Chapter 7 - Dinner is Two

The acrid smell of blood and cooked meat permeated the small room causing Faith to continually force the contents of her stomach to stay put. Cold metal bars pressed against her back in the small cage that was barely enough room for herself let alone Sam's tall body. He was still unconscious from the hit earlier that morning and laid unmoving in a heap beside her. His breathing was shallow and she knew he had taken a lot of water in his lungs during their freezing trip downstream. Faith shivered as the cold settled deeper into her bones. She and Sam both were soaked through and the room was chilled with the morning air. She chanced a look around the room hoping that the beast's black eyes wouldn't land on her again. They were in what she assumed was a hunting cabin; small wooden frame, dirt floors, broken cot in the corner, a blood stained table with one chair, and a black wood burning stove with a single large pot on top. The ominous presence standing at the stove with it's back to her took up the majority of the room.

Sam stirred and coughed up another ounce of water pulling her attention back to him. "You okay?" She whispered running a hand across his shoulder.

"Yeah." His eyes fluttered open. "What happened?"

Without a word she pointed to the thing across the room. Sam's gaze followed her directions causing his eyes to narrow in an attempt to focus. "What is it?"

The gray monster turned on it's heels and looked at Sam. With a deep snarling voice it answered, "I am Wihwin."

Faith flinched at the gurgling sound deep in the beast's chest that accompanied the terrifying voice. Sam pushed up with his hands to move to a sitting position, but was rewarded with another thud to his skull when his head hit the low bars of their enclosure. He groaned with the impact. Faith swallowed hard against the rising tide of fear and tore her gaze away from the creature. She put a hand on Sam's arm encouraging him to lie back down. The cage was longer than it was tall so he was left with little choice and settled himself back into his original position.

The Wihwin, as it had claimed to be, startled them with an unexpected stride towards the door and a hasty exit. Faith exhaled audibly and glanced down to Sam who had his eyes pinched closed and a shaky hand running through his soggy tresses. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just dizzy." His body betrayed him and he shivered causing his empty stomach to growl.

"And cold and hungry." Faith said in a hushed voice. "Have you ever seen one of these things before?"

"No, but I've read about it."

Faith felt a small surge of relief. If Sam had heard of it then he probably knew of a way to defeat it. She rubbed her hands together blowing warm breath into them attempting to generate a measure of warmth. "And?"

"And it's a water spirit from Central America. Kind of like the Scottish kelpie or the Irish each-uisce. This one, however, is supposed to live in the ocean during the winter and roam the mountains during the warmer season."

Faith nodded as she mentally went through the information she had read the night before on water creatures. "Kind of a long way from the ocean...and Central America. I wonder what it's doing here?"

"I don't know. I mean, they can live a really long time so it may have just wandered up here over the years." Sam's voice was weak and he coughed again causing his whole body to shake.

The door slammed open bouncing off the cage and the beast strode back to the stove across the room and tossed wood in the small fire. It was an odd sight to watch a large beast performing such a human task.

There was no doubt as to what the Wihwin was doing...meal preparation. Faith knew there was nothing to lose and it might even buy Dean some time, that is, if he woke up soon enough, figured out they were missing, and somehow managed to find their remote location that even she wasn't sure of. "What are you doing here?" It didn't answer. She threw a note of Dean's anger in her voice, "Hey! I'm talking to you." She raised her voice with far more courage than she felt, "what the hell are you doing here?" It turned and snarled at her. She raised her chin and glared back but with instant regret. It moved so quickly across the room and wrapped webbed claws around the bars over her head that she barely had time to register the motion. The warm sickly sweet breath blew across her face and she turned away gagging.

A watery rattle started in his chest before the words reached the mouth. "Easier prey."

Sam was forcing his eyes to focus just as a long strand of saliva dripped from its open mouth landing on his forehead. His eyes closed instinctively and he swiped at the sticky substance. Faith's face was turned away so she didn't see the creature tear at the lock and swing open the cage door directly to her right. In an instant she was being dragged away. She fought to grip the bars but her strength was no match for the Wihwin. Sam pushed himself out of the small enclosure and stood to his full height on unsteady legs just as the beast chained a fighting Faith to the chair. Swinging around the monster caught Sam across the face knocking him to the pressed dirt. Faith watched helplessly as the creature hovered over him seeming to patiently wait for him to rise and fight back. She pulled against her restraint and called out, "Sam!"

He coughed and breathlessly answered as he pushed off the dirt floor, "I'm ok."

"Not for long." The deep voice responded.

"Screw you." He answered determinedly. Rising quickly Sam landed a punch directly into the slippery gray abdomen. He was sorely disappointed when the response was a claw swiping across his right arm and chest throwing him across the room and slamming into the wall beside the door. Faith involuntarily screamed, "SAM!" Blood seeped from the fresh wounds and this time he didn't stir as quickly.

"Get up." The gurgling voice was a bit higher with what could only be interpreted as a note of humor.

Sam's head throbbed, his breathing was labored, and the gash across his arm and chest burned fiercely. His eyes refused to focus, but he knew he had to try once more.

"Stop!" Faith's heart pounded as she addressed the creature. "Please...just stop." She attempted to appeal to its emotions if it even had any.

It ignored her and wrapped a hand around Sam's neck pulling him up to eye level. The eyes were white with tiny green irises one instant and jet black in the next blink. Sam struggled to breath as the webbed hand lifted him a few inches off the ground cutting off his airway and holding him there. He fought against the slippery flesh with his hands while the toe of his tennis shoes sought purchase on the dirt floor.

Faith yelled the only thing she thought might give the creature pause, "There's someone looking for us!"

It turned with Sam still wrapped tightly in its grasp and cocked it's head at her, "They all say that."

Sam continued to fight for air, but Faith focused all her anger and attention, "He won't stop until he finds us." Her tone was deadly serious as she let it sink into her soul that Dean would come. A furious calm settled into her eyes, "You better leave while you still have the chance."

A rumbled snarling laugh escaped through the razor sharp teeth as he strode back to the cage and tossed Sam in like a ragdoll. From the center of the room Faith could hear Sam's head crack on the bars. He lay deathly still as the Wihwin locked the cage once more.


Disclaimer and Writers Notes: I do not own nor do I have rights to Supernatural or any of its characters. Faith on the other hand is all mine.

This week's second chapter is due to the fact that there will probably not be electricity in my house next week. My family and I are in the path of this oncoming hurricane. We'll be leaving the area tomorrow to get out of harms way. Prayers and good vibes appreciated for everyone in the path and for those still recovering in the wake of hurricane Harvey.

Hope you are enjoying the story! Things are moving a lot quicker now. Stay with me...bigger things to come! Special thanks to dreamsnake and beachwishen for the reviews!

xoxo, Jen