Chapter 4

Dean parked the Impala in the parking lot of the Lehman Caves and just sat behind the wheel. "So, this Sheksah legend originated in South America? How the hell did it end up here?"

Sam looked across at his brother. "Good question. From what information I could gather, the Sheksah or La Sheksah Legono as named by the inhabitants of a small town in the south of Colombia called Florencia goes back a lot farther than any records. Local legends report of incidents with townsfolk having been found in pools of blood which apparently came from their eyes and ears. But there's nothing to show how the Sheksah legend got from Colombia to Nevada."

"So what do you think? Should we perhaps come back after hours and take a look around? Too many folks around to do it now." Dean said, his eyes taking in several tourists making their way towards the entrance.

Sam gazed at a family consisting of mom, dad and two little girls. All had huge grins plastered on their faces as they almost skipped towards the entrance to the caves. "Yeah. Let's come back after dark."

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It was a little after 9pm when they once again pulled up in the parking lot of the Lehman Caves.

Dean went to the boot of the Impala and retrieved a handgun which he then handed to Sam and then picked up one for himself. He then picked up two flashlights and also handed one of these to Sam.

They quietly scaled the fence and stealthily made their way towards the entrance to the cave system.

They came upon a steel gate with a padlock at the entrance to one of the caves. Sam retrieved his kit for picking locks. Quickly and quietly he secured their entrance to the cave.

After a few minutes following the trail slightly downhill, they came across another steel gate. Once more, Sam secured their access. Another minute and they came to a fork in the passage.

"I'll take the left." Dean said. "Meet back here in 15."

With a nod of his head, Sam started off down the right hand passage as Dean departed down the other.

Dean followed the passage, the small round circle from his flashlight only illuminating the immediate path in front of him. Every so often, he would swing the light upwards, taking in the sight of stalactites and magical flowstones which had been created over the ages.

Checking his watch, he decided to turn and head back to meet up with Sam. He traversed the passage back to the fork where he had left Sam.

Dean shone his flashlight down the passage Sam had taken but no sign of his brother. He leaned against the wall and began to wait for his brother. After about 3 minutes of waiting, he grew impatient. Once more, Dean shone his flashlight down the passage, "SAM!" He waited for a response. Nothing. "SAMMY!" Still nothing.

Dean began to cautiously walk down the passage; his senses becoming even more alert than before. "I swear Sam, if this is your idea of a joke…." He mumbled under his breath.

Dean continued down the passage until he rounded a corner and almost walked straight into the back of his brother. "Jesus Sam! What the hell are you playing at?" Dean asked, gently giving Sam a shove in the middle of his back.

Sam didn't respond to his brother's voice. He just stood completely still, his back towards him.

Dean cautiously moved around in front of his brother. "Sam?" He asked as he moved the light from his torch towards his brother's face. The sight that Dean took in him left him stunned and speechless.

Sam's eyes were vacant – as Dean would have said – the lights were on but no-one was at home. Dean waved a hand in front of Sam's eyes and there was no trace of acknowledgement or even a flinch from Sam.

"Damn it Sam! What the hell happened?" Dean hissed. "What's got into y…" Before he could finish his sentence, Sam took a deep breath and a low moaning sound began to escape from his throat.

"Sheksah. Frelos heelosim." The voice that Sam emitted did not sound like his own. It had a childlike quality.

Dean grabbed Sam on his upper arms tightly. "Sam! Wake up!" He began to shake Sam none too gently. "Get a grip Sammy!"

Sam still stared straight ahead, the moaning sound still coming from deep in his throat. "Sheksah. Frelos heelosim." He wailed loudly.

"Sammy! C'mon man, wake up! Snap out of it! Damn it!" Dean said loudly as he continued to hold on tightly to Sam's arms.

Sam then lifted his head and stared straight up at the hewn stone roof above them. "Crantsakou frelos heelosim pratyun Sheksah!" The loudness of Sam's voice made Dean take an involuntary step away from him.

"Jesus Sammy! C'mon now, snap outta this!" Dean said as he continued to watch his brother. Once more, he approached Sam, not really knowing what he had to do to get his brother back from this trance-like state.

Dean lifted his hand and quickly swept it across Sam's face. Sam's head snapped sideways and then returned back to staring straight ahead. The thwack sound from Dean's hand meeting Sam's cheek reverberated around the passage but still Sam did not wake up.

Dean once more lifted his hand and again swept it across Sam's face. "C'mon Sam! Wake up damn it!"

It was then that Sam began to blink rapidly and his eyes began to focus on his brother. "Dean?" He asked inquisitively. "What's going on? Why did you just hit me?" Sam put a hand up to his cheek.

Dean took a huge cleansing breath before he could talk. "You were in some sort of a trance or something. You kept mumbling some of those old crazy words."

"The last thing I remember was walking down the passage and I heard a noise behind me and when I turned around, nothing was there. And the next thing I know is you're slapping me across the face!"

"I think we'd better get out of this place. Something's not right." Dean said.

"I'm with you there bro." Sam said, retrieving his flashlight from the floor.

They made their way out of the cave system and back to the relative safety of their motel room.

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Sam made his way down the passage, his ears straining to hear anything unfamiliar. He stopped to check his watch and decided it was time to turn back when he heard what he thought was the sound of someone breathing.

He stood perfectly still and listened intently – definitely was not alone. He turned quickly to confront whoever/whatever was behind him.

The flashlight picked up nothing behind him at all. Sam screwed up his eyes, trying in vain to focus his attention on the small round circle of light from his flashlight.

"Hello?" He almost whispered. Nothing. "Anyone there?" Nothing.

"Sheksah. Frelos heelosim. Prestin sato pirnist Sheksah. You were warned to go away and stay away." The words echoed around Sam – seeming to come from every direction. His vision began to blur.

When his vision began to return, he felt someone slap him across the face – not once but twice, followed by Dean's voice; "C'mon Sam! Wake up damn it!"

"Dean?" He asked inquisitively. "What's going on? Why did you just hit me?" Sam could feel the string where Dean's slap had connected.

"The last thing I remember was walking down the passage and I heard a noise behind me and when I turned around, nothing was there. And the next thing I know is you're slapping me across the face!"

"I think we'd better get out of this place. Something's not right." Dean said.

"I'm with you there bro." Sam said, retrieving his flashlight from the floor.