PhantomNatural

Ch. 9

The next thing Danny knew, he was waking up. He hadn't remembered falling asleep, or even passing out. It was dark, and he could feel the cold, moist concrete against his cheek. Rhythmic drips of an unknown liquid could be heard in the background, but other than that, silence filled the air. He pushed himself up with a groan, feeling an ache ripple though his body and an uncomfortable strain wrap his wrists and ankles. 

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, and when they did he held an eerie sight. He still remained in the center of the sewer room, seemingly by himself. He went to stand, only to find the uncomfortable feeling in his wrists and ankles was not just a feeling at all, and instead was sturdy rope bounding him. A panic set into his chest, and he began pulling against the rope.

Oh, right.

His breathing calmed and he focused, the ropes slipping through him and landing on the cement beneath him. Hearing footsteps, he raised his head in time to see three figures entering the room. He tensed, only to recognize it was Dean, Sam, and Bobby. Danny stood, beginning to step towards them. He spoke, his voice hoarse and dry, with the stale taste of blood still on his tongue. Well, not quite blood, for a neon green stained his chin.

"Where'd you guys go I thought-" Danny stopped short, when the barrel of a sawed shotgun was pointed directly at him.

"It would do you well to stay there, and shut up until we want you to talk." Dean replied gruffly, all kindness and pity void from his voice. He tossed a duffel bag on the ground, and begun to circle Danny slowly, watching him. Seemingly trying to pry into his very soul. By the way Sam and Bobby stood by the entrance, it was pretty clear that Dean was spearheading this situation.

Danny didn't dare disobey the hunter, and instead did as he was told. He was still confused, however, until he saw the neon green in his palm, and the memories from their failed attempt of trapping the soul eater came back to him. Of course, they probably thought he was a monster now.

Dean stopped in front of Danny, having circled him once. He continued to stare, if only for a moment, before speaking again. "What the hell are you?" He asked, quietly at first. Danny almost heard a bit of hurt in his voice, and in turn, that hurt him.

"I-it's not that easy to explain-" He tried to say, but was once again cut off by Dean.

"Like hell it isn't! We picked you up, thinking you were some kid in need. A human kid, being chased by a monster. Now it turns out, you aren't even human. So I'll ask again. What. Are. You?" Dean lifted the shotgun threateningly, all the while distrust lacing his words. It was at this moment that Bobby stepped forward, placing a hand on Dean's firearm.

"Just, give him a chance to talk before you get trigger happy." Even Bobby sounded tired and betrayed. Danny couldn't blame them.

Danny sat back down with a hefty sigh, burying his face in his hands. Tears pricked at his eyes and he felt his body threaten to start shaking. He was tired. So, so, tired. His words were muffled, until he pushed his hands up, sifting them through his messy hair. Although his body hadn't quite got there, his voice was shaking more than anything.

"You're right... mostly. It's not that I'm not human, I swear I am, I'm just not one hundred percent.. here." He spoke, not wanting to bring himself to say it. After all his time being a halfa, he had never admitted the fact that he was half dead.

"Here? What's that supposed to mean?" Sam questioned from where he stood. Danny couldn't tell if it was the way the shadows fell, or if Sam was avoiding eye contact with him.

"Yeah, what are you trying to say?" Dean repeated, stepping closer to Danny. "Are you saying you're not fully human? Got some kind of monster blood up your wacky family tree or something?" He pressed on, not realizing the strain he was putting on the poor boy. "You're not one hundred percent what?"

"Alive!" Danny cried out, wanting to ball up into himself, to disappear for years on end. "I-I'm not one hundred percent alive, okay? Not fully dead, not fully alive." His voice teetered, and tears began to fall. An odd silence filled the room, and Danny could tell he had stumped the hunters. Just like that, his truth came flowing out, and he spilled everything to the three men. He thought they deserved to know what exactly they were protecting, and so he told them. Everything.

*  *  *

By the time Danny was finished explaining himself and why they saw what they did, the men had taken to sitting on the floor, the weight of the boy's plight weighing them down. Each one felt an array of emotion, from pity, to hatred, to disgust. They began to understand why he had hid himself from them in the first place, especially after hearing how the boy's parents were extremely anti-ecto. 

"They really said they'd tear you- well, him..." Sam started, not daring to finish.

"Yeah." Danny laughed dryly. "'Molecule by molecule'." He had settled down somewhat, knowing now that the hunters wouldn't be trying to kill him. It was surprising, how quickly they had set down their weapons, and the tell tale look of horror crept onto their faces. Dean, most of all, felt guilt well up in his heart.

"Look, kid. I'm.. sorry. We hunt monsters for a living, and are no strangers to being mislead. So I thought.." Dean sighed, running a hand over his neck shamefully. "You never asked for any of this. The least we can do is finish the job so you can go back home."

Bobby nodded in agreement, making an effort to stand up. He went over to Danny, helping him up as well. "We know that that spell won't quite work with you around, so we'll have to find a way around that. For now, we should get out of here. The place is already warded, and by the time we take the wards down we'll be sealed in. We'll have to find somewhere else to trap it."

Sam stood with a small groan, gathering what little things they had brought with them. "The soul eater will expect us to go back to Bobby's. Maybe we can stall a little longer if we go to a motel instead."

Dean stood and nodded solemnly, heading out of the concrete room. The rest of the group followed after, heading out of the dank sewer system and back into the ending bits of daylight they had left.