Chapter Twenty

After a quick shower of his own, Sam was sitting at the small dining table in their room with his computer on in front of him. He was looking for anything else that they might have missed with the pattern of this thing. After a couple hours he hadn't come up with anything better than Dean's idea. He was about ready to admit that, as ridiculous as it sounded, Dean just might be on the right track.

He'd even started looking up the hunting habits of cats, both the domestic and larger varieties. It was proving even more that Dean's idea was their best bet.

"Well it does look like you've got a point," Sam finally admitted. "Apparently most feline species hunt based on movement, the motion catching their attention will usually cause them to chase it. Kind of like how a cat will usually chase a string if you drag it in front of them. It's purely instinctual."

Sam realized he hadn't heard anything from the other side of the room and wondered if Dean had fallen asleep again.

"Did you hear me?" he asked over his shoulder impatiently.

Dean replied with one word. "Yep."

Actually it wasn't so much a word as it was a belch with an affirmative sound to it. Disgusted, Sam looked back at his brother lying in bed and rolled his eyes.

"You're disgusting, you know that?" he said.

"Wait, wanna hear me do the whole alphabet?" Dean asked and reached for his bottle of beer again. Now that he was sure that they had a clue how to get the thing to show itself that night, Dean was in a great mood.

"No," Sam replied and turned back to the computer. He didn't let Dean see it but he went back to work with a little smile. He was enjoying Dean's mood and feeling a bit better himself now that they were onto something.

"You ruin all my fun," Dean replied petulantly with a sigh.

Dean went out to get them both lunch a few hours later. He left Sam to continue looking up any useful information he could find on his laptop, making sure that he was prepared for that night. Their current plan was to put all the stuff they'd need into backpacks and run on the trail to the house. They figured that the creature would show itself and when it did, the previous plan would go into effect. Dean would keep the ghost-shifter away while Sam prepared the binding ritual.

Sam's grumbling stomach reminded him that Dean had been gone a while. Just as he began to wonder how long it took to pick up a sandwich, he heard a key in the door. Looking up happily, he put the computer aside and got ready to chow down. One look at his brother's face and the thought of food left Sam completely.

"What?" Sam asked suspiciously.

Dean didn't answer and instead put down everything he'd been carrying. He had brought in a six pack of beer, a pizza and the police scanner from the car. Without a word he turned the scanner on and turned up the volume. Sam walked over to the radio and listened intently. His eyes widened as he heard the chatter from the sheriff and his deputies. They were discussing the successful shooting of a mountain lion seen stalking some people on a trail near Black Cat trail.

Everyone was convinced that the mountain lion was responsible for all the recent mauling and killings. The sheriff was heard happily announcing that the trail would be reopened that afternoon, now that it was "safe".

"Dammit," Sam said softly.

"You said it Sammy," Dean agreed with a nod.

They were seriously screwed now. The fact that the trail had been closed for the last few days meant that they hadn't had to worry about any civilians. It had given them time while they figured out what this thing was and how to kill it. Now they not only had to worry about more people getting hurt but also of keeping their methods of destroying the thing from being seen by prying eyes. The sight of a burning house might bring people running and if the brothers hadn't yet taken the thing down, lots of people could get hurt.

A little while later they both sat eating their food and discussing their strategy for the night. The sun was due to set in the next couple hours and they wanted to be ready.

"So now what?" Sam asked. He took another slice of pizza before Dean could get his hands on it.

"Well," Dean replied. His mouth was stuffed full with a final bite of one piece, his hands already going for another. "We're just gonna have to stick with the plan."

"And if there are more people on the trail tonight or early tomorrow morning?"

"We're just gonna have to deal with it then. I don't know what else we can do Sammy. It's not like we can stop the hunt and there's no way we're gonna keep people off the trail now that the sheriff and his crew have gone around telling the whole town that they caught the mountain lion."

Sam sighed, putting his half-eaten piece of pizza back into the box and leaning back in his chair. Dean had already finished his last piece and immediately pounced on Sam's leftovers.

"I guess you're right. I don't like it though."

"Well neither do I but we're still going through with this."

The last hour of daylight found the brothers making final adjustments to their gear. Dean again making sure that he was well loaded with his homemade ammunition. Sam had already gone through his bag twice but did it one more time before going out the door. With silent agreement the two of them knew that tonight would be it. The re-opening of the trail had taken any chance they had of messing this up and coming back the next night.

John had always taught his boys the fact that time was an issue with dealing with the things they did. That they had to get to where the bad things were happening, figure out what was going on and kill whatever was killing people. Beyond that, they had to do it fast. For the past day or two they had gotten comfortable. They'd been sure that the sheriff's warnings and gate closures (not to mention the sight of a few gruesome killings ending up on the evening news) would keep people out of harm's way. The sheriff's help had them extra time and they were lucky to have it. All of it was over now and they had to do what they came to do.

Both men checked their gear one more time, completely unnecessarily. Then they grabbed their bags and got into the car. As they drove to the park they could feel the difference in the small town. Whereas the past couple days people had been scarce, staying indoors in response to an unseen and unknown threat. Now the place was hopping. They just hoped that the difference wouldn't also be on the trails.

"Damn it." Dean said, pulling into the parking lot and slamming on his breaks as he found himself pulling in behind dozens of other cars. They had gotten used to seeing the place empty.

"What, do these people having nothing else to do in this place but come here?" Dean asked in frustration.

He carefully maneuvered the big classic into a space not quite big enough for her between a couple of SUVs.

"I know, it's like they were waiting for this or something," Sam agreed, climbing out of the car and reaching for his bag in the back seat.

Luckily most of the activity was centered on people leaving the park. Families were gathering their picnic baskets and running strollers. Loading them into the backs of cars and trucks, barking dogs were being hoisted into cars, their tongues lolling happily out of windows as they drove past.

The two men waited near the car with bags on their backs. They waited to see how empty the place would get. Within ten minutes the sun had nearly disappeared from the sky. They were relieved to see almost every car leave except for a few stragglers here and there in the parking lot.

"Well that helps a little, let's get going." Dean said, adjusting the bag on his back and heading to the beginning of the trail. Sam followed behind, taking one last look over his shoulder. He was relieved to see yet another person come off the opposite trail and head for one of the last cars left in the lot.

They walked for about a mile. The sky getting darker with each step until there was no doubt that night had fallen.

"Okay, " Dean said, stopping and turning to look back at Sam, reaching into his pack and pulling out his sawed-off. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Sam replied and also pulled out his own weapon. He wasn't sure that he liked the idea of the two of them being live bait but he knew that they had little choice.

"Alright then, let's go," Dean said and without another word he took off, his brother close on his heels. Both men carried their guns easily as they ran. Many hours of training giving them the ability to fire easily from a dead run if needed.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A pair of yellow eyes watched two figures running and smiled, if it could be called that. It was more a grimace of bared fangs than anything else. It watched as first the taller of the two overtook the other. Then they began racing faster. Each tried to beat the other, sometimes the taller gaining the lead and sometimes the other one. As they both got closer to her home, she hissed in anger and anticipation. Two was always more fun than one and she crouched down, ready to give chase.

Sam and Dean ran on the trail, changing speed and even tried racing each other. One would give the lead to the other momentarily before taking it back again. Basically they did everything they could to get the ghost-shifter's attention.

With no luck.

Finally they stopped once they got close to the house. They took a moment to catch their breath and looked around carefully. Dean had been so sure that this plan would work. He stabbed a toe into the earth in frustration, looking around him in every direction. He kept expecting the thing to jump out at them any second.

"What the hell? Why isn't the bitch coming after us?" Dean said with his hands on his hips as he caught his breath.

"Well," Sam replied a little breathlessly. He adjusted the bag on his back and hefted the rifle he held to a more comfortable position. "You said yourself there might be a pattern we haven't spotted yet. Maybe we have to run at the right time?"

"That's just great. So what're we supposed to do? Run all night hoping that she just might come out and get us?"

Sam didn't answer and he knew Dean wasn't really looking for one. He was just venting his frustration. Sam could hardly blame him. This thing was making him a little crazy too. Showing up when they didn't want it and killing people they weren't around to save and then not showing up when they were there and ready to kill it. It was damn inconvenient.

"Let's get to the house," Dean said, knowing that they could do little more out in the woods. They trotted off, not quite walking but not running as they had earlier. Deciding as one to conserve energy as they would no doubt need it later as the night wore on.

They got to the house and found it looking as quiet and empty as ever.

"Well, let's get inside. I can at least start setting up some things for the binding ritual and maybe she'll show…" Sam paused and Dean looked at him questioningly.

"What?"

"Did you hear that?"

"What are you…?" Dean stopped as he realized he'd just heard a scream, a very frightened scream - the kind that no one actually heard in real life.

Well, unless you were the Winchesters.