Broken {Supernatural Fanfic}

2. Shadows of the Past

"History, despite it's wrenching pain, cannot be unlived..." Maya Angelou

He had thought the pictures had just been from another murder until he had seen the girl and compared her to the picture. Now he and Sam were left with something they had no idea how to deal with. His younger brother met his eyes levelly, silently telling Dean he knew what they had to do. "Go get the rest the articles," Sam said after a moment. Dean nodded and went willingly, leaving his younger brother to work on coaxing the girl out.

The wall he had found was covered with pictures. He pulled the first one off and folded the tape over, glancing at it. It was a girl with wavy strawberry blond hair. He flipped it over and read the inscription. Rosanna Anderson. Shapeshifter, age 19. The first girl then. The shapeshifter's first victim. He pulled off another one, trying not to think about what the wall signified. Straight reddish brown hair but similar features to the first girl. Caitlyn Anderson. Shapeshifter, age 17. He moved on to the next one, feeling almost sick. Another girl with red hair and piercing green eyes. Natalie Anderson. Shapeshifter, age 13.

What kind of monster could do this to children? Even if they were shapeshifters. The three girls in the pictures and the one behind him that Sam was trying to convince to come out hadn't deserved what they got. He had seen monsters of this sort before, the kind that preyed on children and the helpless, but normally the victims were long dead by the time Dean and John Winchester had destroyed the creature of had family left. He didn't know anything about taking care of a child, especially one that had been put through what this one had.

~

Sam crouched in front of the pipe, keeping his eyes on the girl. "It's all right," he told her. "You can come out." A rapid headshake came in response.  "We're not going to hurt you." He waited, knowing if he made the wrong move she'd be gone. She probably knew the tunnels down here better than he or Dean could ever hope to know in a lifetime. Finally she inched forward, settling crouched at the edge of the pipe.

Her hair was a different color than the picture, more reddish brown than red, but she was a shapeshifter so that didn't mean anything. Her eyes were tired and her skin was pale, probably from lack of sunlight. He could make out the delicate bones in her arm when she shifted. There was blood staining her side, dried. He could make out bruises as well, one on her chin and a couple visible on her arms.

He shifted slowly, holding out a hand, palm up. She stiffened for a moment, eyes watching his every movement. They stayed like that for a moment before she hesitantly dropped down to the ground. Her bare feet hit the concrete without a sound, her eyes never leaving his. "Anyone else down here?" he asked softly. She flinched but quickly shook her head in denial.

Finally, finally, she slipped her hand into his. He stood slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. "Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here." There was no response but he hadn't expected any as he turned to look at Dean. "Got everything?"

"Yeah," his brother responded. "Are we going back to Rebecca's?" Sam nodded affirmative, all the time aware of the small hand in his.

~

Sunlight smacked Autumn full in the face for the first time in seven months. She blinked, eyes adjusting slowly to the sudden light. The fresh air tasted strange after so many months of being confined below. "Find any-" a woman's voice began and then cut off. "Oh my." Autumn's eyes adjusted in time to see a woman with long blond hair. If it had been reddish or even brown she could have possibly mistaken this woman for Caitlyn.

"Truer words have never been spoken," someone else said.

"Hi sweetheart," the woman said crouching down. Autumn shrank back and thought for a moment she saw pain in the woman's eyes. "I'm Rebecca." Autumn felt tears welling in her eyes then. She wanted her sisters. She wanted Rosanna, Caitlyn, and Natalie. The girls that haunted her nights and sometimes her waking moments. She wished they had never come here. She was helpless to stop the tears from falling.