Chapter Three

"Jesus, Sam! I looked at the damn map, too. I'm telling you, I think it's up ahead. Are you sure we missed it?"

Sam bit back the remark he'd intended to let fly and tried counting to ten instead. Make that twenty. He knew his brother was half out of his mind with worry but it was hard to be patient when Dean was being such a pain in the ass.

"Dean, I saw the sign for the Dry River Campground about a 1/2 mile back and I told you then it was coming up. Now I'm telling you, again, you missed the turn off."

"Crap!" Dean growled and slammed on the brakes as he yanked the wheel hard to the left, throwing the car into a sliding u-turn and Sam into the passenger side door.

"God Dean! I knew I should have made you let me drive! Take it easy before you frigging kill us!" He straightened himself out in the seat, only to slide toward the door again when Dean made the sharp left turn that would take them to the campground.

They sped along the road, Sam's heart rate just beginning to level out, when Dean suddenly slammed on the brakes a second time. A huge metal gate had loomed up in front of them and the car came to a screeching halt inches short of it. Sam slowly peeled his fingertips from the dashboard and sat back in the seat. His head snapped around and he glared with murderous eyes at his brother.

"Sorry." Dean said hoarsely as he relaxed his own grip on the steering wheel. "Looks like we're walking from here, huh? Guess the park's already closed for the winter." He took a deep breath and blew it out; trying to calm his own frayed nerves. "So, you see Leah's car anywhere?"

With one final look of contempt, Sam opened his door and stood up so he could get a better view of the area. Spotting a dirt road several yards behind them, he pointed it out to Dean. "Try that."

Dean started to comment on the time they'd waste if Sam was wrong, but thought better of it. Instead, he waited for his brother to get in, then backed the Impala up and started down the narrow bumpy road. Sam was relieved that Dean maneuvered the car along it at a relatively moderate speed. It wasn't long before they came to another gate and saw a small black truck and a larger dark green one parked off to the side.

Dean pulled in next to the smaller vehicle. "Guess this one's hers." He got out and circled the truck, trying the driver's side handle, which as expected, was locked. A quick check showed the larger one was locked up as well.

"Let's grab the gear and head out." he told Sam.

While Sam started pulling their gear from the car, Dean glanced through Leah's journal one more time. They had to look for the Arethusa Falls Trail. That was the last place the missing couple from Michigan had been seen and it was the same trail Leah had highlighted on a small map of the park. Everything seemed to be pointing them in one direction and it made sense that Leah would start her search where the couple disappeared. It was where she went from there that was the problem. Plus, he was holding her plans in his hands. Was she working from memory or did Blake have copies? Of did she end up going off in a completely different direction all together?

Once the two men were ready, Sam looked around at several posted signs. "Dean, since you're so good with signs and directions today, why don't you tell me which one we're looking for?"

Dean pushed past him, heading for a path off to their right. "Nobody likes a smart ass."

"Well that would explain why nobody likes you." Sam countered as he walked toward a trail that began on their left.

The brothers took several steps in their chosen direction before stopping and looking at each other.

Dean held up his hands. "What are you doing, Sammy? It's this way."

"If you bothered to read once in awhile, Dean, you'd know that you could knock off about a quarter of a mile if you take the Falcon Cliff Trail. Which is this one." He pointed down the path in front of him. "It intersects with the Falls Trail. You were just looking at Leah's journal, didn't you see that? She checked all this out."

He shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Falcon Hills..."

"Cliff." Sam corrected.

"Whatever!" Adjusting his backpack, Dean plodded over and brushed by Sam, taking the lead. "Let's go!" Glancing at his watch, he figured they had a couple hours of daylight left. They'd have to move fast, but they should be able to reach the Falls Trail before sunset.

The brothers traveled quickly and easily along the Cliff Trail, reaching the cut-over in less time than they'd expected. Now it was onto the Arethusa Falls Trail. That one was over a mile long itself, leading to a 200 foot high waterfall. The first part of the path was fairly rocky and steep, but once they got past that, it ran through a deeply wooded area. That area would probably be where Leah and Blake set up camp.

The sun had dipped low on the horizon when Sam and Dean reached their destination. Sam dropped down on a fallen tree and downed half a bottle of water. He swept his hair off his forehead and waited for Dean, who'd decided to reread a few entries in Leah's journal.

"Okay, now we just have to figure out where they decided to set up camp." he told Sam as he tucked the book back into his coat pocket, anger rising up in him again. "Hell, there are miles of woods all around us." He turned in a circle.

"Fuck this!" Dean shouted. "How am I gonna find her, Sammy? Huh? How the hell am I gonna find her?"

Sam shared his brother's anguish and desperation. He stood up and stared off into the woods, wondering what he could do or say to make this seem less futile. All they could do was keep going and look for signs of the camp. He was about to suggest that when he saw a hint of red on a nearby tree. On closer inspection, Sam knew they'd just gotten one hell of a lucky break.

"Dean! Come here."

Dean trudged over, then stared in disbelief at the trunk of the tree. "That's my girl!" he said, and a smile touched his lips for the first time that day.

A huge 'L', along with a smaller eah, written in what Dean imagined was red lipstick, graced the side of the large tree. That's when he remembered something Leah had mentioned to him once. She hated the idea of camping in the woods thanks to Hansel and Gretel. Her father had read it to her when she was small and the fear of getting lost deep in the woods had apparently stuck. She was using extra precautions to find her way out. And in turn, it would help Sam and Dean find their way in, to her.

"What the hell are the odds of finding that?" Sam asked as they slowly combed the woods looking for more red writing.

"Dude, I don't even want to know." Dean said with a silent thank you to whomever or whatever had lent them a helping hand.

TBC