Jake suddenly came back to reality, looked at his hand, and looked at the fear in Michelle's eyes, which were full of fear and despair. He almost bit it just now, and almost hurt the person he loved most.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Michelle..." His voice trembled violently, he stood up suddenly, rushed out of the bedroom, slammed the door again and ran out. Michelle was left sitting alone on the bed, covering his mouth and crying silently.
It was dark at night, and Jake was driving aimlessly on the streets of the small town. The hunger in his stomach burned his internal organs like fire, and his mind was filled with images of flesh and blood that he couldn't get rid of. He parked the car on the side of the road, grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, and rested his forehead on it, his whole body trembling.
He thought of the woman in the bar, the smell of her body, and the warm blood.
He started the car and stepped on the accelerator again. Ten minutes later, the car stopped outside the woman's community. He hid behind a tree and stared at the window of the woman's bedroom on the second floor. The light was still on, and the woman's figure was reflected on the curtains.
His breathing became heavier and heavier, all the muscles in his body were tense, and the animality was screaming crazily in his mind. He walked towards the house step by step, and his hand had already grasped the window frame of the first floor window. As long as he exerted force, he could easily break the window lock, break in, and satisfy his crazy hunger.
But at this moment, he saw his own face reflected in the glass of the window - his eyes were bloodshot, his face was ferocious, and there was even drool dripping from the corners of his mouth, he looked like a beast.
He suddenly came back to his senses, retracted his hand as if he had been burned, and backed away. He looked at his hand, his eyes full of fear and disgust, turned around and ran back to the car like crazy, started the car, and drove home as fast as possible.
On the roadside not far away, Impala parked quietly in the shadows. Sam and Dean sat in the car, watching this scene the whole time, with the binoculars in their hands lowered. Bai Haorui sat in the back seat, with their fingertips True Fire was beating slightly, ready to take action at any time. When Jake was near the window just now, he was ready to go. As long as Jake dared to break in, he would rush over in an instant and burn him to death with True Fire.
"He almost went in just now." Dean said in a deep tone and put down the telescope.
"But he didn't. He controlled himself." Sam turned his head and looked at Dean, his eyes full of excitement, "Dean, he can still be saved. He could have just given himself countless reasons to rush in, but he didn't. He defeated his instinct."
Dean was silent, watching Jake's car disappear at the corner of the street, and said no more. He had to admit that at that moment, he was shaken. Perhaps, as Sam said, this thing was not destined.
"He could have given himself countless reasons to rush in, but he didn't. This was his choice." Bai Haorui spoke in a calm tone, "Even if he was born with this thing, even if everyone told him that he was destined to become a monster, he was still choosing to be a good person. That's enough."
"We have it under control this time, what about next time? What about next time?" Dean's tone was still suspicious, but the certainty in his voice was much less, "There will always be times when he can't handle it."
"Then we will accompany him and help him carry it." Sam's tone was decisive, "Just like you accompany me."
Dean: He is really under control... Is it really my fault? Is there really a choice? If Jake can do it, can Sam do it too? Do I no longer need to be afraid or worry that he will eventually turn into a monster?
Bai Haorui: You see, even if fate has written that he will fall, his choice at this moment is still meaningful. He is trying his best to fight against fate. This is the most precious thing about free will.
Jake opened the door and walked into the house. The house was dark, except for the ticking of the old clock in the living room, which was particularly clear in the silent room.
"Michelle? I'm back." Jake spoke, his voice hoarse, with a hint of exhaustion.
No one responded, and there was dead silence in the room.
"Baby? Where are you?" Jake's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly felt a bad premonition. He turned on the light in the living room and glanced around. There was no one in the living room, the pillows on the sofa fell to the ground, and the coffee table was crooked.
At this moment, he heard a vague whimpering sound coming from the corner of the living room.
He rushed over and saw Michelle tied to a chair, with tape on her mouth, struggling desperately, her eyes full of fear and tears. Travis was standing beside her, holding a gasoline barrel in his hand, pouring gasoline on the ground and Michelle's body. The strong smell of gasoline instantly filled the entire living room.
"What are you doing!" Jake's eyes were splitting as he roared and rushed over, "Let her go! Come at me if you have anything! Don't touch her!"
"I'm sorry, kid." Travis put down the gasoline can, held the lighter in his hand, and lit it with a click, orange flames dancing on his fingertips, "I have to kill you. I can't let your father and your tragedy happen again."
Michelle shook his head desperately, making a whining sound from his mouth, and tears kept flowing down his cheeks.
Travis reached out and pulled off the tape on her mouth.
"Please, let us go..." Michelle's voice was trembling as he cried and begged, "I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant! Please, let my child go..."
Jake suddenly froze and looked at Michelle, his eyes full of shock and disbelief, and he even stopped breathing.
"What did you say?" His voice trembled violently.
"I originally wanted to tell you tonight..." Michelle cried, looking at him, "I'm pregnant, Jake, we have a baby."
"Then we can't keep it." Travis's face darkened, and his eyes became colder, "This thing is hereditary, and the child in your belly will become a monster like him in the future. I can't let this cycle continue. If I kill his father, I can't let his child harm others again."
This sentence, like a poisoned knife, pierced Jake's last reason.
His eyes turned red instantly, the muscles all over his body bulged, and his bones made a crackling sound. The rope tied with Michelle was torn off by his hands. He let out a beast-like roar, and the reason in his eyes was completely swallowed up by the beastly nature.
"If you dare to touch my wife and children, I will kill you!"
Jake roared, like a crazy beast, and rushed towards Travis. Travis immediately raised the lighter in his hand, trying to light the gasoline on the ground, but Jake was too fast, and instantly jumped in front of him, grabbed his arm, opened his mouth, and bit his neck fiercely.
At this critical moment, a golden-red afterimage flashed instantly.
Bai Haorui's figure appeared in front of the two of them like a ghost. The mahogany sword in his hand flipped over instantly. Instead of using the sharp sword tip, he used the heavy hilt to hit Jake's mouth hard.
With a muffled sound of "bang", Jake's teeth were knocked out, and the whole person was knocked back a few steps by the huge force. He let go of Travis's hand, and blood instantly overflowed from his mouth. He covered his mouth, looked at Bai Haorui who suddenly appeared, the red light in his eyes became even brighter, and he let out a deafening roar.
"Are you okay?" Bai Haorui glanced at Travis beside him, his tone was calm, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
"It's okay... thank you." Travis's face was pale, and his back was soaked with cold sweat. At that moment, he was only one step away from death. "If you hadn't come here, I would have lay down."
"Ha." Bai Haorui sneered, the golden fire in his eyes surged, the Pure Yang True Fire around him instantly surged, and the temperature in the air suddenly rose, "Although I saved you, your behavior is really a bit disgusting. Threatening an innocent pregnant woman and the child in her belly, is this your so-called hunter's code?"
Travis's face turned red and white, opened his mouth, and finally spoke, "I didn't want to hurt his wife, I just wanted to force him to give up resistance. I have seen too many tragedies, and more tragedies happened because of a moment of weakness. You are still young, and you have seen too few."
"Whatever you say." Bai Haorui's tone was cold, "I don't approve of this kind of behavior. If it happens in front of me again next time, I will not save you, I will kill you."
Travis looked at the murderous intent in Bai Haorui's eyes and froze and said nothing. He could clearly sense that what this Eastern hunter said was true. As long as he did such a thing again, the other party would really kill him without hesitation.
At this moment, Jake let out a crazy roar, turned around, smashed the kitchen glass, rushed out, and disappeared into the night.
Bai Haorui's Spiritual Sense chased after him instantly, clearly sensing that the animal nature in Jake's body had completely exploded, his sanity was dissipating little by little, and he was running towards the most remote backstreet of the town.
"He ran away!" Dean and Sam rushed in. Bai Haorui was much faster than the two of them. Sam saw Michelle was tied to a chair, and there was gasoline all over the floor. His face instantly darkened, and he looked at Travis, "What are you doing? Are you crazy? Threaten him with his wife?"
"I just want to force him to show up." Travis looked away and said in a stiff tone.
"You almost killed her!" Sam's voice was full of anger.
"Stop arguing! Jake ran away, he is completely out of control now!" Bai Haorui spoke, interrupting the quarrel between the two, "He went towards the back streets of the town. There are many homeless people there. He is crazy with hunger now, and he will definitely find someone to kill him! We must catch up with him immediately!"
Dean and Sam reacted immediately, turned around and ran out. Bai Haorui glanced at Michelle, moved his fingertips slightly, and a True Fire barrier fell beside her, protecting her, and then rushed out.
At this time, Jake, who had already run to the back street, his mind was in chaos, his eyes were all red, and the hunger in his stomach was surging like a tsunami, completely swallowing up his last sanity. He turned a corner and saw a homeless man leaning against the back door of a closed fast food restaurant, curled up in a sleeping bag and sleeping.
Jake's throat rolled, and his eyes completely turned blood red. He suddenly exerted force on his legs, pounced like a cheetah, and bit the homeless man's neck.
Warm blood poured into his mouth, and the homeless man lost his breath completely without even letting out a scream. Jake bit and swallowed crazily, his eyes full of morbid madness.
The moment he swallowed his first mouthful of human flesh, his body began to undergo horrific changes.
The skin festered and oozed pus at a speed visible to the naked eye, and dense black hair grew; the teeth became sharp and sharp, protruding like the fangs of a beast; the bones made a crunching sound, the body twisted and deformed, the shoulders widened, and the limbs were elongated. In just a few dozen seconds, the whole person completely transformed into a ferocious-looking, abscess-covered Rugaru.
There happened to be two pedestrians who were returning home late passing by on the roadside. When they saw this scene, they were so frightened that they were trembling all over. They couldn't even scream. Their legs went weak and they collapsed directly on the ground.
Jake raised his head, his mouth full of blood, looked at the two pedestrians, and let out a deafening roar.
At this moment, Dean, Sam and Bai Haorui rushed over following the smell of blood. When they saw the mutilated body of the homeless man on the ground, the blood all over the ground, and Rugaru who had completely transformed, their faces instantly turned pale.
Sam was so cold that he even stopped breathing. He looked at the unrecognizable Jake, as if he had seen his future self, and his whole body was trembling slightly.
"... This is?" Dean's voice was deep, and his hand had already grasped the dagger at his waist.
"That's all that's left." Sam's voice was hoarse, filled with unconcealable despair.
Before he finished speaking, Jake, who had completed his transformation, rushed over, as fast as a black shadow, and knocked Dean away. Dean hit the lamppost behind him hard, making a muffled sound, his vision went dark, and he fainted instantly.
Sam immediately raised the flamethrower in his hand, pulled the trigger, and wanted to ignite Jake. But Jake suddenly flicked his arm, and the huge force directly knocked the flamethrower out of his hand, and then punched him in the head. Sam's vision went dark, he fainted, and fell heavily to the ground.
Bai Haorui's eyes flashed, and he instantly pulled out the mahogany sword from his waist. "Three Altars Body-Refining True Fire Art" was running at full power, and Pure Yang True Fire spurted out from his body, instantly covering the entire sword body. Three-foot-long purple-gold flames danced on the sword body, making a sizzling sound, and the air was burned and distorted.
He flipped his wrist and struck hard at Jake with his sword. With the blade of Pure Yang True Fire, he struck hard at Jake's back.
"Zila--"
Jake let out a shrill scream and was knocked back a few steps by True Fire. The flesh on his back was burnt black and made a sizzling sound, and the abscesses were burned and exploded, emitting a pungent stench. However, Rugaru's transformed skin was thicker and thicker than expected. Although this sword hurt him, it did not cause fatal injuries.
"Rugaru, who has completed the transformation, has such thick skin and is fast enough, it's a bit troublesome." Bai Haorui whispered to himself, staggered his steps, and stood in front of Dean and Sam who had fainted.
His fingertips moved slightly, and Pure Yang True Fire instantly spread out, forming a semicircular True Fire barrier around Dean and Sam, firmly protecting the two of them. Purple-gold flames danced on the barrier, and as long as Jake dared to get close, he would be instantly burned by True Fire.
Jake looked at the True Fire barrier, a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, but the hunger had completely swallowed up his reason. He let out a roar and rushed towards Bai Haorui again, his sharp claws going straight to Bai Haorui's throat with a sharp sound like the wind.
Bai Haorui did not dodge or dodge, "Three Altars Body-Refining True Fire Art" was operating at full strength, and the muscles and bones of his whole body hummed slightly, and his physical strength was fully charged in an instant. His figure flickered, like a ghost, and disappeared in an instant.
Jake's claws flew into the air and he was stunned for a moment. His hearing was extremely sharp, and he instantly heard the footsteps behind him. Just when he wanted to turn around, he only felt a huge force coming from the back of his neck.
Bai Haorui appeared behind him, clenched his fist, gathered all the pure Yang power in his body and hit him hard on the back of his neck.
There was a muffled sound of "bang", and Jake's vision went dark. He didn't even let out a scream, but fell straight to the ground and fainted completely.
Bai Haorui shook his hand, collected True Fire around him, walked to the edge of the barrier, checked the breaths of Dean and Sam, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that they had just fainted and were not seriously injured.
Jake woke up and found that he was firmly locked to the water pipe in the storage room by a thumb-thick iron chain, unable to move. The door of the storage room was locked tightly, and Sam's voice came from outside.
"Jake! Don't be impulsive, calm down, let's have a chat, okay?" Sam's voice came through the door, with a hint of exhaustion.
"Calm down! How do you want me to calm down?" Jake's voice came from the door, hoarse and painful, with heavy breathing, "That old guy wants to burn my wife and children to death! He forced me to do this! He forced me to do this!"
"Jake! We know what he did was wrong! We have sent him away!" Sam's voice was urgent, "But you can't make any more mistakes now! You can still control yourself, Jake! You can still!"
There was suddenly no movement inside the door, and it fell into dead silence.
Sam leaned against the door, with a low voice and unconcealed empathy. "Jake, I know you are hungry and in pain right now. I understand this feeling. There is a monster in my body, and I have been carrying it since the day I was born. I fight against it every day, and I am afraid every day that I will lose control, hurt the people around me, and become what I hate the most. I understand you, Jake."
"You don't understand." Jake's voice came again, with a cry in it, "My mind is now full of thoughts of eating people, and I can't control it. I just killed someone... I ate someone... I have become a monster, and I can never change back."
"Don't say that, Jake! You are not a monster!" Sam's voice rose a little higher, "Who you are is not determined by your body, not by your genes, but by your choices.! You could have killed Travis just now, you could have hurt Michelle, but you didn't! You could have broken into that woman's house before, but you didn't either! You have always chosen to be a good person!"
He paused, with a hint of pleading in his voice. "Think about Michelle, think about your children! They are still waiting for you! You can't give up! As long as you are still alive, you still have a chance to choose!"
The door fell into dead silence again, with only the sound of Jake's heavy breathing and suppressed cries coming intermittently.
Sam leaned against the door, closed his eyes, and his heart hurt like a knife. He knew that it was too late. From the moment Jake took the first bite of human flesh, everything was too late. Just like Travis said, as long as you take that bite, you will never change again.
Bai Haorui walked over, and his Spiritual Sense could clearly sense that Jake was inside the door. He stretched out his hand tremblingly and licked the remaining human blood on his fingertips. His face was full of morbid enjoyment and full of pain that penetrated into his bones. His soul had been completely eroded by animal nature, and his sanity was dissipating little by little. It won't take long before he will completely turn into a beast that only knows how to eat people.
Bai Haorui faced Sam and shook his head slightly.
"There is no other way." Bai Haorui's voice was very soft, "He has slowly lost control of himself. His soul has been completely contaminated and will never be able to return. Let me give him relief."
Sam's body suddenly stiffened, and he turned his head and looked at Bai Haorui, his eyes full of despair and unwillingness. He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, wanting to say something else, but in the end, nothing came out. He knew that Bai Haorui was right. Everything was too late.
Sam: He still fell... one wrong step, one wrong step after another. If I had persisted, if I had told him the truth earlier, if I could have helped him earlier... wouldn't he have died? Would I have been like him, once I let go, I would never come back? In the end, I would end up with the same fate as him?
At this moment, the crisp sound of shaking iron chains and the beast-like roar of Jake came from the storage room. His reason completely disappeared.
Dean woke up at some point and stood at the end of the corridor, holding a flamethrower in his hand, looking at Sam's back without saying a word. His eyes were full of complex emotions, including distress, worry, and a hint of fear.
Bai Haorui patted Sam on the shoulder and motioned for him to get out of the way. Sam remained silent, took a few steps back, turned away, and did not dare to look at the door again.
Bai Haorui took a deep breath and pushed open the door of the storage room.
Jake, who had completely lost his mind, let out a crazy roar when he saw someone coming in, dragged the chain, and rushed towards Bai Haorui.
Bai Haorui's eyes flashed, "Three Altars Body-Refining True Fire Art" was running at full speed, Pure Yang True Fire spurted out from his palm, and purple-gold flames instantly filled the entire storage room.
Jake let out a shrill scream, and was wrapped by True Fire, his body burned to ashes bit by bit. His screams became weaker and weaker, and finally disappeared completely in the flames.
Bai Haorui took back True Fire, and there were only ashes on the floor and iron chains that were burned red. The air was filled with a burnt stench and a faint smell of sulfur.
He turned around, walked out of the storage room, and closed the door.
In the corridor, Sam was leaning against the wall, with his head lowered and his shoulders shaking slightly. Dean stood beside him, the flamethrower in his hand hanging by his side, looking at him without saying a word.
The sound of police sirens came from a distance, getting closer and closer, cutting through the night of the town.
Michelle was sitting on the sofa, holding a blanket in her arms, her face pale and her eyes full of tears. She already knew everything, knew Jake's life experience, and knew the final outcome of Jake.
Bai Haorui, Dean and Sam stood in the living room, looking at her, not knowing what to say to comfort her. Any comfort seemed pale and feeble in the face of this kind of separation between life and death.
"He is not a monster." Michelle suddenly spoke, his voice was very soft, but with firm determination, "He is a good person. He has always been gentle and kind, and he never wanted to hurt anyone."
"We know." Sam's voice was hoarse, "I'm sorry, we couldn't save him."
"I don't blame you." Michelle shook his head, tears streaming down his face again, "I know he has worked very hard. He has been fighting against himself. He has been trying his best not to become a monster."
The three of them fell silent and did not speak any more.
Dean turned around first and walked towards the door. "We should go. The police will be here soon."
Sam and Bai Haorui nodded and followed him out. When they reached the door, Sam stopped, looked back at Michelle, and said softly, "If anything happens in the future and you need help, you can call this phone."
He put a piece of paper with a phone number on it on the shoe cabinet at the door, then turned around and disappeared into the night, following Dean and Bai Haorui.
Impala was driving on an empty interstate highway, the night was as thick as ink, and only the headlights of the cars pierced the darkness, casting long shadows on the highway.
Dean drove the car with an expressionless face, looking at the road ahead. Sam was sitting in the passenger seat, looking at the rapidly regressing tree shadows outside the window, his whole body was trembling slightly, and he was silent all the way. The atmosphere in the car was heavy, with lingering depression.
Bai Haorui sat in the back seat with his eyes closed. Spiritual Sense spread out and paid attention to the surrounding movements without disturbing the two of them. He knew that these brothers needed a space to be alone to untie the knot in their hearts.
In the end, Dean spoke first, breaking the long silence.
"Don't think too much, Sam." His voice was very soft, with a hint of gentleness that was imperceptible.
Sam turned his head, was stunned for a moment, and then lowered his eyes. "Nothing."
"Sam, about what happened before... I'm sorry." Dean spoke again, with an apologetic tone, "I was too harsh on you. I only wanted to stop you, but I never asked you how difficult it was for you to be alone these four months."
Sam raised his head and looked at Dean, his eyes full of surprise.
"I know it's difficult for you now, and I know you fight against that thing every day." Dean turned his head and glanced at him, his eyes full of heartache, "Although I don't understand that feeling, I don't understand what it feels like to be tempted by things in your body, but I will be with you. No matter what happens, I will never leave you, and I will help you. We are brothers, and we will always be."
Sam was silent for a few seconds, his voice was hoarse and trembling. "Dean, I have decided."
Dean was stunned for a moment. "What to decide?"
"I won't use that ability anymore." Sam's tone was decisive. He looked up at Dean with determination in his eyes, "I won't drink the blood of the devil anymore. I want to quit it completely."
Dean slammed on the brakes, and Impala made a harsh friction sound and stopped on the side of the road. He turned his head and looked at Sam, his eyes full of shock and disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah." Sam nodded, his voice was very calm, but with unprecedented firmness, "I just looked at Jake, and I seemed to see myself. He didn't want to become a monster at the beginning, and he also wanted to control himself, but he made one wrong step and one wrong step. As long as he let go once, he would never come back. I don't want to be like him."
"Sam, you..." Dean opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, and his heart was filled with excitement and distress.
"I'm not doing it for you, not for God, not for Castiel." Sam looked into his eyes and said word for word, "I'm doing it for myself. I don't want to become a monster. I don't want one day, you have to kill me like you killed Jake. I don't want you to face that choice."
"I will never do that." Dean's voice was hoarse and his eyes were red. He reached out and patted his shoulder, with a firm determination in his tone, "Forever. No matter what you become, you are my brother. I will never kill you."
"I know." Sam smiled, but there were tears in his eyes, "That's why I have to stop. For myself and for you."
Dean looked at him, finally nodded heavily, and started the car again. Impala drove into the night again, moving forward.
Sam: I don't know if I can do it, I don't know if I can quit completely, I don't know if I can resist that temptation. But I have to try. For Dean, for myself, and in order not to become what I fear most. Even if fate is already doomed, I will try my best to resist once.
Dean: He finally figured it out. As long as he stops, as long as he is willing, I will try my best to help him. We three brothers, there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome. Hell I have made it back, what else can we not overcome?
Impala was driving on the empty road toward the distant night. The red light of the car's taillights drew two long traces in the darkness, like two eternal flames.