Chapter 7

The door opened for the brother's room as Dean came out of the bathroom. He stiffened until he saw Sam coming in carrying bags of food, followed by Bobby.

"Hey," Sam greeted him. "Can you hear now?" Sam asked getting in Dean's line of sight so he could see he was talking to him.

"Yeah, there's a little ringing still, but I can deal with it. Great, food," Dean hummed as he sniffed deeply. "Where's Jed?"

"His room. He's going to eat something and head on to bed," Bobby answered. "Doctors gave him some pain meds, so he'll be out of it. I told him to go ahead and head out in the morning. He won't be of any use hunting with a broken arm."

"Good idea, he'd be more of a hinderance that help," Dean agreed.

"What happened out there, Dean?" Sam asked as he sat the bags on the table and started pulling out wrapped sandwiches.

"Something about that creature's howl, it was like a knife was jabbed into my ears and through my head."

"It must be because you're a werewolf," Sam surmised. "I didn't feel it; Bobby did you notice anything?"

"No, nothing like what Dean described," Bobby replied. "I could hear a faint sound, but it didn't bother me."

"What did you get me?" Dean asked his brother as he took a seat at the table ready to be fed.

"Two rare double cheeseburgers with bacon, sautéed onions, and fries. And before you ask, yes; I got a slice of pie for you."

"You do know me so well," Dean hummed opening his burger and taking a large bite. "Oh yes…." He mumbled around the food in his mouth as some crumbs fell from it.

"Can you at least swallow before talking," Sam fussed at Dean as he rolled his eyes at him. He bit into a chicken sandwich and chewed slowly, quite the opposite of his brother who was devouring his first burger and moving to the second one.

"After we finish eating, we need to talk about that creature," Bobby noted. He continued to eat his sandwich as the brothers looked at each other, a silent communication passing between them.

They finished their food and Dean pushed back from the table, rubbing his stomach, and burping loudly to get a glare from Sam as he gathered the trash to throw it away. He grabbed the trash bag depositing empty wrappers and napkins into it to take out so the room wouldn't smell. He came back in and went back to the table to sit down.

"Well, our first encounter with that creature went to shit," Dean commented when no one else said anything.

"Yeah, all our conventional weapons didn't seem to have any effect on it," Sam huffed. "I'm not sure what else we can try. Bobby, you have any ideas?"

Bobby grunted as he removed his ball cap to scratch his head and replaced it as he looked to each brother. He was not sure what they should do, since this creature was something none of them had seen before.

"I don't know. Maybe we could find a spell or ritual we could use," Bobby suggested.

"I'm going to get some ice and a soda," said Dean as he looked around for the bucket. "I'll be back."

Sam's eyes tracked his brother as he found the ice bucket and headed out the door. The wheels in his brain started spinning as an idea came to mind. He grabbed his laptop and started typing quickly, his eyes scanning the screen.

"Sam, are you on to something?" Bobby asked when he saw that look on Sam's face. He knew the boy had thought of an idea that he wasn't sharing yet. Sam had been like this since he was a kid. If he got an idea, he would research and explore it before ever sharing with anyone.

"Maybe…" Sam trailed off as he began to read what he had found.

Neither looked up as Dean let himself back into the room and strolled to the dresser to sit the ice bucket down. He grabbed a glass and put ice in it before pouring soda. He looked at Bobby and Sam and sensed something was up.

"Okay, what did I miss?" Dean asked them.

"I think your brother may have found something," Bobby replied when Sam didn't say anything.

"I knew that big brain of his would figure something out," Dean praised him. "So, Sammy, you gonna let us in on this idea or not?"

Sam startled for a moment when Dean slapped his back not realizing they were talking about him. He was too engrossed in his research to pay attention to them. He saw Dean and Bobby were both looking at him waiting for him to speak.

"Well, ummm…" Sam stammered not liking the spotlight. "We know silver, iron, and fire didn't really have any effect on the creature. It did kind of slow it down but didn't hurt it. So, Dean gave me an idea."

"I did?" Dean asked in surprise. "Damn, I'm better than I thought. So, tell me what was my great idea?"

"Ice," Sam told them.

Dean looked at Sam and frowned as he let it sink in what he said for a moment. He opened his mouth to talk and then closed it without speaking. He scratched his head before saying something.

"Ice? Not sure how that's a good idea," Dean finally said.

"Not ice exactly, but cold," Sam explained. "Fire didn't have any affect, so what if we used cold instead?"

"How would we do that? Invite the creature into a walk-in freezer?" Dean asked shrugging his shoulders.

"Dumbass," Bobby spat at Dean. "Let your brother talk."

"We use liquid nitrogen," Sam said. "It should freeze it enough that you can break it to pieces. Look." Sam turned his laptop where they could see the screen and hit enter so they could watch a short video of someone dipping a rose into liquid nitrogen. The guy tapped the rose on the desk, and it shattered into pieces. "If it can do that to a rose, why not the creature? Freezing it and breaking it into a thousand pieces."

"Don't they use that in cooking?" Dean asked to get a surprised look from Sam. "What? I watch the Food Network."

"Yeah, they do."

"That's good and all, but where do we get any of this stuff?" Bobby asked.

"Actually, there's a couple of places in town where we can get it. We would just have to get it into the woods and find the creature again."

"We could get some type of wagon or wheel barrel and I can pull it into the woods," Dean offered. "I am stronger than either of you."

"That might work. None of the places are open until in the morning, so, we might as well get some sleep and see about getting it in the morning."

"Or we can break into the places and get what we want," Dean suggested starting to get up.

"Wait, those places have good alarms, and we don't need to get caught or be running from the cops. You think Mason could be of some help?" Sam asked. "He does have a lot of resources at his disposal."

"Let me give him a call," Dean nodded getting up to make the call. He stepped from the room as he waited for the call to be answered.

spn

Bobby and Sam looked up and stopped talking when Dean stepped back into the room. He was hanging up his cell and nodded to them.

"Mason will have someone deliver the canisters early in the morning," Dean told them. "From this thing's hunting pattern, it doesn't come out until it gets dark, so that will give us time to lay a trap for it."

"Good, Bobby and I were talking about that," Sam started. "If we can lure it to a small clearing just large enough to get a good shot at it but have enough cover for us to hide, we can attack it and hopefully destroy it."

"I told Mason two large canisters should work and Mitch is going to be bringing it and help to get them into the woods. It'll be easier on you guys."

"Wasn't he the one who helped out when Sam was kidnapped?" Bobby inquired.

"Yeah, we've become good friends. I've gone on a couple of hunts up north with him."

"Good, I was telling Sam, what if we use a blood trail to get that creature where we want it?"

"That might work," Dean nodded. "I could go in and leave a trail and pretend I'm hurt while you and Sammy man the nitrogen."

"Why should you be bait?" Sam bristled. It always seemed Dean put himself in harm's way on cases.

"Because I'm faster, stronger, and can move quicker through the woods," Dean said. "Besides that, I'm older than you, so it's settled."

Sam huffed a pout, but he knew Dean was right. He just hated that he was always the one taking the risks, even with his enhanced abilities. He was worried that Dean might take one too many risks and he would lose him.

"You can take some of my blood to leave a trail," Sam told him. "Do we have the kit in the first aid supplies?"

"Yes, but I can use my blood," Dean insisted.

"It'll be harder for you since you heal so quickly. We can do it now and I'll be fine by morning." Sam got up and found the first aid kit in the pack. He rinsed out a water bottle and went to sit on the bed so he could draw the blood. Sam put a rubber band around his upper arm and found a good vein. He inserted the needle and put the end of the line in the bottle, sitting it in the floor. He watched the red liquid run down the line and began to fill the bottle.

"Don't take too much Sammy, I won't need a lot," Dean cautioned him as he watched his brother.

"Alright," Sam nodded as he let the bottle fill partway before taking the needle out and putting pressure on his arm to stop the bleeding. "You want to put this in the fridge for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, this should be enough for me to leave a trail." Dean took the bottle and capped it before sitting it in the mini fridge.

"I'll see you boys in the morning," Bobby sighed. "I'm going to check on Jed and let him know we've got this covered."

"Nite Bobby," Dean waved as he headed for the bathroom.

"See you in the morning," Sam said. He got up and found some sleep clothes to change into while he waited for Dean to finish in the bathroom. He hoped this insane idea worked since they couldn't come up with anything else. He didn't know what they would do if it didn't. The creature had to be stopped from killing any more innocent people.

"Your turn," Dean announced as he stepped from the bathroom and to his bed.

"Thanks," Sam mumbled getting up and walking into the bathroom. When he was done, he stepped back into the main room and saw Dean on his side and seemed asleep. He quietly went to his bed and turned off the lamp Dean had left on. He settled into the mattress and sighed softly and listened to Dean's even breathing, letting it lull him to sleep.

spn

Sam was walking through the woods as darkness descended across the land. He was straining to hear all the sounds around him because he knew there was something out here with him. He had his gun out and looked around for Dean wondering where he was. Sam heard twigs breaking ahead of him and froze, bringing his gun up. He heard a strange noise and focused on it trying to see in the shadows of the trees.

A howl pierced the night making Sam jump as he looked behind him. He started moving again, dodging between trees, and trying to keep his footing on the wet, leave covered ground. Sam pulled up short when a darker shadow stepped from around some bushes blocking his way. It wailed at him as the creature raised its long arms and stepped toward Sam. Sam began to shoot, but the bullets didn't stop it. He backed backwards trying to stay away from the creature but stumbled and went down. He cried out as a clawed hand slashed down toward him, ready to rip him apart.

"Sammy! Wake up!" Dean demanded giving his brother another hard shake. "Wake up!"

Sam jerked awake and tried to get a breath as he gazed wide eyed around him looking for the creature. His heart was racing, and he was panting hard as the last of the nightmare faded away.

"Sammy, are you okay?" Dean asked him as he sat down on the bed beside him.

"I'm…Fine…" Sam gasped trying to draw in slower breaths when he realized he was in bed in a motel room.

"You were yelling in your sleep and woke me," Dean told him listening to his brother's slowing heartbeat.

"Sorry," Sam mumbled as he leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes. "Bad dream."

"Figured as much. Wanna talk about it?"

"No, it's nothing," Sam wheezed out. "I'm good."

"Want me to sit with you until you fall asleep? It's too early to be getting up."

"I'm okay, go on back to bed."

"Alright, if you're sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay," Sam said as he slipped back down onto the mattress on his back. His heart had slowed now, and he was able to breath deeper. He watched Dean slip back under the covers and snuggle under them. Sam lay there awake as he tried to remember his dream. He knew he was in the woods alone and had come face to face with the creature. It was going to attack him, and he woke up before that happened.

"Go back to sleep Sammy," Dean said softly from his bed.

"I am," Sam replied with a huff, annoyed he had been caught. He worked on clearing his mind and taking some slow, even breaths as he let his eyes close.

spn

The next morning, Sam woke to the smell of coffee and his brother moving around the room as he gathered his clothes and packed.

"Mornin' bro, you getting up?"

"Yeah," Sam yawned as he swung his legs off the bed and sat on the side. He pushed himself up and headed for the bathroom, grabbing clothes along the way.

"Got a text from Mitch, he should be here by the time we finish breakfast. He's going to meet us at that convenience store on the outskirts of town and we'll regroup."

"That's good."

"Once you're ready and packed, we'll meet with Bobby and have breakfast."

"Okay," Sam said. He came out of the bathroom and stuffed his things in his duffle before looking around the room to be sure he had everything. He saw Dean had the bottle with his blood in his hand waiting on him. "I'm ready Dean."

"Alright, let's see if Bobby is ready and hit the diner." Dean shouldered his bags and headed for the door with Sam close behind him. Dean stopped at Bobby's room and knocked, waiting for an answer. They could hear the lock being thrown and Bobby opened the door.

"You ready for breakfast?" Dean asked him.

"Let me get my bags," Bobby replied stepping back into the room to get his things.

They headed to the Impala and put their bags in the trunk before walking across the road to the diner for breakfast and then they would meet up with Mitch. If everything worked as planned, they hoped the creature would be dead before it could kill again.

A/N: With a plan in place and help on the way, the hunters are ready to face the creature again. Will things turn out better this time? Thanks for coming along for the ride. I do enjoy your reviews. NC