**Ok so second chapter and thanks so much to the people that reviewed! I love you guys, and if you have any criticism or advice or things you want to happen (I'm tired I can't think of the word) just review and let me know!**
Wendigo
"Ah!" I glanced backward to see Sam jerking awake from his nightmare. Sam had been having nightmares ever since Jess's death, but, because he was a Winchester, he refused to open up to anyone about them. My worried eyes met Dean's before I returning my gaze to Sammy, who was breathing hard and looking around wildly.
"You alright?" I was the first to speak to him, and his gaze snapped to me, his eyes unfeeling for a moment before they softened when the registered who I was.
"Yeah, I'm fine," He answered, blinking the sleep from his eyes.
"Another nightmare?" I questioned, taking a wild-not-so-wild guess. He didn't answer and instead chose to clear his throat loudly and look out the window.
"Want to drive for a while?" Dean offered, and my eyes were drawn to him in surprise. I could count the times Dean had said those words on one hand. Maybe it would do Sam some good though. Get his mind off of Jess. Sam just stared between us for a moment before chuckling, looking away.
"Dean, in your whole life, you've never once asked me that," Sam pointed out, and I grinned at the truth behind that statement.
"Just thought you might want to. Never mind," Dean defended himself, returning his gaze to the road.
"It might help," I suggested, this time choosing to see him through the rear view mirror instead of turning. "Get your mind off of things," Sam met my eyes in the mirror, and I looked away, knowing he knew what I was getting at.
"Look, guys, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay," Sammy replied, getting a bit annoyed with our concern. Dean made a disbelieving sound in the back of his throat while I rolled my eyes at him. If there was one thing Sammy wasn't right now, it was okay. Who could be okay after witnessing their girlfriend die in front of their eyes? The same way his mom had no less! Clearly, he wasn't okay, and sooner or later it would boil over. "All right, pass me the map. Where are we?" I passed the map back to Sammy, and he unfolded it, successfully changing the subject.
"We are just outside of Grand Junction," Dean told him as he studied the map.
"You know what?" Dean and I already knew what was coming. We'd been over it before. "Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon," Dean and I exchanged a glance, and I shrugged, letting him take this one. I took the last one.
"Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you want to find the think that killed Jessica…" Dean trailed off, knowing he knew the rest.
"Got to find Dad first," Sam finished with cold determination hardening his words.
"It has to be connected, right?" I spoke up, making Dean glance at me and then back at the road. "John disappearing, and then this thing shows back up after what? 22 years?"
"It's no coincidence," Dean agreed, "Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do,"
"It's weird, though," I glanced in the rearview at Sam again as he spoke, "The coordinates he left us, this Black Water Ridge…" Sam shook his head.
"Yeah, what about it?" Dean questioned impatiently as Sam trailed off.
"There's nothing there," He finished, studying the map. "It's just woods. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"
An hour later Dean was pulling the car into a parking space (if it could be called that) in front of a small hiking information center that looked to be built out of wood. Apparently, Black Water Ridge was some sort of wildlife preserve where people could camp, fish or hunt.
"So Black Water Ridge is pretty remote. It's cut off by these canyons here," Sammy informed us, studying the small, 3D model that sat on a table in the middle of the room we were in. "Rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place." Sammy went on as I half paid attention while the other half focused on the pictures that were hung on the wall.
"Dude, check out the size of this friggin' bear," Dean marveled, staring at the one picture. I walked over to look at the bear that was easily one and a half people long.
"And," Sammy added, "A dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure," I wandered back over to the picture of the two men holding up fishing rods and smiling widely.
"You boys aren't planning to go out near Black Water Ridge, by any chance?" I turned to see the man in uniform, who most likely ran this information center. He was focused on the two boys and hadn't seen me yet.
"No, sir, we're majoring in environmental studies," He turned to look at me in mild surprise as I spoke up, smiling winningly. "We are from U.C. Boulder," Another smile. The man looked me up and down before grinning back at the two boys.
"And which one of you two does this fine young woman belong to?" Did I mention he was old enough to be my father?
"That'd be me, sir," Dean answered before I could reply, wrapping his arms around my waist and grinned. I covered up my surprise and amusement with another pretty smile. Sam cleared his throat, and I glanced at him, seeing him grinning a bit. First grin since Jess. I fought the urge to stick out my tongue at him, not caring how childish it would've looked.
"We're working on a paper." He turned back to the ranger in front of us. The man turned back to us, looking skeptical.
"Recycle, man," Dean attempted weakly.
"Bull," He called us out, and the smile froze on my face as my eyes flicked to Sammy, who looked nervous. Dean's arms tightened around my waist, letting me know he was nervous and making it hard to focus on the problem at hand all at once, "You're friends with that Hailey girl, right?"
"Yes," Dean answered after a moment of thought. "Yes, we are, Ranger…" He took a moment to read the tag, "Wilkinson," The ranger scoffed at us.
"Well, I will tell you exactly what I told he. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Black Water until the 24th. So, it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it? Tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure her brother's just fine,"
"We will," Dean promised, "Well, that Hailey girl's quite a pistol, huh?" Dean took a stab in the dark.
"That is putting it mildly," The ranger agreed.
"Actually," My words stopped him as he turned to go back into his office, "It would help if we could show her a copy of that permit," I told him, smiling a bit.
"Yeah, you know, so she could see her brother's return date," Dean backed me up, his voice sounding above me. My heart was going a mile a minute, but I controlled myself as best I could. Dean sometimes flirted with me, and it always ended up meaning nothing. It was just Dean being Dean.
The ranger hesitated a moment before conceding, "Fine, wait here while I print a copy. It'll only take a moment." He left the room, but Dean didn't release my waist. I glanced around the room, and my eyes caught Sam, who was looking at me with his eyebrows raised. This time, I did stick my tongue out at him making him laugh. Sam always did bring out the kid in me. The ranger came back and handed Dean the piece of paper, smiling at us. Dean held it out in front of us, and I scanned it briefly before smiling at the ranger again.
"You satisfied, babe?" Dean smirked down at me, and I smiled again. Two could play at this game.
"Yes, Dean-o," I tilted my head upwards to place a light kiss on the corner of his jawline before slipping out of his grip and heading out the door, leaving Dean standing there.
"Shut up," I heard Dean from inside, and I grinned, knowing he was talking to Sammy. They both came out, and we began walking back to the car. Dean laughed, slapping the paper in his hands and glancing at us.
"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" Sammy asked him, and I tried to shove down the vile feeling that rose in my stomach. "Cause I don't think this fine, young woman-" I shoved him, and he cut off mid sentence.
"No, and what do you mean?" Dean questioned, his gaze hardening.
"The coordinates point to Black Water Ridge," Sam explained, getting serious and a bit angered. "So what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean why even talk to this girl?"
"I don't know," Dean answered sarcastically as we reached the car. "Maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it," I studied Sammy in surprise at his eagerness.
"What?" He finally asked in annoyance, his eyes flicking from me to Dean.
"Since when are you all 'shoot first, ask questions later' anyway?" Dean asked him, hiding his concern.
"Since now," Sammy replied indifferently, getting into the passenger's seat. Dean turned to me with a classic 'would you look at that' expression.
"Oh, really," He shrugged as he got into the drivers seat, and I got into the back. It took us all of two hours to get to Hailey's from Black Water Ridge and by the time I was in desperate need to stretch my legs.
"You must be Hailey Collins," Dean spoke as she opened the door, but left the screen door shut. "I'm Dean, this is Melody, and this is Sam. We're ranger's with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. We wanted to ask you some questions about your brother, Tommy."
"Let me see some I.D." She didn't trust us. I looked to Dean who rummaged through his pockets for a minute before smiling and holding his card up to the screen.
"There you go," He told her as she scrutinized the false I.D. Finally, Dean took away the card, and, with one last mistrusting look she caved.
"Come on in," She opened the screen door for us.
"Thanks," Dean answered as the three of us followed her inside.
"That yours?" Hailey asked, catching sight of the Impala. She smiled a bit at him as he looked impressed she noticed.
"Yeah," He replied with more than a hint of pride in his voice.
"Nice car," Was all she said as she turned and led us through the house. Dean walked in front of us, looking back to give us a look, flicking his eyes in Hailey's direction and back. I kept my face stoic as I swallowed the jealousy that rose in my stomach. Focus on the case. If that was what this was.
"So, if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sammy questioned, thankfully cutting right to the chase.
"He checks in every day by cell," Hailey explained while bringing her little brother his food. "He emails photos, stupid little videos. But we haven't heard anything for three days now,"
"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception," Sammy suggested reasonably, but Hailey just shook her head.
"He's got a satellite phone, too," She told us, frowning in concern.
"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in," Dean offered, making the little brother slam his fork and knife down in anger.
"He wouldn't do that," He spoke with conviction, leaving no room for further contemplation.
"Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me," Hailey explained. "We all keep pretty close tabs on each other," Sounds like another family I know.
"You said he sent you pictures?" I asked her, and she nodded, still looking concerned. "Can we see them?" We followed her as she walked over to the computer and pulled up his videos, flipping through until finally she landed on one.
"Hey, Hailey. Day six. We're still out near Black Water Ridge," Tommy spoke from the video diary, "We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay?" Something ran behind the tent for a split second, and I felt a tug in my gut. It had been a shadow, but it was something.
"Don't worry. We're heading out to Black Water Ridge first thing," Dean tried to comfort Hailey.
"Then maybe I'll see you there," My eyes shot to her from where they had been studying Tommy's pictures and videos. I met Dean's eyes and raised my eyebrows at him. "Look, I can't sit around here anymore, so I hired a guide. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself." She spoke determinedly, meaning there was no way we could deter her.
"I think I know how you feel," Dean told her, and I tried to ignore them.
"Hey, you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asked her, and she shrugged.
"Sure," She replied nonchalantly, turning her gaze to Sam.
-4 hours later-
"So, Black Water Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic," Dean and I sat on either side of Sam as he took out a folder he'd put together. "Local campers mostly - but, still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found."
"Any before that?" Dean questioned as I took a sip of beer before glancing back at the files.
"Yeah, in 1982, eight different people - all vanished in the same year," He handed me a newspaper article that read GRIZZLY BEAR STRIKES AGAIN. "Authorities said it was a grizzly attack, and, again, in 1959, and again, before that, in 1936. Every 23 years, just like clockwork." He handed me his laptop.
"Okay, watch this," I opened the laptop and pulled up the videos. "So Sammy downloaded that guy Tommy's video onto the laptop. And look at this." I clicked the arrow key three times, going through the three frames before looking up at Dean and Sam.
"Do it again," Dean asked. I clicked through the frames a second time, slower.
"Three frames. That would only be a fraction of a second, which means whatever we're dealing with, it moves fast," I deduced, glancing at them again to see Dean grinning. He hit Sammy in the chest and then winked at me.
"See? I told you something weird was going on," Dean gloated, still grinning.
"Yeah," Sam agreed, shutting the laptop, "I got one more thing. In '59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack - just a kid - barely crawled out of the woods alive," Dean just nodded thoughtfully.
"There a name?" He questioned.
"Yeah, come on," Sam was up and halfway out of the bar before either of us could blink. Dean looked at me in surprise, and I shrugged, half smiling before hurrying after him. He filled us in during the ten minutes it took to reach him.
"Look, Ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this," The man told us as he let us in to his small home, "It's public record. I was a kid," He put a cigarette in his mouth as he talked in a gravelly voice, "My parents got mauled by a -"
"Grizzly?" Sam finished skeptically, and the man stopped, a haunted look in his eye.
"That's what attacked them?" I questioned, disbelief lining my words, trying to make the man open up. He took a long drag from the cigarette before nodding uncertainly.
"What about the other people that went missing that year - those bear attacks, too?" Dean asked him, and he looked away from us.
"What about all the people that went missing this year?" I followed up. "Still grizzlies?"
"If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it," Dean told him, and the man turned to us, dismally void of hope. He just let out a deep chuckle that might have been a cough.
"I seriously doubt that," He told us, "Anyways, I don't see the difference it would make," He sat down slowly in his chair, "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did,"
"Mr. Shaw," Sammy began empathetically, sitting down next to the broken man, "What did you see?"
"Nothing," He said, shaking his head as the horror replayed itself in front of him. "It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though. A roar… like no man or animal I ever heard,"
"It came at night," Sammy double-checked and the man nodded. "Got inside your tent?"
"It got inside our cabin," He stressed the word, his eyes widened a bit. "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," I tilted my head back a bit, absorbing this. Running through the things it could've been. "Do you know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up until I heard my parents screaming."
"It killed them?" Sammy asked him.
"Dragged them off into the night," Mr. Shaw answered, shaking his head. "Why it left me alive - I've been asking myself that ever since. It did leave me this though," He moved his shirt out of the way to reveal ropey scars in the shape of claws. I looked away from the scars and the hurt man, and instead chose to study my hands intently. "There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon."
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Shaw," I spoke after a moment, turning to Dean. "We'd better be going now." I followed Dean out the door with Sam behind us.
"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors if they want to get in. They just go through the walls," Dean pointed out as soon as we were out of earshot.
"So it's probably something else - something corporeal," Sam nodded as we walked, and I grinned at the word.
"'Corporeal'? Excuse me, Professor," Dean quipped, and I let out a breathy laugh. Sammy glared at us.
"Shut up. So, what do you two think?" He asked us.
"The claws - the speed that it moves - it could be a skin walker, maybe a black dog. Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature, and it's corporeal, which means we can kill it," We made it to the Impala and went around to the back. Dean propped up the false bottom with a shotgun before throwing down a green duffle and checking the weapons.
"We can't let that Hailey girl go out there by herself," I nodded at Sammy's point. She would just get herself killed.
"Oh, yeah, what are we gonna tell her - she can't go into the woods because of a big, scary monster?" Dean mocked. Sam opened his mouth to reply, but I beat him to it.
"No, but I'm with Sammy. We've got to tell her something," I shoved the bullets into the shotgun before cocking it.
"Her brother's missing," Dean stressed, looking back and forth between us, "He's her family, she's not just gonna sit this one out. No, we go with her, we protect her. And we keep our eyes peeled for out fuzzy predator friend," Dean told us, checking the pistol.
"So finding Dad's not enough?" Sam asked angrily as Dean took the duffel. "Now we got to babysit, too?" Since when was Sam the headstrong one? Dean and I just looked at him, and he rolled his eyes, "What?"
"Nothing," Dean shrugged it off, throwing the duffel at him harder than necessary and getting into the drivers seat. The motel was only a couple minutes away, but the drive was spent in a thick silence. I barely managed to brush my teeth before I crashed on one of the queen sized beds. The next thing I knew, I was blinking awake with someone calling my name.
"Mel, get up," I groaned and rolled over, or tried to. I realized that my head was resting on a muscular bicep. Dean's. I turned my head to confirm what I suspected and came nose to nose with a sleeping Dean, who had his other arm thrown lazily over his stomach so his hand rested on my waist. I smiled sleepily; it was really comfortable. I needed to get up, but my body rebelled against what my mind shouted at me. "Mel," Came Sammy's amused hiss.
"I'm up," I moaned, removing Dean's hand from my waist and throwing my legs over the bed, sitting up. I squinted at the clock and let out another groan, looking up tiredly at Sammy, who probably hadn't even slept. For a moment, I was torn between complaining about my three hours of sleep and worrying about Sammy not sleeping at all. Finally, I stood, sighing, "Tell me you at least tried to sleep," Sammy looked guilty for a moment, which made me sigh again, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Don't call me Sammy," He avoided the subject. I just shook my head, smiling slightly at him.
"I don't know if you've caught on, Sammy, but no matter how many times you say that, we aren't going to listen," Instead of being angry, Sam smiled slightly. I just shook my head again, heading towards the bathroom, "I'm going to shower," I took a change of clothes with me. "And Sammy," I added, turning to face him as I stood by the bathroom door, "Try to at least get a couple minutes of sleep while I'm in there," He just looked guilty again, and I closed the door and locked it.
The water felt amazing as I just stood there for a few minutes, soaking in the warmth and letting it wash away the dirt and grime. If I ever got out of this life, the first thing I would do was take a ten hour bath and relax. Or maybe a spa day. That sounded amazing. A smile twitched at my lips at my wishful thinking. I would never leave the life. Even if I did have an opportunity, I could never leave Dean. I would miss him too much. The way he made dumb smartass comments about everything. He always hid his feelings behind a mask, but once you saw past it… I shook my head to rid myself of any thoughts of Dean.
As I shampooed and conditioned my hair, my mind floated to someone I'd tried not to think about. My sister. Jez was two years older than me. Well, Jezebel, Jez for short. Jezzy when she got annoying. Wow, I hadn't seen her in… was it ten months now? Dean had been pissed with me last time I'd visited her. She had begged me not to tell anyone where she was living now, or what she was doing. She had a family now. She had left the life when Dad died, which was… seven years ago. She'd married at twenty-three to a man, Dustin Walker, and had two children. They were beautiful children, boy and a girl. I loved them almost as much as her, even though I didn't visit as much as I wanted. She'd restricted me to only once a year, for she was fearful of me being followed by something horrible. That was her biggest fear. That was any ex-hunters' biggest fear. Being followed by something that wanted revenge.
I washed my face thoroughly before stepping out of the shower and drying myself quickly. I slipped on a pair of jean shorts that fit comfortably, since I figured we'd probably be doing a lot of hiking, and a tank top that didn't show too much. After that I slipped on a short sleeved white covering that went down to just past my butt. I blow-dried my soaking hair until it was almost bone dry and blew back a bit, and then I swept it up into a ponytail to keep it out of my face, even though a few annoyingly stubborn strands refused to cooperate. I figured since it would be pretty hot out I wouldn't overdo it with the makeup and only put on some lipgloss, mascara and a bit of eyeliner before stuffing everything back into my bag and walking out of the bathroom to find the boys both asleep. I smiled softly at them. My family. The smile quickly disappeared when I saw Sammy's face contort, and he cried out.
"Sam!" I shook him, which did nothing except agitate him more. "Sammy, wake up!" "Jess!" He shot up, almost hitting his head into mine. He looked around wildly, just like he had in the car, until his gaze focused on me. "Sorry," I frowned at him.
"Don't apologize, Sammy," I sighed, sitting next to him on the bed. "Talk to me," I spoke the words firmly, like I was giving an order. He just shook his head.
"There's nothing to talk about," He told me, "She's dead. And I can't close my eyes without seeing her,"
"Sammy, that's normal, you're grieving," He just shook his head again, and I could tell there was something else that was tearing him up that he wouldn't tell me.
"You should wake Dean," He spoke before I could ask him anything else. "We should be leaving soon," He stood and walked into the shower as I watched him go with a heavy heart.
"Dean," I nudged him, and he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. I nearly laughed at his childish tiredness. It was adorable. "Dean, come on, we've got go," I shook harder him this time, and he grumbled as he blinked awake and looked at me and then at the clock. He let out another groan as he stood, and mumbled something about the job and waking up early before going into the bathroom where Sammy was brushing his teeth. I rolled my eyes affectionately at the pair of them.
In a couple minutes we were on the road, and since the park was so far away, it was around 10 when we got there. We were driving down the dirt path when I heard the voices arguing. Something about Ben coming with them. Hailey and what I assumed was the guide must be the ones arguing. Dean pulled in and we saw them in front of us, looking quizzical and disbelieving at the same time. I opened the door and stepped out, my mouth twitching as I saw the three staring at us.
"You guys got room for two more?" Dean questioned with an infuriating grin on his face.
"Wait, you want to come with us?" Hailey asked in genuine surprise. I grabbed the duffel bag and handed it to Sammy, who threw it over his shoulder as we walked behind Dean.
"Who are these guys?" The man behind Hailey asked gruffly. I glanced at him to find him looking me up and down appreciatively making my mouth twitched up in a small smile.
"Apparently, this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue," Hailey told him by way of introduction.
"You three are rangers?" The guide asked disbelievingly.
"That's right," Dean answered confidently as I followed Sammy up to their car.
"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Hailey criticized, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Against my will, I found myself actually liking Hailey.
"Oh, sweetheart, I don't do shorts," The laugh I'd been holding back died in my throat when Dean replied. I turned away from the two, and instead focused on the rest of my company. There was the guide, who looked about ten to fifteen years older than me, and who was still looking me up and down. Dean came to stand next to me before turning back to look at the guide.
"Oh, you think this is funny?" The guide asked angrily as he focused on Dean. "It's dangerous backcountry out there. Her brother might be hurt." "Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be," Dean told him with a darker undertone to his words and a small smirk playing at his lips. "We just want to help them find their brother. That's all," He added lightly. On that note, we started our hike of horrors.
"Roy," I started after about an hour of on and off silence. "You said you did a little hunting," I was walking behind Roy with Dean behind me and then Hailey, Ben, and Sammy. Best to know who we were working with - well protecting - right?
"Yeah, more than a little," Roy's tone held a trace of boasting as he replied. "You ever hunt?"
"A little," I replied evenly, and then a smile toyed at my lips as I added, "My dad used to take me,"
"So, Roy," Dean broke in before he could respond, "What kind of furry critters do you hunt?" Roy didn't even glance back at Dean's amused tone.
"Mostly buck. Sometimes bear," He replied smoothly, making me grin.
"Ever see anything big?" I questioned, and Roy glanced back at me as he stopped, "Like the picture in the information cabin?" I covered easily, seeing the mistrust and wariness clear a bit from his eyes.
"I stick to buck for the most part," He answered as Dean came up beside us. "But if I stumble upon the occasional bear," He shrugged. Suddenly, I frowned as I heard a metallic sound. It was faint, but it was definitely there.
"Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" If I wasn't so caught up in the noise I would've glared at him for being an ass.
"Dean, stop!" The words flew from my lips probably louder than necessary, but all of a sudden, I was afraid for him. He jerked around to look at me in genuine surprise, and then glanced to Roy and back to me. An almost hurt expression crossed his face, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was before he turned back and kept walking. "Dean-" Roy grabbed his jacket and hauled him back towards us, stepping closer to him as he did so.
"Whatcha doin', Roy?" Dean questioned in a low, threatening voice, his jaw clenching like it does when he's suppressing anger. In answer, and ignoring the threat, Roy picked a rather long stick off of the ground and hit the ground in front of Dean, setting off the bear trap with a sharp snap and making both Hailey and I jump.
"You should listen to the girl," Roy glanced back at me with an mildly impressed look. "She knows what she's doing. And you should watch your step… Ranger," He added the last word mockingly, Dean smiled tightly to hide the anger he felt.
"It's a bear trap," He smartassed as I walked past, pointing to the closed trap. I nodded with my eyebrows raised, fighting the smile until I turned away from him. He was being an ass, and he did kinda deserve it. I didn't have to turn around to know Sammy was smiling a bit as well.
"So, you ready to tell me who you three really are?" Roy asked me as Dean dropped back and began talking to Hailey. I didn't want to know what they were saying; I didn't want to hear Dean flirting with someone else in his long line of women.
"That depends what you'll do with the information," Roy glanced at me, studying me for a moment before turning back to the woods.
"Well, no offense, but the next time you want to pass as rangers, you might not want to bring your boyfriend along," I stiffened as he said that.
"Dean isn't my boyfriend," He glanced at me again and shook his head.
"Could've fooled me," He told me. What was that supposed to mean? "The silent one's not so bad,"
"They're practically family," I replied stiffly, getting a bit defensive of the two. "We grew up together. Dean can be… well, Dean, but he's good in a tight situation. And Sammy's smart as hell," I defended them, and Roy looked at me full on this time.
"I meant no offense, Miss," He replied evenly as ever.
"Melody," I broke the tense silence after a moment causing him to look over at me in confusion. "My name. It's Melody,"
"Roy," His lips pulled up into the first genuine smile I'd seen from him since this hike started. I held out my hand without breaking stride, and he shook it.
"I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat," Dean's words drifted towards me against my will. I winced a bit as my hearing strained to catch what he was saying. Sometimes it would come naturally, and sometimes it would feel like all hell was let loose in my head.
"Why didn't you just tell me that from the start?" Hailey demanded. How much did Dean tell her?
"Well, I'm telling you now," Dean defended, "Besides, it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman… well, besides Mel,"
"She your girlfriend?" Why did everyone think that?
"Who Mel?" Dean's flippant response was almost as bad as if he'd just smacked me across the face, "Nah, we're…friends,"
"Really?" Hailey asked with her usual note of disbelief, but I didn't bother to hear the rest.
"So, you trust me enough to tell me who you really are?" Roy's words brought me back, and I blinked away their conversation, my hearing returning to normal.
"Hunters," A smile twitched at my lips. "Of sorts," Sammy was behind me now, and Dean had dropped back to the end.
"That's all you're gonna give me?" He stopped, making the rest of us stop with him. "We're here!" He announced loudly, so the rest could hear. "This is it - Black Water Ridge."
"What coordinates are we at?" Sam demanded, without so much as a smile at the news. Roy drew a GPS out of his coat and fiddled with it for a moment.
"35 and minus 111," He finally announced, and I let out a breath, going over to stand by Sam as Dean joined us.
"You hear that?" Dean asked, and I bit my lip as Sam nodded.
"Yeah, not even crickets," Sam mused. I didn't say anything, but it was true. Oddly quiet.
"I'm gonna go look around," Roy spoke from behind us, and we turned to look at him.
"You shouldn't go off by yourself," Sam told him, making him scoff. Of course he wasn't going to listen, he was a seasoned hunter and a guide, he knew these woods right?
"That's sweet," He mocked, "Don't worry about me,"
"I'll go with you," I broke in before Dean, Sam, or Roy could make the situation more tense.
"No," Everyone looked at Dean, and I tried to keep a deadpanned face on. He didn't care about me like that. He had already said so. It didn't matter. "Sammy'll go," He volunteered his brother, and I rolled my eyes, taking off after Roy. We'd been walking for a couple of minutes when I began to feel a throbbing in my head.
"Ah! Stay away! Help! Oh, God! Stay away!" Someone was screaming, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. There were heavy footsteps coming from my right, something was coming, and it was big. I felt waves of fear roll over my being as the footsteps grew louder and terror as the beast came into sight, but I couldn't see the thing. There was a terrible crunching sound, and, somehow, I knew it was that thing feeding. Feeding off a person. My hearing snapped back to me like a rubber band and the pain dulled to a faint throb in the back of my head. I opened my eyes to find I was leaning against a tree, breathing hard with my hands pressed over my ears.
"Hey, are you okay?" Roy's concerned voice flooded my brain as I slowly took my hands away from my ears. I nodded as he handed me a water bottle, and I drank thirstily. That had been the worst one yet, and I knew what it was. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. "Do you get migraines often?" I shook my head.
"No, that would be one of the first times," I only half lied. "Must be the heat," He nodded sympathetically.
"The heat can do that to you if you don't drink enough water…" He trailed off, looking at something over my shoulder. I frowned, glancing back to see the glint that he saw.
"What is that?" I started off towards it, ignoring his shouts. I stepped into a small clearing and looked around in surprise at the torn up campsite. Well, I think I found where they were taken from. I heard the crash of Roy coming into the clearing after me, and he sucked in a breath.
"Hailey!" He called, and I winced at the racket he was making, knowing the beast could be anywhere. I walked towards the remainder of the tent as the rest of the party came into the clearing, stopping short to take in the sight.
"Oh, my God," Was all Hailey could say as she saw the wreckage.
"Looks like a grizzly," Roy told her as I stepped away from the tent and towards the party.
"I need to talk to you," I muttered, pulling Dean's arm until we were out of hearing range of the others. "Whatever it is is storing them - or was. It just killed one."
"How do you know?" He asked after a moment. His face was hard and shut off, which didn't make me feel any better at all.
"I just know," I didn't look at him as I heard his sharp intake of breath. "One of them is still alive. I could…hear him," Dean didn't reply. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and actually became angry. "Am I a freak?" I demanded, staring straight into his pained green eyes.
"Hey," His eyes hardened at my question, and he looked determined and pissed at the same time, grabbing my face in his hands. "You're not a freak," His intensity almost frightened me. "We're going to figure this out. I promise. All right?"
"Okay," I nodded, determined now. I hated looking helpless. "I'm fine," I added, noticing the concern in his expression. "Really," I was suddenly aware of how close we were, and he still had his hands on either side of my face. His grip loosened and his thumb ran gently over my cheek where the cut from our last hunt was still healing. I knew I should pull away, do something, but his eyes held me prisoner. "We should call Sammy," It took everything I had to conjure up those four words. He blinked and pulled away from me quickly, taking a few steps back.
"Sammy!" He called, his voice hard, finally tearing his gaze away from mine and sitting down on a log. I chose to lean against a tree instead of sitting next to him like I usually would've done. Sam came down and crouched in between us, "The bodies were dragged from the campsite, but here, the tracks just vanish. It's weird," He pointed to the tracks in the dirt. "I'll tell you what, it's no skinwalker or black dog," He got up and walked back to camp without so much as glancing my way.
"What happened with you two?" Sam asked, glancing at me.
"Nothing," I answered easily. Nothing did happen, right? "Why would you even ask that?" I pushed off the tree and walked past him and back to camp.
"Help!" A man's voice yelled, and my head snapped up. Dean grabbed his gun and cocked it as he ran after Roy. I sprinted after the pair as the man continued shouting, "Please! Somebody help me!" We stopped in a small clearing, looking around, but there was no one there. I frowned. Something wasn't right about this whole thing.
"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Hailey asked in confusion.
"Sammy?" I whispered, glancing around the empty forest. "If we're here who's with our stuff?" He seemed to have reached the same conclusion because he called to the others.
"Everyone back to camp!" We all ran back to the campsite, but it was too late. Everything was gone.
"Our packs!" Hailey cried in dismay.
"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone," Roy grumbled, kneeling down where our stuff used to be.
"What the hell's going on?" Hailey demanded angrily.
"It's smart," Sammy explained to them. "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help,"
"You mean someone - some nut job out there just stole our gear?" I walked over to the edge of the camp, trying to hear something that could help us, but it was all quiet.
"I need to speak with you two… in private," I nearly jumped as Sam came up behind us. I hadn't even realized Dean was there. We followed Sam a ways into the woods.
"Let me see Dad's journal," Sam requested, holding out his hand for the book. Dean handed over the book, glancing back at camp uncertainly as Sam flipped through. "All right," He found the right page and showed us. "Check that out," I frowned when I saw what was written on the page.
"Come on, Man," Dean scoffed, "Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west,"
"It all fits, though," I pointed out, "The claws, the human voice imitation, the way it stores it's victims before eating them," I looked at Dean, who was beginning to believe us.
"Great," He held up the gun. "Well, then, this is useless," Sam shoved the journal into Dean's chest, stalking past him. He paused and turned for a moment.
"We got to get these people to safety," He left no room for argument as he walked back into camp. "All right, listen up, it's time to go. Things have gotten more complicated."
"What?" Hailey snapped, annoyed. I didn't blame her. A lot of things were going on right now that she had no clue about, and it would probably have pissed me off too.
"Kid, don't worry whatever's out there, I think I can handle it," Roy shrugged off his concern.
"It's not me I'm worried about," Sam replied, "If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now," Sammy ordered us. I glanced between him and Roy uneasily.
"One, you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to be giving anybody orders," Roy spit at him angrily.
"Relax," Beside me, Dean tried to control the situation, and, for a second, it almost worked.
"We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right?" Sammy was really not helping this situation. "I'm trying to protect you,"
"You protect me?" Roy snarled incredulously as he stormed up to Sam. "I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night,"
"Yeah?" Sam sneered at him, leaning closer and utilizing his height advantage, "It's a damn-near-perfect hunter. It's smarter than you," Roy turned to fix me with a disbelieving stare before turning back to Sam. "And it's going to hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid, sorry ass out of here,"
"Sammy!" I snapped at him, walking over to the two men.
"You know you're crazy, right?" Roy laughed in Sam's face, which pushed him over the edge.
"Yeah?" Sam asked, near yelling now. "You ever hunt a W-" Dean shoved him, and I grabbed his arm, pulling him further away from Roy.
"Chill out," Dean ordered, pushing Sammy backwards with one hand.
"Stop it. Everybody just stop." Hailey demanded, facing us. "Look, Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him," Dean turned back to us, and I shrugged. What choice did we have?
"It's getting late," Dean finally conceded, taking charge. "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,"
Sam, Dean, and I spent the next three hours until it got dark etching Anasazi symbols into the dirt around the campsite, making it nearly impossible for the Wendigo to get in.
"We shouldn't have even let them come," Sam grumbled as he finished another one.
"What choice did we have? As much as I hate it we can't control other people," He glanced at me and then into the forest. He sat down, and I crossed over the campsite to where Dean was arguing with Roy.
"Can I borrow him for a minute," I smiled at the three for a minute as I pulled Dean away. "You need to talk to your brother," I knew enough to know when Sammy needed his brother. Dean glanced over at him and then back at me. "He needs you,"
"I'm not good at…" He trailed off when he saw my no bullshit expression. He sighed. "I tried asking him, but all he says is 'I'm fine',"
"Well, then, go ask him again. You're his brother, Dean," Dean studied me for a moment before walking over to Sam and taking a seat next to him. I sat down next Hailey and watched as Dean knelt in front of Sam, and they talked.
"He's all yours, you know," It took me a moment to register Hailey was talking to me. I just looked at her blankly, and she smiled, shaking her head, "Dean, he's not interested in me,"
"What are you talking about?" I asked her in surprise, "Of course he is,"
"Not really," She looked back to where the brothers were talking and then at me, "Open your eyes, he loves you," I felt my eyebrows raise, and my eyes widen a bit before I laughed, shaking my head. I looked back at the boys to see they were both looking at me but turned away when they met my eyes. "Why do you think he was so defensive earlier with Roy?"
"Because sometimes Dean can be a bit of an ass?" I guessed shrugging. She laughed, and I smiled, not able to resist glancing back at where he was still talking to Sammy. She drew a breath to reply, but was interrupted by a scream.
"Help!" Dean cocked his gun, holding it at the ready as the screams continued. "Help me!"
"It's trying to draw us out. Just stay cool. Stay put." Dean remained calm as the screaming continued.
"Inside the magic circle?" Was Roy's sarcastic quip. Dean turned a glare on him as the rest of us kept our eyes on the forest. The man's next scream morphed into an angry growl. "Okay, that's no grizzly," Roy admitted. I picked up my gun from where it lay besides the fire and cocked it, standing protectively in front of Hailey and Ben, who were cowering on the ground. Roy shot, and the trees rustled. He shot again. And again and there was a massive roar. "I hit it!" He announced excitedly, running into the woods without a second thought.
"Roy! No, don't-" I rushed after him, passing the circle without hesitation.
"Mel!" I heard Dean yell my name from behind me, but I didn't stop.
"It's over here!" He yelled gleefully, excited even. "It's in the trees!" I could see him in front of me, and I urged my feet to move faster.
"Roy get away-" My warning was swallowed up by my scream as hands reached down and snapped Roy's neck, pulling him into the tree. I braked so hard that I fell backwards on my butt, scrambling back.
"Mel! Where are you?" I heard Dean's voice but all I could think about was the sickening crunch his neck had made when those huge, pale hands had wrung it. "Melody!" I regained my feet and was sprinting back the way I'd come and ran smack into Dean. "Melody! What the hell!" Dean's initial relief turned into anger. He grabbed my face, studying me, "Are you all right? What happened?"
"Roy's dead," I spoke with surprising detachment. "It killed him," Dean looked back into the woods and swallowed hard before pulling me behind him.
"We should get back to the others," He told us.
No one got much sleep that night. I ended up sitting besides Sammy, who was fingering John's journal without actually opening it.
"We're going to find him, you know," I pumped confidence into my voice as I spoke. He let out a half laugh at my words, looking down at me.
"How are you so sure?" I grinned, looking around the forest and then back at him.
"Because even if we weren't looking, eventually John would find us," I grinned again, "It's like you said, Sammy, he always stumbles in eventually." Sam just glared down at the journal.
"Well, what if this time it's different? What if this time, he just vanishes," Sam looked at me, desperate for reassurance.
"It's not," I reassured him. "You and Dean are his boys. His family. His life. He'd do anything for you," Sammy didn't say anything, and I stood, brushing myself off and giving him a hand up."We'd better get back,"
"So, we've got half a chance in the daylight, and I, for one, want to kill the evil son of a bitch," I grinned at Sammy's words as the rest of our party stood.
"Well, Hell," Dean grinned, glancing at me, "You know I'm in," We gathered around Sammy as he opened John's journal and flipped through it until he found the right page.
"Wendigo is a Cree Indian word. It means 'evil that devours'," Sam began, telling the tale from the beginning.
"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man, sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter." Dean continued.
"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Hailey asked, unafraid.
"Guy finds himself starving, usually during some cold winter," I picked up, "Not enough supplies, food or shelter. He becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."
"Like the donor party?" Ben offered, looking back at Sam.
"That's right," Sam agreed, "Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities, speed, strength, immortality,"
"If you eat enough of it, over the years you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry," Dean added.
"So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" She questioned, and Dean glanced at us before returning his gaze to her.
"You're not gonna like it," He warned.
"Tell me," She insisted.
"More than anything the Wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time. When it's awake, it keeps it's victims alive. It stores them so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother is alive, it's keeping him someplace dark, hidden, and safe. And we got to track it back there,"
"And then how do we stop it?" Hailey asked.
"Well, guns are worthless, and so are knives," I took that question. "So, basically," I looked to Dean, who held up the lighter and gasoline.
"We have to torch the sucker," He finished for me. We spent the next hour or two following the claw marks that were scratched into the trees.
"Mel!" Sam called from the front, and I jogged over to him. "Dean," He jerked his chin at the claw marks now on every tree surrounding us. "You know, I was thinking that those claw prints were so clear and distinct…"
"They were too easy to follow," I finished for him, my hand tightening on the lighter I had clutched in it. Suddenly, there was an inhuman growl from behind us. I spun around only to find empty forest. The trees rustled to my right, and I spun again, fear making my heart pound. There was a tapping like raindrops falling; I frowned at the sound and turned slower this time. Hailey let out a piercing scream, and I jerked back into Dean as a body fell from the tree. I didn't have to look to know who it was. Roy. Poor guy. Sam rushed over to Hailey, who was on the ground having dove out of the way of the falling corpse. I let go of Dean's jacket only to realize he had his arms around my waist, pressing me to him tightly.
"Dean?" Dean tore his eyes away from the body to look down at me and then quickly released me, looking away and walking towards the body while I went towards Hailey and Sam, offering her a hand up that she gratefully accepted.
"His neck's broken," Dean announced, feeling it. We had just got Hailey on her feet when Dean started pushing us away. "Okay, run, run! Go, go, go!" We sprinted away from the beast, and I found myself just behind Hailey. Then, I heard the thud of someone hitting the ground behind me, and I skidded to a stop, turning and running back to help Sammy pick Ben off the ground.
"I got him! Go!" I ignored Sammy's shout, and pulled the kid to his feet before running again. Hailey's terrified shriek cut through the air and made my legs pump faster. We stopped at where she had been moments before. I turned in a circle, looking around wildly for any sign of either of them.
"Dean!" I screamed, cupping my hands around my mouth. No answer.
"Dean!" Sammy yelled with me, but still nothing. This had happened before where we'd lost each other on a hunt, or got kidnapped. It was always fine. It was going to be fine.
"If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?" I turned to the kid as he asked that question while we started searching for signs.
"Honestly? I think because Roy shot at it," Sammy answered truthfully, "He pissed it off,"
"They went this way," My eyes snapped to Ben, and I hurried over to see what he'd found. A m&m. Dean's stupid bag of m&ms. I couldn't help a small laugh escaping me.
"It's better than bread crumbs," I grinned at Sammy, who nodded, taking the m&m and laughing a bit. We followed the trail to a decrepit entrance to a tunnel of sorts. I scanned the moss covered sign that hung above the door. KEEP OUT. NO ADMITTANCE. Sammy went in first with Ben and I right behind him. There were train tracks; it had been some sort of railroad. By the looks of it, it hadn't been used in at least fifty years. Sammy walked slightly ahead of us, shining his flashlight, lighting up as much of the tunnel as he could. A growl sounded from ahead of us, and he killed the flashlight. I grabbed Ben's hood and pulled him behind a boulder for cover. Ben peeked out, trying to get a glimpse of the monster that was keeping his sister and brother captive.
"Ho-" I slapped my hand over his mouth as the first syllable of his whimper came out.
"Shhh," Sammy hissed softly from beside us, peeking out to make sure it was gone. We continued down the tunnel, only stopping when we heard a weird squeaking sound.
"What-" Ben's question was cut off as the boards underneath us vanished, and we plummeted to the ground, coughing.
"Mel?" Sammy whispered, coughing as the dust cloud stirred when he moved.
"Yup, I'm okay," I pushed myself up from the ground, so I was sitting. Ben let out a horrified squeak, and scrambled back.
"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay," Sam soothed him as I followed his gaze to see what had freaked him out so bad. Skulls. Probably human. I flinched in disgust at the mountain of them. It wasn't until I looked past the skulls that my heart really stopped. They were all hanging, bound by the wrists and gagged. I shot to my feet, almost falling down again, but managed to remain upright with the help of the wall.
"Dean?" His face was bloody and motionless, and for a terrifying moment I thought he might be dead. "Dean!" I tried unsuccessfully to keep the fear out of my voice. His eyes flew open, and he groaned. "You okay?" I took the knife out of my back pocket and flipped it open.
"Ugh, yeah," He answered as Sammy came up behind me. I reached up and cut the ropes that held his hands, and he slumped over on me. I staggered under the sudden weight.
"Sammy, little help?" Sam slung Dean's arm over his shoulders and hooked one arm around his waist while I did the same on his other side. "Are you sure you're all right?" I asked him, worried.
"When we get out of this," Dean panted, "You are joining a gym," He groaned in pain as we set him down. I couldn't help the small smile that grew on my face as he said that. I knelt in front of him, checking him for any injuries.
"When we get out of this, you are laying off those bacon cheeseburgers," He laughed, which turned into another groan of pain.
"All muscle, baby," He managed, making me laugh despite everything. "Where is it?" He asked, getting down to business.
"It's gone for now," Sam answered, glancing nervously down the path we'd come. I looked over at Hailey and Ben to see they were over by a third figure hanging from the roof of the cave.
"Tommy," Hailey sniffled, reaching out for her brother, who suddenly jerked away with a gasp making her scream in surprise. She looked back at us with desperation, "Cut him down,"
"I'll get him," Sammy told us, moving over to them as I kept checking Dean.
"I said I'm fine," I gave him a look.
"The last time you said you were fine you had three cracked ribs," I mentioned, trying not to wince at the memory. "Hey," I crawled over to a duffel that had been ripped open in the corner and pulled out the three guns. "Guys!" I called to them, grinning and holding up one of the guns, "Flare guns,"
"Those will work," Sammy grinned back at me. It was slow going through the tunnels. Hailey and Ben were holding up Tommy between them while Dean and Sam went in front and I brought up the rear. There was a roar that echoed throughout the cave.
"Looks like someone's home for supper," Dean cracked a joke, but no one laughed. It was too serious, and they were too scared.
"We'll never outrun it," Hailey stated sensibly.
"She's right. Especially not with Tommy," I added, nodding to the nearly unconscious man. Dean held my gaze for a moment, and I knew exactly what both him and Sam were thinking.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked us.
"Yeah, I think so," Sammy replied.
"Yeah," I answered shortly, already not liking the plan.
"Okay," He turned to the three siblings. "Listen to me, stay with Sam and Mel, they're going to get you out,"
"Dean," I grabbed a fistful of his jacket, stopping him as he went by. He turned to look at me with a smirk already in place. "Be careful,"
"Always am," He winked at me before turning and running down the tunnel. "It's chow time, you freakin' bastard!" He yelled as I bit my lip in worry for a moment before turning my attention to the siblings. Dean could take care of himself. "Yeah, that's right! Bring it on, baby! I taste good," Sam stepped into the second tunnel for a moment, checking before nodding at me.
"All right, come on, we don't have much time," Sam took the lead as we hurried along the passage, and I stayed in the back, covering our retreat. There was a growling reverberating through the caves, as we made it to the exit tunnel.
"Sammy, get them out of here," I instructed, adjusting my grip on the flare gun and taking a deep breath.
"No," He answered firmly.
"Go!" I snapped at him, not looking away from the dark tunnel. "They're innocents, Sammy, take them back to the information cabin-"
"I'm not going to leave you or Dean," Sam spoke with finality, turning and nodding to the three. "Go, get him out of here," I lifted my finger off the trigger and took a deep breath as I pressed myself into the wall. Sammy pressed himself next to me, breathing hard. "Come on," He whispered, "Come on," I smelled the foul breath even before I heard it.
"Sammy!" I screamed, a scream that was drowned out by the thing's roar. I pushed Sammy to the floor as the Wendigo drew back it's claw to deliver the finishing blow. There was an explosion of sparks as the Wendigo ducked and the flare hit the wall, temporarily blinding us with it's light. I grabbed the back of Sam's jacket, pulling him roughly to his feet and shoving him along in front of me. "Run, damn it!" I yelled at him, and finally he did. We caught up to Hailey in no time.
"Sam?" She yelled back to us. "Mel? What-" She was cut off by a growl, and she screamed.
"Hurry! Hurry!" Sam urged, pushing them along as the thing gained on us. "This way!" He pulled us into a tunnel, but stopped short when he found the exit boarded. I turned, standing in front of them and holding my gun up. One shot.
"It's okay," The thing came toward us, and I took a deep breath in and then out. "It's going to be okay," I promised in a calmer voice, taking aim at the thing that was walking towards us.
"Hey!" I heard Dean yell just as I fired. My flare exploded in the Wendigo's head while Dean's worked in it's chest. It screamed as it was lit up in flames and dying, and I had to turn away as it melted into a pile of ash. "Not bad, huh?" His mouth twitched up in a grin, and Hailey and I let out a relieved laughs.
Half an hour later, I was standing beside Sam and behind Ben, who was recounting the story of the huge grizzly that attacked us at our campsite. "I mean, this grizzly must have weighed 800, 900 pounds." Ben told the cops as they jotted down notes onto a pad. We walked over to where Dean was leaning on the hood of the Impala talking to Hailey.
"You ready?" She asked her baby brother as she saw us approaching. He just nodded, glancing at us briefly; Sam and I offered him smiles and nods. Hailey looked back at Dean before leaning over to kiss his cheek and whisper something in his ear. It took every fiber of my being not to try to listen to what she said. That same feeling rose in my stomach as she drew back, and Dean's eyes widened a bit.
"I hope you find your father," She told him earnestly. She turned to me and gave me a smile before putting her arm around her brother. "Thanks Mel, Sam," They walked towards the ambulance, and she looked back at us, offering us one last smile before getting in. I leaned on the Impala in between the two brothers as we watched the doors shut.
"Man, I hate camping," Dean whined.
"Me too," I agreed, resting my head on his shoulder, just realizing how exhausted I was.
"Me three," Sam added, grinning. Dean put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer as we watched the ambulance drive away.
"You know we're gonna find him, right?" Neither of us needed to ask who Dean was talking about when he spoke solemnly.
"Yeah," Sam answered for both of us, "We know, but in the meantime, I'm driving," I didn't have to look to know he was grinning as Dean hesitated.
"Don't do it, Dean," I begged him, from where my head was still resting on his shoulder. He let out a half laugh and tossed Sam the keys. Sam caught them, getting off the hood and heading to the driver's seat eagerly. "No, do you have any idea what you've done?" I slid off the impala as Dean laughed and followed me to the other side of the car, getting in the passenger's seat while I slipped into the back. I closed my eyes contentedly as Sam revved the engine to the Impala. For the moment, I was safe, and, for a hunter, that was saying something.
