Wendigo
AN: The much awaited Wendigo episode. I hope you enjoy this second look into Jameson's growing up years. The next episode in Shadow.
~BWLTCO~
Dean's Perspective:
We were heading to Colorado to look for Dad after spending a week in California trying to pick up a trail on whatever killed Jess. Considering the way, she died, it had to be the same thing that got Mom. But the trail was just as cold as ever. So yesterday when Sam started packing, and said that we better hit the road soon or we'll hit rush hour, Jameson and I packed up without saying a word. Within 20 minutes we were on the road.
I drove through the whole night, and Sam had stayed up with me until about two hours ago. He was now out like a light in the front seat. Jameson was out too, sprawled across the backseat occasionally muttering about "stupid witches" and "why did it have to be snakes?" I was shaking my head at her latest mumble when Sam started gasping and jolted awake. He looked wildly around, before settling back into the seat.
"You okay?" I asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied.
"Another nightmare?"
Sam's only answer was to clear his throat.
"Want to drive for a while? I asked. Sam scoffs.
"In your whole life, you never once asked me that. "
"Just though you might want to." I said shrugging it off, "Never mind."
"If he doesn't want to, I'll drive." Jamie piped up groggily from the back.
"No!" Sam and I both told her.
"How rude." She exclaimed with a pout. Sam reached in the glovebox to pull out the map.
"So where are we?" Sam asked.
"We are just outside of Grand Junction." I replied.
"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."
"You're the one who told us to leave." Jameson reminded him. I shot her a look in the rearview mirror. She huffed and leaned back in the seat.
"Look Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. You were right to get us to leave. If you want to find the thing that killed Jessica…"
"Got to find Dad first."
"Whoo!" Jameson interjected.
"Cut the attitude, young lady," I said over my shoulder.
"Or what you'll ground me?" She shot back, "Send me to my room?"
"Or how about Sam picks out your menu for the next week."
"I'm thinking salads, tofu, veggie burgers." Sam played along.
"Shutting up now."
Sam chuckled.
"Anyway, I don't think it's a coincidence that this thing is showing up again after 20 years." I said getting us back on track, "Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do."
"It's weird man," Sam said looking back at the map, "These coordinates he left us, this Black Water Ridge."
"What about it?"
"There's nothing there. It's just woods. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"
"Let's find out." Jameson said leaning forward.
~BWLTCO~
Jameson's Perspective:
"So Black Water Ridge is pretty remote." Sam said as we explored the park's visitor center, "It's cut off by these canyons here-rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."
Dean and I had stopped in front of the display of the local wildlife. There were a few small woodland creatures and one of the biggest bears I had ever seen.
"Dude, check out the size of the this friggin' bear." Dean called Sam over.
"And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area." Sam added. "It's not nature hike, that's for sure."
"Cool." I said excitedly. I loved doing these kinds of hunts.
"You three aren't planning to go out near Black Water Ridge, by any chance?" A man's voice asked. We all turned around to see a forest ranger looking at us expectantly.
"Oh, no, sir. We're environmental-study majors from U.C. Boulder. Just working on a paper."
"Even the little one?" the ranger asked. The little one? The jerk.
"Yeah, even Deano here." I said patting my brother's arm, smiling cheekily up at him. He gets that strained look on his face, the one that tells me he's asking himself why he doesn't just leave me someplace.
"Yeah, recycle man." Dean said holding up his fist. "The squirt here is my little sister, our parents are on vacation for their anniversary and saddled me with her."
"Bull." The ranger said, "You're friends with that Hailey girl, right?"
Dean thought about it for a moment.
"Yes. Yes, we are, Ranger…Wilkinson."
"Well, I will tell you exactly what I told her." He told us, "Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Black Water until the 24th. So it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it? Tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure her brother's just fine."
"We will." Dean lied to him, "Well, that Hailey girl's a pistol, huh?"
"That is putting it mildly."
She sounds like fun.
"Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit." Dean conned the ranger, "You know, so she could see her brother's return date."
"Uhh…alright. I'll be right back." Ranger Wilkinson told us, before slipping into the back room.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked, "I thought we came here to find Dad?"
"Maybe he's working a case." Dean defended his actions.
"Sure you're not cruising for a hookup or something?"
"Hey, he's on the job." I defended Dean.
"Yeah, Sammy, I'm on the job."
Sam rolled his eyes as the park ranger came back from the office with papers in hand. Dean took them from him.
"Thanks, I think this will give Hailey some peace of mind."
"Well if it gets her off my back."
"Yeah." Dean said with a chuckle, "Well come on you two."
Sam and I followed after him.
"All I'm saying is the coordinates say Black Water Ridge. So what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. Why should we even talk to this girl?
"Well like I said maybe Dad is on a case, and we should know what we're getting into before we actually walk into it." Dean answered as we got close to the car.
"Since when did you become Rambo instead of Shaggy?" I asked my big brother. Sam was always the cautious one, and wanted to make sure that we had everything before we walked into a situation,
"Since now." Sam replied as he reached the front door.
"And I have the attitude problem." I told Dean opening the back door.
"Yeah well, the Winchester sass is strong with this one. He can't help it."
I snorted.
"Very funny." Sam said giving us his pissed off lady face.
"We kill them at parties." I said before climbing into the car.
"That we do, baby girl." Dean agreed as he got in, "That we do."
~BWLTCO~
Sam's Perspective:
Dean pulled up outside of the Hailey girl's house. Jameson jumped out before either of us could stop her and was on her way to the front door.
"Jamie!" Dean called out to her. She stopped right in her tracks, and spun on her heel. She lifted her hands up in the air as if to ask "Well?" I didn't need to look at my brother to know that he was rolling his eyes. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl."
"We could always return her and ask for a refund?" I joked.
"Please, then who would laugh at my jokes." Dean replied getting out of the car.
"Yeah, that would be a shame." I said even though he couldn't hear me. I climbed out and caught up with Dean and Jameson. Dean had pulled her under his arm, and led her to the front door. He let her knock on the door as he hung back. The door opened revealing a petite brunette. She left the screen door between us.
"You must be Hailey Collins." Dean greeted her stepping closer to the door, "I'm Dean, that's Sam, and the runt here is Jameson."
"Hey!" Jamie protested. Dean just ruffled her hair before turning back to Hailey.
"We're rangers with the park service," Dean continued motioning between me and him. "Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. We wanted to ask you some questions about your brother Tommy."
"Let me see some I.D." She said to us.
"Sure," Dean said digging through his jacket pocket for the ID he made a few hours ago. He held it up to the screen door. She scanned the ID, before giving the three of us a once over.
"Come on in." she said opening the screen door.
"Thanks." Dean said helping her get the door.
"That yours?" Hailey asked nodding her head towards the Impala.
"Yeah." Dean answered.
"Nice car."
Dean smiled and followed Hailey into the house. He cast me a smug look before going deeper into the house.
"We've lost him, Captain." Jameson commented.
"Hey, he's on the job." I repeated her line from earlier.
"Yeah, yeah." She said grabbing my hand and pulling me into the house. We found Hailey and Dean in the dining with a kid who looked a few years older than Jameson.
"Is this Tommy?" Dean asked pointing to photo on one of their built-ins. Hailey nodded as she brought in some food from the kitchen.
"So, if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" I asked her.
"He e-mails photos, stupid little videos." Hailey answered, "But we haven't heard anything in over three days now."
"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception." I offered.
"He's got a satellite phone, too."
"Can it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?"
"He wouldn't do that." The other kid finally spoke up.
"Our parents are gone." Hailey explained, "It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."
James elbowed me in the side.
"What?" I mouthed to her. Though I figured the answer I was in for a comment was about how I should be more "family oriented."
"Get the pictures." She replied. I nodded.
"Can I see the pictures Tommy sent you?"
"Yeah," Hailey replied and she began to move towards the computer on the bookshelf, "Here's all Tommy's photos and videos. This one is his last message."
The three of us gathered around her as she clicked on the video in the upper right corner. The video enlarged and she pushed play.
"Day Six. We're still out near Black Water Ridge. We're fine, keeping Safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."
Then the video was over.
"We'll find your brother." Dean told her, "We're heading out to Black Water Ridge first thing."
"The maybe I'll see you there." Hailey told us walking back to the dining room table. "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."
"I think I know how you feel." Dean said sympathetically. Jameson rolled her eyes and looked back at the screen. She cocked her head at the paused image of the video.
"We need to take a closer look at these." She whispered. I nodded in agreement.
"Hey Hailey, do you mind forwarding these to me?"
"Sure." Hailey agreed.
"Thanks." I replied before straightening out.
"Well, we'll get out of your hair. If I don't get some tacos in the munchkin, she'll turn into a gremlin."
"Yeah, and if he doesn't get some beer and burgers he'll turn into a bitch." Jameson said to me from behind her hand. I laughed and received a funny look from the Collins family and Dean. I cleared my throat.
"We should get going, we know that Dean would hate to miss The Golden Girls." I said. Jameson snorted and subtly bumped my hand with her fist. I returned the fist bump as Dean glared as us.
"Ha, ha, let's go you two." Dean said throwing his thumb towards the door. Jamie and I shared a smirk before following after him. Once we reached the door, Dean turns back to us, "You both can sit in the back."
Jamie stuck her tongue out at him.
"You got what you deserved, munchkin." She said before walking past him,
~BWLTCO~
Dean's Perspective:
We found a Mexican restaurant in town and set up camp. Sam got the beers while I ordered enough tacos to bust the Squirt's gut. Sam came back and he set up his computer and started doing his nerd thing. He was looking through old police reports, news articles, Tommy's stuff and took notes.
"So, Black Water Ridge doesn't get a lot if traffic," Sam informed us after a while, "But, still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found."
"Any before that?" I asked.
"Yeah," Sam replied, showing Jamie and I some archive news articles, "In 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And, again, in 1959, and again, before that, in 1936. Every 23 years, just like clockwork."
Sam pulled up the stuff from Hailey.
"Okay, Jameson noticed something weird about this while we were at the house." He said pulling up Tommy's last video. "So I gave it a closer look and this is what I found."
Jamie came around the table to get a good look at the screen, and Sam hit play. Whatever, I was supposed to see, I completely missed.
"Can you slow it down?" Jameson asked. Sam nodded and pushed play, after a beat he slowed down the speed. I finally caught an image of something in the background.
"That's three frames. It's a fraction of a second." Sam informed us, "Whatever that thing is, it can move."
I hit Sam's shoulder.
"I told you something weird was going on." I bragged.
"Yeah." Sam replied slightly sassy, "There's one more thing. In '59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack, just a kid—barely crawled out of the wood alive."
"Is there a name?" Jamie asked. Sam nodded. "Great let's go. And we need to hurry up, or we really will miss The Golden Girls."
I ducked my head trying to hide my smile, as Sam gave her a disbelieving look.
"What?" Jamie responded, "Sophia is my idol."
~BWLTCO~
Sam's Perspective:
James ended up not having to worrying about missing The Golden Girls because Dean set her up in a motel room. She threw a fit until Dean gave her money to get ice cream. After that she didn't offer much of an argument, but Dean told me not to be too surprised if she locks us out.
Dean and I headed into town to visit the survivor of the '59 attack. We found him in an old house, not too far from the place we had dinner. Dean knocked on the door and told him why we were here. He let us in, but I could tell he was reluctant to.
"Ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this." He said as he led us into his house, "It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a-?"
"Grizzly?" I filled in, "That's what attacked them?"
I couldn't fully see his face, but I knew there was more to this story by how he reacted. He eventually nodded.
"The other people that went missing that year-those bear attacks, too?" Dean jumped in. The man nodded again, "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing? If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it."
The man looked at us face on and removed the cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"I seriously doubt that." He disagreed, "Always, I don't see the difference it would make. You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."
"Mr. Shaw…" I tried again, "What did you see?"
He sighed.
"Nothing," he finally answered, "It moved too fast to see. It hid to well. I heard it, though. A roar…like no man or animal I ever heard.
"It came at night?"
Mr. Shaw nodded.
"Got inside your tent?" I continued. He shook his head.
"It got inside our cabin. I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door—It unlocked it. Do you know of a beat that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up until I heard my parents screaming. Dragged them off into the night. Why it left me alive—I've been asking myself that ever since. It did leave me this, though."
He pulled away his collar revealing four long scars.
"There's something evil in those woods." Mr. Shaw said as he let his shirt fall back into place, "It was some sort of demon."
~BWLTCO~
"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors." Dean said as he unlocked the motel room door, "If they want inside, they just go through walls."
"So it's probably something else—something corporeal."
"Corporeal?" Dean repeated, "Excuse me, professor."
"Shut up." I snapped back, "So, what do you think?"
"I think you need to lower your voice before going in here and wake up the Squirt."
I held my hands up and we slipped inside the room quietly. Dean was right. Jameson was passed out, curled up in a ball on one of the beds. A carton of Moose Tracks rested on the bedstand while The Golden Girls theme played on the TV.
"Great," Dean muttered as he looked into the carton, "She ate it all."
I chuckled as I took off my coat. Then I noticed something else about my sister.
"Is that my shirt?" I asked Dean. He leaned in to get a closer look.
"Yep." He replied pulling back. He shook his head with a smile. He kissed her forehead and fixed the blankets. "I'll share with the kid tonight."
"Good, I don't think my side can take any more of her kicks. So what do you really think attacked those campers on the Ridge?"
"Well the claws, the speed that it moves—It could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog. Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature, and it's corporeal which means we can kill it. "
I nodded.
"Then we can't let that Hailey girl go out there." I reminded him of Hailey's plan.
"What are we gonna tell her- she can't go into the woods because of a big, scary monster?"
"Yeah."
"Her brother's missing, Sam. She's not gonna just sit this out. I wouldn't if it were you or Jamie. No, we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend."
"So finding Dad's not enough? Now we got to babysit, too?"
"He's used to it; he's watched your whiny baby butt for over 20 years." Jameson grumbled sleepily, "Now shut up and go to sleep Sam."
Dean sucks in his mouth, but I can tell he's holding in laughter.
"Okay." I replied in an annoyed tone. Dean shook his head and went to turn off the TV.
"Hey!" Jamie protested, "I was watching that."
Dean held his hands up in surrender, and left The Golden Girls on. He the disappeared leaving me alone with my little sister. We really haven't been alone since I got back. She stuck close to Dean the entire time, actually at Hailey's house was the first time in years we tagged-team against him.
"You know I'm right, we can't let her go up there with us." I said to her.
"Fine, I'll remember that we when you get lost somewhere." She said with her eyes closed, "No, Dean we can't go, Sam would want the professionals to find him."
"That's different, we know what's out there."
"No, it's not. Family is family."
~BWLTCO~
Jameson's Perspective:
Dean drove up the dirt road to the hiking trail that Hailey had told him she would be at. By the time we got there—Hailey, her brother, and their guide looked like they were already to go. Dean pulled in behind their truck and put the Impala in park.
I grabbed the book bag I had filled with some food, weapons, blankets, toiletries and clothes. I would have to ditch it if we had to run from something, but somebody had to keep up the pretense that we rangers and going on a hike. Dean was wearing his leather jacket for goodness sake.
"You guys got room for three more?" Dean asked them as he got out of the car.
"Wait, you want to come with us?" Hailey asked.
"Who are these guys?" the guide asked as Sam and I got out.
"Apparently, this is all the Park Service could muster up for the search and rescue."
"You're rangers?" he asked, "Even the little one?"
"Hey, he's only short when he stands next to Jolly Green here." I played dumb. I hated being the "little one."
"She's a junior ranger, Chief said to bring her so she could learn the trails." Dean explained.
"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Hailey questioned him.
"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts."
"Chicken legs." I stage whispered. Dean hit the back of my head. I pouted at him before going over towards Sam.
"This isn't funny. It's not a nice walk in the city park, it's dangerous backcountry out there. Her brother might be hurt."
"Believe me, we know how dangerous it can be." Dean defended the three of us, "We just want to help them find their brother that's all. So are we going to sit around gossiping all day, or go find Tommy?"
The guide huffed and started on the trail. I adjusted the straps of my bag and waited for Hailey and Ben to pass before following after them with Sam on my heels.
"Roy, you said you did a little hunting," Dean spoke up after 20 minutes had passed.
"Yeah, more than a little." The guide, Roy, answered.
"Uh-huh, what kind of furry critters do you hunt?"
"Mostly buck, sometimes bear."
Bear? Why bear? They were here first!
"Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi hunt you back?" I piped up. He cast me a dirty look over his shoulder.
"Sometimes." He answered before moving forward. While Roy trudged on ahead, Hailey jogged to catch up with Dean.
"You didn't pack any provisions." She accused him.
"And what do you call Pop-Tarts lady?" I argued as I came to stand next to my brother. She looked at me for second before pointing toward me.
"That's another thing, no Park Service would just let a little girl hike into dangerous territory." Hailey said using me to build her case, "Who the hell are you guys?"
Sam and Dean shared a look, and Dean nodded. Sam came around Hailey and pulled me off with him.
"Hey!" I protested, "What if he needs back-up?"
"Trust me, he's fine."
"But what about his tendency to get arrested for his smart comments?"
Sam looked back at the two of them.
"Something tells me he'll be just fine."
"After a few years in college I was hoping for something better than that."
"Well, I was almost a lawyer. If he gets himself in trouble, maybe I can get him out."
"Well that will be fun to watch, Matlock."
Sam laughed and nudged me on ahead to catch up with Ben and Roy. I cast one more look over my shoulder before trudging on ahead.
~BWLTCO~
Dean's Perspective:
"This is it." Roy announced after we had been hiking for almost two hours, "Black Water Ridge."
"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asked. Roy pulled out some kind of device, probably a GPS, and started fiddling with it.
"35 and minus 111."
Roy was right this was it. James was searching the site but playing it off more like she was just wandering around. There was definitely something off about this place, like the noises.
"You hear that?" I asked Sam.
"Yeah," Sam answered, "Not even crickets."
"I'm gonna go take a look around." Roy told the group.
"You shouldn't go off by yourself." Sam warned him. Roy chuckled.
"That's sweet." He mocked, "Don't worry about me."
He walked right in between me and Sam, making a show of moving us out of his way. Somebody certainly has some issues. But Sam was right, none of us should be going off alone. I whistled to get Jamie's attention. She looked over her shoulder and I motioned her over.
"Okay," I said getting everyone else's attention, "Everybody stays together."
They nodded and we followed after Roy. We came up onto a turned over tree when we heard Roy call out for Hailey. Hailey took off towards his voice, causing the rest of us to chase after her. We all stopped short when we came upon the ruined remains of a campsite.
"Oh, my God." Hailey breathed out.
"Looks like a Grizzly." Roy gave his expert opinion. I moved in closer and examined the bloodied tents, something just didn't set right with me about this. First, there was that guy's story about the thing unlocking his door, the too quiet forest, and now this.
"Tommy!" Hailey yelled, "Tommy! Tommy!"
Sam rushed over to her, trying to get her to be quiet.
"Dean." Jameson hissed at me. I swiveled my head in her direction. She motioned me over to where she was and led me a little away from the camp.
"What do you got, kid?"
"Tracks." She answered, she said pointing to the ground, "See, the bodies were dragged away from camp. But here, the tracks just vanish. It's totally weird right, what do you think did it?"
Jameson sounded so excited that this was turning out to be a hunt rather than a rescue mission. I should probably be concerned about this.
"Not sure yet, but it takes Skinwalker and a black dog off the table."
"Cool, so we might be entering unknown territory."
"Stop it." I told her, "Those people probably just lost their brother and we still don't know where Dad is so…stop looking so excited about this."
Jamie attempted to look sheepish, but it didn't work.
"Let's head back." I said slightly exasperated. We headed back to the others, and got there just in time to see Hailey pick something up from the dirt. It looked like some kind of phone. She didn't seem relieved to see it. "Hey, he could still be alive."
She didn't look like she believed me, but I could tell she wanted to.
"HELP!" A man's voice screamed, "Please! Somebody help me!"
Roy readied his gun before taking off towards the sound, with the rest of us following after.
"Help!" the man continued to cry. We slowed down when we reached the spot that the sound seemed to originate from.
"It seemed lie it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Hailey asked.
"Everybody back to camp." Sam said suddenly. Did he figure out what it was? We started to go back when I noticed Jameson wasn't following. She was standing in the middle of the clearing, her hand inching towards the zipper of her backpack.
"Jamie?" I asked, "What is it?"
"I think I know what it is."
~BWLTCO~
Sam's Perspective:
"Our packs." Hailey exclaimed as we came back to her brother's campsite.
"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone." Roy lamented.
"What the hell is going on?" Hailey questioned.
"It's smart," I said, "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."
"You mean someone?" Roy asked, "Some nut job out there just stole our gear."
"Sammy!" Dean called for me. I turned to see him at the edge of the campsite with Jameson. He motioned me over to the pair of them.
"Excuse me." I said to the others before walking over to my siblings. Dean led us a little deeper into the woods.
"The kid think she knows what it is." He told me, "Show him the pages, baby-girl."
Jameson held out Dad's journal and flipped to the page she wanted. She tapped down on a stick figure of a man, with Native American symbols surrounding him.
"I think it's a Wendigo." She said solemnly, but I could see hints of excitement. When she was a kid she always liked going up new monsters, it was some kind of thrill for her. But she's not wrong, I was thinking the same thing back at the campsite.
"It can't be one, can it?" Dean asked, "Wendigos are in the Minnesota Woods or Northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west.
"I think Jameson's right. There's the claws, the way it can mimic human voice."
"Great." Dean said sarcastically. He pulled out his gun, "Well, then this is useless."
I handed Jameson Dad's journal.
"We got to get these people to safety." I told my siblings. They both nodded and we headed back to camp.
"All right, listen up." Dean announced as we got back to the campsite, "It's time to go. Things have gotten more…"
"Complicated." I finished for him.
"What?" Hailey asked.
"Kid, whatever's out there I think I can handle it." Roy told Dean in a patronizing tone.
"It's not them we're worried about." I replied, 'If you shoot this thing, you're just going to make it mad. We have to leave now.
"Once, you're talking nonsense, two, you're in no position to give anybody orders."
"Relax." Dean ordered Roy, who was starting to get testy.
"We should have never let you come out in the first place, all right?' I said to Roy, "I'm trying to protect you."
"You protect me?" Roy spat, getting up in my face, "I was hunting in these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night."
"Yeah? It's a damn-near-perfect hunter. It's smarter than you. And it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here."
Roy laughs.
"You know you're crazy, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Roy laughs again.
"You know-have you ever hunted a w-"
"Chill out." Dean orders stepping in between Roy and I. Dean backs me away, making I keep my eyes on him.
"Stop it. Everybody just stop." Hailey intervenes, "Look, Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him."
Dean and I share a look, and huff.
"It's getting late," Dean says turning to the other, "This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves. James, bring the stuff."
Jameson nodded and came towards us. She slowed down as she came near Roy with narrowed eyes.
"Asshole." She mutters bumping hard into him. He's knocked off balance and land right on his ass.
"You little b-."
"Hey!" both Dean and I stop him. With a smug smile in Roy's direction, she practically skips over to us with her backpack.
~BWLTCO~
Jameson's Perspective:
As I drew the Anasazi symbols into the dirt, I could almost feel my Dad watching me to make sure I didn't screw up. Dean may have taught me how to draw them and a number of other things, but it was always Dad, who I felt when I try to recall something.
"Now what did you says these were again?" Hailey's voice interrupted the quiet of the woods.
"Anasazi symbols." Dean replied, "It's for protection. The Wendigo can't cross over them."
Roy's mocking laugh echoes through the campsite. I knew I should have kicked him the balls.
"Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy." Dean told him.
"Nobody like you period, Roy." I mumbled under my breath. I looked up from my work, and nodded in satisfaction. It would do. I looked around for my brothers and saw Dean cozying up to the Hailey girl. Blah! But Sammy, however, was off by his lonesome. Now here comes the ultimate reoccurring dilemma of my life- Girl-Crazy Dean or my moody sister Sammy? Girl-Crazy Dean or Moody Sammy? Girl Crazy or Moody?
At that moment, I saw Dean get Hailey to crack a smile and knew he would be no use to me. So it looks like I was going to have to take about feelings with Sam.
"Hey, Sasquatch," I greeted him, "What's with the long face?"
"Go back to the fire, Jamie." Sam told me tiredly, "I'm fine."
"Sure, you're fine. You know who else is fine? Dean's fine. I'm fine. And Dad's the poster child for what fine means."
Sam breathed out a laugh.
"Now, tell me what's wrong or I'll hold my breath until I'm blue."
"No, you won't you always cheat."
"I do not." I said sitting on the log with him, "So what's up?"
Sam said nothing.
"Okay then," I said taking a deep breath, before plugging me nose.
"Okay, okay." Sam gave in, "It's just that…Dad's not here. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?"
"Yeah. Maybe." I said. Until recently all he was doing was checking in every few weeks to let Dean and I know he hadn't kicked the bucket, "While we were getting firewood, Dean mentioned how he didn't even think Dad had ever been here before."
"Then what are we still even here for?" Sam asked, "Let's get this people to safety, and hit the road. Let's find Dad."
"We're here because it's our job, Sammy." I told him "Come on, you're usually Mr. Common Decency. I mean, could you really leave here, knowing people were going to die because you did nothing?"
I took Sam's hung head and silence as an agreement.
"And about this whole finding Dad thing…We're not going to find him until he wants to be found. Think about it, he left Dean his journal. That's his most prize possession, I think he might even love it more than us. Did you know, I actually caught Dad sleeping with that thing?"
Sam chuckled.
"I think it means he wants us to pick up where he left off before disappearing. You know, the whole thing, saving people, hunting things. Because we're not going to find him, until he's ready for us to."
"When did you get so smart?" Sam asked.
"I watch a lot of Full House." I replied. Sam chuckled for a moment, before turning grim.
"James, I got to find Dad. I got to find Jess' killer."
"I know." I said leaning my head on his arm, "But like I said we're not going to find Dad, until he wants us to. So buck up Sammy, we've got people to save and things to hunt."
"Yeah." Sam agreed.
"And if that doesn't work, whiskey seems to help."
Sam snorted.
"And what do you know about whiskey?' He asked. I open my mouth to reply, but I'm cut off by a scream from the woods.
"Help me!"
Sam and I both jump up and join the others near the campfire. Roy is cocking his gun and Dean for a lack of the better weapon has his out too. Sam flashes his light out into the woods looking for any sign of movement.
"Help!" the man's voice screamed again.
"It's trying to draw us out. Just stat cool." Dean told the others, "Stay put."
"Inside the magic circle?" Roy asked sarcastically.
"I will kick him the balls, if he says one more thing." I whispered to Sam.
"Shh…" Sam hushed.
"Help!" the voice called. There was a rustling in the woods, followed by a loud inhuman growl.
"Okay, that's no grizzly." Roy said leveling his gun. Well no freaking duh, you idiot. The rustling and animals like noise cut out leaving us in loud silence.
"We'll be all right. I promise." I heard Hailey say to her little brother. There's a swishing noise, and another growl. This time it was closer than before. I reached down to pull out my pure silver hunting knife from my boot.
There were most rustling noises, right at the tree line of the campsite. I heard Roy fire off a shot. Then another, and another. The creature let out a piercing pained screech.
"I hit it." Roy announced before charging into the woods.
"Roy, no!" Dean yelled after him, "Roy!"
Dean turned back to Hailey and Ben.
"You two, don't move. Jamie stay here with them."
I nodded and watched as Sam and Dean went crashing after Roy. I went over to the fire and dipped a stick in and held it up as a torch. I still couldn't see much, but I could hear Roy shouting the Wendigo was in the trees and the sounds of people running through the woods.
"Roy!" I heard Dean yell. But there was no reply. Moments later the boys came trudging back to camp.
"He's gone." Sam announced.
~Wayward Tales~
Dean's Perspective:
"I don't-I mean, these types of things-," Hailey stuttered trying to comprehend what had happened the night before. "They aren't supposed to be real."
I heard Jameson snort behind me, and I resisted the urge to hit her upside her head again. Just because this was her normal, doesn't mean that everyone is stupid for not believing in the boogie-man.
"Hey, Jamie, how about you find us some wood for torches okay?"
Jamie smirked knowingly before saluting me and disappearing into the woods. I then turned to Hailey to respond to her the-supernatural-is-real crisis
"I wish I could tell you different, that none of this is real or it's just a prank, but…" I said inspecting a tree, where I thought the Wendigo was hiding last night.
"How do we know it's not out there watching us?"
"We don't." I said coming over crouch down next to Hailey, "But we're safe for now."
"How do you know about this stuff?" she asked.
"It kind of runs in the family." I told her before getting up to go check on a few other spots.
"Hey," I heard Sam say, coming back from his scouting mission, "So, we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one, want to kill this evil son-of-a-bitch."
"Well, hell, you know I'm in." I told him.
"All right, so what do we do?" Hailey asked him. Sam held Dad's journal up.
"First, we'll tell you what it is and its weakness." Sam told her, before looking around, "Wait, where's Jamie?"
"Getting some wood for torches." I answered. Sam gave me a confused look, so I motioned towards Hailey and Ben, trying to explain that Jamie was giving them attitude. He nodded, and gave another concerned look towards the woods, "She's fine. Besides if the Wendigo takes, he'll just bring her right back once she opens her mouth."
Sam rolled his eyes before opening the journal. He motions for Hailey and Ben to come closer. They get up and walk over to Sam and look over the pages.
"Wendigo is actually a Cree Indian Word. It means, "Evil that Devours." Sam explained.
"They're hundreds of years old." I jumped in, "Each one was once a man, sometimes an Indian or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter. "
"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Hailey asked
"Well, it's always the same. During some harsh winder a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help, becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."
"Like the Donner party." Ben says.
"That's right." Sam confirms, "Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities—speed, strength, immortality."
"If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less-than-human thing." I add, "You're always hungry."
"So, if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Hailey inquires. I share a look with Sam and he indicates for me to go for it.
"You're not going to like it." I tell Hailey.
"Tell me."
"More than anything, a Wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time. When it's awake, it keeps its victims alive. It stores them so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. And we got to track it back there."
"And then how do we stop it?"
"Why do you think I had the Squirt get sticks for torches?" I asked her, "Guns and knives are pretty much useless with this thing."
"We're going to have to t-." Sam started to say, but was cut off by a girl's scream. I could practically feel my blood turn into ice, at the piercing sound.
"Jamie." I said before running into the woods. Her cries echo through the woods, "Jamie!"
"Jamie!" I hear Sam yell behind me. I ran until I spotted some blue on the ground- Jameson's backpack. I picked it up and spun around and around looking for some sign of my sister.
"JAMESON!"
~BWLTCO~
It was my fault. The last thing Dad said to me before he went on his trip was take of your little sister. I just needed a minute, to help Hailey, to get a break from Jamie's attitude, just a minute. And now…if she dies it's all my fault. My little sister who I taught how to use a gun, a knife, how to fight, what good music actually is. Whose nightmares I chased away, whose cuts and bruises I cleaned up, who was dependent upon for everything. And I let her down, all because I wanted some time with a girl and a moment of peace. How was I ever going to face Dad again knowing I killed his little girl?
"It's not your fault, Dean." Sam said coming alongside me as we looked around the clearing for any sign of where Jameson had been taken. Hailey and Ben had caught up to us and were helping us search.
"That's where you're wrong, Sammy." I confesses as I straightened up from my crouch, "We didn't really need any wood for torches. She was just being snotty to Hailey, and I just wanted a damn…It's my fault."
With a sniff I went over to another area to search.
"It's not like you meant for her to be taken. Jameson knows that."
"But I knew it was a possibility, like I know it's a possibility that anyone of us can be taken right now. She's my responsibility, and I let her down."
"Dea-."
"Guys, we think we found something." Hailey called us over. Sam and I rushed over to see what they had found. We saw Ben crouched over a few broken branches holding up an M&M. He then pointed to see another one not too far off. I patted my pocket where I had stored my candy, but it was empty.
"That little squirt took my M&Ms." I said indignantly, but in all actuality I couldn't be more relieved. She had left us a trail.
"Follow the M&M brick road." Sam joked darkly.
~BWLTCO~
Sam's Perspective:
The four of us followed a trail of Peanut M&Ms through the woods. Luckily Dean had gotten the King-sized pack or Jamie would have run out of M&Ms now. The kid's pretty smart for coming up with this. We came upon a small ridge like place near the foot of a mountain.
"Oh my, god!" Hailey exclaimed pointing down the slope. I followed her finger to an old abandoned mine, and hanging in front of the boarded up entrance was Roy, "I thought you said it was saving its victims, why would it kill Roy?"
"Probably because he shot at it. Pissed him off." Dean answered her before leaning in towards me, "It's dark and hidden. Perfect place for a Wendigo to hide."
I nodded. It was the perfect place. And it fits with the lore-an old miner. And all of the keep out signs would keep him virtually undetected for decades.
"Come on, let's go check it out." I said to others. They all nodded and we tentatively headed down the slope to the mine. We gave Roy's body a wide berth as we made our way to the entrance of the mine.
Once we reached the entrance of the mine, Dean pulled out a flashlight from his pocket and peeked into the mine. He then stepped inside to give it a more thorough look. A moment later he popped his head out and motioned for us to come in.
Dean led us down the mine shaft, following the old track line. We had only gone maybe a hundred feet when we heard a low growling noise. We all stopped and looked around. I saw a side corridor and herded everyone else into it. We pressed ourselves against the wall as the creature passed. It was the first time I had gotten a good look at the Wendigo. It was tall with long arms and claws. All traces of the man it was before had disappeared.
After the beast passed we waited a few more moments before creeping out of our hiding place. Dean motioned for us to go the way the monster had just come from assuming that's where we would find Jamie and maybe Tommy.
We followed the path from a couple more yards when the ground beneath us was no longer solid ground, but creaking wood. Ben was behind me, and I heard him walk on particularly loud spot, before the ground went out from under me. I crashed through the wood and landed on my back a floor below.
"Sam!" Dean whispered yelled down to me.
"Ben, are you okay?" I head Hailey ask in concern. I looked to my side to see Ben had come down with me.
"Yeah, we're okay." I replied for the both us.
"Oh my, god!" Ben exclaimed before clambering away from something. I grabbed him, and pulled him away only to see old remains of the Wendigo's previous meals, "You're okay."
He nodded, and looked towards me. His face then grew solemn, and he pointed behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Jamie dangling from the ceiling by her arms.
"Jamie!"
"What?" Jamie?" I heard Dean call down.
"She's here, Dean we found her." I replied, standing up.
"We're going to find a way down."
"Okay."
I moved over towards my sister. She seems to have passed out, probably form the way she was being dangled from the ceiling. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a knife. I wrapped an arm around her waist, and then with my other arm reached up to saw at the rope holding her up.
When I cut through the last of the rope, her upper body draped over my back. I moved a few steps back towards the light from the hole, so I could get a better look at her face. She had a few scratches on her face and I noticed a few on her hands as well. I held a finger under her nose to check her breathing and it seemed pretty normal.
"Hey Jamie," I whispered, shaking her a bit, "You need to wake up."
Her face scrunched up, but she kept her eyes closed. I heard the sound of something hit the ground, and saw a rope from above. Seconds later, Dean was starting his descent. When he reached the ground, he looked around for me and Jamie. Once he saw us, he came over, with an unreadable expression on her face.
"I'll take her," he said holding his arms out. I shifted her slightly, so I could slip her into Dean's arms. He immediately cradled her to his chest. His stone expression slipping for a moment to reveal pure relief. "Hey kid, time to get up."
Jameson mumbled something I couldn't quite make out. But it made the corner of Dean's mouth twitch in amusement.
"Jamie, come on." Dean tried again. There was a huff and Jamie blinked her eyes open. She then looked around in confusion.
"This doesn't look like The Lake Motel." She said hoarsely. Dean snorted, but he sounded more relieved than amused.
"Are you okay?" Dean asked, lowering her legs to help her stand.
"Just peachy." She said with all the Deanish attitude she could muster.
"Great." Dean said, before giving her fake stern look, "You owe me some M&Ms."
Jameson rolled her eyes, but then clutched her head in pain.
"Okay, from now on Sammy if I point to you, roll your eyes." Jameson said closing her eyes. "I'm just going to sit down until the world stops spinning and I can feel my arms again."
"Tommy!" Hailey yelped, breaking into our family moment. Dean and I's heads shoot up towards Hailey. She's standing across the way in front of another dangling body. It doesn't look like he's quite breathing. Hailey starts crying and moved to cup her brother's face, "Tommy."
Suddenly Tommy jerks awake gasping for air, causing Hailey to scream and jump back.
"Cut him down." Hailey orders. I nod and go to release her brother from his holdings. Hailey and Ben catch him once he's free. They help him sit down.
"Watch his legs." I tell Hailey. He had been hanging for days, it would take a while before he would gain feeling in his limbs. The family had their little reunion, promising Tommy they would get him home.
"Hey, check it out." Dean called for our attention. We all look towards him and see him and Jamie holding up a couple of things. "Flare guns."
"Those will work." I confirmed. I then looked down at my sister who was spinning her gun around her fingers like the Cowboys in all those Westerns she watches. "Let's kill the beast."
~BWLTCO~
Jameson's Perspective:
Since I was kidnapped by the Wendigo, Dean said I could have one of the flare guns. And if I saw a chance, that sucker was going to be barbequed like chicken on the 4th of July.
We all climbed out of the pit that the monster had stuck Tommy and I in, and headed towards where the rescue party had last seen the Wendigo. But I have a feeling if we made it to the exit first before seeing the monster very few of us would complain. Okay, maybe I would be the only one that complained.
As we turned down another corridor, a low growl echoed through the mine.
"Looks like someone's home for supper." Dean joked darkly.
"We'll never outrun it." Hailey said pessimistically.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Dean asked Sam.
"Yeah, I think so." Sam replied.
"All right, listen to me, "Dean spoke up, taking the lead so we could all see him, "Stay with Sam. He's gonna get you out of here. "
"What are you gonna do?" Hailey asked, but I already knew his answer. And I didn't like it. Dean winked at her, before striding ahead.
"It's chow time, you freaking bastard!" Dean bellowed down the mine shaft, "Yeah, that's right! Bring it on, baby! I tasted good!"
I watched as he disappeared down another passage way, motioning for us to get lost. I let the others pull ahead and follow Sam down another path. Once I felt like they were a good enough aways ahead, I headed in the direction Dean went.
"Jameson!" I heard Sam hissed, but I ignored him. I knew he wouldn't come after me, he would do his job and get those people out. While I did my job-watching Dean's back.
Dean was easy to track; he was certainly making enough of a racket. I finally found him walking down some old mine cart tracks.
"Hey, you want some white meat, bitch!" Dean taunted.
"How about a Happy Meal!" I yelled too. Dean spun around.
"Jameson?" He hissed, "You're supposed to be with Sam."
I ignored him.
"I bet I taste great with a side of barbeque." I continued to taunt the Wendigo.
"She's kidding. She'll taste awful like sass and sarcasm."
"Well I bet he tastes like a high school drop-out."
Dean narrows his eyes, and makes a "come over here" motion with his hands. I smile at him triumphantly before walking over to him. He keeps a hand on my shoulder as we continue down the passageways, keeping an ear out for the growling of the Wendigo.
"There." I said pointing down a corridor, I could hear faint snarling sounds coming from that direction. Dean nodded and we headed down the path. As we walked the sound kept getting louder and louder. We finally caught sight of the beast standing before Sammy and others who had come to a dead end, "Dean."
He holds a finger up to his lips, signaling for me to be quiet. The creature creeps closer, and Dean keeps waiting, until the monster is fully exposed.
"Hey!" he commands, stepping out from the passage way, flare gun drawn. The Wendigo turns its head with a snarl. "No one touches my sister, you son of a bitch."
He fires the flare right into the Wendigo's stomach. The creature stumbles back as fire bursts from his stomach. Within seconds its whole body is roasting. The Wendigo's screeching cries of pain, last until there's nothing left but a charred shell.
"Not bad, huh?' Dean asks.
~BWLTCO~
Dean's Perspective:
We hiked all day back to the cars. As we hiked Sam and I came up with the cover story for Hailey and her brothers to tell everyone. We had been all attacked by a grizzly. Not the truth, but a story most people would be able to swallow.
Once we reached the cars, Hailey called into the park ranger station to have a paramedic meet her there for Tommy. Since we had an excuse I was even thinking about making the Squirt get checked out. But in the end that was not a battle I would have won. And I was just so relieved to her have her back, that I let her sit up front. She curled into my side on the drive down to the station, without saying a word.
When we go to the station she stayed with the Impala, while Sam I talked to the rangers and the police. But I always made sure to keep her in my line of sight.
"So, really, I don't know how to thank-you," Hailey said to me once things were beginning to calm down. I smiled suggestively at her. She gave me a look, "Must you cheapen the moment.
"Yeah." I said with a laugh, leaning against the Impala. She smiled. I straighten up when I saw a paramedic come up behind her. Hailey turned to look to see who was coming.
"You riding with your brother?" she asked.
"Yeah," Hailey answered. Ben and Sam came up at the moment. Hailey touched Ben's arm "Let's go."
The kid nodded, obviously drained from the last few days. Hailey turned back to me and leaned in to kiss my cheek.
"I hope you find your father." She said sincerely. I nodded. She then wrapped her arm around Ben's shoulder and walked past Sam, "Thanks Sam."
Sam nodded at them as they passed. He then came and leaned against the Impala next to me. We watched them leave in the ambulance to get Tommy some medical attention.
"Man, I hate camping." I said as a I watched them leave.
"And how." Jameson commented, sticking her head out of the driver's side window between Sam and I, "Let's never do it again, agreed?"
"Agreed." Sam said with a chuckle. I sighed and leaned back against the car again.
"We're going to find Dad, Sam, I promise."
"No we're not." Sam replied, "He'll find us. But in the meantime we've got a job to do. And…I'm driving."
I exhaled loudly and reluctantly tossed him the keys to the car.
"How come he gets to drive?" Jamie whined.
"Because he has a driver's license."
"Sooo…..?" Jameson questioned, "He drives like my grandma."
"Your grandma's dead."
"Exactly."
"Get in the back, Squirt." I said opening the front passage door.
"I almost died today." She complained, as she crawled over the seat. "I should get something."
"How about a break from AC/DC?" Sam asked her getting in the front. Jameson gasped.
"Blasphemy." She replied. Sam and I chuckle.
"And you didn't almost die, I would have never let that happen." I told her.
"I know." She says suddenly serious, "That's why I wasn't scared. I knew you were coming for me, you'll always come for me."
I felt a lump forming in my throat as my sister's words sink in.
"That I will, kid, that I will."
~BWLTCO~
Winchesters back in the day!