Chapter two
Dean pulled over by the small motel, getting out of the Impala and stretching his cramped muscles. That was one long ride, and not necessarily mileage-wise. He was rather relieved that Claudia didn't mention anything they'd talked about the previous night. Dean was a little worried about possible chick-flick moments, but it seemed like he had nothing to worry about. Claudia was as painful to his rear end as ever. In fact, he had spent the last thirty miles fanaticizing about strangling her. How his brother could possibly think it was a good thing having her around, he had no idea. And that was another thing, her whole 'last night never happened' thing. That wasn't a chick thing to do. No, chicks would keep talking and talking about feelings and stuff. She only got on his nerves, and not in a caring-sharing kind of way. There was definitely something wrong with her. Possession was his first guess, but he assumed schizophrenia could be another way to explain it.
Dean got them all rooms and then left to the nearest bar, to 'get some more information about the missing people'; you know, hustle some pool, get a few drinks, and maybe even hook up with a hot chick. He left the research to the geek duo. He rolled his eyes when he got back to the motel room long past midnight to see Claudia and Sam sitting on one of the beds, with the computer in Claudia's lap and Sam's head in a book. God, what geeks! He had given them enough time to do other things, but leave it to Sam not to get the hint.
"So, you two come up with anything interesting?" Dean asked, taking his jacket off and tossing it carelessly over the other bed.
"Yeah," Sam said, putting the book down and glancing at Claudia. "It looks like the nine people that disappeared weren't the first ones to go missing in those marshes. There have been stories of people disappearing there dating back to the late eighteen hundreds. That's as far back as we got." He said, waiting for a conformational nod from Claudia.
"Oh, yeah?" Dean asked, interested.
"Yeah." Sam answered. "Every seven years or so."
"They actually have this local legend about it." Claudia cut in and Dean looked at her. "I had some laundry to do," she explained, "so while I was there, I started talking to this cute guy…" she trailed off for a second and Dean raised a brow. Claudia cleared her throat. "Anyway, there's this local legend about this huge crocodile eating people whole. But it sounds like crap to me."
"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" Dean asked.
"Doesn't fit." Sam answered instead. "There are countless eye witness accounts that swear they saw lights flying around in those marshes. Heard whispers and stuff. I'm thinking more of phantom lights, maybe a haunting or something." Sam said and Claudia nodded her agreement.
"All right. But what about the crocodile stuff? Stories like that, they have to come from somewhere. They always do." Dean said.
"Yeah, well, this is a swamp." Claudia shrugged. "There are crocs around. I just don't think a giant crocodile would swallow people whole for a few hundred years without any actual sightings."
"We should check it out." Sam said, looking up at Dean.
"Great." Dean said sarcastically, scratching the back of his neck. "That should be fun."
Early the next morning, the three of them drove to the national reserve where all the people went missing. They parked in the car park and looked around them. The place was rather tourist friendly, with a gift shop, an information booth and a small picnic area. There was even a camping site somewhere in there.
"Who the hell would want to camp here?" Claudia muttered, swatting a pesky mosquito, one of the many around them.
"We should check that gift shop, see if they could tell us anything about the people that went missing." Sam suggested, and he and Dean headed off to the gift shop as Claudia headed for the information booth. A small bell jingled as the brothers got in the store. They barely had time to look around when a pudgy woman with a large smile walked over to them.
"Hello, how can I help you, boys?" she asked. "You're not planning on going camping out here, are you?" she asked, noticing the boys standing near the sleeping bags isle. Dean glanced at Sam.
"Actually, we were." He said. "Why, is there a reason we shouldn't?" he asked, studying her carefully.
"You boys are not from around here, are you?" she asked, eying them.
"No, ma'am." Sam answered. "We're on a road trip, and we thought this looks like a nice place…"
"Oh it is." She said quickly. "It's lovely. You know, we usually have so many visitors this time of year. The marshes are beautiful." She said with a bright smile. "I grew up near here, I used to go play in there all the time."
"Then what's wrong with us going camping?" Dean asked.
"Oh, well… It's just… There's been a few incidents lately. People going missing, this type of thing. Now, don't get me wrong, it's pretty safe here during the day, it's just that the rangers prefer it if no one went camping there for a while." She said, a smile still on her face. Dean gave Sam another glance.
"People going missing?" he asked, trying his luck.
"Well, you know," the woman shrugged, "Some people just can't seem to be able to keep to the trail. This is a swamp, you know. There are wild animals in the area." She said matter-of-factly.
Sam and Dean got out of the gift shop and headed for the car, but Claudia wasn't there yet. Looking around, they found her at the picnic area, talking to a family that just started unpacking their food. They seemed young; the father taking another cooler out of the car, a couple of kids running around while them mother talked to Claudia, her eyes on her kids. Sam and Dean decided to keep their distance, catching Claudia's attention and signaling to her that they were waiting for her by the car. She joined them not ten minutes later.
"Okay, I changed my mind." She said, "Looks like a nice place. Except for these damn flies!" she shooed another pesky fly. "You guys find anything?"
"They don't want anyone camping here at night." Sam said before Dean had a chance to speak. "The woman from the gift shop says this place is usually very busy this time of year."
"Yeah, yeah." Dean said, opening the trunk and packing a couple of guns, a knife, his EMF meter and a few more supplies into a duffle. "Less chatting, more walking. I want to check this place out while we still have daylight. Get a feel of what we're dealing with."
The three of them started down the trail leading in the swamp. It seemed fairly wide and clean, and very well marked. There were warning signs wherever the path went through anything remotely dangerous.
About a mile and a half up the road the three reached a small wooden cabin. Exchanging glances, they decided to get in, seeing as the door was open. It seemed like a small ranger station. There was a miniature model of the reserve, pictures of plants and wildlife, and even a stuffed crocodile, almost six foot long. Dean let out a low whistle at the sight of the stuffed animal. Not long after that, a middle-aged ranger walked in, looking a little surprised to see them all, but smiling all the same.
"Hi there," the ranger said, "can I help you with anything?" Sam and Dean exchanged glances, and Dean took a step forward.
"I bet you can, ranger… Forest." Dean said, reading the ranger's name tag and cocking a brow. "See, it's our first time in the area, and we were interested in learning a little about the place's history. You know, any horror stories we can tell around the campfire at night…"
"Well, I wouldn't recommend telling too many scary stories around the fire at night." The ranger said seriously, and Dean glanced at Sam.
"Oh, yeah? And why's that?" Dean inquired. The ranger smiled.
"In my experience, the marshmallows get a little too crispy that way." He laughed, and Dean smiled.
"So, it's okay if we went camping here tonight?" Sam asked, making sure.
"Sure, as long as you keep to the camping area. The crocks don't go there, so it's pretty safe. I wouldn't recommend getting off the main path though. This place is beautiful, but it's still a wildlife area." The ranger said. "You are required to register if you're heading out camping. Just a formality, in case something happens, we like to know who's out there." The ranger added.
"In case anything happens? You mean like those people going missing?" Dean asked, and the smile left the ranger's face for a moment.
"No need to worry yourselves about that. This place is safe. Hell, I practically live here. I'm here everyday. Has been for twenty three years. Nothing ever happened to me."
"What about those stories about the giant crocodile?" Sam asked, and the ranger laughed.
"So, what, are you one of those people?" he asked.
"Those people?" Sam asked, unsure.
"Looking for the giant crocodile. What is it now? Ten feet long? Swallows men, women and children whole?" the ranger laughed, "Oh, yeah, run if you hear a sound of a clock ticking, captain Hook." Sam glanced at Dean.
"So, there's no crocodile?" Dean asked.
"Sure there is. There're many, but they're all tagged and monitored. Old Ben here," he patted at the stuffed crocodile, "is almost seventy years old. We don't let them get this big anymore. Transfer them to a croc farm not far from here." The ranger said, "We do have the tourists to think of. Kind of bad for business if any of them got eaten." He added, laughing. "Haven't had an attack in… twelve years, I think."
"So, you don't think those people who went missing were attacked by a crocodile?" Sam asked.
"Look, not that it's any of your business, but no one's gone missing." The ranger said. "We have had a few unfortunate accidents around here lately, but they could have been avoided if people just paid attention and didn't leave the main path." The ranger said.
"But the woman in the gift store said…"
"Claris," the ranger rolled his eyes. "She's selling T-shirts with 'I survived the giant crocs' on the front." He shook his head.
"What about all the people going missing?" Dean insisted. "It was in the paper."
"Look, no one was missing. We found them all."
"You did?"
"Yes. We did." The ranger said, a little impatiently. "Would have found some of them a hell of a lot sooner if they'd bothered to register."
"What happened to them?"
"It gets really dark here at night. Probably went for a walk, wandered off the main path. They drowned. No croc attacks, no teeth marks on them, no nothing. They drowned, plain and simple. I told the police that, I told wildlife service, and I'm telling you. Don't wander off. Keep to the path and everything will be okay."
They thanked the ranger and left, following the main path a while longer. It was a little muddy, and full of mosquitoes, but all in all, it was a beautiful place. Sam and Claudia lagged behind, and Dean refused to look back, pretending he didn't hear Claudia's giggles.
Sam took Claudia's hand in his. It felt a little strange, being with her after keeping to himself for so long, grieving over Jessica, but it felt good. He liked her a lot. She was so easy to talk to, and he really loved to hear her laugh. The fact that she could make Dean squirm was just the icing on the cake. The mosquitoes must have agreed with him that she was sweet, because they seemed to feast on her, and barely bug him or Dean. He stopped when he felt something pass just outside his line of sight. He could feel it more than see it. Claudia looked questioningly at him, but he just smiled at her and kneeled, pretending to tie his shoe and motioning her to go on ahead. He waited until she did before getting up and taking a few steps back. And then he saw it again. A tiny light, flickering in the distance. Sam wrinkled his brow and took a few steps towards it, but then felt someone touching his arm.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Claudia asked. He smiled at her.
"Nothing. There was just a nice bird or something." He said. She raised a brow, but didn't say anything. She glanced back at the path.
"Well, are you coming, or what?" she asked, pulling him along after her.
They kept walking until it got late, and then got back to the car and back to town, looking for a place to eat.
"So, what is it about you guys and vegetables?" Claudia asked, sitting next to Sam and opening her little plastic salad box. "They're not toxic, you know." She added, eyeing the double cheeseburgers the brothers were eating. "And no, the lattice and onions in those burgers don't count." She added quickly before Dean had a chance to say anything. He scowled at her, but then shrugged and took another giant bite of his burger. Claudia rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "So what do you think about the swamp?" she asked, "Still think it's a crocodile?"
"Never hurts to be careful." Dean said, swallowing. "I think we should go out there again tonight. If it is a spirit or something like that, it's likely the EMF will pick up more activity at night." He said, and Sam nodded his agreement.
"Good." Claudia said, "So I have time for a shower and a little nap." She got up, taking her salad with her. "And I've got to find a bug repellent soon. Looks like Dean only works on women." She added, and laughed at the furious glare he shot her way.
"Dude, I'll never get it." Sam said, watching Claudia leave. Dean glanced at him, a questioning look in his eyes. "How can they possibly be full eating a salad?" he muttered.
"That what you're worrying about?" Dean asked. "Man, you've got a very good life if that's what's bothering you."