Author's Note: So I inadvertently published chapters 8 & 9 stuck together. I fixed it, but am going to keep them both up instead of holding 9 until next week as I had initially planned Action time!

Chapter 9

They started in the spot Sam and Dean had seen the yeti, and the three hunters made quick work of following its trail back to the warren. It had definitely been back to the water's edge since the Winchester's initial sighting, and even with the wind causing drifts and the additional snowfall the broken branches and smashed undergrowth weren't hard to track.

It was full dark by the time they reached a small clearing several miles from the river with several man-sized boulders in the center, and they all had their night-vision goggles on. As they stood at the edge of thick woods through which they had come, Blake pointed and spoke quietly.

"There—on the left side of the tallest rock, I'll bet that's the entrance."

Sam and Dean studied the shadow on the snow, noting the depression in the earth beneath and that the surface was undisturbed.

"Does Demian expect us to go in?" Sam asked Blake.

"Just enough to make sure the entrance is clear and that this is really the place and not an older, abandoned burrow."

Sam glanced at his brother and Dean looked away.

"Let's go then," Sam said softly, the pit of his stomach heavy and tight. "Let's get this over with."

They spread out and approached the stone, giving it wide berth. As they rounded the dark side of the boulder, the depression showed itself to be top of a path leading down into a hole about four feet in diameter.

By unspoken consensus they tightened into a 3-point formation with Blake at the head. He held a bowie knife in each hand and behind him Sam and Dean had their weapons drawn too. The passage was about twenty yards long and the incline was very gradual; they probably weren't more than ten feet under when they reached the bottom.

A few more feet down the corridor and the first burrow opened off the left. It wasn't a large cavern and it only took a glance to tell it was empty. Blake gave a nod and the three quietly kept moving, the ice crunching what seemed too loudly beneath their feet. The end of the tunnel wasn't visible and seemed to go on forever.

The next burrow was empty as well, and it wasn't until they reached the third one that Sam realized Dean wasn't next to him—that he had fallen behind and was standing stock still, hands loose at his side. The shadows made it difficult to see, even with the night vision, but Sam paused and tapped Blake on the shoulder and Blake stopped, waiting.

Taking a pace back, Sam reached for Dean and touched his arm. "You okay?" he mouthed, ducking his head to meet his brother's eyes. Dean flinched and met Sam's gaze and Sam took a step back, the look on Dean's face making his blood run chill.

Fierce and haunted at the same time, Dean was rigid, his jaw clenched. The silver pistol in his right hand dangled from his trigger finger and Sam watched his left hand clenching and unclenching shakily. For a moment the only movement was that hand and the languid puff of his warm breath in the frozen air.

Then, closing his eyes, he twisted his neck as if working out a kink and gave a sharp nod. Sam watched as Dean swallowed hard and began moving again. Reaching Blake and Sam in two strides he gave them a "what are we waiting for" look. After Sam gave a reluctant nod to his questioning gaze, Blake took the lead again and they moved stealthily forward through the frigid labyrinth.

They cleared a dozen more burrows, some down meandering passageways leading of the main hall causing them to backtrack several times, and some right off of it like the first couple were. Each was empty and tomb-like until they reached the very end of the tunnel.

It dead-ended at ceiling height entrances to twin caves, both covered with panels woven from what appeared to be saplings and small branches, barren of foliage. The primitive doors reached the ceilings and weren't attached to anything; just leant in front of the holes and braced against the sides of the openings.

Sam felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck and shared a look with his brother. Real bunnies didn't weave Easter baskets, or doors. Either the assumption that the yeti were dumb, violent, beasts was wrong, or someone else was down here.

Blake signaled that he would take the right and the Winchesters should take the left and they would pull aside the crude hatches at the same time. Holding up his fisted hand, Blake held up his fingers one at a time and on three, Sam and Blake each grabbed a door and tossed them aside while Dean steadied a gun at one opening and held a knife ready in the other. Blake and Sam instantly had their own weapons up and the three men scanned the interiors of the caves for any threat. Slowly they crept into the room on the right.

At first glance the spaces seemed cluttered, especially when compared to the empty burrows they'd already cleared. There wasn't anything living in either cave but there were piles cluttering the floors and things hanging from the walls and the ceiling. They stood and stared and after a few moments Blake spoke quietly.

"Weird. Demian didn't say anything about them being hoarders . . ." he trailed off, continuing to survey the room.

"Bones," Dean said, his voice low and hoarse.

Sam and Blake immediately realized that Dean was right. There were piles of bones, skulls mounted on the walls, strings of bones hanging down from the cavern's roof. Sam felt his stomach flip flop at the gruesome sight.

It was Dean that walked further in and began to examine the remains, looking for any signs of the people who had supposedly been taken by the monster in the last few months—signs of anything human. Blake and Sam followed suit, splitting up.

Several minutes later Blake hissed to his companions. He turned and held something up—on the tip of his bowie hung a silver chain with a turquoise pendant on it. It didn't spark as a specific clue, but it was definitely a sign of civilization. Nothing else was evident after searching the rest of the room, so they moved on to the other burrow. This one was slightly smaller than the first one and again, they split up to investigate.

"Over here," Sam whispered.

Dean swore as they came close enough to see definition in the grisly pile Sam stood in front of. Human skeletons and clothing lay jumbled together. The bones were clean and juxtaposed eerily with the shredded garments which were dirty and covered with dark stains.

Turning away, there were no words amongst the three men as they continued a cursory search of the room. Against the far wall there was a woven frame similar to the doors and covered with brush and scraps of random furry animal hides. The nest was surrounded by small stacks of stones, one on top of another like miniature sentries keeping watch. Again, Sam's spine prickled at the thought that the monster could think enough to create something artistic or militarily useful. Intelligent monsters were significantly harder to kill.

"Enough for the old man?" Dean rumbled quietly at Blake.

The moon was fully raised as they headed back to the lodge and in its anemic light Sam couldn't keep his eyes off his brother. It wasn't just fire that spooked Dean now. He wondered if it was the dark, or the closed space, or being underground or an alchemy of it all that had spiked Dean's fear in the warrens and Sam felt panic churning in his gut.

He'd felt almost hopeful after the talking they had done the night before, but seeing Dean fighting so hard to keep his terror in check brought back every ounce of anxiety Sam had for his brother. The ashen landscape and frozen temperature fit the icy dread Sam felt whirling inside. Hope was always slippery for the Winchesters and Sam wasn't sure he could hold on to it for the both of them if Dean couldn't do it anymore.