Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun!

Summary: Sam and Dean go looking for a werewolf but find something else…can they figure out what is causing the mysterious deaths before it takes one of them?

Raven 524: This story could actually be anytime, so I don't think I need to put a spoiler warning on it. I will try to keep any mention of season 2 plots out and just concentrate on the story itself. Hope you all enjoy reading the first chapter.

Travelers Beware

Chapter 1 – Prologue

The young man cursed as he got out of his car and slammed the door. Opening up the hood on the car, he saw the problem. The fan belt was broken. "Just great!" He exclaimed as he slammed the hood of the car back down. Pulling out his cell phone he noticed immediately that there was no reception…of course not, he was stuck in the middle of nowhere. He never should have taken the side road up into the mountains.

But he wanted to get to his girlfriends house and this was a shortcut. Looking at the steep hills that preceded the mountains looming in the horizon, he realized that he only had one choice. He had to walk the over 20 miles to the next town, as he started to walk he just hoped that there was a house some place close by where he could call for a tow truck.

"Man Melinda is never going to forgive me!" He groaned as he started his long walk into the night. A short distance down the road, he noticed a shining light showing through the trees on the hillside. "Well, things are starting to look up!" He said as he left the road and headed towards the light. As the incline increased and the trees grew thicker, the man started to doubt the wisdom of leaving the road. But just as he was getting ready to turn back, he saw the flicker of light…this time just off to his left.

Shrugging, he started towards the light once more. After another 20 minutes, he still hadn't come close to the light. Deciding he had enough, he turned to try to find his way back to the road, but saw the light now just down hill and slightly to his right. Finally after hours of walking through the mountainside, he saw a small cottage with a light flickering in the window.

He walked up to the door and knocked. But no one answered. Testing the door, he smiled when it opened easily under his hand. "Hello? Anyone here…I was wondering if I could use your phone." But no one answered as he entered the small cottage; he saw a fire in the fireplace and figured that was the light he had seen. Moving towards the flickering flame, he sat down in the chair and immediately fell into an exhausted sleep.

A short time later he woke to see a strange man glaring at him. The man was small in stature, but his eyes were cold and dark. "Ah…hello…my name is Mark…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep…but I was wondering if you could help me?"

Mark watched as the man simply stood and stared at him. Afraid to move, Mark sat still and waited for the man to speak. He shivered as he realized that the fire had gone down and needed more wood before it went out. He didn't want to be alone in the dark with this strange man, but he also didn't want to aggravate him either. "Look, would you like me to put some more wood on that fire for you? Then if you can point me to a phone, I'll be glad to get out of your way."

The strange man growled and moved towards the fireplace. He picked up a large log and snapped it like it was a twig. He tossed the log to the side and looked expectantly at the young man in front of him.

Mark didn't know what to do, it was getting cold and the fire was still dying. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a pissing contest with some freak. "Fine, I'll just leave you alone…sorry to have bothered you."

The strange man moved to stand between Mark and the door, his intent was clear…Mark had to find another way from the cottage. His eyes searched frantically for a way…there was a door that looked like it lead into a small bedroom. If he could get in there, he could bolt the door and maybe escape through the window. Standing slowly, Mark made a dash for the doorway when his world suddenly fell out from underneath him. He felt himself falling and screamed until his body hit something hard. He rolled a little further and stopped, screaming as he realized that his leg was broken as well as his wrist.

Blinking he looked around him in confusion…he was laying on a narrow ledge. He looked up and saw only the side of the mountain and the cliff that he had fallen down. "What the hell?" He exclaimed trying to make sense. Suddenly he heard a low growl and saw a pair of gleaming yellow eyes on the ledge not far from where he now lay helpless. In the distance, the strange man smiled as he heard the screams coming from the ledge below.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Dean, how much longer before we get to the hotel?" Sam asked trying to get comfortable in the front seat of the Impala. He and Dean had been on the road since early in the morning and hand only stopped once for gas and something to eat.

"Not far, we should be in Fox Valley soon. Are you sure this is the area that the article mentioned?" Dean looked out the window at the deserted road ahead of him. There wasn't much up this way except for trees and mountains. Of course, there wasn't much flat land in West Virginia.

"I'm sure Dean; there have been a number of deaths, mostly travelers who got lost in the mountains outside town. From the sounds of it, we may be dealing with a werewolf, except, the timing seems to be off."

"What, no full moon Sammy…you know that is mostly myth…not all werewolves are tied to the lunar cycle. They are just another form of shape shifter and as such, can be killed with a silver bullet to the heart." Dean rolled his shoulders to relieve the ache from hours of driving.

"Could be…but until we can get a better look at the autopsy reports, we are just guessing here Dean. We can't go in guns blazing without checking things out first…" Sam sighed; he knew that Dean was itching for a hunt. It had been too long between hunts for them. When Sam had come across the article, Dean had them on the road in less than an hour.

"Who said anything about guns blazing Sam…we can do a little research…then once you have decided that I'm right…we can go kill the son of a bitch!"

Dean watched as Sam shook his head and tried to get comfortable in the car. "Ah, there's our turn off Sam and it looks like the hotel is just a few miles down the road."

Thirty minutes later, the two boys found themselves in the old hotel room that smelled slightly of mold. Sam had grabbed a local paper and was looking through it while Dean freshened up in the bathroom. "So Sammy, I say we go get a bite to eat at the bar and grill down the street…maybe unwind a little…what do you say?"

"Earth to Sammy…did you hear me?" Dean walked over to see what Sam was focusing on. As he looked over Sam's shoulder he realized why Sam was so quiet. On the front page was a headline. "Local Man Found Dead in Canyon".

Sam looked up at Dean and sighed. "Well, it looks like we are in the right place."

TBC

Raven524: Ok, so hope I haven't lost you all. If you want me to continue, you know the drill, just drop me a line!