Swamp Creature

"Well here we are." Dean said as he pulled over to the shoulder of the road and stopped. "Everglades National Park." He read the sign then looked at Sam. "This place is huge; the odds of finding anything out here are like a million to one. Does the paper give you any idea where the people disappeared?"

Sam opened the newspaper and looked at it. "All it says is six people have gone missing from the swamp in the last two months. A girlfriend of one of the missing men says, and I quote 'I heard a noise in the middle of the night and woke up to find this huge scaly creature standing over me. I screamed and it sprayed some kind of liquid from its mouth into my eyes and blinded me. It was horrible, I could hear my boyfriend screaming as it ripped him apart but I couldn't help him. I don't know why it didn't kill me but after about two days my sight came back and my boyfriend was no where in sight.' Sam put his arm on the back of the seat and looked over at Dean. "Of course then it goes on to say the girl was hysterical when found and probably hallucinated the whole creature thing. They closed the park for a few days while they investigated but found nothing. They came to the conclusion that the people became lost in the swamp and were eventually killed and eaten by alligators...Actually that could be true, like you said this place is huge and if you get lost in there it would be almost impossible to find your way out."

"Yeah but six people in two months that seems a little high."

"Yeah…What do you think, you want to check it out?"

"Well we're here, might as well…Did you find anything in Dad's journal about any odd happenings in the Everglades?"

Sam had been looking through their dad's journal as Dean drove.

"Not much. All I could find is that there were sightings of a creature in the swamp but no verifications. Dad never ran into it."

"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to look into it. Might as well drive over to the ranger station and pick up some supplies."

They drove to the ranger station and picked up supplies for the trip then rented an air boat whose motor sat high in the back of the boat enabling it to get through the thick swamp without clogging the motor. They were given the usual warnings of what not to do in the swamp and both signed an agreement that if anything happened to them the park was not held liable.

The Everglades

Dean drove while Sam sat in the front of the boat scanning the area for any sign of the creature. He could hear Dean laughing as he swatted at the swarms of mosquitoes that kept landing on his arms and neck.

"Here." Dean said as he tossed Sam a can of bug spray.

He gratefully grabbed it and began spraying his entire body with the contents. He then tossed it back to Dean who stuck it in his duffle bag. At first Dean had enjoyed watching Sam squirm around from the bug bites but then realized the bites could actually be dangerous and as much as he enjoyed watching Sam swat at the bugs, it wasn't worth his brother getting sick from the bites. He had bought five cans of spray on the advice of one of the rangers. Sam had been checking out the air boat and hadn't heard the ranger suggesting the spray but Dean figured five cans should last them at least a few days.

"Dean." Sam turned around and looked at his brother. "Over there." He pointed to a small camping area that was on the map he had picked up back at the station. Most of the Everglades were covered in deep swampy water but there were a few pieces of ground where you could pitch a tent. Dean steered the boat over to the small island and Sam jumped out and tied it to a tree. He then helped Dean unload the boat, then they both stood side by side looking out over the swamp.

"Give me dry land and cool weather anytime…this is so going to suck." Dean said as he wiped the sweat from his face with his t shirt.

Sam followed his brother's example and also wiped the sweat from his face.

"I'd do anything for an air conditioned room right now." He said then jumped back a few steps when a large spider crawled in front of him.

Dean gave a little laugh. "Geek boy can go after demons and monsters but is afraid of a little spider." He knew his brother always had a thing for spiders, he hated them.

"Little! That thing is gigantic!" Sam's face showed his fear. The thought of sleeping on the ground with spiders crawling all over him didn't make him happy. "Maybe I'll sleep in the boat tonight." He said looking over at Dean.

"Sam, spiders can get in the boat just as easily as getting in the tent."

"Not if I push it a little ways out into the swamp. They're not going to swim over to me."

"Sam there are spiders down here that glide across the water. There is no where you're going to be safe from spiders….not out here." He gave a little laugh but then felt a twinge of guilt when he saw his brother's face. He remembered when they were little and Sam had fallen into a nest of spiders in a pit, he had nightmares for years. "Look Sam we'll spray the tent, hopefully that will keep them away."

Sam swallowed hard as he watched the spider run off into the weeds.

TBC