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The Spirit of Arrow Lake

Chapter eight

Later

Dean finally woke up. He moaned as he reached back and touched the back of his head. When he pulled his hand away it was covered in blood. He shook his head slightly trying to clear it but quickly realized that was a mistake when a blinding pain shot through his head.

"Ohhhhh man." He moaned as he shut his eyes for a few minutes trying to remember what had happened. He remembered being out on the river and riding the rapids but…then he felt a dull ache in his heart as it came back to him….Sam. Sam was dead…or probably dead. He thought as he remembered hearing a single gun shot, then hearing more later on. He suddenly sat upright as he remembered the others, and also the creature. He looked around but couldn't see anyone. Slowly and painfully he stood up and waited a few seconds for the dizziness to subside, then walked into the campsite which had been completely destroyed. He saw what appeared to be a body lying near a tree and walked over to it. He turned his face away briefly as he felt bile rising in his throat; he then looked back at the mutilated body of Dave who had been ripped to pieces. He shook his head sadly, feeling bad that he hadn't been able to stop the thing from killing him but it had all happened so fast. Dean looked around for more bodies but saw none, everyone was gone. He hoped at least some of them had gotten away but knew that was unlikely. He swallowed the feeling of panic that came over him briefly at the thought that he was the only one left alive. He knew he had to find them; maybe somehow some of them were still alive. He could see large tracks and signs that something had been dragged out of camp. Following the tracks he kept his eyes open for any sign of the creature. As he walked a horrible lonely feeling came over him. His eyes filled up as he thought of his brother. He had protected his little brother all his life, and now, when Sam needed him most, he had failed him. If he ever found his dad how could he tell him that Sammy was gone? His heart broke but he knew he had a job to do. He had to track this monster down and try to help any survivors if he could. He had followed the trail for about two hours when he suddenly smelled the stench of the creature. He cautiously continued till he found himself in front of a hole in the canyon's wall which led into a deep cave from which he could see a flickering light coming from deep within.

Dean snuck into the cave and hid behind a large rock. The creature had a fire going which amazed Dean that it even knew how to start one. The light from the fire showed the horror inside the cave. He could see that the family and Alex were huddled inside a make shift cage made out of logs and branches. Bones were scattered throughout the cave and what was left of Mick lay in a pool of blood. It appeared that all the flesh had been stripped from his body which was an oozing mass of bloody tissue. Only his face was slightly recognizable as human.

The massive creature stood in front of Rob who had been tied to a wall. He screamed in pain and horror as the thing ripped a piece of flesh from his arm and devoured it. The thing then turned to something by Rob's side which was blocked from Dean's view by its large body. Even in the horror of it all Dean smiled to himself. You bastards got what was coming to you for killing my brother Dean moved a little to the side to see what the thing was doing. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in surprise and horror. Sam hung from his wrists which were stretched high above his head, his feet several inches off the ground. His head hung on his chest, his body covered in blood. Dean sucked in his breath when he saw Sam's chest moving as he gasped in breaths of air. He was still alive! Tears of joy ran down his face, but then he realized what the creature was doing. It was ripping tiny strips of flesh from Sam's chest and stomach. My God it's eating him alive! He watched as Sam tried weakly to kick out at the thing but he only angered it. It reached out and slapped Sam hard on the chest, its nails slashing into him and spinning his body around so he faced the wall. It was then Dean saw the bullet hole on his left shoulder. So the bastards did shoot you! He looked over at Mick's body and Rob and got a small amount of satisfaction knowing they had been paid back for what they did to his brother. He turned his attention back to Sam. He had to find someway to help him and the others. He knew he'd probably only get one shot at the thing and knew he had to hit it in the heart or the silver wouldn't kill it… If he missed they'd all die. Somehow he had to divert its attention. He snuck to the front of the cave and started yelling.

"Hey you ugly looking bastard you forgot about me!" He yelled as he hid behind some rocks with a fist full of stones in his hand. The thing came roaring out of the cave full of rage looking for the source of the voice. Dean tossed the stones as far as he could and the thing went off in the direction of the noise. He ran back into the cave and opened the cage freeing Alex and the family. Walt, Gale and their soon Kyle all ran for the cave entrance. Alex stood next to Dean.

"Go! Get out of here before it comes back!" Dean whispered hoping the creature wouldn't hear him.

"What about you?"

"I got to get Sam."

"I'll stay and help you."

"No, you got to get them out of here. Try to get them back to the raft."

Alex hesitated a few seconds hating to leave Dean alone to face the creature, but knew his responsibilities were with the family. He handed Dean a small pocket knife.

"Good luck." He said before he hurried after the others.

Dean ran over to Sam.

"Oh God Sammy." He gently turned Sam so he faced forward. His eyes filled with tears as he took in Sam's slashed bloody body. Thin strips of flesh had been removed from his chest down to his stomach where the creature had begun to peel the skin from his body; his back was also covered in blood from the bullet wound. He climbed up on a rock next to him and cut through the bindings. He then jumped down and grabbed Sam and lowered him to the cave's floor. He sat there cradling his brother's body as he pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Hey Sammy, come on Bro look at me." He said softly. He breathed a sigh of relief when Sam's eyelids fluttered and he slowly opened them.

"Hey." He gave Dean a small smile.

"Damn it Sammy I thought they had killed you." He hugged Sam close then released him when Sam gave a little whimper of pain. "Sorry."

"It's okay…I …I couldn't get a shot…at it."

Dean reached down and removed his bow.

"I'll be ready for it….I just hope this works." He put Sam's arm over his shoulder and winced with sympathy when Sam cried out in pain. "I'm sorry Bro but I got to get you out of here." He slowly stood up pulling Sam with him.

"What about them?" Sam asked about Rob and Mick.

"To hell with them…"

"We can't just leave them."

"Sam, they tried to kill you!"

"Dean…."

"Damn it Sammy!"

He lowered Sam, took his knife, and cut Rob down.

"I'll have to come back for him. I got to get you out of here." He once more placed Sam's arm around his shoulder, but as he turned to leave, he came face to face with the creature.

TBC