Chapter 10

Dean went back to the motel to change and to find a map of the area so he could find Lover's Leap. He changed the load in his gun to silver bullets because he was sure there was a werewolf out there stalking the area. He would have to wait until night to track it down but wanted to see the place while it was still light enough to get a lay of the land.

He knew the full moon would last a couple more days and the werewolf would be looking for new victims during that time. He decided to call Bobby to let him know things were going okay and hoped to have the case wrapped up tonight. Dean pulled his cell from his jacket and pulled up the number. He listened as it connected and started ringing.

"Hey, Bobby…Yeah I'm okay…Pretty sure what I'm looking for is a werewolf…I know I did….No I don't think so…Yeah, I'm going back to the crime scene now to check it out and will set up a trap tonight…I will…I will…No, I won't be a dumbass and get hurt…Bye Bobby…" Dean told him ending the call.

The place known as Lover's Leap was on the outskirts of town on a hill that overlooked the valley. The road to the top was gravel and had potholes here and there that he had to avoid. It leveled off at the top and he could make out where vehicles parked along the edge to lookout at the town below. He parked the Impala and got out, looking around at the yellow police tape staked in two places for two crime scenes. The bodies were found outside of their cars as if they were trying to get away. Dean walked the cleared area noticing how easy it would be for someone to sneak up on a car parked here before anyone would see them. He began to explore further until he found broken branches and what looked like blood on some leaves on the ground.

Being careful, he entered the trees and made his way deeper into the shadows following the bent grass and twisted branches of the undergrowth. It wasn't long before he found what looked like bloody leftovers of the werewolf's meal. He was sure this was from the organs that were missing from the victim's bodies. A plan began to form in his mind as he looked around but didn't see anything else helpful. He turned to head back to the Impala but stopped when rustling off to the right of the woods had him drawing his gun and aiming it toward the noise ready to fire.

"What the hell!" Dean growled in anger when two teenagers stepped from between the trees into his line of sight.

"We're so busted," one whispered to the other.

"You know this place is off limits, right?" Dean chastised the teenagers. "I could have shot you or you could have been attacked by whatever is out here. There's a reason its closed to the public, it's dangerous."

"Gee, we're sorry, we just wanted to see where it happened," the other kid whined.

"You're not going to tell our parents, are you?" the first kid asked pitifully.

Dean put away his gun and glared at the two kids deciding on what to do with them. "How did you get up here?"

"We rode our bikes partway and took a shortcut through the woods here," one answered pointing toward the woods.

"So, how far is this shortcut to the road up here?" Dean asked thinking maybe the werewolf took the same route.

"Probably less than two miles. Beats trying to pedal the four miles uphill from the turnoff."

"Okay, c'mon, I'll give you a ride back to your bikes and no more coming up here, understand?"

"Yes sir," they both said.

Dean led them back to the clearing and opened the back door for them to get in. He got in and cranked her up and turned around to head back down the road. He kept an eye on the two in the back as the whispered between them. Some of it he caught, some he didn't. They liked the Impala and wondered how fast it would go. They were going to meet up with someone named Curtis for ice cream later. It wasn't long before he saw two bikes off the side of the road and stopped for the kids to get out.

"No more sneaking around up there got it?" he said with as much authority as he could. "I'd hate to have to arrest you for tampering with a crime scene."

"We won't, thanks," one nodded.

They straddled their bikes and took off down the hill toward the main road. Dean sat there and let them get ahead of him before putting the car in gear to head back to town. He needed to find a couple of items for his trap tonight before heading back to the motel. If things went as planned, he would be leaving this town tonight after the werewolf was killed.

spn

Darkness had fallen as Dean made his way back up the gravel road to Lover's Leap. Once he got to the top, he parked the Impala off to the side away from the edge. He began to unload the things he needed for the trap and hoped the werewolf would fall for it.

After he spread out a blanket, Dean positioned two mannequins on the blanket, positioning them like they were kissing. He put a couple of empty beer bottles around them and pulled out a pig's heart from a zip lock bag so there would be a scent of fresh blood. He placed it between the two dummies and thought that might lure the werewolf out. He turned on a radio for noise and sat it at the head of the blanket. He went back to the Impala and opened the trunk to get himself ready. First, he sprayed a cloaking spray over his clothes to mask his own odor and slipped two silver knives into his clothes for added protection. He double checked his gun being sure the silver bullets were loaded before finding a good place where he could watch and wait hopefully for the werewolf to take the bait.

Several hours went by and the werewolf was a no show. Dean had to shift to loosen his stiff body and glanced at his watch. He was about ready to call it a night when the breaking of twigs had him freeze. His heightened senses had him tense and hyper alert. He scanned the forest around him for movement in the shadows letting him know he was not alone. A soft growl reached his ears that normal people probably wouldn't have heard. He slowly moved his head enough to see to the right of him but still couldn't locate the source of the sound, though he knew it was close. Dean hoped it wasn't some random animal out for a midnight stroll that was going to mess up his plans.

The hairs on the back of Dean's neck stood up and a chill ran down his back, but it was too late to defend himself when the werewolf attacked. He caught Dean as he was turning sending them both rolling on the ground. Dean lost his gun and could feel the weight of the creature on top of him. Claws dug into his arm as he fought to keep him from biting him. He got a hand free long enough to grip the silver knife on his belt and pull it out. He drove the knife upwards into the werewolf's stomach making him howl in rage and pain. Dean rolled several times until he felt the gun and got it in his hand. He managed to get to his feet and got the werewolf in his sights as he started shooting. The werewolf managed to evade several of the bullets but was caught by two in the chest. By that time, he was charging Dean and on him; he went down knocking Dean backwards as the creature's dead body collapsed on top of him.

Dean lay there for a moment trying to breath with the weight pressing down on him. He finally managed to push the beast off him and drew in a deep breath before sitting up. The werewolf was disappearing, and Dean pulled a light out to shine on the body as a middle-aged man began to take shape. He didn't recognize him but that wasn't unusual since he could be anyone from the town or someone passing through. He used the light to check out the gashes on his arm and wrapped them with his bandana. He grabbed the legs of the man and drug him deeper into the woods before covering him in brush. Once that was done, he gathered up the dummies and other things to throw away later, but for right now he needed to put as many miles as he could between this town and him.

spn

Dean picked up another hunt with Caleb the following week and since he was halfway to California, decided to check on Sam. It had been nearly a month now that he had left for college and he still hadn't heard from him. Dean wanted to give Sam his space, but he was starting to worry maybe he believed what their father had told him and was cutting all ties with them. If he was going to do that, Dean was going to confront him and have Sam tell him to his face that he didn't want him in his life. It would take him two days to drive to Palo Alto since he was in Texas. He took the chance and called Sam's cell only to get the recording the number was no longer in service.

"Hey Bobby," Dean greeted the older hunter when he answered. He had decided to call him to see if maybe Sam had contacted him.

"Dean, are you okay?" Bobby asked hearing the tension in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You haven't by chance heard from Sam, have you?"

"No, why, is something wrong?"

"I tried calling him just now and the number's not in service."

"Maybe something happened to his cell and he had to get another one. I wouldn't jump to conclusions yet."

"I just finished a hunt and I'm going to head that way. I need to make sure he's okay."

"Call me when you find him."

"I will Bobby, goodbye." Dean hung up and started the Impala to pull away from the gas station and pick up the interstate heading west. Something wasn't right, he could feel it deep down in his gut as his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. He willed them to loosen and tried to work the stiffness from his shoulders. He planned on driving straight through, only stopping for a quick nap in the car somewhere along the way. He merged onto the interstate and into the traffic settling in a lane and keeping pace with the other vehicles around him. He was on edge and wasn't sure what he was going to find once he got to Stanford. If Sam did want to break all ties with their father and him, well, he would deal with it, but he needed to see his brother's bitchy face to assure himself he was okay.

spn

The exit for Palo Alto was two miles ahead of him and Dean began to work his way over to exit off. It was after lunch so he should be able to find someone in the administration offices to tell him where Sam was. He signaled his intentions and slowed to exit. Dean spotted signs for Stanford University and followed them to the campus. He located the admin offices, figuring financial aid would be in the building too. He drove around it until he found a parking space and took it. Dean got out and headed for the front doors of the building and hoped one step closer to Sam.

The building was filled with students coming and going as Dean entered and looked for a list of offices. He found the financial aid offices on the second floor and took the steps up to that level. He pushed open the glass doors and stepped into the office and up to a counter with a young woman typing on a keyboard.

"Hi, can I help you?" she asked looking up at him with interest.

"I hope so. My brother was supposed to register here about a month ago and I need to locate him it's a family emergency. I've tried calling but his cell isn't working," Dean offered as an explanation.

"Name?" she asked.

"Sam Winchester," Dean told her. He waited and watched as she clicked a few keys and started to type. He saw the frown crease her forehead as she did something else and tapped a few more keys.

"You say he was supposed to have registered for the fall semester?"

"Yes, he got a full scholarship."

"Hold on, let me get Ms. Berger, maybe she can help you." The young woman got up and went into an office a few doors down from the counter.

Doubt began to seep into Dean's mind because he knew something wasn't right. He looked up when a middle-aged woman dressed in a pants suit came toward him.

"Mr. Winchester, I am Ms. Berger. If you will come with me, I'll see if I can help you," she said opening the door to allow him to follow her to her office. "If you'll have a seat."

"What's going on? Where's my brother?" Dean asked sitting on the edge of his seat.

"We did have a scholarship set up for him and were excited that he chose our school. He was to have registered with the freshman five weeks ago, but I don't show he ever showed up. He never registered and never claimed the scholarship. I have notes that our staff tried to contact him, but his number wasn't working. He never contacted us that there was a problem or anything and I'm sorry to say the scholarship was given to someone else."

Dean listened to her talk but the only words that were making any sense was Sam never made it to college to register. He never claimed the scholarship he worked so hard for. He would not have thrown that away willingly. Something had happened to his brother after he left the motel room for Stanford. Dean had quit listening to Ms. Berger after he learned Sam wasn't there. A coldness began to seep through his body as his face paled.

"I need to go," Dean said quickly, getting up to leave. He needed to make some calls and put out an alert for Sam.

"Sir, are you okay? Do you need some water or something?" she asked seeing the pasty look of Dean's face.

"No," he replied hurrying from the room and out the doors. He raced down the steps and out the building, pulling his cell out to dial his father. When voicemail answered, he dropped into the driver's seat and got ready to leave a message. "Dad, I'm at Stanford and Sam's not here. He never showed up. Something's happened to him. I'm on my way back to Bobby's. Call me Dad; we've got to find Sammy." He hung up and dialed Bobby's number getting voicemail too. "Bobby, Sam's missing, he's not here at Stanford. He never made it. Get the word out to other hunters. I'm heading your way." Dean hung up and screeched out of the parking lot to head east toward Sioux Falls.

His only thoughts were, where was Sam.

A/N: Now Dean knows Sam is missing and the search will begin. Thank you for reading my creation and I hope you like where I am going to take it. Action will pick up in the next chapter with Sam. I do like reviews and if have a moment, please leave one. NC