A Mountain Odyssey Ch. 2

Disclaimer: Kripke and the CW own the Winchesters. I am just playing in their sandbox. I am not making a profit from this story.

Author's Note: Dean is six and Sammy has just turned two in this story.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

John woke up early the next morning to the feeling of slobbery wet kisses being planted on his cheek. He opened his eyes to see that Sammy had crawled away from a still sleeping Dean and was intently staring him in the eyes. He smiled as he looked at his baby, his curly hair all disheveled from sleep. "Hey there tiger" John said as he sat up and reached out to pick up his baby boy.

Sammy curled into his daddy's chest as John held him close, with his chubby little hands clenching tightly to John's shirt. "I wuvs you daddy" Sammy said as he looked up into his father's face.

John's heart soared at hearing those four simple words that his baby had said. He knew he hadn't been the best father in the world lately as he struggled to assimilate into this new life of hunting he was thrust into after Mary had been killed. He worried about the way the hunting life would affect his boys, but God knows he couldn't bear to be without them.

"I love you too tiger" John said as he quickly dressed and hoisted his baby onto his hip before grabbing the backpack and carrying him outside the tent so that they wouldn't wake Dean. John took off his shirt and lay it on the ground before laying Sammy on top of it. He then changed his baby's diaper quickly as Sammy started sucking vigorously on his thumb.

Knowing that his baby was most likely hungry, John pulled out some oatmeal cereal and arranged Sammy so that he was sitting up snugly on one leg while being supported by John's left arm. Opening the jar, John dipped the spoon into the cereal hoping that Sammy would be content with him feeding him this time instead of Dean.

Sammy opened his mouth and eagerly accepted the food that John was feeding him. He looked up into his daddy's face and smiled with his eyes twinkling as John gave him another spoonful. After Sammy finished the cereal, John pulled out a bottle of grape juice and poured some into Sammy's sippy cup for the child to drink.

He once again hoisted Sammy onto his hip and carried him down to the lake filling a small coffee pot with water since he desperately wanted a cup of coffee. As he walked back up to the tent, he saw Dean just climbing out as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Good Morning Sport" John said as he put Sammy down so that he could restart a fire to make the coffee.

""Morning" Dean said as he yawned and set down on a small nearby stump while watching Sammy as he toddled around he camp area while carrying his cup.

"You hungry?" John asked as he pulled some beef jerky from his backpack and handed it to his son.

"Yeah, thanks dad" Dean said as he accepted the food that his dad was offering. He bit into the jerky as he saw Sammy staring intently at something. He walked over to see what had captured his little brother's attention and screamed out "No Sammy" in horror as he watched Sammy bending down and reaching out to touch the object.

Hearing the terror in his son's voice, John jumped up immediately and raced over to the area just as Dean snatched up his baby brother and stood transfixed, looking at the rattlesnake that Sammy had nearly touched. Sensing that the rattlesnake was just about to strike, John pulled the hunting knife he always kept tucked into the waistband of his jeans and threw it with deadly accuracy killing the snake on contact as the shapr knife spilt it's neck wide open.

"Is he okay, did he get bit?" John asked anxiously as he picked up both of his boys and carried them away from the dead snake. He held a screaming Sammy close and comforted the child as he waited for Dean's answer.

"I-I don't think s-so" said Dean with an obvious tremor to his voice as his dad checked Sammy over for signs of a bite while he soothed Sammy at the same time. Finding none, John breathed a sigh of relief as he put Sammy into Dean's arms and ordered him to watch Sammy so he could dispose of the snake. As he returned, John scanned the ground surrounding the camp for any more signs of danger before getting the salt and relining the area where the snake had slithered across. He then pulled his boys near and hugged them to his body, thankful that things hadn't turned out much worse.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

As John sat embracing his boys, he was unaware of the creature that watched him from afar. The wendigo hid as it watched the hunter with his boys knowing that they were the man's greatest weakness. It saw the way he protected the young ones from the lowly snake that crawled upon the ground and it watched as the hunter enveloped the children within his arms and could smell the fear the father had for his children.

Ready to start stalking the small family, the wendigo moved just a little closer and emitted an eerie growl as it moved inhumanly fast through the forest. It stopped and watched as the hunter reacted quickly by securing it's children and raising a weapon as it scanned the woods looking for him.

The wendigo enjoyed playing with the hunter and putting it on alert. It would make its attack so much sweeter when it actually decided to lure the man from his protected area out into the open so it could sink it's claws into the hunters flesh as the young ones watched. Once it took care of the father, the children would be easy to capture and save for a future meal.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

As John sat hugging his children, he heard an unearthly growl and immediately stood and rushed over to the tent placing his children inside and taking a protective stance as he held the flare gun ready to fire. The only way he knew of to kill a wendigo was to set it's ice cold heart ablaze and burn the creature to death from the inside out.

John's attention was drawn to the leaves that blew in the breeze to his left and he thought he saw the shadow of something moving by at an incredibly fast speed. From the research he had done, John knew that wendigos were gifted with superhuman speed from the black magic that transformed them into the ugly creatures that they were today.

As John stood guard, he could hear the sounds of soft whimpering inside the tent and knew that Dean was doing his best to keep a sobbing Sammy quiet. John couldn't blame him for crying with all the excitement in his young life this morning. He trusted Dean to take care of his youngest while he kept guard until he was sure the creature wouldn't be approaching the camp anytime soon.

After thirty minutes with no further signs of the creature, John climbed into the tent to check on his boys. He immediate saw Dean rocking Sammy gently in his arms while his youngest son sucked on his thumb, nearly asleep.

"Sammy's okay now dad" Dean said when he saw his father looking intently at Sammy.

"Yeah, I can see that Sport. You did good" John said as he ruffled Dean's hair while he continued rocking his little brother. Once Sammy was fully asleep, John lifted him gently from Dean's arms and placed the toddler inside the nearest sleeping blanket as he covered him up.

"Dean, I want you to watch out for Sammy while I go down to the lake and catch us some fish for lunch" John said as he grabbed one of the collapsible fishing poles and a flare gun for protection. Before leaving the tent area, he lay another line of salt surrounding the tent as an added line of defense.

As John sat fishing, he also kept alert for any unusual sounds coming from the forest. He wasn't taking any chances of the wendigo approaching the campsite and catching him unaware. After about forty five minutes, John had caught five fish and knew that it would be more than enough for him and Dean. He also planned to introduce Sammy to his first taste of fish to see if his baby would eat it.

Returning to the campsite and adding some kindling to the slowly dying fire, John pulled out the pan and added a little cooking oil. He then cleaned and gutted the fish, filleted them for frying and placed them in the pan. As he cooked the fish, he saw Dean and Sammy climbing out of the tent.

"Sammy's awake daddy" Dean said as they walked over to their father.

"Did you have a good nap tiger?" John asked as Sammy reached out his arms to be picked up with John obliging him.

Sammy nodded his head as he snuggled into his father's embrace. He looked over into the pan to see something cooking and said "What dat daddy?"

John smiled at his baby's inquisitive nature. "That's our lunch tiger. Daddy caught some fish while you were napping and now I'm cooking it for us to eat."

"Otay Daddy" Sammy said as he put his two chubby hands to his father's cheek and squeezed them together forcing his daddy to make "fish lips" at him. He giggled as his daddy leaned in to kiss his tiny cheek.

Seeing that the fish were finished cooking, John handed Sammy over to Dean as he carefully lifted the hot pan from the fire, making sure that it would be out of Sammy's reach. He placed a couple of pieces on a plate for Dean and then took the other three himself.

John took one of the pieces on his plate and carefully tore it into tiny pieces to cool off for Sammy. Once he felt that they were cool enough, he gave Sammy a piece to try.

"Here tiger, try a bite of this fish" he said as held a small piece out for Sammy to take. He watched as Sammy stuck it in his mouth and chewed on it. He smiled as Sammy reached his hand out for another piece. "That's my boy" he said as he handed his baby another piece.

After they had finished their lunch, John dug a hole to place the bones in to keep away scavenging animals and took the pan and the plates down to the lake to wash them. He had just finished washing up the dishes and gathered them into his arms when he suddenly saw a blur coming towards him. By the time that he could drop the dishes and whip out the flare gun, he felt the white hot pain of claws digging deep into his side and the sounds of his boys screaming in panic.

As he saw blackness encroaching on his vision, John pulled the flare gun and fired it into the wendigo's body. He knew he had not made a killing shot as he heard the creature emitting an unearthly shriek as it lumbered away into the woods to lick it's wounds. He stumbled back to the campsite knowing he had to get within the safety of the salt ring and to his boys. As he crossed the salt line, his legs gave out and he fell to his knees as Dean rushed over to him carrying Sammy. "Daddy" was the last thing he heard as he passed out to the sight of large tears trailing down both of his boys faces and the sounds of Sammy screaming.

TBC