Chapter 54
Sam and Joel arrived at the edge of the woods where they had tracked the animal footprints to. They were both unsurprised to find Lucy and Curtis there. They got out of the Impala to address the two. Lucy spoke first. "What are you two doing? Trying out for some action movie?" They both looked at her confused.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.
"Your clothes." She mentioned. "The bandages." Sam got it. Neither Joel or Sam were dressed in a manner that was typical for people in public. Due to all the damage Joel had taken, his clothes were unwearable after their run in with the bears in the forest. So, he took a pair of Sam's jeans, the only thing that fit, and even they were relatively tight on his massive frame, and Dean's boots. Sam was dressed in similar fashion. He wore just his athletic shorts that he wore to bed and his running shoes. Neither wore shirts. After all, none of Sam's or Dean's fit Joel due to his hulking physique, and Sam's wounds just kept reopening and ruining the few shirts he still had left. He figured for an adventure in the muddy woods, he'd forego it and save the ones he had for his time in populated places.
"Sorry." Sam started. "We didn't expect to find anyone in the woods and most of our clothes are ruined."
"Ruined?" She asked. "How?"
"It's a long story and we don't really have time." Sam explained. "Suffice it to say that we're on a Hunt. We've got a monster to catch."
After what she'd experienced in the animal control facility, she didn't seem to struggle to believe him. "And where's your brother?" She asked. "The tiger?"
"He's who we're here for." Sam answered. "He ran off to take care of the monster himself. He's only going to get himself hurt."
"And the bandages?" Curtis jumped in. "Those from the tiger?"
Sam hesitated to answer, but figured the answer was obvious. "Yes. From the fight in your office."
"Figured." Curtis nodded. "Thank you." He said quietly. It caused Lucy to physically turn and look at him. It was obvious he wasn't the kind of man to show gratitude often. "You saved my life. And it came with a cost." He said as he gestured toward Sam's beaten and injured body.
"That's my job." Sam smiled. "And he's my brother. I gotta' save him."
"And you're here following him because he's following the monster?" Lucy asked. "And let me guess, the reason all the zoo animals are out in these woods…?"
"The monster." Sam answered. "A druid."
"Right." She said, accepting it, but clearly not diving fully into the idea of monsters. Sam couldn't blame her. It's totally opposite of what everyone is taught their whole lives. He was just glad she was remaining open to the idea. "And now that you're here…" She started. "What can we do?"
"We do our job." Curtis said plainly.
"Curtis." She scolded, something that was not in her nature. "We should listen to them."
"I don't believe in monsters and hocus pocus, Lucy. We have a job."
"Curtis, please." She said in a more pleading tone. "I always follow you. Please follow me this time." She asked with a sincerity that worked its way into Curtis. "I believe him. Let's follow their lead on this one. Even you have to admit that this is all very strange."
After some very clear inner struggling, Curtis let out of deep huff. "Fine." He spat. "But the second things seem to be falling apart since these guys are not trained animal officers, we're going in."
"Deal." Sam said before Lucy could talk more. "Please just wait here and be ready. If this druid has taught us anything about himself, it's that he's out to get humans. Be ready to act if he leads more animals into Singleshot. We're going after my brother."
With that Sam and Joel made their way into the woods. Neither of them were in good condition, but they had to press on. That's what Hunters did. They kept going no matter what. That's something Sam could thank Dean for teaching him. When the going gets rough, keep on keeping on.
Sam sighed in frustration as they marched through the woods. "We could be hunting the druid right now." He complained to Joel. "But Noooo…" He held the word out for emphasis. "Dean has to run off and try to play hero or whatever."
"I'm sorry that I've caused so much trouble between you and your brother." Joel apologized, not sure what else to say to console Sam since he barely knew him.
"You didn't do anything. Dean's just being an asshole." Sam whined. "It's always gotta' be his way or there's trouble." They marched through the woods as Sam continued to complain totally unconcerned about making too much noise. "He's like a giant child. If he doesn't get what he wants he goes off to pout."
"At least you have a brother." Joel said softly. "Someone to rely on. Someone who cares about you." His words shut Sam up. "I work with people. I Hunt just like you do. But when I Hunt, the person I work with doesn't care about me. He doesn't love me. I'm just another tool to be used on a Hunt, just as he is to me." Joel explained. "I wish I had a brother that cared for me like yours cares for you. You should have seen all he did to save you from the dryad."
"I guess." Sam let the words slip out, not wanting to let himself feel bad for being so harsh toward Dean. "He's just so annoying sometimes."
"From what I've gathered in my life, brothers are supposed to be annoying. Aren't they?" Joel dared a light laugh. To his relief, Sam cracked a smile.
"I guess so." Sam caved in. "I just hope he's okay. He tends to think he's invincible. Like he'll only die when he allows it."
"Then we better move quickly." Joel said, speeding the team up a bit.
The two Hunters had no problem following the animal tracks into the deeper woods. It was nearly impossible to pick out any tracks that could have belonged to Dean, but they were both confident that Dean was wherever the tracks led.
After a tiring and muddy hike through the woods, the two Hunters stopped. They were both dripping sweat. It was so hot and humid out. The moisture in the air combined with his considerable sweating had caused Sam's bandages to fall loose again. Not that it mattered. In his line of work he was either not going to get in a fight and the wounds would be fine either way, or he'd get in a fight and they'd reopen despite the bandages. "My bandages came off again." He complained, but Joel shushed him immediately.
Joel had his index finger in front of his pursed lips as he looked as Sam. "Be quiet." He ordered. "Listen."
Sam grew quiet and listened for whatever had caught Joel's ear. He heard it. The sound of two creatures fighting. The audible sound of a distant roar led them both to assume they were hearing Dean. "We gotta' hurry!" Sam panicked. The tiger's roars were not confident and intimidating as they normally. Intentionally or not, they sounded more like pathetic last-ditch efforts to try to call for help. Fortunately for Dean, help was on the way!
Running in with Joel behind him, Sam considered the situation. He could see Dean was tired and injured. He had bloody slashes across his back and legs and anyone could see that he had taken a beating. Sam considered Joel. He had bruises covering much of his body as well as scratches. However, the most glaring injury was the home-treated broken arm he was working with. Sam knew his own condition. He was still recovering from poison. On top of that, he was suffering from talon wounds on his head and face as well as deep tiger slashes and a number of bruises and aches. They were not in good condition.
Looking at the opponent, a very large male dryad who must have rivaled Dean in weight, stood before Dean with dual swords swinging wildly in attempts to cut down the tiger. Sam was a little relieved to see that the dryad was not unscathed. Dean had clearly gotten in some good hits. The dryad had bite marks all over his arm and a number of scratches around his body. Despite that, anyone could tell that the dryad was winning. Dean was clearly on his last leg, barely able to avoid the swoops of the blades as they came at him.
Deciding, despite their rugged condition, that it was time to act, Sam ran in. "Dean!" He hollered, catching Dean's attention and alerting him to what was about to happen. Without another word, Dean dove away from the dryad as Sam unloaded his shotgun at the large monster. He shot a total of six shells at the beast and every single one hit, but this beast was no small threat. The dryad took each hit with a clear expression of pain, but it didn't seem to leave a lasting wound on the beast. While Sam could easily see where the shells hit and could tell they had done some damage, the dryad continued on as if they were just minors pains.
Joel followed suit, unloading the pistol he had on the monster and noticing that the monster was starting to show a hint of fear. The more bullets that made their way into the monster's flesh, the more hesitant the thing seemed in staying for a fight. Even so, the Hunters didn't have an unlimited number of bullets, so instead of staying to fight, Joel decided to make a call. "Get Dean!" He hollered. "I'll keep him occupied!"
Sam didn't need to be told twice. He ran over to the wounded cat and ushered him out of the fight as quickly and cautiously as he could. The dryad tried to take a few swings at them, but decided against it in favor of guarding his face from the other Hunter's suppressing fire.
As Sam and Dean retreated, they heard the telling click of a gun running out of bullets. "Run!" Joel shouted as he took off to catch up with them. The dryad chased them in hot pursuit. They moved as quickly as they could, but with their severe wounds, especially Dean's slashed leg, they couldn't get going that fast.
Sam could see it in Dean's eyes. He was suffering. "Come on, Dean. I know this sucks, but we gotta' move." He encouraged his tiger-brother. Dean gestured with his head for Sam to go on ahead. Sam continued to press Dean forward as quickly as he could. "Not a chance. I'm not leaving you." Dean gestured again, this time more insistently. Sam refused again. "No way. Remember the Croatoan?" Sam asked. "When I got infected you never left me. You stayed in the room with me ready to die with me." Sam recalled. "I'm not leaving you." He insisted. "I'm furious with you, but you're not going to die today. I need to yell at you."
The three of them sprinted as best their damaged bodies could carry them, the whole being chased by an enormous dryad swinging swords at their heels. Throwing the occasional rocks and flinging a few tree branches as they retreated, the dryad was slowed just enough as to not be able to land any real hits on them.
They could see the edge of the woods and could hear the heavy pounding of hooves behind them. As they ran toward the clearing, Sam could make out the vehicle of Lucy still parked. The animal control officers hadn't left! As they ran into the open, Sam shouted. "Open fire!"
"What?!" Lucy shouted as she and Curtis turned concernedly toward where the two Hunters and tiger had emerged from the woods.
"Kill it!" Sam shouted. This time the dryad was visible. They didn't need to be told again. Curtis and Lucy both unloaded their rifles on the massive dryad. Sam, Joel, and Dean all covered their ears as the bullets flew. The dryad wasn't killed, but they managed to force it to retreat back into the woods.
"What the hell was that?" Curtis practically screamed.
"That…" Sam said as he tried to catch his breath. "Is a monster."
Curtis shook his head back and forth as he tried to let it sink in. Monsters were real. He finally let the word hiss out of his mouth. "Shit."
"Yup." Sam affirmed. "That particular one is called a dryad." He explained. "It's the first I've ever encountered, so I can't tell you much about it."
"But it's dangerous?" Lucy asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Very." Joel said sternly.
"You saved us." Sam said gratefully. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Lucy said absently as she continued to stare into the woods where the dryad was.
"Just paying you back." Curtis said plainly. "And how's the tiger?" He looked at Dean. "Behaving?"
"Yes." Sam explained. "He's back to himself. Or at least, the tiger self."
"Good." Curtis said, still clearly nervous that the tiger would attack.
"Okay. We need to scatter." Joel announced. "All that gunfire was sure to catch someone's attention. We don't want to be here when someone comes to investigate."
"Right." Sam agreed. He aided Dean in getting into the Impala. "Sorry Dean. We're gonna' have to do some major interior work on this car after we're done. All this mud and blood is not gonna' come out easily." Sam could tell Dean was hurt because he didn't even give a reaction to that. He just flopped into the backseat and closed his eyes. "We'll get you all fixed up soon."
Together, the three pulled out of the wood's edge and back onto the main road. They were in need of some serious rest and recovery. Unfortunately, they didn't have that luxury. The best Sam could figure to offer the group was one night. By tomorrow, they needed to be back in the woods to track down that druid.
