Chapter 6
The driver pulled the vehicle off the road onto a small strip of grass and stopped. He turned to look at the brothers but didn't speak. They got out and Dean and Sam made sure they had everything before looking at the tree line.
"We will wait here for your call," the driver said. "This is where Oscar said to bring you. If you go in there, and follow the map, you will find the area he marked."
"Alright, we'll call once this is done," Dean replied. "C'mon Sammy, let's go bag us a Pukie."
The brothers moved to the tree line and disappeared among the trees. Dean let Sam take the lead since he was reading the map. The sun was straight overhead, and the coolness of the forest engulfed them as the light dimmed since the sun couldn't penetrate through the leafy branches.
"You know where we're going?" Dean asked his brother as he kept a wary eye on their surroundings. He was tense and alert, ready for a surprise attack from any side.
"From the map, we need to hike about three miles this way. It looks like there might be a small clearing that we can use to set the trap."
"I hate hiking. You do know that right?" Dean grumbled.
"I do and we don't have a choice, so suck it up and let's get this done."
"Whoa, who died and made you boss?"
"Jerk."
"Bitch."
They fell silent as they continued their hike into the creature's territory. Their movements were watched by the forest creatures that lived in the woods, ever wary of humans. Sam had to detour slightly a few times to bypass large patches of underbrush and downed trees.
"This is the spot," Sam huffed as he stepped from the trees and looked around a small clearing.
"Thank goodness," Dean panted trying to catch his breath since they had set a fast pace.
"Over here Dean. This is a good spot for the trap." Sam had walked to a spot that had more sand than grass and was big enough to make the spiral. "I'll start cleaning this spot and you gather stones."
"Why do I have to do the hard work?" Dean whined.
"Do you know how to draw a circular spiral?"
Dean frowned and scratched his head for a moment before snorting about Sam being a know-it-all asshole and went to gather rocks.
Sam smirked and bit back a laugh knowing it would only piss his brother off more. He found a leafy branch and began to clear the area of debris, exposing the bare ground. Any rocks that were big enough, he kept to use. Once the area was clear, Sam found a sturdy stick and began to draw the circular spiral on the ground. He made sure the lines were deep enough to hold the rocks in place.
As Dean continued to gather stones, Sam began to outline the symbol being sure the path was big enough for the Pukwudgie to walk down without breaking the borders. They worked quickly and finally had the spiral finished.
"I'll put the bait in the middle and hope this works," Sam said, carefully stepping over the stones to the middle of the circle. He squatted down and carefully dumped the contents in a neat pile before pulling out a book of matches. The match flared to life as Sam racked it down the rough surface. He lit the mixture and quickly got out of the circle.
"Over here," Dean told him. "We can hide and still see. Have the sack ready because we only get one chance at this."
"I know," Sam replied as he shook out the sack and followed Dean to the spot to hide. He drew in some slow even breaths as he prepared for the next step.
Dean rolled his head and shoulders to loosen his body hoping they wouldn't have to wait long. He hoped the scent of the mixture would lure the Pukie to them. He watched the smoke rise and get carried away by the wind swirling through the trees like wisps of a spirit haunting the forest.
Spn
The brothers went on high alert when the snapping of twigs caught their attention. Neither moved as they let their eyes roam over the area looking for the creature. An eerie silence filled the clearing and a heaviness hung in the air. More rustling and snapping of twigs let them know something was moving closer to the trap. They saw the shadow of a small being at the edge of the trees and tensed in anticipation.
The Pukwudgie stepped from the trees and searched the area for danger. Its body seemed to shimmer in the light as it transformed into its true state. It looked half porcupine, half elf or human looking. The being stood nearly three feet tall and had spikes on its back and an elf shaped head, hands and feet. It sniffed the air and twitched its nose when it caught the scent of the mixture still burning in the circle.
The creature walked around the spiral eyeing it closely and stopped at the entrance. After studying the shape and giving the area one last look, it stepped on the small path and began to follow it until reaching the middle. The Pukwudgie drew in a deep breath and let out a small cooing sound as it suddenly froze in place.
"Now!" Dean hissed when he saw the change in the creature's movements.
The brothers rushed from their hiding spot and zeroed in on the small creature. Dean shook out the sack and was about to lower it over its head when he tripped and broke the stone circle, breaking the spell.
A fierce growl echoed around the clearing as the creature suddenly turned into a huge panther and knocked Sam aside. It focused on Dean who was back peddling and trying to keep his balance. He fell backwards as the beast jumped for him, its claws extended and ready to tear into Dean's skin.
Sam didn't think, only reacted as he leapt to his feet and tackled the beast wrapping his strong arms around the neck of the beast and pulled it away from Dean. He fell backwards with the beast on top of him and hung on for dear life knowing if he lost his grip they were dead.
Dean rolled away from the flaying clawed paws and scooped up the dropped sack. He knew they had to get this thing into the too small bag and did the only thing he could think of. He got behind Sam and quickly pulled the sack over the head of the beast and as far down as he could.
"Move your arms!" Dean cried out to Sam as he continued to pull the sack lower. It seemed the lower he pulled the sack, the smaller the creature became.
Sam saw what Dean was trying to do and quickly jerked his arms out of the sack. He grabbed the edges and helped pull it lower onto the body. To their surprise, the beast began to change and grow smaller. By the time they had it pulled over the body the Pukwudgie was back to its true form and fit in the sack.
After getting to his knees, Sam grabbed the drawstrings and pulled them to close the sack and tie it tightly. Dean fell back on the ground panting hard as Sam sat back on his bottom.
"Are you okay?" Dean asked him once he got his breath.
"I think so, maybe a couple of scratches and scrapes. How about you? Did it get you?"
The question suddenly caused Dean to feel something damp on one of his arms and a stinging pain ran up it to the shoulder. He looked at his left arm and saw his jacket and shirt had been ripped by one of the claws and blood was oozing from a gash.
"Let me see," Sam insisted when he saw what Dean was looking at. He grabbed Dean's arm and got the gash exposed. "It's not too deep which is good. It needs cleaning and antibiotic cream put on it. You were lucky." He wrapped a bandana around his arm for now until they could get out of here.
"Yeah, well if you hadn't put it in a choke hold, things might have turned out differently," Dean praised his brother in a roundabout way. "You know that was a dumbass move, don't you?"
"I had to stop it from ripping you to shreds," Sam shrugged. "Besides, I didn't think I had enough sutures to sew you back together," he snickered.
"Funny," Dean snarled. "Make the call and let's get out of here. The sun is getting lower, and I don't want to be traipsing through these woods at night."
"Wow, I didn't realize this much time had passed already," Sam said in surprise. He pulled his cell out and the piece of paper to dial the number. He mumbled into his cell for a minute and hung up. "They are going to meet us partway to help carry it back."
"You take one end and I'll grab the other," Dean grunted as he reached to pick up an end of the sack. "Damn! This thing weights a ton," he exclaimed as he struggled to get a good grip on the sack.
"Looks can be deceiving, I guess." Sam grabbed the other end and once they had it balanced, started walking back the way they had come. The going was slow now and they had to stop twice before voices had them stopping as the tribe members found them. With the extra help, they continued through the forest to the vehicle and loaded the sack in the back to head back to the reservation to drop the brothers off and then to take the Pukwudgie to a helicopter that would airlift it to a new home.
A/N: Of course, things don't go exactly as planned but the creature has been caught and will be taken far away and released. Thank you for coming on this journey. Only one more chapter and this story will be over. Thank you to any guests who have left reviews. I do like reviews/comments. NC