Lyra was watching the scenery go by as they drove towards Blackwater Ridge. She had woken up a few minutes ago from a restless sleep to find Dean driving and Sam asleep on the passenger seat. All was quiet in the car until Sam woke up with a start.
Dean looked at him worriedly, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam replied, touching his forehead to clear the sweat beads there.
"Another nightmare?" Dean asked. Sam cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the question. So, Dean changed the subject, "You wanna drive for a while?"
Lyra looked at Dean, surprised by his offer. As much she knew him, he didn't let anybody drive his car, not even his brother.
"In your whole life you never once asked me that," Sam gave out a small laugh.
"Just thought you might want to. Never mind," Dean said.
"Look man, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you but I'm perfectly okay," Sam assured Dean. But it did nothing good. Even Lyra could see that he wasn't alright.
"Where are we?" Sam asked.
"We are just outside of Grand Junction," Dean informed.
Sam opened a map and stared at it, thinking about something. "You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon," he voiced his thoughts.
"Sam, we dug around there for a week; we came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica,,," Dean said, glancing at Sam.
"We gotta find dad first," Sam finished.
"Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence," Dean reasoned. "Dad will have answers; he'll know what to do."
"It's weird man. These coordinates he left us, this Blackwater Ridge," Sam said.
"What about it?" Dean asked.
"There's nothing there, it's just woods," Sam explained. "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?" he asked more to himself.
They passed a welcome sign to Lost Creek, Colorado and Dean pulled into the visitor's centre. Sam got out first and started towards the building followed by Lyra. But Dean pulled her back.
"What's up with you?" he asked, seriously.
"Nothing," she answered with knitted eyebrows.
"You've been acting weird ever since Sam joined us. Not even talking much. So, don't give me that 'nothing' crap. I know something's up," Dean stared in her eyes.
"You want me to talk? If I remember correctly, whenever I talked, you told me to shut up," Lyra tried to evade the topic.
"Lyra. Please, just tell me," Dean said, desperately.
"Alright, look. You and Sam are brothers and you two make a great team. You have a strong bond with him. The past few days haven't been good for Sam, he's been through a lot. So, I stayed back and let you handle him," Lyra explained.
"Are you telling me that you feel like the third wheel?" Dean asked.
"If you put it that way, then yes," Lyra answered.
"Well then, don't feel like that. Just… be yourself. Talk and joke as you used to," Dean said.
"I don't think Sam would appreciate that. He doesn't know me properly; my friendliness might feel like intrusion to him," Lyra glanced at Sam, who had stopped at the door to wait for them.
"He just need some time to adjust to you," Dean defended his brother.
"I've been giving him just that. I can understand his situation. I've been there before," Lyra said, remembering her parents' death.
It took some seconds for Dean to understand what she was talking about. "Uh, thanks," Dean smiled sympathetically at her.
"Hey! You guys coming or what?" Sam shouted.
"Yeah, coming," Dean shouted back and followed Lyra into the building.
"So, Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote. It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place," Sam said, looking at a 3D map.
"Dude, check out the size of this freaking bear," Dean pointed to a picture.
"Over a dozen or more grizzlies in the area," Sam ignored Dean. "It's no nature hike that's for sure."
"You people aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" asked a new voice. The trio turned to face the stranger, who happened to be some ranger.
"Oh no sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper," Sam made up an excuse quickly.
"Recycle, man," Dean smiled.
"Bull," the ranger ridiculed. "You're friends with that Hailey girl right?"
"Yes, yes we are ranger…Wilkinson," Dean said, reading the ranger's nametag.
"Well I will tell you exactly what we told her," the ranger sighed. "Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater till the 24th, so it's not exactly a missing person now is it?" he raised his eyebrows. All the other three nodded in agreement. "You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine."
"We will. Well that Hailey girl's quit a pistol, huh?" Dean smirked and Lyra rolled her eyes.
"That's putting it mildly," the ranger shook his head.
"Actually you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit you know so she could see her brothers return date," Dean said with a sweet smile and the ranger nodded.
Once they were outside, Sam spoke up, "What are you cruising for a hook-up or something?"
"You know I can't," Dean said sourly, looking at Lyra.
"Knowing you, I'm not too sure. 30 minutes are more than enough for you," Sam made a face.
"Oh yeah. I'm fast," Dean boasted. "Once I-" he was cut off by Lyra.
"Please spare my innocent ears, Dean," she covered her ears for emphasis.
"You are a virgin, aren't you?" Dean smirked.
"What?" she was caught off-guard. "That's none of your business," she exclaimed.
"Oh, it definitely is," Dean was sure that his assumption was indeed correct. Lyra's blush and sudden shyness in her body language gave her away.
"Can we focus?" Sam cut in, saving Lyra from further embarrassment. "The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge so what are we waiting for, let's just go find dad. I mean why even talk to this girl?"
"I dunno maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it," Dean shrugged and gave Sam a look.
"What?" Sam threw up his hands in frustration.
"Well since when are you all shoot first ask questions later anyway?" Dean asked.
"Since now," Sam replied after a moment. They all got into the car and drove off to the girl's house.
Dean knocked on the door and a young girl with dark hair opened it. "You must be Hailey Collins. I'm Dean, this is Sam and Lyra. We're rangers with the park service," he introduced. "Ranger Wilkinson sent us over; we wanted to ask you some questions about your brother Tommy."
"Let me see some ID," Haley demanded, scrutinizing them.
"Here ya go," Dean held out his fake ID.
She looked closely at it and then turned to Lyra, "And you?"
"Uh, I'm a trainee," Lyra replied, showing her fake ID.
Haley raised an eyebrow in suspicion but nonetheless opened the door wide, "Come on in." She stepped aside to let them in. "That yours?" she pointed to the Impala.
"Yeah," Dean replied with a smirk.
"Nice car," she said, impressed.
"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam asked, giving Dean no chance to flirt with the girl.
"He checks in every day by cell," she replied. "He e-mails photos, stupid little videos…but we haven't heard anything in over three days now," worry was clear in her voice.
"Well maybe he can't get cell reception," Sam shrugged. He didn't want to waste any time there, questioning the family of some missing guy.
"He's got a satellite phone too," she said incredulously.
"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean put forward.
"He wouldn't do that," a mid-teenage boy said.
"Yeah. Our parents are gone; it's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other," she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam requested.
"Sure," she said, opening some file on her laptop. "That's Tommy," she pointed to a man.
Sam played the video and all three watched it attentively. Sam saw something out of the ordinary in the video and glanced at Dean and Lyra.
"Well, we'll find your brother; we're heading out to Blackwater ridge first thing," Dean stated.
"Then maybe I'll see you there," she said. "Look. I can't sit around here anymore, so I hired a guide. I'm heading out in the morning and I'm gonna find Tommy myself," she explained on seeing their disbelieving looks.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Lyra spoke for the first time. "I mean he disappeared, you might disappear too."
"This is about my brother! I don't care what it takes," Haley said, exasperated by the unwanted concern. Lyra held up her hands in a placating manner to calm her down.
"Hey, you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asked softly to break the tension.
"Sure, no problem," Haley replied.
Once Sam got the videos, they headed to a bar. Sam searched newspapers for anything related to the case. Dean was drinking his beer and staring at hot waitresses. Lyra just looked around at people, being her quiet self.
"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic, local campers mostly," Sam's voice broke the silence. "But still, this past April two hikers went missing out there, they were never found."
"Any before that?" Dean asked, giving him his full attention.
"Yeah In 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year," Sam replied. "Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936. Every 23 years, just like clockwork." He paused to pull out his laptop, "Here's a clincher. I downloaded that guy, Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out." Sam played the video, frame by frame.
"Do it again," Dean had his eyes focused on the screen.
"That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second," Sam informed. "Whatever that thing is, it can move."
Dean smacked Sam on the back of his head, "Told ya something was going on."
"Yeah," Sam grimaced. "I got one more thing. In '59 one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive."
"Is there a name?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. Let's go," Sam stood up and gathered his things.
They went to Lonnie Shaw's house and Dean and Sam got out.
"Aren't you coming?" Dean asked Lyra, who hadn't made a move to get out.
"No. You two go, I'll wait here. Come back soon," she waved him off.
"Yeah, we'll be back soon. Don't want a dead chick on my backseat when I return," Dean joked and walked off after Sam.
They returned some minutes later and told Lyra about what Lonnie Shaw said. The creature had claws and knew how to unlock a door.
"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside they just go through the walls," Dean mused out loud.
"So it's probably something else, something corporeal," Sam suggested.
"Corporeal?" Dean mocked. "Excuse me professor."
"Shut up! So what do you think?" Sam got back to the point.
"The claws, the speed that it moves, could be a skin walker, maybe a black dog," Dean shrugged. "Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature and it's corporeal," Dean mimicked Sam. "Which means we can kill it." Dean opened the trunk and loaded a shotgun, placing it in a duffel bag.
"We cannot let that Hailey girl go out there," Sam stated.
"Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?" Dean derided.
"Yeah," Sam said.
"Her brother's missing Sam," Dean said in a 'duh' tone. "She's not just gonna sit this out. Now we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator-friend."
"Finding dad's not enough?" Sam slammed the trunk shut. "Now we gotta babysit too? Isn't Lyra enough to look out for?" Sam sneered.
Lyra took a step back at Sam's rude voice. She didn't expect him to have this opinion of her. She had stayed out of his way the whole time. She wondered what she had done to make Sam behave like this.
"Don't drag her in this," Dean warned in a low voice. "What's the matter with you? She had been nothing but nice and silent for you. And you see her as a burden?" Dean accused. "And who asked you to look after her? She's my responsibility and so you don't need to sweat yourself," he glared at Sam. "Come on, Lyra." He got in the car and waited for them to sit.
No one uttered a single word during their drive to find a motel. Dean was too pissed and disappointed to talk; Sam didn't know how to apologize and Lyra was just brooding over what happened. When Dean went to get a room, Sam tried to muster up the courage to speak but one look at Lyra's upset face made him feel even guiltier.
Dean handed the keys to Lyra when he returned and she went to open the room while Sam and Dean took out their luggage.
"Hey, man. I'm sorry," Sam said, desperate to get his brother's forgiveness.
Dean sighed and closed the trunk after getting the last bag out. "It's not me whom you should apologize to. She should be the one to forgive you," Dean said in a monotone. Sam nodded, looking down.
Dean went to take a shower once they were settled. He wanted to give Sam a chance to talk to Lyra let alone wash away his own tension.
Lyra switched on the TV and pretended to be engrossed in it while actually, she was aware of Sam's every move. He walked around aimlessly at first but then took a deep breath and turned to her.
"Uh, about earlier," he started. Lyra looked up from the TV with a neutral face and nodded for him to go on. "I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking properly. Dean was right; you've been understanding towards me. I realized now that you didn't try to strike a friendship with me for my sake. I'm so sorry to throw it back in your face like that."
"I know what you are going through. My parents died this April. I was pretty much like you then," Lyra smiled. "I'm not gonna hold this against you."
"Thank you," Sam said sincerely. "Can I ask you something?"
"Why not?" she shrugged.
"How'd you cope with it?"
"My parents had, sort of, prepared me for any sudden death. My mom's life was always hanging on a balance; so she didn't want me take it too hard if anything happened to her. But even with my mindset, it wasn't easy. I was left alone," she gave a small sad smile.
"Oh," Sam couldn't find anything to say.
"But you are lucky Sam," her voice was a little cheery again. "You have Dean and a father somewhere with you. I know, no one can replace Jessica, but you gotta value what you have left," she advised in a wise tone. "Revenge is not something you should live for; instead they should be the reason. Avenge her death but don't let its fire consume you and your family. Being lonely is not good at all. Trust me."
Sam raised an eyebrow at her. He couldn't believe a girl, younger than him, has just lectured him.
"I'm talking from experience," she explained. "But who am I to judge you? Just do what you feel best cause you'll be the one to face the results, not me."
Sam was stunned by her words. He just stood there, staring at her.
"You guys done talking?" Dean asked from the bathroom door.
His words jerked Sam from his stupefied state and he nodded feebly, "Yeah. Did you hear anything?" Sam prayed to get a negative answer. He didn't want Dean to tease him about this.
"Not much," Dean replied. "Why? What happened?"
"Nothing," Sam sighed in relief.
What Sam didn't know was that Dean had heard the little speech Lyra gave Sam on the importance of family. But good for him that Dean decided to drop it.
A/N: Hey guys! I think I'll divide every episode in two parts from now on. Next update will be in a day or two. I'll do one episode each week, no matter how many parts. Please review. I'm grateful for them. Thanks for reading. See you soon!