Supernatural 1. Chapter 1 - Hunting the Sun

ooOoo

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 1

**Hunting the Sun**

**A/N **This is the Fourth Story in the "Sons of the Morning" series. The second story is "Walt and Roy get what They Deserve" and the third story is "Hunter's Moon". In this series Sam and Dean have become the kind of creatures that they were trained to hunt. Sam can become a Sphinx like creature based on Maahes, the Nubian war God who was later tied into the Egyptian religious mythos as the son of Sekhmet and Dean has become melded with Tammuz, an ancient Babylonian fertility God who has healing abilities. To find out how this happen you need to read "Sons of the Morning". As long as you accept these beings it is not necessary to read the other stories although there will be mention made of other characters and events from those stories

ooOoo

Sam and Dean stayed at the brothers Montain's house in West Lafayette until they thought that the other Hunters who had gathered for the Festival of the Hunter's Moon had dispersed. Karl and Earl continued to turn away both the local police and the reporters chasing after the story of the 'Winchester Lion', as Maahes was being called in the local papers. The Winchesters were fairly certain that between the newspaper speculation and the T.V. coverage of their escape from the local jail, Hunters would be on the alert, looking for the brothers.

Now, more than ever, they were outcasts from the society in which they had been raised. There had always been whispers about Sam and his supposed psychic abilities and now the Hunters would have even more ammunition for their gossip guns. Dean could hear the bars buzzing in the back of his head. He knew these men and how some of them thought.

There was always the faction that killed simply because a creature was not human; they functioned as judge, jury and executioner on beings who might or might not be guilty of nothing more than simply existing.

There were other Hunters, a very small minority, who thought that Supernatural creatures could be caught and trained like hunting dogs to track down other monsters. They treated the creatures they captured as slaves and beasts, no matter what the level of intelligence may be. Dean could imagine their joy in laying hands on something like Sam.

Then there were the Hunters like Earl and Karl Montain and Silas Mariner and Bobby Singer and Chuck Elbert, who were willing to give creatures like Sam and Dean a chance to prove their worth. These were the Hunters who needed proof before condemning a living creature to death.

Silas had agreed to join them in their wandering. He was young and inexperienced and unfortunately had fallen under Ed Gainer's control for part of his new-born hunting life but both Sam and Dean felt that Silas had potential. The young blonde had already survived a poltergeist attack in his own home and had hunted briefly with the unfortunate Ron in the Kentucky Hills.

There he had learned the hardest part of a Hunter's existence, the suddenness of death and how ugly it could be. He had gone back into the cave in Kentucky to gather and burn all that remained of Ron's body, hopefully putting the man to rest before fleeing to Lafayette. He had performed this ghastly task and been bold enough to enter the cave even after listening to his partner being eaten alive by a creature they had been hunting. His heart was bold and he was open to new ideas.

Now Silas claimed a seat in the Impala.

XXXXXX

Sam and Dean, plus Silas and Karl and Earl were all gathered around the kitchen table. It was early morning and the Winchesters had been hiding out for the past three days. Today they were going to make a run for it and hit the road out of town.

"Where are you guys heading?" Karl asked as he carefully sipped his hot coffee. "Not that I'm going to tell anyone, just thought I'd make conversation."

"We were thinking of Sioux Falls," Dean answered. "That is, we thought about it until I realized that it's going to be winter in South Dakota almost immediately. We were going to take a look at whatever is hunting people in the Sica State Park but whatever it is can freeze its ass off for a couple more months. We'll hunt Sica in the spring after the snow melts."

Sam joined in, "We decided we're going to go hunt the sun; Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, maybe even Mexico. They all sound good. Some dry desert winds and crisp, clear desert nights sound a lot better than snow up to my ass; especially since sometimes my ass is under a tail."

They all laughed and shuffled around. Some went for more coffee. The Winchesters headed out through the connecting door to the garage, carrying their packed duffle bags to the car. There was a sense of movement and imminent departure in the air.

With both the Hunter community and the FBI now on the lookout for the Winchesters even Dean admitted that they were going to have to make at least some effort to disguise themselves. It had been Sam's idea to bring Silas in as a front man. Karl had decided that no one was going to be looking for Ed Gainer's car and had it hidden in his garage right next to the Impala. It took only a couple of minutes to switch the plates on the vehicles.

With Indiana plates and three people in the car the Impala's description was at least modified enough to momentarily cast doubt on the Winchester description. Dean was leaned on by his brother to allow Silas to drive, a sin in Dean's lexicon. Everyone knew Dean didn't let anybody else drive his car, usually not even Sam. There was no way that a 5' 6", baby-faced blonde could be mistaken for a Winchester.

Dean would let the kid drive until they were far enough away from Lafayette to feel safe. That is, if he didn't drive Silas insane first. Sam moved to the back and let Dean have shotgun. That way Sam could stretch his legs out on the seat and research their next hunt and Dean could be in prime nagging position. Sam almost felt sorry for the hell Silas was going to have to endure but consoled himself with the thought that the kid would prove himself if he made it through without attempting to murder Dean .

They took off, heading south, through the stands of tall trees turning colors in the crisp fall air. There was a wind blowing out of the North with a hint of the smell of snow to come. Soon it would be November and all the signs pointed to a cold one this year. The hunting signs and the Farmer's Almanac both predicted a long winter. The Festival of the Hunter's Moon that they had just attended was a celebration of the changing of the seasons. For lifetimes hunters had trusted the first full moon after the Equinox to help them extend their day. They hunted by night to fill the home larders for the winter ahead.

They drove West on the river road paralleling the Wabash River. The historic route lead them in the same pathways that settlers had followed moving into the West when the country was young. Driving the Native American tribes before them European settlers had flooded into the New World through these valleys.

Once an important part of the country's transportation system the Wabash had been navigable and an important part of the Erie Canal system. With the rise of the Railways its locks had fallen into disuse and decay. Beside the waters of the Wabash battles had been fought, the attack on Fort Recovery in 1794, the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 and the Fort Harrison Siege in 1812 Battles lost by the Native Americans as they fought for their ancestral lands. As they moved through history flowing on the surface of the Wabash Sam worked in the back seat, planning their trip and their goal.

They followed the river's course and as it turned south, so did they. Dean surprisingly fell asleep in the front seat and Sam was grateful for the peace. Without the background of Dean's muttering buzzing in his ear like an annoying mosquito Sam could concentrate on his research. By nightfall they were already on the Illinois Missouri border and Silas found them a roadside motel.

Dean woke when the car pulled into the gravel lot and Sam knew they were in for it. Dean had snoozed the day away and now he was full of energy. His brother would be looking for action. Sam dreaded just what Dean would find to keep himself amused while Silas and maybe Sam slept.

Stepping out of the car Sam could see the lights of a town just over the hill. The motel was located along the interstate to suck in the travelers and Sam was willing to bet there was a bar nearby for the same reason. He had no intention of letting Dean wander off by himself.

Sam went into reception and claimed two rooms, one for Silas and one for Dean and himself. Handing Silas his key Sam told him he was going with Dean and expect them when he saw them. "You guys sure you won't need me?' Silas asked, yawning and stretching.

"No, don't worry about it," Sam replied. "You get some sleep. We should be able to handle a back water bar."

Dean interrupted, "Who said you were invited, Sam?"

Sam grabbed his lover by his bicep. "If you think you're going out on your own to get into trouble, think again. We go together. I'll watch your back and you watch your mouth."

The two Winchesters left Silas behind and aimed for the lights. As they got closer Sam could see the neon beer sign flashing in the window. The place looked like your standard neighborhood bar, nothing special. "You take me to all the best places," Sam laughed, "Wait a minute; I want to remind you of something."

Sam pulled his brother into a clench then held on and whispered in Dean's ear. "Don't forget who you belong to." He cupped Dean's face in his hands and kissed him thoroughly. He then thrust his hand up his brother's shirt, searching for the place where his bite still remained.

Dean pushed him away. "I know the rules. Don't get grabby. I'm just looking for a couple of beers and maybe some pool."

"And I'm along to see that it stays that way, "Sam answered back. "You have a real talent for trouble."

Entering Dean headed straight for the bartender. "I'll get us some beers, Sam. Find us a booth, could you?"

The place looked like it had grown on the site. The floors were worn with years of foot traffic, rubbing paths into the wood. The windows were crowded with neon signs and advertising and the lights were dim everywhere except directly over the three pool tables in the back. Sam smiled, thinking the place most likely looked like home to Dean.

Dean was leaning back on the bar counter, resting on his elbows with his hands hanging loosely. He surveyed the room, assessing the inhabitants. There were already interested parties ogling Dean's body and Sam marked each one in his memory. Finally the bartender handed over their bottles and Dean made his way to Sam.

"Pretty good crowd for a week night." Dean muttered. "What do you think? I think I might find some pool table action."

"No doubt you'll find action, make sure it's just the pool table. I'll watch your back." Sam slid back in the booth, deeper into the shadow. He had picked this place for the clear view to the tables.

"You going to do some research?" Dean asked. "You left the lap top in the car."

"I said I was going to watch your back and that is exactly what I'm going to do." Sam replied. "We know nothing about this place but I think we might be looking at some long distance truckers here. They aren't known here, they don't know anyone and they are unlikely to be back here again. That kind of set up often leads to a 'what the fuck' kind of attitude. Be careful."

"I'm a big boy, Sam, all grown up." Dean snarled. "I don't need a baby-sitter."

"All I'm saying," Sam snapped back, "is, if there's trouble, I'll be here. Watch your mouth, and be careful."

Dean picked up his beer and casually wandered to the back of the bar. He put his money down on the edge of the pool table and worked his way into the waiting players. He made small talk and laughed at people's jokes and generally made himself agreeable. Sam had often envied the ease with which Dean could infiltrate a group of strangers and make himself at home. It was no mystery how easily Tammuz had been grafted on to his brother's personality.

Sam watched as Dean casually picked his cue and checked it for balance. A female customer had already positioned herself off Dean's shoulder and was whispering in his ear. She was an older, dark-haired woman with experience written all over her face. Dean threw his head back and laughed at whatever she was saying then focused his full attention on the games in progress. She focused on Dean and her hands were already checking out the muscles on her new found prize.

Sam could almost see the wheels going round. Dean measured up the various players demonstrating their skills; he was looking for the fattest pigeon while sipping at his beer and exchanging comments with his brand new lady friend. He could have been born at the side of that pool table.

Sam watched and admired Dean's smooth hustle. Once gaining the table he did the Winchester wobble showing just how buzzed he was. He laughed too loud and his gestures were exaggerated, the perfect picture of a guy just this side of being drunk. He picked his opponent, a guy who looked like a long haul trucker and set up the break for the first game.

Of course, Dean lost the first game along with his fifty dollars. He smacked his female companion on the ass and sent her for another beer. His opponent weighed Deans' supposed skill level and drunkenness and decided to go for it. Another hundred bucks hit the side of the table and Dean made it close but lost that game too. Sucking on his new beer he got loud and pushy, waving around his money and challenging the trucker.

With a four hundred dollar pot on the table the pair began to attract attention. Dean managed to win the game through an apparent series of lucky shots and put on an almost perfect falling down drunk act. Now it was the trucker demanding "double or nothing". Dean stumbled around the table, almost tripping over his own feet.

Sam noticed a variation on Dean's practiced act. The lady friend appeared not to have come to the bar by herself. Another man was pulling at her arm and trying to tug her away from Dean. She was giving as good as she got and pulled her arm out of the guy's grasp but Sam tensed up. These little side plays sometimes could result in disaster. They were one reason that Dean didn't like to hustle without back up. Sam rose to his feet and moved a little closer to the tables under the guise of buying another beer. Once he had the beer in hand Sam stood at the counter leaning on one elbow and watching the play in progress.

Now there was eight hundred on the table and it was time to strike. Dean broke and immediately sunk a couple of balls. The trucker watched him carefully and so did Sam. While Dean was leaning over the table, lining up his next shot Sam saw another guy come over and stand behind his brother and run a hand up Dean's ass. Not surprisingly, it startled Dean and he missed his shoot. His opponent nodded and stepped up.

Sam was noticing that these people seem to take on the appearance of a team, which was odd. The lady friend, the trucker and the guy taking liberties with Dean's ass all seemed to understand each other. It was like watching the steps in a practiced dance. The trucker made a couple of shots then missed one.

Only because he was watching closely did Sam see the lady friend switch Dean's beer for another. Now Sam was on full alert. It looked like Dean's was not the only hustle in progress. Before Sam could even move forward Dean swallowed down half the beer remaining in the switched bottle.

It was only the work of a few minutes for Dean to clear the table and lay claim to the eight hundred dollars. Now was the normal time for the two brothers to get out of town while the mark was realizing that his 'sure bet' had failed. But something was different. Dean was wavering on his feet, as if he was really drunk.

The trucker and the handsy guy and the lady friend all gathered around Dean, making motions like they were trying to hold the drunken guy up. Sam could hear the teeth of their trap closing. The three of them started pushing Dean back; Sam suspected in the direction of a rear door.

He dropped his unfinished beer on the counter and headed for the front door. Once outside he whipped around the side of the building and saw the three conspirators and his brother. The big guy was holding Dean up against his chest and the other two were searching him. Sam know in a minute they would find not only the money but a couple of surprises like the gun in the small of Dean's back and the silver drop knives tied to the inside of Dean's forearms.

Not only that but the guy Sam had named in his head as Mr. Hands seemed interested in removing Dean's clothes. He already had Deans shirt opened and pulled back, restraining Dean's arms and was working on his brother's belt buckle.

Sam felt his Maahes persona awaken. No one was allowed to touch Dean like that. Sam's body began to elongate and his clothes flowed down his suddenly sleak body, his russet fur smoothing the way. His head moved up and he stared into the moon. He dropped to his newly formed feet and walked out of his clothes. Cat eyes blinked in the dark, reflecting the moonlight. He roared.

The people in the alley stopped moving and the big guy dropped Dean's partially stripped body on the asphalt. They could not make out exactly what Sam was but they could see the eyes and they could certainly hear the roar.

They turned to flee but Sam was on them in a minute. He ripped the trucker's jacket from his shoulders and the man fell back then crab walked away. The lady friend was screaming and lost her shoes as she ran. Mr. Hands, however, was Sam's main target.

Sam leaped forward and fastened his teeth in the man's calf. The guy squealed and shouted. Sam thought he sounded like a pig. He could taste the blood in his mouth and he held on and let the man's frantic actions create most of the damage. Even idiots should know that you hold still when a cat bites you, but not this guy. Sam knew either the guy's screams or the woman's was going to attract a lot of attention and he wanted to get Dean out of that alley before the cops showed up.

He regretfully released his prisoner and growled again to get the guy running. Returning to Dean he picked up his brother by his still fasten belt and carried him back to his own clothes. He propped Dean against the wall and transformed into a big naked guy. Rapidly throwing on some of his clothes he found the cell phone and called Silas, praying the kid wasn't already asleep.

Checking Dean's body he saw that the gun was still in place and waiting for Silas to pick up he went down the alley to get the trucker's jacket. It was tattered and torn but the money was still in the pocket and Sam took it and threw the rag away.

When Silas answered Sam asked him to drive the Impala over as quickly as he could and hung up. Scanning the alley again Sam only saw the woman's shoes as evidence of anything that might have happened here other than the ripped jacket. Satisfied he threw Dean's drugged body over his shoulder and went out along the road to wait for Silas.


	2. Chapter 2- Moving South

ooOoo

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 2

**Moving South**

It was only a couple of minutes wait and Silas showed up with the Impala. As far as San was concerned it was almost not soon enough. He could hear voices calling back and forth and caught a few key words… lion…ambulance…cops.

Silas threw open his door and stepped around to help Sam load an unconscious Dean into the back seat.

"Boy," the blonde said, "it doesn't take you guys long to get into trouble. Does it?'

"Sorry Silas," Sam responded. "Dean's been drugged and we need to get out of here right away. I think they called the cops and an ambulance."

The car doors slammed shut and the Impala powered back on to the road. She fish tailed slightly from Silas hitting the gas but they were off, passing an ambulance heading in the other direction.

"What did you do, Sam?" Silas asked.

"I had to get Dean away from them," Sam responded. "I might have bitten someone."

A cop car with the lights flashing zipped past in the other lane.

"We should go get our stuff out of the motel and keep driving," Sam said, turning in his seat to keep an eye on the receding cop car.

Silas glance at his side mirror, also making sure the cop car wasn't turning around. "You'll get no argument out of me," he answered Sam. "I'm good to go for a couple more hours before I fall asleep at the wheel."

Silas slowed and pulled up quietly in front of the motel. Leaving the car running he grabbed his duffle from the room and they were back on the road in minutes. Sam had turned on Dean's newest toy, a police scanner attached under the dash, to monitor any police traffic and they fled south again, hoping to outrun trouble.

"Where to, Sam?" Silas asked, turning to Sam in the shot gun seat.

Sam glanced back at his sleeping brother. "Get us to the other side of St. Louis; some small, out of the way motel. Dean's been roofied. Who knows when he'll wake up? Drive until you're tired and then I'll take over. Or do you want me to drive now? Your choice. "

Silas shrugged. "If it doesn't matter to you I'd rather drive for a while. "

He pulled the car back on the road. "By the way, did you ever decide were exactly we're going. I mean, the road trip is nice and I'm seeing a lot of country but I would like to have an idea where we're heading."

"Nogales." Sam answered. "There is something going on in the desert outside of Nogales, Arizona. I haven't said anything because I haven't really decided what we are lookin' at. When we settle in to a new room and sleeping beauty wakes up we'll go through the research together and see what everyone thinks."

XXXXX

They finally settled in a wide place in the road about a hundred miles west of St. Louis. Sam and Silas had spelled each other off and they had driven through a cold and starry night while Dean gently snored his way through drugged dreams. At sunrise they had pulled over and waited for the motel office to open. The wide place in the road had the balls to give itself a name; Addams.

Sam snorted as he settled his brother in the king sized bed, stripped him off for fun and then threw himself beside Dean. Sam yawned and stretched and curled around the warm body in bed with him. There was hardly a pause between waking and sleeping and Sam was gone.

Sam woke late in the day. The sun was pouring through the open curtains and his arms were empty. There was, however, the smell of hot coffee and sausage in the air. He looked over to see Dean and Silas sitting at the table eating. He sat up, clutching his sheet around him.

"Hi there, Princess," Dean smiled. "You want food, you better hurry. It's going fast."

Tying his sheet like a toga Sam made it to the table. He knew Dean would have no compunction about eating his share if he waited too long. He figured he'd shower and dress later.

"You said there was something happening in Nogales." Silas started. "You got more to tell us about that?"

Dean made a pass at one of Sam's sausages. Sam blocked his arm and Dean came in low with his other arm and snagged the meat anyway. Sam tried to stab the offending hand with his spork and broke it.

Silas giggled into his coffee. "You guys about done playing now? What about Nogales?"

"A lot of skeletonized remains have been found in the hills around Nogales," Sam said, chewing while fending off Dean's feints. "My first thought was chupacabra."

"I hope to hell we aren't driving seventeen hundred miles to hunt coyotes with mange." Dean growled.

Sam stared Dean down. "No, we aren't. It just didn't fit. No one has seen any dog packs and no livestock has been bothered. Both are easy targets for chupacabra; at least easier than humans."

"Has there been an outcry among the authorities concerning these bodies?" Silas asked. "Sounds like a lot of missing people. You'd think it would make waves."

Sam shook his head. "Think about it. Nogales is right on the Mexican border. Arizona is a prime border crossing state and the flow of immigrants never slows. The police in Nogales have incredible pressure on them. Between the politicians screaming about immigration and the Feds screaming about drugs they don't have much time or resources to hunt down and identify skeletons found out in the desert."

"So, if it isn't a chupacabra pack what else have you thought of?" Dean asked.

"I gave serious consideration to werewolves but again, it just doesn't feel right. " Sam went on. "With the number of bodies it would take more than one even over a long period of time. In addition a lot of the bones were scattered around the landscape, like the body had been scavenged or ripped to pieces"

"I don't think it's a serial killer. There's too much ground covered, on both sides of the city. There is no effort taken to hide the bodies and why would a human killer tear the bodies apart?" Sam stopped talking and raised his eyebrows at his hunting partners, seeking their input.

"I have no idea what it could be." Silas said. "You guys are the experts. Remember me? The new guy?"

Dean huffed. "That doesn't mean your brain gets a pass." He stood up and stretched. "I guess we're just going to have to investigate when we get there. We don't even know if it's our kind of case yet. I guess we're making this long ass drive based completely on a Sammy hunch."

XXXXXXX

Penny Garcia attended the morning meeting of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit with papers in hand. It had been a relatively slow week for the BAU. They hadn't been called in on any major cases and the assistance requested of them from local offices with problems had been easily handled in house.

Garcia was doing her usual best to be a bright and cheerful contrast to the bloody and depressing cases the BAU handled routinely. Today she was all glitter and kittens on her swirling 50's full skirt

She looked around and saw her co-workers and friends, she hoped. Reid was just sitting down, thin and gawky as ever; sweater vest, leather messenger bag and extra, extra large coffee in hand; no surprises there. Derek Morgan sat relaxed but glowering, his usual manner. He liked to show that he was a serious agent under his constant teasing of both Garcia and Reid.

David Rossi cast his soft, paternal smile over the entire group and Hotch was just Hotch. Aaron Hotchner stood at the head of the table, unconcerned about the personalities gathered around him. His concern was the smooth functioning of the team. He was businesslike and cerebral; all ice and control.

After about twenty minutes of recap and review Hatch asked the group if anyone had a matter to bring to the attention of the group and Penny stood. Adjusting her glasses she handed copies of her papers out to either side.

"I am assuming that we are still interested in where ever the Winchesters might show up?" she asked.

Hotch answered her, "Yes, of course. We got them back on the Most Wanted list. Why? Have you found something?"

"I've set up a couple of monitoring programs." She said. "They monitor all possible news sources for certain key words like Winchester, Impala, animal attacks, cougar, lion and cheetah. The program spit out this report from a St. Louis newspaper this morning."

She glanced down at the newspaper article in her hand. The article headline read "Mountain Lion Attacks Man in Chetneyville", and went on to describe a group of people who had reported an attack in a small Illinois hamlet. Of the three witnesses one had sustained significant injuries from an animal bite to his leg.

An animal control officer out of St. Louis had been quoted as saying "The attack is unheard of. There have not been any reports of either mountain lions or cougars in the area as far back as they had been keeping records. Some concern was expressed about the possible increase in the animals range.

Hotchner studied the article. "This is all the information we have?"

"Yes, sir," Penny replied. "It just seemed so suspicious I thought I might bring it up."

"No, you're absolutely correct, Garcia." Hotch said. "This is excellent work. "I'll call the local FBI office and let them in on what we suspect. Right now, that's about all we can do unless someone on the ground finds some leads."

Derek Morgan interrupted. "Hotch, I've got to ask. Are you really going to tell them that Sam Winchester can turn into a giant cat?"

Hotchner smiled slightly. "That would make them think we were out of our minds. I'm going to tell then that the famous Winchester brothers have been known lately to be driving around with a dangerous animal In their car. I'll send them a copy of the file on the West Lafayette incident and the 'Winchester Lion' news articles."

Hatch turned to Garcia, "I'm going to alert the St. Louis office that the Winchesters might be in their area. If I can do it without stepping on local toes I would like to hear from the officer who interviewed the witnesses. Do you think you can quietly find out who that would be? "

"Certainly, sir," Garcia responded.

XXXXXXX

It was not just the FBI that heard about the "Mountain Lion" attack in Chetneyville. In a backwoods roadhouse and bar in Missouri some pretty scruffy looking men sat around a table crowded with empty beer bottles and bowls of peanuts and chips, talking low and quiet.

"You really think it's Winchesters, Ralph?" one guy with deep sunk eyes and a scar that ran from the corner of his nose, over his crooked lips, down to his chin, raised a bottle in inquiry.

"John Rose's cousin Serena was in the bar. The guy playing pool sounds a lot like the older boy, Dean." Ralph replied to his friend and fellow hunter, Joe Picardy. "Green eyes, pretty face, smart-ass attitude, it all fits the Winchester description. Hell of a pool player too."

"Serena says a pick-up crew of hustlers tried to take him down for his winnings and somehow they got chased off by the first mountain lion ever seen in the entire county," Ralph went on. "Now that sounds like the other boy, the younger brother who's cursed. Some kind of a were that changes into a big cat. One of the hustlers got his leg chewed up pretty good. The rest of them ran; said the cat roared at them like a lion."

Joe Picardy raised his empty bottle and waved at the bar maid for a replacement. "Sure sounds like our kind of business. You asked around and see if anybody's seen that black Impala?"

Ralph answered his fellow hunter and sometime friend with a laugh, "Somebody in every bar with a contact is keeping an eye out. We should hear something if they're still in the state. The littlest whisper and we can be on the road with a couple of other Hunters if we want. Everyone is pretty aware that the Winchesters have crossed the line and now are fair game. The only question that still needs to be answered is what kind of ammo will take them out."

XXXXXXX

After the late start to the day the Winchesters and Silas decided to keep drifting South. They checked out and loaded the Impala, then headed out in the direction of Springfield. If they hit the city late in the evening they will have put most of the State of Missouri behind them and hopefully the ripples from the unfortunate dust up behind a rundown bar near St. Louis would not have spread so far yet. They were depending on luck and the fact that no one appeared to be chasing their asses yet.

Dean was driving now. He was still recovering from the effect of the drug that was used on him and the headache was fierce. He had hoped that the driving would distract him from the pain and it seemed to be working. Having to pay attention to the road at least kept his mind off the throbbing. He was still kicking himself for falling for the trap. His only consolation was Sam's assurance that the woman's exchange had been smooth and professional. Sam thought she had a practiced air and Dean had fallen to a pro.

They finally stopped just beyond Springfield. They found a motel on a slight rise among the rolling hills south of the city. The windows of the motel looked south toward the Ozarks. It was a quiet, peaceful land of low scrub trees and meandering streams. The night time was full of the sounds of insects and the skies were clear and cloudless.

Dean stood and looked out the window. There was nothing to see, he was just relaxing and appreciating the silence. He felt his brother move up behind him and Sam wrapped him in his arms.

Leaning down, Sam's breath caressed Dean's ear and his tongue traced a path from that ear down his neck. Dean leaned his head to the side, exposing more neck to his brother's kisses. Shivers started down his spine and Sam turned him and captured his lips. "You ready for bed yet?"

Dean murmured a yes and Sam captured his lips. Now strong fingers massaged his back muscles and he was pulled into an even firmer embrace. Sam's tempo increased and his hands wandered everywhere within reach. The pressure of the kiss increased and a warm wet tongue probed for entrance.

It was the work of a moment and a couple of intricate dance steps and they fell on the nearest bed. There were no more words, only muffled moans and whimpers. A couple of shadows were thrown against the walls, writhing in the moonlight.


	3. Chapter 3 - Traveling Missouri's I-44

ooOoo

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 3

**Traveling Missouri's I-44**

It was a full 1,790 miles from West Lafayette to Nogales, Arizona. They had stopped at a motel some 50 miles west of Springfield, Missouri, deep in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. Shortly after they had left St. Louis on i-44 the land rose in front of them and they entered the initial Ozark Plateau, beautiful, rolling high country covered in life; dark hill tops etched against the twilight sky.

Silas drove through the late afternoon and Sam had pressed against the passenger door, breathing the scent laden air; his nose twitching as he attempted to separate the odors swimming in the evening air.

Now it was morning and he left Dean in their bed and stepped out the door. The Springfield plateau lay before him in the sunlight. They were deep in the Ozarks; a high plateau that smelled of the past. On their way to Springfield from St. Louis they had passed north of the St. Francois Mountains, a Precambrian igneous Mountain Range above the Ozark Plateau.

This range was one of the oldest exposures of igneous rock in the United States at 1.485 billion years old. By comparison the Appalachians had started to form only 460 million years ago and the Rockies only 140 million years. Those ranges were mere teenagers compared to the Ozarks. When the Appalachians started to form the Ozarks were already a billion years old.

The St Francois Mountains had never been submerged and existed as an island archipelago in the Paleozoic seas. The Springfield Plateau, where Sam now stood, had a base of eroded Mississippian limestone covered by sedimentary formations deposited then eroded, creating the valleys and softly rounded hill tops. There were also extensive caves under foot as over 6,000 caves were named and described in Missouri, The Cave State.

Sam felt the call of time again but didn't dare go out to touch the ancient rocks. Maahes grew nervous about Sam's penchant for getting subsumed in time. Sam also knew that Dean would scream him into full blown guilt if he wandered off down the corridors of time again. Who knew what new pieces and bits Sam would pick up to add to his already complex being?

So Sam simply stood and looked, breathing in the morning scents and listening for the thunder of the rising sun. Sometimes it was like he could feel the earth itself turning under his feet. Through the open door he could hear his lover yawn and stretch. "Sam, you here?'

"Yes," He answered. "I haven't gone anywhere, even though I want to go and feel the textures of this place on my fingertips."

"Hey, whoa," Dean came up behind and, wrapping his arms around Sam's waist, he leaned his cheek on the taller man's shoulder blade. "No wandering. You stay here with me."

"Dean, I could go see the warm Paleozoic seas wash the shores of ancient islands. I could watch the Mississippian oceans roil with hunting sharks and see a sky barren of all except clouds. "

"Yes, yes, you could go see all that and find out the colors of those long dead worlds, but you know what you wouldn't see?" Den asked.

"What?" Sam asked and smiled because he thought he knew the answer.

"You wouldn't see me." Dean laughed and kissed the back of Sam's neck. "Now, come on. If you be good I'll let your cat run loose later."

XXXXXXX

They woke Silas up, all tousle headed and sleepy eyed. "Stir your legs there Hunter. The day is running away from you and it's a damn long way to Nogales," Dean crowed and pulled on the younger man's foot. "We're waiting for you. We want breakfast."

They ate in the motel's coffee shop and Dean kept an eye out for curious watchers. The Ozarks were full of Hunters. The hidden valleys and long forgotten cabins were a natural habitat for ghosts, spooks and specters and for the men who hunted them. Dean was not so foolish as to believe that the Winchesters passing through would not attract a lot of attention. He and Sam were now a national legend among both the Hunter's communities and the Law Enforcement cadres.

Silas smiled and flirted with the waitress, an older woman with tired eyes and frown lines and he made her smile. It wasn't very often that a sweet faced boy paid attention to her now. Once it might have been believable but that was decades ago. Even so, he made her happy and brightened her day. She left the table smiling and Dean stared at their traveling companion.

"That was nice of you," Dean muttered.

Silas smiled back, "Isn't part of my job to keep the attention off you guys? I thought I'd take over the flirting duties."

Dean muttered under his breath and buried his face in his coffee mug. Sam reached over and tapped the back of Dean's head. "Hush now, Dean," he laughed. "Let the boy work his magic. We don't need the waitresses eyeballing your face. Silas is right."

They finished up and Dean left a nice tip for the lady. Out by the car Sam leaned over the roof and captured Dean's eyes. "Don't forget your promise,"

Climbing in the back, Silas looked at the brothers as they took their seats. "What's up? What promise?"

Adjusting the mirror Dean looked back at Silas' face. "I promised Sam he could let his cat loose to play. Once we get to an open place he's going to get out of the car and let Maahes run."

Silas shook his head. "Is that wise? I thought we were trying to lay low."

"Yeah, I know," Dean responded. "But we have to keep geek-boy happy. You don't really want to know what could happen if we just let Sam wander around a State that has Paleozoic mountain ranges. Better to let the animal out to play."

"Huh, Paleozoic?" Silas furled his forehead, causing lines to fold between his eyebrows. "What does that have to do with Sam?"

"Like I said, you don't want to know. Hell, he goes out on a hike and all of a suddenly you sprout wings. Take my word for it, it's better to let the cat run." Dean replied.

Now thoroughly confused, Silas set back. "One of these days you are going to have to tell me how Sam taking a wall gets me wings, Ok?"

"Hey, Dean." Sam started.

"Oh, God, Sammy, what now?"

"You know, The Crystal Cave is only 5 miles North of I-44. I'd really like to see that, even if they have screwed it up with walkways and guided tours." Sam answered. "There's a limestone multicolored formation called Rainbow Falls."

"Right, I'm going to take you inside the earth where you really can connect to stuff that's been growing since the limestone was laid down." Dean responded. 'Remember the coal mines in Pennsylvania? That's how you met Kali."

Sam crossed his arms and stared out the window. "I can control myself. You don't have to worry.

Dean laughed again. "Right, you're a damn time traveling junkie. I'll tell you what. Let's go take care of Nogales then we'll stop in on our way back north. You'll have to wear gloves and maybe hold hands with me or Silas."

"Hey," Silas objected.

"Quiet, kid," Dean responded and pulled the Impala out on the road. He scanned the mirrors, checking that no one was following them from the diner and took off down the Interstate.

After about ten miles Dean made sure they were all alone and pulled off to the side of the road. Sam pushed open his door and walked off into the scrub and his brother and Silas watched as Sam disappeared and a cat's tail poked out above the level of the scrub. When Maahes bounded off they watched the cat's head and back flex up and down like a boat on the ocean. The further away, the faster the action until the cat was clearly visible bounding up a nearby hillside. The flex and snap of the cat's spine recalled all the nature shows on how a cheetah ran. Maahes was beautiful in the sunlight.

There was movement in the scrub and a herd of white-tailed deer broke cover. As the cat passed by blue jays burst from the tress and scattered skyward screaming and cawing. Dean stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the car and smiling at all the excitement Sam was creating just by existing. Sam turned and dashed after the fleeing deer.

There was the undeniable crack of a rifle and Sam went from smoothly bounding to sloppily rolling down hill, limbs splayed in all directions. Dean started running and Silas followed. Ahead they could hear the shouts of the hunters and it was a race to see who could get to Sam first.

As he was running, Dean saw Sam get back on his feet. The big cat was stunned and wavering but alive. More shots were instantly fired so the hunters saw the cat move too but Sam stayed low and slinked toward Dean, limping. Dean could see as he closed on his brother a smear of blood high on the rear flank. Even while panicking Dean's brain tossed up "Christ, they shot Sammy in the ass."

Dean was sure these were deer hunters and he wondered if this was the season; if it was, no more running loose in the woods for Sam. The hunters were crashing through the underbrush, with excited calls. They evidently had forgotten all about the deer in the excitement of bagging a giant cat.

Finally Dean reached his brother and Sam lay down in the brush. Dean threw himself beside the bleeding cat and yelled, "Transform, Sam! Hurry!" and pulled out his gun.

Down in the dirt with a bleeding brother, Dean snapped off a few shots in the general direction of the hunters. "Surprise," he yelled, "this animal shoots back."

Silas arrived and grabbed on to a transformed, naked Sam. "Let's go, Sam, back to the car." He led Sam downhill, hunched over and trying to hide below the level of the vegetation.

The voices of the hunters went from excited to annoyed and confused. One of the men called out to Dean, "I don't know what you think you're doing. That cat is ours, we saw him first, idiot. Don't fire on us."

Dean rose still holding his gun on the hunters. Now they were close enough for him to see. They were three typical hunters with rifles, billed caps and orange safety vests.

"I'm not a hunter," Dean yelled back. "I'm with the damn cat, back off."

"Who you with," one of the men hollered, "PETA or freaky Animal Rights people? This is the Ozarks. Get your silly city ass out of here before we shoot it off."

Dean thought momentarily about yelling that the cat was his brother since this would be one of the few times that he could say it out loud but decided that the hunters already had a enough to gossip about. Dean snapped off a shot and hit the stock of one of the hunter's rifle, spinning it out of the man's hands.

Dean stood and yelled back. "Leave us alone. I'm heading for my car now." He dared to turn his back on them and took off running for the car. He could see Silas in the driver's seat so he assumed Sammy was laying low in the back.

Dean climbed in the back with Sam and cried out "Take off Silas. Hit the road for Tulsa! Get us out of this state." He placed his hand on Sam's wound and it grew warm as Dean tuned up the Tammuz healing power. He hadn't ever tested it on a bullet wound and he didn't know if there was a bullet in Sam's ass or if it as passed through. He suspected that it was still in Sam since he didn't see an exit would. On the other hand, it might just be a graze.

Dean decided that if Sam developed problems they could get it X-Rayed somehow but for now, he concentrated on healing the wound and stopping the blood flow. Maybe if he hadn't been so stressed out he would have thought the problem through more clearly but right now he only wanted his little brother to stop bleeding.

XXXXXXX

It didn't take long for word to get back through the superb gossip channel that was the Hunter's grapevine. Three disgruntled deer hunters had shown up in a backwoods Ozark bar, talking about this giant cat they had shot. They were pissed at some other hunter who had shot at them and stolen the cat's carcass. The story was too good for it not to spread like wildfire, especially since the bar had several other kinds of Hunters in it at the time.

"Winchesters," they told each other, "had to be Winchesters. The grapevines lit up I-44 from Springfield all the way to Tulsa. The hunter network came alive.

Sprinkled here and there were Hunters who lived with conflicted souls. In addition to being hunters they were also local deputies and even a sheriff or two. They well knew the claim that Hunters had on the Winchester boys but they also knew that the FBI had a claim of their own. A Local Enforcement Officer just could not let the sighting pass by with no formal report. The sighting worked its way up the FBI kind of grapevine and shortly Penny Garcia was informing Hotch that the Winchesters had been seen near Springfield, Missouri.


	4. Chapter 4 - Driving West

ooOoo

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 4

**Driving West**

Silas hit the gas and they headed for Tulsa. Dean stayed in the back seat holding Sam awkwardly. After all, little brother appeared to have been shot in the ass, it wasn't like Dean could tell him to man up and sit up straight. Sammy moaned.

"How's he doing?" Silas asked, glancing in the rear view mirror.

"I don't know." Dean replied. "We need to find out if he has a bullet in him. I think it's only a graze but transforming from cat to man confuses me all to hell. If he would just come to and tell us how he feels, it would be easier to figure out what to do."

Dean was understandably tense. He flipped Sam as well as he could and put his hand back on Sam's naked ass. Dean concentrated on pouring the Tammuz glow into the wound and felt the blood flow slow.

The Ozarks flew by the window, the sun high in the sky and the gently rolling hills alive with birds and the occasional deer charging away from the rumbling car engine.

"I'll tell you what," Dean shouted at Silas. "Try to find us an out of the way motel where I can get him laid out flat and I'll figure out what to do next."

Five miles on Silas pulled into the office of the "Mountain Hideaway" motel. The motel rooms were small individual cabins dotting the hill side behind the office. Once Silas come out of the building he drove them up a dirt access road to a couple of side-by-side cabins tucked up under the branches of large trees. It was quiet and cool and Dean hauled his brother into the first cabin and laid Sam out on the bed.

"Alright, sunshine," Dean poked at his brother. "Stop faking it and wake up."

Sam opened an eye. "Dean, why are you poking at me? God-damn!" Sam had rolled on to his back in response to Dean's poking and put pressure on his wound.

"Yeah, wake up and tell me how you feel."

"What happened?

"Maahes got shot in the ass by some deer hunters. They were using the standard .30 x30 rifles and I think you're only grazed but tell me how you feel."

Sam contemplated his ass. "Well, it burns but that's about all. You worked your magic on the wound already?"

"Yes, I took care of it. You were bleeding all over the upholstery. Do you think we need X-rays?"

"Can't have that, can we?" Sam mocked. "I'm good. Don't think I need much more than a shower to get the blood off."

"Good, cause I'd like to get out of Missouri now," Dean said. "I think we've rung enough bells. Somebody will come after us soon. Tulsa's not all that far away and we'll be getting out of these mountains."

XXXXXXX

Back in the motel office the clerk was getting busy on the phone.

"It's Paully from the motel. You guys still looking for a black Impala? Yeah, got one here right now. Three guys in it. The one that came in to register was middle twenties, grey-eyed blonde. That who you're looking for? No I didn't see the other two, just their outlines in the car. You coming over here?"

"Ok, see you." Paully hung up the phone and thought about the people he had just called. He wasn't all that convinced it was a good idea even if Annie, the motel owner, had told him to call if he saw a car like that. He knew the kind of guys the locals were, shoot first, sort it out later. A chill chased down his spine, maybe it would be a good idea to get the hell out of the line of fire.

He set the No Vacancy sign on and locked up the office.

Up the hillside, Silas was sitting on the trunk of the Impala, keeping an eye out for any kind of activity, including Dean Winchester. If Dean caught him sitting on the Impala who knows what he would do. Contemplating the punishment Dean might hand out Silas caught a flicker of movement from down by the office and was surprised to see the motel clerk heading for an empty car.

That seemed to be odd and for a minute Silas debated just ignoring it but then Dean's order to "use your mind" came back to him and he stood up to take a better look. That was when he saw that the No Vacancy sign was on. Looking around him he was pretty sure that he and the Winchesters were currently the motel's only customers.

Silas went and pounded on the Winchester's door and Dean stuck his head out. "What's up?" he asked.

"Something's going on." Silas answered. "I think we should bail. The clerk just shut this place down and got in his car and left. How's Sam?"

Sam appeared behind Dean, dressed and looking good. He arced an arm over Dean's head and rested a hand on the open door. "I'm fine. What do you think is going on?"

Dean murmured. "Clerk bailed out. I think we should follow him."

They scurried around, packing up their stuff and threw everything in the Impala. Dean stopped for a second and eyeballed some scuff marks on the high gloss of the impala's trunk. He glanced at Silas and shook his head. "I'm driving. Let's go."

Loaded up, the Impala spun tires on the dirt access road and in moments the car was back on the I-44, heading west. Silas in the back seat kept an eye behind them. "Looks like we just made it; there's a party starting back there. A couple of beat up pickup trucks with guys in the back just pulled into that motel."

"Sam turned carefully to peer past Silas. "Looks like Hunters, Dean. Somebody rang the dinner bell and I'll bet we're on the menu."

Using a whistling in the dark approach Dean tried to drive carefully without attracting any attention. He hoped they were far enough away that nobody back at the hotel could suddenly look up and tell it was a black Impala still barely in sight on the highway.

"Keep your eyes on those guys." Dean said. "As soon as possible I want to floor it and get us to hell out of Missouri. Let me know when."

Once around a deep curve Sam told Dean to hit it when the Motel sign disappeared from sight and Dean wasted no time. The engine roared and whined and he instructed his lookouts to watch for cops. "I'm not stopping until we hit Tulsa" he vowed.

XXXXXXX

They roared down out of the Ozarks, diving towards the lights of Tulsa, a beautiful city sited at the end of the Springfield Plateau looking out over the beginning of the Great Plains. Dean had no intention of stopping in spite of Sam's whining about Art Deco architecture and historical tidbits about the Lochapoka band of Creek tribesmen who named the city Tallasi, or "Old Town".

"No Sam, enough." Dean hissed. "If I listen to you we would wander the world from city to city and never arrive where we needed to be."

"It wouldn't take long just to walk around and look at some of the historical sites. " Sam answered back. "Who knows when we will be this way again?"

Silas pitched in his two cents worth. "You guys are forgetting about truckloads of Hunter's on our tails, aren't you? Stop bickering and get us on down the road."

"Someone die and make you our boss?" Dean tossed back.

A million thought crowded Silas's mind but he bit his lips and kept them to himself. Instead he decided to discuss the trip. "Where do you want to stop, Dean?" he asked. "It's about a hundred miles to Oklahoma City."

"Yeah, and if we stop dicking around Albuquerque New Mexico is only a little over five hundred miles from Oklahoma City. If we take it in shifts and drive all night we can blow right through the Texas panhandle, circle Amarillo and be in Albuquerque by lunch tomorrow."

Sam made a negative noise. "Shut up, Sam," snapped Dean. "No more wandering on the hillsides. I'm not going to let you get your ass shot again. Zip it up."

"Fine," huffed Sam and crossed his arms. "I'll wait for the desert around Nogales. If I go prowling in the dark I bet I'll find our mystery monster fast enough."

XXXXXXX

They drove through the autumn night, stopping only for gas and the occasional coffee. Eating convenience store snacks and changing drivers as needed the hours became a blur of sleeping and driving until their eyes began to close of their own accord. Sam's precious landscapes passed unseen in the darkness and at sunrise a new, arid landscape was exposed.

Gone were the green rolling hills of the Ozarks, they had passed through the waving fields of the Great Plains and now the arid landscapes of the real West began to engulf them. Saguaro cactus and low lying bushes barely shaded small portions of the sun dried ground.

Rabbits ran from shadow to shadow, snakes slithered leaving wavering marks in the dust and high above the hunting red-tailed hawks cried out. They blew through Amarillo in the darkness, greeted Albuquerque in the morning light and burned up the road aimed at Tucson. It had been twelve hard hours on the road and everyone was cramped and hungry, dusty and dry.

They had been away from the arid desert lands for so long that it came as a surprise when the water fat was pulled from their bodies. Their eyeballs felt gritty and chap stick became an important component of life once again. At Albuquerque they turned South on i-10 W and, skirted the Gila National Forest.

Halting their head-long flight they pulled into a small roadside motel that catered to the tourists near Socorro New Mexico and settled in. They had kept alert, watching for followers and felt they had mostly left their pickup driving pursuers in the hills east of Tulsa. They were tired and cranky and Sam's ass hurt from sitting on the still tender wound all this time. Only Dean Winchester had kept the group going for so long due to pure stubbornness.

Sam threw himself on the first bed he tripped over. "You know, if I didn't love you I would have killed you a hundred miles ago," he complained to Dean.

"Yeah, I know and I appreciate it" Dean replied. "I'm taking a shower." He headed for the bathroom shedding clothing along the way. Sam propped his head on his hand, taking in the impromptu strip tease. At the doorway Dean bent to toe off his boots and pull off his socks. He dropped his jeans on the floor and disappeared into the little room. Sam heard the exhaust fan start up and saw, surprisingly, the red glow of ceiling heat lamps come on.

This place catered to tourists to the Wilderness Area so the owners most likely did a good business. The place was better than most motels the Winchesters had been to and if there were such things as motel experts the Winchesters qualified.

"Hey, Sam." Dean called out. "You should see this shower. It's got wall jets and everything."

"Is that an invitation?" Sam called back.

"It's whatever you want it to be, bitch. I'm just saying it's a good shower."

Sam climbed off his recently acquired flat surface and decided it would be even more comfortable if he got the sweat and the dirt off his skin. By the time he made it to the frosted glass shower door the room behind him looked like a laundry bag had exploded. He eyed his brother's naked body outlined on the glass panel and pulled the door open.

Dean looked over his shoulder, alerted by the sudden draft and smiled at Sam. Dean's arms were raised, rubbing shampoo into his hair and suds were trailed down his back. Sam's hands itched for that wet skin and he stepped under the warm water and pulled Dean back into his chest.

He had thought that he was way too tired for this but the sight of Dean dressed in only warm water sparked a current of energy through him. Dean nodded forward into the stream of water, rinsing the shampoo from his hair. As it ran down his body Sam captured handfuls of suds and used them to slick up Dean's ass and lubricate his cock.

"I thought you were tired, Sasquatch." Dean murmured.

"Never too tired for you," Sam murmured back and continued stroking Dean's dick. He paused and pumped a palm full of soap then returned to the hand job. He pushed on the back of Dean's neck and his brother leaned forward and braced his hands on the tile wall. Sam slicked up his own dick, pleasuring himself then transferred his attention to opening Dean up.

Dean spread his legs and Sam's long fingers opened up Dean's entrance and searched for the magic spot. Dean moaned and pumped himself on Sam's fingers.

"I'm ready for you whenever you want, Sam."

"Take it easy, big brother. I'm having a good time back here."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Dean sniped back. "I'm telling you to get to work. I'm not going to hold up this wall all night for you."

Sam laughed and let Dean's cock go long enough to smack a butt cheek. "You'll get it when I'm good and ready. Just spread 'em and wait."

Sam rubbed his dick up and down over Dean's entrance, teasing his loosened hole. He let go of Dean's dick and grabbed his brother around the waist and drove in harshly. Dean gasped and moaned and rode his brother's dick. Sam leaned forward without losing a stroke. "I'm going to pound your ass until you paint the wall with your come, so concentrate."

Dean moaned and pushed back and tried to meet his brother's powerful thrusts. It only took a couple of minutes before his sight whited out and he was shooting his load all over the shower's wall. True to his word, Sam let go at the same time and Dean felt Sam's orgasm deep inside his body.

Slowly the brothers calmed down and Sam kissed the back of Dean's neck, lifting him up to a standing position with his cock still buried deep inside. Sam rolled Dean's head on his shoulder and claimed his brother's lips while aftershocks rolled through them both.

They stood coming down from their high with the warm shower water pounding their skin. Sam held Dean up until his dick slid out of his brother's body and Dean felt Sam's warm come leak down his thighs. One last long kiss and they untangled themselves and turned off the water.


	5. Chapter 5 - Night in Nogales

ooOoo

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 5

**Night in Nogales**

Early the next morning the brothers woke with the sun pouring through the thin, partially opened motel curtains. Sam ran his fingers through Dean's hair and poked his brother in the leg with his morning wood.

Dean opened a single eye and growled. "No way, Sam. Put it away. We probably kept people awake last night pounding on the shower tiles. Now I want breakfast and for us to hit the road. This is supposed to be a hunting trip, not a god-damn honeymoon. I just want to get out of here without being pointed at."

Dean pulled himself up from the bed, untangled himself from Sam's grabby hands and headed for the bathroom. Sam sat up in the bed, laughing at Dean's ass scooting away.

There was pounding on the door. Sam wrapped himself in a sheet and went to peer out the peep hole. Silas was on the other side of the door, all neat and fresh and bright eyed. He was also carrying a tray of coffees and an interesting looking white paper bag.

"Come in, come in," Sam bowed at the open door and swept his arm into the room. "You are a welcome sight, young man. Make yourself comfortable."

Silas laughed at Sam's goofing off and set up his load on the little kitchen table. Under his arm he had a sheaf of newspapers.

The younger Hunter took a chair, made himself comfortable and popped the top off his coffee. "Looks like we're going to make it to Nogales on a wave of excitement; take a look at these papers and maybe try to get the local news on the T.V."

Sam fiddled with the ancient box until he at least could hear a news station's sound even if the picture was pretty much crap. ",,,discovery of a cache of at least twelve bodies…" was what Sam heard. Silas shoved a newspaper at him and Sam caught sight of the headline: Dozens of bodies discovered in desert outside Nogales.

Dean came out of the bathroom, attracted by the sound of voices. "What's all the excitement about?"

"Here," Silas shoved another paper in Dean's direction. "Looks like we might be running off to join the circus."

"Crap," Sam complained. "This is going to make it tough for us to slip in and out of town. This will draw law enforcement like flies to shit."

"I thought you said this had been going on for a while, Sam." Dean spoke up. "No one has cared about these bone piles before. Why all the interest now?"

"Something's happened. It might be sheer quantity." Sam studied the newspapers and pulled out his laptop. "Let me have a few minutes."

As Sam clicked and muttered and generally made the noises that accompanied his research Dean and Silas turned to coffee and bagels and newspaper articles. It was quiet except for the bagel chewing.

"Damn rain." Sam snorted.

"Really, damning the rain, Sam?" Dean responded. "What have you got against the rain?"

"It's just that I bet these so called bodies are really just piles of bones. There was flash flooding around Nogales last week and I think the water has just brought all the bones from a bunch of different bodies out of the desert and piled them up somewhere. " Sam went on. "Now we're going to have a bunch of LEO's hanging around our necks making the job that much harder to do."

"If I'm right I don't understand why this has hit the papers so hard." Sam stretched his arms back and loosened his neck. "Any competent tracker would be able to tell what happened."

Silas pitched in. "Sam, that's all good but why are there so many loose piles of bones out in that desert? It doesn't sound right to me. So maybe the locals are paying attention because all the bones are in a big pile now but why are there so many dead people out in that desert?"

Sam was silent. "We need to take a look. I want to know how many separate bodies they've got and I want to see where they found the pile. Too many unanswered questions to be comfortable. You're right about one thing. There are way too many dead people out in that desert. Something's going on and we need to find out what."

XXXXXXX

Back in Quantico Aaron Hotchner unconsciously echoed Sam Winchester's comment. There were way too many dead people out in that desert. Something was going on and Hotchner thought they might be the people who could find out what it was.

As his group assembled in the main conference room he slid copies of the Phoenix office request for assistance down both sides of the table. Glancing around the table he gathered all eyes to him. "There was a large pile of human bones discovered in a dry wash outside Nogales, Arizona earlier this week. Phoenix claims that currently they suspect they have the remains of over a dozen people; men, women and children."

Reid had the first question. "Is the local office of the opinion that these people are possible murder victims? Isn't that area prime border-crossing territory? There are a lot of reasons why people die in the desert. Why are they asking for us?" He settled back down, tossed his hair out of his eyes and looked around the table at his fellow agents.

Hotchner answered. "I ask the same questions as soon as I saw the report. First of all, there has been and likely will continue to be a good deal of interest in the media simply because of the quantity of the bodies and the gruesomeness of the find."

"The preliminary inspection by forensic has discovered that a number of the skulls were crushed and the crush injuries are ante mortem. Most likely the injuries were the cause of death. There are also signs on various long bones and even ribs that are indicative of violent assaults. "

Several agents shifted around the table. Derek Morgan sat up straighter in his chair and picked up the Phoenix report again. Penny Garcia simply looked sick. "These people were beaten to death? Is that what they think?" She said quietly.

Rossi spoke up. "Is there any indication of what period of time these deaths covered?"

Derek now spoke up also. "What about missing persons? Can they identify any of these people?"

Hotchner held up a calming hand. "All those questions are being looked at as we speak. The FBI has already dispatched forensic people of our own. We've been asked to get there as soon as possible. People are working on the evidence right now and they should know a lot more by the time we get there. If everyone can get their travel bags together I'd like to take off within the hour. It's a further three hours in to Phoenix so let's go."

XXXXXXX

Sam, Dean and Silas stood on a hill top looking down into a dry wash at a number of tents fluttering in the desert wind. There were also police cars and plain dark sedans scattered around the landscape. People scurried back and forth from the wash to various tents, their hands full of whitish objects.

"As long as we are up here they are just going to take us for gawkers", Sam said. "We can't get any closer right now. We'd just draw attention to ourselves. "

"So what do you want to do?" Dean asked.

"We aren't doing any good out here. There's nothing we can see from this distance." Sam went on. "Let's get back into Nogales and find out where they are keeping the bones they brought in earlier. Then tonight you and Silas can see how far you can get and I'll stay out here and get up close as the cat,"

"Whoa," Dean objected. "I don't want you out here alone. You just got over getting shot in the ass in the daylight. All those people down there are very likely to be armed. I don't want you out here by yourself."

"Don't mother hen, Dean." Sam pouted. "I can take care of myself."

"No, we always know that we get in trouble when we split up. I'll drive you out here after we find the bones in town." Dean grimaced at the look on Sam's face. "Don't give me that dirty diaper look. You know I'm right."

XXXXXXX

Later that evening the Impala was parked behind a non-descript building at the hospital complex. Careful questioning of the local gossips had told the Winchesters where the forensic teams had set up their workshops and now three dark shadows drifted down the hospital's sterile hallways. As silent as possible and well aware of the precariousness of their position the three Hunters tried to sink into the shadows.

They could hear voices echoing in the empty halls and they followed those voices to a pair of double doors with inset glass windows. Now they simply waited, hoping that the scientists would at least take a break for a late dinner or something. Sam studied the room.

There are only three of them in there." Sam breathed. "If it comes to it we can just jump 'em."

"Really would rather not if we can help it," Dean responded. "I hope the word Winchester never even occurs to anybody around here."

They waited and luckily, for them and the investigators, the three scientists decided to take a coffee break. Once the room was empty the three hunters entered. Sam stood and looked over the neatly categorized piles of bones, each pile representing a human being. He studied the bones and ran his fingers over them. He picked up each skull and stared at the broken and fractured craniums.

After about five minutes he turned to his partners. "Seen enough?" he asked. Dean and Silas nodded and the three shadows drifted down the empty halls again.

There was the noise of a door opening at the end of the corridor. They froze and realized that a group of people were entering the building, blocking their exit. As quickly and silently as possible they retraced their steps, praying not to run into the three original scientists. There was a dark room directly opposite the examination room and Dean slipped ahead to pick the lock. In moments they were inside the room and carefully closing the door. Through the glass door pane they saw the arrival of the BAU team. It was their old friends, Penny and Reid and Morgan and everyone else. "Wonderful," Sam muttered.

The three original scientists appeared and everyone entered the examination room.

"Ok, let's go." Dean said and again dark, silent shadows attempted to flee the building. Once outside everyone breathed a sigh of relief and piled into the relative safety of the Impala. They pulled out of the lot and drove through downtown Nogales, looking for a motel.

Silas peered out the window. "God, this is like dropping back in time. It's like old time Mexico. Look at these buildings, they're older than me."

Sam laughed, "Yeah, they might be laying it on a little thick but this really is Nogales. The bigger part of the city is across the border in Mexico but this is what a border town looked like in the 50's. Nogales is an important link in the 'Sun Corridor' that stretches from Nogales to Prescott Arizona. It has 4 International Ports of Entry and up to 26 billion dollars' worth of trade funnels through Nogales into Arizona and the rest of the United States in a single year. They keep it looking good for the tourists but it is a vital link in the Arizona economy providing tens of thousands of jobs."

"If these bones aren't sorted out and the tourists get freaked it may turn into a big problem for this city. God help them all if these bodies turn out to be immigrants. No one is going to be happy if it turns out to be one of these vigilante groups gone hunting for people."

Dean found a motel down a side street and they pulled up under the vacancy sign. Dean popped out and rented a room and they all assembled inside, out of the sun. Silas appeared a little nervous.

"You guys are going to get me my own room later, aren't you? I don't mind what you get up to but I don't want to see it."

Dean clapped Silas on the shoulder. "And we don't want to provide you with a free peep show either. Don't worry, you'll get you own room in a while. Right now, let's figure out what we're going to do."

They assembled around the small kitchen table provided by the motel and laid out their case materials; newspapers, files, computer print outs, all kind of paper fluttered in the slight breeze created by the window air conditioner.

Sam started. "My attention was initially attracted by the number of reports of bones found in the deserts outside the Nogales pass, predominantly in the National Forest Areas. It seemed to me that piles of bones were being discovered with disturbing regularity and the discoveries were being ignored by the local authorities. They attributed the deaths to exposure. Mexican nationals cross the Arizona border regularly and some get lost in the deserts. They die of thirst, exposure and even local predators. Too often they are young women and children. The authorities' attitude is 'Too bad, they shouldn't have been there in the first place'. It has gotten so common that there is one local guy who goes out along the main trails and plants water bottles so people don't die.

Silas and Dean began picking up individual reports that Sam had tracked down and reading details. Sam went on.

"However, from what I can see a lot of these deaths don't look natural. What we saw tonight backs me up. A great many of the injuries left on the bones suggest violence and not the violence of jaguars or mountain lions or dog packs. A lot of those people had their skulls crushed. It takes a lot of strength to crush a normal skull and some of these had actual pieces of bone missing. They had arms and legs broken. Snapped like twigs. Ribs were broken in multiple pieces. It looks to me like these people were run down and killed. I have no idea what could cause those kinds of injuries and it looks like the local cops can't figure it out either."

Dean added. "That why they called in the big guns from the FBI, do you think? Those people are that BAU group out of Quantico. They have their own plane. You don't call them in on a whim."

Silas agreed. "I would think that you could get your butt handled to you if you cost the government all that money to haul those people out here without a good reason." The young Hunter paused. "What do you think we should do next?"

"I want to go out and have a quiet stroll through the night." Sam said.

Dean snorted. "You just want to let the cat out. Do you think it would do any good for you to get lost in the dark?

"I'll tell you what, mother." Sam responded. "Drive me out to that hill we were on earlier and I'll scout just that surrounding area. I'll even take my phone in the cat pouch so that I can call if I get into trouble" Sam shook his head. "Although a giant cat with a cell phone just makes me laugh."

"Alright, I'll take you. But just that area, agreed?" Dean glared at his brother. "I think it would be smart to wait until tomorrow morning and see if we can listen to the BAU talk about what they find out."

"How do we do that without getting arrested?" Sam asked. "Remember a little thing like the Most Wanted List? Those people put us back on it."

"Yeah," Dean squatted down in front of the little refrigerator and brought out a beer. "But they don't have any idea who Silas is. We can send him into the meeting with an open phone. We can eavesdrop and our pals from the FBI won't have a clue. Sad though. I wouldn't mind making friends all over again with Penny."

Sam rolled his eyes. "That guy Morgan will rip your head off if you make a move on Penny again. He didn't like you the first time around."

XXXXXXX

They waited for the moon to rise and returned to their lookout post on top of the hills. Sam got in the back seat to have room to change. Silas sat in the shot gun seat and turned sideways to watch the transformation. He found it fascinating and reached back to open the door for Sam once he was fully a cat once more. Sam became Maahes and glided out of his clothes and out the door. The dramatic departure was ruined a little by Sam's shirt getting snagged on Maahes tail but It was flipped off to the side and the big cat melted into the shadows.

Dean whispered loudly. "You get back here in under an hour or I'm come out to look for you. I mean it, little brother. Stay to hell out of trouble."

Maahes drifted peacefully through the brush. Here and there he disturbed another night traveler but everything was small. The skittering of mice, the quiet cheeping of ground nesting birds, the sweep of owl's wings; everything spoke to him of normalcy. He was the most dangerous thing on the hillside and all the other life avoided him.

He was almost to the bottom of the hill when he came across a few widely dispersed bones that had been evidently left behind by the flash flood. Following the marks of running water in the dirt he came to the place where debris had been caught up against an ancient sandbar in the dry wash. Small pieces of left behind bone fragments twinkled in the sand. He nudged them around with his nose but any scent they had retained had been washed away by water and rough treatment. He considered trying to trace them back to their point of origin.

"Anyone out there?" came a shout out of the darkness and a light appeared in a tent beside the wash. There appeared to be guards left behind. Maahes flinched as a flashlight exploded in his eyes.

"Jesus Christ! What the hell is that?" a man's shocked voice rang out and Maahes turned and ran. If he got shot again Dean would never let him live it down. His four huge paws pounded sand, leaving small fountains of dust falling behind. He could hear the men scrabbling behind him and a few shots were fired in the dark.

"Where did it go?" shouted one voice. "What the hell was it?' shouted another but the men were hampered by darkness and Maahes fled in the enveloping gloom.

At the top of the hill Dean was having a meltdown. He had heard the shots and now Silas was holding him back from charging down the hill directly into the line of fire. "Hold on Dean. Give Sam a minute. Just wait." Doses of common sense were bouncing off the Big Brother persona. A few more tugs and Dean would be free.

Out of the dark a huge tawny cat leaped and hit Dean right in the chest, knocking him down to the ground and standing on him. A big rough tongue licked his face and a two hundred pound cat sat on his legs, pinning him down. Slowly the cat morphed into a naked Sam Winchester, laughing in Dean's face.

"Get the hell off of me, you naked buffoon." Dean wheezed, trying to suck oxygen into his suddenly emptied lungs. "Get dressed you pervert."

Sam padded away to the car. Dean sat up and extended an arm to Silas for help getting up. "Well, if that didn't hang out a giant neon sign flashing 'Winchesters Here!', I don't know what else would."


	6. Chapter 6- The Desert Monster

ooOoo

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 6

**The Desert Monster**

Another morning and Silas found himself knocking at the door of the Winchester brothers' room again. He'd been up since dawn and carried coffee and Danish this time. He had carefully thought about his cover story for the BAU meeting and decided to go as a press 'stringer'. He dressed in neat dark blue dress pants, a pale blue dress shirt and was wearing a watch, a press I.D. tag on a lanyard around his neck and had a small notebook and pen in his shirt pocket. He thought he pulled off the look pretty well and was anxious to see what Dean would say.

He knocked again and heard shuffling noises behind the door. It slowly opened and one bright green eye peeked out through the crack.

"Good morning, Silas." Dean Winchester said and opened the door all the way. A pair of loose sweat pants hung tenuously to Dean's narrow hips and that was it as far as clothing went. His chest, feet and arms were naked. Silas looked over Dean's shoulder and saw Sam in full cat mode, rubbing his face on the bed pillows and kneading the coverlet. The long tail was flicking back and forth and his spine arched up and down as he was evidently really enjoying clawing the hell out of that mattress.

Silas sat his breakfast offering on the kitchen table and sighed. "Do you guys ever stop?"

Maahes turned and stared at Silas then growled deep in this chest. Dean turned and walked to the bed and put his hand on his brother's head and scratched behind an ear. "You got a problem with us, Silas?"

The cat reached up with a giant paw and pushed Dean down on the bed. He held Dean down and started giving his brother a bath, with his tongue. First he attacked Dean's face and licked enthusiastically. Dean rolled his head from side to side. "Stop it, Sam. Stop it!" he shouted but Sam paid no attention.

Dean tried to block with his arms. "Let me up, damn it. We have a visitor, you pervert."

Sam glanced again at Silas who was laughing into his coffee cup. With one last long lick to Dean's ear, Sam let him go.

"God damn it." Dean huffed and sat down at the table after escaping the bed. "You might be right. Maybe I should get my own room tonight and take a break."

Dean picked up a coffee. "You look pretty good. Supposed to be press for the meeting?"

"Do you think I can pull it off?" Silas asked, carefully staring at Dean's face because he could hear noises from the other side of the room that were a lot like someone getting dressed and he didn't want to see Sam naked again.

"I think it's great." Dean replied. "What do you think, Sam?" The other Winchester came up to the table in human form and sat down next to Silas.

"Really very good. Perfect for you, a young guy just setting out in the business; you pull it off really well." Sam tugged the deli bag over and peered inside, finally taking out a cheese Danish. "We need to jack another car. I don't think we should ride up in front of the police station in the Impala. Not after last night."

"Yeah, thanks to you Mr. I Want to be a Kitty Cat." Dean grumbled. "I knew it was a crap idea. If they don't say Winchesters at least three times during this briefing my feelings will be hurt."

XXXXXXX

The BAU briefing was scheduled for 9 AM in the local police squad room and by that time every chair was taken. Late comers were lined up along the back wall and among those lining the wall was a young, fresh-faced blonde stringer for a Phoenix paper that no one recognized.

The various members of the BAU appear in front and began speaking. After introductions and thank yous to the local police the profilers laid out their conclusions.

Aaron Hotchner spoke first. "The forensic scientists have all claimed that they have never seen anything like the bone damage to these skeletons. The best they have given us is that the cranial damage was done with something like a very large claw headed hammer but a hammer made out of or covered by an organic substance called keratin, "

Dr. Reid took up the briefing. "We can find absolutely no common object that fits the description provided. Additionally the damage done to the long bones and ribs are not attributable to the same object. This other damage might have been inflicted with something like a baseball bat. Until we retrieve a body with more material covering the bones we cannot make a more complete description of the weapon used."

Next Derek Morgan spoke. "Regardless of the weapon used these are very violent injuries. The unsub is driven by great anger or is mentally unbalanced. It does not matter if the victim is a man or woman or even a small child, they are all treated with the same extreme violence. The Unit members have agreed that this most likely is the work of a healthy, strong middle aged man. He is a loner with perhaps extreme views regarding outsiders. He cannot accept anyone outside of his very restricted group and he may regard those outsiders as prey."

Finally David Rossi spoke. "This man may live outside of the city. As a matter of fact it is extremely likely that he lives in the hills where the bodies were found. No one should enter this area alone until the unsub is found and contained. Any questions?"

One of the T.V. correspondents called out, "Are you saying some kind of mountain man vigilante is out in those hills?"

Rossi took that question. "The motivation of the unsub is currently undescribed."

"Does that mean you don't know?' the same correspondent asked.

"Yes, that means we don't know why he is doing this." Rossi answered again calmly.

In the back of the room Silas raised a buzzing phone to his ear. "Find out if they are considering search parties." A little voice asked and Silas joined the group with raised arms. When he could not attract any attention he called out "Are you sending out search parties?" His question, for some reason, cut through the buzz of other voices and was repeated by several other correspondents.

Hotchner raised his hands for silence. "The question of search parties or anyone else entering that area has been left up to the local Sheriff, Sheriff Rogers, and I have no doubt he'll be available after our briefing but there is one more thing I would like to say."

Hotch turned and picked up a flyer. "These men may have been seen in the local area. They drive a 1967 Chevy Impala and may have a very large, dangerous animal with them."

One of the newspaper reporters yelled out. "Hey, these are the Winchesters. I heard about what happened in St. Louis. Do you think the Winchester Lion is loose in the hills?"

His outburst caused the other reporters to converge, smelling a good story and the rest of the briefing faded away in the general confusion.

Silas stood in the back with the phone to his ear. "You guys hear all that?" he asked.

The only response he got was "Oh, crap."

XXXXXXX

"We have to go tonight." Sam exclaimed. "Tonight is going to be our last chance. By tomorrow the hunters of all kinds will be out in force and some of them might get killed by whatever is preying on people in the hills; either by that or by the idiots shooting each other. We have to go tonight."

"Too damn dangerous, Sam," Dean responded. "I don't like it. Those hills might be crawling with deputies. You'll get yourself shot for sure."

"Dean, some day you are going to have to learn to trust me." Sam grumbled back. "Get a leash and come with me. I'll pull you along as far as you can keep up. Will that make you happy? You 'll be right there if anything happens but I'm telling you it's either tonight or somebody's going to die on our watch."

The three Hunters sat down and Sam pointed out the area he wanted to cover. "I felt something out there just before I went down into the gully. There were all kinds of nocturnal animals all over that hillside except to the north. The north was silent."

Sam tapped his finger on a geologic map of the area. To the north of the wash was a twisted landscape of desert and canyons. "This is where I want to go."

They had taken a car from a salvage yard and were hoping that no one would notice there was one less junker out back. Dean had worked his magic and the car ran. That was the extent of it. The car ran and would get them wherever they wanted to go but there would be no problem with leaving it behind anywhere. It had taken Silas to the briefing and now, in the late afternoon just at sunset, it was taking Sam and Dean out to the area that Sam wanted to scout. Silas had been left behind to keep an eye on the local police station and was to let the Winchesters know if it looked like search parties were forming.

Dean had 'liberated' another junker for Silas and was worried that somebody was going to notice the missing inventory sooner or later. Hopefully they would be out of Nogales in the next couple of days and the problem would solve itself. Now he was more concerned about sticking with Sam. Dean knew it had come down to either he took Sam where Sam wanted to go or Sam would go by himself; as Maahes Sam could cover unbelievable stretches of real estate.

So now Dean was walking out in the desert with a giant cat by his side. At Sam's suggestion he was carrying a loaded rifle over his shoulder. He remembered Sam's words when they got out of the car. "I smell a carnivore, some kind of meat eater. Make sure you're really ready to take it out."

There was a loud cry from out of the darkness and Dean froze and raised the gun. Maahes growled in turn and threw his head up, scenting the air. With a hiss the cat bounded away. Dean couldn't see anything specific but he heard something big. There was another sharp, high pitched scream from the darkness and he heard the yowl of the big cat as it answered. These were challenges being tossed back and forth over the desert floor.

He tried to think what could make that kind of scream and it was like nothing he had ever heard before. The cry combined the call of a hunting hawk and the scream of a modern jaguar. Again he heard Maahes offer challenge and the predator retuned the cry. Then there was a scream from Maahes but it was closer than the previous one. There was a pounding noise and the cry of the other predator also sounded closer.

Dean realized that the pounding sound was the noise made by paws hitting the dry sand of the desert. Sam was continuously growling and Dean realized his brother was being pursued. Sam was racing towards him and bringing the unknown predator with him. Dean raised the rifle again and prepared to fire.

Sam appeared suddenly out of the darkness, running at top speed. The cat slid and stood behind Dean, out of the way with his tail wrapped around one of Dean's legs and his head poking out the other side, looking back intently. Dean saw a swiftly moving giant shadow and he fired, ejected the shell and fired again. The shots hardly slowed the shadow down but after a few more staggering steps, it began to fall. Dean re-loaded and pumped a couple more shells in to the pile of darkness, just to make absolutely sure then started walking forward to see what he had brought down.

He didn't think it was a man, it had been far too tall and much too fast. But when he reached the body he was beyond shocked. "Sam, what the hell am I looking at?"

Sam was still Maahes and he stepped forward and poked the creature's head with a paw. In a moment a tall naked guy was squatting beside the carcass of a giant bird.

"I'm pretty sure it's a member of the Phorusrhacidae family, perhaps a Titanis walleri" Sam answered.

"Do you have any idea of how ridiculous you are, sitting naked beside a giant ugly bird and spouting Latin?" Dean said. "Translation please."

Sam looked up. "It's a giant South American Terror Bird. They were once the apex predator of that continent during the days of the early Pleistocene. They died out two and a half million years ago. The species T. walleri were the only ones that made it up to North America after the formation of the Panama volcanic bridge.

Dean looked again at the carcass. The creature had a bird like appearance if you could imagine a bird ten feet tall with a vicious looking hooked beak. It had the three toed feet of a bird but the scaly looking skin of a reptile. Here and there on the body, predominately on the head and along the sides of its scrawny wings there were yellow feathers banded with reddish marks. The beak was incredible. Dean got the shivers just imagining being pecked by the hooked beak.

"So you think this is our killer?" Dean asked. "And what the hell is it doing here two and a half million years out of its time? "

"No clue," Sam replied. "It's a Cryptid, an animal unclassified by science. They are mostly considered legendary. We're looking at one but it's best left alone now. It has lived out of its time and world. I'm hoping it's the last of its kind. We need to burn this."

"I should look into the canyon it came out of," Sam went on. "Try and make sure that there aren't any more. I'll go look through the other canyons for its nest."

They walked back to the car and Dean called Silas.

"We got it." he said. "You got to come see it. It's a freaking giant bird. Ugliest bird ever, hands down. What's going on back there?"

"Well, go talk to one of them. Maybe the one they call Rossi. He seems like a reasonable guy. But we're going to need you out here by dawn. OK, can you tell by the GPS? OK, see you then."

"What's up, Dean?" Sam asked. "Why are you telling Silas to go talk to Rossi?"

"The kid pointed out that the BAU isn't going to leave for no reason. They are also going to have to stop the Sheriff for hunting for their imaginary vigilante." Dean explained. " I think Rossi is the most approachable. If Silas can get him to listen they both should be out here in a while."

In a few hours Silas's junker appeared. Silas stepped out of the car with his hands up. Rossi got out of the back seat and Derek Morgan appeared out of the front passenger seat with his gun drawn."

"Oh, crap," Dean said. "What the hell happened, Silas?"

"Morgan heard me talking to Rossi. He wouldn't let Rossi come out here by himself and he refused to believe me that you aren't the bad guys. You Winchesters really have to get your reputation cleaned up. It makes doing this stuff really hard," Silas looked back at Morgan. "Can I put my hands down? I'm losing circulation here."

Morgan grunted. "Your friend says you have the killer. Is that true?"

"Sure," Dean said. "Come on, I'll show you the body." Dean stood and brushed the dust from his jeans.

"You killed him?" Morgan snapped.

"You bet your sweet ass I did." Dean snapped back. "Come on and take a look. By the way, your profile sucked."

Morgan looked around. "Where's Sam?"

"He's out having a midnight run. Sometimes I just have to let him off the leash or he gets all cranky." Dean replied. "Does everyone have a flashlight? If you don't I've got some spares."

Dean and Silas's relaxed attitudes finally got to Morgan and even though he had them walk in front of him he wasn't quiet as tense as before. When they walked up to the body of the Terror Bird, Rossi went nuts."

"What the hell is that?"

"Sam says it's a South American Terror Bird and that it doesn't have any right to be here. You can see the beak that pounded those people on the head. The damn thing was pecking at them. Sam figures it ran them down and kicked them until they couldn't move and then took its time pecking them to death."

Dean stood looking down at the ugly thing. "You guys really blew the hell out of that profile by the way. We brought you out here to see this so you could come up with some story to tell the Sheriff. Please don't let them send out any search parties."

Morgan's hand was grabbed and his gun went flying. He turned but found himself firmly secured in Sam Winchester's arms.

"Nobody invited you to this party, Morgan." Sam said. "We don't need your attitude. Either help or get out of the way."

"Hi, Sam." Dean said. "All clear out there?"

"Yes," he replied. "I covered those canyons and all the surrounding desert. I only found the one set of tracks. I can't find the rest of his possible nest. Who knows? Maybe another lead will come up sometime. This area looks clear though. Why are we playing footsie with the BAU?"

"We need some help getting this body moved and burned." Dean said. "I sent Silas to talk to Rossi about backing down the investigation and Morgan caught him. Look on the bright side. They came in the junker. They won't be getting back anytime soon if I don't want them to."

Now there were five men in the desert and Dean sweet talked Morgan into helping tie ropes to the Terror Bird and drag it into a canyon to be burned. Since it was still dark the smoke didn't bring any fire spotters out and the canyon walls reflected the fire inward. The flames were not visible elsewhere. Rossi objected to the destruction of the body on the basis of scientific curiosity but Dean called bullshit.

"Let's just let it lie. No one else needs to know as long as you guys can calm the Sheriff down. No more people will die in the desert as Happy Meals for something that doesn't even belong in our world. We're out of here. We have something strange going on elsewhere. You guys want dropped off near the Sheriff's office? I promise you that junker won't make it back to town. The bubble gum I used to hold the carburetor in place will be drying out soon."

"That comment finally brought a smile to Morgan's face and they all entered junker number one and drove back to Nogales. The car didn't sound good but Dean said it would make it so no one panicked.

Dean dropped Morgan and Rossi about a half mile from the Sheriff's station and pointed out the street they needed to follow. Before they pulled away Dean leaned out the window.

"Listen guys. We really aren't the bad guys here or anywhere else. " He fumbled in the glove compartment. "If for some reason you need to reach us, like if you come across some more of these birds, call Sheriff Jody Mills in Sioux Falls, South Dakota." Dean handed over one of Jody's office blank cards. "If you ask the Sheriff outright she won't know us but if you want to send a letter or fax it'll reach us pretty quick. Just tell her the message is urgent."

Dean pulled away, leaving the two agents in the early morning light.


	7. Chapter 7 - Something Nasty in the Water

ooOoo

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 7

**Something Nasty in the Water**

Ron Elbert was swimming off the shore of Corpus Christi in the East Bay, between the city proper and the Padre Island National seashore. He loved this bay and would swim as long as his tank held out, exploring the bay floor, hoping for glimpses of ocean life and maybe a rare sea turtle sighting. He was close enough to the seashore that when he rose to the top of the water he could see the white sand dunes and glory in the silence with only the calls of the migratory birds to break the stillness.

He made this dive as often as he could get away for a weekend and he knew diving solo was stupid but Jack was on the boat if something happened Jack would look out for him. He wanted to be alone with the water and the wide sky.

Floating on the top of the waves he washed out his goggles again and prepared to drop down through the depths to the world below. Slowly sinking he passed through a school of fish and felt the pull of adventure deep down in the lower darkness. Air bubbles rose and danced beside him and he felt so at peace; all his daily worries and problems washed away in the water.

Interrupting his dive was a sudden itching on his calf, an odd itching. As a matter of fact why would anything itch? He was wearing wet suit. Itching was not a good sign. Then the sensation became more than an itch; it became a burning, like a really bad rash. He twisted around in the water trying to get a look at his calf.

Oh God, there was something attached to his leg. He flippered anxiously and tried to rise in the water, closer to the light. He was close enough to the surface to make out some details. It looked like maybe a horseshoe clam, a really big one but it was too long and its back had deeper ridges than a clam. The pain in his leg steadily increased and he realized the damn thing had made it through the latex of his dive suit. It was in contact with his naked skin and the pain was ratcheting up, way past an itch, beyond a rash; the damn thing was eating him, chewing on the flesh of his leg.

With more light the creature came in to focus. It looked like a huge cockroach. The bile rose in his throat and he kicked viciously, trying to dislodge the horrible thing.

Momentarily he was distracted from his frantic fight by another creature floating in the water. It was indistinct and the water rippled its form but it looked like a woman, or the statue of a woman. She was green and wore a long skirt. Her hair was bound in heavy circlets over her ears and her eyes were fascinated by his struggles. More pain flooded him from the creature attached to his leg and to his horror he saw another one of the creatures appear from under the hem of her skirt. He gave up the attempt to kick the creature off and swam as hard as he could for Jack and the safety of the boat.

His head broke the surface and he threw off his equipment. He was screaming, trying to attract Jack's attention. The pain in his leg was getting intense and he was in a panic. If the second creature fastened on him he didn't know how he could keep going. He saw Jack's head rise from whatever the man had been screwing around with and moments later he could hear the roar of the engine. He still swam with everything he had trying to flee the second creature and when he saw the boat turn in a tight circle and head for him it was the most beautiful thing he had seen all day.

XXXXXXX

Jack Morning heard his customer's screams and looked out over the water. The diver was swimming frantically throwing up churning water in his path. It looked serious and Jack hit the start button and moved as fast as possible. He could not imagine what the guy was running from. These waters were not particularly dangerous and the boat captain had never run into anything like a shark here but something was scaring the piss out of his diver.

It took only minutes to come up next to the swimming man and Jack was there to throw out a life preserver and start tugging the guy in towards the ladder. The man never stopped screaming and when the man finally stood on a ladder rung Jack could see something attached to his leg.

Jack goggled at the creature. It really looked like a two foot long cockroach. There was a multitude of swimming legs hanging down from its body, all of them paddling furiously. It had long antenna sweeping back over its body and was colored the green of a mossy rock. If had the flat dead eyes found only in fish and Jack didn't even want to know what it was doing to the guy's leg. As the diver's body left the water the thing fell off, back into the water. Jack saw blood flooding down the man's leg. There was a huge hole in the man's wet suit and chewed tissue was leaking blood like a pump; long tendrils floated in the water.

Jack followed the blood path and unbelievably saw the head of a woman in the water. She looked like one of those stone carvings on the Aztec stela Jack had seen down in Mexico with her hair bound in braids circling her head and the wide nostrils and deep cut eyes. The plume of blood in the water ended at her lips.

"Holy, crap," Jack yelled. Then the woman disappeared, sinking down deeper in the water. The giant cockroach had also disappeared and Jack hoped to heaven the filthy thing wasn't hanging on to the bottom of his boat.

He rolled the diver over on his back on the deck and ran for the first aid kit deciding along the way that there wasn't anything in that kit big enough to cover the chewed muscle of the diver's leg but he was going to try. When he ran back with the box in his hand he was truly shocked at the amount of blood all over the boat deck. He did the best he could, wrapping a whole roll of gauze around the man's calf and the covering the guy up with the silver thermal blanket from the kit. Ron opened his eyes.

"What the hell was that, Jack?" the wounded man asked.

"I have no idea, Ron. I never saw anything like that before." Jack's hands were shaking. "I got to get you to a doctor. Can you just lie still for me?"

"Did you see her?" Ron asked.

Jack stopped and stared, "You mean the woman in the water? Did you see that too?"

"Yes, I saw her." Ron rolled back and forth in agony. "They came from her. What was she? How can this stuff be happening?"

Jack patted Ron on the chest. "I don't know, man. I don't know anything except you need a hospital. I'm going to call this into the Shore Patrol and try and get us some help right now. "

Jack stood and started to run away then turned around to Ron again. "Ron, you know what? I don't think we should be talking to anyone about the woman in the water. OK? Let's just keep it between us for now. OK, Ron,….Ron?"

The wounded man had blessedly passed out and wasn't answering any questions.

XXXXXXX

Jack stood in the hospital waiting room along with a couple of Shore Patrol officers. The Shore Patrol had responded quickly to the radioed medical help needed signal and Ron had been rushed by boat ambulance to the Kingston Hospital. Ron had remained unconscious for the entire trip and now Jack was stuck with the officers who were not buying Jack's story.

These officers had patrolled the Bay's waters for years and no one had ever seen any sea creature resembling a two foot long cockroach, ever. They thought something else was going on but what it could be no one could imagine. Nor could either officer understand why Jack would tell such a story.

"You're just going to have to wait for Ron to wake up if you don't believe me." Jack grumbled. "I got a business to run. I need to get out of here."

"Who is this Ron Elbert guy, Jack?" asked Casey Monaghan, a longtime member of the Patrol. Casey knew everyone up and down the coast. He knew Jack Morning as a reputable charter boat captain who had been in business for years. Why Jack would lie about something like this was baffling.

"I think he's an accountant, I don't really know. He's been a good customer for years. Never had any trouble with him before and I swear I saw that thing attached to his leg. Just the look of it made me want to hurl. What the hell is getting dumped into that bay?" Jack was getting very upset with the constant nagging. "I told you what I know and what I saw. Believe it or don't believe it, I don't care."

Jack stomped out of the hospital waiting room in a huff. Casey watched him go and then turned to face the doctor would had miraculously appeared just as the only witness to the accident had stormed out. Now it was Casey's turn to be poked, prodded and disbelieved.

"Doc, I have no idea what chewed on that guy. The story we were given is that it was a giant water breathing cockroach and we're having a little trouble swallowing that story." Jack responded to the doctor's question.

"Well, something chewed on that guy and it was something nasty." The doctor glanced at his notes. "No big tooth marks and it doesn't look like the bite of anything I've seen before. If I had to come up with a description of the damage I would have to say it looks like the guy was grated, like with a cheese grater. The surface and the underlying muscle have been planned off smoothly to an equal depth all over the surface of the wound." The doctor shook his head. "Hell of a wound and bled like you wouldn't believe. That's why he's still out. Blood pressure is through the floor. The guy leaked quarts."

Jack decided to keep to himself the fact that there had been two other recent attacks with the same wound characteristics. The victims had also been brought in by the shore Patrol but had gone to different hospitals. The pressure on the Shore Patrol was mounting and this third attack might just blow the top off the kettle. The Chamber of Commerce and all the big business people in the area did not want any tourists getting the idea that there was something nasty in the water off Corpus Christi. Tourist season was year around but late fall and early winter were peak season.

XXXXXXX

"Hey, Garth," Dean answered his phone. "What's up? We're in Nogales, Arizona. Right. Really? Corpus Christi? OK, how much they offering? Let me talk it over with Sam and Silas and I'll call you back. Bye."

"Hey Sam, " Dean yelled at the bathroom door. "Come on out. We've been offered another Park Service job."


	8. Chapter 8 - Corpus Christi Sprint

ooOoo

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 8

**Corpus Christi Sprint**

Sam appeared through the bathroom door; bare-chested, jeans slung low on his hips and rubbing his hair dry with a towel.

For a moment Dean froze, his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth. He wanted to help with that rub down; wanted to help a hell of a lot but glanced to the side where Silas was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper and drinking his morning coffee.

"What's up, Dean?' Sam asked. "Was that Garth?"

"Yeah," Dean responded and swept his eyes up and down Sam's body, making sure his little brother got the message. "He's got a lead on something strange going on down in Corpus Christi and we're the Hunters with the Park Service connections. Something's going on at the Padre Island National Seashore and the Park Service has requested our presence again."

Silas raised his head. "Really? Isn't that where the big Spring Break parties happen? Why would it be called a National Seashore? What's it got to do with the Park Service?"

"Silas," Dean chortled. "I didn't know you were a horn dog. Anyway, doesn't matter, you got the wrong Padre Island. There are two of them. The one you're thinking of is South Padre Island; big party island. Not only Spring Break but a lot of conventions set up there too. Padre Island National Seashore is a hundred mile barrier island further out in the bay that's a National Park and Wild Life Refuge. No parties there. As a matter of fact you have to backpack out your trash if you go camping and the wild life is limited to the kind with four legs or feathers."

"So what's there for us?" Sam asked as he picked out a shirt and pulled it on. Dean sighed as the pretty scenery disappeared.

"Garth was a little vague. Gave me the name of a Ranger to hook up with and said something about divers getting attacked and something strange in the water. We'll just have to see when we get there." Dean sighed again and felt his hands itching for the feel of Sam's skin. "Come on, Silas brought Danish and coffee. Let's eat and get ready to hit the road."

Sam broke into Dean's plans. "Wait a minute. Do you really think we're done here? What if there are more of these birds out there?"

"Sam, you're the one that has sympathy for these monsters. What do you want to do? Hunt down the rest of the nest?" Dean asked.

Sam stopped and thought. "No, you're right. These things have survived millions of years past their expiration date. If there is a small population out in the desert or in Gila National Park, as long as they don't start hunting people again we don't have a right to kill them off just because they're ugly. Maybe this one we found was sick or something. Doesn't mean that Nogales is going to do down under a herd of them. If it did happen I bet the BAU guys will call us."

Dean slapped Sam on the back. "That's the spirit, Sam. All us monsters have to stick together."

Sam's bitch face came out in full force and Silas emitted a yelp.

"So you're ready to include yourself in among the monsters now?" Sam asked. Then Silas threw in his nickel's worth; "Does that make me the chief monster keeper?" Dean laughed at the looks on both their faces.

"Yes, Sammy," Dean smiled. "I'm right in with the rest of you. And Silas," he turned to the younger man. "You can call yourself the monster keeper if you want. Just remember that our Hunter's motto is not 'kill it if it's not human'. Our motto is now 'we kill it if it's evil'. Get the idea?"

"Sure, Dean." Silas smiled at his partners. "No problem. Sounds good to me." He went back to reading his paper with a shake of his head.

"So what are we going to do about settling down the publicity about this 'serial killer' the papers have whipped up?" Sam asked.

Dean thought carefully for a minute. "Hey, Silas."

The young blonde looked up from his paper again. "What 'cha need, monster?"

"Smart ass." Dean grumbled. "Now I've got two of 'em. Why don't you call up your buddy Morgan and see what he and Rossi could come up with?"

Sam snorted. "Good idea. I don't know if you noticed but I kind'a think that maybe Morgan likes the sweet young thing look."

"Watch it, cat boy." Silas bounced back. "I don't swing that way. God knows this parade needs a straight guy and that's me." Even while sniping back at the Winchesters Silas was pulling out his cell phone and pressing a single button.

"Ha," Sam barked. "See, you got Morgan on speed dial already. Don't tell me nothing's going on."

"Shut up, monster number two," Silas responded. "I'll get your leash out."

"Oh, Hi Morgan." Silas spoke into his phone. "It's Silas, Silas with the Winchesters. How are you this morning? Paradigm shift settling down for you?" He laughed at Morgan's response. "No we aren't coming in to help you explain anything. As a matter of fact, we've been called in someplace else and we're taking off and we're landing you with the baby."

Silas listened for a while, his smile getting larger by the second. "Tough. You're just going to have to come up with something. Talk it over with Rossi, he seems like a clever guy. The Winchester circus is rolling out of town. Hunters never explain, they just do what they do and shut up about it. You want logic, do a sudoku."

Silas's smile got larger and he laughed at whatever Morgan was saying. "Love you too and, no, I'm not giving you their numbers. I'll call you if I need you and good luck with the press and the local authorities. Bye."

Silas snapped his phone shut. "I suggest we haul our asses out of here before Morgan gets really cranky."

XXXXXXX

They loaded up the Impala and left Nogales on the same road that they came in by, starting the first leg of their one thousand mile trip. They turned east before they got to Socorro, New Mexico and headed for El Paso on the I-10. Dean thought about the wonderful shower stall at the motel in Socorro but there was no time now to loop up and have a replay of the fun they had there. Besides, what would they do with Silas, invite him in? No, Dean decided. It was just a fantasy. A nice fantasy but they would have to leave Socorro as just a fond memory.

They drove through the day, passing East of Gila National Forest and headed for the Texas panhandle. They ran close to the Mexican border all the way down through West Texas and watched the arid landscape flee past the windows of the Impala. A hundred miles past Cuidad Juarez Dean and Sam exchanged seats so they could just keep driving straight through. As the sun set and lit up the sky with red and orange slashes they just kept going, the Impala eating up the miles in a thousand mile dash.

Dean smiled to himself. There was nothing like a Detroit muscle car to move bodies around the American landscape. Vast distances fell in front of her grill. Night wind blew through his rolled down window and Dean laid his head back on the seat, watching the star filled sky pass over head. They were pretty far away from any significant light sources and this sky was the same sky that had been overhead for thousands of years. The sense of the deeps of time always came to him in the dark of night, riding in the Impala. Without the reality of the car he could be anywhere in time, any century. Gradually his eyes closed in sleep.

Sam glanced at his sleeping brother and a look in the rear view showed no sign of Silas either so Sam figured the younger man was also down for the count. The miles continued to slip past and Sam made the transition to slip south of San Antonio. Now their only remaining target was the port of Corpus Christi itself. He estimated they would hit the city around 2 AM, a sixteen hour drive from Nogales and that was pretty good time. They had stopped twice to buy food but he was as proud of the Impala as Dean, if that was possible.

He had noticed a little while back the change in the air from arid desert to a humid sub-tropical feeling. He could feel the water in the air and the warmth of the night closing in on him. A child of the more arid western states, Sam was not particularly comfortable with this softer, damper southern climate.

Around 1:30 Sam saw the lights of Corpus Christi ahead and slowed looking for an off ramp. He had decided they deserved a little uptown treatment and he pulled off on to Leopard Street and started looking for a classier mote l than they were used to. He figured Dean could let go of some of his secret money stash and perhaps stop channeling John Winchester for a change. After hours of being cramped up in the front seat Sam's legs were crying out for room to stretch.

He pulled into a Ramada Inn and poked his brother awake.

"Come on Dean, wake up and go to bed." Sam laughed.

"Where are we, Sam?" Dean sat up and looked around at the well-lit parking lot and the clean looking buildings. "A Ramada Inn? Somebody leave you money I don't know about?"

"Don't be cheap, lover." Sam said. "My legs hurt and you've drooled on the seat cover. Let's pretend to be people for a change and live it up. I want a warm shower and a decent sized bed with clean sheets." Sam put his hand out for Dean's wallet, got it, pushed open the driver's door and headed for the office. Dean watched through the window as Sam took care of everything then came back to get Dean and Silas out of the car.

Silas huffed and shivered and Dean pulled his way out of the passenger seat, unwinding his legs as well. Sammy took care of everything and escorted his crew to adjoining first floor rooms.

"Tomorrow we'll find out just what kind of monster we're going to be paid to take care of. Tonight we sleep."


	9. Chapter 9 - Padre Island Hunt

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 9

**Padre Island Hunt**

Morning in Corpus Christi came blasting in the window. Far away there were the cries of sea birds and the whistle of ocean going vessels leaving their berths on the early morning tide.

Sam sat up and stretched, yawning. He glanced at the expanse of freckled golden skin beside him. Dean was laid face down and snuffling into his pillow. For just a moment Sam contemplated running his fingers over that skin, delicately circling each freckle and then kissing each spot. But then he thought of the day before them and decided he should get Dean's motor running in an entirely different way.

Sam flicked his brother's covers off and smacked the nearest ass cheek sharply. "Rise and shine, Princess," he ordered. "We got work to do."

"Jesus Christ, Sam," Dean snarled. "That's a hell of a way to wake up. Keep your hands to yourself." He rolled and grappled for the non-existent comforter.

"No, no, no," Sam chortled. "No going back to sleep; we have people to see and places to go." He put a foot on Dean's hip and pushed.

Dean grabbed at the mattress to keep from getting pushed off the bed on to the floor and rose up ready to fight back but little brother was off the bed and half way to the bathroom.

"Too slow, old man," Sam teased. "I'll leave you some hot water. Why don't you order breakfast?"

Dean grumbled and cursed but sat up thoroughly awake now and grimaced back at his nice warm bed. Just to make it all perfect, there was a brisk knock at the door. Grabbing a sheet off the floor Dean whipped it around into a rough toga. "Who's out there?" he called.

"It's Silas," came the voice of the younger hunter. "Today's password is monster."

After making double sure with the peephole Dean opened the door and let Silas in. "God, it's another Little Miss Mary Sunshine. Fuck my life."

Dean retreated across the room, searching for his clothes. He cast another mournful glance at his bed, wishing he was curled up in it with a nice, warm little brother. But it wasn't going to happen now so he gave in and faced the day. Silas sat at the little table and looked out the window. He had no desire to see anymore Winchester flesh than he already had.

"So, Dean, do we have a plan for today?" Silas asked.

"Yeah, let's just wait for the other little morning song bird to get out here. I need coffee." Picking up the phone Dean ordered Continental Breakfasts for three; coffee, juice and Danish. "I figure since Sam got us checked in at a fancy motel we ought to take advantage. I'll worry about the money later."

XXXXXXX

Fed, washed and dressed the little group of Hunters sat down with the only information available and there wasn't much. Other than Garth's instructions to see a Ranger McVey on Padre Island they had very little to go on. Evidently both the police and the City of Corpus Christi were playing this one close to the vest. There was nothing in the local papers.

Dean had McVey's number and he placed the call. After a little argle-bargle back and forth Dean convinced Range McVey that he was the person that Garth had sent to take care of the Ranger's offshore problem. Dean was pleased to hear that Ranger Randy Elsworth in South Dakota had vouched for the Winchesters and had given Ranger McVey Garth's phone number.

Dean made arrangements to meet McVey and flipped his phone shut. He turned to Sam and Silas. "Sam, remember Ranger Randy? Up in South Dakota? He's the one that got us this gig, bless his bright blue eyes."

Sam lips thinned. "You mean your Ranger Randy up in Carbonate in the Black Hills? I guess he has fond memories of you then."

Dean saw the warning flags flying. "It's OK, San. Ranger Randy simply told this guy that we did a good job cleaning the spooks out of his Park and suggested that we might be able to lend McVey a hand. McVey sounds like he doesn't much care for the nature of Randy's problems but he's freaked enough to cut us some slack. We're supposed to meet him on Padre Island as soon as we can get over there."

Sam shut down his computer. "I guess we better get going then. There's nothing about a problem in the Park that I can find anywhere. We'll just have to see what the Ranger says.

XXXXXXX

Once they got out of Corpus Christi, Texas Route 358 took them right over to Padre Island almost directly to the Park building where Ranger Able McVey was waiting to greet them. Ranger McVey was a stern looking older man with gray hair and non-nonsense attitude. He cast a skeptical eye over his supposed "experts" and Sam, for one, wished they had thought to maybe wear suits. The Ranger didn't seem too impressed with t-shirts and blue jeans.

Sam nudged Dean forward to take the heat. "Your little boyfriend, Ranger Randy, got us into this," Sam hissed in Dean's ear. "Step up and earn your money."

Den introduced himself and the rest of the group. They all shook hands and McVey waived them into an interior office. Once inside McVey laid out a map of the bay and a manila file folder.

"Dean," he started. "I've been advised that your group might be able to resolve some pretty strange stories that are floating around here lately. I would have ignored it all; put it down to drunken rambling, but we have had three people hospitalized in the past month. All of the people involved are telling the same story and I can't convince them to change it. The Park Service and the Corpus Christi Visitor's Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce are all working overtime trying to keep a lid on this but the story is leaking out."

"I hope you people can find out what's really going on." McVey once again cast a skeptical eye over the three young men. "You got to know that I'm not going fall for any of this new age hocus-pocus. Whatever you guys tell me better have evidence to support it or you're not going to see a cent of any fee from the Park Service."

Dean gave one of his 'Trust Me' smiles. "Ranger, we understand completely. You know that we have had other Park Service inquiries and they were settled to the satisfaction of all concerned. Now, the first thing we need is the names people that we should interview."

"I think you'll find everything you need in that file." McVey pointed to the manila folder. "Those are copies of the Shore Patrol reports. The Patrol took all the victims to the hospitals. Good luck gentlemen. If you need anything more from me my office is just down the hall and I'll either be there or out in the Park. Good luck."

McVey left and Sam pulled the folder over in front of him. For the next half an hour or so the room was quiet; they made lists and notes and decided how to approach the witnesses. Their cover was real; they were investigating the attacks at the behest of the Park service and that would have to be good enough.

One thing they decided immediately. They were not going to break up. They were going to stick together and try to get as many view points as they could. At the end of the day they would compare their notes and try to decide how to deal with the problem.

It was only 10 AM and they decided to leave a message at the Harbor Master's office for Captain Jack Morning as he was most likely already out on the water. They would leave a similar message for Casey Monaghan of the Shore Patrol if they found he was out on watch already. That left them with only the victim, Ron Elbert. He was still in the hospital while the other two previous victims had been tourists and had left for their homes weeks ago. Sam also wanted to try and interview the Emergency Response Techs and possibly Elbert's doctor.

That filled up their day. In the hospital Ron Elbert told them about the giant cockroach and the green woman in the water. Sam discussed the nature of Elbert's wound with the doctor who, luckily, was still on the same rotation and was in the hospital. They waited for the EMT's and got their story. They got lucky again and Jack Morning called them from the Harbor Master's office when he came in after his charter was done and they shot back to the shore.

It was after that meeting the Dean noticed Sam was looking thoughtful and by the time they were at dinner with Casey Monaghan Sam had been on his computer every place that he could get a wireless signal. Everyone who had been in or near the water at the time of the attack on Elbert all told the same story; he had been attacked by a strange, repulsive creature and the green lady had watched and then seemed to suck up the blood in the water.

By the time that returned to their room Dean had a feeling that Sam had recognized what they were hunting.

XXXXXXX

They settled into their room late that evening and Sam set up his show and tell on the table.

"What's up, Sam," Dean asked. "You got any idea what we are hunting?"

Sam flipped the computer around so that both Silas and Dean could see the screen. On it was a picture of a huge multi-legged creepy-crawly, pink in color and being held on its back in a man's hands, providing a scale to the creature. The man needed both hands to hold the creature up.

"Oh, crap, Sam." Silas grimaced. "That is an ugly sucker. What the hell is that?"

"This is a picture of the giant Isopod Bathynomus giganteus," Sam said, dropping into Sammy lecture mode. "I don't mean to completely freak you out, but people actually eat these things. It is the largest identified member of the Order Isopoda."

"Isopoda is a diverse and widely distributed order of crustaceans with about 10,000 species found worldwide, including shrimp and lobsters. I think what attacked Elbert is either an Isopoda Cryptid or a mutated form of the parasitic marine form Flabelliera that our fugly has created for its own purposes. I could confirm this by showing a picture of a parasitic common type to Ron Elbert."

"Let's not do that, Sam." Dean spoke up. "The poor guy has already suffered enough. What about the green lady?"

"I think that is our problem. The Isopoda could be a simple Mother Nature mistake but the green lady is definitely ours. From the descriptions we have I think we might be dealing with Chalchiuhtlicue, an Aztec goddess of water, rivers and seas. "

"She has survived, I think, living on the blood of victims claimed by her Isopoda pets. Ron says one of the creatures appeared from under her skirt. She was known as The Lady of the Jade Skirt and in classic imagery two rivers poured down her skirt and in each river a child appeared, one male and one female. She was therefore also the goddess of child birth. In her struggle for survival I think she may have become a little perverted. " Sam paused and let the other men look at another picture on the computer screen, a beautifully carved green stone statue.

"During her time she was revered as the wife of Tlaloc, the rain god. She was the mother of Tecciztecatl, the Moon God. She destroyed the fourth world of the Aztec and created a bridge linking heaven and earth and only saved those in her favor. She had her own festival, Etzalcualiztli, the Festival of the 'Easting of Fresh Maize'. Her acolytes fed her a diet of fresh human hearts. She was a power in the world. Now she is reduced to trawling for blood off Padre Island."

There was a silence in the room when Sam finished.

"What's her name again?" Dean asked then took a sip of beer. "Chalchiuhtlicue," Sam answered.

"Again?" Dean requested and Sam repeated, "Chalchiuhtlicue."

"Oh, hell no, " Dean curled a lip. "What do you say, Silas? I vote to just call her Chatty. What do you think?"

Silas raised his beer in a salute. "Sounds like a good thing to me."

"Alright now, Chatty it is." Dean nodded.

"I don't suppose I get a vote here, do I?" Sam objected.

"You can pronounce the other name and all those ridiculous sounding other Gods too. Of course, you don't get a vote," big brother responded. "Chatty it is. Now, how do we kill her?"

Sam sat down and picked up his own bottle of beer. "Now there we have a problem. She's an Aztec Goddess. She's an idea, closer to a tulpa or a ghost than a monster. I don't think you can shoot her and there aren't bones to burn because she never had a corporal body. The last time we ran into a tulpa you burned down the house it was in to get rid of it. We can't drain the ocean."

"Well, that's a problem for sure," Silas said. "Why do you think she's hanging around? Her time is long gone, isn't it? Do you think she is alive enough to understand that?"

Sam leaned back. "You know, that's a thought. Maybe we can talk to her."

"What? Whoa, little brother," Dean exploded. "You want to go talk to her? She's sicced her ugly pets on three people. All she wants is blood. You're going to take a swim and see if you can talk to her? Are you out of your mind?"

"Quiet down, Dean," Sam responded. "I'm the smart one, remember? You're the pretty one. Let me think for a minute before you get all huffy."

Silas snickered into his beer. "You're the pretty one? That clarifies the relationship for me."

"Shut up, kid." Dean growled. "Not your business."

"You know, Silas might just have the right idea," Sam said. "I don't mean that I'm going to go talk to her. She would just regard me as a big bag of blood. But she is a Goddess and she might just talk to another God. She might talk to Maahes."

"What, you going to take the kitty cat swimming?" Dean laughed.

"No, the God will not swim. I was thinking that maybe you should go extend the invitation." Sam smiled.

"Really, you just going to toss me in the water like a piece of fish bait, are you?" Dean answered back.

"Exactly," Sam went on. "You're perfect. The more respected the Aztec God the higher the quality of the sacrificial victim. The most important sacrifices were drawn from the upper classes of the society. While I wouldn't describe you as high society there is no denying that you are very attractive. If you were to go in the water and bleed a bit I bet she would follow you right up on the shore."

"Naked, I suppose?" Dean sneered.

"Oh, excellent idea," Sam exclaimed. "She wouldn't be able to resist that. You just have to get her up on the sand. The Aztec revered the strength of the Jaguar. She would respect Maahes as the representation of one of the Nature Gods. Then you can run away and hide while the Gods talk."

XXXXXXX

The next morning Silas and the Winchesters stood on the western edge of Padre Island, opposite the position where Ron Elbert had been attacked. Silas kept look out while Sam transformed into Maahes and lay down on the sand. Dean stood at the edge of the water naked with a leather belt around his waist from which was suspended a bright silver knife.

Besides being a look out, Silas was in charge of clothes. Once again, he thought, he was being exposed to more Winchester flesh than he ever wanted to see.

Padre Island was alive with bird call and the dunes of fine white sand hid their position from the casual hiker. For being not that far from a metropolitan area, Padre Island was still and quiet in the morning light.

"We all ready, now?" Dean asked.

Sam purred at his brother and Silas called the all clear. Dean walked forward into the water and shivered. "This better work. If those creepy bugs get me I'll bring them up here and stuff 'em up your butt, cat." Dean took up the knife and put it in his teeth. He then dived into the waves.

Den was only out there for a very few minutes when his head broke the surface and he was swimming for his life. Maahes could see, just under the water, a dark shadow pursuing his lover. With a last great effort Dean pulled himself on to the sand and ran to get behind Maahes. They watched together as the Goddess's head broke the water and she rose up.

She looked just like her statue, green, regal and cold. The water poured off her body the closer to the shore she got. Her eyes had no pupil and seemed to stare in all directions at once. Only the position of her head indicated what she was really focused on. For a few heart beats Dean was sure that it was him but then she nodded at the cat.

There was a humming in the air. Dean heard no words but a smack from Maahes tail sent him off the sands and up to Silas. Dean started to dress and he and Silas watched as the two Gods came face to face.

The humming sound was duplicated and now it sounded like the give and take of conversation. Later, after it was all over, Sam told Dean some of the words exchanged.

"Greetings, Chalchiuhtlicue," Sam murmured from deep in his chest. She answered him, addressing him as Jaguar Warrior. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see the fall of the great water Goddess." He answered her. "You were once known as Acuecucyoticihuati , the goddess of oceans, the personification of youthful beauty and ardor. Now you live on the ocean bottom and associate with these ugly creatures, pursuing your victims and lapping at their blood."

She snapped her head higher and the anger rolled off in almost visible waves. "I would take care, Jaguar Warrior. I can see the blood moving under your skin."

"And what of it?" he sneered. "I only have to move higher up the shore. Will you pursue me, sniffing at my trail like an animal?

She moved closer to the big cat, who was laying at ease in the sand.

"Once you were an aspect of the singular and transcendent unity of teotl." Maahes went on. "You were Ometeotl, a unity that underlies the universe. All things, light and dark, life and death, were playthings at your fingertips. Now you are a scavenger, clinging to a life long gone. Why are you here? What purpose do you serve?"

She stood stiffly and moisture appeared like tears on her face. All her glory lay in tatters around her, like a shroud. Maahes' words tore at her and she shuddered.

Her rigid fingers pulled at her skirt and she separated one of the jade leaves and threw it at the feet of the cat God.

"There is no place in this world for me now, is there?" she asked.

"No," Maahes responded. "All your kind have gone before you. Your priests and worshippers look for you in the heavens but you are not there. You are here, looking for a world and a place in the world that died long ago. It's not coming back for you. "

"Then I should go there, where they wait and believe." she answered and once again tore at a leaf of her skirt. From the places where she had opened holes her sacred streams again flowed and the water ran over the sands and back into the ocean. As the water ran away she became empty and the proud Goddess crumbled into the sand.

Maahes rose and wandered over to the pile of green sand that was all that was left of the Aztec God. He flicked some of the sand into the air with a paw and watched the mild morning breeze toss the color away and scatter it over the white sands of the Island. He played a little more and soon there was only light streaks of green on the shore. It only took minutes for the wind to disperse even that and the Goddess was gone.


	10. Chapter 10 - Silent Waters

xXx

The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.

**Blood Trail – Hunting Monsters**

Chapter 10

**Silent Waters**

The Aztec Goddess had made her decision and was gone to join once again with the source of creation.

Maahes paced the sands, gazing out to the horizon. The discussion with Chalchiuhtlicue had brought home some truths to Maahes also. What was he doing here? His world was gone, lost 6,000 years ago. He remembered the Nubian deserts; red bluffs against the sky, the taste of blood in his teeth and the war cries ringing out from a thousand throats. Even when they took him North, down the Nile, he still remained a God.

When they made him a protector of the dead in Egypt he fled to Syria and became the Royal Sphinx, carried in battle once more. But those years were no more, like Chalchiuhtlicue's sand, blown away by the passing millenniums. At least Chalchiuhtlicue had a place to go. She could join Ometeotl, the Aztec Unity and loose herself. Maahes' entire pantheon was gone. Ra still mounted the skies but was withdrawn, no longer enticed by the matters of the world and men. The eyes of Ra; his daughters, Bastet, Sekhmet and Hathor, didn't speak to Maahes in this time. He felt alone and abandoned.

He did not know why the Ancient Wheel in the Sky had joined him with Sam Winchester but through Winchester's blood he lived again. He could feel the warmth of the sun once more and he spread out his short wings to capture the heat against his body. Maahes shook himself out of his musings. He joyously rolled in the sand and scratched his back, all four feet waving in the air like a kitten. He was a God of War, not knowledge. Let the Winchester figure it out.

Outwardly the body they shared became Sam Winchester again. He was a beautiful, naked, young man, lying in the sand and watching the sea. Dean ran up to his brother, a pair of jeans in his hand. "Here ya' go, Sam," he laughed. "Put 'em on, you're scaring the fish."

Dean continued on to the edge of the sea, digging his toes into the wet sand. He stood in the sun and laughed. More slowly Silas followed and continued past Sam to stand behind Dean. Sam noticed that Dan was emitting a very faint glow and he wondered why his brother was keying up his Tammuz energy.

"Silas," Sam called. "You know not to get too close to him when he rev's his motor up, right?"

Silas waved a hand. "Don't worry; we've got a plan happening here. Just stay back and watch."

There was movement in the surface waves and ridged backs appeared then sank back under the water. The Isopods may have lost their Goddess but evidently they could feel the call of Dean's power and were gathering to bask in it. Sam rose to his feet, concerned for his partners' safety. Dean reached into the water then held up one of Chalchiuhtlicue's pets. He threw it behind him and Silas knelt down and drove a knife into the crustacean's gut. All the legs curled and flailed and the creature made a high pitched squealing noise as it died. Dean caught several more before he stepped back out of the water. The bay looked peaceful and the waters calm and clean. No cursed monsters screamed in the depths.

"What's going on here, Dean?" Sam asked. "You catching lunch?"

Silas strung the Isopods on a pegged fishing line then walked up the beach with the ugly things hanging from his hand. As he passed Sam he said, "Remember what Ranger McVey said, we aren't going to get paid without proof. These are a present for him."

Dean turned to face Sam and went up the beach to his brother, his wet jeans legs flapping around his ankles. Sam once again considered just how perfect his brother was and when Dean got close enough Sam could feel the last mild tingling of the Tammuz energy sparking on his flesh. He reached out and pulled Dean in, tilted the shorter man's chin up with his long fingers and kissed him.

Sam was pretty sure the roaring in his ears was the ocean meeting the shore but it could be his blood pounding in his ears. In either case, the kiss went on until Dean put his hands on Sam's naked chest and pushed him away.

"Come on, little brother, back down. " Dean smiled. "We have places to go and people to see. Just hold that thought until we're back at the Ramada tonight and I'll take care of you."

Dean grabbed his brother's hand and started to drag Sam off the beach, back to the car. Silas was already in the back seat with his repulsive 'catch'. When the brothers got in the car he handed each one a shirt. "Just put them on, guys," he said. "Remember, from back here it looks like you're both naked and I have had enough peep show for one day. You people are corrupting my innocent mind."

Sam snorted in the front seat. "So that wasn't you I saw in that bar a couple of stops back, chatting up that blonde?"

"Sounds like a case of mistaken identity to me, Sam," Silas replied. "And when the hell do you guys ever get out of bed long enough to find me in a bar anyway?"

XXXXXXX

They drove back to the Ranger's office on the graded park road. Dean muttered about getting the Impala dirty all the way back but there were no open, paved roads in the park. They were lucky there happened to be a park access road that brought them to the shore. Otherwise they would have been hiking in.

Once in the building they tracked Ranger McVey to his lair. Luckily he was still in the building and not out patrolling the park. They stood in front of the older man's desk as he ignored them, making them feel like children called to the principal's office. Silas was anxiously looking around for somewhere to put the Isopods down. They had started to leak a foul smelling ichor from the knife wounds.

"Excuse us, Ranger," Sam finally spoke up. "We're here to give you your evidence." Sam took the string of crustaceans from Silas and held them up. McVey's frosty attitude cracked and he dove for the trash can as the bodies began to leak on his desk.

"So you found the culprits," he said. "They're certainly ugly enough. What the hell are they, anyway?"

Sam was in his element. "They are Isopoda, a species of crustaceans. Of the more than 10,000 known species your body of water has managed to come up with an undescribed variant. If you want to send them on to a lab for identification, I suggest you get some ice in that trash can. They are beginning to smell the place up."

McVey replied, "To hell with that. As long as they aren't swimming in the bay any more I'm satisfied.

"What about the green lady they were all going on about?"

Dean shook his head. "We didn't see any green lady, just these ugly little suckers. Maybe those guys were hysterical. After all, if you saw one of these things eating the skin off someone's leg, what would you think if there was something else large in the water? I know you guys don't have manatees; do you have good size harbor seals? How about sting rays? Could be any number of things; we didn't see anything."

McVey appeared satisfied by Dean's bullshit. He pulled out a pad of chits and torn one off. As he filled it in like a check he said, "Here you go. You can hand that in at any Corpus Christi bank. I left the name blank. "

"Why don't you just fill that in with the name Silas Marner?" Sam said. "That'll work for us. Thanks."

Gathering their paycheck and leaving the dead creepy-crawleys in McVey's custody, the Winchesters adjourned to the Impala to discuss their plans for the rest of the day.

They mapped out a return tour and visited the previous day's witnesses again. They convinced Jack Morning that he had been seeing things. That was hard. Jack was pretty sure that he had seen pretty much everything the bay had to offer and he just could not come up with anything that would look like a green, blood sucking woman.

When they told him that McVey would probably call him crazy or drunk if he spread the story Captain Jack considered his charter license and decided he never saw any such thing. When they told him that McVey had the animal bodies and he could go look if he wanted to he said he wasn't interested any more as long as they would assure him it was safe for his divers to go back in the water,

They pulled the same song and dance on Casey Monaghan of the Shore Patrol but he was easy. He had only seen the wounded swimmers, not flesh sucking cockroaches or a blood drinking green woman. They told him also that he could so see the bodies of the creatures. He said he was going to call McVey and see the bodies for himself.

That left them with only Ron Elbert in the hospital. They reached him right at the end of visiting hours and with him they made a deal. They told him he could talk about the Isopods but in return for him forgetting all about any green woman, Dean would heal his wound.

Elbert consider their offer. He had a feeling that there was a greater story here and if this guy could magically heal his wound then, by logical extension, Ron would know that the green lady was real. He felt like he was brushing up against something that he didn't want to know but his leg was killing him and the doctors were planning on doing skin grafts to cover the exposed muscle. That meant a long, slow and painful recovery so he decided to let the guy do his magic. Even if it didn't work, he would just be back right where he started.

Dean had Ron roll over on his stomach and then Winchester simply held his hands above the skinned muscle and let Tammuz take over. It was a big wound and Dean had to dial way up on his power. Ron Elbert, who was watching over his shoulder, was stunned to see Dean start to glow. Then he felt warmth on his calf and the pain, which had been constant in spite of the drugs, began to fade.

Dean asked Sam and Silas to guard the room because he figured it was going to take about a half hour to completely generate new skin over the very large wound and Dean did not intend to be caught pulling off a medical miracle by any noisy medical personnel. He knew they were going to freak out anyway but they were going to leave that up to Ron to handle. Dean planned on being far, far away before some doctor began demanding answers. He also purposely did not give Ron a full name.

About fifteen minutes into Dean's half hour a bossy male nurse swept through the corridor stopping at each room and escorting visitors off the ward. Sam watched as the guy got closer and closer and when he came to them, they refused to move. Sam said that Ron was with his religious advisor and as soon as the 'priest' was done they would move on. For that pile of improvised bullshit Sam earned a very doubtful glare but the nurse went on to the next room, promising to return.

Sam stuck his head in the door. "Dean," he stage whispered, "you're going to have to hurry it up. They're escorting visitors off the floor."

"Damn," was Dean's response. "I'll have to go higher to try and shorten the time. Don't let anybody through that door."

Sam shut the door again and noticed that there was now a slight golden glow spilling over the threshold. He had no idea how high Dean could go with this and he hoped that poor Ron Elbert wasn't falling in love.

Ten minutes later the nurse came back and at the same moment Dean opened the door.

"This guy is a priest?" the nurse huffed, completely unconvinced. He entered the patient's room and while his back was turned the Winchester crew beat it down the hall.

XXXXXXX

They returned to the Ramada and went their separate way. Silas made it very clear that he was going down to the bar to see if he could pick up some company and, no, he didn't need Dean's help.

Sam and Dean retired to their room to hold their own kind of party.

Dean slowly stripped crossing the room, dropping clothing like bread crumbs. Once he hit the bed he was completely naked and lay down with his ankles crossed and his arms folded under his head. Sam smiled at the picture and was pleased to see that Dean was letting a little glow leak out. Tammuz always made sex more intense.

"What do you think you're doing there, Dean?"

"Come on, Sam. Don't you remember what I promised you this morning on the beach? I said I'd take care of you when we got back to the Ramada. This is me taking care of you."

"Really?" Sam laughed as he started to shed his clothes too. When he got to Dean he crawled on his hands and knees up the bed and between his brother's legs. Bracing himself on his hands on either side of Dean's head he nudged Dean's legs open fully and then bent down for the long delayed kiss.

"Wrap your legs around me," Sam whispered. When Dean complied Sam lifted him up and slid a pillow under his ass. Reaching for the lube bottle prominently displayed on their bedside table, Sam set to the serious business of opening his brother up.

It wasn't long before the room was filled with panting breaths and moans of pleasure. Two large guys, moving together, certainly could rock a bed and at the height of passion somebody in the next room started pounding on the wall.

**A/N:** This chapter is for **KLU** who had some interesting questions and thoughts about Chapter 9.


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Supernatural, Adventure, Supernatural