The Runaways

In a forest like this, there is no light. At least, not when all the trees' branches block out the moon. Which is why the local Wendigo decided it was the perfect place. Not only was it at the foot of a mountain, but the lack of natural light made it a predator's paradise.

These were the thoughts Kat Swirl had in mind when she was running from the Wendigo. Her flashlight whipped from front to back as she ran, boots hitting soft dirt and hard roots. Miloki, her Blue Heeler Australian Cattle Dog Daemon, was running and few paces in front of her.

Kat had a flare gun in her jacket pocket, but she knew it wouldn't do much good at the moment. She could hear the monster's claws slicing at bark and the growls of its (once fully healthy) hyena daemon. Milo disappeared from in front of her, which meant that he probably found the cave. Kat slid down a steep slope, feet sideways and a hand grasping at the dirt.

When Kat dared to look back, her heart sank. Up above her was the rapid hyena, smirking like a cat that caught the canary. Kat looked further up. The Wendigo was going down the slope with the same grace of a running hippo. This can basically be translated to 'no grace at all'.

Kat reached into her jacket pocket, took out the flare gun, aimed, and fired. She then proceeded to grab a stay root and stop her wild decent. There was a loud howl and a near silent 'poof'. Then there was nothing but the sound of her breath and Milo's victory bark.

Kat let go of the branch and ran down the hill. At the bottom of the steep slope was a cave, which by the way smelled horrible. Swinging her flashlight with a panicky shake of her hands, Kat ran into the cave. Inside were people hanging from the ceiling on chains and rope. At the entrance were campers' bags and supplies, including Kat's. Looking at the floor, she saw a handful of daemons. One dark brown, shaggy furred, red collared dog caught her attention. "Lexi." She breathed, instantly running and untying a blonde haired girl's body from the rope suspending her. The girl landed in her arms with a steady 'thump' and groggily opened her eyes. "Kat. Did you kill it?" Lexi asked, hands grasping for the shaggy fur of her daemon, Helios.

"Kat, you need get a load of this! You won't believe who I found!" Milo yelled from somewhere further down. Kat set Lexi down gently and stood, walk towards the Cattle Dog. Her boots crunched on what was probably bones and her flashlight managed to point forward in her twitching hands.

Hanging on bloody chains was an all too familiar face. "Dean Winchester," Kat said before looking at the other guy," and his brother Sam." Kat scowled. She was standing in front some of the best hunters in the country, and they were the ones hanging. Fishing a knife from her bag, she started cutting the binds. The chains were imbedded in some places, which made things a little more difficult than she'd of pleased. Dean's German Sheppard gave her a small smile, while Sam's Black Panther winced.

After what seemed like hours (which was probably only 30 minutes), both boys were, for the most part, chain free. Dean had one imbedded in his chest and Sam had another stuck in his shoulder. Swinging her flashlight around, she saw only two others. One was dead, probably from lack of circulation and the other was barely breathing. The guy's Red Deer daemon looked beat to hell and wild.

How Kat got them all out of the cave, with their daemons and their supplies was no concern to Dean and Sam Winchester. What was their concern was that someone that young (16) was a hunter. And not an amateur, a real, god-help-you-if-you-are-a-monster hunter. And that she was the one that pulled out the imbedded chains with wounded hands but still got them out with the precision of a surgeon. Milo was the talkative, soothing one that held down their daemons and whistled when a job was done well. The guy with the red deer daemon was at a hospital, under intensive care, Kat had said when Dean asked.

Kat was a short teenager. Standing at 5"7, she was 121 lbs and muscular. Strong, smart, powerful, those were some words that fit. Dangerous was the best to describe her though. Kat had dark brown hair with natural streaks of cream and tan. Her eyes were a dark blue and warm, but in the way a fire is warm- get too close and you get burned.

Lexi, Kat's younger half-sister (15), was taller and calmer. 5"9, 120 lbs, strong and thin. Fizzy blonde hair and soft gray eyes could deceive anyone that she was less dangerous than her sister. This was wrong, because of her speed and grace. Kat had said it best-"I'm all fight and defend. She's flight and long-distance attack. We balance each other out. I like to get up close, she likes to watch. Think of it this way- I'd be the python, she'd be the black mamba."

Lexi was nice, but she was also the wounded one, so that put things on a perspective. Kat was tending to them as much as she could with over-the-counter methods, but even then some of their wounds got infected.

Nix, Dean's daemon was getting tired of bed rest. She wanted to be out hunting, or on the road. Isaiah, Sam's daemon, couldn't agree more. Even Helios admitted that it getting boring sitting around doing research. Soon the boys found themselves tailing Kat's beat-up pickup truck to Bobby's place when the hotel manager started getting suspicious. It was 26 hour drive, not counting stops, and they were at Bobby's at dawn the next morning. Amerix, the rabbit daemon, didn't trust the girls much. With good reason, since Kat was 16 and a runaway.

However, Bobby welcomed them inside and asked some questions. Including (Dean's favorite), "What were you idjits on a Wendigo hunt?"

Lexi and Kat looked at each other before Lexi finally said, "Pull up a seat, Mr. Singer. It's a long story"

Kat sat on the couch before she spoke, "Ya see, we were on our way to this demon attack in Knoxville, from Wilmington. And our old friend, Charley, calls me and says someone else had it taken care of. Then he says there might be an interesting case in Asheville. Wendigo, obviously, so we camped. When I went out to get fire wood later that afternoon, the camp was destroyed and Lexi was gone. Now, let me tell ya this- I could forgive it stealing supplies, but my sister is the last bit of reality I have left, and I would rip apart countries to find her. She needs me and I need her in order to survive. You can probably guess what happened next."

"So you saved your sister and the boys. Anything else?" Bobby still looked weary towards them.

"I pulled some imbedded chain out of both boys once I got a hotel room. With my splintered, scratched and bruised hands, if I may add. With a pair of wire cutters and a pair of tweezers that'd seen better days. Not a surprise Dean's wound got infected, cause I ran out of brandy after using it on Sam and Lexi. And of course my right hand is infected too, which sucks, cause it's my writing hand." Kat stopped to breathe before finishing "Let's not forget that Lexi drove the Impala, while I drove the pickup truck all night long. I mean, Dean drove the Impala until he nearly passed out and hit someone on the highway. This meant that Lexi had to drive Dean's car, and Dean had to get in my truck. Which meant Nix had to get in the 'bed with Milo. You can predict the problems that came with that. I have been relying on coffee, Red Bull, and candy for the past two days, and I am on the verge of running myself to the ground. Do you have any more questions?"

Bobby shook his head, just noticing how tired she looked. Bags under her eyes, the constant yawns, the slight quiver of her hands from all the caffeine she'd consumed. Helping the boys had taken a toll on the teenager, and she needed a place to rest. "There's a spare bedroom upstairs, to your right. End of the hall, light green and white paint. Get some rest and I'll have someone wake you for dinner." Kat nodded and walked up the creaking stairs*.

Lexi, much to Bobby's surprise, was a little devil underneath all the politeness and shy looks. She also couldn't cook anything edible to save her life. Which meant Kat was woken up earlier than expected. Kat, for all her snarky remarks, sarcastic humor, and cheeky grins, was a half decent kid. She reminded Bobby a lot like Dean, from her loyalty to her obsession about fixing up her truck. But there were more differences too, like how she often pushed her limits and his patience. But that's an Australian Cattle Dog's job. To work hard and nip at the herd's hooves to get them moving.

Dinner went by in a flash, and it was time for everyone to head their separate ways. However, the girls left their numbers with Bobby, and of course the Winchester's had swapped numbers with them at the hotel.

"Call us if you get anything interesting, m' kay?" Kat called from her window as she started to drive away, Milo and Helios sitting in the truck bed. As the duo left, a cloud of dust followed, and Bobby felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Comfort.

A/N- Hi guys! I know, I haven't been updating/submitting new stories. Sorry. All summer I have been going from fandom to fandom. I have also lost interest in Doctor Who (Said interest will probably come back after the season premiere). As of right now, I am following Bones, Supernatural, Top Gear (UK and USA), Doctor Who, Sherlock, Pokémon, and His Dark Materials. Oh, and Good Omens.

*- The last episode I watched was "Night Shifter" so I in no way know what Bobby's house is like. Or Bobby himself, so I'm going with the genral idea that Bobby's Daemon is some sort of rabbit.

Lyrannix (Nix)-German Shepard

Isiahyorke (Isiah)-Black Panther

Miloki (Milo)-Austrailan Cattle Dog, Blue Heeler Coat

Helios- American Water Spaniel

Amerix- Rabbit

(I don't care as much about reviews, but please take a glance at my Bones/HDM crossover part of my profile. No one else to my knowledge has done a crossover of Bones and HDMs, so your help is much appreciated.)