The Trouble With Trolls
A/N:Special thanks goes to LilyBolt and Shakespeare's Lemonade for all their hard work on getting this presentable enough to post. This one's for you girls! (You know why!) *Winks*
Also of note: After all the angst of season nine and the almost complete lack of brotherly bonding, I took the liberty of cramming in as much brotherly banter and bonding as possible. Afterwards, it was brought to my attention that it seems to be set it in the earliest seasons (seasons 1, 2, and 3) but that it not the case. So just feel free to set it in whichever season (I personally see it being set any where between season 4 and mid-season 7) you want and pretend that our boys have been supplied a steady flow of of nitrous oxide to chase away all the pain. Happy reading to you all!
Disclaimer:I don't own Supernatural and all the usual fine print blah, blah, blah that goes with it.
1. Winchesters On PaTROLL
Once upon a time, there were two brothers who hunted things and saved people. They had crossed paths with ghosts, ghouls, demons, and angels. However, this is not a story about any of those. It is instead the story of how the two brothers took on a very stupid troll and won...
o0~SPN~0o
"Hey, Sam? Looks like we've got a case." Dean announced.
"Oh yeah? Whaddya got?" Sam queried.
"Here." Dean pointed to an article in the paper he'd been reading and slid it over to Sam. "Harlan County, Kentucky. A bunch of hikers have been disappearing from Black Mountain."
Sam quickly skimmed the article, paraphrasing aloud. "Says here that they've had sixteen missing persons reports filed over the last three years. The hikers disappear one or two at a time without a trace. They suspect black bears are responsible."
"So? You think it could be our kind of thing?" Dean asked, studying his brother's expression and hoping for an affirmative answer. It had been a little quiet on the hunting front lately and he was starting to feel restless.
After a beat of silence Sam responded. "Could be. Let me do some research and we'll go from there." That said, Sam hunkered down over his laptop to do what he did best.
Two hours later...
"So get this. I looked up black bear attacks in Kentucky going all the way back to the 1830's. The only one reported was in 2010 at Red River Gorge." Sam stated.
"Ok. And?" Dean prodded.
"Well, Red River Gorge is like a hundred miles away from the areas where the hikers went missing and there have been no bear attacks on Black Mountain, or at least none recorded. So, I'm thinking that this could definitely be our kind of thing, especially since the authorities have not recovered a single body or found any of the victims' belongings. Also, Black Mountain is a coal mining region. There could be an abandoned mine or some empty caves around which would give this attacker plenty of places to hide." Sam finished, rubbing his bloodshot eyes.
"So, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Dean asked, tipping back his coffee mug sure that he and his brother were on the same page.
Sam nodded and said, "There's not a lot to go on but I'm thinking we're probably dealing with a Wendigo. There's a couple things that bother me, though."
"Yeah? What's that?" Dean asked.
"First of all, Wendigos are usually found in the woods of northern Minnesota and southern Canada. This seems to be a little too far south for one to be."
"Didn't seem to make any difference to that one we hunted in Colorado." Dean reminded his brother.
"Point taken." Sam conceded.
"So what's the other thing bothering you about this?"
"Well, in my research, I read that Black Mountain is still a place where they actively mine for coal, so..." Sam's voice trailed off leaving Dean to wonder what his geek brother was thinking.
"So?" Dean finally prompted, having grown tired of waiting.
"So, with all the miners going back and forth through that area, why haven't there been more missing persons reported? Not that I want there to be more missing people," Sam quickly interjected, "but something's not adding up here."
"Hmmm. Don't know. Guess we'll just have to find out more when we get there."
With that, Dean slapped his hands together, rose from the table and asked in a gratingly cheerful voice, "You ready to go camping, Sammy?"
Sam closed his laptop with a long suffering groan.
"Dude, I hate camping." he groused, causing Dean to chuckle. He couldn't disagree, however, since the last Wendigo hunt they'd been on had been a bit rough on both of them. Still, they had a job to do, and Dean turned to pack up his duffel bag.
Thirty minutes later, the boys had stowed their bags in the trunk, checked out of their scuzzy motel room, and were on their way to Kentucky.
o0~SPN~0o
It was early evening when the brothers arrived at their destination and Dean checked them into the first cheap motel they came across that offered wi-fi. The fact that their new "residence" was built to resemble a log cabin gave both brothers pause, but they'd definitely stayed in odder places.
Upon opening their door, they quickly discovered that most of the charm was on the outside of the building. Inside, the room was outdated, harkening back to the sixties, and very cramped. The worn looking beds were so close together that it was amazing that there was room for the nightstand scrunched between them. The air hung heavy with unpleasant odors and the carpet was particularly disgusting, but the brothers were used to that.
"Ah," Dean sighed, claiming the bed closest to the door and flopping down on it. "Home sweet home away from home. By the way, dibs on the first shower."
Sam shot his brother a look then shook his head. "You better get on it then. I'm gonna see what else I can find out about these disappearances." Sam grumbled.
Dean got up off the bed and grabbed his duffel to pull out some clean clothes when he noticed a slip of paper on the night stand. Picking it up, he quickly skimmed it and then burst out laughing.
"What?" Sam asked, annoyed that Dean was distracting him.
"Listen to this," Dean chuckled. "' Please note: In an effort to keep our towels supply looking its best, we have placed these pieces of stained, but laundry clean toweling here for your use in cleaning guns, fishing equipment, boats, autos, shoes, or any other use needed. You're cooperation in this effort will be appreciated.' Man, I love this place. If we get caught with our guns, all we have to say is that we're here to do some hunting. This is awesome!"
"Let me see that." Dean handed Sam the slip of paper.
"Huh. It really does say that. Bad grammar and all." Sam chuckled.
"Whatever, geek boy. This place is like having the best alibi ever!" Dean laughed again and Sam gave a grudging half smile. After all, they did hunt, just not animals.
Sam closed his laptop as his stomach growled. "Yeah, well let's just try to keep a low profile anyway. Now go get in the shower, and I'll go get us something to eat."
"Killjoy." Dean muttered without malice. As an afterthought he called after his brother, "Hey! Bring me some pie! Apple if they got it."
Sam called back an affirmative reply and pulled the door closed behind him.
o0~SPN~0o
Dean was sitting in front of the laptop when Sam got back.
"That had better not be porn you're looking at, Dean. Last thing we need is to get another computer virus." Sam complained, setting down the bag of food and the drink tray.
"Did you get my pie?" Dean deflected, trying to look innocent as he quickly shut down the computer and closed it. Sam wasn't fooled but let it slide.
"Yeah, but it's not apple."
Dean shot him a horror filled look that clearly said, No apple?! What is the world coming to?
"So what kind did you get?" Dean asked, causing Sam to inwardly cringe. He knew Dean wasn't going to be happy with the answer.
"Uh..." was all Sam got out before Dean started rattling off flavors.
"Is it cherry?" Sam shook his head no.
"Blueberry?... Blackberry?... Pecan?... Derby pie? Kentucky is supposed to be famous for its derby pie." Each guess was shot down with a negative shake of Sam's head.
"Then what is it?" Dean finally demanded in exasperation.
"It's strawberry-rhubarb." Sam admitted.
Dean gave a heartfelt groan."Really, Sam?"
Sam tried to placate him. "If it's any consolation, they said it was the best in the state."
"Yeah, well, people lie!" Dean whined. "You know how much I hate strawberry-rhubarb pie after what that bitch of a witch did to me!"
Sam did know but there was nothing he could do about it now. He sighed, sitting down to eat his own meal and told his brother, "Just eat, Dean."
When Dean finally got to the pie, he examined it as if it had been beamed down into its to-go container straight from outer space. Stifling a chuckle, Sam covertly watched his brother pop open the container with a sigh.
In his own defense, Sam had tried to get Dean the apple pie he'd requested but the diner had been out. Figuring that it was better than coming back with nothing, he'd opted to bring back any dessert, even if it was the one that brought back bad memories for Dean.
The Great-Strawberry-Rhubarb-Pie-Debacle of 1999- as Sam liked to call it- had come about when a young witch, who had felt snubbed by Dean, had cursed him to taste and smell nothing but the last thing he'd eaten for one whole week. It just so happened that a generous slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie had been the last thing to pass Dean's lips.
As curses went, this one was fairly benign and Dean had been ecstatic to think that he'd be able to eat his beloved pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner no matter what he actually had in front of him. By the end of the week, however, Dean had all but stopped eating and both brothers were grateful when the curse finally lifted. After that, Dean had banned strawberry-rhubarb pie from both his diet and his vocabulary.
Until now.
Sam could have just come back empty-handed (as he usually did when strawberry-rhubarb pie was the only type offered) and let Dean gripe at him about it, but he was sick of his brother accusing him of forgetting his precious pie. Besides, it had been years since the "debacle" and Sam felt that Dean had had plenty of time to get over his aversion.
Sam turned his attention back to his brother as Dean grabbed his plastic fork determinedly and sunk it into the wedge of pie. It was obvious from the look on his brother's face, that Dean's longing for the sweet pastry warred with the loathing he felt toward its filling. Keeping a straight face became that much more difficult because the combination of emotions playing across Dean's features made for the most ludicrous expression Sam had ever seen on a human being.
Closing his eyes as if in agony, Dean slowly slid the bite between his lips and chewed cautiously. Gradually, his eyes opened, one at a time as he tested the taste and texture on his tongue.
Sam knew the precise moment his brother had shoved all fear for the pie aside when he sighed in pleasure and quickly shoveled another, larger, bite into his still full mouth.
"Oh my God, Sammy! It's just as awesome as I remember!" Apparently, time had healed all pie-shaped wounds as Dean moaned in ecstasy around a half chewed mouthful of food.
"Glad you like it, now would you please eat with your mouth closed? You're grossing me out here." Sam griped, though he was secretly pleased that he would no longer have to "forget" Dean's pie or substitute it with other, "inferior" desserts.
It was pointless to have said anything about Dean's lack of manners though, since Dean pretended not to hear his brother's words. Instead, he continued to chew open-mouthed and moan his way through the rest of his pie slice.
When dinner was done, Sam went back to his research while Dean pulled out their arsenal and took stock of what they had at their disposal.
He was setting aside their flare guns when Sam spoke. "This is no good. There's nothing new here. Looks like we'll have to just go and talk to the locals."
Dean nodded, "So what are we gonna pose as this time?"
Sam thought for a moment. "I think it would just be best to pass ourselves off as hikers."
"Good, because I really don't want to climb a mountain in a monkey suit."
"Agreed. Oh, by the way, we're going to have to apply for waivers to go up on Black Mountain." Sam stated.
"How long will that take?" Dean wondered aloud. He didn't want to have to hang around for a couple of weeks waiting on some piece of paper that said he could go for a walk on a mountain.
"Hopefully not long." Sam stated, looking at his watch. "It's too late to do anything about it today, so we'll have to wait till morning to get them." It was not the reply that Dean wanted, but he nodded reluctantly.
"Go take a shower, Sam, then we'll hit the bar and see what we can find out from the local yokels." Sam nodded, grabbed some clothes, and headed to the shower.
TBC
Secondary A/N: The motel that Sam and Dean stay at is based off of an actual motel in Harlan County, Kentucky. If you google Mount Aire Motel Harlan KY and click on the TripAdvisor link (second link), it will show you pictures of the motel. There is also a picture of the slip of paper that Dean reads from.
Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review!