A/N: A few people seem to be enjoying this so far, and that makes me really happy! I have a lot of plans for the future of this fic, so I'm really hoping everyone sticks with me. I'm doing my best to put out these chapters once or twice a week to get things moving. Sorry this one took a little longer, I was figuring out which direction I wanted to take it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OC, Katherine.
Blackwater Ridge, Colorado
"Dude, you're cheating."
"No, you just suck."
Two young men sat in a tent, battling each other in some video game, both unaware of the danger that lurked in the forest just outside. Another tent was set up just across from theirs, where a third young man sat alone, recording a video on his phone.
"Hey, Haley!" The man, Tom, grinned into the camera. "Day six. We're still out near Blackwater Ridge." He chuckled, taking no notice of the dark figure running by his tent. "We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow." He stopped the recording and sent the message.
Back in the other tent, one of the men, Brad, shut his game system rather angrily and tossed it aside, turning to unzipping the tent and leave.
The last man was Gary, who turned to give his friend a confused look. "Hey, where ya goin'? My moment of victory."
"Nature calls." Brad gave him a glare, before heading out of the tent and zipping it shut again, moving to a nearby tree. He moved to unzip his pants and stopped when he heard the snap of a twig. He paused for just a second to look around, then went about his business. There was another snap and he looked up; all there was were a few rustling leaves.
He tried to ignore all of the sounds, but he couldn't ignore it anymore when something started growling.
Tom laid in his tent, his attention now on a book, when he heard Brad scream. He sat up when he heard Gary call out their friend's name, furrowing his brow. "Gary, what's going on?"
Gary carefully unzipped the tent, peeking out and looking around. He heard the same growl as Brad and looked up, unable to really even register whatever the hell he was seeing before it yanked him out of the tent as he screamed.
Now Tom was on alert, knowing something bad was happening, so he quickly reached over to turn off the lantern in hopes that whatever was out there wouldn't know he was there. A growling shadow moved around his tent at inhuman speed, while he twisted around and around trying to keep track of it. There was a pause, a sign that maybe it had left.
Suddenly, claws came up to rip open the tent and the thing came in.
The third scream was Tom's.
They stayed in Stanford for one week. Four days of that week had been out of necessity; they couldn't high-tail it out of there right after Jess died without looking suspicious, and Sam sure as hell wasn't leaving without a proper goodbye. Dean and Kat didn't plan to force him to go or leave without him. They stayed with him, through the more thorough police questioning, through the funeral, through the burial, through the gathering afterwards. Dean wore the suit that he usually used when posing as an FBI agent, Kat wore a black dress that she usually used when cheating drunk men at a game of pool.
Sam didn't cry again. Sometimes Kat saw tears filling his eyes, but the anger that lurked beneath was too strong to let a single one drop. Her comforts became useless for him because of the sadness he wouldn't let himself feel. When she came up and stroked his shoulder towards the end of the funeral, he didn't acknowledge her. When she took his hand as Jessica's coffin was lowered into the ground, his fingers stayed limp in her grasp. She understood and did her best not to feel hurt by it; it wasn't some grudge or the long time apart that made him cold, but the pain that he couldn't let himself feel.
Dean wasn't the touchy-feely type, at least on the outside, instead choosing to stay back and let Sam hurt while Kat tried. He stayed in the back row or under a nearby tree, depending on the venue. The most he did was give Sam's shoulder a squeeze before they left the cemetery, a gesture that was profound coming from him, his own equivalent of hugging Sam for hours upon hours. Afterwards, during the gathering, he guzzled down at least four beers to avoid feeling his baby brother's pain. Sometimes Kat would take his hand, too, when she needed a little support to get through the next five minutes. He squeezed back, just slightly and just once, because he needed it more than he thought she knew.
That was just four days. The other three days of that week were an even purer hell that Dean and Kat hadn't expected. Sam's anger came out full force, sure that what killed Jess was the same thing that got to their mother, and sure that he could track the son of a bitch down and get rid of him. It didn't matter if Dean reminded him that their father had yet to find him after over twenty years or if Kat gently told him to rest for a minute. He ignored them, still scouring the town for other clues and searching every nook and cranny for that thing. At one point, they sneaked into Sam's old apartment to find something — anything — and Dean had muttered to Kat about how they were 'becoming fucking enablers', but they both knew it didn't matter if they enabled him or not. Sam wouldn't listen to reason.
Until he did. They looked everywhere and exhausted every option, and Sam finally admitted defeat after those three days. If only because he was tired. His emotions were drained. Dean even convinced him that they needed to find John if they ever wanted to find the thing that most likely killed Jess. They packed up that night and left for Blackwater Ridge, Colorado.
Now they were still in the car, Dean driving as usual, Sam passed out in the front seat, and Kat reading some horrible, trashy book that Dean had bought at a gas station when she requested something to keep her occupied on the trip.
"How are, uh, Fabian and Hilda?"
Kat looked up, meeting Dean's eyes in the rearview mirror briefly. "It's actually Lorenzo and Blanche, and they're not great. Way too many mentions of Blanche's 'love pillows' or, if you will, her 'pleasure globes'." She smiled slightly when Dean laughed.
"I can't believe girls read that shit—"
"You bought it for me."
"—when it's so lame. No guys act like that—"
"You also watch porn."
"—and is it that hard to call them a nice, big pair of—"
Sam suddenly jumped awake, startling Dean enough to make him stop talking. Kat quickly closed her book, while Dean glanced over at his brother with surprise and concern. "You okay?"
"—yeah, I'm fine," Sam lied obviously, blinking tiredly.
Dean nodded. "Another nightmare?"
He had been having nightmares the past week, but he refused to tell them about it. Dean didn't really ask and Kat wasn't sure if he just no longer felt comfortable telling her things, or if it was so terrifying that he couldn't even tell her.
"You know, you can tell us about it." Maybe she was being a little pushy. All she knew was that she didn't like Sam bottling up his pain; even after their time apart, she was so used to him opening up to her. She hated the thought of him being scared or upset because of whatever dreams he was having.
All he did was clear his throat, so Dean made an offer in hopes of comforting him in his own special Dean-like way, "You wanna drive for a while?" The question didn't exactly have rainbows and kittens appearing, but it did get Sam to laugh a little, which was a definite plus.
"Dean, your whole life, you never once asked me that."
"Really?" Kat set the book aside, leaning forward. "After you left, Dean tried to teach me how to drive."
Sam let out another little laugh, looking at her. "You're kidding me, right? He probably wouldn't let Louis Chevrolet touch this car."
"No, seriously...okay, well, John kinda made him do it, just in case they were both hurt and needed someone to drive them. Or if they needed a getaway driver."
"It was also one lesson. One. And it's never going to happen again." He met Kat's eyes in the mirror, serious rather than teasing like before. "Ever."
"What? Did she get a scratch on the door or something?"
"Oh, please. He had me drive at a solid two miles per hour, then he kinda freaked out when I stopped fifty feet from a pole."
"Fifty feet too close to a pole." Even Dean and Kat's relationship, which was at least a little closer than the Impala and that pole had been, wasn't above his love for his father's car. He quickly changed the subject, tone defensive as he looked at Sam, "Just thought you might want to drive. Never mind."
Sam sighed. "Look, man, you're worried about it. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."
"Mhm."
They both knew he wasn't perfectly okay. He could have been okay in the moment, but no one is perfectly okay after everything he went through.
Sam sighed again, yanking a map off the dashboard. "Alright, where are we?"
"We are just outside of Grand Junction." Dean sounded less than thrilled. He wasn't a 'Grand Junction' kind of guy.
"—maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon." After finally dragging Sam out of that place, Dean and Kat couldn't help their reactions. He just barely kept from rolling his eyes and she let out a sigh.
"Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica—"
"We gotta find Dad first." Sam finished easily. Dean had probably said it a hundred times during their last few days in Stanford before he finally listened, so it wasn't hard to remember it word for word.
"Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years? It's no coincidence. Dad'll have answers. He'll know what to do."
"It's weird, man..." Sam looked over the map, brow furrowed. "These coordinates he left us, this...Blackwater Ridge."
"What about it?"
"There's nothing there. It's just...woods." He put the map in his lap. "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"
"He could be hiding out in the woods," Kat said, leaning forward to rest on the back of the front seat. "It's inconspicuous enough, and whatever he's running from probably wouldn't look there."
Sam and Dean looked at each other in thought, before the latter shook his head. "Nah, that'd be too easy."
"Okay, maybe he carved coordinates into a single, specific tree and we have to find it."
"Jesus Christ, Kat," Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes as Sam let out a laugh. "At least you made Sammy happy."
"Hey, pull in here." Sam nodded towards a ranger station. "Maybe we can find something Dad left or...I don't know. Maybe there's something here that's some sort of hint. Something he knows we'd know."
Dean just shrugged and nodded, pulling up to the station. He didn't exactly have any better ideas on what the hell to do now that they were there; in Jericho, they had the hunt as a lead, but all they had was the location in Colorado. The boys got out at the same time, while Kat got out a second later, looking around.
"Have I ever mentioned that I don't really like forests? There's something so...Jason Voorhees about them."
"Come on, all we've been through, and you think we couldn't take down Jason?" Dean lead their little group into the station, which seemed to be empty at the moment.
"We would kill him and he would just keep getting back up. It's his thing." Kat moved to join Sam at a 3D map of the forest that was in the center of the room. "This is unexpectedly cool for a place like this."
"Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote..." Sam tilted his head as he looked at the map, moving to lean on it. "It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."
"Check out the size of this fucking bear." Dean was standing across the room, his hands in his jacket pockets, looking at a picture. Sam gave him a look, but Kat wasn't one to miss out on large bears. Unless they were actually there. So she moved over to look at the picture with him, actually a little impressed by a bear in the photo which was at least three times the size of the man posing with it.
"Too bad he killed it."
"Better than having it rip his guts out. Or ours."
"I guess." She had to agree with him. With the size of that bear, it could easily tear apart the whole station to get to them if it were still around.
Sam moved over to them with a sigh, his arms crossed. "And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure." He was pretty good at being calm and comforting, but everyone had their slip ups now and then.
"I like bears, but really from more of a respectable distance—"
"You three aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" That was a new voice, and they quickly spun around to see a ranger standing there with a cup of coffee.
Dean opened and closed his mouth a couple times while trying to figure out a lie, but Sam quickly intervened, "Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper."
"Yeah." Kat nodded, putting on a bright smile. She was no stranger to lying, having probably done it a thousand times while hunting. "We're writing a paper about...mankind's effect on our national forests."
"Recycle, man." Apparently that was all Dean could muster, raising his fist and chuckling.
"Bull." The ranger didn't even believe them for a second. Sam swallowed and looked at Kat, whose smile fell, and Dean, who stared at the ranger nervously. "You're friends with that Hayley girl, right?"
There was a pause before Dean took the opportunity to find out what the hell the ranger was talking about with a simple, "Yes." He moved over to the desk as the ranger stepped behind it, Sam and Kat following. "Yes, we are. Ranger—" He glanced at the man's nametag quickly. "—Wilkinson."
Ranger Wilkinson smirked, shaking his head. "Well, I'll tell you exactly what we told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the twenty-fourth, so it's not exactly a missing persons, now is it?" That could definitely be of interest. A missing person was sometimes just a missing person, but more often than not, it went deeper than that. Dean shook his head, almost humoring the man. "Tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine." The ranger moved out from behind the desk.
"We will. Well, that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?"
"That is putting it mildly."
"Actually, you know what would help," Dean moved closer to the ranger, "is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother's return date."
Sam and Kat looked at each other, both a little confused. They stood back and watched as the ranger went about getting a copy of the permit for Dean. Once it was in his hands, he didn't even say another word before walking out of the station, leaving the other two to catch up with him.
He looked at the paper, chuckling. "Yeah."
"Are you cruisin' for a hookup or something?" Sam asked, shaking his head a bit disapprovingly.
"What do you mean?"
"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for?" He was clearly pissed and impatient, more than likely because of the vengeance he felt. The need to find John, and find that demon, and get rid of it for good. "Let's just go find Dad." He moved around to his side of the car, his tone growing even more exasperated. "I mean, why even talk to this girl?"
"He's right, Dean." Kat walked to the back door of the Impala as Dean went to the driver's side, stopping with her hand on the door handle to look up at him. "First of all, this girl could be, like, twelve for all we know. So...gross. Second of all, what's the point? Her brother could not even be missing, and if he is, it might not be something of our...expertise."
"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" He shrugged, looking back and forth between them both like they were insane. "If we're gonna be wandering around the forest looking for Dad..." Silence fell over the group as they let his fair point settle. He took the moment to look at Sam in confusion.
"—what?"
"Since when are you all shoot first, ask questions later anyway?" He leaned on the roof of the car.
Sam stared at him, calm and serious. "Since now." He opened the car door to get in.
"Oh, really?" Dean grinned and nodded in approval as he climbed into the car.
Kat cast Sam a sympathetic look, one that still stayed in her gaze even after she was in the backseat of the car and Dean had started the engine. The older Winchester, who was definitely a shoot-first-ask-questions-later person, was too proud of Sam for really getting into their hunting life to realize just why his brother was like that. All he wanted was to get revenge for what that demon did to Jess; his pain and his misery made him want to shoot first and ask questions later.
She reached forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. He had been staring out the window, but quickly turned to look at her hand when he felt it, then looked up at her. "What?"
"—a bug. Sorry." She pulled her hand away. Despite spending the week together and all the little comforts she tried to give him, things were a little...awkward. Perhaps not awkward so much as weird. Sure, they could all laugh together sometimes, and have normal moments, and be around each other without total weirdness, but things were pretty strained. They still weren't close, their newfound friendship not even half of what it was. Sam was too closed off and focused on getting things done, while Kat had felt the distance during their time apart and had that empty part Sam left filled with Dean. She still had room for Sam, but neither of them were quite ready yet. The two brothers were still strained, too, falling into some old routines and yet still having the wedge of time and abandonment between them.
Kat — and Dean — still cared about Sam very much, though, and would have gladly opened up about how she knew he was hurting because of Jess. But she was beginning to realize there wasn't really a point. He would brush it off, Dean would get awkward, and it would be a whole useless mess. It wasn't worth it. Needed, yes. Worth it, no. Their relationship wouldn't be repaired over the comfort she tried to give, at least not at this point.
It wasn't too long before Dean pulled up to the address that was on the permit. Kat got out of the car, looking up at the house. "What's the lie this time?"
Dean shrugged as he stepped out. "We're writing a paper on missing men in national forests?"
"Or...the ranger sent us to get information about her brother?"
"I mean...I guess that works, too." He gave her a grin, walking with her up to the front door of the house. Sam lagged behind a little, but made it behind them by the time Dean knocked on the wooden frame of the outer screen door. A girl soon opened the wooden door behind it, eyeing them a bit suspiciously. "You must be Haley Collins. I'm Dean, this is Kat, and that's Sam," He gestured to them, Sam nodding and Kat smiling. "We're, uh, rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. He wanted us to ask a few questions about your brother Tommy."
Haley looked them over, seeming indecisive for a moment. "—lemme see some ID."
"Oh." Dean felt around, before pulling out an ID that pretty clearly wasn't his, holding it up to the screen for her to see. "Here ya go."
Haley looked at the ID, then at Dean, who gave her a smile. She didn't seem entirely convinced and pushed open the screen door a bit begrudgingly. "Come on in."
"Thanks." They started to move in.
"That yours?" Haley caught a glimpse of the Impala.
Sam glanced back and Dean smiled proudly. "Yeah."
"Nice car." She smirked, turning and walking into the house.
Dean started to follow, pausing for just a moment to turn and look at Sam, mouthing 'oh, man' to make it obvious how hot she was and how hot it was that she liked his beloved car.
Sam rolled his eyes, looking at Kat, who nodded in solidarity with him. "I know." She stepped into the house, looking around a bit, before her eyes landed on a what looked to be a teen boy sitting at a dining table. "Hey," she gave him a soft smile as she walked over to stand next to Dean.
"Hey." He wasn't very talkative, which wasn't odd considering Haley had disappeared into the kitchen and he was mostly alone with three strangers.
"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam went to the other side of the table, slipping into his role easily as he recalled the bit of information the ranger gave them.
Haley stepped out of the kitchen, placing some bowls of food on the table. "He checks in every day by cell. He emails, photos, stupid little videos—we haven't heard anything in over three days now."
"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception." It was like a game of Guess Who. They would ask questions, weigh the options, remember some details and cancel out others, until they figured out the situation.
"He's got a satellite phone, too." Haley walked back into the kitchen.
"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?"
The boy at the table just about dropped his utensil, practically glaring at Dean. "He wouldn't do that."
Dean stared right back until the kid turned away.
"Our parents are gone." Haley put more dishes of food on the table. "It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other." She looked at the boy, letting them know that he was the other brother.
"Can I see the pictures he sent you?"
"Yeah." Haley moved to a computer at the other end of the table, letting Sam sit in front of it as she pulled up pictures. Dean and Kat walked over to look. "That's Tommy."
Kat looked closely at the pictures of the young man as Haley clicked through them. "Is it possible that he lost is stuff?"
"Maybe, but he would've come right back home. He wouldn't just leave us hanging." Haley switched to a video of Tommy, letting it play.
"Hey, Haley! Day six. We're still out near Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."
"Whoa." Kat nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a shadow flit by the tent behind Tommy in the video.
Haley quickly looked at her. "What?"
"—uh..." She knew better than to go spilling to the girl. She could tell by the look Sam was giving her that he had seen it, too. "Nothing. You just have a real sweet brother. My brother—" She stopped short. That pain may have dulled, but it was there. Dean had looked at her in surprise and even Sam's knowing look turned to curiosity; after all that time, all of the things she had said to Sam and Dean, she never really talked about her family life in detail before everything went down. "Never mind. Don't worry about it."
Dean was a godsend — he might not have believed that, but Kat thought so for a while now — and changed the subject. "Well, we'll find your brother. We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing."
"Then maybe I'll see you there." Haley walked back across the table, catching the three looks of surprise she got. "Look, I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."
Dean looked at her, nodding. "I think I know how you feel." He and Haley shared a moment of understand through their eyes alone, then he looked away.
"Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam looked at her.
"Sure."
While Haley went to send the files to Sam, Dean grabbed Kat by the arm and pulled her away from the table. "You okay?" She was really the only one he was 'touchy-feely' with, and even then, he wasn't a total sap. He didn't sob or spill his guts out to her, it was just...that she was there. She understood him. They were both there when all they had left were each other. He didn't take shit like that lightly and he was nothing if not loyal, so he had her back as much as she had his.
"Yeah?" She looked at him in confusion for a moment. Then she realized what he meant. "Oh. Oh, yeah." Unlike Sam, she really was okay. Maybe a little awkward, maybe feeling a little ache way deep down, but at least ninety-eight percent okay. "Just...remembering things I haven't thought about in a long time." She gave him a little smile, then looked over to see how the picture-forwarding process was going, a little startled to find Sam staring at them oddly. Right. He thought the way they acted with each other now was weird.
"What? You've never seen people talk before?"
She was equally as startled by the gruff tone Dean took with his brother. She looked back at him only to find his gaze was on Haley's brother, who had apparently been staring at them just like Sam. "Dean. Come on." He could get a little defensive when people caught him being his own version of touchy-feely.
"Thanks, Haley." Sam stood up, looking at Dean and Kat. "You guys ready?"
The rest of the day was spent with Sam researching and Dean dragging Kat to some restaurant for lunch — okay, dragged wasn't the right word. She had wanted to go research with Sam, enjoying the thrill of figuring things out after all these years, but lunch was good, too. Being alone with Sam probably would have been weird anyway. In the past, they had been able to chat easily. Now? They would probably sit in an awkward silence. Back in the motel room in Jericho, they didn't say much to each other after Sam asked about her and Dean until they were under the stress of possibly being arrested, and things had just became more off after the past week. There just really wasn't much to talk about and catching up didn't seem ideal given...recent events.
They met back up at some little bar that night, where Sam was presenting them with all he had found. "So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic." He opened up his bag, taking out John's journal and tossing it onto the table. "Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found." He opened the journal.
"Any before that?" Dean leaned back in his seat.
"Yeah," Sam took out a pile of newspaper articles. "In 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack." As he spoke, Dean was going through the articles. "And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936." He took his laptop out of his bag and opened it up to Tommy's video.
"Oh, God." Kat was sitting on Dean's other side and she leaned forward. "Don't tell me this is some routine-obsessed woman in white. Constance was enough."
"No, I don't think so. It doesn't add up to that...it's every twenty-three years, just like clockwork. Okay. Watch this. Here's a clincher. I downloaded that guy Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out."
Dean had been reading the articles and mumbling to himself, but turned his attention to the laptop as Sam fast forwarded to the video, then clicked through three frames, catching a shadow running behind the tent.
"I knew you saw it, too." Kat and Sam shared a little smile. Brief normalcy. A glimpse into the past.
"Do it again?"
Sam immediately did as Dean asked. "That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move." He jumped when Dean hit him, looking up at him.
"I told you something weird was going on."
"Yeah." He shut the laptop. "I got one more thing." He pulled out another article, and Kat leaned against Dean to read it. "In 'fifty-nine one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive." Somehow he looked smug about this, which was a little confusing.
"Is there a name?"
Another day, another door to knock on. Well, night, actually. And a chilly night at that, which Kat was all too aware of as she shivered between Sam and Dean. They went to the definitely-not-heated apartment of the little boy that had barely escaped that 'grizzly' all those years ago, knowing that if anyone was going to lead them to the creature — to John — this man named 'Shaw' would probably be it.
Shaw, obviously an older man than he was in 1959, opened the door with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, looking like he was wondering why the hell two young men and a young woman were at his door. Dean quickly told the same lie he told Haley, that they were just rangers, but this time he asked about the attack.
The man walked away and left the door open, so they took that as their cue to follow him inside. "Look, ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this. It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a—"
"Grizzly?" Sam's interruption made him pause. "That's what attacked him?"
He hesitated, took a puff of his cigarette, and nodded as he turned to face them. They could spot the lie easily, and Dean moved towards him. "The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks, too?" No answer. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?" Still no answer. "If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it."
Shaw took the cigarette out of his mouth. "I seriously doubt that. Anyway, I don't see what difference it would make." He slowly sat down and grabbed a glass, his eyes looking like that scared little boy must have in 1959. "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."
"Sir," Kat said softly, stepping closer. "If...anyone is going to believe you, it's going to be us. I can promise you that."
"That's right." Sam's tone was just as sympathetic as he went to sit down on the bed across from the older man's seat. "Mr. Shaw. What did you see?"
Kat sat by him without a care for weirdness, only wanting to get Shaw talking, not just for the sake of the hunt, but also to help him. She knew what was out there and so did he, and he deserved to have someone believe him. "You can tell us. It's okay."
He considered it for a moment, sighing. "Nothing." His bottom lip started to tremble. "It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though...a roar. Like...no man or animal I ever heard."
Sam glanced back at Dean, who stood there stoically, then back at Shaw. "It came at night?" His question received a nod. "Got inside your tent?"
"It got inside our cabin. I was sleepin' in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door; it unlocked it. You know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up until my parents screamed."
"It killed them?"
"Dragged them off into the night. Why it left me alive..." Shaw shook his head. "Been askin' myself that ever since." There was another pause. "Did leave me this, though." He reached up, pulling his collar aside to reveal a few scars going down his collarbone.
Kat instinctively grabbed onto Sam's arm, gripping the sleeve of his jacket tightly out of shock and a little fear. The scars were thick and raised, and it didn't take a genius to know they were claw marks. Claw marks that, according to all the signs, couldn't have been from a bear or any other animal. Whatever this thing was, it was bad.
"There's something evil in those woods." Shaw put the collar of his shirt back into place. "It was some sort of a demon."
Things went silent for a moment. Soon enough, Dean thanked him for his time and Shaw thanked them for believing him, a little teary eyed. Kat pulled away from Sam when she realized she was holding his sleeve, instead using her hand to shake Mr. Shaw's. A hug would have been too much, she thought, even if she felt terrible for what he went through.
They went out to the hallway of the building to leave, Dean in the lead as he said, "Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside, they just go through the walls."
"So it's probably something else. Something corporeal."
"Corporeal?" He looked at Sam. "Excuse me, professor."
"—shut up. So what do you think?"
"The claws, the speed that it moves...could be a skinwalker. Maybe a black dog? Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature." He and Sam stopped walking. "And it's corporeal." He got an eye roll for that one. "Which means we can kill it." He started walking to the exit again.
"If it doesn't kill us first." Kat's statement had both men looking back at her as they headed to the door.
"You gettin' scared on me, Kat? After all your training? All the hunts we've been on? You handled that shit in New Orleans likes a badass." Dean shoved the door open, leaving Sam to catch it. He glared at his brother and let Kat through before following. "Back in California, I thought you were going to jump in that car and try to scratch Constance's non-corporeal eyes out to save Sammy."
"I don't know, Dean." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "This is new. This is different. You saw the marks it left on him."
They were almost to where the Impala was parked when Dean turned around and put his hands on her shoulders. "Repeat after me. If we can take down Jason, we can take down anything."
"—we've never fought Jason. This is worse than Jason."
"It's just a saying! You know we've got this, right? The three of us can take down pretty much anything, no problem. Okay? Okay." He caught sight of Sam's smirk. "Shut up." He went to the trunk of the car.
Kat wasn't too scared, really. She wasn't worried about facing it so much as she was about it being too fast and too strong and taking out Sam or Dean. Or both. She wasn't going to run away screaming, but she felt at least a little nervous for the boys and herself.
"It'll be fine, Kat." Sam's voice surprised her out of her thoughts. "We'll deal with this just like anything else." What a turn of events. Sam was comforting her instead of the other way around, which hadn't happened in years, of course. Not since at least a few weeks before he left.
"Thanks, Sam." They went to the trunk, where Dean had propped open the floor of the trunk and was throwing weapons into a bag.
"While we may be able to handle this, we cannot let that Haley girl go out there." Sam leaned into the trunk.
That had any fear Kat felt shoved aside for the moment. As bad as things could end up, she, Dean, and Sam knew how to take care of themselves; Haley was just a worried girl looking for her brother. "I'm gonna have to agree with Sam on this one."
"Oh, yeah? What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big, scary monster?"
"Yeah." Sam looked at Dean with complete seriousness.
"I mean, what's wrong with that? We could tell her it's a grizzly and that it's not safe for her to go out."
"Her brother's missing. She's not just gonna sit this out." Just like Dean wouldn't sit it out if Sam were missing. "Now we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend." He grabbed the bag out of the trunk.
"So finding Dad's not enough?" Sam slammed the weapons box and the trunk shut to make his anger clear. "Now we gotta babysit, too?" He got two stares, both Dean and Kat a little surprised by just how angry he was over this and how suddenly his mood changed. "What?" He wasn't even curious or confused. His question was almost a challenge, begging Dean to say something.
"—nothin'." Dean threw the bag at Sam, who caught it and moved as if to do something back to him, but Dean was already walking to the driver's side of the car. Sam even started to follow, jaw clenched, but stopped short.
"Sam, what..." Kat couldn't very well ask what was going on with him. It was grief and vengeance, just like it had been since those last three days in Stanford. He wanted things done quick and efficiently, he wanted them done right away, and apparently everything was setting him off. "Are you..."
"Kat, can you just...not try this right now?" He didn't try to hold back the anger in his voice, pausing as he looked at her. "—I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I just...I...forget it." He sighed, storming to the car door. He wasn't ready to open up yet.
Kat briefly worried that he never would be. Maybe it was too much. What if this was the new Sam? Angry, impatient, ask questions later Sam? What if nothing could be repaired — not Sam, not his relationship with Dean, not their relationship? It was a horrible thought. He had always been so gentle, and sweet, and wanted more than the life of a hunter. That changing scared her more than some forest monster ever could.
As per usual, they had picked out a decent — but cheap — motel to crash in for the night, getting two rooms next to each other. Kat was getting settled in for the night, laying on one of the beds and flipping through the few TV channels there were, snacking every now and then on some Twizzlers she got from a nearby vending machine. She had stopped on some old black and white movie when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." It could have very well been some sort of horrible creature, but she figured they wouldn't be so polite.
Fortunately, it was Dean who opened the door and stepped inside, wearing his usual pajamas that consisted of his underwear and a T-shirt. "Sam is fucking crazy." He closed the door none too gently, though he didn't slam it like he very well could have.
She looked up at him, smiling softly. "I know."
"I couldn't look at his bitchface anymore." He bypassed the double bed closest to the door, instead moving to the bed Kat was on and plopping down next to her. "I swear, all I had to do was breathe and he was looking at me like I kicked a puppy."
"You were pretty proud of him, being all 'shoot first, ask questions later'."
"Yeah, that was before he turned into a little bitch. Gimme that." He grabbed a Twizzler away from Kat, but didn't bite into it yet. "I mean, did you see how he was about having Haley come along with us? It's not ideal, but she's not gonna stay out of this. I wouldn't."
"I know you wouldn't." Obviously knowing Dean was upset, Kat said nothing about the stolen candy and just took another piece out. She wasn't going to interrupt this. Times like this were the only times he almost opened up; it was more like complaining, but if it helped him, she was going to be right there to listen. "You were right, before. All we can do is protect her."
"Damn straight. With how Sammy is, I wouldn't be surprised if he just throws her to the wolves. Or whatever the hell is out there." He took a bite out of the candy in his hand, frustration even showing in the way he chewed.
"He's grieving, Dean."
He swallowed, looking at her. "Can't you just bitch with me?"
"We share a wall with Sam right now. If he hears us, I'd rather not be thrown to the wolves, or whatever the hell is out there." She smirked at him.
"Yeah, right." Dean scoffed. "He could try." They fell silent for a moment, the only sound in the room some dialogue coming from the television. "What is this crap?"
"I don't know. Some old movie with Ingrid Bergman."
Their conversation ended there, as Dean stopped complaining about the movie — probably because Ingrid was a total babe — and laid back in the bed beside Kat, both of them eating candy in a far more comfortable silence than there would be if Sam were with them.
Dean was supposed to leave after an hour or so, once his brother was asleep and there wouldn't be a whole bunch of tension. Instead, both he and Kat fell asleep side by side before the credits for the movie even rolled.
August 8th, 2002
Norfolk, Nebraska
Another night. A different bed. The same two people in it.
Kat laid on top of the old, faded burgundy quilt that the owners of the little bed and breakfast had provided, halfway propped up against pillows and the headboard. Dean hadn't said a word since they came inside, just laid there beside her. He stared at the ceiling for a good few minutes before he suddenly rolled over and rested his head on her chest. She was shocked, to say the least, and didn't dare move a muscle in fear of spooking him.
He didn't cry and he still didn't speak for a long while. He just stayed there, finding comfort in her warmth and presence.
Eventually, he broke the silence. "You want that apple pie life?" His voice was full of emotion despite his lack of tears.
"—what?" She looked down at him.
"You know...pastel two-story, picket fence, businessman husband, two and a half kids, a dog and a cat..."
"Oh." She thought about it for a moment, sighing. "I don't know..."
"Just tell me."
Any other time, she may have sassed him back for that demand, but not this time. His tone was more than just demanding; it was full of need. Like he needed to hear her talk to distract him or maybe he was looking for assurance that she wouldn't run out on them, too.
"My life wasn't even that stereotypically 'apple pie' when I was growing up, Dean." That seemed like a good place to start. "I don't know. I don't want a pastel house, I'm more of an apartment girl myself. No picket fence. I don't really care what my husband does as long as he's not some sexist freak. I...I don't really know if I want to get married." Her voice took on a vulnerability before she could hold it back. "Knowing what I know now..." As she spoke, one of her hands had moved to Dean's head, her nails gently stroking through his hair. "It's the same way for kids, really. I mean...I guess if I were safe from the monsters and someone I liked got me pregnant, I wouldn't be mad. It's just not something I'm seeking out, you know? And again, the same goes for pets...knowing what we know...it'd suck to get so attached to something when there's supernatural monsters out there." Too bad she was already attached to the Winchesters. "What about you?"
There was silence and she wondered if he fell asleep, then he answered smoothly, "I'm cool with a house, but none of that pastel shit. Normal fence. I'd probably have a girlfriend instead of a wife. I think I'd make a shit father, but if there was a kid, I'd do my damnedest to be there for them. I haven't decided about pets yet." It was almost like he had rehearsed it a hundred times. Or dreamed of it a hundred times.
They went quiet again before Dean said softly, "I'm never going to have it." He said nothing more than that. He didn't express a longing, or a need, or a desire. Just stated that he wouldn't have that life, with what he meant laying just beneath the surface.
"Me neither." Her reponse was partly to reassure him and partly the truth. She may have had a normal life before, but it was over. With what she knew...with her life now...she wasn't going to be able to go back to the way things were. Even if she had gone with Sam, it just wouldn't have been...right.
"I'll tell you what." He didn't lift his head, just looked up at her as best as he could. "If we're in our forties and out of the business, you and me make some compromises and make a life of our own."
She smiled softly. "If we're in our forties and out of the business," she agreed, both of them knowing that it would never happen.
The rest of the night was spent with light conversation and moments of silence. Dean didn't mention Sam once and Kat didn't either. She didn't want to upset him, and honestly, his abscence was hurting her, too. Like she felt before, she was a little happy. And a little sad. She didn't want to talk about him, she wanted to lay with Dean because his presence was comforting her like hers was comforting him. They didn't sleep a wink, but that was okay.
That night sealed their relationship forever; comfort. Calm. Maybe a little bit of need.
They drove into the forest early the next morning for several reasons. They wanted to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, Dean wanted to get there before or around the same time as Haley so she didn't go off on her own, and Sam wanted to get it over with.
He was still grumpy, brooding silently and staring out the window the entire drive. He hadn't said a word to Dean or Kat all morning and they both understood now, but they — especially Dean — were getting a little tired of it. Kat was getting tired of it more than she would have liked to admit; it was hard to be understanding when he was being cruel to them. He had bursts of anger those last three days in Stanford, of course, and always cooled off after a little while. She thought he would have calmed down by morning, regretted what he said the night before, and moved back to the closed off sadness. He didn't, obviously.
Haley, her brother, and another man were already there when they pulled up. Dean stopped the car and the three hunters got out, Sam grabbing their bag of weapons out of the back of the car.
"You guys got room for three more?" Dean walked over to Haley.
"Wait, you want to come with us?"
The man glared at them. "Who are these guys?"
"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue." Haley glanced back at him, before smirking at Dean, Sam, and Kat.
Sam, in all his grumpiness, stalked on ahead of them.
"You're rangers?"
"That's right."
"And you're hiking out in..." Haley looked Dean over. "Biker boots and jeans?"
"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts." Dean moved past her and Kat followed.
"What, you think this is funny?" The man's words made him turn to look at him with an expression that clearly showed he didn't care. "It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt."
"Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be. We just wanna help them find their brother, that's all." Dean's words seemed to have an effect on all three. He went ahead, moving past Sam.
Kat just gave them a smile, before hurrying to catch up with Sam and Dean. All six of them eventually grouped together, the man taking the lead much to Dean's dismay. They made a little chit chat, introducing themselves, learning that Haley's brother's name was Ben and that the man with them was a hunter named Roy. Even Sam talked a bit, so the time in nature seemed to be doing him some good. Kat stayed in the back of the group to keep him company, even though he was being kind of a jerk.
"So, Roy, you said you did a little hunting." Dean was kind of a jerk, too.
"Yeah." Roy carefully moved over the underbrush. "More than a little."
"Uh huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?"
"Mostly buck. Sometimes bear."
Dean gave a smug smile, walking ahead of him. "Tell me, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?"
Roy suddenly grabbed Dean roughly by the back of the jacket and yanked him back, making Kat tense up, ready to attack him if need be. "Hey. He says that kind of stuff to everybody, okay?"
"Whatcha doin', Roy?"
Instead of hurting him, Roy picked up a large stick and poked at the ground right where Dean had been about to step, setting off a bear trap. He returned Dean's smug smile from before. "You should watch where you're steppin'. Ranger." He walked on ahead.
"That's a bear trap." Dean tried to laugh it off, to look less foolish, before following Roy.
Sam looked less than impressed, Kat noticed, and he just stared at the trap as they walked by it. Beautiful nature could only help so much. To be honest, he was creeping her out a little with his stoicism. He was like those evil kids in horror movies that just stared as they put their families in harm's way on purpose. God, she hoped Sam could heal enough for his old self to come back; for his sake, for her sake, for Dean's sake.
"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers." Haley caught up with Dean, grabbing his arm to stop him. "So who the hell are you?"
Sam and Kat stopped in case he needed help. He nodded for them to go on, so they did, leaving him to defend himself against the sharp and tough woman that was Haley. As they walked, Kat started to notice that Sam kept looking at her. Not the creepy stare he had, but something more curious and questioning. They were gaining some space from Haley and Dean, and Roy and Ben were farther ahead, so she finally just asked, "What?"
"Nothing," he said immediately. He looked ahead for a moment, jaw clenching, seeming to be at war with himself. A beat passed and then, "Are you and Dean sleeping together?"
She laughed. It wasn't a funny question. At all. That just seemed to be how her shock came out when faced with such an inquiry. She hadn't been expecting it, really. "Um...no."
"Have you and Dean ever slept together?"
She looked at him, furrowing her brow, and drawled, "No. Where is this coming from?"
"Uh, I don't know, maybe it has something to do with him going to your room last night and not coming back until morning?"
"—he came to my room because you wouldn't stop glaring at him." That had Sam looking away almost ashamedly. "We were watching a movie. We fell asleep, okay? He was gone by the time I got up. There's nothing like...that between Dean and me. Not really. We're just closer than we used to be."
"It's just weird. Dean doesn't get close to anybody."
She could have mentioned once again that he left. That his abscence was painful for the three he walked out on, none more than Dean, and that she was there to help him through it as best as she could. That he helped her, too. But Sam was in enough pain as it was and she didn't want to make it worse. She gave a lame, "Yeah, well. Are you going to stop being a total grump now? That's kinda Dean's job."
That got a little smile out of him. Baby steps. "Yeah. Sorry I've been a jerk...it's just..."
"I know. It's okay." She wanted to grab his hand or touch his shoulder. She didn't. She couldn't have, anyway, as Dean suddenly shoved between them.
"Hey. Provisions?" He held up a bag of peanut M&M's.
It wasn't too long before they made it to Blackwater Ridge. Sam asked Roy for the coordinates and they were the exact ones John had left, so they knew it was right. Roy decided to go off to search on his own, despite Sam's hint that he really shouldn't, leaving Dean, Sam, and Kat to lead the group. They had been searching around bushes, and trees, and rocks for at least a few minutes when Roy called out.
"Haley! Over here!"
The group ran in the direction of his voice, Haley in the lead, and they all skidded to a stop when they saw what he'd found. It was a campsite. Or what used to be one. There were two tents, torn apart with streaks and splashes of blood, and a bunch of camping supplies was strewn around. "Oh my God." Haley swallowed.
"Looks like a grizzly." Roy was right. It looked like something a grizzly bear could have done.
Dean wandered through the site and farther to investigate, while Haley looked around, taking off her backpack. "Tommy?" She dropped it to the ground. "Tommy! Tommy!" She moved further, ignoring the way Sam was shushing her until he caught up to her. "Why?"
"Something might still be out there."
"Sam! Kat!" Dean's voice was a little far off. Sam looked at Kat, nodding, and they both went in the direction Dean did. He was crouching on the ground when they got there.
"What's going on?" Kat crouched next to him on one side while Sam did the same on the other.
"The bodies were dragged from the campsite. But here, the tracks just vanish." It was true, there wasn't a sign of even an animal having ever passed through the dirt and sticks. "It's weird." He stood up and Sam and Kat did the same. "I'll tell you what. It's no skinwalker or black dog." He was the first to start back to the campsite and Kat followed, with Sam staying behind for a moment longer.
When they got back, Haley was holding a broken and bloodied phone, tears falling from her eyes. Dean was the sympathetic one now, moving to her. "Hey. He could still be alive."
"Help!" The scream was sudden and somewhere deep the forest, laced with obvious fear and desperation. Roy, Sam, Dean, and Kat were the first ones after the sound, followed quickly by Haley and Ben. "Help! Help! Somebody!"
They made it to a little clearing, where the screaming had been coming from, but there was nothing. No person, no monster, not even a sign of a struggle and a quick escape.
"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Haley asked.
Kat looked around carefully, for anything. She looked at Dean, who just seemed confused, the gun he carried out but obviously unused. She then looked at Sam and could practically see the wheels turning in his head. That could mean something either good or bad.
"Everybody back to camp." No one argued with Sam, all of them following his lead back to where they came from. It was mostly the same as when they left, except now all of their stuff was missing.
"Our packs!"
Roy walked over to where his supplies had been. "So much for my GPS and my satellite phone."
"What the hell is going on?" Haley looked around.
"It's smart." Sam sighed. "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."
"You mean someone," Poor Roy didn't understand, which was to be expected. "some nutjob out there just stole all our gear."
Sam grabbed Kat by the arm, taking her by surprise as she had been looking around like the others. He pulled her over to Dean. "I need to speak with you. In private." He headed off away from the group, taking Kat with him, and Dean soon followed. "Good. Let me see Dad's journal." He let go of Kat, holding his hand out for the journal. His brother looked a bit bemused, but handed it over anyway, both he and Kat watching as Sam opened it up to a page about wendigos. "Alright. Check that out."
"Oh, come on." Dean looked at the page, holding it out a bit so Kat could see when she moved closer to him. "Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or—or northern Michigan. I've never heard of one this far west."
"Think about it, Dean. The claws, the way it can mimic a human voice."
"Great. Well, then this is useless." Dean gestured with his gun.
Kat looked at Sam. "I knew that look on your face couldn't have been good." She had read about wendigos long ago and knew they were difficult. "Look, guys, I love your dad—" Kind of. Sort of. In a way. Not in a father-daughter way or in a friend way, and definitely not in a lover way, but...in some way. "—but why is he doing this? Sending us places, leaving us the hunts? It's like a treasure hunt, but the clues come with horrifying monsters."
"I'm gonna be asking him the same thing. As soon as we find him..." For some reason, Dean sounded a little doubtful.
Sam shook his head, pushing the journal into Dean's chest until he took it, before walking past him. He paused and turned back for just a second to say, "We gotta get these people to safety." Then he continued back to the campsite.
Dean rolled his eyes, then turned to Kat. "Jason's sounding pretty good right now, huh?"
"Yeah. Yes. Let's go to Crystal Lake." She only made it one step in the opposite direction of the camp before she looked back at Dean. He just looked at her. He didn't have to say anything. She already knew. There were people to save, and people to help, and this was their job. Besides, she had faced worse things—okay, maybe she hadn't faced worse things, but she had faced things just as bad or almost just as bad. She wasn't going to wimp out on this and desert anyone who needed their help.
"That's my girl." He wrapped an arm around her neck as she walked back to him, letting go after a moment and leading her back to the others. "Tell you what, after we find my dad, we can totally go to Crystal Lake."
"You know just what to say, Dean Winchester."
When they made it back to the camp, Sam was addressing the rest of the group. "Alright, listen up, it's time to go. Things have gotten...more complicated..."
"—what?" Haley looked at him, confused.
"Kid, don't worry," Roy's tone was a mix of reassurance and smugness. "Whatever's out there, I think I can handle out."
"It's not me I'm worried about. If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now."
"One, you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to give anybody orders."
Now Dean stepped in. "Relax."
"We never should have let you come out here in the first place, alright?" Sam turned to face Roy fully. "We're trying to protect you."
"You protect me?" Roy stepped up to him, getting right into his face. "I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight."
Kat felt Dean stiffen and she tensed. Their mother was still a touchy subject for the two boys, and Kat couldn't help the protectiveness that filled her. "Hey, he's just trying to help you. All we want to do is protect you, you might need it."
"Oh?" Roy laughed. He laughed. "Look, you're adorable, but I don't need some little girl trying to protect me."
Kat could be fiery, that was known, but there were a few things that brought it out of her more than anything else. One, a good hunt. Two, Dean, Sam, or even John being hurt or in harm's way. Three, any sort of competitive game with Dean. And four, the implication that she couldn't be with the best because she was female. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Haley give Roy a look.
"Excuse me? Do you know what I can d—" She hardly made it a step forward before Dean grabbed her shirt and pulled her back, giving her a stare that definitely said not the time.
"Yeah?" Sam was visibly getting pissed, his fists clenching at his sides. "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 just laughed again, moving even closer. "You know you're crazy, right?"
"Yeah? You ever hunt a wen—"
Dean stepped between them, shoving Sam back much to his dismay as Roy just kept on laughing like the asshole he was. "Chill out."
"Roy!" Haley walked over, pulling Roy away. "Stop! Stop it. Everybody just stop. Look, Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him."
There was a pause. Sam and Dean looked at each other.
"It's gettin' late. 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." Dean moved past Haley, who turned to watch him.
"How?"
"Don't worry, we have our ways." He took out the journal, flipping through it.
Kat moved to stand by Sam, arms crossed, mostly watching Dean and sometimes glancing at Roy. "I could have taken him." She looked up at Sam. He didn't look at her, but he did nod.
"I would have let you."
A/N: There we go. I gotta say, I felt super bad about this and felt it didn't make sense in the middle of the night and was going to redo it, but after re-reading it, I think it's ok. I hope you all think so as well! Hopefully there aren't too many mistakes. I always finish chapters right before I go to bed lol. And I hope you liked the flashback to ~that night~ with Dean and Kat. I wanted to give everyone a little insight on their relationship. Review, please!