A/N: Still don't own the characters or the show. Good thing too, because being the horrible updater that I am the viewers would probably come at me with pitchforks for getting a new ep once every couple of weeks or so :)
A/N 2: Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry as they say. I'd planned on updating much sooner, but real life and two jobs said otherwise. Thanks for sticking with this :) Once again thanks so much for the reviews, Kaewi, pmsdevil01, pwrhungryir, Applegrape8910, and Beautiful Ally.
Slowly Dean blinked his eyes open. Disoriented, he wondered at first where he was, seeing the empty clearing before him. Then he remembered.
"Sam!" he cried, not getting any response.
Slowly he got up, wincing at the pain in his head. He brought a hand up to the side of his face, feeling the dried blood. Shadows covered the clearing as late evening approached. He looked around desperately for any sign of his brother, but the clearing was empty. He was alone.
Dean swallowed, and slowly gathered the items spread on the ground, stuffing them back in the bag. He found the ammunition and loaded the weapons, securing them on his body under his jacket, then searched for lighter fluid and a pack of matches. Finding them, he unsteadily made his way to the hole, aimed a drizzle of the lighter fluid over where the salted bear cub bones lay and then put the container down. He pulled out a match then held it with the pack ready to strike it over the bones.
"Hey bear! Remember me? I'm gonna burn your babies unless you bring my brother back!" he yelled into trees he'd last seen the bear head towards.
He'd put two and two together and came up with the realization that the bear cub bones had to be connected with the bear somehow. At the very least he expected it to show up and stop him. The forest grew quieter at his bellow, but of the bear there was no sign.
"Last chance!" he shouted, lighting the match.
Nothing stirred.
"You asked for it!" He dropped the match, purposely missing the bones. It went out in the dirt on the bottom of the hole.
"What do you know? I missed. Bet I'll get it this time. You should get here quick, or their spirits are gone for good!" He was beginning to worry. Maybe the bear didn't need its dead cubs' bones anymore. It had Sam instead.
'Come on you bitch, bring Sam back here' he muttered under his breath, lighting another match and holding it.
Leaves moved in a slight breeze on the trees at the edge of the clearing, but there was no roaring or pounding beats.
"Fine! Be that way. Say goodbye to your cubs!" he shouted into the advancing night.
This time he dropped the match on the right spot and the bones began to blaze. He looked around the clearing, but it remained empty.
"Shit!" he kicked in frustration at the dirt floor of the clearing.
Smoke was beginning to rise from the hole and he grabbed the lighter fluid and put it back in the bag, grabbing a flashlight. 'Don't worry Sammy, I'll find you.' He muttered.
He whirled at a sudden sound at the edge of the clearing, then felt lightheaded.
"Hey, what are you doing out here? The park is closed for the night!" said a strong voice, as a tall man in a park uniform walked towards him.
As the man got closer, his face crinkled in concern. "Are you all right, son? What happened?"
Dean stared at him for a moment, wondering what lie to come up with. Then realizing that the guns and any evidence of wrongdoing were hidden (save for the burning bones) he decided on a form of the truth.
"My brother and I were hiking and got lost. We were attacked by a bear. The bear took him; I've got to find him!" He swayed dizzily from the smell of the smoke.
"Whoa, easy there. I see you lit a signal fire where it wouldn't harm the forest, but it's too dark now to search. It's very unusual for a bear to attack, but I'm sure your brother will be fine. Nobody's died of a bear attack in these parts for quite a while. People shooting bears, though…" the kindly older man shook his head sadly. "Come on son, let's get you some help. We'll search for your brother first thing in the morning."
"No! I gotta find him now. He needs me. I'll follow the tracks." Dean said, picking up the bag and starting forward.
He was stopped by a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder.
"You just got through telling me you were lost and attacked. Strange things have been happening around here lately. People go missing then get found…" he shook his head. "You just come with me now; I'm not going to let you go missing too. You can't help your brother unless you're in good shape, and it looks like you need some medical attention and rest. I promise to get a search party up first thing in the morning, okay?"
Dean looked into the older man's eyes and realized he meant what he said. He was about to shrug off the man's hand but sighed instead. He had no idea where Sam was-the missing hikers hadn't been at the excavation site and he had no clues to help him. He had thought burning the bear cub bones would do something, but it hadn't. Maybe if he burned the bones at the museum-then he remembered the diary. He had to get to his car.
"Okay." he said, and after seeing that the fire was going out by itself, all the lighter fluid used up, allowed himself to be led back towards the park entrance.
He had no intention of waiting until morning, but he could do with some coffee and aspirin. That was all the 'medical attention' he figured he needed until he found Sam. He had some reading to do, then maybe a little breaking and entering. Dean cast one last look at the empty clearing, swearing to himself that he was going to find his brother and that Sam was going to be fine.
To be continued, and I promise Sam will be in the next chapter. Thought he would be in this one, but muses are fickle and I ran with what they gave me :)