A/N: I don't own Supernatural or the Winchesters, sigh. I also don't own Cheesequake State Park and any resemblance to actual park trails or topography is purely imaginary. I did use to like going to the man-made lake there but I never got up enough interest to actually go hiking, though it is beautiful.

Ghostwriter, thanks for reviewing-nope, not ozone :) Everyone have a good day!

Sam looked down and tried to stop the silly grin from spreading over his face.

"Um, you don't want to know." he choked out.

Dean looked down and cursed.

He carefully stepped out of the pile he'd been too distracted looking around the woods to avoid.

Sam snickered and Dean glared at him, wiping off his shoe.

"Fine" he huffed. "Next time a possessed bear tries to eat you don't come crying to me."

Just then there was a loud crackling of branches somewhere ahead of them.

Suddenly watchful the brothers picked their way forward until they came to a clearing.

The large bear was furiously digging in a corner of the clearing.

Abruptly it stopped and dragged something from the hole-a red backpack. It pawed through the backpack until some energy bars fell out, and then proceeded to eat them, clawing the wrappers open. It sat down on the ground much like a human and unlike a bear, enjoying its meal.

"Huh." Dean said. "What'd I tell you? Possessed bear. The spook must be a hiker and misses all that granola crap, that's why it snatched the hikers."

He took careful aim with the gun.

"Wait a minute!" Sam hissed at him.

"What?"

"If it did take the hikers it's also been letting them go after a week. There are 2 still missing-we have to find them first before we dispel the ghost and stop the bear. If you kill it they might die before we can find them."

Dean blinked. "Oh. Right. So, we just follow it for 2 days and make sure it doesn't snatch anyone else?"

Sam nodded.

"Darn." A thought occurred to Dean. "What're we going to eat?"

Sam grinned and reached into the bag he'd all but forgotten hanging off his shoulder.

"Want a granola bar?" he asked.

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Dean sighed for the third time in as many minutes and Sam glared at him.

"Will you knock that off?" he whispered. "You don't want it to hear us, do you?"

They had been observing the bear for hours. After eating the bear had settled in for a nice long nap and still showed no signs of stirring.

Dean was beyond bored.

"At this rate those hikers will be back home before we can find them." He muttered.

"And that's a bad thing?" Sam whispered back. "I'm beginning to think it isn't this bear that took the hikers."

"But it did act strange though, and it knew where that backpack was. I just wish it would do something." Dean replied.

At that moment the bear finally rose from its place on the ground and snagging the backpack it moved off into the woods.

Glancing at each other, the brothers followed.

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A short while later the bear stopped to drink from a small pond. It suddenly stood up on its two hind legs and moved its head around, sniffing the air. Dean and Sam crouched back behind the shelter of a large tree and waited. With a grunt, the bear fell back to all fours and charged further into the woods away from the Winchesters. The brothers broke into a run, following the animal, losing sight but not sound of it. They came to a panting halt at a cleared area, almost a perfect circle of empty space and forest floor. The red backpack was lying almost in the exact center. Two paths of broken branches led away from the clearing, and the brothers could hear the bear noisily in the distance, but it was impossible to tell which path the sounds came from. Sam looked at the backpack innocently lying on the otherwise empty ground, then at his brother.

"So, we get the backpack and then which path?"

Dean shrugged. "I think it went on the left path."

"What makes you say that?"

"Branches look more recently broken."

Sam nodded and started to head for the backpack, Dean following.

Dean paused when he heard a distant roar, and then the sound came closer. It was coming from the path on the right, and he fixed his attention at that opening, when he heard Sam cry out. He turned immediately to where his brother had been moments ago, but Sam was gone.

"SAM!" Dean yelled.

To be continued.