so, it's been a VERY long time. i know that and I'm sorry. Life had been anything but calm over these last few months. things are still crazy, but I'm finally getting back to writing, though it is at a slower pace. I will continue to update, I will never leave stories unfinished. Thank you all for the support and the reviews, enjoy :)
THE HIGH ROAD
Chapter 7
Dean growled as he searched through his pocket, the shrill ring of his phone breaking the silence of the forest. He glanced at the caller ID before answering— he really didn't have time for this. The hunt was already turning into more of a headache than he'd hoped, and now Bobby was calling to check in. He knew the mechanic cared, but he wasn't in the mood to answer questions. All Dean wanted were some answers of his own.
"Not a good time, Bobby."
"I lost her."
Dean stopped dead in his tracks, hoping he'd heard his friend wrong. "What? How?"
"She tricked me. She's worse that you boys, you know that?"
"Yeah, she can be."
"Thanks for the heads up."
"I can't believe this. How long ago?"
"A few hours."
"What? Why are you just calling me now?"
"Because it took me that long to get out of the damn basement and get to the phone. She took the Firebird."
"Great, just great."
"Hey, I did my best. I wasn't her babysitter."
"Actually you were."
"Semantics. I think you boys should come back here. The lockets' not gonna be any good without the girl. Plus with Chetling around, I don't wanna take any chances."
"I agree, and I'd love to come back. But that's not gonna happen."
"Why?"
Dean closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before answering, "I lost Sam."
"How the hell did you manage that?"
"We split up."
"Why?"
"Because we thought we found a wendigo."
"You're joking."
"Unfortunately not."
"What makes you think it's a wendigo. I haven't heard anything about one being in that area."
"Sammy found reports of a bunch of missing hikers. We shrugged it off, it's a pretty rugged area, but then we came out here and nearly ran over the damn thing. We split up a few hours ago."
"Do you think it got him?"
"No. Something's off here, Bobby, it just feels wrong. I don't even know if it's really a wendigo. It's weird. And Sammy, he just vanished, his phone's off too."
"Maybe Kerri called him."
Dean had thought about that. He knew his brother had a soft spot for the redhead, and he also knew Kerri had the younger man wrapped around her little finger. His brother was too trusting, and while Dean knew Kerri would never do anything to put Sam in danger, he also knew that others wouldn't be so kind. He just hoped that wherever Sam was, he was safe.
"I thought about that, but I think Sam would know better."
"Lets hope so. I'll see what I can find out about the region from here. It seems odd Michaels would set up shop near a wendigo like that. Do you think it could be Chetling?"
"The disappearances go back a while. I know Chetling's crazy, but I don't think even he'd think up something this involved. Besides, how would he even know we'd come up this way. We got this tip from Evelyn's ghost."
"I wouldn't put anything past him, remember this is the same man the acted like a butler for years to get close to his target. Stay safe and keep your eyes open for Sam and Kerri. She hasn't been answering her phone so I don't know how far out she is."
"She's not answering because she knows she's in trouble. I'll find her and Sam. Let me know if you hear from either." Dean kept his voice calm, but he was anything but. His heart was pounding in his chest. Both Kerri and Sam were out there somewhere, missing, possibly in danger— he had to find them. Until then, nothing else mattered.
"Will do. One more thing, Dean. She's got a bracelet on."
"A silver one?" Dean had completely forgotten about the bracelet. But now, it all made total sense. He had no idea what the trinket was, but he knew it was powerful. So far it had killed a witch and a demon, and had put the Trickster on their tale.
"So you did know about it?"
Dean pulled the phone away from his ear, suddenly wondering why Bobby was yelling at him. "Yeah, and?"
"And, I've been looking for that bracelet for years. Do you know what it is?"
"Just a magic silver bracelet. Why?"
"It's the Ring of Solomon."
Dean froze, why couldn't things ever be easy. "You're joking right. Please tell me you're joking."
"I wish I was. That's what changed about her. Apparently she'd been hiding it in her car. She remembered it was there on the way back from the hospital."
"Sam said something was different. She was rooting around under the seat then suddenly Sammy said he could feel a wall around her or something."
"Bingo."
"That's good then."
"How is this good, Dean?"
"Well, it's like a portable panic room."
"Do you know how many creatures and hunters have been looking for this thing?"
"Bobby, she's had it forever. Even the Trickster couldn't get it."
"How hard did that damn thing even try?"
"He threatened to kill Sam." Dean could still remember it like it was yesterday. His brother was lying on the floor, helpless at the hands of the Trickster. Just a flick of his wrist and Sam would be gone, and still Kerri stood her ground. It was one of the most terrifying moments of Dean's life— and it was a moment he never wanted to relive.
After a few moments of silence Dean heard Bobby sigh. "Dean, you need to talk some sense into her."
"I know. I don't want her out on this hunt, or any hunt for that matter. But I'm on the fence about the bracelet."
"Well, once you find the locket we won't need the bracelet."
"So basically, stick with the plan, I got it."
"Alright, keep me posted."
Bobby cut the connection, leaving Dean alone in the woods once more, but with a whole new set of problems. This started easily enough. Go to Vancouver, get a necklace, get home. He should have known it wouldn't be that simple. Their lives were never that simple. Everything always had to be extraordinarily difficult, it was just their lives. But the bracelet, that changed things. Dean had completely forgotten about it before the phone call— but it made sense now. And it offered the blonde some momentary relief. They had a way of keeping Kerri safe, albeit a dangerous one, but it was still better than the alternative. Bracelet or no bracelet, Chetling, Yellow Eyes and Rayner were still out in the world somewhere, and the last place Dean wanted Kerri was on a hunt.
Sighing, Dean flipped open his phone again, scrolling to the number he wanted. She might not pick up for Bobby, but Dean knew Kerri would never ignore him.
"Hello?"
"Turn around."
"I'm sorry, you're breaking up."
"I am not. Turn around, Kerri."
"Dean, I'm better, I can help."
"Oh, I know you're better. Bobby told me about the bracelet. And you can help by going back to his house."
"Yeah right, you should know me better by now."
"Ker, I'm serious."
"So am I. I'm not gonna sit around and wait to die. I can't do that."
"You're not gonna die. We're out here trying to help you, or has that somehow slipped your super mind?"
"It hasn't . I'm just being the practical one of the bunch. Besides, like you said, the bracelet made me better."
"Don't put words in my mouth. You coming out here is gonna risk everything."
"What's everything? What have I got to lose?"
Dean closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. Kerri might not have anything to lose, but he stood to lose everything. Sam and Kerri were the only family he had left, and he couldn't survive without them. This was a last ditch attempt to save not just Kerri, but himself as well. "It would be better for me if you turned around."
"I'm not any safer there."
"You're not? Because last time I checked there weren't any potential monsters or deranged hunters there."
"Yeah, but I was still there. I think it's become pretty obvious that I'm more detrimental to myself than most other things."
Kerri was right, she'd had a self destructive streak her entire life, and it had only gotten worse recently. She was more of a danger to herself than a hundred wendigos. But wendigos weren't what scared Dean. Victor Rayner and Bruce Chetling were what scared him. Monsters he understood, humans were different. Monsters were predictable, humans weren't.
"Please, Kerri."
"I'm sorry, Dean. I'll be there soon."
Dean closed his eyes when the call ended. He needed her to listen, to understand how much she meant to him, how much he needed her. He didn't want her on the front lines, he didn't want her in danger, bracelet or no bracelet. He wanted her safe— to know that, no matter what, she would alway be there. Unfortunately, there was no way to make that happen. Kerri was raised by a hunter, whether Dean liked it or not, and nothing was ever going to change that. Which mean he had to stay sharp, had to keep on his toes— because he now had both Kerri and Sam to worry about.
Spurred on by that fact Dean went back into hunting mode. He turned to the darkening forest, his eyes sharp. It had been a few hours since he'd heard from Sam and to say he was worried would be an understatement. Something was going on here, he could feel it in his bones. Why would Michaels set up camp in a wendigo's hunting ground? It didn't make any sense. Most wendigos hunted an area for decades, Michaels would have known it was there. There was also something different about this one, something Dean couldn't quite place. Everything about this wendigo and hunt just felt wrong. But at that moment all he could focus on was finding his brother— he'd worry about everything else later.
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Kerri closed the phone, dropping it on the seat beside her. She knew Dean would call her, she just didn't think it would have been that soon. She was hoping to avoid him until she'd had a chance to get to Michaels' cabin and look around. Obviously, that part of her plan was now shot. Dean was pissed— naturally— but he needed to see things from her point of view. She couldn't just sit by and let the world go on around her, that wasn't an option. She had to be proactive about her own future. Besides, what could be up there to hurt her?
Sure Chetling had gone to ground and none of them had heard anything from Rayner since leaving his house— but that didn't mean the men were up in Vancouver waiting for them. After all, how could they? This locket was information they had gotten from Evelyn— Bruce and Victor would have no idea it was there. So how could they be waiting for them? This was all Dean being paranoid, his desire to control her winning out. But it wouldn't work, not with her. Sam might be under his brother's thumb, but she wasn't. She could take care of herself, Dean should have learned that by now.
She touched the bracelet on her wrist, finding comfort in the cool metal. She let the feeling wash over her, soothing her troubled and turbulent mind. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about it for so many years, that she had let it gather dust while her family struggled for a way to save her. She didn't need the locket anymore, not with the bracelet. That was the real reason she followed the boys. This shielded her, kept her safe, kept her mind controlled. It was a noninvasive way to fix the problem.
She knew Dean would make her give up the bracelet in favor of the locket, though. After all, the locket would supposedly wipe her mind while the bracelet just made it manageable. She could see the logic in it. If she cleaned all the information out of her head she would no longer be a target— she was be ordinary and safe. If she kept the information, though, she would be helpful, she would be useful. She knew how the lives of hunters worked. There was no time for rest, no time for reprieve, no time for love. There was just the hunt. There were those who could help you, and those who couldn't— and the grey area in between was virtually non existent. Sure Dean would claim to visit, would say she'd never be forgotten, but Kerri knew the truth. She couldn't give up who she was— she wasn't meant to be ordinary. And that was something Dean was going to have to learn to accept.
More than that, she couldn't be left behind. She couldn't sit outside her house and watch the Impala drive away again, that just wasn't an option. From the moment she saw Dean again her entire world had changed. She had lied to herself over the years. She had made herself believe she had moved on, that she had grown up. But it was all a lie. Her job, her fiance— they were all just a mirage, hiding who she truly was underneath. She was Kerri Harrison, the daughter of a hunter and Dean Winchester's best friend. And the moment Annabel and Michael brought him, bruised and bloodied, into her life again, she knew she would never be able to let him go.
She needed Dean in her life, Sam was right. She just didn't think it was that obvious. Dean would move on, would keep hunting, keep pushing forward— because that's what Dean did. Kerri didn't have that ability. Once Dean was gone, she would crumbled, what little will power she had left scattering in the wind. Standing on the sidelines, waiting for word on those she cared about was how she'd spent over half her life— and she wasn't about to waste another minute waiting in the wings. She knew what she needed, what she wanted, and she wasn't going to let anything, not monsters, demons or misguided hunters stop her now.
She drove on for several more hours, ignoring her phone's periodic rings. She knew what Bobby was gonna say and she knew what Dean was gonna say— and she knew it wouldn't changed her mind. She was surprised she hadn't heard from Sam, though, and secretly, she was a little grateful. Bobby and Dean yelled orders like drill sergeants, something Kerri was used to. Sam, he needled his way into her mind, made her stop and think— and that was something she didn't know how to combat. When push came to shove she could shove back, but Kerri couldn't fight logic. And it made Sam an enigma to her. He wasn't the typical hunter, that much was obvious, but there was so much more to it.
Sam stood out, even from Evelyn. There was always a mystery about him, always something more hidden behind his deep brown eyes. Kerri understood Dean, knew everything about him. She could tell how he was feeling by the slope of his shoulders, the sound of his voice, the pattern of his walk. Hell, Kerri could read a lot of people that way— it was something she'd always been able to do. Perhaps it was a by product of being blind, but the redhead had always been able to tell someone by the way they walked. Sam, though, he was different. He had the innate ability to wear his heart on his sleeve and be completely guarded at the same time. But like the saying goes, still waters run deep, and Kerri knew the world had only scratched the surface of the secret that was Sam Winchester.
Kerri glanced in the mirrors as she pulled her car off the road. She hadn't seen the Impala, and she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She didn't think Dean would leave, knowing she was coming, she just hoped the blonde hadn't spotted her. She made sure the Firebird was out of sight on one of the old logging trails before getting out. The cool night fell silently around her, like a blanket shrouding her in darkness. She shivered despite herself— something was different here. The redhead momentarily thought of getting back in the car, but she knew she had come too far.
Taking a deep breath she cleared what she could from her mind, her left hand touching the bracelet once more. She wasn't a hunter, not really anyway, and deep in her heart she knew she had no business being there. But if the brothers were there, she knew she had to be, too. She had seen the map Sam and Dean were using at Bobby's, and she listened in from the basement while they made their plans. She knew exactly where the cabin was, and exactly what to look for. She glanced once more at the phone, seeing Dean's name flash upon the screen before shoving it in her pocket before setting off into the night.
It was a five mile walk to the cabin from where she'd parked the Firebird, but the forest was dark and over grown, making it a long five miles. She let her thoughts wonder as she walked, the Yellow Eyed Demon's words coming back to her. Family is your Foe. She still had no idea what that meant. Family is foe? It didn't make any sense, for a number of reasons. One, her entire family was dead, and two, when they were alive they had been the least of her worries. They had tried to help her, tried to save her. There was no way her family was her foe. So what had the demon meant?
Kerri relaxed, letting her mind drift back to the basement as she walked. She had been looking for the demon, searching her own mind for the creature, or any information about him. And she'd found it. His sickly yellow eyes were there in her mind, but they had also changed— they had been brown for a moment.
"Who are you?"
"I am the end."
"The end of what?"
"Everything. When I rise, the world will begin again. Life will be born anew, and I will lead it."
"Who are you?"
"You're family and foe."
Kerri's eyes flew open, the Yellow Eyed Demon's voice still ringing in her ears. "My family and Foe." The redhead whispered, her heart racing. "Sam."
It was Sam. He was the Yellow Eyed Demon's prize, he was the one the demon had shown the most interest in him. And the brown eyes in her mind, it had to mean something. But it still made no sense. Sam wasn't her foe, though she did consider him family. There was more to the puzzle, something she wasn't seeing. It all had to tie together somehow. Evelyn saying none of them could be saved in life or death, family and foe, Tom's deal— it all had to tie together somehow. But Kerri still couldn't see it. How could Sam possible be her foe, how could he possibly be the one they had to stop. It was inconceivable.
Kerri pulled her phone from her pocket— she needed to tell Dean what she remembered, even if she knew he wouldn't want to hear any of it. She took a few more steps, scrolling through the numbers on her phone, not paying attention to where she was going, and she paid the price. She felt the underbrush give way a second too late. She had just enough time to let out a short scream before falling into the darkness of the forest.
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Chetling walked to the edge of the pit, swinging his flashlight back and forth carelessly. He was surprised. He had expected a fight, or at least a challenge— not to have his target simply fall into a trap while on a phone. But the government said texting was dangerous.
"Like shooting fish in a barrel." The hunter chided, shining his flashlight into the pit once more before disappear off into the woods, seeking out the rest of his prey.
