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The Mermaid

Chapter nine

They followed the same routine for the next two days, sleeping during the day then heading to the bars at night then to the pond after the bars closed. Grady continued to warn them to stay away from the pond but they managed to avoid any other confrontations with him. Finally on the third day they hit pay dirt. As they left the bar Dean glanced up and spotted the woman they had been looking for about a block away getting into a car with a man and speeding off toward the pond. He ran to his car which was parked down the block and jumped in.

"Come on Sam!" He yelled to his brother who tried to keep up with him on the crutches but lagged behind. "Hurry we'll lose her!"

Sam tossed the crutches down and tried to run but his injured leg held him back and the car was already disappearing out of sight. Dean had no choice but to take off alone or take the chance of losing the car.

"Dean!" Sam shouted his face etched with worry as he watched the Impala fly off into the night.

The pond

Dean looked up and down the numerous paths near the woods leading to the pond; he couldn't believe he had lost sight of the car.

"Damn!" He swore as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

All he could do was keep searching and hope he would spot the car before it was too late.

He drove around the edge of the pond till he finally saw the car parked down an almost hidden path that led to the water. He quickly checked his gun and quietly got out of his car and followed the path to the pond.

Flanigan's Pub

Sam still stood in the parking lot staring down the street in the direction Dean had gone wishing he'd see his brother's car returning. Right now he didn't care whether Dean killed the mermaid or not, all he wanted was his brother standing safe next to him. He knew whenever they separated bad things happened. The only thing he could think of to do was to either hitch a ride or call a cab and have them drop him off at the pond. He knew Dean would be pissed at him but he wasn't about to let his brother deal with the mermaid alone, there were just too many things that could go wrong. He turned around to get his crutches and felt like he had been punched in the stomach when he saw Grady standing behind him holding them. Grady wasn't alone and he and his friends soon began to circle Sam.

"Where's your brother?"

Sam said nothing.

"I asked you where your brother is punk." Grady repeated as he poked Sam in the stomach with the end of the crutch. "Tell us or we'll beat it out of you."

Sam's hand shot out and grabbed the crutch and pulled it away from Grady, he then held it up over his head protectively as he waited for the men to attack.

The Pond

Dean quickly but quietly hurried down the path praying he wasn't too late. When he got to the small clearing in front of the pond he saw that the girl was already in the water and was motioning for the man to follow her. The man was just about to walk into the water when Dean walked out of the woods.

"Stay away from her." He warned the man as he walked forward holding the gun out in front of him.

"Whoa!" The man threw his hands up in the air. "Hey if she's your girl I'm sorry…I didn't know…please don't shoot…I'm sorry…."

"That bitch isn't anyone's girl." Dean walked past the man and toward the water, then without hesitation he fired at the girl just as she dived under the water.

"What the hell!" The man stepped backward terrified his eyes on Dean. The bullet missed its mark and instead of piercing her heart it glanced off her arm.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean shouted as he once more took aim. This time he and the man both watched as a large tail broke the surface of the water then disappeared beneath it. The mermaid was gone. Dean looked over at the man who stood looking at the water, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open.

"What the hell was that?" The man finally managed to get out.

"Your worse nightmare pal." Was all Dean said as he headed back towards his car.

Flanigan's Pub

Dean drove back to the bar expecting to see Sam either still in the parking lot or back in the bar, he wasn't either place. He stood in the parking lot looking around. Had Sam gone back to the motel? He didn't think so. He knew his brother well and he knew Sam would be worried. He continued looking around as a sick feeling came over him. It was the same feeling he had when Sam had gone missing before. He should have waited for him and never had left him alone. It was then he saw one of Sam's crutches lying under a car, he reached down and picked it up….The end of it was covered in blood.

TBC