A/N: Still don't own any of the characters from the show, but so long as they keep making episodes I'll keep watching.
A/N 2: I learned that leaving replies at the end of the story is very bad and can lead to my fic disappearing, so Kaewi, Nate and Jake, and Ghostwriter, thanks for the reviews! And thanks everybody else for reading this far :) Action will begin to pick up a bit now, though I think the first part is slow.
"Where to now?" Sam asked.
"Don't know about you, but I'm still in a digging mood. Want to check out the bones in that pit? That was a ready made trap if I've ever seen one. The missing hikers had to be caught in it. Maybe we can find out more while it's light out." Dean said.
"Okay. Maybe there are some clues in this to tell us who the kids' bodies belonged to." Sam replied.
He gently started riffling through the diary on his lap, squinting at the script.
"Well?" Dean asked, glancing at his brother then back to the road.
"I think the diary belonged to the girl." Sam said.
"No kidding." Dean replied, rolling his eyes.
Sam read a few minutes in silence, stopping by the middle of the little book. "Her name was Elizabeth, brothers Joshua and Peter. They moved from the city to the country with their parents. Her dad built a cabin. They just moved in."
"And? Any last names? Brushes with ghosts? Cursed land? Nasty neighbors?"
Sam looked up and stared at his brother. "It's a little girl's diary, Dean. Mainly it's about how it's so boring the only excitement comes when they drive into town."
Dean sighed. "I'd hoped it would have told us something, why they're snatching the hikers now."
Sam shook his head. "Maybe it's towards the end. I'll go through it later." He said, carefully closing the old diary, as they had reached the park.
Dean stopped the car, and Sam got out and placed the diary gently on the back seat. Dean grabbed a ready bag from the trunk, and added some of the equipment from the back that they had used earlier. Zipping up the bag, he hefted it up and Sam shut the door, after picking up the shovel and his walking stick. The brothers set off for the hole, Sam wincing occasionally as he walked.
Dean glanced over at his brother, and shifting the bag dug into his pocket. "Here."
"Huh?" Sam asked. He reflexively caught the packet his brother threw at him, and looked at it. "Ibuprofen?"
"Yeah, your whining is getting on my nerves. Take the pain killers before I can't take it anymore." Dean muttered.
Sam grinned. "I didn't know you cared." He teased.
"Jerk." Dean said.
"Bitch." Sam replied, tearing open the packet and swallowing the pills.
A little while later they reached the clearing, and looked all around it, but there was no sign of the bear. Dean took out the EMF meter and swung it around, but it remained quiet. The thermal scanner produced no strange results as well. The brothers looked at each other, and then carefully made their way to the hole. Apparently no one else had been there, as it looked the same as when they left it. Dean dropped the bag and pointed his homemade meter in the hole and it began to gently whine.
"Think we've got something here." He stated. He switched to the scanner and noted a bit of a temperature drop, but it was similar to what it had recorded at the other site.
"Too bad there isn't a ladder here." He grumbled.
"It's not as deep as the other dig site. You can lower me with the rope, and pull me back up after I check it out." Sam said, taking a shotgun from the bag and picking up the rope.
"Wait a minute. Who said you're going down there? Remember the last time you went down in that hole?"
"Yeah, but it was my dream the other night. I think these are the bear cub bones, and I think there's a connection. Besides, you went down in the last pit, it's my turn." Sam replied.
"Oh no it's not. You have a hurt leg, remember?" Dean said, snatching the rope from Sam and beginning to tie it around himself.
"Hey!" his brother complained.
"Too slow, Sammy. Make yourself useful and toss the shovel down." Dean finished tying the rope, gave the other end to Sam, and crouched by the edge.
His brother sighed, but did as Dean asked, and gently began lowering him into the hole.
Dean looked around, using the thermal scanner. The colder spot was definitely by the bones in the wall. The sunlight filtered down and he found he didn't need a flashlight. Picking up the shovel, he gently began to dig into the wall holding the bones. The EMF meter lying in his jacket pocket began to whine.
"Sam, keep your guard up!" he called out.
Sam had heard the familiar noise and brought up the shotgun, his other hand holding the camera and panning it around him.
Dean dug around the bones, finally unearthing three skeletons and placing them on the floor of the hole. Nothing else was in the wall. The whine from the meter was getting louder, and the thermal scanner noted a much colder temperature. Brushing off his hands, he grabbed the gun and a baggie of salt from one of the jacket pockets.
"Think you were right about a connection. There's definitely something attached to these bones. And yeah, they're not human; they could be the bear cubs. There are three of them. Kinda weird, huh? Three dead bears and three dead kids. You getting anything up there?" After a moment when there was no response, he looked up. "Sammy?"
"Uh Dean? I don't think disturbing those bones was the best idea." Sam's voice was even.
Alarm spiked through the older brother. Keeping his voice level, he said, "What's happening?"
Then he heard it, a drumming in the ground heralding something large moving quickly. Something coming their way. 'Shit.' He thought. 'The bear is back.'
"Pull me up, Sam. I'm just going to salt the bones first."
Sam backed slowly to the hole's edge, seeing the tree limbs at the edge of the cleared area begin to shake. The camera's screen showed a large white orb floating into the clearing, and Dean's EMF meter began to shrill.
"Better do it quick!" he warned his brother.
Dean salted the bones, secured the equipment, grabbed the shovel which he figured he could use as a weapon if the bullets failed again and tugged on the rope. Laying the shotgun and camera on the ground right next to him, Sam grunted with effort and heaved his brother up. Dean scrambled over the edge and his eyes fell on the camera screen. The large white orb was making a beeline for them, and he could hear the bear roaring. He took out his gun and searched the bag for a lighter, cursing the fact that he'd forgotten to carry one with him.
Sam picked up the shotgun and camera and looked at the screen. The orb was almost upon them so he aimed where he thought it was and fired. The EMF meter abruptly went silent. Cocking his head, he looked at Dean, who shrugged, having found the lighter. The large bear entered the clearing on all fours, snuffling and swinging its head around.
Slowly leaning his hand over the edge above the salted bones, Dean flicked the lighter on. The bear snapped its gaze to him and roared loudly, lifting its upper body until it stood on its hind legs. Then it dropped to all fours again and charged.
Aiming the shotgun again Sam fired. The salt wouldn't kill it, but maybe the blast could slow it down. The bear just shuddered and ran faster, and before Sam could reload it reached him, swinging a massive front paw and knocking him flat.
"Sam!" Dean shouted, and emptied the gun, firing repeatedly at the bear.
It swerved, and Dean swore as the bullets passed harmlessly to the side. Before he was able to drop the lighter the bear was upon him. It easily swatted the lighter from his hand. The flame died and the now harmless object sailed into the hole. Dean threw himself to the ground and rolled, avoiding sharp teeth and claws. He scrambled backwards to where his brother lay, snagging the shovel. Raising the implement, he whacked the bear's paw as it swung at him. It cried out and faster than he could swing the shovel again it hit the side of his head hard. His vision dimmed and he fell.
Vaguely he saw the bear's shadow appear above him. It rose up on its hind legs and roared, and Dean tried to prepare himself for the mauling he knew was coming. He heard someone cry "No!" The bear's form shuddered from a loud noise, and Dean realized fuzzily it was the shotgun.
Sam cursed and reloaded faster than he'd ever done so before, barely aiming before firing at the large animal threatening his brother. Out of ammunition, he yelled and hit the bear on its back with the gun, swinging it like a club. He succeeded in getting its attention away from Dean. He succeeded too well. The bear twisted around and cuffed him, knocking him down again. Dazed, he watched as the bear dropped to all fours and seemed to pause-and the EMF meter suddenly went crazy.
Both brothers felt a sudden drop in temperature, and didn't need the scanner to tell them something was there. The cold seemed to flow past them to the bear, and the animal shuddered. Sam watched as the bear seemed to straighten, and then it looked directly at him. He swallowed as intelligence looked through the ursine eyes. Then the bear turned to look at Dean and growled, swatting at the older brother's head. Sam suddenly realized it somehow knew he had been about to destroy the bones. Groaning, he staggered to his feet, and reached for the shovel to protect his brother. Apparently the bear had other ideas, as it turned and hit Sam again. Before he could fall, he cried out as claws pierced his shoulder, dragging him back. He could feel blood running down the side of his head and from his shoulder and began to get dizzy. The bear effortlessly lifted him up and he thought blurrily that this wasn't normal behavior for bears, then thought, oh yeah, this one is possessed. Guess Dean was right. He felt himself being slung over a large body before he passed out.
Dean blinked, fighting to stay conscious. He had to save his brother. He tried to move towards a weapon and the world tilted on its axis. No, no, no he thought as things began to fade. "Sammy!" he tried to yell, but his lips wouldn't form the sound. The last thing he saw before his vision faded was his brother being carried away by the bear.
To be continued (evil laugh).
Sorry it took so long to update, I'll do my best to be better about that. Two part time jobs and another story all make time demands, but we're getting there. Thanks for reading :)