

Chapter 14

At least ten monsters charged down the trail behind Dean, the werewolf leading the way. It had transformed; Dean had caught a glimpse of glowing yellow eyes and sharp fangs. At least two other wolves added their snarls to his. The vamp he'd shot had joined them, along with others. What the hell was happening?

"Dean, I'm almost there."

"No! It's an ambush!" he shouted as he ran. "Werewolves, rugaru..." He spotted the Impala up ahead, and fired a shot over his shoulder without looking. A yelp and a thud told him he'd hit something. He stuffed the phone into his jacket pocket and fumbled for the keys, without slowing down. If he could hold them off long enough to get in—

Something slammed into him from behind. He crashed onto the dirt path, a heavy body on top of him. He twisted his gun arm free and fired point blank into its chest. The body went limp, turning to dead weight. Dean struggled to turn over, to see his attackers, but powerful hands gripped his shoulders and hauled him to his feet. Fingers like metal clamped down on his right wrist. He fired a wild shot before the gun was wrenched out of his grasp. The monsters holding him spun him around, then the werewolf was right in front of him, a leering grin on its doglike face. Without a word, it drove a fist into his gut.

Dean doubled over with a grunt. His lungs felt like popped balloons. Wheezing, he steeled himself for more.

From his pocket came Sam's anxious voice. "Dean? Dean!"

The wolf slipped its hairy hand into Dean's pocket, pulled out the phone, and held it up to its ear. "Sorry, Sammy," it said. "Dean can't talk right now." It hung up, and slid the phone back into Dean's jacket.

A claw caught under his chin and tugged his face upward. Smug yellow eyes peered into his, then turned up to the moonlit sky. "Such a nice night." It drew a long breath, then flicked a claw toward a werewolf, a vampire, and what looked like a human. "You three, hang back and greet our next guest." Then it beckoned to Dean. "Walk with me." It turned back toward the cabin, and the two creatures on either side of Dean dragged him along behind it.

He struggled to get his feet back under him; struggled to pull a breath into his flattened lungs. Even so, his hunter's instincts never paused. He took note of every monster in the group. There was the pack leader, the werewolf from Idaho. The one holding his right arm was a red-haired wolf. The one on his left looked human. It had stuffed Dean's .45 into its waistband; Dean spotted the pearly grip sticking out above the back of its jeans. Since the others were in their monster forms, he assumed it was a ghoul. A vampire walked beside the ghoul, fangs bared. He spotted the injured vampire too, rubbing the back of her head and glaring at him. Off to the side, the pale, wormy-skinned, black-eyed rugaru lurked along the edge of the trail. Six in this group. Three back near the parking lot, waiting for Sam. And the shapeshifter was still around somewhere. So, he'd killed at least two and injured two others, but he was still up against at least ten monsters—at least five different types of them.

And he had no weapon.

He'd never seen anything like it. Monsters, fighting together like this. He didn't wonder long what had gotten them to play nice with each other. There was nothing like a common enemy to bring people—or monsters—together. It was pretty damn effective. He'd brought a gun to a gun-machete-flamethrower fight.

And Sam was about to walk right into it.

"I'm so glad you got my invitation," the werewolf said, then turned around and walked backwards in order to face Dean. "It's nice having an assistant, isn't it? You inspired me. Hope you don't mind me borrowing yours."

Dean narrowed his eyes at the wolf to hide his confusion. It had to be talking about Ruthie and the text. But it was making it sound like Ruthie was working for the werewolf. And that was impossible. It must have sent some of its soldiers to the motel; they must have forced her to do it. He shouldn't have left her alone. He ground his teeth and glared at the werewolf's smug face.