Title: Captured in Crystal
Author: Disasteriffic Kaz
Info: Crystal City, Colorado sure sounded idyllic…until the bodies started dropping and trouble, that old Winchester friend, arrived to make the boy's lives more interesting than they generally like. Post 1x12 "Faith" hurt/comfort/awesome!Sam/Dean
Author's Note: So, you know, when I worry I'm spending too much time wandering, I feel the need to up the action a little. Just remember I love you. LOL
Beta'd by the always awesome JaniceC678 :D– Friend and Muse's co-conspirator.
**Follow me on Facebook as "Disasteriffic Kaz" for frequent fic updates or just to chat!
~Reviews are Love~
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"Run off from higher up the mountain." Sam said and looked up at the mountains looming above them where snow had already settled in the high passes. "Gonna get damn cold at night up here."
"Lucky for us there's a whole empty town waitin' on us then." Dean shook his head and stood. "There's nothing here. Wherever the ranger's body went in the water, it wasn't here. Come on. We'll check the other side of the creek and then head up." He went to the stone bridge and across, jumping up and down in a couple places to check its stability and relieved when it didn't shift even a little.
Sam chuckled and went past him, hopping down to the ground. "Some animal activity here. Thinks these are….wolf prints."
Dean came up beside him and knelt, tracing the outline of the paw prints with his fingers. "Yep. Big ones. Eyes open, dude."
"No, Dean. Really?" Sam rolled his eyes with a smirk and headed down the bank of the creek toward the punchbowl while Dean followed it the other way. He reached the lip of the small cliff and the waterfall and sighed; finding nothing. He heard a loud growl from somewhere behind him and spun to find Dean backing slowly toward him twenty feet away. "Dean?"
"No sudden moves, Sam," Dean said softly. He slid the silver long knife into his belt and took out the pistol. It was loaded with silver rounds which would be just as lethal as iron, but only at a close range. Ahead of him, two large, gray wolves slinked out of the trees with their bodies held low to the ground and snarling. "Think I know what happened to the ranger's arm."
Chapter 2
"Holy crap," Sam whispered and drew his own gun. He moved away from the edge of the cliff and went to Dean's side, taking careful aim at one of the wolves. "They're gonna have to get a lot closer if we're gonna do anything but piss them off with these rounds."
"Just need to scare them away," Dean took aim at the wolf on his left. "Aim for the chest. Won't do much damage, but it'll sting for sure. They think we're too much trouble to eat, they'll take off."
Sam rolled his shoulders to lessen the tension and took careful aim. He didn't want to kill them. He knew the wolves would kill them in an instant if they could, but they were just following their nature and it didn't stop them from being beautiful. "On three." They counted silently in their heads and Sam pulled the trigger, hearing Dean's gun go off at the same moment, perfectly in time with each other. He flinched internally at each puff of hair thrown up from the wolves chests as the silver bullets impacted with them. They stopped their advance, rearing back with angry, surprised howls, and the brothers shot twice more into their soft underbellies. The wolves tumbled over each other and escaped back into the trees with yipping calls to each other.
"Shit." Dean breathed and took a few steps after them, keeping his gun up in case they decided to come back and try again.
"Dean!" Sam shouted and lunged, tackling his brother around the shoulders and taking them both to the ground.
Dean grunted with the impact and then saw a dark gray blur shoot over them. He felt the wind of its passing and watched the largest gray wolf he'd ever seen skid to a stop on the rough, rocky ground and spin with a snarl. He shoved Sam to the side and brought up his gun that he'd thankfully kept his grip on. Dean fired into its chest three times, and finally the wolf turned and ran, deciding they were too much trouble.
"You good, dude?" Dean asked, sitting up and looked over at his brother.
"Ow." Sam groaned and rolled to his back holding his left elbow with his face screwed up in pain. "Hit my funny bone…and it's not funny."
Dean snorted. "Yeah, it is." He got to his feet and pulled his brother up with him. He rolled out his shoulders and shook his head. "Could'a had a career in football, Sammy. Damn."
Sam shook his arm to dispel the lingering pain in his elbow and rolled his eyes. "Can we go before they come back and eat us?"
"Good idea." Dean stayed at his brother's side as they crossed back over the stone bridge and they didn't put their weapons up until they were safely back in the jeep. "I would have thought all the tourists would keep wolves further out than this."
Sam buckled into his seat and shrugged. "It's probably been quiet up here long enough that they've come back down now that summer's over."
Dean grudgingly pulled his own seatbelt on, knowing they were in for a drive over even more dangerous terrain. He eased the jeep up onto the stone bridge and across to the other side and was relieved that it held up under the weight. "How far to Crystal City?"
"Couple hours." Sam dug in the bag at his feet and came out with a topographical map of the area. He unfolded it while the jeep bounced and rolled over the uneven terrain to have another look. "There are a lot of old mine shafts up there too. The ahuizotl could be hiding in one of them, but the lore says it likes water so…"
"We'll start with the water." Dean shrugged. "Why go cave diving if we don't have to?"
Sam nodded. "And all the victims have turned up on the river bank, of course…" he stopped and bit his bottom lip while he considered the map again.
"Dude." Dean reached across and slapped his brother's sore elbow. "You forgot to share with the class again, geek?"
"Ow, dammit." Sam glared at him and rubbed his elbow. "I was just thinking, the Crystal River runs really close to one of the caves. We might have to go spelunking after all." He groaned when Dean grinned. "Don't."
"Spelunking."
"Dean."
"Come on, man. You know it sounds dirty."
"You're a five-year-old sometimes, you know that, Dean?"
"Whatever, bitch. I'm funny."
Conversation quickly died as the jeep trail on the other side of the punchbowls came into view, steep, tree-lined cliff towering up on side of the rocky, dirt track and a fifty-foot, sheer drop off on the other. It curved and wound around the side of the valley back into the mountains, and it took all of Dean's concentration to not let the tires on Sam's side of the car slip off. He smirked, seeing that his little brother was leaning in toward him away from the window and what had to be a dizzying view down the side.
"You were right," Dean said at the halfway point. "If we'd tried this at night, we'd be dead."
Sam nodded silently and swallowed around the tension. "On the way out, at least you get to look at it instead of me."
Dean snorted but quickly put all his focus back on what there was of the road as he negotiated another narrow turn. It took a half hour to get across the treacherous expanse, and both men heaved sighs of relief when the jeep was back on safer terrain.
"Maybe we can walk out." Sam said with a laugh.
Dean chuckled. "Don't like my driving, princess?" He took the punch to his shoulder in good humor and gave the jeep some gas, now that he safely could. The forest around the hard packed road was thick and held out what little warmth of the day there had been. Dean didn't argue when Sam reached over and turned on the heater as warm air blew across his face.
Less than an hour later, they emerged from the forest into a small, flat valley with the dirt road winding across past several long, log cabin houses that had seen better days. They were weathered and dark with roofs sagging in the middle, and the mountains rose up, snow-covered behind them. A worn, wooden sign with the word 'Crystal' stood welcome as Dean pulled up and parked beside the first of the buildings. Several small, square metal signs had been nailed to the door with various symbols for first-aid, water, food, and a picture of a radio.
"Looks like this is home for now." Dean turned off the jeep and hopped down to the ground to look around. It was a narrow valley, surrounded by forest, and he had a brief, irrational urge to challenge his brother to a race across it even as he knew Sam's ridiculously long-legged stride would keep him from winning. He grinned.
"Not that I'm complaining, but why do you look so happy?" Sam asked as his brother came around the car with a cheerful smile.
Dean shrugged and grabbed the bag Sam tossed him from the back. "No reason. Let's check this place out."
Sam's brows went up. "Uh, ok. You're weird."
"And you're funny lookin', but I don't say anything," Dean shot back and went to the cabin door with a laugh. He pushed the door open and blinked, momentarily blinded by the gloom inside.
"Must be a light switch. The cabins are supposed to have power until the end of October, I think," Sam muttered and went in around his brother, feeling along the wall. "Got it." Sam flipped the switch and blinked owlishly until his eyes adjusted. "Whoa."
"What the hell?" Dean stared in surprise. The interior of the cabin looked as though a whirlwind had blown through. Three cots were upturned in a jumble against one wall, boxes had been torn open and their contents strewn across the floor, emergency rations, bottles of water, juice boxes and trail bars, making the floor a minefield as Dean stepped through the mess and put a hand to the gun at his back out of reflex.
"Those…are not human." Sam pointed to a section of the wooden floor liberally dusted with a crushed bag of flour and the strange prints that had been left in it. They circled the length of the cabin once and vanished around a solid-backed bookshelf. Sam followed the tracks and drew his gun as he rounded the shelf, feeling Dean solidly at his back and blew out a breath. "Damn." A large hole had been smashed through the wall of the cabin with the logs burst inward toward them and the floury prints led outside.
"So, what? The hooey-whatsit came in for a snack?" Dean looked around the cabin with a hunter's eyes and didn't like their odds of being safe inside asleep. "Looks like we're sleeping in shifts if we have to stay here tonight."
Sam knelt by the hole to look more closely at the tracks and shook his head. "I don't know if this was the ahuizotl. The lore says it resembles a large, upright lizard with a prehensile tail." He tapped his finger along one of the tracks. "There are five toes here. More like, I dunno, an oversized person?"
"A person punched a hole through the wall? I don't think so." Dean sighed and put his gun up. "Come on. Let's sort this mess out."
"We can block the hole with the shelf." Sam shrugged as he stood. "Won't keep whatever it is out, but it'll give us some warning if it tries to come back in."
They spent the better part of an hour restoring order to the interior of the cabin, collecting supplies and trying to give themselves a space to defend themselves if something big and nasty decided to come for a visit.
"Shit," Dean groaned, coming up from a pile of smashed boxes. "We won't be calling for help." He held up a large, smashed ham radio and let it drop with a clatter. "That's just awesome."
Sam dumped the last of the scattered food supplies into an empty box and put it on the table he'd salvaged. "The building down at the other end of the row had a shed or something on the outside. It looked intact. We should stash some supplies in there in case whatever this was comes back while we're gone."
Dean's irritation level rose as they packed up some of the supplies and rations and had to waste valuable daylight stashing them where they would hopefully be safe. He wanted to find the damn monster and kill it already. He was itching for the hunt…for the fight. He knew Sam had never felt the joy of it like he had, and Dean wished his brother could. He smiled in anticipation as they were finally as prepared as they could get, armed and ready. "Where to?"
"Nearest point of the river is that way." Sam pointed and they started walking toward the edge of the little valley and a path into the forest not yet overgrown. "Leads to the old Crystal Mill." He smiled. "It's considered one of the most scenic views in the country."
"Aw, and me without my camera." Dean rolled his eyes humorously at his brother.
Sam snorted. "Would it kill you to enjoy a view once in a while?"
"That bar we were at two nights ago? I enjoyed the hell out of the view there." Dean whistled, waggled his brows and used his hands to sketch a curvy shape in the air as they stepped into the trees.
Sam laughed and shivered as the temperature noticeably dropped in the shade. "Not the kind of view I meant." He adjusted the silver long knife hanging at his hip and ducked under a low branch. Like his brother, he had his gun in his hand; better safe than sorry if there were already hungry wolves in the area, let alone a creature that may or not spend time on land.
Dean pulled his jacket more tightly around himself with the cold bite in the air while they walked and kept his eyes watching through the gaps of the trees around them. He cocked his head as he heard the sound of rushing water growing stronger and frowned. "I hear us and I hear the water. Know what I don't hear?"
Sam paused, letting Dean walk up beside him and take the lead and listened. His brows rose. "No birds or insects. That's not good."
"Good for us." Dean said softly. "Means your critter is probably nearby and maybe we won't have to sleep in that cabin tonight." He started forward again and glanced back with a nod, finding Sam searching the trees to either side warily and watching behind them. The water remained the only sound aside from the sighing of a cold, pre-winter breeze from up in the higher elevations.
They came out along the side of the Crystal River with the aging, brown hulk of the old mill on a rocky rise to their left and Dean frowned. "This is a river? It's more like a glorified creek."
Sam chuckled. "Come back in spring when the winter runoff floods it." It did look like a wide stream. It was shallow and the rocky bottom showed through the clear water as it flowed past toward a short waterfall. Sam walked carefully on the rock strewn ground back toward the drop-off. "This is all bedrock here. It's why the water's so clean."
"Awesome. So, when you have a graceful moment and fall, you're guaranteed to break something, huh, Sasquatch?" Dean grinned at the finger his brother flipped him and looked up at the mill. The old, wood building seemed to be perched precariously on an outcropping of bedrock. It looked like a strong wind should tumble it off with its glassless windows and broken open door. He followed his brother and shrugged. "Not much of a waterfall."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Enough of one to power a water wheel." He sighed. "Well, when there was a water wheel." He nodded to the structure that climbed the rock face from the water up the mill that had once powered the mill wheels inside. "I thought they were renovating it."
"Doesn't look like they've gotten around to it." Dean climbed carefully up to the old mill and stuck his head in the door. Sunlight shone in the open windows above him and illuminated the space that was smaller than he'd thought it would be. The only thing inside were two old, stone mill wheels sitting motionless in the center of the room. The gears that had once moved them could be seen in the rafters overhead, but the drive shafts were long gone with age or vandalism.
"Dean?" Sam called and had his eyes trained across the little river and his gun up.
"You see something?" Dean climbed back down quickly and followed his brother's line of sight. "I don't see anything."
Sam shook his head. "Something moved, but I didn't get a good look at it."
"Ok, let's go. Walk soft, little brother." Dean raised his own gun and splashed down into the water. "Shit!" he gasped as the frigid water surged around his calves and made him shudder. "Ok, that's…that's c-cold."
Sam's whole body shook in reaction with the icy touch and he strode quickly across, wishing he could dry out his pants and shoes. Instead, he was reduced to trying not to squelch and shake while they walked. "Should have brought waders," he said softly and got an answering nod from his brother. Leaving the bank for the dense forest dropped the already cool temperature again, and his feet felt as though they were going numb while they walked.
They eased through the trees, silent together as they both listened for any sound that didn't belong. Sam watched the ground for anymore of the strange tracks they'd found in the cabin or the tracks of ahuizotl. He assumed it would be three- or four-toed with its lizard-like characteristics. He jerked his head up at Dean's soft hiss and saw his brother pointing at the ground ahead of him. Sam jogged quietly up beside him and nodded; three-toed prints.
Dean grinned. He tapped his chest and pointed to the right.
Sam nodded and followed the tracks while Dean moved off to flank him through the trees. The tracks curved around through the trees, taking the wider gaps as though the creature was big enough to need the extra space and that worried Sam a little. They really had no clear idea just how large the ahuizotl was.
Dean felt the moment something changed in the air. He looked over and saw the hitch in his brother's stride that said he felt it too. He picked up his pace and felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise with the feeling they were being watched as Sam passed behind a wide tree twenty feet away. It made him twitch, losing sight of his brother. He scowled and moved faster, wanting to reach Sam for no reason he could really define, just an intuitive sense that he needed to get to him NOW that he had learned not to ignore years ago.
"Dean!" Sam shouted his brother's name as a massive, glistening, scaled creature burst from the cover of the tall bushes to his left. The ahuizotl was bigger than he'd thought. He could see powerful muscles shifting beneath the scales as it rushed him. Sam brought his gun around reflexively and fired three times before it crashed into him. He heard Dean shouting his name as the ahuizotl breathed rancid breath into his face and lifted him in powerful, clawed hands.
"SAM!" Dean rounded the wide tree and slid to a stop. He raised his gun as he took in the sight of Sam held in the clawed hands of a giant lizard with rows of spikes visible down its back. He snarled in his fear and anger, unable to take a shot without the risk of hitting his brother. "NO!" He screamed it as the creature suddenly threw Sam to the side as though he weighed nothing. Dean watched Sam slam into a tree with a sickening thump and slide motionless to the ground. Dean was torn between reaching his brother and the ahuizotl that now had its sights set on him with Dean now posing the only threat. "Son of a bitch!" Dean fired into the scaled chest and it didn't even seem to slow the creature as it barreled at him. He shot one round into the ahuizotl's eye, making the creature scream in a rage, and it was on him, smashing him down and rolling him across the rocky ground. Dean scrambled to get back to his feet, ignoring the bruises he could already feel, and looked up in time to watch the beast's heavily weighted tail swinging down at him.
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To Be Continued…