The ice cold air penetrated her lungs, burning between her ribs as she desperately tried to force her
lean body to relax. She was out of breath, leaning over with her hands pressed on her wobbly
knees. The lump in her throat forced a rough scoff through her cracked lips, squeezing her ribcage
painfully. A darkbrown leaf stuck to her freckled cheek and absentmindedly she rubbed it off,
smearing cold dew against her frozen skin which led to a violent series of goosebumps, slowly
shivering down her grimy legs. Her blue eyes followed the chilly feeling down her body and
reached her bare feet that were caked in mud, dirt and blood from running over sticks and stones.
With a small cough she forced more air down to her lungs and tried to scratch some of the dirt of,
rubbing her soles against an old tree, rotting in the dark forest. The goosebumps continued and she
could feel herself stiffen as a waft of winter wind hit her bare back and legs. She knew she was as
good as dead if you just continued to stand there. Wherever "there" was anyhow…
Without any regards to her maltreated body the blond woman continued on a way through the
forest only she could see. Or maybe she didn´t see it anymore, her only thought was to follow the
very last rays of sunshine that fought to be seen through prickly bushes and leafless trees.
Branches snapped at her, rocks deliberately fell into her way and cut her feet, the wind was
always angling to hurt her exposed body. And while she tried to remain going forward - her mind
tried to piece together how she ended up in the middle of nowhere.
The first thing coming to her mind was pain, not the scorching overwhelming kind, but a steady
tugging at her body, a constant aching in her bones that made her feel like a lifeless shell of
herself. Her dried mouth opened as she tried licking her own lips which cracked the corners of her
mouth, leaving yet another trickling of blood on her pale skin. Without any force she swept it
away and ordered her body to continue. The pain of walking hours on end, being naked and so,
so cold - through an unknown forest in the middle of late fall – left her body and mind numb to its
need. But the pain of waking up; disoriented, weak and hungry was still present, lingering in her
thoughts so that she just had to stop thinking altogether. And that guarded another small riddle in
her head, she couldn´t remember anything before this morning. The more she frowned her blonde
brows together, the more her head hurt trying to think about anything other than this damn forest.
Her name would have been a good start, but it just wouldn´t come to mind. Clasping her dirty and
bruised arms around her upper body she tried to shield her breasts against another waft of ice cold
wind. Stumbling through a small trickle of water she plunged into the greyish water. She didn´t
even noticed before but after a few sips her mouth wasn´t as dry and hurt anymore, her lungs didn
´t burn as much and her cracked lips seemed to stop bleeding. With a deep sigh she tried to get to
her feet again her long legs wobbly and unsteady, till she had to grab a tree and lean against it for
support.
The sun was gone by the time the blonde, naked woman managed to start walking again and she
could feel the temperature drop even further. Without so much as even a lint of clothing on her
body she was exposed to every whim of mother nature and started a violent shivering. Her teeth
began clasping together, making a gruesome clapping sound. Some mean branches got stuck in
her long, unkempt hair, forcing her to stop and pluck it free. Her shaking hands managed after a
while and she had to drag her body up again, up and forward, her willpower the only thing
preventing her from just lying down and die. In the whispering of the windshaken trees she found
some strength, even thou the wind made her face freeze over yet again as her unnoticed tears
began rolling down bruised cheeks. Not knowing where she was she couldn´t possibly know
where she was going, but the rumpling of her stomach and the smallest hope to find shelter kept
her upright. Yawning she dodged a few fallen trees, too tired and hurt to climb over them and
forced herself further, one foot in front of the other, just going, going forward, one step, another
step. And one more.
Her mind settled into a quiet that would have been disturbing would she have noticed herself. But
she was too focused on not freezing to death. And so she forgot about her unknown name or why
she was there, even forgot why she had to continue on her way, forgot that her body was beyond
cold, her soles beyond bleeding and her skin littered with small scratches and bruises.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
`I´m getting to old for this shit` Dean thought, trying to get out of baby without waking Sam, who
was still sleeping in the backseat. Rubbing his cold hands together he went a few meters to a dark
brown thicket, starting the day with his normal routine. Without toilets anywhere close he had to
use some bushes and brush his teeth with bottled water. There hadn´t been enough money to find
a motel yesterday and even though it was nearly winter the Winchester Brothers decided to sleep
one night in the car, too tired to drive any further. His damp jeans stuck to his body as he pulled
his zipper up, watching the first hint of a new day slowly turning the horizon in a reddish golden
dawn. His breath stayed in the air like small clouds, the cold morning air making Dean shiver in
his leather jacket. With another glance to his black car and sleeping brother he searched for a
power bar in one of his pockets, munching happily on what no one else would consider breakfast.
But for the tall guy it was enough to start his day, even though he would have appreciated a hot
coffee even more.
Since it had been already dark when they decided to stop he hadn´t seen where exactly he had
parked, but with the sky turning brighter Dean could distinguish between different shadows and
recognized a very small parking place. There was a short rail on one end, preventing people from
falling down a steep slope into one of the darkest and thickest forest he had even seen. It reminded
him of the Wendigo he had hunted together with Sam, when his younger brother joined him on
the search for their father. There was a bench there too and a wooden table, ideal for a short break,
enjoying the view along the road. The small pebble under his boots swallowed his steps as he
went to lean against the railing.
Behind him he could hear stirring on the pavement, a loud thump as someone rumpled against his
car and feet being dragged slowly. "Dude watch it" Dean turned around, clearly expecting to see
Sam trying to get his long legs in order while climbing out of the impala. Rubbing his hands
together once more his movement froze as it wasn´t his brown-haired brother in front of him.
Instead there was a very naked woman clutching her dirty fingers against his Baby, obviously
trying to keep herself up at any costs. Her freezing body looked so pale that the freckles on her
shoulders and arms seemed to be black instead of a light brown. It could still be the dim light of
the starting day but Dean was sure he could see shadows between her ribs, indicating how slim
she really was. Dragging his shocked glance higher he saw the bruises and mud on her upper
body, something that looked like moss sticking to her collarbone and her tense stance, not even
trying to hide her breasts. Or even her more southern region. Opening his mouth to say something
Dean just stood there, gaping at her. It could have been seconds or maybe even an hour, but she
didn´t say anything, just watched him intently, grabbing the trunk of his car as if her life depended
on it.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
When the first streaks of sunlight hit the forest and fought against the damp mist rising from the
frozen ground the woman was still walking, even if her body was more asleep than awake. Her
stomach sank and rumbled angrily, but there wasn´t anything she could eat. The few bushes that
still had berries on them where unknown to her and the bright red colors of the berries made her
flinch away. Without so much as even a sharp rock to throw she couldn´t hunt for small game, not
that she had noticed any. She was too loud anyway and scared every rabbit away before her
exhausted body would be able to react. Everything felt like being wrapped in a big bubble of
numbness, she knew she hurt herself when crawling up a steep slope, her knuckles started
bleeding again, the dark red liquid mixing with brown dirt and black mud. But she didn´t felt
anything. And it didn´t even scared her anymore.
Reaching the ridge the faint buzzing of traffic reached her ears and for the first time in what felt
like forever her sigh was of some kind of relief and not pain. Once more ignoring the small gravel
and sharp pinches under her soles she continued dragging her heavy limps. And then there it was.
Civilization. Well, whatever that meant when seeing just one car and one guy. Without thinking
about it she crept forward into the sunlight and squeezed her eyes shut, while grabbing the trunk
of his car to keep from falling over. A few seconds past and he was still just looking at her,
drinking in her tortured body. But the blonde woman had eyes only for his power bar, half eaten
and forgotten in his hand. Her stomach once more grumbled and the urgency could be heard by
him, too. Frowning he looked down and back to her again, seeing her shaking hands reaching out
and unconsciously took a step in her direction.
"Dean…?" The deep voice of the younger Winchester disrupted the silence in the parking place
and while he still tried to understand why a naked woman was standing near Baby, she twitched
violently. Turning around her body grounded itself in a secured stance and her hands flew up,
forming fists, ignoring the loud crackling in her knuckles. Within a blink of an eye she had Sams
long body pressed against the car, her hand closed around his neck with just enough pressure to
show him that he shouldn´t move. Her reflexes impressed Dean but he could also see that her
maltreated body hadn´t the strength to truly hurt his brother. Sam seemed to have noticed too, his
brown eyes were calm and his breathing slow and steady. "Hey" Dean said with a firm voice and
waiting till her blue eyes left his brother and she turned her head in his direction. Offering the
other half of his power bar he took a few small steps towards her. A few birds flew past the eerie
scene and their croaking made her look at Dean, her stomach instantly reacting to the offered food
with a loud and aggressive rumbling. Snatching it from him she shoves everything in her mouth,
letting the foil glide to the pavement, trying to chew and swallow at the same time. Her cheeks
bulge like a hamsters but she lets Sam go and even steps away from him.
With a deep breath Sam is finally fully awake and observes the situation, with her shaking body
and her rush to eat, she reminded him more of a scared animal than a human. He can see fresh
blood, bruises and so much dirt that she could have merged into the scenery. Her blond hair
seemed like it had never seen a brush or been washed, her fingernails were bitten off rather than
cut neatly and she was not far away from freezing her limps off. The blueish shimmer on her lips
and the dark circles under her astonishing blue eyes just accented that and he began feeling chilly
just watching her. Without hesitation he took his flannel shirt off and waited till she had forced
everything down before stretching his arm out to her, offering at least some form of clothing.
"Tha… Thanks!" Her fist bumped against her collarbone, not only helping the last remains of the
power bar down her throat but also her voice to sound somewhat normal. She couldn´t remember
when she had spoken the last time – or ever. And her voice sounded exactly like that, raspy and
weak, like she had been screaming for years and then just stopped using it altogether. Her eyes
stared at Sam for a few seconds, keeping the dark red flannel in her grip without putting it on, till
the shivering reminded her of her cold body. "Socks?" she asks hesitantly and finally pulls the
thick fabric over her head. It reaches a little bit under her ass, making the brothers realize how tall
she is. Dean huffs and tries to hide a smirk when her head snaps around at the sound. Her body
language is more relaxed, but she still seems jumpy, reminding him of a skittish horse in an old
western he watched last week. Sam, helpful as ever, searches for a pair of clean socks in his duffel
and Dean finds another power bar in his pockets that he willingly offers.
The three of them stay silent while she nibbles on the chocolate coated bar and Sam puts on a
jacket to keep himself warm. Dean rubs his hand over his face and the brothers have a silent
conversation, already knowing that his younger brother wants to take her with them, at least to the
next hospital. But Dean isn´t sure. There is something about her … something he can´t tell his
brother through one of his long stares. Or even put into words. She looks like she escaped a serial
killer, worse than every female lead role in a horror movie and still attacked Sam when he had
scared her earlier. Her first reflex when scared was to attack! Something he was more than familiar
with and something a civilian just wouldn´t do. His guts told him there was more to the story and a
tugging in his heart made him watch her again. With all the mud on her it was impossible for the
hunter to really see her, but the dark soil in her face, mixed with blood and dust, made her intense
blue eyes even brighter. Images of glaciers wavered through his minds eyes, a deep and
enthralling feeling of width and calmness.
"What´s your name?" he asks in the silence and her eyes snap shut for a second before she just
shrugs. "You don´t know?" asks Sam incredulous and casts a worried glance towards Dean. "I
don´t" she says, her voice as raspy as before, but at least the shivering lessened. With her arms
folded around her upper body she looks more like a lost child than a grown woman and both
Dean and Sam take a step forward. It´s nothing the hunters would have noticed themselves, but
their urge to help people was strongly triggered. "So, where are you from?" Sam asks next, his
worries covered with a friendly smile. "I don´t know" her eyes watch another group of birds. "I
don´t remember anything except running through that damned forest. Been doing that for the last
day or so. No people, no water, no food." A deep breath follows that statement and she muses
over the deeply troubled expressions on their faces. "Do you have water?" Sam nods and gives
her a half empty bottle of stale tap water, their last resources which he usually would have used to
brush his teeth.
"Son of a bitch!" Dean exclaims and rubs his hands together again, the cold weather creeping up
his bowed legs.