A/N: Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all who celebrate. Safe travels for those traveling today, and I hope all enjoy time with family and friends. Enjoy... NC

Chapter 4

Since Sam had found another town not far away where the same type of murders had happened only a couple of days ago, Dean decided to head there and get a motel room. He didn't know if the killer was still there, but he thought they were heading in the right direction, and they could take the time to go over what they had found and hopefully figure out what they were hunting.

Sam was on his laptop trying to find information about the mark they had found on the bodies and to search for any other similar deaths. He was certain they were linked to the mazes somehow but wasn't sure how. Dean had gone to the diner to get their dinner and a six pack of beer. The door to the motel room opened and Dean strolled in carrying his purchases.

"I have ice cold beers and food," Dean announced walking to the table where Sam was working. "Come on bro, you need a break to hydrate and fuel."

"Fine," Sam sighed rubbing his eyes for a moment before moving the files out of the way but left the laptop that was running a program to find the symbol from the bodies. He accepted the food Dean pushed his way and opened the beer to take a swallow.

"Are you getting anywhere?" Dean questioned.

"I've got a program running that I hope will identify the symbol and tell us what it means." Sam opened his container and started eating, not really tasting anything as he kept an eye on the screen of the laptop.

"Saw a deputy at the diner and got some information from him. Seems the killings are the same."

"So, we are on the right track."

"I'm sure of it." Dean took a bite of his burger and hummed to himself as he enjoyed it.

"Why only corn mazes? What's so special about them?"

"Nothing, you wander around trying to find the way out for what? For fun? I could think of better ways to have fun than that," Dean replied wiggling his eyebrows at Sam and smirked.

Sam didn't answer as he looked over the notes he had made while waiting for the program to finish. When they were done eating and had cleared away their trash, Dean decided to take a shower. The computer dinged, and Sam pulled it to him to see what it had found. He began to read the articles and gasped in disbelief at what it was telling him.

He pulled the legal pad to him and turned to a clean page as he began to take notes, his eyes flicking back and forth from the screen to the pad. The more he read the more concerned he got. This was bigger than he thought it would be and may be harder to finish.

"You have that look," Dean commented as he stepped from the bathroom with a billow of steam following him to see the intense look on Sam's face. He finished towel drying his hair before tossing the towel into the bathroom. "What did you find?"

Sam looked up at his brother, pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"I know who we're looking for," he stated.

"I'm not going to like this, am I," Dean huffed in disgust.

"It's a demigod, the God of Mystery, Mazes, Puzzles, and Labyrinths."

"Shit!" Dean grumbled as he took a seat at the table. "It couldn't be a simple monster. No, it had to be a damn god."

"Demigod," Sam corrected. "They are not as strong as a god. The name of this demigod is Zortus."

"Whatever," Dean snapped rolling his eyes at his brother's need to be accurate. "Might as well tell me about this Zortus dude."

"He's an ancient demigod going back thousands of years. People worshiped him and created all these mazes and labyrinths in his honor. They were complex, intricate, things of beauty and mystery. In the beginning, the creators of the mazes built altars to Zortus in the middle and his followers would have to travel the maze to get to the center and make offerings to him of gold coins, baskets of their first harvest, wines, lambs, calves, anything they thought would appease the demigod. There were even times human sacrifices were made."

"So, what happened? Why the murder spree? Something pissed him off."

"Advancement of humanity, modern technology, whatever you'd like to call it. We outgrew the world of gods and goddesses and worshipping them. He's not the first god that's rebelled and took their rage and anger out on humanity."

"But the bodies, what's with that?"

"Zortus drained everything from them, their soul, fluids, energy, and all that was left is a mummified shell. He's feeding on humans to stay alive."

"Okay, we've found the monster, but how do we kill it?"

"Bronze blessed by a priest. It could be any weapon made of bronze I think. There wasn't a specific one named."

"We have a bronze knife, but I don't think I want to get that close to the bastard. Do they make bronze bullets? Can you make bronze bullets?"

"I don't think the metal will withstand being shot from a gun. But how about arrows? We could put a bronze tip on them and have the shafts made of bronze."

"How about exploding bronze tips to be on the safe side?" Dean asked, excitement in his voice as he thought about blowing something up.

"Hold on," Sam replied when his computer started making funny noises.

"What's wrong, did you overuse it? Is it rebelling? Are we having a Terminator moment?"

"No," Sam said in an annoyed voice as he tapped some keys. He looked at the screen and sucked in a breath as his face went dark. "He's killing again, Blair, Nebraska, another corn maze. There are some dead and some missing."

"Pack you stuff Sammy; we need to head there."

"No, we need to head for Gretna, Nebraska. Zortus is making his way across the Midwest visiting corn mazes and taking his own sacrifices."

"We need to find arrows made of bronze, let your fingers do the walking geek boy. Look for a place along the way so we can pick them up and some place to get them blessed. I'll get us packed."

spn

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Dean questioned his brother as he pulled into a large field where cars were being directed where to park.

"Yes, I traced the killings and Zortus is following a westerly path hitting the corn mazes as he comes to them. These are his temples after all."

"How do we recognize him? You never found a picture of him."

"From what I read, he's a strong, handsome male, probably with a shade of brown hair, chiseled features, I'd guess our height and weight. He's a self-centered, egomaniac, with a narcissistic personality, who thinks all should bow down to him. I think he'll stand out in the crowd."

"And if that fails, I'm sure when he starts killing will give him away," Dean's sarcastic voice made Sam turn to look at him with a frown.

"Are you confident that you can hit him with the handheld bow?"

"Yeah, it's not that much different than aiming a gun and firing. Dad made me practice with one until I was skilled enough to satisfy him. It'll be fine. I'll have it in a pack and will get it out when we confront him."

"I've got a bronze knife but hope I won't have to get that close to use it."

"We're early so we can check the place out. I'm sure Zortus won't be here until the sun goes down and more people arrive."

"Yeah, the other killings were done during the night. It makes it harder for witnesses to see what is happening or describe the killer."

"Wow! Roasted corn on the cob! C'mon Sammy I gotta try one of those." Dean headed to a booth off to the side of the maze to get some food.

"Of course, you'll want to eat," Sam sighed, shaking his head and looking to the ground. It shouldn't surprise him at all. He followed behind Dean and watched him lick his lips as he took a bite of the corn.

"Man, you gotta try this Sammy, it's to die for."

"Maybe later," Sam replied looking around and checking out the visitors that were already there. He didn't see anyone that looked like a demigod and headed for the maze to check it out. He wanted to familiarize himself with the layout and see how hard it was to solve it. He was disappointed by it and had no trouble making his way through the maze and finding the exit. Sam went in search of his brother so they could decide where to ambush the demigod. He didn't want any innocents getting in the way.

"If you're through stuffing your face, we need to get ready," Sam snapped at his brother who was eating a funnel cake. He had powdered sugar around his mouth and on his shirt and looked like a messy five-year-old. "You need to wipe your mouth dude."

"Let me hit the head and finish this drink and I'll be ready," Dean told him as he popped the last bite of the funnel cake into his mouth. He strolled off toward the port-a-potties and went inside one. A few minutes later, he came back out and went to a portable sink to wash his hands and wipe his mouth.

Sam waited at the entrance to the maze keeping an eye on the visitors still coming in. He straightened when Dean strolled his way and when he drew next to him reported what he had found and where he thought would be the best place to ambush the demigod.

spn

The sun was almost gone now as the brothers waited to spring their trap. They had picked a place away from where the other visitors were and planned on luring him from the maze toward a fast-flowing river. Sam spotted him first and gave a short whistle to his brother. Dean looked the way Sam nodded and saw a tall man walking their way. He emitted an air of superiority and standoffishness. It was like he snubbed the humans around him, like they were nothing more than food to him. Sam saw a necklace hanging around his neck with the same symbol as were on the victims. He knew it was him.

"Hey," Sam growled at him as he quickly lunged and slashed out with his bronze knife. He was trying to keep his attention so Dean could get a shot with the bronze arrow.

"How dare you!" Zortus sneered at Sam looking down at the cut on his arm. He waved his hand and Sam stumbled backwards into the rows of corn marking the edge of the path.

"Asshole," Dean spat at him taking aim and pulling the trigger of the crossbow. The arrow flew from the bow straight at the demigod who quickly jumped sideways letting the arrow pass by him.

"You're making me mad, and you don't want to do that," Zortus threatened him as he threw his arm out to knock Dean onto his butt and through several rows of corn.

People were yelling and trying to get away from the fighting, not sure what was going on. The darkness hid part of the battle and the owner had stopped any more visitors from entering.

The brothers exited the maze through an opening and looked back to see the demigod following them. Now that they were safely away from the public they attacked again only to be thrown back to the ground. The roar of the water covered any noises they were making.

The demigod growled his contempt when Sam unloaded his gun filled with silver bullets into his back, making him stumble forward but not doing any damage. Zortus was outraged now, and he put his hand together to form a ball of concentrated energy to throw at Sam, deciding to end this battle.

Everything happened in slow motion as Sam froze, Dean had loaded his crossbow again and saw what was happening and launched himself between the demigod and Sam, taking aim and shooting the arrow. As the bronze arrow hit the demigod in the chest, the ball of energy hit Dean in the chest sending him rolling away. The demigod screamed as his body began to burn, fall apart and crumble, falling in ashes to the ground.

"Dean!" Sam cried out staggering toward his brother and falling to his knees by his side. He rolled him over and quickly patted at the smoking places on his arms and chest to put the fire out. "Dean man, are you okay?" Sam asked but didn't get an answer from him. He looked over at the demigod to see he was gone. He caught the gleam of the arrow by a light in the maze, but all that was left of him was a pile of ashes.

Sam turned his attention back to his brother and felt his neck for a pulse and sighed with relief when he found one. It was beating too fast, and his breathing was shallow. He ran his hands over Dean's head looking for any injury and then down his body but couldn't find anything. He wasn't sure why his brother was still unconscious and that worried him.

Sam knew he needed to get him out of there and away from this place so he could give him a better going over. He grunted as he heaved Dean over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and wobbled toward the entrance in search of the Impala.

He tried to avoid any people and finally got to the car and got Dean in the backseat. Not wanting to waste any time, Sam dug the keys from Dean's pocket and dropped into the driver's seat to hurry away. He heard the sirens as he turned onto the main road and drove in the opposite direction toward Sioux Falls.

Sam was going to stop at a gas station to check Dean again and call Bobby to let him know they were on their way. He was only a couple of hours from the salvage yard and knew he could push the Impala and get there sooner. All that mattered to him was getting help for Dean.

A/N: Can Sam save his brother? He heads for the only person that might know what to do. Thank you for coming along on this ride and I hope I am entertaining you. Reminder, FF had now added an email opt-in option on the account settings page. You need to enable this to get updates to stories. To the guest Kathy, thank you for re-reading one of my older stories. Reviews/Comments would make my day. NC