tunnels, sounding like it was coming from several directions at once.
Bobby stuck to the physical trail, leading them down another corridor, angling downward again. The water sound grew louder, a stream cascading over rocks.
They reached a narrow opening in the rock, small and unsupported by beams. Bobby stuck his head through, shining the light around. Then he bent down and stepped through. When Sam followed, the sound of water instantly grew louder.
Sam’s headlamp revealed a spring rushing down one of the walls, forming a rivulet of water that bounced along a stony channel out of sight. It wasn’t much water; the mine distorted the noise, making it sound like a rushing torrent.
As Dean pressed through the smaller hole, Bobby froze, bringing up his fist again to signal a halt. Sam followed his gaze. At the extent of their headlamps, propped up in the gloom, sat two men, feet near the rivulet of water. They wore fatigues and hiking boots with hunter caps.
Sam gripped the weapon. The men didn’t move or look up.
Dean put a hand on Sam’s arm. “Their jackets have been ripped open.”
Sam turned his head. “Meaning?”
“Aswang food.”
Slowly the three moved closer, Sam aware now that the creature could be there in the shadows.
Dean reached the men first. He touched the necks of both, then turned to Sam and Bobby. “Dead.”
He tilted one body forward, revealing a bare back with multiple puncture wounds sealed with gleaming saliva.
Bobby winced. “Just like the guy we brought back to the hospital. Looks like it didn’t leave them with much. Maybe the gall bladder.”
Sam took in their clothing. Each had rifles still strapped to their shoulders. They’d been paralyzed, in all likelihood. He went through their pockets, finding some papers and a well-used map with handwritten markings all over it. He held it up for the others.
“Check this out.” The map had bear symbols on it, dotted in different areas. One bear had a red X through it. “I’ll bet they were the two poachers Grace was looking for.”
“Looks like their organ harvesting didn’t work out quite the way they expected,” Bobby said drily.
They stood up, leaving the men where they sat. Bobby searched for more signs of the tracks.
Something stirred close by, an exhalation of breath that startled Sam. He turned, seeing a flash of movement streak by the two bodies. It moved behind them, cutting them off.
“There!” Sam yelled. He uncoiled the whip.
A silhouette vanished through the tunnel they’d come from and Sam leapt over the little rivulet, giving chase. In the bouncing beam of his headlamp, he saw the shadow of wings on the far wall as something moved in front of him. He cast the whip out in that direction, but it landed in dirt. He ran forward, seeing the shadow move as he rounded corners. It was right in front of him.
He threw the whip out again, and this time felt it catch. The whip tugged sharply, almost ripping out of Sam’s hand. He wound it around his chest and then his shoulder, tying it into a knot as best he could. Then he gripped the handle with both hands. The pressure on the other end tugged him forward, and he almost fell over.
He heard Dean shout behind him, “You got him?”
Sam opened his mouth to answer and was tugged face down in the dirt. He tasted the bittersweet of soil and then his whole body jerked forward, dragged along the mine floor.
He caught a glimpse of Dean and Bobby behind him, their headlamps darting wildly over the mine walls as they ran.
Another tremendous jerk sent him flying through the air, slamming into a wall as the aswang rounded a corner ahead of him. Sam slid to the ground just as another great heave lifted him up. His legs kicked out as he slammed down again onto the ground. Then he was airborne, zipping through the tunnels they’d come down, careening into the walls every time the aswang met another junction and turned.
“Dean!” he shouted, not sure he could hold on.
They couldn’t lose Jason now. He squeezed his eyes shut against the rain of dust and concentrated on feeling his hands grip the whip handle. The tightly coiled whip bit savagely into his shoulder. He tried to keep track of how many turns they’d made.
Daylight burst over him. He was facing backward, and saw the mine entrance appear below him. They exited with such speed that his breath caught. His legs spiraled in the air and he tried