Chapter Three

Annabelle


I woke thinking I was dead. I sat up and realized I was a little sore where the wendigo had marked me. The next thing I realized was the man sitting in a chair next to me. I used some choice words my mom would've grounded me for and punched the man, Dean, as hard as I could.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Dean rubbed his cheek.

"For bringing me back." I flopped back on my bed. "I could've been with my family," I moaned.

"Sorry, kid, but you're not dying, not on my watch," Dean said.

"Shut up and let me think for a minute," I said.

"Well, someone's a little ungrateful," Dean muttered.

"Hand me my phone and my earbuds. They're on my dresser," I said.

Dean did as he was told. I plugged in my earbuds and put some music on so I could think clearly. I hummed along to "Fire of Unknown Origin" while I figured out what I needed to do. I came to a conclusion as the song ended and started packing. I put my music on as loud as possible and tried to tune the world out.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dean asked.

"You're a hunter, right? You were after the, uh . . . wendigo that killed my family? Well, I'm coming with you," I said.

"Annabelle, hunting is dangerous. There's a chance you'll die on any given case. You will get hurt, almost on a weekly basis, and once you're in, there's no getting out. If you still want to hunt, I won't stop you. I'll train you," Dean said.

"I'll do it," I said solemnly. "What do I need to pack?"

"Few shirts, pants, socks, some good shoes, and, uh . . ." Dean seemed uncomfortable asking me to pack bras and underwear.

"These?" I asked while picking up one of each. I laughed as I tossed them at Dean and he swatted them away. "What am I doing? My family just died. How am I laughing?" I muttered when I realized what I was doing. I picked up the clothes I'd just thrown at Dean and stuffed them in my bag.

"Annabelle, sit down here for a moment." Dean patted the bed in front of him.

"Yeah?" I sat on the edge of the bed in front of Dean.

"It's good to laugh. Don't worry about what you saw earlier. Try to be a teenage girl." Dean's voice was flooded with sympathy I didn't want.

"I don't want your sympathy. I want you to treat me like we've hunted together before and I don't EVER want you to bring up today unless it's needed to find the wendigo. Got it?" I kept my voice tight and fought back tears.

"Yeah. Sorry." Dean quieted down, and I continued packing.

I moved to the bathroom and packed my toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, shampoo, conditioner, soap, and lotion.

"I'm sorry I went off on you," I apologized to Dean as I reentered my room. My voice was ragged and I was near tears.

"No, I understand. You just lost everything, and you don't want to talk about it. I've been in that boat." Dean's voice was ragged too, but he was working hard to hide it.

"I'll share if you do." I sat next to Dean on my bed. Finding no response, I started my story. "I was working on homework and I heard my brother and sister scream. I wasn't worried, they were always playing and screaming, but when I heard my parents scream, I got scared. I heard their bodies being dragged up the stairs and I hid under my bed. I waited a while and I didn't hear anything, so I left my room and went to my siblings' room. I— I saw their bodies." I started crying. "I felt something grab me and I ran, but that tore my skin more. I locked myself in the bathroom and then you guys came. I had time to change my shirt so you wouldn't see that I was injured. You know the rest." I wiped tears from my eyes.

"My mom died when my brother and I were really young. Our dad died seven years ago. That same year, Sammy died in my arms. I brought him back and I died fighting next to him the next year. An angel brought me back and we had a pretty good two years in terms of Sam and I not dying. Then Sam died putting the devil back in his cage. I could go on . . ." Dean trailed off.

"I feel like a complete idiot." I wrapped an arm around Dean's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"What can I say? It's part of the job," Dean said.

"Have you tried to walk away from the job?" I asked.

"When Sam died putting the devil away, I went back to an old girlfriend and her son for a year. The job called me back when Sam showed up on a case in our neighborhood. Lisa and I tried to keep it together, but the job put Lisa and her son, Ben, in danger. I had Cas remove their memory of me," Dean said regretfully.

"I'm sorry. If you let me come with you, I won't leave you and Sam," I said confidently. "Where is Sam?"

"He's taking care of the bodies," Dean said, trying to be gentle but not sympathetic.

"Can—?" I stopped to steady my breathing. "Can we go watch?"

"You sure?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Let's go see if he has them prepped yet." Dean led me to my backyard, which was basically the edge of the woods.

Sam was wrapping my family's bodies in white sheets. I silently joined Sam in finishing wrapping my sister and mom.

I watched Sam and Dean build four matching pyres and helped them hoist the bodies onto the pyres.

"Do you want to do the honors?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said while taking the lighter from Dean.

I lit each pyre then stood solemnly next to my new family and watched the pyres burn.