From town to the woods of the preserve, late Tuesday morning

[likethegun]

Since Dean had his Vkandis ritual to do at dawn, and Sam owed him for being late to the house on Sunday, he'd stayed with Grace on his own until Dad and Zoe had come home from their vacation. By the time he heard all about their trip - the good details, not the gross ones - and got them caught up on how Grace had been over the last few days, it was late in the morning, and Sam was thinking about stopping and getting donuts for himself and Peter as he headed back through town and checked his voicemail.

He hadn't gotten far when the most recent message stopped him in his tracks, and he listened to it two more times to make sure that he was hearing everything correctly. Your father is an acquaintance of mine. Sam knew what that meant - the guy had to be a hunter, and if he'd gotten the one-up on Dean, he had to be a good one. Dean's fine for now started up the knot in his stomach, and it was all Sam could do to keep from panicking, to keep breathing and try to figure out what to do.

If this Walker guy was serious, Sam couldn't risk going back to talk to Dad and Zoe, not if Dean's safety was on the line, and going back to his room to get Peter would have been just as risky. It was possible that the whole thing was a lie, that Dean wasn't even there, but Sam had expected him to come back to the house after his ritual. He hadn't thought much of it when Dean hadn't, but now it was just one more sign that his brother might be in serious trouble.

Sam still had enough sense to go to the weapons locker and grab some of the smaller knives he kept in there, but as he headed for the woods, all of his thoughts turned to Dean. He couldn't form a full plan without knowing exactly what this was all about, but that didn't stop him from trying to come up with a few ideas to make sure Dean stayed safe. Dean's fine for now wasn't good enough, not at all, and Sam didn't slow down until he got close to the spot Gordon had mentioned in his message.

[For those who know who they are, dun dun dun!]

Comments

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

Moving an unconscious body was never fun, but Gordon had managed to get Dean propped up and secured against one of the trees while he waited for Sam. The longer he waited, the more he became convinced that Sam was going to be troublesome and bring help, but when he heard someone approaching, he was satisfied to only hear the sounds of one person. Taking a few steps back, Gordon found a spot to stay out of sight, and keep watch.

[likethegun]

The closer Sam got to where he believed Dean was, the quieter he tried to be, and when he peered past one set of trees and spotted Dean, he was surprised to find him alone. He looked around for any sign of this Gordon guy, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't see anything out of place. All of his instincts said this could be a trap, but seeing Dean tied up and unconscious had a way of overpowering every ounce of sense that he had, and he darted over to his brother, giving him a quick shake to see if he could wake him up before anyone else came back.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean groaned loudly, but didn't really come around.

[likethegun]

"Dean!" Sam said louder, almost in a stage whisper, and he shook him again before giving up and moving to untie him. He started to calculate ways to carry Dean back to town when he felt something press against his back, and stopped moving altogether.

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

"You know, I really was expecting more from the sons of John Winchester," Gordon said, cocking the gun he had to Sam's back before giving him a sharp nudge. "Get up."

[likethegun]

Sam stood up slowly, and glanced back to take a look at Gordon, to size him up as well as he could from his current position. When he was standing up straight again, he only hesitated for a moment before quickly turning around to try to get the gun.

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

Sam might have been ridiculously tall and pretty fast, but Gordon was bigger, and the closest Sam got to the gun was when Gordon turned it in his hand and aimed the handle at Sam's head.

[likethegun]

If this was a sparring session or a training exercise, Sam would have felt embarrassed to end up back on the ground so quickly, but now he only felt scared. He flinched when Gordon crouched down over him, and tried to scurry backwards, but he was still so dazed that he couldn't make himself move fast enough. Any doubts Sam might have had that Gordon was a hunter dissipated when he systematically pulled every weapon Sam was carrying off of him, like he knew the typical hiding places by heart. "What do you want?" he asked. "What did you do to Dean?"

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

"Your brother and I had a bit of a disagreement," Gordon said, taking each knife and throwing it as far from them as he could get. He did know all of the hiding places, and he was almost impressed with how well-armed Sam had managed to be. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to come." Slipping the last weapon away from Sam, Gordon stopped for a second to really look at him. "I thought you'd be older, somehow."

[likethegun]

Sam scowled, not willing to give Gordon the satisfaction of looking as trapped as he felt. "What. Do you. Want?"

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

"I want to talk to you, Sam," Gordon replied. He could look as defiant as he wanted, but Gordon knew he had the upper hand here.

[likethegun]

"So talk," Sam replied. "I'm listening."

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

"Oh, we're not going to talk here. There's too many people around," Gordon said plainly. "I've got a place for the three of us, as long as you come along without any trouble."

[likethegun]

It took a moment before Sam realized what he might have meant by three of us. "You want to take Dean too?" he asked, barely needing to think before adding, "I'll come quietly, if you promise to leave him here." Dean was always better at getting out of bonds than he was - even injured, he'd be able to get loose and get back to safety on his own, and that could keep Gordon from hurting him more.

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

It was amazing to see how weak Dean and Sam made each other, and Gordon had to wonder if John was aware of the trouble they could make for each other like this. "Dean needs to hear this as much as you do," he said. "Your family deserves to know the truth, Sam."

[likethegun]

"The truth about what?" Sam asked.

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

"About the Yellow-Eyed Demon, and about you," Gordon replied, pointing his gun at Sam again. "Untie your brother, and get him up."

[likethegun]

Sam was too stunned at the mention of Yellow Eyes - and still a little too dazed - to do anything but reluctantly obey. He took his time getting Dean free, checking him at the same time to try to make sure he was just unconscious and not more seriously injured. "You say you know my dad?" he asked. "You should know he's going to find us."

[realgoodhunter.livejournal.com]

Gordon's smile was genuine, and he had no problem showing how little that idea concerned him. "I'll worry about that when the time comes," he said. "Come on, we're getting out of here. Now."