A/N: Happy Hump Day everyone. Sorry for the delay with this story, but I wanted to finish the Halloween story first. Enjoy... NC

Chapter 2

The Impala rolled into the small town of Winsted, Connecticut, late afternoon as the hunters checked the place out. They found the sheriff department and Dean pulled into the parking lot looking for the visitor parking spaces. He pulled into a marked space and shut the engine off.

"Are we going in as wildlife officers?" Sam questioned since Dean hadn't said anything about how they were proceeding.

"Yep, since the locals think it's an animal attack, that's the best cover," Dean replied getting out to go around to the trunk. He opened it and found the old cigar box with fake ids and rummaged around until finding suitable ones to use. "Here you go." Dean handed Sam a badge and stuffed the other into his pocket. "Let's go let the locals know we're here, so we don't ruffle any feathers and see if we can get a look at the bodies."

"Alright, and hopefully they'll let us have a copy of their reports too," Sam offered.

They headed for the main entrance and went through the double glass doors into a lobby with a counter dividing the room. One side had chairs sitting against the wall and bulletin boards filled with notices. A deputy sat behind the counter and looked up at the brothers.

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" he asked in a pleasant voice.

"Hello, we're with Fish and Wildlife and was sent to check out these animal attacks you've been having around here," Dean answered holding up his fake badge for a moment. "I'm Styles and this is my partner, Wilson. We wanted to let you know we are in the area and would be checking things out."

"You should speak with the sheriff. Have a seat over there and I'll let him know you're here."

"Alright," Dean replied looking behind him at the uncomfortable plastic chairs. They stepped back and took a seat to wait.

Sam dropped into the chair and blinked tiredly but tried to hide it. He looked aimlessly around the room checking out the wanted posters in one case hoping not to see Dean's picture on one of them like he had one time. He shifted nervously as his leg started to bounce without him realizing it. He looked down when Dean laid a hand on his knee and pressed on it, stopping the motion. Sam nodded to his brother and sat up straighter looking toward the door behind the deputy hoping the sheriff would be out soon.

It wasn't long before a middle aged, stout looking man stepped from the door. He had salt and pepper hair and was dressed in a sheriff uniform. He spoke briefly to the deputy on duty and turned to the brothers as they got up and approached the counter.

"Good day gentlemen, I'm Sheriff Savage. My deputy says you're from Fish and Wildlife Department," he greeted them.

"Yes sir, I'm Officer Styles and my partner Officer Wilson," Dean replied shaking his hand. "Our bosses sent us here to check out these animal attacks that you've been having recently. Hopefully we can help find what has killed these kids and put a stop to it."

"Don't remember calling your office for help."

"Someone contacted our boss, and he assigned us the case," Dean shrugged. "I've found it's not a good idea to question the higher ups orders."

"We won't get in the way Sheriff," Sam offered. "Hopefully, we can help before someone else gets attacked."

"I've gotta tell you, this has got us stumped. We can't find any signs of the animal in the area of the attacks."

"Would it be possible to see the bodies sir."

"And could we get copies of your reports as reference data?" Sam added.

"Sure, I'll have one of my deputies get that for you and the morgue is in the basement of the hospital. It's about four miles on down the street, just follow the signs."

"Thanks for your help and we'll keep you updated if we find anything," Dean told him. "And if you learn anything else, give us a call." He handed him a card with their cell numbers on it.

"Good, you do that, and I will," he nodded accepting the card. "I'll go get a deputy to get those files copied. Good day gentlemen."

"Sheriff," Sam nodded watching him disappear back through the door.

Dean pulled Sam to the chairs and sat back down to wait on the reports. It wasn't long before another deputy stepped through the door with a folder in his hand. He handed the folder to them and watched the brothers leave before heading back into the main part of the office.

spn

"Finding anything?" Dean asked as he drove down the street following the signs to the hospital. He drove around to the loading docks knowing there would be a back entrance they could use.

"This case is getting weirder the more I find out about it," Sam mumbled.

"How so?"

"The bodies were all found in the lake. Whatever did this wasn't trying to hide them, and their throats were ripped out postmortem. I guess so the blood could be drunk first."

"That doesn't sound like a vampire attack to me. They wouldn't leave their victims around to be found that easily. They would know it would draw hunters here unless he or she has moved on already."

"Well, let's go look at the bodies and see if they tell us anything else we don't already know," Dean decided getting out of the car and heading for the door. He didn't bother checking to see if Sam was following because he sensed him behind him.

The signs for the morgue led them down the hall and around the corner to a set of double glass doors. Dean opened the door and stepped into what felt like a cooler as the temperature dropped considerably. Sam couldn't help shivering only having a light shirt on over his T-shirt.

They stepped through another glass door and into the main room of the morgue. Stainless steel tables were positioned in the middle of the room and two desks and filing cabinets were off to one side against one wall. Bright fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling making them squint for a moment as their eyes adjusted to it. The far wall was lined with holding drawers for the bodies.

"May I help you?" an older man asked as he stepped from a door near the desks.

"Yes, hello, we're with Fish and Wildlife and would like to see the bodies of the animal attack victims," Dean answered for them. "We've already spoken with Sheriff Savage."

"Alright, but I hope you have a strong stomach," the coroner told them, giving them a warning look. "It's not a pretty sight."

"We've seen our share of mutilated bodies," Dean offered as he followed the coroner across the room to the doors.

"Let's see…" he mumbled reading the labels before pulling out three drawers for them.

"Could we get copies of your autopsy reports?" Sam asked him so they would have some privacy to view the bodies.

"Sure, but you only had to look at the bodies to tell cause of death. Children are the worst, a life cut short too soon. If you need to throw up, please don't do it on the bodies," the coroner told them before walking away.

Dean looked around and found gloves for them and tossed a pair to Sam. Once they had them on, he pulled a sheet down from one of the bodies and grimaced at the boy's body. It was so pale and wrinkled from being submerged in water for an extended period of time and having all the blood drained from him. His throat had been ripped out and there were deep, raw, ugly gashes on his arms and torso.

"Damn," Dean mumbled as he leaned closer to examine the wounds.

"This isn't a vampire attack," Sam whispered as he took his cell out and snapped photos of the body. He turned to the next body while Dean continued to study this one and pulled the sheet back to see another boy's pale, mutilated body. He checked the neck wound and could just barely make out multiple deep punctures in a pattern unlike that of a vampire. This definitely ruled out a vampire killing these kids.

"And it doesn't get any better," Dean surmised going to the last body and pulling back the sheet. It was in much the same shape as the other two. "Sammy, get some photos of this one," Dean told him as he looked over at the body Sam was examining.

"Okay, just a second," Sam replied snapping a couple more photos before moving to the last body to take photos of where Dean was pointing at very deep claw marks on the arms and the torn flesh on the stomach.

"These gashes go to the bone. Whatever did this was strong and vicious."

"I agree." Sam snapped a couple more photos before quickly flipping through them deciding he had enough.

They were just finishing their examination when the coroner came back with a folder for them.

"Here you go officers; hope you find this animal before it takes another life," the coroner told them.

"Thanks, and we are going to try our best to do that," Dean replied. "I think we've seen enough here. Let's go Wilson."

"Thanks," Sam told the coroner before quickly following Dean from the room. He shook his body once in the hall trying to warm himself as he caught up with his brother. "What now?" Sam asked him when they got back in the Impala.

"It's getting late. Let's grab some dinner and get a motel room to go over what we have so far," Dean replied as he cranked the Impala and pulled out of the parking lot. "We'll check out where the bodies were found in the morning and see if the locals missed anything."

"There's several on the road we came in on," Sam offered as he flipped through the autopsy reports, scanning through them as he occasionally looked up at the road. "There were some restaurants there too."

Dean headed back to the other side of the town and slowly drove past the motels that were there deciding on which one to stay at. He chose the one that offered the best free continental breakfast and pulled into the parking lot, stopping at the office.

"Wanna go in and get us a room?" Dean told Sam.

"Alright," Sam grunted getting out of the car and heading for the office.

Dean watched through the office window as Sam talked to the older man behind the desk and filled out some paperwork and waited as he ran the credit card. He watched Sam smile and laugh at something the man said before accepting the key and shaking his hand. Dean wondered what had been said to make Sam laugh, realizing he hadn't done that in a while. He came out and motioned Dean to follow him around the building and headed for a corner room at the end of one of the rows of rooms.

"We can walk down to that diner for food," Dean announced when he got out of the Impala. "Get the door and I'll grab our bags." He headed to the trunk and got their bags to take inside after Sam opened the door. He sat his bag on the bed nearest the door and dropped Sam's on the other bed.

"Let me use the bathroom and I'll be ready," Sam told him dropping the key on the dresser before heading into the bathroom and closing the door.

Dean checked the room out while he waited his turn for the bathroom. The television was useable, along with the coffee pot and supplies, and after bouncing on the bed, decided the mattress was awesome. He stretched out on his bed and sighed happily.

"Your turn," Sam announced stepping from the room smoothing his shirt down.

"Right," Dean grunted shifting his body from the bed and walking to the bathroom. "I won't be long."

Sam moved his bag from his bed to a chair nearby and opened it to get out sleep clothes for later. He sat his bathroom bag on top for easy access when he needed it. He looked up when Dean stepped from the bathroom sighing contently.

"Let's go get some chow," Dean said grabbing the room key before heading for the door.

"Okay," Sam agreed following him from the room and down the walkway to the front of the motel and turning right to head a nearby diner.

"It must be decent with the number of cars in the parking lot," Dean noted.

Sam didn't comment and was glad it didn't look like a greasy spoon restaurant like some they had ate at while on the road with their father. He hated those days when he didn't really have any say so about things and just had to accept whatever their father decided. His mind shifted as he thought about what they had found out so far and wondered what was killing kids. He always hated a case that involved children just as bad as Dean did. It was something about them being innocent victims not able to fight back.

A/N: The brothers are on the case, and it is a gruesome one since children are involved. Thank you for coming along for the ride. Reviews/Comment would be great. NC