Disclaimer: I just realized this is my 92nd way I've had to say no. At what point do I not have to say it anymore?

A/N: Well… hi Pandora Jazz! Haha, pretty much my only reviewer left. Maybe this one will bring in some more though. This was one of those bizarre stories in which I wrote it all in one shot, and had no pre-meditation of the story line. It just sortta came out, and I'm kindda pleased with it. There is one… shall we say bribery… I'm going to do to try and get a few more reviews with this one. I have no title for this story as, like I said, it just kindda poured out. So I want people to review, and in it, say what they think this story should be called. I'll choose what I think is the best one, and then will come back here, and change it. Haha, so yeah, read, review—tell me what y'all think, and give a title suggestion for this guy.

Oh right! And for the first time in a long, long time, I should also note: this is not a death fic. Enjoy!

Title: Fear Fox
Genre: Genuinely supernatural, and suspenseful
Summary: After witnessing their Dad's death, ten year old Sam, and fourteen year old Dean are on the run for their lives through a Colorado forest.

Fear Fox

Dean grabbed Sam's wrist firmly and pulled in a sprint.

"No!" Sam cried out, "No! Dad!"

"C'mon," Dean gasped, his ten year old brother stumbling along in his wake.

"Dad!" Sam yelled out again, his head twisting back futilely the way they came from as Dean pulled him along by his arm.

Trees and branches smacked into the Winchester brother's as they went, and more than once Dean was forced to pull Sam up off the ground as the youngest tripped on a large root or rock. The two continued to run for several minutes until Dean was sure they were safe and they stopped; surrounded by tall coniferous trees. His breath caught painfully in his chest, though it was nothing compared to Sam whose gut-wrenching mixture of tears and gasps reminded Dean how young his brother was.

"Sammy," Dean struggled to make his voice work, "Sammy, look at me."

Sam's head was swinging around frantically trying to see where they were and if their Dad was nearby. He knew he wasn't. Finally at his brother's voice, he looked up with tears working their way down his dirt strewn face.

"Are you alright?" Dean placed one hand on the side of Sam's face.

Sam's whole body was trembling as he stared at Dean. Of course he wasn't alright, what kind of stupid question was that? He had just seen his Dad die; a long piercing blade had gone right through his chest. A blade? No, it couldn't have been a blade. It had actually come out of the monster's wrist; almost like he would see in the wolverine comics his brother would read. Then the screaming. Sam could still hear his Dad's screaming, and see the hollow look in his eyes as the dark crimson blood had crawled out of the corner of his mouth.

"Sam!" the shout and subsequent shake knocked the youngest out of his thoughts.

Slowly Sam shook his head, renewed sobs trembling out of him.

"Hey, hey," Dean grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close, "It's going to be okay Sammy. Everything will be okay. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

Sam's crying grew louder as he wrapped his arms around his big brother, and all Dean could do was hold him tight. The moment he had seen the protruding spear-like claw go through his Dad's chest, the only thing Dean could think of was running. Every instinct he had knew his Dad had been instantly killed by the monster that was in the cabin.

God damn it Dad!

They should have never been there in the first place. John hadn't even had time to research anything to do with disappearances. Five in the last two months all coming from the same area on the outer cusps of Colorado State Park. They just happen to be in the area, and John had decided to teach Sammy the basics on a preliminary assessment of a potential hunting job.

Some teaching job Dad.

Dean finally pulled his brother back, "We have to get out of this forest and to the car Sammy." Dean felt a weird prickling sensation on the back of his neck, "It's not safe in here."

Sam took a deep breath and when he spoke, his voice cracked slightly, "Dad?"

Dean swallowed, "We'll get back to the car, and then drive to town. I'll call Uncle Bobby from there, and he'll come down here and help us."

Dean's mind began racing a mile a minute; Where was the spare key hidden on the car? What was Bobby's phone number? What if the thing was waiting for them? What could he use as a weapon?

"We can't… we can't leave Dad there," Sam said breaking Dean's thoughts.

"Sam, we cannot go back into that cabin," Dean stated, "Whatever the hell that thing was, was pissed. It will kill us."

"But—"

"No Sam," Dean placed a firm hand on his brother's shoulder, "I am responsible for you. I am not going to let you get hurt. We'll get Bobby and then him and I will go after the thing. Now let's go; we have to try and get back before it gets dark."

Dean knew all too well the things that came out when the sun went down, and judging by the position of the sun, they had about three more hours until that would happen. Taking a quick glance up and down his little brother, Dean saw that the only injuries he appeared to have were a slightly bleeding knee from falling on a rock, and some scraps. He then looked around, and grabbed the sharpest, and sturdiest stick he could find, and held it in one hand.

"Find something you can use as a weapon Sam, just in case," Dean said.

Sam did so, and the two of them began to walk through the less than dense forest. The Winchesters could easily see several meters away, and Dean wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing; something couldn't easily sneak up on them, but on the other hand, they didn't have any good cover. They walked for an hour with little conversation between the two. Dean, in his mind, was trying to make sure they gave the cabin a wide birth while trying to get back to the car; the whole while feeling like someone or something was following them.

"Dean," Sam suddenly spoke, his voice small, "…Dean?"

"What?"

"Something is following us I think," Sam moved close to his brother, but kept a sturdy grip of his stick.

Slowly Dean nodded, "I know."

"Why isn't it attacking?" Sam asked, then jumped slightly at the sound of nearby rustling.

Dean shook his head, "I dunno Sammy. Stay close."

Moving at a slower pace, the two began to walk through the forest, the sound of leaves and twigs crunching under their feet. Ducking under some low branches, Dean was sure he saw a shadow move in his peripheral vision. He was just about to turn back and warn his brother, when an ear splitting crack echoed through the air.

"Sam!" Dean instinctually cried out before even registering what happened.

It was as he turned around that he realized that the sound was from the branch breaking off from the tree and thumping to the ground. Sam, thankfully, hadn't been hit, and was standing on the other side, his eyes wide, and his mouth opened in a silent gasp. His heart hammering, Dean was just about to call out for Sam to walk around when something large and dark fell from the canopy and landed on top of the fallen branch. It took only a split second for Dean to realize that it was the creature from back in the cabin.

"Sam run!" Dean frantically screamed out as he did the same.

A sickening gurgling laugh came from the creature as Dean took off. His head swung each way, but he saw no sign of where Sam had run off to. He knew, however, that he had to do anything he could to get the thing to go after him and not Sam.

"Hey!" Dean yelled while still running, "Ugly ass! Over here!"

It seemed to work as with a roar of what Dean could only assume was anger, the creature leaped twenty feet in the air and bounded towards him. Picking up his speed, Dean felt a painful stitch forming his side though refused to slow down. It didn't matter though; without even looking back, Dean knew the thing was quickly gaining on him and with fear pulsing through him Dean waited for the moment that he would be killed the same way his dad had been.

God Sammy, please make it.

Daring to glance back, Dean saw the thing less than ten feet away, and realizing he couldn't outrun it, fell to the ground with his hands over his head.

Make it quick! Please, make it quick!

His eyes squeezed shut with tears prickling at them, Dean waited. The sounds which came next was not what Dean expected as he heard something swish through the air, and then a tremendous, horrifying roar of pain. Gasping in his crouched position, Dean felt something warm on his back, and was just about to turn around when another sound echoed around the trees.

"Dean, move!"

This caused the elder Winchester sibling to turn around quickly as he immediately recognized it as his Dad's voice. Swinging clumsily, Dean fell down to his backside and sat on the leaves and brush taking in the scene. Less than five feet away from him the crumpled heap of the monster lay on the forest floor completely engulfed in flames. Then bounding from the right side of the forest, John came with a crossbow slung over one shoulder, and a panicked look on his face.

"Dean, move back!" John cried out again.

Still half stunned at what he was seeing, Dean pushed himself back several meters with his feet, his eyes wide. John rushed over and put himself between his son and the creature; staring at the latter to make sure that it was truly dead.

"Dad," Dean gasped finally.

Satisfied that he wasn't going to be attacked, John turned around and crouched down in front of Dean, "Dean. Are you okay?"

Dean reached out a hand and grabbed his Dad's shirt sleeve, "Dad, we saw... we saw you…"

Overcome by the sight of the person he never thought he'd see again, Dean awkwardly went onto his knees and grabbed his Dad in a hug, closing his eyes against the fighting tears. John eagerly returned it, pulling his fourteen year old close and forcing his heart rate to calm down slightly.

"Dean," John's voice sounded funny to his own ears as he moved back, "Where's your brother?"

"I… I don't know," Dean sniffled, "The thing separated us. Sammy ran off one way, and I ran the other."

"We have to find him," John breathed looking at Dean, "Are you going to be okay?"

Dean nodded silently, still unsure of what exactly happened.

One of the first pieces of good luck happened at that point as just when John was about to start calling out his youngest boys name, a small voice was heard. Putting out his hand to stop Dean from moving, they both held their breath and waited.

"…Dean…!"

The voice was unmistakably Sam's.

"Sammy!" John and Dean yelled out simultaneously.

A few moments later Sam's form came lumbering over a small hill, and he stopped at the sight of his Dad and brother standing there with a smouldering mass nearby. Unsure of anything at that point, Sam just stood there, breathing deep, his eyes wide and his body shaking slightly.

"Sammy," John smiled and let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.

Eyes still wide, Sam stared at John a moment before moving his glance to Dean. Dean grinned widely, and nodded his head slightly.

"Dad!" Sam cried out at that, sprinting over to his family.

John grabbed Sam in a hug that Dean was briefly worried would break his little brother's ribs. Neither seemed to care, however, as Sam held tight, crying into his Dad's plaid shirt. John gently rubbed Sam's back, one hand holding his head close to his chest.

"It's okay Sammy," John said the words more for himself than anyone else, "You're alright."

"We saw you die," Dean finally spoke up quietly, his eyes flickering to the still smouldering mass on the ground.

John squeezed Sam's shoulder affectionately before walking away from him towards the creature, "I'm so sorry boys. I'm so… I should never have taken you without knowing what it was."

"What was it?" Sam's voice was still small sounding, "How did it not kill you?"

"It's a type of kitsune; a creature that feeds on fear," John explained, "More specifically, this one feeds on the fear of children. It didn't actually kill me—it had no need to; it just knocked me out. It just made it seem like it did so that you boys would get scared and run."

"That's why it followed us for so long," Dean nodded in understanding as he spoke softly, "If it just killed us, it wouldn't have been able to feed off the fear."

John nodded, "I realized after I came to what it was. The only way to kill it," he held up the crossbow, "A flaming arrow to the heart."

Sam stood beside John, "You're okay Dad?"

John gave a crooked smile down to Sam and wrapped an arm around him, "I am now. You boys did really good, I'm proud of you." He looked down at the form of the kitsune, "I think he's dead now. Let's head back."

Sam walked a few paces ahead, and John waited a moment for Dean catch up. When he did, John repeated the squeeze of the shoulder on his oldest.

"Thank you Dean," John's voice was filled with emotion as he spoke quietly so as Sam couldn't hear, "I always knew I could count on you to protect him."

Dean smiled, and wordlessly nodded his head as he swallowed back the lump in his throat. He would always protect Sam, no matter what. This wasn't the first time, and unfortunately he knew it wouldn't be the last.

The End.