17: See You Later Alligator

Fandom: Supernatural

Category/Rated: NC-17 for violence/sexual content

Year/Length: 2008/~7915 words

Pairing: Sam and Dean

Disclaimer: No profit was made off this. The characters belong the originators of Supernatural. Was all in pure fun.

Warning: Wincest

Series: Supernatural Virtual Slash Season 3

Beta: ailurophile6 for which much thanks.

Dean was gargling in the bathroom. He'd been the last one to use the shower. The night spent with Sam and Ashley once his mom had left them had been a good one - a great one in fact. He might even have to say it had been one of his best nights ever. Sex with her. Sex with Sam. Sex with both of them. Mouths everywhere. Hands caressing every parts of their bodies. They'd done things fantasies were made of, hence his smile and cheerful air.

Spitting out the mouthwash, Dean wiped his mouth. He leaned in close to the mirror, squinting as he checked to see if he should shave, but decided that he was good. Leaving the bathroom behind him, the first thing he did was go to the kitchen to get some cookies. "Hey, you two, get up. I'm starving, and you two promised me breakfast." He headed over to the door to get the paper and then went to sit at the breakfast bar to read.

Ashley yawned then stretched, sitting up and holding the blanket to her. She smiled as she watched Dean. His eyes were bright as he nibbled on his cookies and scanned through the paper. She turned and leaned in to kiss Sam. "Wake up sleepy head, Dean is hungry."

Opening one eye partway, Sam peered out from his cocoon of bedclothes. "Dean's always hungry," he mumbled and closed his eye again, snuggling back into the pillow.

"He's gonna get fat, and then he won't be sexy any more. Make him go for a run, and then we'll talk."

Ashley wriggled in an attempt to get down into Sam's cocoon, invade his cozy bedding. "Well if you're gonna stay, I'm gonna stay." she giggled into him.

Dean appeared, his mouth full of cookie. "HEY! get your asses up!" He grabbed the blankets and started hauling them away. "I'm hungry you lazy asses. I'm dressed so no sex from me."

"Oh, you bastard!" Sam erupted from his cosy nest, knowing that there was no further chance of sleep once Dean got that mood on him. He studied Dean, then Ashley and then, naked and grouchy, he stalked off to the bathroom. "Don't think I'll forget this brutality, Dean Winchester. Just you wait until you're sleeping peacefully. See what happens to you!"

He entered the bathroom and went to close the door, then had second thoughts and stuck his head around it. "And you'd better not be doing anything while I'm in here; you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, threaten all you want, I'm still hungry," Dean shouted after his brother. He sat down on the bed, smirking at Ashley, but at Sam's words he shifted his gaze to his brother and gave him an innocent look, "What? Who? Me?"

"Yeah, you," growled Sam. "And I mean it. You have no idea what I can do with a bowl of cold oatmeal and a tube of superglue." He gave Ashley a wink and then disappeared into the bathroom, reappearing five minutes later looking pink and well-scrubbed.

It didn't take him long before he was dressed and ready. "Okay, let's go," he said, slapping Dean on the back. "Don't dawdle, dude."

Dean, still sitting on the bed, swatted at Sam. "Not going without the lady," he announced. He took another bite of his cookie and closed his eyes in apparent ecstasy.

Ashley got up with a sigh and went toward the bathroom. "Thank you, Dean." She climbed into the shower, taking her time and appeared about thirty minutes later, hair straight, make-up on and looking lovely.

Dean gave a sound, "So worth the wait." He got up. "Now we can go."

Pursing his lips Sam gave a long, low whistle. "That's what I like to see. You need to get make up tips from her for the next time you turn girlie, dude." He rose to his feet and offered her his arm. "Okay, so what are we doing for breakfast? Is there a good place for it, baby?"

Ashley smiled as Dean smacked Sam. "I don't need make up the way you do, dude." He rose to his feet at last and turned to leave.

"Bubba does some great breakfasts, and he'd love to see you guys again," the pretty blond offered as she grabbed her purse and went to lock the door as they left. "He'll serve you up some good Cajun breakfast that'll put some spice in your life," she giggled.

"I'm thinking that you spiced us up plenty, but by all means let's go and see Bubba. The gumbo was pretty good.." Extending his arm to Ashley with a flourish, Sam took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow. Together they followed Dean along the street towards the little restaurant they'd been to once before.

The room was half filled with early risers eating, but there was a table towards the back, and they made for it, taking a seat and starting to look at the menu on the wall behind the counter. "I want the grits and eggs," said Sam, licking his lips."

Dean was looking over as well, "I'll take the special," he decided, lifting his cup of coffee to his lips. He looked about and noticed Bubba wasn't around making his usual loud joyful noises, chatting it up with people. That seemed kind of strange to Dean, although the last time they were here, they hadn't spent much time, and he guessed that Bubba might just not be a morning person.

Looking over her menu, Ashley set it down again. "I'll take the same as you, Sam."

The food came, and still Bubba was silent, merely dumping the dishes onto the counter for the server to bring them. Sam frowned as he watched, and finally he elbowed Ashley. "Something's wrong, isn't it? He wasn't like this last time we were here. He hasn't even noticed you, has he? Something tells me that's very unusual. Maybe ask him what's wrong?"

Ashley furrowed her brow and nodded to Sam, "Yeah, something's definitely wrong. He's never like this. Even after Katrina he wasn't like this. He opened this place as quick as he could and got things rolling again for the people still here." She looked over at the normally jovial cook and then back at the brothers, her brows raised in a plea for help.

"Well, after we eat, let's find out," Dean dug into his meal.

The food was delicious, and they did full justice to it. Finally, so stuffed that he was convinced that he couldn't even manage one more sip of coffee, Sam nudged Ashley again. "Go on! Ask him what the problem is. Maybe there's something we can do."

Ashley pushed her plate away and she waved at Bubba. He didn't come over right away but when he did, he was wiping his hands. "Hey kids, sorry for ignoring you, just had a lot on my mind."

Ashley tipped her head, "It's okay, Bubba."

"Nah, it's not," he said. "Want some more coffee? I know how you boys like your coffee. Say, when did you get back in town anyway?" He turned to fetch the coffee pot and refilled their cups.

Dean took his happily, thinking that it was the best coffee he'd had in a while. "So what's up your craw?" he asked the burly cook.

"Huh? I just have some worries. Say, maybe you boys can help." He made as if to join them in the booth, pushing Dean to the inside with his bigger body.

Dean slid across and turned to look at him. "Okay so what's up?"

"It sounds kinda stupid," confessed Bubba, spreading his palms on the table and shaking his head. "It's my brother - he's missing. He's a bit of a tearaway, and he's always been wild, but he's never just upped and gone without letting me know he was heading out. See, he was going up to one of the bayous to deliver some stuff, and he shoulda been back last night. Now I can't raise him on the phone, and I'm just hoping that he hasn't got himself into a fight with the locals and ended up in jail - or even worse, in the bayou."

"Was he driving a vehicle?" Sam leaned forward. "You got the number of the plates?"

"We can check the traffic cams, see when he was last spotted on those, and we'll be able to find out if his vehicle came back, too." Dean tried to reassure Bubba. "You think that just maybe he stopped at a bar, got drunk and passed out?"

Ashley shook her head, "Jarel doesn't drink," she answered for Bubba. "He gets tipsy on coffee. He's a clean guy. He just doesn't like the cops."

Dean stared at her aghast. "He doesn't drink? Really? Huh."

"We can also check with the local cops to see if such a vehicle was impounded." Sam grabbed a napkin and started to make notes on it. "Where was he heading, man, and what was he carrying? Had he been out there before?"

"Was a new run. I got a call about catering a party for a new client, and Jarel was taking the order out. It was an eight hundred dollar order, so he was gonna bring the check back to me that evening." Bubba shook his head. "He's wild, but he's a good boy. I know he wouldn't let me down, an'd I'm worried 'bout him."

"Okay, well, Sam, why don't you and Ash go check the impound, "I'll go see if I can get the traffic cam pics." Dean was already starting to make plans. "Then we can meet back up and go from there."

"Sounds good." Sam's fingers flexed. He needed his laptop, and then he'd be on top of this. "Bubba, can you write down all the details of where he went, and what he was taking - the address and all that good stuff? We'll do a little investigating and then come back here, okay?"

The big man nodded, then suddenly gave them a smile. "Thank you, guys," he mumbled. "You gonna find him for me. I know you will."

Several hours later, Sam called Dean. "Dude, you're not gonna believe any of this. You wanna meet me, and we'll go over what I've got?"

Dean had answered his phone, "Yeah, I got some shots from the traffic cams, he never came back. I'll be there in thirty." Dean hung up the phone and was soon in the Impala heading Sam's way. He opened the door to Ashley's place and threw the printouts down upon the table where Sam and Ashley were gathered. As they leafed through them, they uncovered one that contained a note for Dean, with a promise for dinner, drinks and lots of tumbling and naughty play on a big bed.

Ashley quirked an eyebrow, "Well I see you ... Um ..."

Dean blushed, then smirked, "What can I say? I'm irresistible. What ya got, Sammy?"

"Not a lot. The van hasn't been impounded or anything, and he hasn't been arrested, but look at this. This is what rang my bell." He turned his computer screen toward Dean. The article on the screen was about a number of missing persons in and around the area where Jarel had gone to make his delivery. "I called up the paper that ran the story, and guess what. The reporter that wrote it has seemingly vanished. Dude, I have a bad feeling about this."

Dean made a face and nodded, "Well, I say we head up that way and check it out." He glanced at Ashley. "Perhaps you should..."

Ashley looked at him, "Don't you dare say I should stay. Bubba's my friend too, and I want to help him. So no. I'm not staying."

Dean looked at Sam.

"No." Sam's face was set. "Absolutely not." He turned to Ashley. "I'm sorry, but the best thing you can do to help him is to keep him company and stay on the phone so that we can get any information we need. If we take you with us, and we get into trouble, I'd never be able to forgive myself if you got hurt." He raised his eyes to Dean. "Help me out here, dude. I don't want to have to come home to tell Bubba that he lost Ashley as well."

"No way, Mr. Winchester," Ashley pushed up and smacked Sam on the arm. "I can take care of myself, and I know the area; you don't. And if you go out there, you could get lost."

"She has a point," Dean wasn't about to get in the middle of it.

"But, Dean, what if she gets killed? Then what?" What if you get killed because I'm taking care of her? I couldn't deal with that. Sam looked anguished, already imagining some dreadful scenario that would take his brother's life away, just when he'd started to believe that they stood a chance of winning the battle against the demons that had plagued them all their lives. He looked at Ashley and he felt pain, because he could see how angry he was making her. "I need you to understand why I'm saying this," he said, knowing that she wouldn't. "Can you use a gun? Do you know how to fight?"

"Yes, of course I can use a gun. I keep a shotgun," she answered, crossing her arms.

"Whoa, shotgun?" Dean quirked an eyebrow, "Girl after my own heart." He smirked at her, but then quickly wiped the smirk from his face as Sam gave him that irritated look that said not to encourage her.

"Look, Sam, I understand why you are saying this, but you're being hypocritical. You expect me to just to stay here like a good little girl and hope and pray you two come back? Not knowing what's happening? What if you both get into trouble? Who's gonna help you then? Besides, you might need my womanly charm." She added.

"Well, you know Sam has a whole bunch of womanly charms of his own," grinned Dean.

"Shut up, jerk!" Sam could see that he was going to lose this battle, and he could tell that Dean was laughing at him. He fell silent, angry at the situation but unable to think of any way of getting out of it without alienating either Dean or Ashley. He frowned, powering down his computer and closing it up.

"Okay, lady. Go get your shotgun then and let's go if you think you can keep up," he growled. "But if anything happens..." to Dean, he added, silently. He had a hopeless chill in his gut, and just knew that this was going to go bad. He wanted to scream at Dean, to remind him what had happened when Jo had horned in on a hunt. "Just... just do what we need you to, and don't try and go it alone, okay?"

"Not a child," Ashley answered, going to get her things. She grabbed her tennies and a jacket and then returned to the front closet, pulling out a shotgun from the back. Dean caught a glimpse of several others at the back. He whistled, turning to Sam. "Dude, this girl is loaded down." He sauntered over and shoved aside a bunch of coats so he could inspect her arsenal.

"Living in this town after Katrina taught you a few things." She turned back to Sam, "Let's go."

Dean chuckled. "Look, the gun is almost as tall as Annie here." Growling, Ashley reached back and smacked him.

Sam was still feeling irritable, his mood uncertain as he worried about what might go down in the next little while. "So if you're coming, you'd better tell us what you know about the bayous. What do we need to look for?" He knew he was looking pissy, and that his voice was betraying his anger, but there was little he could do about that. "Have you been out to this place?"

He was heading down to the car as he spoke, taking purposefully long strides. God, he wished this day was over.

Dean followed behind Ashley. "Don't mind Sammy. He just gets jealous when someone prettier than him gets to ride in my car."

"Don't drink the water," said Ashley as they went. "Oh, and it burns when you wade in it. There are snakes, bugs and alligators. And if you get near one of their nests, they will defend it," She climbed into the back seat as she was speaking.

"What do you mean, it burns when you wade in it? What's in there? Plutonium?" Sam took his customary seat in the front and turned to look at her. "And how can you tell when you're near a nest? Where do they nest anyway."

"There are oil refineries all over the place, Sam," She shot him a serious look. "Not to mention what comes down the Mississippi." She leaned forward, "And if you see a huge, grassy, dry mound, avoid it, mother is not far from it. Don't you ever watch Dirty Jobs?"

"Yeah," Dean added as he started the car and set off. Not that ever seen Dirty Jobs. "They ever go into strip clubs or make porn?"

"No," Ashley rolled her eyes, "Not that kind of dirty jobs."

"We should be on dirty jobs," growled Sam. "Hey, Dean, you remember when you had to jump off the bridge into the mud when that white lady started to drive the Impala straight at us?" He almost, but not quite, cracked a smile at the memory. "Jeez, you shoulda seen him. He was filthy. He looked like the Toxic Avenger. Smelled like him too."

He settled back into the seat, trying to think of ways that they could get this job done and not end up in trouble they couldn't get out of. "For the record, I don't like this. I don't like it one bit."

"I recall you said I smelled like a sewer," Dean answered. "And it's duly noted. Sammy is being bitchy, because there is someone prettier than him in my car." Dean smirked, looking over at his brother.

"There always is, Dean," growled Sam, refusing to be pacified. "Check your face out, girly-boy." He folded his arms and smirked. Today was just going to go down the tubes, he could tell. He sighed and turned to Dean. "Listen, I'm just concerned about everyone's safety. You know we don't work with amateurs, that's all. I don't want... want you to end up getting hurt because you needed to rescue... uh... anyone."

"Not pretty, more like rugged," Dean protested. "Just say it, Sam. Because I have to rescue Ashley. She's not Jo. And you, you need to stop hovering over me. We're brothers. I love you, but don't suffocate me." He knocked on the dash with his knuckles. "Look, give the girl more credit, okay." It was clear that Dean was getting irritated.

"Well, all I can say is don't make me say 'I told you so,' when it all goes to hell." Sam fell back into moody silence, mentally picturing the terrible things that could go wrong at any given time.

They rode in silence for a while, and then Sam finally shook his head to clear it. "How far is this bayou. Do they speak English out there, or is it all Cajun French? Do we need a phrasebook?"

"A little of both, another reason you need me," she answered.

Dean pulled over into a gas station, "Okay potty break, everyone out. We're close. Let's start asking around. Sam, go find out what the attendant knows." Dean pulled the pump handle from the station and started gassing up the the car.

Wandering into the kiosk, Sam chose a couple of bottles of water and a packet of Twizzlers and took them up to the counter where the bored attendant was lounging. He paid for his purchases and peered at the newspaper the guy was reading. "The news never gets any better, does it?" he murmured.

"Sure don't." The man shook his head. "Think the Saints'll ever amount to anything?"

The Saints? What are they? Football? Basketball? What? "Sure they will. Put your faith in miracles, dude." Sam had no idea what the Saints were likely to do, but he felt sure he was safe with his response. "You ever go into town to watch the game?"

"Who can afford the tickets?" The man shook his head and then banged on his old radio as it crackled.

Ashley followed Sam in, looking around. She spotted Sam and moved up to stand beside him, smiling. "You talking Football again?" She asked, helping to bail Sam out. "He doesn't think there is anything more exciting. I took him on one of those scary ghost tours, but he yawned through the whole thing."

"You wanna scare him, take him out to the swamp lights. That'll get him going for sure."

"The swamp lights?" Sam looked at the attendant, his eyes wide and guileless. "What are they? They sound spooky, but aren't they just the gas bubbles released by the swamp? Kinda like will-o-the-wisps?" He shrugged and smiled. "What's scary about them?"

"Swamp gas that stares right back at you?" The attendant raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, some of it's gas, but there are creatures out there that'll give you nightmares. It's why no one around these parts ventures out after dark.

"Really? Well, honey, we should check it out, can you give us directions," Ashley asked.

"Sure," the man wrote down some directions on a piece of paper and passed it over to her. After a thank you and another purchase, the two of them went back to find Dean as he was replacing the cap on the gas tank.

"You get anything?" Sam asked Dean as he went back to the car. "We've found out that there are creatures out there, and nobody in these parts ventures out after dark. You think that's what Jarel did? Ventured out after dark?" He clapped Dean on the shoulder. "Never fear. We're gonna take you to see the swamplights, aren't we, honey?"

Dean looked at the two like they'd lost it. "Swamp what? Whoa whoa whoa, wait, creatures? What does this have to do with lights?"

"It's a lead, Dean," Ashley climbed in to the back seat as she was speaking.

"And how did you find out about these lights?" Dean asked, getting in and starting the car.

"The guy back there was surprised to hear that I hadn't been scared at the scary ghost tour of New Orleans that little miss sunshine here took me on." Sam gave Dean the kind of look that meant he was deadly serious. "He said that the swamplights would be sure to scare me. Said that there are creatures in the lights, and that people in these parts don't go out after dark. I suspect that we're falling down the rabbit hole even as we speak, and I'm wondering if we've already hit on the reason for Jarel going missing."

"That's because you haven't seen any clowns or midgets yet," Dean chuckled. He stopped smiling and clapped his hands, then put his hand on the door handle. "Okay, let's hit a bar. People may not go out at night, but you can bet your ass that some go to the bar. Me 'n Ashley can go there and ask about local legends, and you can just sit in the corner with your laptop and look stuff up. I mean, there's got to be some kind of Voodoo curse creature out here."

Nodding, Sam turned to his brother. "Let's just get it done, bro," he said softly. "I've got an uneasy feeling about this whole trip."

They arrived fairly soon after that, and Dean pulled the car up in the lot beside the run down bar. "Showtime," Sam murmured. "I guess we're gonna have to go do this." He stepped out of the car and turned to the back for Ashley. "Okay, girlie, let's see you pump 'em dry of all their information."

Ashley climbed out, taking Sam's hand and pulled him down. She kissed him softly then started inside.

Dean followed, smacking Sam's shoulder as they went. "Stop worrying, it's gonna be fine." He climbed up the stairs, Held open the door for Ashley and then stepped into the darkness of the bar. "Three beers," he called out as he made for the bar.

It was mid afternoon, and there weren't many people in the place. A couple of old timers were sitting at a table in the corner, several empty bottles on the table beside them, and they both perked up as Ashley walked by towards the bar. One of them emitted a piercing wolf-whistle and called something out in a creaky voice.

Sam noticed a couple of younger men at the back of the bar, intent on a game of cards. As he caught up to Dean, he was already wondering if they were wasting their time.

The beers were slapped on the counter. "Glass for the lady?" asked the bartender.

"Nope, bottle is fine," Dean handed Ashley her bottle. He didn't trust the place. He turned as he lifted his beer to his lips and leaned his back against the bar. The place only contained a few people, which was good, because that meant that they were locals. "Okay, you two go try to chat over there, "I'll work the bartender."

Nodding, Sam collected his own bottle and went over to take a seat at the table next to the old-timers. "Good afternoon," he said to them, patting the seat beside him for Ashley to sit down. He set his computer on the table and took a pull from his beer. "How do you think we should go about this?" he asked her. "You want to beguile them with your sexy southern smile?"

Ashley sat down, glancing over to Dean who was already striking up a conversation with the bartender. She turned back to Sam, "What? Your sexy smile won't do?" She giggled, turning. "Excuse me, gentlemen, perhaps you can help me with this argument we've been having. He says the swamplights out there aren't real. And I say they are. There have been too many tales about them to be a joke."

There were a few chuckles.

"You want to be careful what you say about the swamplights, chere. There's some folks that see 'em an' they're fou. They go mad, or they disappear. Best treat the swamplights with respect." The little, elderly man that was speaking had several teeth missing, and his face was seamed, his body twisted. "I think you best stay here with me, chere. I may be old, but I got plenty life in me yet, I betcha."

Sam smothered his desire to laugh. "You say people disappear? Really? How on earth does that happen?"

"No one knows really. People go in, never return. Swallowed up. Some say the swamp is alive. Best respect its privacy." It was the other old man who answered, raising his glass to Ashley and making her blush.

Dean came over to join them.

"Hey, dude." Sam raised his eyes to his brother's, sending a look that was both long suffering and imploring. "The swamp is alive. I think we should go look at these swamplights?" He winked at Ashley, who seemed to be collecting attention from all the little old men in the place. "You wanna come, or you wanna stay here with your fan club?"

Ashley smacked Sam on the arm, "Some boyfriend you are." And that got a round of chuckles and catcalls from the 'fan club'.

Dean nodded, "Oh yeah, we need to." It seemed as if Dean had gotten more from the bartender than Sam and Ashley had managed to get from the two old men. He turned and headed for the door.

The other two followed him, hurrying after Dean as he made his way back to the car. "Dude, slow down. What did you find out?" Sam paused beside the Impala and looked at him with his eyebrows raised. "You got some sort of clue from that bartender?"

Dean stopped, leaning against the car. "Dude, I can also talk to guy bartenders. He told me about this creature - a man who was once cursed. He was mistreating his daughter, but his wife was a voodoo witch. She cursed him to be a creature of the swamp, and every twenty years he's said to be emerge and go on some kind of demented recruitment drive. Sound familiar?" Dean asked.

"You're kidding." Sam pursed his lips, considering this information. "So you think that the disappearances are connected to this? Guess we'd better go check it out. If the guy was hexed, we're going to need some serious mojo to protect ourselves with too. I don't think that rock-salt works on voodoo hexes."

He turned to Ashley. "Do you know any of the local mambos? We're gonna get into trouble if we go in blind, and it really doesn't look good for Bubba's bro either."

Ashley looked at Sam, "I'm a good catholic girl."

"Meaning no," Dean answered for her. "Look, if it's like the Wendigo, we need to kill it by fire. If it's like a werewolf, silver bullets, so I say we take it all. Just to play it safe." Dean was opening the trunk and digging out their weapons. He was shoving them in one of their bags and then shoved it at Sam to get into the front seat.

"I assume that it's a creature that can be killed, rather than anything demonic," said Sam, still sounding worried. "I'm really not happy about Ashley being along. Creatures are unpredictable, and this one has been human, so it's going to be pretty cunning too." He rummaged in the bag and began to load the shotguns with cartridges. "I still have a bad feeling about this," he added.

Turning to the rear seat, he passed Ashley a gun and a couple of rounds of ammo. "Do you know how to load and use this, love?"

Dean looked over at Sam and shook his head, "You've been bleating about having a bad feeling this whole time. Since when did you get all sissified?"

Ashley clicked the gun open and started loading it as Dean started the car. "Look, you can keep saying that all you want but you can't control what she does. Not any more than you can control me. So best thing you can do is get her prepared. Besides from the sound of it, she can hold her own and is determined to help us. She won't be a burden to us."

"Look, let's just get it done." Sam loaded up a pistol for himself and then looked over at Dean. "You want to load your own, or you want me to get it ready while you're driving?" He'd laid the shotguns down on the seat between them, and was now pulling out knives and a crossbow. "Got the flamethrower in the trunk, but we're gonna need to gas it up before we can use it," he added.

Dean didn't say anything. He quickly found a spot where they could hide the car and which was easy to get to. It had take them a while to get to the place where the gas station attendant had said the swamplights occurred, but they were here now. Dean climbed out and went around to get the flame thrower ready and load his own guns up. Once he'd tucked away his guns, he was ready to go.

Ashley waited, "I suppose you would feel better if I stayed here?" She asked, leaning against the car.

Dean shook his head, "Nope, 'cos I don't want that thing out there getting to you if we are out there." He started walking, "Single file, Sam, take up the rear."

Nodding, Sam fell back as he was bidden and took up his position. "What are we looking for?" he asked quietly. "What do the ghostlights look like? Will we have to wait until after dark?"

They picked their way through the scrub towards the swamp. The sun was going down and there were gnats and mosquitoes in their thousands. Sam slapped at the back of his neck as a particularly persistent fly took a bite out of him. "Dude, I'm gonna end up as dinner for a bunch of insects with fangs. This sucks bigtime."

Dean reached into his bag and threw Sam the bug spray. "Here."

"And watch out for the fire ants," Ashley warned as she followed behind Dean.

All three of them kept their eyes peeled for movement. Now and again, they would see some sort of creature crawling or scurrying away, but none of them were what they were looking for. The night slowly dragged on as Dean stopped at the place where most of the disappearances had occurred. "Well, let's see what we can get there?"

Sam was spraying himself with the bug spray when the first of the ghostlights appeared. It started below the scummy water, and could be seen very faintly, glowing luminous beneath the surface. Sam reached and caught hold of Dean's sleeve, pointing. "Guess that's one, right there," he whispered. He squeezed Ashley's shoulder and gave her a swift smile. "Keep that gun up and your eyes peeled," he added.

Ashley raised her gun, ready to go. She saw the light he'd pointed out and tilted her head, pondering. There was something familiar about it.

Dean was ready as well, walking around to cover it from another direction. As he did so, a second light appeared beside the first beneath the water.

Ashley grabbed Sam's arm, "That's not swamp lights, those are eyes," she whispered to him, "Crocodile eyes."

"Huh?" Sam stared at the lights emanating from the swamp and frowned. They were definitely eyes, he could see that much. "How are they glowing like that? You think that the disappearances around here are due to radioactive gators?"" He let out a gasp as the first creature's head rose above the murky water, revealing a face that looked as though it was a mix of human and alligator. "Holy shit, dude. That's frightening."

Dean raised his gun and was making ready to fire. Like a crocodile attacking, it moved, scuttling fast and charged after them. Ashley dove to one side, firing, as Dean came running.

The thing had almost reached Ashley. It had scaly skin and a tail, and it went on two legs, crouching low to the ground as it ran.

Sam gave a yell as Ashley fired her shotgun at it, drawing his pistol and shooting it in the head as it reached for her. As it toppled onto the ground, a second creature headed for Dean, coming up fast behind his back.

"Dean!" Sam fired at the thing, but it dodged out of the way, reaching out with warty claws as it swerved.

Dean dropped and rolled at the sound of Sam's voice and came up facing the creature. He leaned to one side but caught a scratch on his arm as he swerved.

Ashley fired as well.

The creature screamed, and Sam ran towards them, his shoes kicking up mud as he went. "Dean," he screamed again as Ashley's bullet tore through the thing, spraying Dean with watery pink blood.

Reaching the place where Dean was, Sam held out his hand to help his brother up and turned to put a bullet in the thing's brain. He could see more of the lights in the water, and a shiver ran through him. "Dude, you think we should get out of here and come back with a rocket launcher or something?"

"Car, the claymore," Dean pushed Sam away. "Ashley and I will hold them off while you get it." He shoved the keys to his brother as he grabbed his gun and started firing once again. He moved to Ashley, "Looks like the old man got busy." It wasn't till he got a good look as he realized what had been happening. These were the thing's children, because it had been converting them to its kind. He could see Bubba's brother rise from the water, and Ashley was the one he was barreling down on.

Sam didn't wait around. He ran for the car, scrambling through the brush to reach the trunk and find the weapon they needed. He popped the trunk with a sigh of relief and reached in to grab the weapon Dean had asked for. He frowned as he shut the trunk again and raced back with the landmine. Dropping down, he pulled the legs out of the mine, planting it into the ground.

Dean and Ashley kept firing, Dean ducking at some close swipes before firing. Silver was slowing some of them down.

Sam set the fuse and then started moving away, running the line back. "Got it!" He shouted as he moved back.

Now Dean turned to Ashley, "Go!"

Ashley moved and followed Sam.

Dean was backing up and when at a safe distance, Dean watched as Sam depressed the detonator and the landmine exploded.

The explosion was incredibly satisfying. Mud, brush, filthy water and parts of the reptilian creatures flew everywhere, raining down onto the three as they watched. Sam let out a whoop. For a moment he stood looking at the carnage, and then he turned to Ashley. "So did you see any sign of Bubba's kid brother? Any ideas where he might be stashed away?"

Ashley looked over to Dean and flinched.

"We saw him." Dean looked out at the mass of bodies. "It was too late for him." He turned and started heading for the car.

"Hey, hey, wait up!" Sam hustled after Dean, wanting to know what had happened. "You mean that he was one of those..?"

That was a scary thought. If Jarel had become one of the alligator men, then that implied that all the missing people had somehow been assimilated too. Sam shivered. "That means we're going to have to get rid of every last one of these... things, or else sooner or later they'll take over the whole state."

As they went towards the car, they could see a dark shape lurking beside it. "Dean, there's something there," Sam hissed, pointing.

Dean had slowed his step, letting Sam catch up and Ashley as well. "Yeah, I know. But I think we got most of the nest back there with the claymore." He paused and squinted, studying his car. He could see the reptilian shape lurking. "I'll swing wide; you and Ash go that way," he motioned and started to move as Sam nodded.

They circled the car, moving as silently as they could. Sam put Ashley ahead of himself, sticking close behind her so that he could protect her back but be in front of her fast if the situation warranted it. Slowly they came up level with the trunk of the car. He had no need to hush Ashley. The two of them crept forward, watching the dark shape that lay in wait beside the car. Motioning to Ashley to approach the creature from the right, Sam moved left and then stepped out into the rutted lane. "Hey, freak! What are you doing there?" he yelled, pointing the shotgun.

Dean moved, knowing Sam and Ashley were keeping its attention, whatever it was. He kept his gun at the ready as he moved, as most soldiers did when tracking. He stepped carefully, placing each foot down carefully in the wet grass, and as he reached the opposite side of the car, he moved low, ready to dive in and take the thing out if it attacked.

The creature stared at Sam from reptilian eyes which seemed to glow with inner fire. Sam gestured with the shotgun, and it hesitated, and then, horribly, began to speak.

"You killed my children," it said.

Sam nodded. "You took a friend of ours and changed him."

Dean rose up from the other side of the car, aiming his gun to its back. "And it ends here," he said and fired.

Ashley shoved Sam out of the way as she threw herself on top of him to get out of the way of the gun shot.

The air was driven out of Sam's lungs as Ashley toppled him backwards, and he hit the ground with a thump. He lay on the spongy earth, gasping and whooping as he tried to recover. "Are there any more?" he asked, when he could speak again.

Dean looked about then looked at Sam. "Nope, think that was it." He looked down at the pair, Ashley sprawled over Sam. "You know, this is not the time and the place for that, Swamp Thing!" He tossed his gun in the back window.

Ashley looked back, tossing blond hair over her shoulder. "You have to put up with this all the time from him?"

"All the time." Sam grinned as he clambered to his feet. "Guess we need to hang around in case there are any of the thing's little friends." He paused. "You think we should salt and burn it, just in case. It was the victim of a curse after all, and I think a ghost one would be rather a mean adversary. Best be on the safe side, don't you think?"

Dean nodded, opening the trunk and getting the gas out, leaving Sam to drag the body toward the others and Ashley to dump out the salt. He watched as his brother did so, Ashley sprinkling the salt around and wondering who was going take his place when he was gone. This tattoo thing wasn't going to last forever; he knew that. The hell hounds would come again. Whoever had his soul's ticket wanted it bad. But his mom had said that he had to find his inner strength. His own abilities. That was still something he found it hard to believe. Dean had never felt that he was anyone special. No one wanted him like they wanted Sam. That was good in a way although bad that his father had skimped on giving attention to him. Still, he had some nascent abilities; mom had said so, so what were they?

Closing the trunk, Dean started dumping the gas then stood back, handing the matches to Sam. "You do the honors."

Smirking, Sam watched Dean and Ashley back away from the gruesome pile of remains. He paused a moment, then struck the match and tossed it onto the heap. The fire blazed up fiercely, lighting the surrounding vegetation, and sending up thick, black, greasy smoke as the bodies burned. Turning back to the other two, Sam folded his arms. "I've been thinking," he said. "We still haven't found Jarel's delivery van, and that kind of worries me. It implies that maybe there's some third party involved - someone that was feeding this aligator man his victims."

"So what do you suggest?" Dean asked staring into the fire. "What if the thing caught him off guard, and there wasn't? What if the van is out there," he pointed into the swamp. "Wanna go wading for it?"

"Hell, no," shuddered Sam. "I can see one of those things coming to the party late and biting my balls off or something. Wouldn't like that at all." He turned to go back to the car and start packing away the weapons. "I just thought that we should maybe search for the van a bit. Bubba's lost his brother. Don't think he deserves to lose his vehicle too."

"Let the police find it. Their job anyway. As piss a poor one they do." Dean muttered as he threw his gun into the trunk.

"I guess we'd better head back and tell Bubba the grim news then, huh?" Ashley asked climbing back into the rear. "And I can bandage you guys up."

The drive back towards New Orleans was very subdued. Nobody felt too much like talking, and all Sam could think of was that when they got back they were going to have to tell Bubba his brother was dead. They were within a couple of miles from the city when he finally gave a sigh. "What are we gonna tell Bubba? I don't know that the truth will go down very well."

Ashley looked at Sam, "I'll tell him, leave that to me." She wasn't gonna lie to him, Bubba deserved that.

Dean nodded, "Okay, might be better if it comes from you." They passed the sign for the city limits and began to make their way through the city itself.

"If you're going to tell him about alligator men, we're probably going to need to leave town, because the authorities are gonna be looking for us in connection with that pile of burned, human looking bones back there at the bayou." Sam rubbed his forehead. "Dude, that whole set up stunk. Sometimes I wish that there were actual angels flitting around, counteracting the evil we deal with."

Dean glanced over to Sam. "What? All those prayers not working?"

Ashley reached out and smacked him. "Stop that, both of you. Just have a little faith."

"I do, sweetheart, in my Colt." Dean grinned. "Okay we blow town, though not fair to leave Ash here dealing with the fallout."

"It's hard to have faith when the whole world seems to be full of the kind of crap we're facing." Sam lifted his eyes to look at Ashley, pain in them showing raw and broken. "I'm starting to wonder if there's even a chance that we can make it through." He gazed longingly at his brother, who seemed so content just to react to situations as they arose. "We have to save Dean, and he's never done anything to deserve the things he's been put through."

Ashley reached out and touched Sam's shoulder. "He hasn't given up on you, Sam. I know it's hard but don't lose hope in Him." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

Pulling up outside Ashley's apartment, Dean put the car into park and turned in the seat, looking back at her.

"Come, get some cookies and at least spend the night with me before you leave in the morning." Ashley asked them. "And let me bandage you guys up."

"When are we gonna tell Bubba?" Sam was looking dejected, but the set to his jaw showed his determination to go through with whatever it took. "The poor guy will have chewed through his fingernails and started on his toes. Guess we need to wait 'til just before we leave to break it to him."

He climbed out of the car, movements stiff and clumsy with fatigue. "I don't think I have a single part of me that isn't bruised," he said. "And Dean needs cookies."

"It's okay." The pretty blond indicated the stairs up to the apartment. "Come on up. It'll be all right in the morning. I'll tell Bubba after you guys leave, and that way you'll be long gone by the time any chase is called.

And as the tired brothers went up, they prayed she was right.

Back: Episode 16 –|– Next: Episode 18

---

| Back to My Stories –|– Email Dr. Ruthless |