Chapter Eight

As consciousness returned, Dean's head throbbed mercilessly. His memory was hazy at first, but pushing past the pain, he began to recall what had happened. He'd found a piece of cloth stuck in a branch and that ugly-ass devil thing had been standing behind a nearby tree. When it stepped out he'd aimed the gun, but it knocked his hand aside and then it was lights out.

Well at least it hadn't gotten to Leah. She and Sam would have heard the thing's screech from hell and come after him, but whether or not they'd be able to pick up the trail, he had no clue. With any luck they had and they weren't too far behind.

Feeling a dull ache in his arms, which were tied above his head, Dean struggled for a moment. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to get out of the bindings. Strung up and waiting for dinner time, wonderful!

Dean tried to check out the surroundings. A twist to his left showed he was in a cave but the light filtering in wasn't bright enough for him to see how deep it was. He also found the hunter Leah was looking for. He was strung up next to him, head hanging limply down, and Dean couldn't tell if he was alive or dead.

"Hey!" With no response, Dean stuck his foot out and nudged the guy's leg. "Hey bud! You alive?"

Blake groaned, then slowly lifted his head. He tried to focus on the newest captive, but his vision was slightly blurred. "How'd you end up in here? Park's closed. You a ranger?"

"Nah. I heard this was the place to hang out. Course, I didn't think I'd be literally 'hanging'."

Blake laughed weakly. "Right. Are you a hunter?"

Dean looked up at his bindings, trying to get a better view of how he was tied up as he answered. "Yep. Same kind as you."

There was a brief silence. "I was with a girl. Another hunter. Did you see her? Is she okay?"

That pulled his attention back to Blake. The concern in the guy's voice was obvious. He cared about Leah and Dean was pretty damn sure it was in more than a 'brotherly' or 'friendly' sort of way. He tried to make out the man's features. From what he could tell, the guy was young, early thirties maybe. He had short black hair and a body that appeared to be on the muscular side. His face was a bit battered but he supposed Leah could consider him good looking. Hell, if he hadn't already hated the bastard, he definitely would now.

"Leah's fine. She's with my brother. He'll take care of her."

"You know her? Brother, huh? Christ, are you a Winchester?" he asked.

"One and the same. Heard of us, huh?"

"More than I cared to. Which one are you? Not the asshole that hurt her, I hope."

Dean struggled against the ties, the need to put his fist into the guy's face suddenly burning strong inside him. "Listen, Drake, you really shouldn't be running your mouth like that when I'm here to save your ass."

The fact that Dean had used the wrong name didn't escape Blake. "Hell, you gotta be Dean. A cocky, smart ass sonofabitch just like Leah described. Listen Winchester, I've been here for a few days now. You're strung up same as I am. You're not saving me or yourself. If I couldn't get out of here, there's no way you can."

"Hate to burst your little bubble, pal, but that's where you're wrong. And DO NOT compare me to you. Now, if you don't have anything useful to say, shut the hell up and let me work on getting outta here. If you're nice, I just might consider taking you with me."

Dean was irritated and defensive, acting more like a jealous lover than the guy who'd done the walking. It took Blake by surprise. "All I can say is I'm glad you were dumb enough to leave Leah. She's a hell of a lot better off without you."

"You don't know shit about why I left her." Dean interlocked his fingers and tugged hard at the bindings a few more times. There was a slight give. He looked up, trying to figure out what the rope was attached to, but he couldn't tell. Glancing at Blake he said, "Not that it's any of your business, but since you seem so interested in Leah I might as well let you know you can forget it. We're getting back together."

"No you're not. She's finished with you. Besides, I'm not gonna stand around and let that happen." Blake shot back.

"Oh, you're gonna be standing around all right. Waiting to become this things next meal." Another hard tug and Dean felt himself drop down a little.

"Oh and you're not?"

Dean ignored him as he continued to pull at the bindings.

Blake watched him for a few minutes. "You're just gonna wear yourself out. I tried that until I thought my arms were gonna rip off."

"Too bad they didn't." Dean mumbled. Man, the guy was getting on his nerves! First thing he planned to do when he was free was knock the asshole out so he'd quit talking.

"You said Leah's with your brother. Were they nearby when you got caught? Think they'll be able to find us?" Blake couldn't believe Dean was still trying to pull his way out of the ropes. Clearly Leah hadn't been attracted to the guy for his brain! He sure as hell hoped the other Winchester was smarter.

"I don't know. I'm not planning on sticking around long enough to find out." Several hard tugs on the bindings and Dean was certain they were giving out. It was just a matter of time, which he hoped he had.

Blake was shocked to see Dean was actually making progress. He began to pull at his own ties again. He was weaker, though, from the lack of food, and had to stop after only a few minutes.

"I think it's working." he admitted as he followed Dean's progress.

"No shit."

Dean continued to work at freeing the rope. His arms were on fire, but he could tell he was close. Just a few more times should do it. Gritting his teeth, he yanked down with everything he had. Finally, a spray of rocks rained down and Dean dropped to the ground in an exhausted heap. Allowing himself only a few minutes to rest, he worked his wrists free and stood up.

"Impressive, Winchester." Blake said as Dean walked over to him.

"Think so?" At Blake's nod, he said, "Then wait till you see this." Dean punched him, grinning as Blake's eyes rolled back and his head flopped forward. Damn if that didn't feel good! It was just a shame he had to cut the jerk loose now.

Reaching into his back pocket, Dean pulled out the small knife he always carried and began to cut away at the ropes that held Blake. He was almost done when the loud screech of the wood devil reverberated through the cave.

Leah continued to follow the path the amulet laid out for her. She had no idea what it could mean. It was possible it was leading her to its lair, or tracking the wood devil itself. It was even possible it was leading her around in circles.

"Leah!"

She heard Sam calling from a short distance behind, but she was afraid to stop moving. "Yeah, Sam. How are you holding up?"

"Good. Listen I haven't seen any signs that they've come this way. You still think we're on the right trail?"

"I hope so." She knew she should stop and show him the necklace. He had a right to know how she was searching for his brother. They didn't seem to be getting any closer to Dean, maybe Sam would want to try something else.

Giving in, Leah stopped and waited for Sam to catch up with her. Although he'd said he was fine, she could see he was in pain as he hobbled forward and guilt quickly set in.

"Sam, hon, you're ankle's bad, isn't it?" she asked, as she wrapped an arm around his waist for support.

"I'll live. But Dean...we gotta find him, Leah."

"I know. Let me show you this." She held the charm up. "It's been glowing Sam. Depending on which direction I go. I think it's linked to the wood devil somehow. I've been following it, hoping it would get us to Dean, but I'm not sure that was the right decision."

Sam looked at the necklace, but it looked exactly as it had the last time he'd seen it. "What do you mean, glowing? I don't see it, Leah."

She glanced down and tried changing the angle, but no matter which direction she faced, it no longer put off any light.

"No! Sam, it's not working now!" She stepped away from him, scanning the area, widening her range as she went. She could feel the fear rising up within her. If she was wrong, if she'd wasted all that time and taken them in the wrong direction, they might never find Dean!

A little further still and there it was. "It's glowing! Sam, it's glowing." She waited for him to catch up with her and once again, held the charm up for him. "Can you see it?"

He studied the amulet for a minute, clearly seeing it's illumination. If they went by the logic that it was some sort of protection, why couldn't it also allow the person wearing it to know the location of the wood devil? All they could do at this point was continue the search. "It's definitely doing something. We keep going."

"We keep going." Leah said.

She pushed ahead, with Sam working hard to stay alongside her. It wasn't long before the amulet held steady, glowing constantly despite the direction. They searched the area, but couldn't find any sign of a lair or the wood devil. Leah had never, in her entire life, experienced desperation and frustration of that magnitude.

"Damn it! Where the hell is this thing?" She was about to rip the amulet from her neck, believing it to be nothing but a worthless tourist's bauble, when Sam pulled her close.

"Look!" He pointed to a small cluster of trees by a cliff off to their left. Though she tried, Leah didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"What Sam? What am I looking for?" she asked.

"Near that group of trees. I'm pretty damn sure that's an opening in the side of the cliff. I think it's a cave." He looked at her, eager for her reaction. This was a good sign, he could feel it. "You did it, Leah. You found Dean. It's gonna be okay."

As Leah tried to make out the opening, she prayed Sam was right and everything was going to be okay.

TBC