In answer to Kythira's review- I totally made the town up. Though if you squint, it might be the town where my grandparents live, just on the opposite side of the country and further in the mountains. Plus more supernatural creatures and minus several furniture outlets.
Dean's phone rang, yanking him out of an amazing dream that was mostly pie. It beeped to say he'd missed a call, then again a minute later to say he had a voicemail.
"What the hell Dean? Why didn't you answer that?" Sam asked sleepily. Dean rolled over and mumbled incoherently.
"What if it had been important?" Sam asked as he put in the PIN-7437-which spelled out PIES. "I mean, how many people have this number?"
"Apparently that kid." Dean said as the voicemail played. Instead of Bobby or Jo like Sam was expecting or John like Dean was hoping, it was some kid they didn't know.
"Sam, Dean, hi. Look, you don't know me, but I need help, from one hunter to another. I'm out in Ember Isle, Washington, near the border. When and if you get here, find the pie shop and tell Clara you're there to see Milo. She'll give you room keys to the bed and breakfast. You can stay for as long as you want, just until I can get a break from classes." There was a crash and snarling in the background. "Oh hell, thought I killed that."
"How did he get that number?" Dean asked, "And where are you going?"
"Uh, Ember Isle, Washington. Dean, he's a hunter and he asked for our help, we can't just say no." Sam said.
"The hell we can't." Dean said, looking up to see Sam had brought out the puppy eyes. "Okay, fine, but why can't we wait until morning?"
"Dean-" Sam started.
"Fine! But you're driving."
"So what do we know about Ember Isle?" Sam asked.
"Well for one thing it's not actually an isle." Dean said, "But past that there's nothing on it. Ash can't find anything weird about the place, or any recent demonic activity in the area, and Dad hasn't said anything about it in here. Why would he ask for help if he lives in a relatively normal, un-supernatural town?"
"He might be the only hunter there, and didn't feel like talking about the problem around other people. Probably didn't feel like getting committed. It's not fun. We should know."
"Next exit." Dean said, simultaneously consulting their map and the journal. He flipped to the page with the wendigo drawing on it. Those were good days; not the getting kidnapped by the wendigo part, but still some good days.
An old newspaper clipping about a string of disappearances and the finding of horribly mutilated corpses around Bear Creek.
"Why would dad keep this?" Dean asked, more to himself than Sam. The clipping had to be 50 years old; surely by now Bear Creek's problem had been solved. But there was a note paperclipped to the page in John's handwriting reminding himself to check the place out as soon as possible.
"I don't know. He probably had a good reason, so put it back."
"You think Clara in the pie shop would let me have a pie or two?" Sam rolled his eyes.
"Milo, what's up with you? You act like you've seen a ghost." Noah said. Milo snorted.
If only he knew, he thought. Milo had been investigating the rumors of ghosts in the school basement and found they were spot-on. It had taken him forever to find their anchors, and in the end he'd only gotten two of them. That still left four to deal with.
Milo could tell Noah was purposefully walking slow so he wouldn't get left behind. That night had left Milo with more than just badass scars on the back of his leg; it had left him with a pronounced limp. On the one hand, it'd gotten him out of the required gym class for freshmen. On the flip side of that coin, the physical therapy had put him out of commission for a year, making him have to start college a year late.
"Nah, I just saw two freshmen girls about to claw each other's eyes out. Those chicks are vicious." Milo said.
"I bet you saw Miranda Tate hanging around the Science Wing again." Noah teased.
"God, I still can't believe she screwed up my project that badly. Thought I'd never fix it." Milo jumped at the opportunity to divert the conversation; he really did not need Noah to find out about his other life.
"You still coming to Professor Reyes lecture?" Noah asked.
"Maybe; I don't know. Are you?" Noah knew that Milo's 'maybes' were usually always 'nos' in disguise, and not for the first time, he wondered what it was he did by himself.
"I guess, I need the extra credit. I'll be seeing you, Milo."
Milo hated how his hunting career always got in the way of his normal life, and he really hated how he knew it would one day take over like a virus and kill his career as an archaeologist, if he even got that far.
Milo headed across campus to the dorms, hoping Sam and Dean had come. He stepped over his salt line inside the door and picked up his phone from the foot of his bed. There was a new text from Zane: 'Rm 109. You owe me pie.'
He'd sent it over an hour ago. Milo grabbed his bag and headed back out the door, praying to anonymous higher powers they would know what to do.