Oasis Plains

AN: Here begins the next episode Bugs. I do not own anything! Sorry its been taking me a while, job apps and job testing.. But tell me what you think! Enjoy!

The Winchesters had been on the road for a while now, unable to find another decent lead. They had been bouncing around from motel room to motel room, heading further south towards Oklahoma ad money had begun to get tight. Dean cut down to one six-pack and they all began eating only two meals a day.

They cut enough corners, now it was time to work again. While Dean worked, Sam sat on the hood of the Impala and Troi in the front passenger seat. She was snuggled under an old blanket with her journal open on her lap. She had been just flipping through the pages while Sam read a couple newspapers.

The silence between them was deafening but not uncomfortable; still Troian craved a conversation with Sam. Alone time was hard to come by on the road, so usually they made those precious moments the most they could. This time no matter how hard she tried, Troi couldn't come up with something to say and it was worrying her. Thankfully, Dean came out to the car waving a bundle of bills in front of him.

"You know, we could get day jobs once in a while" Sam called out to Dean.

"Hunting's our day job. And the pay is crap" Troi sang from her spot in the car loud enough for Dean to hear her too. She had said the same thing to Dean many times, now she knew the answer by heart.

"Yeah, but hustling pool? Credit card scams? It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean" he chuckled at Troian's answer.

"Well, let's see honest" he said holding one hand out, palm up. "Fun and easy" he said, holding the other out the same way. He moved them up and down, mimicking a scale as a huge grin spread across his face.

"It's no contest" Troi admitted before Dean said it himself.

"That's my girl" Dean snickered. "Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do" he said as he tossed the wad of cash onto Troian's lap.

"Well how we were raised is jacked."

"Yeah, says you, Sammy. We got a new gig or what?"

"Oasis Plains, ok- not far from here. A gas company employee, Dustin Burwash, supposedly died from Creutzfeblt- Jakob."

"Huh?"

"Mad cow disease" Troi answered before Sam could.

"Your brains freak me out" Dean shuddered. "Mad cow, wasn't that on Oprah?" Dean responded.

"You watch Oprah?" Sam threw at his brother. Watching Dean squirm was always entertaining, but this time it was even more pleasurable.

He looked down at his boots as a flush rose to his cheeks. "So, uh this guy eats a bad burger" Dean sidetracked. "Why is it our kind of thing?"

"Mad cow causes massive brain degeneration. It takes months, even years for it to appear" Sam explained. "But Dustin, sounds like it happened in about an hour, maybe less."

"Okay, that's weird" Troi nodded. "Could be something nastier."

"Alright, continue to Oklahoma" Dean sighed. "Man, all work. No time to spend my money."

"I hear that makes Jack a dull boy" she smiled as Sam got into the back seat of the Impala.

Troian couldn't help but feel confused as she and her brothers stared down at the hole surrounded by police tape. It was just a hole in the middle of what will eventually be someone's front yard- and the electric worker just so happened to die of Mad cow in this hole?

"What do you think?" Dean asked, breaking Troi's concentration.

"I don't know" Sam answered "but it happened pretty damn fast."

"Whoa, you are not going closer to it, are you?" Troi shrieked when she saw Sam make a move towards the police tape.

"Yeah, why?" Sam chuckled. "It's a hole, Troi."

"A hole someone with Mad cow died in- and in record time may I add!"

"It's a hole, Troi."

"Sure it is" she mumbled as he and Dean continued under the tape.

"So what? Some sort of creature chewed on his brain?" Dean asked, ignoring Troian's trepidations about the safety surrounding the hole.

"No, there would be an entry wound" Sam shook his head.

"Sounds more like something was already in it" Troi added.

"Looks like there is only room for uh, someone small" Dean said as he peered down into the hole.

"Oh no, hell no" Troi shouted. "I am not going down into that hole! We don't know what the hell is down there."

"Wanna flip a coin then?" Dean chuckled. "Cuz you're scared."

"I'm not scared, jackass. Flip the coin."

"Alright, call it in the air, chicken."

Dean tossed the quarter into the air and followed it with his bright green eyes. Troi also followed the quarter up but snatched it out of the air. "I'm going!" she shouted.

"No, its fine" Dean smirked. "I said I'd go."

"I'm going!" she said again. Sam began tying the rope around her waist. "Don't drop me" she sighed while his long fingers worked knot after knot into the rope.

Of course she had total trust in her twin, but she couldn't feel more at ease until he acknowledged that he was her lifeline in this moment. "Couldn't if I tried" Sam smirked as he tightened the final knot.

Troi walked under the police line and sat down at the edge of the hole. Her legs dangled into the hole. It was dark, but thankfully it wasn't too deep. She could see the bottom from the top, but thinking about what could be waiting for her down there unsettled Troi like never before. "Shit, I'm going" she exhaled before leaping in.

The sides of the hole were crumbling and sending dirt clogs into her shirt and hair. Roots from the nearby tree snagged her jeans but she was still being lowered. The strain on her waist kept her focus on the mission as she continued to look all around.

"Anything yet?" Dean called down into the hole.

"Nope" she hollered up.

"How much further" Sam called next.

"I'm almost at the bottom."

No sooner did she feel pressure under her boots, and the strain from her middle eased. Troian pulled the rope to let Sam know she was down there. The hole seemed normal, there was no escape route or trap door- but there was something along the wall. "I got something!" she called up. "Pull me up, Sammy."

Troian leaned against the font bench seat while Sam kept flipping her find over in his hand. Sam wasn't sure what to say, he just kept examining. Dean was on edge just waiting to know what it was, but he had to drive. "So, she found beetles. In a hole, in the ground. That' that's impressive. That's impressive, Troian" he said sarcastically when he caught a glimpse of the thing in Sam's hand.

"There was no tunnels, no tracks. No evidence of any other kind of creature down there" Troi defended her find.

"You know, some beetles do eat meat. It's usually dead meat, but" Sam added.

"How many did you find down there?" Dean asked Troi.

"Ten."

"It'd take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude's brain."

"Well, maybe there were more" Sam shrugged.

"I don't know, it sounds like a stretch to me."

"Well, we need more information on the area, the neighborhood" Troi added. "Whether something like this has ever happened before." She pointed a dirty finger at a small sign on the corner with a red balloon tethered to the top.

The sign had an arrow pointing the same way they were going now and read open house. All the houses they passed weren't complete yet, so finding the one habitable one shouldn't be too hard. Seemed like it would be the best place to learn about the area. "I am kinda hungry for a little barbeque, how about you two?" Dean smirked when he saw the smoke coming up from a backyard.

Sam shot Dean a harsh look over his shoulder before glancing back at his sister, who had an identical look on her face.

Dean followed Sam's gaze and saw Troi's look as well. "What, we can't talk to these locals?" he shrieked.

"And the free food's got nothin' to do with it?" Sam sighed.

"Ok course not, I'm a professional."

"Right."

"Of course you are" Troi laughed, the harsh look vanishing from her face. Dean had just pulled the Impala over to the curb outside the open house. As she opened the door the smell of cooking meat made her stomach flip for delight.

Home cooked food was scarce for her; Dean was the only cook she knew and his barbeque was spotty at best. Troian was excited for good food but her hear was heavy with nostalgia.

Sam must have picked up on her mood, because next thing Troian knew, he was giving her arm a gentle squeeze. "You good Little T?" he whispered. He had a slight smile on his scruffy face, the one that always made her feel better.

Troi swallowed as much of the grief she could before managing a quick strong nod. "Just hungry is all."

The understanding smile shifted to a knowing look in Sam's dark green eyes. He didn't need to open his mouth to explain the sentiments; instead he followed Troi up the walk to the front door with Dean by his side.

"Growin' up in a place like this would freak me out" Dean grumbled.

"Why?" Troi asked.

"Well, perfect lawns. 'How was your day, honey?' I'd blow my brains out!"

"There's nothing wrong with normal ya know, Dean."

"I'd take our family over normal any day."

Sam couldn't help but feel the knife get stabbed deeper into his gut. He could also tell by the change in Troi's posture, she felt the stab too- and just in time for the door to open.

"Welcome!" a cheery man in a well fitted suit answered from inside the spacious house.

"This is the barbeque?" Dean clarified.

"Yeah, I'm Larry Pike, the developer here. And you are?"

"Dean," he answered "and this is Sam and Troian."

"Well, nice to meet you. So, you three interested in Oasis Plains?"

"Yes, sir" Troi smiled

"Let me say," he started, looking at Sam and Dean above Troian's dark blond head "we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or… sexual orientation."

Troi couldn't hide her amusement as an unflattering cackle escaped her mouth. She turned on her heels to look at her brothers' reactions. Dean was so red it had spread to his ears. Sam just looked plain uncomfortable. "They're brothers" she laughed as she turned back to Larry. "We're looking for a place for our Dad. He's getting up in years."

"Uh, great- great" Larry said, recovering from the shock of his own employment. "Well, seniors are welcome, too. Come on in."