Thanks to everyone who took the time to review throughout this story. I appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hope no one is disappointed with the ending.

Swamp Creature

Chapter thirteen

Later

They waited till Sam regained a little of his strength then headed back up to the old boat and lay in the shade of it. They decided to rest and head out tomorrow when hopefully Dean would have most if not all of his full sight back.

The next morning

Dean woke first and slowly opened his eyes. He could see, not perfect but he could see. At least now he'd be able to help his brother find the way out. He looked over at Sam who was shivering even in the oppressive heat and knew Sam was growing weaker by the minute. If they didn't get out today his brother might not make it out at all. Dean stood up and looked around trying to figure out which way to go. Then his eyes widened and his mouth fell slightly open, the creature was gone.

"It can't be alive." Dean said softly to himself.

Sam heard him and began to groan as he woke up.

"What's wrong?" He said looking up at Dean.

"It's gone."

"What?" Sam slowly stood up and looked over to where the creature had fallen. "That thing can't be alive. It wasn't breathing, it had to be dead."

"Well maybe an alligator came up during the night and pulled it back into the swamp."

"Yeah, that's what must have happened." Sam said glancing at Dean. "You really believe that?"

"I will if you will." Dean looked up and down the small island hoping to spot the body of the creature but it was no where in sight. "Well we can't worry about it right now, our main concern is getting the hell out of here today."

"You can see?"

"Yeah, just a little blurry but I can see well enough to get us out of here."

Sam looked out over the swamp then swayed a little when the heat and his injuries started to get to him. Dean quickly caught him as he started to collapse and lowered him back to the ground.

"Sammy…you okay?" Dean asked as he cradled him in his arms. He grabbed the canteen and helped Sam drink some of the water. "Sammy?"

"Dean…I'm sorry…."

"For what?"

"I can't make it…You got to go…maybe you can find help and bring it back…"

"I'm not leaving you here Sam, if that thing is still alive it could come back anytime."

"Well what are you going to do, carry me?" Sam knew it would be impossible for Dean to carry him through the thick swamp.

"If I have to, yeah."

"Dean you'd never make it and you know it."

"Well then you better get your ass up and moving because I'm not going without you."

Sam took a couple of deep breaths then with Dean's help slowly stood up. Dean put Sam's arm over his shoulder, he knew without his help Sam wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Dean…" Sam knew Dean was going to wear himself out trying to help him out of the swamp. "This isn't going to work."

"I don't want to hear it Sam. We got to get moving."

Dean slowly lead Sam into the swamp.

Later

Within half an hour Sam had collapsed against his brother unable to continue. But Dean wasn't about to give up, he knew if they didn't get out today Sam could die. He kept Sam's arm over his shoulder and grabbed his hand then grabbed the back of his shirt with the other hand and dragged his brother next to him. As he struggled through the swamp he kept glancing over his shoulder. He was certain something was following them. Whether it was the creature or just his imagination he wasn't sure.

"Leave me Dean…please ….you got to leave me…" Sam moaned in his rare moments of consciousness. He could hear Dean's labored breathing and knew he was about ready to collapse from exhaustion. He knew Dean's only chance of making it through the swamp was if he left him behind, but he knew his brother and knew that wouldn't be an option with him. Dean didn't answer him; he needed all his energy just to stay upright and walking.

Dean was just about ready to collapse when he saw something move off to his left. An airboat was cutting its way through the swamp with two rangers on board.

"Hey!" Dean let go of Sam's arm and weakly raised his hand. Sam's arm slid off Dean's shoulder and his body began to slide into the swamp. Dean quickly pulled him back up. "Hey! Over here!" He shouted again. He knew they couldn't see him; he had to get out in the open. He knew he had no choice. He gently lay Sam on his back in the swamp hoping his body would float long enough for him to make his way out to a clearing in the swamp. "Hey! We need help over here!" He shouted again raising both arms above his head. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the boat turn in his direction. He quickly turned and made his way back to where he had left his brother. He was gone.

"Sam! Sammy!" Dean started to panic as he felt under the water. Had something gotten his brother or had he sunk in the deep muck. "Sammy!" Dean screamed as tears filled his eyes. "Oh God Sammy where the hell are you?" He couldn't believe they had come this far and now that help had finally arrived he might have lost his brother.

Finally Dean could feel an arm under the murky water and pulled Sam's body out of the swamp. He cradled him the best he could as he wiped the mud off of Sam's face.

"Sammy?" He called to Sam as he patted his face. When Sam didn't respond he lowered his ear to Sam's mouth and could tell he wasn't breathing. He quickly tilted Sam's head back and breathed two quick breaths into his mouth. "Come on Sammy…breathe!" He shouted as he gave two more quick breaths. "Sammy damn it don't do this to me!" Tears now flowed freely down Dean's face, if Sam didn't make it he didn't want to either.

"Here let us have him." The rangers pulled their boat next to Dean and pulled Sam on board. They put him down flat in the boat and began CPR, one breathing for him while the other pressed on his chest. Within a minute they had him coughing up water. Dean shut his eyes and said a silent prayer as the rangers pulled him into the boat and next to his brother.

"What the hell happened to you two?" One of the rangers asked as he turned the boat around and headed back to the station.

"My brother was attacked by an alligator, it tore apart our boat and we had to hike out of there." Dean lied knowing they wouldn't believe the truth.

"You know you two are lucky. People get mixed up in the swamp and some never find their way out."

"How's my brother?" Dean asked the other ranger who was kneeling by Sam trying to do what he could for him.

"He has a fever and is probably dehydrated, but he's breathing on his own and his heart beat is strong. I think once we get him some medical attention he should be okay." The ranger pulled Sam's bandage aside and examined the deep cuts across his stomach and chest. "Boy this kid's lucky. That thing really tore into him." The ranger looked over at Dean. "You hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." Dean said as he sat next to Sam cradling his brother's head. Dean turned and glanced back at the area they had just been pulled from and watched as something large moved just below the surface. Had Sam sunk under the water or had something pulled him down to finish the job? Dean knew he probably would never know.

The hospital, four days later

Sam sat propped up in bed while Dean sat in a chair next to him and fiddled around with his IV tube.

"Doc said I could go home tomorrow. The infection's cleared up and everything looks fine."

"That's good." Dean didn't look up but continued looking at the tube.

"Something wrong?" Sam could tell Dean's mind was a million miles away.

"No, nothing."

"Hey, I can tell something crawled up your skirt, what is it?"

"I think that thing might still be out there Sam. I think I only wounded it."

"We don't know that for sure. Something could have pulled its body back into the swamp, you said so yourself." Sam didn't even want to think about having to head back into the swamp, the heat alone was enough to kill you.

"I guess all we can do is hope it's dead and that there was only one of them." Dean could tell Sam didn't want to think otherwise, and neither did he. "I did unload my gun into it. Nothing could survive that."

When Sam didn't say anything he looked to where Sam was looking. The TV set was tuned to a news station but the volume was turned down. The picture was of the Everglades a caption at the bottom of the screen read. Two people found dead in the Everglades. Dean reached over and turned up the volume.

A male and a female body were discovered this afternoon at a popular camping site in the Everglades National Park. Both bodies appeared to have been attacked by a large alligator. A park ranger was quoted as saying that the alligator must have been immense due to the large footprints found at the scene. We will keep you updated on this story when more information becomes available.

Dean looked over at Sam.

"It could just be an alligator Sam. That thing couldn't possibly still be alive." He told his brother hoping it was true.

"I wouldn't think so…but what if it is? What if it's still out there Dean?"

Dean looked back at the TV. The thing had almost killed his brother and he knew if it was still out there one day they'd have to return to finish the job. But right now his only concern was that Sam get well, and that they got out of the hospital before they checked on their insurance. Once they were safely in a motel room far from here, then they'd sit down and talk about returning to make sure the thing was dead. Right now he was content to just sit back and be thankful that they both made it out alive.

The End