Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to smarter, richer people who are actually making money off them.

Also, I made up the town here. If there's really a place called Carlsburg, North Dakota, I'm sorry. It's totally coincidence.

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Jamie Marsden shivered in the cold wind. "Brady, I don't feel comfortable out here," she said, her quivering voice betrayed the true fear she was feeling.

"Come on, James," Brady Gooch replied with a mean smile. "It's just a dare, and we'll be out of here in a few minutes. I can't pass up a dare."

"But why in the world would they want us to come through this stupid field, anyway? There are plenty of other corn fields in this stupid town."

"Yeah, but people didn't die in those," her friend said. "Besides, it's not that big of deal. I hunt, remember? I'll know if an animal is coming at us, so nothing will happen to us."

"Brady, have you ever even seen a scary movie? This is the perfect situation for something really horrible and graphic and murderous to happen to us. Bad things happen in corn fields on dark nights, especially when people have died in them recently."

"You are so paranoid," Brady laughed. "And you need to watch less TV."

"It just seems so stereotypical," she went on, ignoring him. "The guy always brings the girl out into some creepy place in the middle of the night, tries to take advantage of her, and they both die. That's how it always works."

"Well," Brady said, getting an evil glint in his eye. "Let's not disappoint."

He grabbed Jamie and pulled her close to him, leaning in to kiss her. She struggled away, disturbed by his behaviour. Just as she yelled for help, a dark shadow dropped between them – a very tangible shadow. Jamie screamed as she was gently pushed back and then turned to run, ignoring the sinking feeling she had building in her stomach. She heard Brady yell, then a disgusting choking sound followed. But still, she didn't look back. She kept running until she got to the other side, where she ripped out her cell phone and called for help.

A short distance away, Brady's lifeless body lay on the cold ground, blood seeping into the dirt. The creature looked after Jamie as she ran, smiling that she got away.

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"Here's a new one," Dean said from the table he was sitting at, reading a newspaper. Sam looked up impatiently from the laptop to listen to his brother. "Here in Carlsburg, North Dakota, four young men have died in the last month."

There was a moment as Sam waited for more, but nothing came. "Crying shame, Dean," he said as he went back to his article.

"I just think it might be worth looking into."

"Would you care to expand on that, Dean, or do you want me to make up something paranormal so we can have something to do?"

"Look, it just seems unusual that it's young men. Let's face it, serial killers and demons and spirits usually go after girls, maybe because they're easier to take down."

Sam sighed. "And how did these unfortunate guys die?"

"It says that their throats were slit . . ."

"Pleasant," Sam said.

" . . . by an animal with two claws," Dean continued, undeterred by his brother's mocking remarks.

"What?"

"There are always two claw marks across the throat. They thought it might be someone slitting their throat twice, but the cuts are parallel and even and they bleed in a way that proves whoever – or whatever – did them both at the same time."

"Maybe they just have a two-pronged knife," Same suggested, not really believing himself.

"Yeah, Sammy, I'm sure that's it. A crazy old woman decided to start murdering young guys by cutting their throats with a two-pronged knife." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Why would you say a crazy old woman?"

"Who else would want to kill a bunch of handsome little devils like myself?"

Now Sam rolled his eyes. "What I'm asking is if there's anything in the article tying a woman to the deaths."

"I know what you're asking, Sam. I'm not stupid."

"Don't get me started."

"The article doesn't say anything about an old woman. That was my friendly addition."

"Two claws?" Sam repeated after a moment. "That's a bit odd. What kind of creature that might rip out the throats of unfortunate humans has two claws?"

Dean smiled his mischievous "I won" smile. "Care to go have a look?" he asked innocently.

"Fine," Sam snapped, but he was grinning. "Let's go see if we can help the poor handsome young men in distress."

"Don't say it like that, Sam," Dean said, cringing. "It's painful when you say it like that."

Sam just smiled as he followed his brother out the door and toward the car.

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Hours later, both boys were tired and frustrated. They had talked to Brady Gooch's mother, but she had been more emotionally hysterical than helpful. They tried talking to Jamie Marsden, but she didn't want to see any visitors. All they got out of their research was the basic story that they had gotten from Dean's article earlier. They decided to head to the field.

"So people are dying in these corn fields, throat mysteriously slashed by something with only two claws," Sam said to recap as they drove to the scene of the murders. He was talking more to himself than his brother, trying to work things out in his mind.

"Men are dying in these corn fields," Dean corrected. "And they always have a girl with them right before they do."

"That's so weird," Sam said, shaking his head.

"Tell me about it," the elder Winchester agreed. "So let's have a look and save the rest of the guys in this sad town."

They pulled up next to the desired field and got out. "Here we go," Sam said as he headed into the tall green stalks.

"You know, generally I thought we try to do our research in the daylight," Sam muttered as he looked at the setting sun. "It's easier to poke around looking for supernatural things if we can see what we're doing."

Dean didn't answer, and Sam shook his head. It was just like Dean to ignore him. Then again, they were both already upset, and Sam didn't want another fight to break out like the ones they had been having all-too-often lately.

"Look, Dean," he said, turning around.

He stopped short.

"Dean?"

He listened to the silence of dusk, more than a little concerned. What had happened to his brother? And why weren't there even birds singing? Shouldn't there be SOME noise? He tried yelling for Dean, but heard nothing. He decided to call. But Dean didn't answer his phone. What was going on?

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Dean followed Sam for a few minutes, listening to his brother's soft rant. Yeah, it was getting dark, and he was already tired and hungry. When was the last time they had eaten? "Sam," he began. "We should go get something to eat. We can do this in the morning."

He swallowed as he realised he couldn't hear his brother's footsteps. "Sam?"

"Sam?" He turned in a circle, then pulled out his cell phone and dialed the younger Winchester. Sam's voicemail picked up.

Just great. He was hungry, he was alone, and it was officially dark.

Turning in one more circle, he realised something else.

Now he was also lost.