A/N: Hello dear readers and welcome back to another short story and case fic. I want to thank everyone for the support and reading my stories of Sam and Dean even though the show had ended. We can keep their spirits alive in our stories. I will keep writing if you keep reading. Of course, when kids are concerned, the brothers are going to figure out what's going on and stop it. Enjoy the read… NC

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspect of SPN, and this is my own creation. Any errors are my own.

Chapter 1

A gentle breeze blew through the park as Sam Winchester strolled to a picnic table that was in the shade to wait for his brother to bring their lunch. He had insisted that they eat outside to take advantage of such a nice day and to get some fresh air and vitamin K. Sam took a seat and let his gaze wander absently around the large park.

It had a walking path, plenty of grassy areas to play, hang out, or just relax. There was a small lake to one side and a fenced in area with playground equipment for kids to use. He saw an elderly couple strolling down the path, a couple of families with kids sitting under trees that seemed to be asleep, which in itself was strange, two guys playing Frisbee, but no one else. His brows drew together as he looked at the empty playground and did a quick calculation in his head to be sure he was right, it was Saturday. Where were all the kids? This place should be crawling with them.

"Here you go," Dean announced as he sat two bags on the table and sat across from his brother. He looked at Sam when he didn't answer and saw the look of confusion and puzzlement on his face. He knew that look and wondered what Sammy was mulling over. "What's wrong Sammy?"

"Look around and tell me what's wrong with this picture?" Sam told him wanting to see if Dean saw it too. He was starting to pick up a strange vibe in this town and it wasn't a good one.

Dean unpacked the bags and divided the food between them before looking around to see what had spooked Sam. He opened himself up and let his senses search the area. He lingered for a moment on the townspeople that were in the park before looking back at Sam. "Is there something in particular you want me to look at?" he asked his brother before taking a bite of his burger.

"Okay," Sam huffed wondering if he was making something out of nothing. "What's missing?"

Dean chewed the food in his mouth and did another brief look around. "What day is it Sammy?"

"Saturday."

"Where's the kids? Saturday is a big day to do the park, isn't it?"

"Exactly! There's no one at the playground on a nice day and it being Saturday. Doesn't that seem weird to you?"

"Maybe they're doing other things," Dean shrugged.

"What kid would pass up a day like today to play in the park? I mean, look at the ones over there, they're all asleep instead of running around playing," Sam pointed out.

"Maybe they had a rough night?"

"I don't know," Sam sighed picking up his sandwich to take a bite. He couldn't shake this eerie feeling coming over him that something was wrong in this town.

"Hang on," Dean grunted as he got up and walked over to a woman and her son that were heading for the playground. He talked with her for a few minutes before joining Sam back at the table. "Okay, that mom said there is a rash of night terrors plaguing the kids in the town. It started a few weeks ago and kids are afraid to go to sleep at night. I could see one or two kids maybe but something like that is not contagious that I know of."

"Night terrors, didn't I have that when I was younger?"

"Yeah, off and on."

"That's unusual for kids to come down with that at the same time?" Sam questioned. "Did she say how many?"

"Not really, but it sounded like quite a few from the gossip. She knew of five for sure. Are you thinking something possibly supernatural is making the kids have these night terrors?"

"I don't know, but I can't shake the feeling something's not right here." Sam looked surveyed the park again as his mind began to race as to what could be causing this.

"Well, we've not got a case and Bobby is off on one for a week or so. Why don't we hang around here and check it out. Wouldn't hurt anything. "And, the town does seem nice," Dean offered with a shrug. "We definitely need to check the bakery out. They have homemade pies."

"I knew there was a catch," Sam huffed rolling his eyes toward the sky with his brother's remark. "There are some motels on the road we came in on. Might as well get a room and I can do some research."

"Sure, sounds good to me. Why don't we finish our lunch, and we'll do that." Dean popped a ketchup covered fry in his mouth and chomped on it not bothering to keep his mouth shut, much to his brother's disgust.

The brothers finished their lunch and threw away their trash before heading to the Impala. Dean drove back to the motels to pick one and Sam went into the office to get a room for them. He paid for three nights, not sure how long they would need it. After getting the key, he headed around the side of the office building to the rows of rooms in the back and found the right one. He unlocked the door and headed back out to get his bags from the car as Dean got his own bags.

"I'll see if there's any newspaper articles online about the kids," Sam told him as he dropped his bag on the bed away from the door and took his computer bag to the small table in front of the windows. He sat down and pulled the laptop out, turning it on.

"I doubt the cops would be involved since there's really no crime here. Guess we could be counselors or something like that to interview the families."

"Mmm…" Sam mumbled focused on his task and not listening to his brother. He was in the zone now and concentrating on the computer screen.

Dean grunted seeing Sam wasn't listening to him and looked around for the remote to turn on the television and see what was on. He settled on an old action movie while his brother did his thing on the computer. It felt good to relax and not think about anything for a while. He knew his brother would let him know when and if he found anything.