Chapter 53
Dean rushed to the zoo. The last thing he wanted was to brag about going it alone just to end up there too late. Even so, he knew he also needed to proceed with caution. The police were already on the scene. The last thing he needed was to be captured or shot by the police.
When he arrived, the police were still around, but the druid and animals were long gone. Fortunately, Dean wasn't human anymore. He didn't have to look around for clues as to where they could have gone. The evidence was in the air. He could smell it.
Good or bad, one thing was for sure: zoo animals left behind a stench. In this case, it worked in Dean's favor as he could easily follow his honed nose to the druid's location. Without catching the eye of any cops, Dean followed the invisible trail left behind by the druid's new posse of zoo critters. Not surprisingly, the trail led into the woods.
Though he hadn't lived as a tiger that long, Dean was getting used to his new body. He could tell just by the smell that the trail was quite fresh. If he ran, he figured he'd catch them within the hour. Without holding back, the tiger bolted off into the night. He was eager to put this nightmare behind him.
The rain had let up, but the ground was still muddy. Dean didn't even want to look at himself. He had to be a disgusting mess. After all, poor Sammy looked like the monster from the molasses swamp when he'd gotten him back to the motel room. Each step he took was identifiable by the sloshy, muddy, splash of his paw smacking the mud. He knew when he got closer he'd have to slow it down and turn on stealth mode.
The forest was surprisingly quiet for having an entire zoo's worth of exotic animals marching through it. The druid was clearly in control and being careful. Dean wasn't quite sure how he was going to handle the entire zoo, but what worried him more was an obvious question. What was the druid planning on doing with an entire zoo? After all, he'd caused quite a bit of damage with some sheep, a moose, three dryads, some coyotes, and cattle. Dean didn't want to imagine what he could do with elephants and rhinoceroses.
As he expected, Dean caught up with the crowd of beasts in about an hour. This close, the stench was rather overwhelming. He had to assume that just as he could easily smell them, the animals from the zoo could smell him, yet not one of them turned to him.
Despite that, Dean knew his presence was no secret. He could sense it. Sure enough, as the parade of beasts continued their march to who-knows-where, two figures emerged from the mess of animals. One dryad. One druid.
Anyone could see just what a threat this dryad was. The two ladies had done plenty of damage to the citizens of Singleshot, but this one was on a whole different level. He was at least twice as large of them, a real big stag of a dryad, and he was armed with a massive set of antlers and sharp-as-a-razor dual swords. The druid looked as he always did, though a little sluggish. Dean figured it was because the druid had been so busy over the last couple of days. But if there was one thing the Winchesters had learned, it was that one should never underestimate someone or something just because they're beaten or down.
Dean emerged from behind the tree he was hiding behind and faced the two enemies. Both approached him with stoic features, but Dean approached with revealed fangs and ready claws. He made himself look as large and threatening as he could. He growled and roared. Neither opponent seemed afraid in the slightest.
"I thought you were dead." Bearthian said. "Do you remember me?" He took a few more casual steps toward the tiger. "I gave you a task." His face grew harsher. "And you failed." Dean stood his ground and growled lowly. "I am not afraid of you. I am a druid. Nature is my life. You are no threat to me."
Dean prepared himself for a fight. His cat senses were going crazy in alarm. Despite his opponents' still figures, he knew something was about to come his way. The druid stepped back. "No matter." He began to turn around. "I tried killing you once and clearly underestimated you. Shame on me, really." He began to walk back to catch up with the zoo herd. "This time you won't win."
No later than when the last word had escaped Bearthian's wicked lips did the large male dryad make his move. With the twin swords he wielded, he swung wildly, but skillfully at Dean. Luckily, the combination of feline instinct and rigid Hunter training enabled the Winchester to maneuver around the relentless assault.
The dryad's swords both swooped down like a sharp jump-rope, ready to take off all four of Dean's paws, but he jumped over it, just barely escaping the maiming blow. In response, Dean took the chance to attack. He pounced forward, throwing all his weight into the big monster, causing it to stumble. He bit into the beast's muscular arm and shook it about, trying desperately to do some real damage.
The dryad took his free arm and swung his sword, slicing Dean's back. The tiger yelped and let go, scampering back to avoid a follow-up attack. As Dean remained trapped in a supernatural boxing match with the massive dryad, he couldn't help but wonder if the answer was in Bearthian. His hope for turning back to being human rested in the death of Bearthian. Would killing the druid also undo his creations and the control he had on the animals?
It was a hope he was willing to take a chance on. He faked the dryad out like a professional basketball player and weaved over toward Bearthian who was falling back into the crowd of animals. He leapt high into the air, his paws and maw ready to destroy the druid, but he never got the chance. Before he made contact, the firm and rugged feel of the dryad's antlers rammed into Dean's side.
The tiger literally flew through the air helplessly and landed crudely on the muddied earth. He looked up to see the dryad already rushing him again. He forced himself onto his feet and managed to avoid the charge, but the dryad wasn't going to give up. Dean dared a glance toward Bearthian who was now on his way out of view into the deep forest. Dean had no idea where he was heading, but wherever it was, he knew he needed to get there.
Unfortunately for him, there wasn't any time for him to worry about that. The dryad demanded his full attention. Dean felt the heat of a blade slice against his back leg. He cried out again, but didn't give up. He turned to face the dryad, beast against beast.
