Here it is, chapter four. The boys arrive at their destination and have a little 'chat' with Derek.
They finally reached the motel where Derek and Amy were staying and Derek greeted them at the door with a relieved sigh.
"Thank god you're here! Thank you for coming!" He said as he opened the door to let them into the room.
"Yeah, well, it's Amy. Of course we were gonna come cause, you know, it's Amy." Dean said as he searched the room, looking into the large bathroom.
"We're happy to help." Sam added.
"Yeah, what he said." Dean said stepping back into the room and pointing at Sam. "So what can you tell us about the thing that took Amy?"
"I don't know. Like I told you on the phone, I didn't see or hear anything." Derek said, sitting heavily in a chair. "One minute she was there, next, poof, she's gone."
"Okay, but you said Amy kept hearing riddles or something?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. She was hearing jokes and answering them, I don't know. Do you guys have any clue what took her?"
"We have some ideas." Sam replied.
Dean had been leaning against the counter listening.
"You sure you just didn't walk into the forest and decide 'what the hell, I've always wanted to murder and dump someone, why not?'" He asked.
"Dean!" Sam spun in his seat to look at his brother.
"I would never! I loved Amy! She was my everything!" Derek snapped standing.
"Loved? Was?" Dean asked.
"Love! Of course I mean love! It's just, it's been three days and I'm scared they won't find her."
"It's okay Derek. We understand." Sam said. "Let's just calm down and not make any hasty statements." He added glaring at his brother.
"Right." Dean hugged and went back to leaning against the counter.
Derek sat back down and looked at the floor, tucking his hands between his knees.
"Okay, so Derek, please tell us again what happened." Sam said.
Derek, sighed and told the brothers about the ill-fated hiking trip.
"You said you had an idea about what took her." Derek asked hopefully.
"Yeah, right." Sam opened the laptop he'd brought in with him and turned it to Derek. "So we think it might have been this."
"Der Einsame?" Derek asked reading the screen.
"Yeah, either that or a vampost." Dean said pushing away from the counter to do another lap of the room.
"Vampost?" Derek asked looking at Sam confused.
"No, not a vampost." Sam said raising his hands in the air.
"Okay." Derek replied.
"This, this Der Einsame, according to the lore, it originated in Germany and searches for prey in wooded areas."
"Prey?"
"Company. It's names literal translation is 'the lonely one'. It lures people in with riddles and if they respond, it snatches them and take the back to its lair, for company. We think, maybe, this is what happened to Amy."
"And you think you can get her back?" Derek asked hopefully.
"We're pretty sure we can. We just need you to show us where she went missing." Sam said.
"Oh no! I'm not going back in there. That place is evil!" Derek said pushing back his chair and holding his hands up as if to ward of an advancing foe. "I had to take the sheriff in to show him and almost had a panic attack. I have a map, I can show you on that, but I'm not going back into that forest!"
"Fine." Dean said with an eye roll as he sat on the corner of the bed. "Show us on the map."
Derek retrieved his map of the forest and laid it on the table.
"Let's see, we had just crossed the bridge and were headed down the trail that led to the falls, so we were right about…here."
Derek pointed to a place on the map.
Sam and Dean looked at it.
"Here? You're sure?" Sam asked.
"Yeah positive." Derek replied and Sam marked the place with a pen. "Search and rescue are set up here." He said pointing to the main carpark. "You know, just incase you need to avoid the authorities."
"Right, thanks." Dean mumbled, almost the only words he had contributed to the entire conversation, and wandered back to the bed, staring at the ground.
"Right, so, we'll get checked in and maybe hit the library for some more detailed topographical maps. See if there's anywhere this Der Einsame would take Amy to hide her." Sam said, mostly to himself.
"Hey Derek?" Dean asked.
"Yeah?" Derek replied looking up at the hunter.
"You going somewhere?"
Dean reached down and pulled a fully packed bag out from under the bed and dropped it on the mattress, glaring at the other man. Sam's head snapped up to see the bag then swung to face Derek as well.
"Yeah, home." Derek replied hesitantly.
"Home? Amy's only been missing three days and you're already abandoning her?" Dean snapped. "And what does the sheriff think about this?" He asked accusingly.
"I explained it. He's fine. I'm a teacher! I have to get back to my class. He knows where to find me." Derek stammered.
"And what about Amy?" Sam asked.
"If…no, when. When they find her, I'm just a plane ride away. I have responsibilities." Derek tried to justify himself.
As a second grade teacher, Derek knew children could move incredibly fast but he had never know a grown man to move as fast as Dean Winchester did that night. One second he was sitting in his chair explaining himself and the next he was pinned up against a wall by a seething hunter.
"Amy is your responsibility! You were supposed to take care of her, to protect her! You took her out there and now she's missing! That's on you! That's your responsibility." Dean snarled, tightening his grip on Dereks clothing.
Just when Derek though Dean might actually hurt him, Sam appeared and was prising his older brother away.
"Hey, Dean, back off. He's not worth it." Sam gave Derek a frightening look but stepped away, dragging his brother with him.
Derek took a few shuddering breaths and straightened his clothes.
"You don't understand. This supernatural stuff? That's your thing, not mine. I can't go back into that forest, I know Amy's in there somewhere, but I just can't!" He looked from one hunter to the other with fearful eyes. "But you can, you can find her, right? You can find her and bring her back to me?"
Sam and Dean just stood and glared at Derek.
"Look, you can use this room, I've paid for it for the week. I'll pay for it as long as you need it, but I just can't be here, especially if…"
Dean picked up Dereks bag and threw it at him, hitting the unprepared man in the stomach and almost bringing him to his knees.
"Get out!"
Derek scrambled to pick up his bag and wallet. He made it to the door and turned back.
"Call me when you find her, or I'll call you."
"Get out!" Sam and Dean roared together.
Derek hustled out the door, slamming it in his haste to exit.
"Well, that happened." Sam said staring at the door.
Dean just collapsed back to sit on the bed and dropped his head into his hands. Sam placed a comforting hand on his brothers shoulder.
"We'll get her back, Dean."
"We'd better."
"We will."
Dean just nodded.
…