Apologies for the late update, I know it's been like forever since I've posted.
Hope you enjoy!
Danielle Winchester
Chapter Five: The Monster In The Woods
Stanford, California — Bluebird Motel — 09:23 AM
The creak of the bathroom door opening at the other side of the room startled Dean, and he stole a brief glance away from the blurred words of his father's journal, rested against his lap, as his sister emerged from the doorway. Slowly, cautious, he looked her up and down, and a curious frown furrowed its way to his brow.
"Wow." he commented, nonchalant, as his green eyes fell back to the yellowing pages of the book. "You look nice." He couldn't even remember what sort of malevolent creature he had been reading about. Honestly, his mind had been elsewhere.
The tone in his voice silently asked why she was dressed the way that she was, as though he knew that she was going somewhere and he simply didn't want to ask her outright. Why, he wasn't sure. Maybe he was afraid of what she would say.
Danielle only quirked an eyebrow in response, and she smiled slightly. "You sound surprised." she rebuked, but her voice was soft, and there was no sarcasm in her tone to support her reply. She sounded tired, defeated, eerily disheartened. That wasn't like her. And that worried him.
Dean studied her carefully. The black dress that she wore was one that he hadn't seen on her in months; it reached just above her knees and was fitted in it's design. It remained elegant against her small frame. It was matched so precisely with a pair of black stilletos that added inches to her height, ones he noted were still discoloured at the heel with mud from the last hunt she had worn them on, when they had crashed a black tie event in search of a pagan god. Her blonde hair fell into graceful curls over her tanned shoulders, and the make up on her face had been so delicately applied that he no longer had to wonder why she had been locked in the small bathroom for so long.
Surely, he had to be missing something. Where could she possibly be going, dressed the way she was, at that time on a Thursday morning?
The journal on his lap snapped closed and was instantly forgotten about as he tossed it aside to the bed, and he sat up a little straighter. "Where are you going?" he pressed, curious, when he was certain that she wasn't giving out any more information without prompting.
Cautious, her eyes fell towards Sam, who lay atop the other bed that the small motel had to offer, facing away from them. She couldn't be sure that he was sleeping, because it was a rare thing for him to do lately, and, silently, she nodded for Dean to follow her towards the door.
With a frown, and growing more suspicious by the minute, he went after her. Something was up. Together, they stepped out of the motel room, and Danielle pulled the door softly closed behind them.
Dean raised his eyebrows, expectant. "So, do you have an interview with the men in black or something?" he asked, intrigued. "What's with all the secrecy?"
Danielle gave a slow shake of her head, and she looked down towards her feet, suddenly uncomfortable as though she was assuming he was going to disagree with whatever she was going to tell him. That had never been something that bothered her. Usually, he knew she would have no problem telling him what was on her mind, or where she was going, or what she was planning. The fact that she was so uncharacteristically quiet, it unnerved him.
"I'm gonna go to Jessica's funeral." she stated, blunt.
Dean blinked, and then he blinked again, a little taken aback. Admittedly, he hadn't been expecting that. "You are?"
It was no secret that Danielle had been pressing Sam about attending his late girlfriend's funeral. In fact, it had been the topic of conversation almost every time Dean had entered a room over the past few days. She had tried and tried to persuade him to go, but their brother had refused and refused until there had been nothing more that she could say without coming across as insensitive. Dean, however, saw both sides of their argument; he saw his sister fighting to ensure that her kid brother wouldn't one day wake up and regret that he hadn't been there, he saw her pushing him to find his closure, to not make one of the biggest mistakes of his life, and he saw his brother fighting tooth and nail with every ounce of strength that he had not to fall apart at the seams at just the mere thought of it. Truthfully, he had opted to stay out of it. He offered no opinion and he took no side.
Danielle cleared her throat, somewhat awkward, and he couldn't understand why she felt that way talking to him.
"We were talking about it last night, and, I don't know... I think that he wants to go... I think that he wants to be there.. he just..." she trailed off with a shrug, she didn't know the words to explain their conversation. "I don't want him to wake up one day and regret that he wasn't there to say goodbye to her. But I can't force him to go. It's his choice. So, I'm gonna go for him. I mean, I know that it's not the same, but," She sighed. "Seems like the right thing to do, I guess."
For a long moment, Dean was silent, contemplative. And then he offered her a nod in way of understanding. It was a gesture that he hadn't even thought of making, and a part of him suddenly felt so guilty of that fact. This girl had been the love of his brother's life, maybe he should have considered going to her funeral. Especially given that it was their lifestyle that had cost this girl her future.
Slowly, as though tentative, he pulled his sister towards him, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. It took her a moment, but she raised her arms around his middle and heaved a sigh against his chest.
"You've got a good heart in you, Dani." he told her, solemn. "I never give you enough credit for that."
Danielle gave a weak smile as she pulled away, and she folded her arms across her chest as she moved to lean against the white fence around their motel's porch. Her blonde hair shone lighter in the sun, and she rubbed at her bare arm in attempt to warm her skin from the chill in the air. There was a look on her face that proved there was something more on her mind, and he could tell that she wasn't sure she wanted to share whatever that was.
"Dan?" he pressed. "What's going on?"
Danielle looked up to face him, and her green eyes found his. "This isn't fair, Dean." she murmured, so soft that he barely heard it. "This girl wasn't even out of college. She had her whole life ahead of her. And our life took that. We dragged Sam away from her, we brought him back into this life, and look what happened." She looked away, and for a moment he was sure that she was fighting away tears. "Whatever way I look at this, whatever Sam says about this, we cannot deny that we played a part in her death."
Dean frowned at her. "Danielle." He shook his head. "No. This is not—"
"Don't." she stopped him, abrupt. "Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't tell me that this isn't on us."
"I wasn't going to." he countered. "I was going to say that this isn't on you." Her face faltered to a frown, confused. "Look, I was the one who said that we had to go back for him, Dan, not you. It was me who dragged him back into this. You said it yourself, it's never just a weekend. You said something would happen, and it did."
"How are we even supposed to look him in the eye, Dean?" she asked, her voice was small, almost afraid. "He blames himself so much for this. He holds himself accountable for everything that happened that night, and, what? We're supposed to sit there and let him?"
"No, we aren't. And, we won't." he assured. "Look, I know things look bad right now, and I know he's in a bad place, but things will get better."
But his sister looked anything but convinced. "When?"
Dean shook his head. "We need to find dad." he stated, and he felt as though that was the only phrase he could actually say anymore. It was becoming his answer to everything. Because, honestly, he didn't know what other answers there were out there. "This thing, whatever it is, it killed our mom, Dani. It was in Sam's bedroom that night, it—" He stopped himself, because there were certain details he just couldn't recount. "Dad needs to be in this with us. We can't take it down alone."
"Yeah, so where the hell is he?" she pushed. "We've got nothing, Dean."
"That's not true." he countered.
"Oh, right. We've got co-ordinates to a place he may or may not be. How long are we supposed to chase him around before we finally find him? How many times are we supposed to take a beating while he's MIA doing god knows what?" She was angry, and, for the first time, she was showing it. "He's our dad, Dean. Why the hell is he doing this to us?"
A couple of stray tears fell from her eyes and trailed their way down her cheeks. As though embarrassed, she wiped them away immediately.
Dean's entire expression softened. "I don't know." he admitted. "I don't know anymore than you do, sis. But, that's why we have to find him. So we can ask him that ourselves. It's the only way that we're gonna find any real answers." Danielle sighed, and she looked away across the parking lot, distant. "What?" he pressed.
But she shook her head. "Nothing." she muttered. "Look, I gotta go."
Danielle made a move to turn, but he took a hold of her wrist. "No." He stopped her. "What is it?"
Tentative, she looked back to him, and he could see something reflected in her eyes, fear, terror, uncertainty. "Did you ever think that what happened to mom wasn't... random?"
Dean looked to her, perplexed. It was something he had never heard her ask before, something that he had never asked himself.
"What the hell does that mean?" he pressed, defensive.
"I don't know." she admitted. "The other night, when you were telling me about Jessica... I had this thought. I mean, for this thing to come back after so long, for it to find Sam and take Jessica away like it did... maybe this thing has some kind of grudge on our family. I mean, that night, with mom, maybe it wasn't some random monster taking a random woman. Maybe it knew who she was, or, maybe it knew who dad was."
"No," Dean shook his head. "Dad wasn't even a hunter back then. Why would some random monster want to hurt our family?"
"We've seen monsters hurt innocent families before, Dean." she reasoned. "I'm just saying... with this thing coming back for Jess, maybe it isn't finished with us. Maybe it wants something."
Dean thought on her words for a long moment, and suddenly he realised that maybe there was a reason she had been so quiet over the past few days. Every time he had spoken to her she had seemed distant, locked away in her own dark thoughts about something, maybe that had been it all along. Suddenly the air seemed to grow so much colder, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He took a short breath, shaking the thoughts from his mind.
"Dani, I love you, you know that... but you're starting to freak me out."
"Yeah, well, I freaked myself out, too." she agreed. "This thing being back, it scares me, okay? A lot."
"I know." He looked to her, and he offered a slight shrug. "It scares me, too, Dan."
For a moment, neither sibling said a word, both lost in their own thoughts of their mother and the monster that had taken her away from them. They weren't comforting thoughts, in fact, they were downright terrifying. The thought that this thing could simply show up at any time, the idea that it was still out there somewhere, plotting, waiting, it was frightening, to all of them.
But they were thoughts that Dean couldn't afford to dwell on. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and held out the keys to the Impala. "Be careful out there, alright?"
"Yeah," She took the keys from him. "I will be. Keep an eye on our brother."
"Sam's gonna be okay, Dan." he assured. "He just needs some time."
Danielle nodded, but she didn't appear at all convinced by his words. "I hope you're right."
Stanford, California — Whitehall Cemetery — 10:15 AM.
It had been a long time since Sam had attended a funeral, especially one of someone whom he had been so close to.
The funerals he had seen in his lifetime had been nothing like the scene before him. A hunter's funeral was nothing in comparison. It consisted simply of a few hunters, dressed in their tattered jackets and worn jeans, standing before a burning corpse doused in salt and gasoline, ignited by flames that indicated to the world that evil had triumphed. They drank whiskey from the bottle and murmured their goodbyes, and that was the best outcome. That was on the rare occasion that a hunter actually received a goodbye, on the rare occasions that there was a body recovered to say goodbye to, or there were people who cared enough to say it.
There were no flowers at a hunter's funeral, not like the white and pink ones that lined the side of the open grave across the grass before him. There would be no photographs, not like the one of Jessica beside her waiting headstone, beautiful and smiling as though there had been nothing dark or bad to fear in the world. There wouldn't be the dozens of mourners, friends and families gathered together to find closure in a loss that none of them could even begin to comprehend. They were all dressed in their best clothes, wearing their best shined shoes, solemn and weeping for a young girl who had barely even started in life.
Sam adjusted his tie, and suddenly he felt so inadequate. Suddenly, he felt so out of place there, and a part of him was aware that this was going to be his last taste of normality. He wasn't just saying goodbye to Jessica; he was saying goodbye to the whole world that he had envisioned with her. Nothing that came after this was going to be the normal, safe life that he had craved.
But, maybe that wasn't the life he was destined to have. Maybe this wouldn't be his kind of goodbye, perhaps he was always going to be one of those hunters who was burned and forgotten about. Maybe it was the same for Dean and Danielle.
The tomb stones that surrounded him were lined in neat rows, and their perfectly sculptured marble reflected the rays of the November sun. A cold wind rustled through the bare trees, already past shedding their leaves, and he shuddered a little. He glanced through the crowd of people, and his attention settled on a couple standing beside the casket, ready to be lowered into the ground forever. They were Jessica's parents. Her mother leaned into her husband for support, and he could see from there that she was fighting with all her strength not to break down. What was he to do? Could he really walk over to them and express his sorrow knowing that the life he had lived had been the reason they were all gathered there? Could he really look them in the eye when he knew that, had their only daughter never met him, she would more than likely still be with them? It didn't seem right.
It was at that thought that his eyes fell to another guest. Behind the chairs, stacked out in neat rows, standing away from the funeral, was a girl. It was someone that he had not expected to see there, and he wondered why she was there at all. She stood just within earshot, but far enough away so not to draw any attention to herself, the same as he was doing where he stood. Her face was hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses, and he watched as she pulled her leather jacket tighter around herself to shield herself from the wind.
Slowly, he approached.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her, almost accusing.
Danielle appeared startled by the new presence beside her, and she glanced up to him. He wasn't sure which of them looked more surprised to see the other. Her face softened.
"Sam." she acknowledged, and her attention returned to the scene before her. "You scared me."
"What are you doing here, Danielle?" he asked her again, this time with a little more purpose. He wanted an answer.
Danielle opened her mouth to respond, but she quickly closed it again, and she looked down towards the ground. "I don't know." she murmured. It wasn't as though she could stand there at his girlfriend's funeral and express her own guilt over the situation, she couldn't tell him that a part of her knew that she and Dean were responsible, that wasn't fair. "You said that you couldn't be here. Felt like at least one of us should be."
Sam thought on her words for a moment, and he gave a short nod. His sister had been right all along. When he had been adamant that he couldn't attend, convinced that it wasn't right for him to be there knowing that it was his fault she was gone, her pushing had changed his mind. When she had told him that he had to go, that he had to say goodbye to the only girl he had ever truly loved, he had listened. It had took him a while, but he had heard her. And he was relieved that he had.
"Thank you." he stated, sincere. Because, truthfully, he was glad that he didn't have to face it alone.
Danielle took a hold of his hand, and she offered a gentle smile. "Come on." She coaxed him towards the back row of chairs, and together they took a seat.
Sam didn't let go of her hand until the end, until everyone had said their goodbyes and her casket had been lowered into the ground, never to be seen by anyone again. He wiped harshly at his eyes and he watched as the guests began leave one by one until there was only the two of them left there, still sitting in the same seats, silent. He couldn't understand his own sadness, or how it could possibly ever get better.
"We're okay, right?" he asked, so sudden and so blunt that he surprised himself. There was an uncertainty to his words, as though he wasn't sure of what his answer was going to be.
But a frown furrowed at his sister's brow. "What do you mean?"
Sam shrugged. "Us." he clarified. "Me and you. I mean, I know you weren't exactly thrilled at the idea of having me back."
Danielle sighed. "Sam—"
"No." he stopped her, blunt. "Look, I don't blame you. I cut you out. Both of you. I get why you were so angry—"
"Sam. It doesn't matter anymore, okay?" She turned slightly in her seat, enough to face him, and she pushed the sunglasses she wore to the top of her head. "It's not what you think." He looked to her, and her eyes found his. "Look, all this... I... it was never about me being pissed at you. Well, maybe some part of it was, but... truth is, Sam, I was afraid of something like this happening. I was scared that you coming back would mean you'd be back for good, that something would go bad and you'd end up stuck back in this life forever. Because, I know it isn't what you want. I know how hard you tried to get away from it all. And," She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we came back for you that night. I'm sorry that we brought you back into this, and I'm sorry that you lost her because of it."
Sam stared at her, perplexed. "Danielle... this isn't on you. You know that, right?" He searched her face for some kind of answer, but he could see the guilt clearly behind her eyes. "I don't blame you for this. And I don't blame Dean. This is on me."
"No." She shook her head at him. "Sam, I need you to listen to me. This was not your fault. This didn't happen because you left her for a weekend. I think..."
But she trailed off, as though to say she had already said too much.
"What?" he pressed, cautious.
Danielle appeared uncomfortable. "I know this isn't gonna be nice to hear, but..." She sighed. "I think that thing, whatever it is, I think it would have found her whether you were there or not."
Sam frowned, suddenly defensive. "What does that mean?" he pressed. "Are you saying she did something to deserve this?"
"What?!" She looked appalled at just the thought. "No, of course not. I just mean..." She searched for the right words. "Look, Jessica wasn't just anyone, Sam. And this wasn't just some creature. This is the thing that killed our mom. Out of all the monsters, why that one? And, why Jess? I think this thing wanted to hurt you. And it knew how to do it."
Sam's jaw tightened as he possessed her words, because it wasn't the first time those thoughts had been inside his head, but to hear someone else say it made the threat that much realer. His expression grew suddenly darker, and a new found determination washed through him. "Well, we're gonna find this thing." he assured. "And I'm gonna make it pay. It's not gonna get away with this again."
And, with those words, Sam pushed himself from his seat and stalked off across the grass. And all Danielle could do was watch him go.
One Week Later — Colorado — Impala — 03:59 PM.
The sound of a soft humming was what stirred Danielle from her light sleep, and it took her a moment to process where she was. The Impala was speeding down some secluded highway, Metallica played softly through the speakers, and the trees that surrounded them were nothing more than a green blur at the side of the road. Dean's eyes were focused solely on the horizon ahead, his fingertips tapped gently against the steering wheel to the rhythm of the music, and it seemed as though they were miles away from anywhere. For a moment, she could have been content with that thought.
Tentative, she glanced towards the back seat of the car where her brother seemed to be lost in a peaceful slumber of his own. She was more than content with that thought, too, because it seemed like days since he had rested without the interruption of nightmares and dark thoughts haunting his sleep.
"You're awake." Dean observed, and he glanced briefly between her and the road. "You alright?"
Danielle offered a shrug. "Fine." she murmured, and she pulled a hand down her face as she shifted in her seat. Strangely, she felt more exhausted than she had before she had fallen asleep. "Where are we?"
"Um..." Dean thought for a moment. "Just outside of Grand Junction. Not much further to go."
Danielle nodded, he assumed more out of politeness than anything else, because, he noticed, she didn't look too bothered either way.
"Do you think dad's gonna be here?" she asked him, cautious.
Dean looked to her for a moment, and he could see clearly the worry in her eyes. She was scared. "I don't know, Dan." he admitted. "I hope so."
This time, she didn't get the chance to respond. A sharp gasp sounded from behind her, and it interrupted any thought she'd had. Sam startled awake, and he shot up from where he lay, more alert than ever. His eyes searched the car, as though he had only then realized where he was. Dean and Danielle shared a look, and Sam didn't miss it. He looked away from them.
"Are you alright?" Danielle asked, patient, concerned. Already, she knew what the answer was; he was worn out, he was grieving, he was frustrated and he was desperate for some kind of an answer. She wasn't sure why she was still asking him. Because she knew that he was going to lie to her.
"Yeah," He nodded, as enthusiastically as his weary body would allow. "I'm fine."
"Another nightmare?" she pressed.
This time, however, he simply looked away, silent. He wasn't going to talk about it, but he wasn't going to lie.
Dean cleared his throat, and he looked back at him through the rear view mirror. "You wanna drive for a while?" he offered.
Sam huffed a laugh, admittedly he was a little taken aback. "Dean, your whole life, you've never once asked me that."
Dean simply shrugged, as though it wasn't a big deal. "Just thought you might want to." he muttered. "Never mind."
A tense silence seemed to fall over the car, and Sam sighed. "Look, man, you're worried about me, you both are, I get it. And, thank you. Really. But I am perfectly okay." he assured.
Once again, Dean and Danielle shared that look. One of concern, disbelief, and a search to the other for support. Again, he ignored it.
Exasperated, he reached forwards and picked up the laminated map that lay in the space between his siblings, and he glanced over it carefully. There was a large 'X' labelled '33-111' in the centre, their father's co-ordinates. It seemed so wrong that they were just driving away from everything that had happened, taking another job as though there had been no reason to stick around. Was this how it was going to be from now on? Were they going to run from place to place until California was nothing more than a distant memory?
"You know, maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon." he commented, earnest.
Dean looked over towards his sister, and she looked about as clueless as he felt. The truth was, neither of them knew how to deal with what was happening around them, they didn't know what they could do or say to make things easier for their brother, they didn't know how was best to support what he was going through, because they didn't understand it. They had never experienced a loss like that, they didn't know what it felt like to lose someone they had built a life with in the way he had with Jessica. All the two of them had was each other, they didn't give themselves the option to lose people, because the two of them hadn't let another person into their lives since Sam had left.
Honestly, they had been trying to avoid the subject as best they could, figuring that, in true Winchester way, Sam would bring it up with them when he was ready to talk about it. If ever. He had been quiet over the past week, more so than usual. He hadn't slept more than an hour or so at a time, always seeming to have his dreams interrupted by some haunting nightmare or memory. It was hard to watch.
"Sam," Dean reasoned. "We dug around there for over a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica—"
"We gotta find dad first." he concluded. He knew it was true, he just wished that they had a real lead. Something to give them an answer faster.
"Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence. Dad will have answers." he assured, but he wasn't sure that even he believed that. "I think Dan's right, this wasn't random. That thing knows what it's doing. There has to be a reason. He'll know what to do."
Sam gave a slow nod, unconvinced. That was the best he could hope for. "It's weird, man." He frowned down at the map. "These co-ordinates he left us, this Blackwater Ridge... there's nothing there. It's just woods. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"
Dean shook his head, and Danielle shrugged. They knew no more than he did.
Beside the highway was a sign; 'Welcome to Lost Creek Colorado National Forest.'
"Guess we're about to find out." Danielle murmured.
The Impala cruised to a gentle stop outside of a small cabin like building, and Danielle already had a bad feeling about it all. Some part of her just knew that their father wasn't going to be there, and it was a feeling that she simply couldn't shake. There was something more going on than her brothers seemed to be aware of. There was something wrong. She was sure, Dean was still expecting their dad to just show up and tell them everything they needed to hear, he was waiting for the moment that he appeared with all the answers to questions they hadn't even thought to ask yet.
But she wasn't so sure. She wasn't so easily convinced. It wasn't like their dad to just disappear, especially given the fact that she and Dean were still so new to hunting without him. When they had first gone off alone he had never been off the phone, checking in with them almost every night just to ensure that they hadn't gotten themselves killed, and that they weren't in any kind of trouble. Had he stopped worrying about them? Had his initial concern and discomfort in the situation faded? Or was it something more? Did their father even know about Jessica? Did he know that Sam was back in the life? Did he even care?
There was a bigger question, one that haunted her thoughts late at night, one that she tried not to give the time of day if she could help it. Was he okay? Had something happened to him? Was that why he had suddenly stopped calling? What had happened to him after he had left that voicemail for Dean?
Danielle needed to know; was their father even alive? Was he out there somewhere getting on with his own hunts without giving them a second thought? Was he simply trusting them to be okay without him?
"Are you coming, Dan?" Dean's voice broke through her thoughts, and she glanced towards her brother, who was already out of the car and leaning through his own door to her.
Danielle looked up to him, unsure, but she nodded all the same, and she said nothing as she climbed from the car to follow. A dark feeling brewing in the pit of her stomach told her that there was something wrong, and she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to ignore it. Or, for that matter, keep her fears hidden from her brothers.
As the car door slammed closed behind her, Dean rounded the Impala, and he slung an arm around her shoulders. With it came a reassuring squeeze, almost as though he already knew the battle she was having inside her own head.
"Is this about Sam? Or dad?" he asked, and his voice was low enough to ensure that only she heard it. She looked up at him, and the weak smile she forced told him everything he needed to know. He sighed, but he nodded in understanding. "It's gonna be fine, Dani. Relax. Dad's gonna be fine."
For a short while, she was so desperate to believe his words, to think that he believed his own words, and she leaned into him for a moment. Hesitant, she nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "I know"
But, she didn't. None of them did. And none of them would until he made himself known to them. That was the hard part.
"It's just... weird, you know? Not being able to just call him, not knowing where he is, what he's doing.." She sighed. For the first time in her life, she could say she honestly understood that people don't understand what they have until it's gone. Her father had driven her insane at times, the same as she had done to him, and leaving to hunt alone had seemed such an appeal to her and her brother, but now she realized, it was so much harder not having him on speed dial. To know that he wasn't a phone call away when they needed him, it was a scary thought.
"It'll be fine, Dan." he told her again. Dean offered her a smile as he released her from his hold, and he ruffled her hair. "Trust me."
When she and Dean entered the Ranger's station, Sam was already there, and he barely looked up at them from the area maps and information that he was studying so intently. The room was small, there were information boards everywhere they turned displaying nature hikes and alternate routes that could be taken. Danielle had to wonder how many people really did get a kick out of wandering around the woods for hours at a time.
"So, Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote." Sam noted, he glanced up at them as though to ensure that they were listening. "It's cut off by these canyons here," He pointed to the map, indicating a large shaded area that neither of his siblings seemed too phased by. "Rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold miles all over the place."
But Dean still didn't appear to be listening to him. "Dude," he commented, and they turned to look at him. His eyes were fixed intently to a framed photograph on the wall. "Check out the size of this freaking bear."
Sam crossed the room and looked over his shoulder to the picture, his eyebrows raised. "And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area." he concluded. "It's no nature hike, that's for sure."
Danielle huffed. "Awesome." she muttered. "Can't wait to get chased through the trees by one of those bad boys."
There was the sound of a door opening behind them, and they all turned, only then remembering that they may not be alone. A man in his later fifties appeared behind the counter opposite them, and he smiled, welcoming. "You three aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" he asked, as though he already knew the answer. He looked between them slowly, and his eyebrows raised as he waited for a response.
"Oh, uh, no, sir." Sam smiled. "We're, uh... environmental study majors from UC Boulder." he lied. "Just working on a paper."
Dean nodded enthusiastically, and he pumped his fist. "Recycle, man."
The ranger scoffed. "Bull." he affirmed. "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"
Dean seemed to consider his response for a moment, and he offered a guilty smile, as though to say they had been caught out. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, we are, Ranger—" He narrowed his eyes towards the man's name badge. "Wilkinson."
Ranger Wilkinson appeared exasperated at just the thought of this girl. "Well," He sighed. "I will tell you exactly what I told her. That her brother filled out a Black-country permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater Ridge until the twenty-fourth, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" He smiled, self-assured. "You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother is just fine."
"We will." Dean agreed, and a smirk crept onto his face. "Well, that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?"
Danielle rolled her eyes at him, and she shook her head, hiding a smile.
"That is putting it mildly." The ranger agreed.
And, just like that, Dean's mood seemed to perk right up. "Actually," he continued. "You know what would help is if we could show her a copy of that Black-country permit. You know, so she could actually see her brother's return date."
Ranger Wilkinson eyed him for a moment, as though suspicious, before he glanced between Sam and Danielle. The three of them waited, and Dean simply raised his eyebrows, as though to ask what the problem was.
Eventually, he caved. "Alright." he agreed. "Wait here." He turned and headed back through the door from which he had entered.
With a satisfied smirk, Dean turned towards his sister, and he snickered. "Look at the excitement on your face." he mused. "I know how much you love camping, Dani."
Danielle gave a short shake of her head, and she forced back a smile. "Bite me."
"Not if a grizzly bites you first." he countered.
Despite herself, she laughed, and she threw a light punch to his chest. He didn't even flinch. "You know, Dean, whatever it is that we're hunting out there, I hope it eats you. Slowly."
"Ouch." He held a hand to his heart in mock hurt. "You don't mean that, Dan. And, besides, it's not the bears of the monsters that you need to worry about."
"Oh yeah?" She raised an eyebrow. "So, what is it that I need to worry about?"
Dean shrugged, nonchalant. "I don't know.." A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Maybe the snakes... Spiders... Those giant flying bugs... The usual creepy crawlies you'd find in the woods."
The smirk had faded from her face, and she looked ready to punch him a lot harder. "Is that a joke?" she pressed. "There's no snakes in the woods, Dean." But the look on her face didn't change. "Right?" He said nothing. "Dean."
But he didn't get the chance to answer. The door opposite them once again opened, and Ranger Wilkinson appeared holding out a sheet of paper towards Dean. "You kids be careful out there." he cautioned.
Dean nodded, and he took the sheet from him. "Yes, sir." He smiled in thanks as they turned and headed out of the station.
The door slammed closed behind Sam, and he set off towards the car. "What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" he asked his brother, accusing.
Dean appeared a little taken aback by his sudden tone. "What?"
Sam paused beside the passenger door, and he huffed. "The co-ordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's just go and find dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?"
Dean frowned. "I don't know, Sam. Maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it." he stated, blunt, matching his tone easily. He eyed him for a moment, curious. "Since when are you all shoot first, ask questions later, anyway?"
"Since now." he replied. His voice was hard, and there was a new found determination in his eyes. Sam meant business. He climbed into the Impala and pulled the door closed behind him, perhaps with a little more force than was needed.
"Really?" Dean pondered. "Huh." He shot a glance towards Danielle, who simply shrugged at him. She didn't know what to say.
There was nothing that they could say, and, together, they followed his lead and climbed into the car in search of the girl with the missing brother.
Lost Creek, Colorado — Collins House — 5:15 PM.
It had been a short drive from the ranger's station to the house they now sat outside of, and Sam only seemed to be growing more and more impatient with every minute that they weren't throwing themselves into the woods to hunt a creature they were yet to identify. He was on edge, he was angry, and he wasn't thinking straight. If it had been up to him they would have wandered straight into the woods to find out what they were dealing with face to face. It wasn't hard to see his obvious frustration, and it was something that his siblings weren't yet prepared to comment on, because there really was nothing more that they could say. He was grieving, and they had to let him do that. It was going to take more than a sorry for your loss or a reassuring promise that they were going to find their father and the monster that had taken away Jessica to snap him out of his funk. Sam wanted results, and he wanted them faster than it was possible to get them.
Neither Dean nor Danielle could argue with that. They didn't want to.
And, no surprise to either of them, Sam was the first of them out of the car. He was already halfway up the driveway towards the front door before either of his siblings had thought about moving. This behaviour wasn't like him, at all.
With purpose, Dean marched up the path behind him, and he manoeuvred himself a step closer to the door than his brother. He begrudged nobody inside having to speak to an impatient and frustrated Sam first.
Dean knocked on the door three times, and together they waited in silence for somebody to respond.
After a moment, a young, pretty girl with short black hair opened the door, and she glanced between them, wary. It was clear that she had not been expecting anybody, and she didn't look the type to simply allow strangers into her house on the idea that they could help her.
With that thought, Dean flashed her one of his more charming smiles. "You must be Haley Collins." he stated. "I'm Dean, this is Danielle, and Sam. We're, ah, we're rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over, he wanted us to ask you a few questions about your brother, Tommy."
Haley's eyes narrowed, as though debating with herself whether she could trust them. "Lemme see some ID."
Dean nodded, and he nudged his sister in the arm as he took out his own badge. Together, they displayed the fake cards.
After a moment, she seemed satisfied, and she stepped aside from the doorway. "Come on in."
Once again, Dean smiled. "Thanks."
Her eyes travelled past them towards the Impala parked outside, and she raised her eyebrows. "That yours?" Dean glanced back, and he nodded. "Nice car."
Dean's smile contorted to a smirk as she turned to lead them into the house, and he glanced back towards his siblings, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. The only response he received was a roll of their eyes.
The four of them headed through to the small kitchen, where they were greeted by a young man sitting at the table. He didn't look to be out of his teenage years just yet, and his eyes were glued to the laptop screen open before him. He looked between the three strangers who now occupied his kitchen, and he shot his sister a puzzled look.
"This is my little brother, Ben." Haley introduced him, and he nodded in acknowledgement. He showed the same wariness as his sister had done at the sight of them.
Sam looked between them slowly, and any initial frustration that he had been holding onto seemed to have been left at the front door. He appeared calm, friendly, patient. "So, if Tommy isn't due back for a while yet, what makes you think something is wrong?" he asked, curious.
Haley picked up a bowl of salad, which she set on the table before her brother, preparing for dinner. "He checks in everyday by cell." she explained. "He emails photos, silly little videos... but we haven't heard from him in over three days."
"Maybe he can't get a cell reception?" he suggested. "Those woods are pretty big."
But Haley shook her head. "He has a satellite phone, too."
"Could it be that he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean cut in lightly.
That comment seemed to coax Ben to join the conversation. "He wouldn't do that." he stated, blunt, defensive.
Dean looked to him, curious, as though to ask him what made him so sure.
Haley sighed. "Our parents are both gone." she stated, in answer to Dean's silent question. "It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other. I mean, with it being only us left... that's kinda how it has to be. I know it's hard for people to understand, but I know when something is wrong. I can feel it."
Dean shook his head. "Not as hard as you might think." he assured. He caught his sister's gaze, but she looked away.
"Hey, uh, can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam asked, glancing between them.
"Yeah, sure." She smiled and took a seat beside her brother at the kitchen table, turning the laptop to herself as she searched through the dozens of pictures on the screen. She pulled one up at random, and the faintest hint of sorrow crept into her expression. "That's Tommy." she said, pointing to the man on the screen. He didn't look much older than her, but he looked happy wherever he was. "This isn't just him not checking in. Something is wrong. Something happened to him. I know it."
"Listen, we'll find your brother." Dean told her. "We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge tomorrow."
"Well, maybe I'll see you there." The three of them looked at her, unsure, and she sighed in defeat. "Look, I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy, and I'm heading out there in the morning. I'm gonna find Tommy myself."
Danielle nodded slowly, because, honestly, she couldn't blame her one bit. Had the situation been different, had it been any one of them sitting where Haley was, they would have done the exact same thing, and every one of them knew that.
"I think I know how you feel." Dean stated vaguely.
Sam glanced back at the pictures on the screen, and he furrowed his brow, as though he had seen something that the rest of them had missed. "Hey, uh, do you mind forwarding these to me?"
Haley shrugged. "Sure."
Dean tore his eyes away from the screen, because he really didn't have much interest in watching Sam and Haley discuss forwarding emails and whatever a jpeg was. He crossed the kitchen to where his own sister was leaning back against the counter, looking as though she was lost in a world of her own thoughts. He had noticed, she seemed to be lost in that world a lot more than she was in theirs lately.
"You're pretty quiet." he observed, nonchalant, as calm as if he had been asking her about the weather.
Danielle looked up to him for a moment, and she shrugged. "I'm worried about him, Dean." she said softly. He was about to ask her whether she was talking about their brother or their father, but he didn't have to. She folded her arms tightly across her chest, and she looked over towards Sam. "He isn't acting like himself."
Dean sighed. "Look, Dani, the guy's just lost his girlfriend. What do you expect?"
"I know." she muttered. "And, trust me, I understand that. But, he is not okay, Dean. He keeps saying that he is, but he isn't. What are we supposed to do here? I mean, how are we supposed to help him when he won't let us in?"
Danielle was looking up at him as though she thought he had all the answers, pleading with him to tell her that everything was going to be alright, that he knew how to make things better, that he could fix everything, but, this time, he knew that he couldn't. "I meant what I said, Dani, he just needs time. He'll be okay. And, you know, once we find dad, once we find out what happened that night, maybe he can find some kind of closure on it all. Maybe that's what he needs to move on. We just need to find dad, that's how we can help him."
Danielle huffed. "Yeah, and we both know that's easier said than done, Dean." she murmured, disheartened.
Dean frowned. "What does that mean?"
Danielle opened her mouth to respond, but she paused, maybe it was time to tell him the truth. Maybe it was time to confess the real fears that she held for their father, maybe it was time to tell him what she really thought, that maybe things weren't so black and white and maybe he wasn't just busy on a hunt. But she didn't get the chance.
Sam was already on his feet and headed towards the door. Dean and Danielle offered a small wave to Haley and Ben before they turned to follow their brother from the house. The sun was already setting in the sky, and the street suddenly seemed so much darker than it had done before they had entered. They headed down the path towards the Impala in silence, until Dean checked his watch.
"I don't know about you guys, but I could go for some grub right about now." he stated, a tone brighter.
Danielle offered a weak smile. "What's new there?"
He glanced towards her with a grin. "Come on, my treat."
"Dude, for the last time, you can't call it your treat when you're paying with it on a stolen credit card." she said, exasperated, but Dean was already climbing into the car.
Lost Creek, Colorado — Bar — 9:45 PM.
Danielle weaved her way through the crowded bar towards the small table occupied by her brothers at the back of the room. The place was filled with the sound of people talking, of snooker balls being thundered into each other, and of low music somewhere in the background. The smell of fried food filled the warm air, and even she had to admit that it was making her hungry. Sam sat hunched over his laptop, surrounded by papers filled with information about the disappearances, while Dean's attention was focused solely on the large burger before him. Carefully, she placed three beers down in the centre of the table, the only place there was room for them between their research, and she dropped back into her seat.
Dean mumbled his thanks through a mouthful of food, and she grimaced slightly. "You're disgusting." she told him.
"You're missing out." he countered, taking another large bite of his burger. A smirk came to his face, and he held it out towards her. "You wanna bite? I mean, if I ever found perfect reason to start eating meat, this is it."
"I'll pass, thanks." she stated, but she reached over and took a few fries from his plate.
Dean, Sam noticed, didn't even bat at eyelid at that. "Just curious," Sam looked to her. "Since when do you not eat meat? I mean, before I left for college you were just as bad as him for the bacon cheeseburgers and bad diner food."
Danielle shook her head slowly, indicating it was the last thing in the world she could possibly want to discuss with him.
But Dean seemed more than willing, and he snickered to himself. "We took a hunt with dad, not long after you left," he explained, humour shone in his eyes as he spoke. "Would you believe the case of the haunted slaughterhouse?" He dropped his burger and held a hand to his heart. "Once she'd seen what really happens to those helpless little chickens, she never ate a nugget again. Poor girl cried all night. She even threw out my beef jerky."
Sam glanced between them, looking unsure of whether he was supposed to laugh. "Haunted slaughter house?" He questioned. "Is he serious?"
Danielle huffed a laugh. "He makes it sound so much more dramatic than it was." she stated. "But, yeah. Turns out a slaughterhouse can be haunted. And, trust me, what the three of us saw in that place was enough to stop any normal human eating meat."
Dean looked to her, offended. "Hey. I still eat meat."
"Yeah, I rest my case." she rebuked. "So," Her attention turned to Sam. "You found us anything good?"
Danielle reached over and took a few more fries from her brother's plate, and he frowned at her, exasperated. "You said you weren't hungry." he muttered. "Stop. Eating. My. Food."
Sam rolled his eyes, and Danielle laughed. "Are you done?" he pressed, and they both nodded. "Alright. So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found."
Danielle raised a brow. "Could just be a coincidence." she offered. "Anything before that?"
Sam opened up their father's journal, and she found herself looking anywhere but those familiar pages. The whole thing still gave her chills.
"Yeah." He pointed down at one of the pages, indicating an old newspaper article. "In 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack, but they never found any bodies." His attention returned to his laptop screen. "It happened again in 1959, and again before that in 1936. There's definitely a pattern."
"Huh." Danielle nodded. "So, we're saying that every twenty-three years people are going missing from these woods?"
"Uh-huh." He turned his laptop towards them. "Alright, watch this. I downloaded that guy Tommy's video, check it out." He pulled up the file and clicked through three separate frames, one at a time. A dark shadow crossed the back of the tent, unmistakeable. It was huge, and the shadow didn't hide it's claws as it passed.
"Do it again." Dean said, and he leaned closer to the screen to get a better look.
Sam repeated it and glanced between them. "That's three frames. It's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move. Fast."
Dean reached out and smacked his brother on the shoulder. "See." he enthused. "Told you something weird was going on around here."
"Yeah," He closed his laptop and placed another newspaper article on top of it. "I got one more thing. In '59, one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack, just a kid. He barely crawled out of the woods alive."
Danielle raised an eyebrow, curious. "Is there a name?" she asked, glancing between him and the article.
"Uh," He paused for a moment as he scanned the words before him. "Yeah. And he doesn't live all that far from here."
Dean nodded, impressed, and took a long drink of his beer. "That's a lead, kids."
Lost Creek, Colorado — Shaw House — 09:23 PM.
Dean cleared his throat and knocked harshly on the of the house before them, and a frown creased at his brow as he seemed to think twice about his actions. "You know what..." He took a step back and pushed his sister ahead of him.
Danielle glanced back to him, perplexed. "What are you doing?" she hissed.
Dean shrugged. "It's late, Dan. This guy is old." he reasoned. "People banging on the door at this time of night, out of the three of us, you're the... least threatening."
For a moment, she was too stunned by his attempted logic to respond. "What are you expecting, Dean? Some little old man afraid of his own shadow?" But her brothers simply stared at her, as though they had no comment. "Least threatening.. you're unbelievable."
"I'm sorry," Dean cocked a brow at her, incredulous. "Did being called the least threatening somehow offend you?" he asked, amused. "Wow. Okay, fine. Not the least threatening. You're... the most innocent looking. And, besides, you're good with the elderly. Is that better?"
"Uh, no? Not really." She huffed, annoyed. "I'm plenty threatening."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Will you two just shut up for once?" he groaned. "I'm starting to see why dad bailed." He reached past them to knock again, unsure that there was anyone home.
There was a sound of footsteps on the other side of the wood, heavy and impatient. An elderly man pulled open the door with some force and looked between the three strangers on his porch, accusing. He took a long drag of the cigarette between his lips and exhaled the smoke. "Yeah?" he greeted, stern.
Danielle looked a little taken aback by his bluntness, and she forced a smile. "Uh, hi. Mr Shaw?" She held up her fake ID badge, and she could only hope that her brother was doing the same thing behind her. "We're, uh, rangers with the park service. We were hoping to ask you a few questions about the attack you were involved in as a kid."
Mr Shaw narrowed his eyes at her, and his gaze moved from her to her brothers. But, he nodded. "Sure. Come on in." He returned the cigarette to his chapped lips before he turned to lead the way into the house. It was dark, gloomy, and the only source of light came from a dim lamp in the corner of the room. An old radio sounded low and static from the next room, and the faint moonlight shone through the tattered curtains at the window. "I don't know why you're asking me about this," he grumbled. "It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a—"
"Grizzly?" Sam interrupted, and the man stilled. His face noticeably changed. "That's what attacked them?"
Mr Shaw gave a slow nod of confirmation, but he refused to look at any of them. He stubbed out his cigarette in the full ashtray on the table, and he wiped a hand over his stubbled jaw. He didn't turn back to face them.
"The other people that went missing that year, were those bear attacks, too?" Dean pushed, curious. But he remained silent. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?"
Mr Shaw didn't even flinch at the question, and he gave the impression that it wasn't the first time he had dodged the same interrogation. He didn't turn. He didn't acknowledge them. And Dean looked to his sister for some kind of help, because he was getting nowhere fast.
Danielle gave a soft sigh, and Dean watched carefully as her expression seemed to change. There was a look of understanding, patience, empathy set deep within her features, as though to tell the man before her that she had all the time in the world to listen to whatever it was he had to say. There was compassion in her eyes, a kindness, a sympathy, and he knew that there was nothing false about it.
"Mr Shaw," she pushed, her voice soft. "If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it."
"I seriously doubt that." he rebuked, and he dropped down to the old armchair behind him. "Anyway, I don't see what difference it would make. You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."
It was a story they had heard all too often; an ordinary person who had caught a glimpse of something that didn't belong in their world, they weren't believed, they were labelled as crazy, or liars. Nobody ever believed them, except for those who had seen that side of the world, too.
Danielle remained persistent, because, honestly, she felt for this man. Cautiously, she lowered herself to sit on the old couch opposite him, and she leaned forwards as though to give him her full attention. "Mr Shaw, you said you saw something in those woods, something that wasn't just a standard bear. I believe you. We all believe you. That's why we're here. To help."
A frown creased at his brow, and he regarded her for a long moment, as though unsure whether to believe her. "You're no park rangers." he concluded. "Who are you?"
Danielle contemplated her response for a moment, debating with herself how much it was sensible to tell him. "We're people who know a few things about the things people don't want to believe in." she stated. "What did you see?"
Mr Shaw looked away from her, and he heaved a deep sigh. "Nothing." he murmured. He sounded as though he was now lost in his own world of memories, and he stared off at nothing. "It moved too fast to see. It hid too well in the trees." He paused, and his eyes found hers. "I heard it, though. A roar. Like no man or animal I ever heard. It wasn't... human."
Sam nodded in understanding. "It came at night..." he pressed, curious. "And it got inside your tent."
Mr Shaw gave a firm shake of his head. "It got inside our cabin." he corrected him. "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 bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up until I heard my parents scream."
Danielle listened to him intently, she saw the loss and the fear shining in his pale blue eyes, still haunted by the memories of that night. "It killed them?" she asked, tactful.
"Dragged them off into the night." He looked away, towards the floor. "Why it left me alive," He sighed. "Been asking myself that ever since. But," He paused, and his hand moved towards his collar. "Did leave me with this..." He pulled down his shirt to reveal the three long scars that marked his left shoulder. Her eyes widened. "There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of demon."
"Okay." Dean concluded. "Well, we're gonna get rid of it." There was a promise in his words, assurance that the creature that had terrified this man for so long would soon be nothing more than a bad memory.
Mr Shaw shook his head. "There's no beating that thing." he warned. "It's too fast. You don't stand no chance. None of you do." His eyes rested on Danielle for a moment. "Going into those woods... it's suicide."
Sam looked between his siblings, and he seemed to decide that it was time to leave it there. He cleared his throat, and gestured towards the door. "Thank you for your time." he stated, sincere.
Danielle pushed herself up from the couch, and she crossed the room to where Dean stood waiting by the open front door for her. He stepped aside to let her pass first, but she seemed to hesitate. Slowly, she turned back to the man behind them; his face was grey and his eyes still anguished by the memories of his childhood, and her face softened.
"Mr Shaw?" His gaze returned to her. "I'm sorry about your parents." she offered, so heartfelt and so genuine that anyone who hadn't known could have gotten the impression she had known the man for years.
For a brief moment, he appeared taken aback by her words, and a soft smile came to his face. "Thank you." he stated. Those simple words seemed to have touched him, they appeared to have meant more to him than anything he had heard in a long time. "Watch yourselves out there, all of you. It's not safe. You need to be careful."
Danielle nodded as she turned to leave.
"We will, sir." Dean assured, and he rested a hand to his sister's back as he turned to follow her from the house.
The two of them headed down the short path towards the Impala, where Sam was already waiting, almost impatient. The urge to hunt this thing glistened in his eyes like fire. He was ready. And there was no slowing him down.
They climbed into the car and slammed their doors closed behind themselves, this time, Danielle didn't even contemplate getting into the front. Dean threw up his arms in defeat, and he heaved a sigh. "I got no clue what the hell we're dealing with here." he muttered. "I mean, spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside, they'd just go through the walls."
Sam nodded in agreement. "So, it's probably something else." he concluded. "Something corporeal."
Danielle raised an eyebrow at him. "Corporeal?" She scoffed. "'Scuse us, professor."
Dean huffed a laugh. "So, what are we thinking here?" he pressed.
"Well, whatever this thing is, it's got claws." Danielle offered. "Big claws."
Dean nodded. "So, huge claws... the speed that it moves... could be a skinwalker? Maybe a black dog?" he thought aloud. "Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature. And it's... corporeal."
"Hm." Danielle frowned. "That means we can kill it. That's always a good thing."
"Exactly." Dean agreed. "Trouble is, we just don't know how. Or with what."
Sam thought on his words for a moment. "Look, whatever it is, we cannot let that Haley girl go out there."
"Oh yeah?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "And what are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of the big scary monster?" He scoffed. "Her brother is missing, Sam. She's not gonna just sit this out. I say, we go with her. We keep her safe. And we keep our eyes peeled for out fuzzy predator friend."
Sam shook his head, incredulous. "What, finding dad isn't enough? Now we gotta babysit, too?" His siblings simply stared at him, clearly a little taken aback by his tone. "What?"
"Nothing." Dean muttered. He started the engine and took off down the road towards one of the motels.
Danielle shook her head. It was going to be a seriously long hunt.