Chapter 7

Dean wasn't sure of what to make of it. Sam never told him about his needle sharp prickly feeling before. The obvious question was the demon. "Is it related to Yellow Eyes?"

Sam frowned as he finished rubbing his head. The last time he had that prick that was that sharp was in Cold Oak. How he associated it with Angela was something of a bit of a mystery to him bit maybe it had to do with the feeling he got earlier. He replied, "No, not really. This is like the second time and it's like an annoying tick or something."

Dean studied his brother. He was grateful that Sam finally pulled his head out of his ass to get on the case. He had come back with grub to hear Sam talking on his phone. His brother sounded clipped but his words weren't angry or anything like that. He opened the door but Sam had finished his conversation then and didn't express too much interest in eating. Rather Sam asked if Dean wanted to talk to the survivor.

Now they were there and throughout the whole thing, Sam paid attention to everything about what the old man said. It turned out to be a lengthy conversation and it was late in the afternoon when the old man wrapped up his conversation. Dean was impatient to get going but Sam seemed intent on getting every last detail. Afterwards Sam asked to look around, using his usual charm and expressing interest.

"You seem to be a horse man like the young lady that borrowed one of my mounts," Mr. Scout said.

Dean didn't know anything about that. He and Sam had never really been on a horse before so he thought the old man was off his rocker. However Sam milked the chance by implying that he did know something and it worked. The old man let them look at his stables and revealed that Angela had borrowed a mount to go up the trails.

It was there that Sam stood outside looking up the trail as the snowfall grew thicker. It was there that he got that prickle and at that moment there was a high pitched whinny. Both brothers looked up to see a black horse running towards them like something was chasing it.

Dean automatically moved. When he turned, he found that Sam was still there. "Sam, move your ass! Sam!"

Sam heard his brother but he didn't move. He spotted something on the saddle horn. He would recognize it anywhere. It was instinct for him to hold up his hands even though he was sure that he was going to be trampled. He barely registered his brother shouting at him as he stood his ground and barely kept his eyes open even though it was instinct for him to shut them.

The horse stopped and raised its hooves in agitation but it didn't run Sam over. It stomped its feet and snorted and looked Sam in the eye. Little by little the horse calmed down until it just did little agitated steps and left Sam there staring at it with his flabbergasted expression.

"Damn Sam. How did you do that?"

Sam moved slowly to grab the leading rein and reached up to touch the animal. He looked at the animal and then at the gear still on the saddle. "I don't know." As soon as he said it, he felt a hard smack to the back of his head. He turned a bitch face towards Dean. "Dude, what the hell was that for?"

"For doing something stupid," Dean replied in his authoritative big brother tone. He looked at Sam and gave a slight grin. "Wow, I never thought the head smack would work coming from me."

"Whatever, jerk," Sam replied scowling at Dean. He turned towards the horse and petted him trying not to spook him. He looked over at the gear and saw what had caught his eye. "Dean," he called to his brother without looking and took the chakram off. He held it up for Dean to see. "She wouldn't leave this behind."

Dean took the chakram out of Sam's hands and looked it over. His brother was right. Angela would never leave her chakram behind. It was a part of her like Absolution was. He looked at the horse and asked, "Anything else unusual?"

Sam held the reins and looked at what was still on the saddle. He found a rifle and a shotgun and basic trail provisions. "Looks like all of her gear is here."

"You know that she wouldn't just let the horse wander back Sam. Not if it has all her gear and shit," Dean replied. He turned to see the old man come out of the house. Damn. This was going to be hard to explain.

Meanwhile Sam had been looking at the saddle. He noticed some deep gouges and something that he hoped wasn't what he thought it was. He peered closer and his eyes widened slightly. "Dean, take a look at this."

Dean lowered the chakram to lean over and take a look at what Sam was looking at. He nearly paled at the sight. It was faint but it was unmistakable. He couldn't help but ask, "Is that what I think it is?"

Sam knew what it was and he knew Dean knew. A sudden worst case scenarios ran through his mind and it involved her losing the horse and was injured. The worst was her bleeding out and that spelled trouble. "It's blood."

Dean heard the pause in Sam's voice. He knew what Sam was thinking now. "Hold on Sam. We don't know everything. She could have gotten a small cut or a nosebleed."

Sam looked at his brother as if he were insane. "Are you serious? Since when have you known her to get a small cut on nothing?"

"Calm down Sam. We don't want to upset the old man on the porch there. He's watching us so try not to panic." Dean patted the horse's neck and nudged Sam to move.

Sam took Dean's lead and led the horse back to the stables. Mr. Scout was there waiting. He looked at the horse and then the boys and said, "Looks like Starkhaven took a spook and left that young lady behind."

It was a bit of humor to hear the old man refer to Angela as a young lady. It was about as humorous as Bobby calling her that. It calmed Dean though as he replied, "She's our friend. Do you have any idea if she mentioned where she was going? We can call the ranger station and find her."

Mr. Scout studied the boys. He never suspected them to be friends with the nice young lady who thought he was not crazy. They were different but then again opposites attract as so his daughter always told him. Plus he could see concern etched on the taller of the two's face but he thought he could also see a bit of guilt. He replied, "Well I told her that there were numerous trails up there, all approved for hiking. Depends on where ya want to go. Thing was she was more interested in exactly what I saw and what I was doing."

Dean glanced at Sam and the look his brother gave told him that they had to go back to the board. Since the old man mentioned that there were numerous trails up there, the first impulse he and Sam had was out the window. He looked at the old man, "Thanks. Um, we'll take her stuff and um…"

"Kyle can take care of the tack."

Right on cue Kyle came out and started undoing the cinches. Mr. Scout came up to inspect the horse and noticed that Sam was still holding the lead rein. He had seen him stop Starkhaven and was impressed. Starkhaven was temperamental and only took to certain kinds of people. He said, "Well when you boys got your route planned, give me a call. You can use my horses. They're better suited for the trails I was on if you want to get up there quick."

Sam thought it was a godsend. "Thank you Mr. Scout." He could barely contain his excitement as they walked to the Impala. It overshadowed his worried feeling but not by much. He sat tight lipped as Dean started the engine to head back to the inn they were staying at.

Dean knew that Sam was excited at the offer. At least though they had transportation since he couldn't take his baby up there and he could get a jeep from that Ranger Wilkes. Though his main concern was the fact that she was stuck out there alone and in the snow and he could feel the temperature drop. He tried to figure out a way to inform Sam that they had to be fast without causing panic.

"Did she give you a spare key?"

Dean glanced at Sam. "No. You might have to pick the lock." He heard his brother make a small hum. He had to tell Sam. "You'll need to be fast because it's getting cold."

"I know Dean. It's called exposure and if she is hurt, that could make it worse." Sam stared straight ahead. "Maybe she left an idea of where she was going. She would have to."

"I hope so Sammy," Dean replied softly. For his brother's sake, he hoped so.

The cold was a good thing to wake up to since it made the nerves come alive in shock. Yet it was terribly cliché in the movies like that Alien vs. Predator movie. Angela opened her eyes the moment she felt the cold of the snow and moved her eyes around to get a better sense of her surroundings. It was best to start nice and slow.

Moving her eyes, she saw the familiar crystalline white of snow to her left and to the right she saw sky. At first she was puzzled as to why she was lying down on the ground but as she started moving slowly to ascertain any damages and maybe figure out a way to actually get back to the trail and start walking back to worried and scolding Winchesters.

Moving her head and upper body, Angela was able to see that she had landed at a weird angle and looking up at the slope, she could see why. Sore throughout her body, she moved her limbs to see if anything was broken. Well anything besides the cracked ribs from the angry mommy that went over the ravine.

The head was okay except for the scratch from the first cuff and the scratches on the back of her right arm and back of the rib cage. Cracked ribs from the cuffing and a sore neck from nearly being choked to death added to the list but the throat was okay. Now was the time to wonder why there seemed to be a weight on her legs.

Managing to sit up Angela brushed the snow off of her and saw that she was pinned beneath a very large tree. It didn't take a genius to tell her that it was the tree that mommy yeti had broken and it snapped and rolled down. Being practical about it, Angela dug through the snow to ascertain the damage as well as see if she was going to be able to get out.

The fact that she could still move her legs was a good thing. Digging through the snow, Angela realized that it had been deep enough and saved then from getting crushed by the blasted tree. Sighing she continued to dig only to find that it felt like she was sinking while digging. That wasn't good since she would be out there longer than necessary which was also a bad thing. She flopped down on her back while letting out a sigh of exasperation.

Come on Angie. I've seen you lift me and Sam as dead weight.

Angela gave a chuckle and a smile as she lay on the ground and contemplated how to get out of this mess. It wasn't like she could lift the tree. It was too big and heavy and even if she were Superman, she didn't have the proper leverage to lift the damn thing. She moved to put her hands behind her head when they bumped against something.

Reaching around to grab it, she found the Beretta that she had fired at the yeti. It was a small victory to actually still have a weapon. It provided some measure of security but it was totally useless in actually getting her free. Pulling it to within easy reach, Angela sighed and flopped back down. She tried wriggling her legs but that didn't help and actually brought back bad memories of the last time her movement was that restricted.

Fighting down the old panic, Angela looked up into the sky. The snow was still falling and it was still light outside. She glanced at her watch and was doubly surprised to find that it had not been broken in the fall. She almost felt like bursting into tears for no other reason except for the fact that it was like a sign or something that said that things were going to be okay. Well she could hear Dean saying that and it made her wonder if it was a lucky watch or not. Then again in her experience there was no such thing as luck.

Either way, it was like having Dean there and when she reached up, she found that her necklace was still there. She had both of them there if not physically, at least symbolically. She would figure out a way to get out from under this heavy load of a tree.

"Maybe I should try the old fashioned way and call for help," Angela said to herself in a fit of humor. "It would certainly make me fell better if not common sense."

At that moment there was a chittering noise and Angela looked around. She wrapped her fingers around her gun before she realized that she had emptied the clip into the yeti before her fall. Popping the clip open to look to check and make sure she was locked and loaded, she found that it was empty and muttered, "Pendejo."

Normally if she had said something again to calling herself an idiot in another language one or both boys would either laugh at her or look at her for saying something that 'colorful.' It was a force of habit and a result of being fluent in multiple languages. She once swore in Russian because that was the only word that came to her at the time. However if she was really agitated, she found that she reverted back to her native Italian. Luckily she hadn't done that so far.

Since the clip was empty, Angela wriggled to try and get her jacket out from under her so she could reach for the spare clips that she had stashed in there along with shotgun rounds. The noise turned into rustling and she heard a rumble. Great so a larger animal was coming along. With her luck it would be a grizzly.

Finally she managed to wrestle a clip out and upon checking it she snapped it into place in her gun. Now she was locked and loaded and she was a good shot. She could kill with one shot and she did when she learned how to go on a turkey hunt years ago when the West was in the process of being won. Of course she had practice with the worst guns imaginable that predated Civil War and the invention of rifling.

The rustling continued and Angela held her gun in one hand and listened for the source of the rustling. Even though being pinned seriously impeded her ability to move into the position she would have wanted, she could still make the most of it and defend herself without agitating something that could kill her. She held the gun steady and pointed at the brush and waited for whatever it was to come out.

The wait seemed in terminable as the rustling got louder and louder. That meant it was coming. In the back of her mind the situation looked like something out of one of those really bad horror movies. Angela wasn't going to panic like how those pimply faced teenagers did it in those films. She held her hand steady and waited… and waited.

The rustling continued and then something burst out. It was small and wooly. Angela blinked at the sight and let out a groan of exasperation. She was getting in arms over a stupid bighorn and not even an adult but an adolescent. She looked over at it as it looked at her and narrowed her eyes in sarcasm, "Thanks for the heart attack you overgrown coat."

The sheep looked at her as it turned to eating from the brush. It made a slight bleating sound as it chewed on the brush it had just come out of. A bird landed on its back making the twittering noise and looked all around.

Angela lay on the snow and shook her head. Of all the things that would jump out of the brush like a bad horror film and she got stuck with the bighorn and the bird. She sighed and looked back at them. "Well at least there was some excitement. So says the one that is trapped beneath this dang tree."

She flipped the safety on and moved her gun to the inside of her jacket. She looked around and sat back up to assess the situation again. She could dig herself out and that proved the most viable even though she would be sinking in the ground as she dug. The only other option was to wait for a rescue from the boys. When she didn't show up, they would probably look in her room and start asking questions and Dean would probably try to find the means to get the Impala up here. Yeah right on that account.

The problem with waiting was that it meant that she would be stuck out there and she could feel the temperature dropping. It was going to be a cold night and while she could certainly last a bit longer than an average human in weather like this, she wasn't willing to give that a try. At the moment though it seemed like there was no choice. She was stuck there until someone came and since she was so far off the trail, they probably wouldn't think to go out this far unless the damage was that great.

It then occurred to her that it could take longer than that. She didn't really tell Dean where she was going when she sent him that text. It had seemed like a good idea at the time since one or both would have insisted on going and if they met up with the yetis, then she would have had the problem of making sure that they were safe. She would have had to do it when they actually went on the hunt but she didn't think she could have handled going through it twice.

Using her hands as supports to lean on, she looked around. The stupid bighorn was still chowing down on the bush and that damn bird was chirping like crazy. The sheep looked at her and she said, "I suppose you don't happen to have a rope and you can pull me out?"

That really wasn't an option but being sarcastic with the animal made her feel better. She really didn't want to think about the implications that she could get hypothermia and maybe die before she was found. It was not a pleasant set of thoughts but it also served as a means to fuel her desire to live. So Angela sighed and looked at the sheep and then flopped back down in the snow.

I think I might be making a permanent impression here.

Angela stared up at the sky trying not to become too annoyed at the snowflakes that were falling into her face. It had lightened up considerably since she tangled with mommy yeti. Well that was one thing she could add to her resume. She could definitely add killing a yeti to it. She had never seen one before and it was really strange that they were here but they were. Then again it wasn't that dissimilar from the chupracaba that she hunted in Canada. That was a story to tell and she might once she got back down this blasted mountain.

Right now though she needed to think. Lying still on the ground, Angela slowed her exasperated breathing and stared up at the sky. She put her hands on her abdomen and started to space out like she did when she was deep in thought. She was greeted with the urge to close her eyes but there were some things in this sort of situation you didn't do. When she closed her eyes, she had the urge to go to sleep and when you did that in the cold… She could think like what happened in the movie Titanic. Brushing that off though, she made herself comfortable and instead focused on the stupid sheep and the bird and then extended outwards. She listened to her surroundings and out of the force of habit, she began humming.

She hadn't hummed to the sounds of nature since her birthday. Thinking about it reminded her of that night with Sam and their talk. She felt her hand move up to play with the pendant portion. She hoped that he didn't change his mind about her since his gesture and what he said meant more than the most expensive gift in the world. She was still humming and she couldn't help but close her eyes. I hope you and your brother find me Sam.

It was a lonely life living in the woods but it was better than picking off the humans. The others thought it was easy pickings and a steady supply of food but it was just disgusting. Animals tasted better and it was part of the natural order of things. To acquire a taste for humans… that was the ultimate taboo.

For years he managed to hunt them and make the numbers dwindle. However she was the hardest to kill and she had a young one she was teaching. He had to stop them but going against a mother was just asking for trouble.

The last time he fought her, she gave him a beating and relegated him to the depths of the forest that were full of wildlife. It was her way for sneering at him for his preferences. Well he stuck to his guns and lived out there. He also stuck to the duty that he appointed himself that led to his mate and offspring's demise against the others.

He ventured back to the trails and tried to help the humans. Most didn't make it. She had taught the young one well and they worked together. He tried to help those two boys. One was killed instantly and the other was crippled so the young one could practice. It was saddening to see the humans flounder like that. In his old homeland, the humans respected his kind and treated them with respect. True they may have been frightened by them but they didn't try to kill them. Sometimes a few members of his old clan would help the ones who got lost and stranded.

However there were those that did attack humans. Some ate them after tasting first blood and others just killed because of some wrong done to them. It was an unfortunate thing but that was how nature worked its course. You couldn't argue with it or try to cheat it scott free. His clan though had relatively a good life until that wretched being tricked his hunting party and they ended up here.

He knew the being was evil. He could smell it in his blood but it was too late and they were stranded there. They were probably going to be made his entertainment. Well most of his party stayed true. That winter though was hard and that was when some turned to picking off hikers and the humans that patrolled the areas.

At least one did get away. It was an elder and he felt the urge to save him. They always respected the elders since they understood them and their ways. He cut her off and made his stand and fought her. She put up a good fight. They made a lot of noise and tore up much of the area in their fight. However she backed down when he threatened her young one.

Then that one came. She was not like the others. She was riding an animal like the ones he hunted but smaller and no trees on their heads. She wasn't looking for a good time like the others. Rather she appeared to be searching for something.

He was a good hunter and when it became apparent that she was searching for the mother, he followed. He could see that she was out to kill the mother and the young one. He sniffed and she didn't seem like the other humans and she didn't smell like that wretched being.

He knew the fight happened since he saw the wreckage as he ran through. He could smell blood on the air. It was the strange human's and the mother's and the young one's blood. He had to find out what happened and so he followed. He only hoped that she wouldn't feel the need to turn on him if she was alive. He wouldn't blame her and maybe things would be normal here. He kept to the route and looked around until he came to a point he knew well.

A/N: Well Angie's stuck and the boys have to figure out what to do. Now who is the mysterious thing that is following the trail of destruction? Stay tuned for next time on Bitterroot Resolutions...