Reckless [Dean Winchester]

35. Reaching Out

35. Reaching Out

Under normal circumstances, I'd put down the blade in my hand and show the boy that I'm not going to hurt him. I wouldn't guess that he's out to hurt me, or Sam, or the unconscious people behind us. But this isn't your average circumstance. I'm not out on the streets, saving a kid's life.

The boy's eyes alone tell me he's a threat. There's malevolence in him, he practically reeks of it.

"You killed my mom," he says. I swear he looks right at me, like he watched me kill his mother. Wait. The Djinn.

I tense as the boy's eyes glow bright blue. Sam moves closer to me, pushing me back towards Charlie and Dean. I keep my blade in a protective stance as Sam takes on the Djinn boy. I wince, watching as the older of the two gets thrown around just like he had by the Djinn mother. My heart is running from fear, the adrenaline. I should help Sam. There could be more Djinn around. I need to protect Charlie and Dean. But Sam's getting his ass handed to him by a little kid. But that's not an ordinary kid, it's a monster child. I'm not afraid of the Djinn boy, I'm torn between my duty to protect the unconscious or protect Sam.

But while Sam is fighting the Djinn, something clicks in my head. You would think the Djinn would be clean with her kills. She's no spring chicken, but she shouldn't be stupid. My mouth parts in realization.

"So, it wasn't your mom who messed up," I say loud enough for the boy to hear. I'm buying Sam time so he can crawl back to his feet. "It was you."

"Shut up! I just came of age, I had to feed. I screwed up." The boy's attention goes towards the direction of his mother's corpse. Sam grabs his dropped blade. "Mom knew how to cover her tracks. She always told me not to play with my food."

The boy's life comes to an end, just like his mother. Only this time, as the boy turns, it's Sam who kills him, and not me.

"Yeah, well, you should have listened to your mom," says Sam. I lick my lips nervously as the body drops to the floor. He's not an innocent child. Don't feel pitiful for him. He's a monster. Emmett and Sophie weren't. He's not like them. He never would be.

I see movement, and I turn. Dean's waking up.

"Dean?" I go to him. "Dean. Hey. Hey! C'mere. You okay? What happened?" I help him out of the chair. "What happened?"

"I'm okay." Our attention goes to Charlie's sleeping form. "Charlie?"

She stirs. At the sight of us, she lets out a tearful gasp. I look at Dean questioningly.

"I'm sorry," Dean tells her. "I had to."

Charlie seems numbed as we leave the warehouse. I feel like I should say something to her, but I can't find the right words. But maybe it's not my place to know what she endured. I don't know her all that well.

It's a very silent Impala ride back to the bunker, a ride that only takes ten minutes for us.

We all file into the bunker under the night sky. Charlie lags behind, and I stay behind with her.

"You gonna be okay?" I ask her.

"Not sure," she says, not meeting my eyes.

I purse my lips. "You know what'll make you feel better? Food. Come on, I'll get you something." We're down the stairs, and I lead Charlie past the boys and through the halls, finding the kitchen. "Tell me what you want and I'll see if I can do it."