Thank you all for your reviews and encouragements. There will be a third and final chapter after this one to tie everything up into a neat bow (hopefully anyway) I hope you enjoy!
Approximately fifty feet above, John and Dean were knotting rope and preparing to abseil down the drop Sam had disappeared down moments earlier. They spoke very little to each other, concentrating on saving time and rescuing the youngest of the trio but all calm and collective behavior disappeared when they heard Sam cry out from below.
"Sam! Talk to me." John shouted as the pair dropped to their stomachs and looked down. Sam wasn't in eye shot anymore and that pissed off John immediately. He was sure that kid went out of his way to disobey every single order that came from him. Dean was almost hyperventilating, eyes darting around and neck craning to see if he could locate his pain in the ass brother.
After a couple of beats, Sams voice, smaller and less defiant than usual filled their relieved ears. "I'm fine." A few seconds passed before they heard Sam again, this time a little louder. "Dad, there's a body down here."
John and Dean exchanged glances. "Another deer?"
"No." came the short and spooked reply.
John huffed in frustration, climbing to his feet "Of course it was too much to ask for a damn day off with my boys." he muttered under his breath.
Dean would have smiled, touched by the comment, if he hadn't been so sickeningly worried about Sam and what he'd fallen into. "Dad, come on we gotta get down there now." he said impatiently.
"Safely Dean. We're no help to Sam if we fall-" John began but he was cut off by a terrifying snarl from below followed by a heart stopping "Dean!"
Deans limit of patience had run out. "Ah, screw it." he said taking his supply bag and throwing it hastily over the ledge, he then began to make the dangerous decent down himself, attempting to be as careful as he could whilst still speedily trying to reach his brother.
John was livid. "Dean, what are you doing?! You're going to get yourself killed." he growled.
Dean ignored him, his focus being on the scuffling sounds below that filled him with anxiety and dread. He managed a good twenty or so feet without a hitch and then realized he was unable to climb down any further without slipping. Conscious of time, Dean managed to pull his knife out from where he had stashed it behind his belt and stab it into the rock and dirt. He held his breath, letting it take his weight and for part of the way down his inevitable fall was lessened. That is until the knife became suddenly wedged and Deans hand slipped off it completely. "Crap!" he cursed as he plunged the remainder of the way and landed in a painful heap a top a stinging bush.
A little dazed and itchy, Dean rolled out, his body trembling from the adrenaline rush he was experiencing. Seeing his pack, he quickly gathered his thoughts and was on his feet. He signaled to his father that he'd made it down in one piece and John, who had watched the whole thing worriedly, got back to work with the rope so he could join him. Dean pulled out his gun that had been carefully stowed inside the extra jacket in his bag and immediately readied it. "Sammy, I'm here. Make some noise." Dean called out, the hair standing up on the back of his neck. There was no reply except the sound of the leaves and branches from the trees all around gently crashing together in the wind.
He crouched low, examining the ground nervously. Sam and his attacker were nowhere to be seen upon Deans first sweep of the small area but he soon came across the body Sam had warned them about. It looked as though whoever it was had been dead weeks, maybe even longer. That was when Dean noticed his little brothers legs poking out of what looked to be a small cave or burrow and he was disappearing inside by the second.
Dean sprang forward, all procedure and safety lectures once again flying out of the metaphorical window. He didn't know what had grabbed Sam but he knew his chances of getting him back alive once he went out of sight were slim to none. "Sam! He yelled frantically taking hold of his brothers legs and using all of his strength to pull him back out again. Whatever gripped hold of Sam let go and Dean fell backwards at the sudden slack. He sat up but immediately froze in place. Squeezing out of the hole and taking a protective stance over the top of Sams still body was a large, hairless dog like creature. It was muddy brown in color with tall pointed ears, a wide mouth full of sharp bloodied teeth and the biggest, most red eyes Dean had ever encountered on a beast.
Dean was ninety percent sure they were dealing with a Chupacabra but the ones he had hunted before alongside his father had been much smaller than this one and all had had the tell tale quills running down the spine.
Dean slowly rose to his feet staring back at his Supernatural foe. His father had always made it clear that you were never to show weakness or fear in front of a Chupacabra. They were strong and fast and if you let your guard down for a second, which is evidently what Sam had done, it would make you its prey.
"Back off bitch!" Dean growled in an attempt to show dominance. He took a step forward stamping the fear and worry down as far as it would go. His gun, which he'd dropped in the madness of stopping Sam being swallowed by a cave was down on the ground to his right somewhere so he was weaponless and hoping against hope that the Chupacabra found him scary enough. He risked a glance to his brother who was beginning to stir. His shoulder was covered in blood from the tug of war he had just been a part of and he was losing color in his face. It was clear the Chupacabra had already had a feed on the youngest Winchester and had been dragging him to her home to finish her meal in peace when Dean had rudely interrupted.
The Chupacabra growled, rooted in place defiantly. She wasn't about to give up her prey and was going to fight for it.
Sam was fully awake now and his eyes were wide in panic when he realized what was standing over him.
"Hey Sammy, a little help would be nice if you've finished your nap." Dean said loudly sending his brother a clear message.
Without hesitation, Sam sent a swift but powerful kick to the creatures underbelly causing it to break eye contact with a yelp. Dean took the opportunity to dive to the ground feeling around for his gun rapidly. As soon as his hand was on it he aimed and took a shot but the Chupacabra had already jumped over the top of him landing gracefully behind a bewildered Dean. He'd forgotten about the impressive bounding the damn things were capable of.
Dean yelled out a warning to John above so he knew what he was about to drop into and then rolled to the left as the animal tried to take him down with another jump. A second pounce came too fast for Dean to avoid and he flew forward hitting his forehead on the ground. Dean groaned putting a palm against the throb above his eyes. He was going to have a killer lump and bruise within the next hour or so.
Sam was slowly crawling to his backpack now, more than likely to retrieve his own weapon. It may not have been intended to be a hunt but no Winchester would set out into the middle of nowhere without some form of weapon for protection. They had lived through too much to know a day off was never really a day off.
Sniffing the air, the Chupacabra lifted its head and turned its attention back onto Sam, stalking him. Having already tasted young Winchester, the blood lust was taking over and the creature was ready to make the kill and drain its prey of blood.
"Hey, eyes on me asshole." Dean taunted, staggering to his feet, his head splitting. He took a second, third and fourth shot, each one miraculously hitting its mark but the Chupacabra barelycflinched in response, the skin on its back hardened and shell like.
Sam wasn't quick enough to raise his gun and the Chupacabra struck fast, it's teeth finding his shoulder again and beginning to drink greedily. Sam grunted, his body jerking in response to the attack. His glassy eyes on Dean as the life began to drain from him.
Dean was horrified and leapt towards Sam instinctively. "No!" he yelled.
John was finally on scene and he charged the monster while it was at its most vulnerable; feasting on his youngest son. John went straight for the Chupacabras nightmarish eyes, hitting them with the hilt of his knife. The creature released Sam, yowling in pain and lifting up its head. Blinded and far enough away from Sam, John didn't hesitate striking his foe to the ground and hacking off its ugly head in five violent and damning blows.
Dean was beside his brother with gauze and bandages. "Hey, hey Sammy, look at me, you're alright! Dad got the bastard. It's gone. I'm going to fix you up, you'll be fine." he rambled putting pressure on the seeping puncture wounds. Sams eyes were half open and he was looking up at John who stood heaving big breaths as he recovered from the surprise attack. His hands were bloody and there were splatters all over his face and clothes too. He commanded Dean stay with Sam and he checked the area, including the cave for any more supernatural beings. Once satisfied that he'd killed the one and only blood sucker, John returned to his sons. "How ya feeling kiddo?" he asked Sam hastily washing his hands before he began to look over the injury on Sams shoulder.
Sam just shook his head. "There's a body back there dad. We gotta find out who she is and get her home to her family." His hazel eyes, though droopy and tired were also full of desperation. John couldn't help but smile. It was so typical of his youngest to be more concerned about a long dead body than of his own current ongoing medical issue. It warmed his cold heart just a little and made him feel hope that he hadn't been as bad a father as he constantly and secretly berated himself for.
"We'll take care of it Sammy, I promise." Dean replied before John could. He was doing a fine job patching up his brother but as always when Sam was in some sort of trouble, the worry and stress was clear in his voice and movements. John silently but firmly took over the care giving and gave Dean a strong look that said Take a rest, drink some water, I got this. Dean of course obeyed, retreating like a good soldier.
"How are we going to get out of here." Dean asked whilst John disinfected Sams wounds.
"We'll go back the way we came." John replied. Being the only rational one, John had descended down into the small clearing properly and safely using a harness and rope. He'd had to waste time sorting out Deans as well seeing as his son had abandoned the plan and endangered his own life, practically vaulting over the cliff edge without any safety supports.
Sam hissed in pain as John put more pressure on his shoulder and began to wrap it. He looked at Dean with watery and no doubt stinging eyes. "You okay? Forehead is lookin' colorful." he managed to say through pants.
Dean scoffed. "Me? Sure. It's nothing a bag of frozen peas won't fix." he grinned touching the bruising gingerly.
"Some might say it's an improvement." Sam jested to which Dean flipped him the bird.
John noticed Sam was getting paler in the face which signalled that it was go time.
"Alright, that's enough from you. Any other injuries to report before we make a move?" John asked seriously and Sam shook his head in response.
Dean rose to his feet and moved towards the two ropes that hung down. John stopped him placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you good? Really?" John checked. Dean knew better than to lie to his father, especially when he was trying so hard to make it up to him.
Dean smiled crookedly. "My head hurts like hell but I ain't seeing double. I'll be fine. Is Sam going to need a hospital?"
"I think it's best he does, I can't say for certain how much juice he's lost but he looks weak and pale so I'm betting he'll need topping up. Once we're out of this pit, I'm going to get Sammy to the car. I need you to do the clean up here and then head up to the emergency phone- map says its about half a mile up the trail. Call the cops and tell them you fell whilst hiking and found the body-" John relayed the plan he had formulated in his head only moments ago and as suspected Dean didn't look impressed.
"With respect, I'm going with you and Sam. I've got to make sure he's alright." Dean said bewildered by Johns absurd orders.
John sighed. Most of the time, the brotherly bond routine was adorable but sometimes it was a downright pain in the ass. "I won't argue with you Dean. It's still the way things are happening. The more you try and fight me on this, the longer it will take to get Sam fixed and safe." John pointed over towards where there body of the women lay. "I don't know how long she's been out here but I won't let her stay a minute longer than she has to. Get it done Dean."
Dean really looked like he wanted to bite back but he swallowed, setting his jaw instead. He knew his father was right. "Yes sir." he muttered.
Dean begrudgingly returned to Sam who was sitting up now but looking around lazily. "Hey, I picked the short straw and got crime scene clean up so I can't go with you just yet. Sucks right? Just hang in there a little while and they'll pump you full of the good stuff and more and I'll be there as soon as I can okay?"
Sam looked disappointed but he nodded in understanding knowing how important it was to Dean that he did what John thought was best.
Dean helped his family get back up onto the trail and watched as John supported Sam as they carefully retraced their footsteps and headed for the car. It was one of the worst feelings watching the only people he cared about in the world walk away from him, especially when one of them was hurting but he was a hunter and he had to finish off the job. The quicker he got it done, the sooner he'd be able to be back beside Sam.