Chapter 4

"How 'bout letting the whole class know," Dean complained, throwing a pen at him when Sam started silently reading what the program had found. "Did you find it or not?"

After a moment, Sam looked up at Dean and nodded excitedly.

"Yes, what's killing these kids is an Apotamkin," Sam replied. "But I need to check one more thing," Sam told him as he began typing again pulling up websites and quickly scanning them before going to others.

"An Apo what? In English please?" Dean grumbled. "What are you doing anyway?"

"It's from the Passamaquoddy and Maliseet legends. Those are Native American tribes that lived in the New England states. The Apotamkin is the basis for our modern-day vampires because it sustains itself on blood, preferably human blood, young children, but if that is scarce, they will feed on animals or dead creatures in order to live," Sam read from articles he had found. "They are super strong and fast, like vampires. This creature lives in water and lurks along the shores luring children to it to drag them into the water to feed on them, killing them. It usually hunts at dusk when the light is just fading and it's hard to see."

"Well," Dean surmised. "This is a new one for us. Is that what you saw in the water? Are we dealing with 'The Creature From the Black Lagoon?'" Dean asked using air quotes for the last part.

"No, it's not that," Sam sniffed and frowned at Dean. "I think that is what I saw. I really didn't get that good of a look."

"Why hasn't this monster been seen before now? If kids were going missing, I'm sure a hunter would have come to check it out or something."

"I think it was dormant or hibernating or had been trapped in one of the lakes in a cave. I found some seismic activity in this region right before the killings began. I think that opened the chamber that the Apotamkin was sealed in, and it got free."

"What else to did you find?"

"The Apotamkin is described as a serpent like creature with arms and head of something like a hag or old woman. It has long flowing red hair and terrifying fangs. The fingers end in razor sharp claws that they use to hold their victims while they feed. The victims are drained of blood, drowned, and discarded."

"Wait, you saw it in Lake Highland, but the sheriff told me that the last victim disappeared from, get this, Lake Winchester, mmm, got a lake named after us," Dean preened arching his eyebrows. "Anyway, if this is a water creature, how did the body end up at this lake?"

Sam looked around on the desk until he found the map and searched for the lakes. He put a finger on Lake Highland and slowly ran it across to Lake Winchester, seeing how short a distance it was.

"What if there was an underwater passageway that led from one lake to the other?" Sam suggested. "The distance isn't that far and there are rivers and lakes all around this area. With the passageway, the Apotamkin could travel wherever it wanted. I think she likes this lake because it is three times as deep as Lake Winchester and bigger."

"Okay, then how do we kill it?"

"It doesn't say, but maybe the same way we kill vampires. Decapitation, stake to the heart, fire?" Sam shrugged.

"Well, fire is out since it's in the water," Dean contemplated. "Stake to the heart might work, but what if we destroy the head with hollow point bullets? I don't think I want to get that close to the thing and get torn to shreds."

"I don't know," Sam sighed. "First, how do we lure the creature up from the depths of the lake to even get a shot at it?"

"We need drinks and snacks," Dean decided clapping his hands together as he got up. "I'm going to run down to the convenience store and grab a few things. Any requests?"

"Green tea and granola bar," Sam replied as he read over the notes again. They had to stop this creature before she fed again. He didn't pay attention to Dean as he left and started taking some notes before pulling up another website.

A knock sounded at the door, pulling Sam from this research. He frowned wondering why Dean didn't use his key to get back in. Sam got up and went to the door, but not before picking up his gun and holding it against the door as he opened it.

"Officer Wilson, isn't it?" Sheriff Savage greeted him.

"Sheriff?" Sam squeaked looking out into the parking lot for Dean since he didn't know what to do. He quickly hid the gun behind his back as he stood in the doorway, trying to decide what to say.

"Can I come in?" Savage asked watching Sam fidget and look to the parking lot like he was looking for someone.

"Ummm…Well…" Sam stammered not wanting the sheriff to see all his research that was spread out on the table.

"Sheriff," a male voice called from behind him.

"Officer Styles," Savage replied turning to see him holding a bag in one hand. "I was just asking your partner if I could come inside and talk to you."

"Sure, partner, wanna straighten up a bit," Dean urged Sam nodding to the room. "Did you find anything new with the body you found this morning?" He tried to keep the sheriff occupied while Sam hid the things inside.

"No, the body has been taken to the morgue, but there were no clues as to who dumped it or where it has been all this time."

"Come on in," Sam called out of breath. He opened the door all the way allowing the sheriff and Dean to come inside.

"How can we help you Sheriff?" Dean asked giving the room a quick glance before sitting his bag on the table.

"For starters, you can tell me who you really are," Sheriff Savage announced looking from one brother to the other. He saw them look at each other and could tell a silent communication passed between them.

"We're with Wildlife…"

"Cut the crap, there's something going on here you know about, and I want to know what it is," he told the brothers staring them down and waiting for an answer.

"Take a seat," Dean offered nodding to a chair at the table letting him sit down first and then sitting down across from him. "Are you sure you want to hear this?" Dean asked him in a serious voice. "It will change your life forever."

Sam took a seat on the bed and watched the interaction between his brother and the sheriff. He wasn't sure what Dean was going to do if he was going to tell him or not.

"Who are you two?" Sheriff Savage demanded in a strong, deep voice. "Truth this time; no more lies."

"My name is Dean and that's my brother Sam," Dean told Savage. "We're hunters and kill monsters that are dangerous and harm humans."

Savage stared hard at Dean trying to discern if he was joking with him. He saw the serious look on Dean's face and looked to Sam sitting on the bed and saw the same, along with a little apprehension. He knew this case was strange and not like any he had worked but this was beyond weird.

"You're not joking. Want to elaborate on that?"

"What is killing those kids is an Apot…" he tried to say and snapped his fingers at Sam.

"An Apotamkin," Sam supplied for Dean.

"Apo-tam-kin," Savage said slowly, letting it roll off his tongue. He frowned for a moment before speaking again. "I'm from Maine and growing up I remember being told stories by my grandfather about some of the Native American legends for the area and there was one about a lake monster that took kids. How about telling me what you know about it."

"It's a serpent like creature that looks part human, and lures children to their death. It's like a vampire. It feeds off human blood and lives in water, thus the bodies being found in water," Sam explained to the sheriff.

"Wait, did you say vampire? You mean vampires are real?" Savage questioned looking shocked at Sam as he tried to wrap his mind around what he just heard.

"Among other things, yeah," Dean shrugged.

"And I found some other information just before you got here Sheriff," Sam said looking to Dean. "The reason the Apotamkin is on such a killing spree is that it is dying and needs the food to grow strong enough to lay eggs that will hatch in a month creating a new generation of these monsters. They can lay up to ten eggs at a time and is done on the full moon which is only a day away. The babies are big enough to drag a kid into the lake and feed on it."

"Oh great! This just keeps getting better," Dean spat throwing his arms in the air. "Then this will need to be done tonight for sure."

"Do you know how to kill it?" the sheriff asked.

"We have a general idea. We just need figure out a way to lure it to us."

"Sheriff, just how good a shot are you?" Dean asked with interest. He felt the sheriff had some military experience that might come in useful.

"I was in the Marines special ops, sniper," Savage replied.

"Great, can you get a hold of some heavy firepower? And do you by chance have your sniper weapon still?"

"Yes to both questions."

"Good. Sammy, do you think this thing has a good sense of smell?"

"I would say so. It seems to have the same traits as vampires."

"Okay, something's coming," Dean stated as he got up to pace and think.

"We need to do this tonight before it can feed and lay those eggs," Savage told them. "I don't think having a nest of those things is a good idea.

"Why don't you go collect some firepower, the stronger the better," Dean said to the sheriff. "Sammy and I will hash out the details and the best place to lure the monster out. We'll probably only get one shot at this, so we need to make it count. Meet us back here at six tonight. It doesn't start getting dark until eight. That should give us time to set up the ambush."

"Alright, but you better not try and do this without me," Savage ordered. "This is my jurisdiction and you're not getting up to whatever you have planned without my involvement."

"No problem. I think we need the extra help on this one," Dean assured him. He waited until Savage had left before turning to Sam and speaking again. "We need some blood, a dummy, and rope."

"Are we really going to include the sheriff?"

"Yep, we need his expertise as a sniper. I don't want either of us getting close enough to be hurt by this monster." Dean grabbed the room key and headed for the door. "C'mon Sammy, we've got some shopping to do."

Sam got up and followed Dean out of the room and to the Impala, already getting a general idea of what Dean had in mind. He remained quiet as Dean drove into town to gather the items for the ambush.

A/N: An ally with the sheriff and a plan to hash out. The brothers are only going to get one shot at killing the creature. Thank you DSCWin for the reference. Only one more chapter and this ride will be over. Thank you to any guests who have left reviews. I hope you have enjoyed it. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC