Yay, another chapter. Again, I don't own anything Supernatural or anything like it, I just own Max.
Wendigo
Lost Creek, Colorado
Two weeks. The amount of time that passed since Jessica died, since Sam's world came crashing down. Much to Dean's surprise, Max had kept her promise by sticking around. Apparently, four years apart hadn't changed Max's nature. Dean was driving toward Blackwater Ridge, where John supposedly was. Max was in the back seat looking at a map of the area, and finding a whole lot of nothing. All of a sudden, Sam jerked awake in the passenger seat. Dean and Max turned to look at him, worried looks on both of their faces. Dean glanced at the road, then back at Sam.
"You alright?" Sam looked at them both.
"Yeah." Max leaned up to look at him better.
"Nightmare?" He glanced at her, and cleared his throat. Dean then said the absolute last thing Sam and Max were expecting.
"Wanna drive?" They stared at Dean with a shocked expression on their faces.
"Dude, the entire time you've owned this car you never once asked me that." Max continued.
"You never let me drive it, either." Dean stared at her for a minute.
"Last time you drove her, you almost turned us into a pretzel. Nevermind then, to both of you." Max rolled her eyes and sat back. Sam slightly smiled and looked at Dean.
"Dean, I get it. You're worried, you both are. But, I'm okay. Really." Max looked at Dean in the rearview and shook her head, Dean didn't buy it either. Dean then spoke to Sam.
"Yeah, well, it's no coincidence. This thing showing up after twenty years, so if we're gonna find this thing…" Max continued.
"We gotta find John." Sam and Dean nodded. Sam opened the glove box, then not finding what he was looking for turned to the backseat.
"The map?" Max picked it up off the floor and handed it to him.
"Good luck finding anything." The guys gave her a confused look. Sam spoke.
"What do you mean?" Max leaned up and looked between the boys as she spoke.
"Blackwater Ridge? There's nothing there, just woods. Why would John send us to the middle of nowhere?" Neither Sam or Dean had answer. Max put a hand on Sam's shoulder, causing him to look at her. She gave him a slight smile, silently telling him she was there for him. Sam smiled back and nodded. They all turned, looking at the blacktop ahead. Heading to the middle of nowhere, while looking for a missing father. Great.
Dean pulled into the ranger station, they needed more information before going blindly into the woods. Sam noticed a 3D map sitting in the middle of the room, Max followed him as Dean wandered.
"Blackwater Ridge is pretty secluded, cut off by canyons and abandoned mines everywhere." Dean's voice cut into his thinking.
"Dude, look at the size of this freaking bear." Max snorted at him, leave it to Dean. Max and Sam walk over to him. The bear was bigger than the three hunters surrounding it. Max looked at Dean.
"And a bunch of grizzlies in the area, fantastic." Dean rolled his eyes at her. A ranger came out of the office and spoke to Them.
"You're not going out to Blackwater Ridge are you?" Sam made up a quick defense.
"Oh, no we're grad students doing a paper on the wildlife here." Dean followed up with a stupid comment.
"Yeah, recycle." Max let out a sigh and shoved him with her shoulder. The ranger didn't believe them.
"Yeah, right. You're with that Hailey girl, aren't you?" Max thought for a second, then answered him.
"Yes. Yes, you caught us. We are Ranger, Wilkinson." Wilkinson nodded.
"Well, you tell her that her brother has a permit and that he won't be back 'til the 24th. So he can't exactly be missing, can he?" They shook their head at him, "Tell her that her brother is just fine." Dean stepped forward as the ranger turned back toward the office.
"We will. She's a pistol, isn't she? You know, could I get a copy of that permit? So I could show her the return date of her brother." Max rolled her eyes at him as Sam let out a sigh. The ranger nodded and went into the office. They walked outside, Dean chuckling to himself. Sam wasn't amused.
"You looking for a hook-up or something?" Max looked at him, confused.
"What do you mean?" Sam kept walking toward the Impala.
"Coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, why don't we just go, why talk to her?" Dean looked at his brother.
"Maybe we should find out what we're dealing with before we head out there." Max stared at Sam, he noticed.
"What, Max?" Max shrugged.
"Since when are you shoot first ask later, Sam?" Sam looked at her seriously.
"Since now." Sam opened his door and got in. Max turned to Dean, a worried look on her face. Dean shook his head, they both sighed and got in.
They drove to the girl, Hailey Collins' house. Dean knocked and a girl around Max's age answered.
"Yes?" Dean held up his fake badge.
"Hailey Collins? I'm Dean, this is Sam and Max. We're with the Park Service, Ranger Wilkinson sent us. We want to ask you some questions about Tommy." She looked at all of them before speaking.
"Let me see your I.D." Dean gave it to her. Hailey studied it for a minute, then handed it back.
"Come on in." She looked past them and saw the Impala, "That your car?" Dean glanced at his car, then back to her.
"Yeah." Hailey smiled.
"Nice." Dean nodded his thanks. He then sent a mischievous grin to Sam and Max, who just rolled their eyes. Sam spoke to her first.
"If Tommy isn't supposed to get back for a couple days, what makes you think something's wrong?" Hailey went into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of food and set it on the table.
"He calls, everyday. Or, he sends these little videos. He hasn't done either in the past two days." Max raised her eyebrows.
"Maybe he can't get reception? I mean, it is the middle of nowhere." Hailey shook her head.
"He has a satellite phone, too. It's just not like him." Dean then spoke.
"Maybe he's just having too much fun?" Just then, Hailey's younger brother snapped at Dean.
"He wouldn't do that." They looked at him, then Hailey explained.
"Our folks are gone, it's just me and my brothers." Max nodded.
"Know exactly what you mean." Hailey smiled at her and continued.
"We keep tabs on each other." Sam looked at her.
"Can I see the stuff he sent?" Hailey nodded.
"Yeah. Here." She grabbed her laptop and opened a video file. Her brother popped up on the screen.
"Hey, Hailey. Still out at Blackwater Ridge, talk to you tomorrow." Max looked at Sam when she noticed something go across the background. Dean nodded, then looked at Hailey.
"We'll find your brother. We're heading out there, first thing." Hailey nodded.
"Guess I'll see you there, then." All three of them looked at her, then at each other.
"Look, I'm not gonna keep sitting here waiting for news. I hired someone, and I'm heading out tomorrow morning to find Tommy." Dean looked at her.
"Know how you feel." Hailey nodded slightly, then Sam grabbed her attention.
"Can you send me these?" Hailey nodded at him.
They were at a bar later that evening, Dean doing what he does best. Sam was studying the video Tommy sent, as Max looked through incident reports going back a century. She let out a sigh and laid her head on the table. Sam looked at her.
"What's wrong?" Max turned her head to look at him without leaning up.
"I can't figure out what it is." Sam gave her a confused look.
"What? Max, you're the only person I know who can tell what creature did what with just an accident report and you can't figure this out? What's different about this thing?" Max leaned up and looked at Sam.
"First of all, thank you for that. Second, it's not what's different, it's just there's too many options. It could be any number of things. I mean black dog, ghost, skinwalker, demon, hell even a grizzly bear makes the list." Sam raised an eyebrow at her.
"A grizzly?" Max glanced at the papers in front of her.
"Okay, maybe not a grizzly." Sam laughed and went back to his computer. Dean walked over with a beer in his hand.
"Anything?" Max looked at him and told him what she had found.
"Yeah. Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a whole lot of people out there, but in April two hikers went missing, never to be seen again." Dean nodded.
"Any before that?" Max nodded.
"Uh huh. 1982, eight people vanish the exact same way, authorities claim it was a grizzly attack. Then again in 1959, and again in 1936. Every twenty-three years, like clock work." Sam then turned his laptop toward Dean, Max got up and went around the table to see.
"Check this out. This is Tommy's video, watch." Sam hit the next frame key three times, and a dark shadow passes behind Tommy. Dean looked closer, as did Max.
"Do it again." Sam repeated the video.
"Three frames, fraction of a second. Whatever it is, it's fast." Max then grabbed one of the pieces of paper on the table.
"Also, in 1959, one survivor of the attack. Little kid." Dean grabbed the paper.
"Got a name?" Max nodded. They packed up their stuff and walked out the door.
"Look, rangers, why are you asking me all this now? It's in the records, and I was just a kid when my parents got mauled…" Sam cut him off.
"By a grizzly? That's what happened?" Mr. Shawe paused a moment. Dean stepped forward as he nodded.
"What about the others that year? Grizzly attack them, too? What about this year, same thing?" Max went around him and spoke to Mr. Shawe.
"Mr. Shawe, if we knew what was out there, we could stop it." He took the cigarette out of his mouth and sat down.
"I highly doubt it, young lady. What difference would it make, nobody believed me, you won't either." Max cocked her head, then sat down in front of him. Sam and Dean were right behind her.
"Mr. Shawe, what did you see. Please, tell us." He looked at her.
"It came in the middle of the night. Moved so quick, didn't see it at all." Sam spoke
"It got inside your tent?" Mr. Shaw shook his head.
"Our cabin. It didn't break a window, smash the door open. It unlocked it. What grizzly could possibly do that? Went right past me, straight up to my parents' room. Didn't even know it was there, until my parents started screaming." Max took his hand.
"It killed them?" Mr. Shawe nodded.
"Dragged them outside. Left me alive, don't know why. Left me with these." Mr. Shawe pulled down his shirt, revealing three long scratches. Max looked at them, then Mr. Shawe as he continued.
"Whatever's out there, it ain't human." Max looked at the boys, nodding to them. They thanked Mr. Shawe and left. Dean spoke as they walked down the hall.
"Well it ain't a ghost or demon, they can just go through the walls." Sam followed his thought.
"Yeah, so it's something else, something corporeal." Dean smirks at him.
"Corporeal. 'Scuse me, professor." Max continued.
"Anyway, with claws like that and with the speed? It maybe a black dog or a skinwalker." Dean cut her off.
"Something corporeal, which means something we can kill." Max rolled her eyes. They got outside and went straight for the trunk of the Impala. They grabbed just about every weapon they could carry, then Sam spoke up.
"We can't let Hailey got out there." Max got her bag out as Dean closed the trunk.
"What are we gonna say? 'There's a big scary monster, don't go.'?" Sam shrugged.
"Yeah." Max turned to him.
"Her brother is missing, Sam She's not gonna sit this out, so we're gonna go. Get out there and protect her, from anything that might be out there." Sam looked between her and Dean.
"So finding Dad isn't enough? We gotta baby-sit her, too?" Dean and Max stared at him.
"What?" Dean spoke first.
"Nothing." Dean threw the back at him, hard, then walked to the driver side. Max just kept staring at Sam.
"What, Max." Max slightly shook her head, then forced a smile.
"Forget it." She dropped the smile and got in the back seat. Sam sighed and followed them.
They drove in silence to where Hailey and Ben were meeting their guide, Roy. Dean stopped the car and got out.
"Room for a few more?" Sam and Max got out, bags in hand, and followed Dean. Hailey spoke to Dean.
"You wanna come?" Sam and Max walked up to stand next to Dean, as Roy spoke to Hailey.
"Who are these guys?" Hailey glanced at them, then back at Roy.
"All that would go on a search party." Sam walked away from Dean. Max watched him go, then followed after him. Roy looked at them.
"You're rangers?" Dean nodded.
"Yes, sir." Hailey looked him up and down.
"So biker boots and jeans are the new ranger dress code?" Dean looked down at himself, then walked up the hill.
"I don't do shorts, sweetheart." Dean smiled at her and went to join Max and Sam. Roy spoke to him as he passed by.
"You think this is funny? It's not nature hike out there." Max walked forward to Roy.
"Believe me, we know it's dangerous. We just want to help them find their brother. Besides, I feel much more in danger with you here. After all, you're the one with the big gun." Sarcasm rolled off Max's tongue. She turned and walked past Sam, grabbing her bag in the process. Sam and Dean both smirked as she walked away.
The group had been walking for a couple hours, the sun was directly overhead. Roy and Dean started talking. All of a sudden, Roy grabbed Dean. Sam and Max rushed forward. Dean held up a hand.
"What's up, Roy?" Roy picked up a stick and threw it down onto a bear trap.
"Watch where you step, ranger." Dean turned back to the group.
"Bear trap." Max sighed and followed behind Hailey and Ben. Sam and Max were walking side by side, in awkward silence. Sam then decided to break it.
"So, you never said what you did the last four years." Max didn't look at him.
"You're right, I didn't." When she didn't continue, Sam looked at her.
"Come on, Max. What did you do?" Max let out a sigh.
"Studied to be a doctor. Thought that, with our line of work, wouldn't hurt to have someone around who actually knew what they were doing. I actually have my medical license." Sam whistled.
"Wow. Good for you, Max." Max nodded and the silence returned after that. A little while later, Dean was stopped by Hailey, who had asked who they really were. Max and Sam looked at him and nodded.
"Sam and I are brothers. Max is an old friend of ours, who is helping us look for our dad. He might be here, but we don't really know." Hailey looked away, then back at him.
"Why didn't you just say that?" Dean shrugged.
"Sayin' it now, which is the most honest I've ever been with at woman. Well, except for Max. And I packed provisions." Dean pulled out a bag of peanut M&M's and walked past Max and Sam, with the bag in his hand. Max rolled her eyes at him. They walked a couple more miles, then Roy stopped them.
"Blackwater Ridge." Sam looked into the distance.
"What coordinates?" Roy took out his satellite phone, as Dean and Max came up beside Sam.
"35, -111." Sam kept staring as Max looked around them, it was too quiet.
"You guys hear that?" Sam responded.
"Mm hm, not even crickets." Roy spoke up.
"Im gonna look around." Sam looked at him.
"You shouldn't go off far." Roy smiled sarcastically.
"That's sweet, worry about yourself before you worry about me." Max glared at him as he passed.
"I don't like this, guys. Something's off." Dean nodded, then turned to Hailey and Ben.
"Okay, lets stay together. Come on." Dean walked off, everyone following him. Roy shouted to them.
"Over here!" Hailey took off in the direction of his voice. When she got to him, it wasn't a pretty sight.
"Oh, God." The campsite was a total wreck. The tents were torn, and blood was evident on all of them. Roy spoke to Hailey.
"Grizzly, if I had to guess." Hailey dropped her bag and called for her brother.
"Tommy? Tommy!" Sam came up next to her, shushing her.
"Shhh." Hailey looked at him.
"Why?" Sam looked around the camp.
"We don't know if it's still out there." Max wandered outside the camp, and found something. She yelled to Sam and Dean.
"Guys." They followed her voice to where she was.
"The bodies were dragged, but then the tracks disappear. One thing's for sure, this isn't a skinwalker and it definitely isn't a black dog." Max stood up next to the boys. They walked back to the campsite, Dean kneeled next to Hailey who was looking at a smashed up phone. Probably Tommy's. All of a sudden, a voice cried out.
"Help! Help Me!" Max looked at Sam, then in the direction of the voice. They grabbed a weapon out of their bags, then took off in the same direction. They ran to the spot of the voice, but found no one. Hailey looked around.
"Could've sworn it was coming from here." Dean, Sam, and Max look at each other then at forest. Sam spoke to them.
"Back to camp. Now." They all ran back, but the bags were gone. Realization hit Max. She walked over to Sam and Dean.
"I need to talk to you guys, alone." They walked into the woods. Max turned to Dean.
"Can I see John's journal?" He handed it to her, and she flipped through pages until she found the one she was looking for.
"Here." Max handed it back to them. Dean scoffed.
"No, Wendigos are Minnesota and Northern Michigan. There's no way one would be this far west." Max shook her head a him.
"Think about it, Dean. Mimicking a human voice, the speed, the claws. It's a Wendigo." Max looked at Sam.
"I gotta agree, Dean." Dean sighed as he closed to book.
"Well, this is useless." He held up his gun. They walked back to camp, Sam talking to Hailey, Ben, and Roy.
"Alright, we gotta go. Things just got, complicated." Roy stood up.
"Don't worry, kid. I got this." Sam glared at him.
"Really? This thing is a perfect hunter, if you shoot it you're gonna piss it off." Roy stepped closer to him.
"You know, I was hunting things while you were still in diapers." Sam stepped closer, too.
"So you really think you can kill a wen…" Max cut him off as she stepped between them, looking at Sam.
"Sam! Stop it! Not here, not now." Sam looked at her, then walked off. Max stared after him. She turned to Dean, he shrugged. Dean turned back to Hailey
"This thing, it's a great hunter in the day, but an unbelievable one at night. We won't outrun it. We need to protect ourselves." Max looked back in Sam's direction.
Max looked at the symbols she had drawn, hopefully it would keep the Wendigo away long enough. She looked at the rest of the circle, then walked over to where Sam was sitting. She sat next to him.
"You okay?" Sam looked at her, then shook his head.
"What are we doing?" Max looked at him.
"Our job. What we were trained to do. I know it's not what you want to hear, Sam. But it's what we do, it's who we are. As much as I want to tell you different, I can't. I'm sorry, Sam." Sam nodded. Max looked up, Dean had come over to them. Dean sat across from them.
"Wanna tell me what's up?" Sam looked at him.
"Dean…" Max cut him off.
"Sam, you are not fine. And if you say you are, I will slap you." Sam looked at her, then Dean.
"Dad's not here, probably never was." Dean nodded.
"You're probably right." Sam looked at him.
"Lets get these people back then get out of here. Lets go find Dad, I mean, why are we still here?" He threw a stick in anger. Max looked at Dean. He took out John's journal.
"This. Dad's most valuable possession, everything he knows about every evil thing he's faced, it's all here. He gave it to us. I think he wants us to pick up his trail. Saving people, hunting things, you know the family business." Sam looked at him.
"But, why doesn't he call, or anything?" Dean looked at the journal, then at Sam.
"I see it as, he's given us a job. And I intend to do it." Sam looked down.
"No. I gotta find Dad, find Jessica's killer. It's all I think about, guys. All I think about." Max put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sam, we will. I promise, we will find John. And we will find the thing that killed Jess." Dean looked at them.
"But, it might take a long time. You ready for that? Cause that anger and rage, it will kill you. One day at a time." Sam looked at Max and Dean.
"How do you do it. Either of you, how do you do it?" Max squeezed his shoulder.
"I have these two guys, real pains in the ass, who remind me to stay grounded, so to speak." Sam and Dean smile at her. Dean then spoke, looking at Hailey and Ben.
"Them. Keeping them from being as screwed up as us. And helping other families not be like us. And killing as many evil sons of bitches I can find." They smirk at each other. Then the same cry for help is heard.
"Help! Help!" They ran toward the voice, not stepping outside the circle. Dean spoke.
"It's trying to get us out there, stay put." Roy smirked.
"Inside the magic circle?" Max glared at him.
"Shut up, Roy. Unless you want to be eaten by this thing." The voice cried out again, only it then turned into an inhuman growl. Roy's gripped tightened on his gun.
"Okay, not a grizzly." It was quiet, then leaves started rustling right by the circle. Sam shined his flashlight into the woods.
"It's here." Roy fired his gun, hitting the thing.
"I hit it." He took off into the woods, Sam and Dean ran after him. Dean turned to Max. "Stay here, protect them." Max grabbed a torch out of the fire and stood at the edge of the circle where the boys had taken off. She watched the forest, waiting for something. A few minutes later, Sam and Dean came back, no Roy. The rest of the night was spent on edge, not knowing if they were being watched or hunted.
Sam was sitting against a tree trunk, fiddling with a bracelet on John's journal. Max went and sat next to him.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and guess that what we talked about last night wasn't anywhere near half of what's wrong." Sam nodded.
"I was gonna propose to her, Max." Max nodded, then laced her fingers through his.
"You know you can talk to me, Sam. I'm your friend, I'm not going anywhere." Sam looked at her.
"Why did you stay? You could've gone, left this with us. Why?" Max laid her head on his shoulder, then Sam laid his on hers.
"Because I wasn't gonna just walk away from two people who need as much help as they can get. And besides, I'm in this now." Sam looked at her and smiled. They got up and headed back to the campsite. Sam spoke to Hailey.
"Okay, we have a chance in daylight. And I want to kill this son of a bitch." Dean smiled.
"You know I'm game." They turned to Max.
"No way am I sitting sidelines." The boys nodded and started talking about what the Wendigo was. Once it was clearly explained that they had to burn the thing to death, they started walking in some direction. Sam noticed claw marks along the trees, leading them deeper into the forest. After a few hours, Sam stopped them. Dean and Max stood next to them. He spoke to them.
"You know, they were so clear and distinct…" Max finished his thought.
"An easy trail to follow." They heard something move fast behind them, they moved behind the trees nearby to get some cover. Hailey then screamed as Roy's body fell from above her. Max ran over to him.
"His necks broken." Dean looked around them, grabbing Max's arm.
"Run, run!" Dean, Hailey, and Max ran, when the Wendigo appeared in front of them. Hailey screamed, but they were caught.
Max woke up with a gasp, she hurt all over. It was dark wherever she was, and skeletons littered the ground. Max groaned as she blinked the blurriness from her eyes, it was then she noticed she was suspended in the air. She was hanging a few feet off the ground, her hands tied above her and the rope was wrapped around the beam overhead. Max looked down, and noticed three slashes in her bloodstained shirt. She flexed her stomach muscles and gasped at the pain.
"Owe." Max looked to her left, and saw Dean and Hailey suspended like she was. She quietly tried to wake them up.
"Dean. Dean! Wake up! Hailey!" Max closed her eyes, then looked up with a determined look on her face. She grabbed onto the rope, and pulled herself up. She climbed a few inches then dropped, trying to snap the rope using her weight. She groaned with each drop, the wounds on her stomach re-opening and bleeding. After a few failed tries, she spoke while she tried again.
"I am not dying like this. No way in Hell!" When she fell, the beams broke. Sam and Ben fell through the floor, landing a few feet from her. She groaned as she sat up, Sam appeared next to her.
"Max, you okay?" Max nodded as Sam cut her restraints.
"Get Dean." Sam left her side to go to Dean. She touched her stomach, fresh blood appearing on her hand.
"Damn it." Max got up and moved to their bags nearby. She sifted through them, then found flare guns. She called to the boys.
"Sam, Dean." She showed them the guns. Sam smiled.
"Flare guns, those'll work." Both Sam and Dean grabbed the ones Max held out to them. Sam and Dean led the way out of the cave, Max right behind them with a hand over her stomach. Hailey and Ben supported Tommy, carrying him through the tunnel. Then a growl was heard form a nearby tunnel, the guys stopped and Max had to lean against the wall. Dean looked around the corner.
"Guess who's home." Hailey looked at him.
"We'll never make it out." Dean looked at Sam and Max.
"You gotta plan?" Max shook her head, as well as Sam. Dean nodded his head and turned to Hailey.
"Okay, follow them, Sam and Max will get you out." Max looked at Dean.
"What about you?" Dean winked at her.
"Dinner time, freaky bastard! Yeah, baby, I taste good!" Max rolled her eyes and stood up. Sam and Max walked down the tunnel, then heard a growl. Sam turned to Max.
"Get them out of here, Max." Max looked at him, wide-eyed.
"What?!" Sam nudged her forward.
"Go." Sam took off. Max looked at Hailey.
"Come on." Max led them down the tunnel, using the wall as support. They heard one of the flare guns go off. Max called behind them.
"Sam!" Sam cam running down the tunnel.
"Go, go!" He pushed them faster down the tunnel, to a dead end. Sam and Max stood in front of Hailey and her brothers. Max handed Sam her gun. Sam looked at her.
"Max, what…?" Max held up a hand.
"I can barely see straight, Sam. You take it." Sam put one arm around her, keeping her steady. The Wendigo slowly came around the corner, Sam raised the gun. Dean yelled from behind it.
"Hey!" It turned and Dean shot it. The Wendigo went up in flames, then it fell to the ground. Dean smiled at them, then they all walked out together.
The paramedic had just finished patching up Max, when they rolled Tommy over on a stretcher. She got up and walked over to the Impala and sat next to Dean. Hailey walked over to them.
"How can I thank you guys?" Dean shrugged. Hailey laughed.
"You just have to cheapen it, don't you." Max answered for him.
"You have no idea." Hailey smiled and kissed Dean on the cheek. Dean watched her go, then turned to Max.
"What'd the doc say, doc?" Max rolled her eyes.
"Some blood loss, cuts, scratches. Basically, a normal day's work." Dean nodded and nudged her with his shoulder. Sam came over to them and sat next to Max. Dean spoke to both of them.
"I hate camping." They laughed, but then Max spoke her mind.
"You guys know, we will find John." They nodded while watching the ambulance leave. Sam smiled and looked at Dean.
"But, I'm driving." Max smiled and looked at Dean, too. Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Sam. Max stood up and went to the backdoor and got in, following them. Sam started the car and sped off down the road.