Hope.

That seemed to be the only thing keeping Kerry going at that moment. Hope that she would figure out how to kill this thing before IT killed her, hope that she had the right weapon to kill it, and hope that she would be able to get said weapon in time.

She'd been hunting on her own for nearly two months now, and a week from today would be exactly four months since Dean died. Up until now, the hunts had been relatively easy. An exorcism here, a salt and burn there, simple stuff. Not this time. There had been reports from Wilderness state park in Michigan that campers had been going missing. Kerry looked into it to see that it occurred once every sixty five years. The evidence led her to decide that a Wendigo was behind the disappearances. After discovering what it was, she went up to the campsite to hunt the thing down, only to end up being knocked out by it and strung up to be stored for its meal later on. She growled in annoyance but quickly pulled her switchblade out from the sleeve of her jacket and cut herself down. Of course, her journal was still in her car, so she had to try and find her bag of weapons and remember how to kill the damn thing before it ate her.

Luckily for Kerry, her weapons weren't too far away, and the second she picked up her flare gun, she remembered exactly how to kill it.

"Fire. Why do I always forget that?" She muttered.

Deciding that luring the Wendigo out wouldn't work, Kerry opted for lifting her arms over her head as if she was still tied, and waiting. Eventually she heard the growling and groans coming from the creature, and she had to admit that as it approached her, she felt afraid. She kept her cool though and waited until it was close enough before pulling her arms down and grasping her flare gun. The Wendigo tilted its head in confusion, but as she smirked and raised the gun, it lunged for her. She fired at it and it screamed as it became engulfed with flames, lashing out everywhere. One of its claws caught her on the arm and she cursed as she dropped her gun. Thankfully, the cries died down as the room began to fill with the scent of burning flesh, the smell that was making Kerry feel sick. She ran out into the open air before emptying the contents of her stomach next to a felled tree. When she finished, she straightened herself up before heading back to the hotel for a well deserved shower.

Upon returning to her room, the first thing Kerry did was check her phone for any messages. One thing she remembered Sam and Dean telling her was that a Wendigo will destroy all electrical equipment to ensure you can't call for help, so she had wisely opted to leave everything except her weapons behind. She flipped the phone open and saw immediately that she had two messages, one from her dad, and one from Ellen.

"Hey Kiddo, it's dad. Just to say that I still haven't had a drink and to let you know that Jackson was a little bit ill yesterday but I took him to the vet who has said it's nothing too bad, just a small virus, so he'll be fine. I'll keep you updated though. Be safe and don't forget to call me this week."

Kerry laughed. The pair of them agreed that she would call him every Tuesday, but this week, she had been stuck in the middle of the woods fighting a Wendigo, so she guessed she would be forgiven for that one. Still chuckling, she deleted the message and moved onto the next one.

"Singer, got you another job if you're interested, this time in none other than your favourite state, Arizona. A small town in the middle of the Sonoran Desert called Estrella. Apparently people are being killed, but witnesses say that each person arrested for the murder was nowhere near the people killed at the time. I suspect a shapeshifter is behind it, so I know you can handle this one. I think you'd be wanting this one so I saved it for you. I hope you didn't have any trouble with that Wendigo, oh, and give your dad a call woud'ja? I told him why you didn't ring today, but he's still worried."

Kerry saved that message, making a mental note to ring both her dad and Ellen as soon as she finished showering. There was no way that she was going to miss out on this hunt. A- it sounded really interesting and B- It was in Arizona. Ever since she was a child, she loved Arizona but never really knew why until she was in her early teens and discovered that her mom was actually a native to Arizona, and that her maternal grandparents were both Native Indians from the Navajo tribe. Kerry showered with a smile on her face, knowing that in just a few hours, she would be on her way to Arizona.

After she dressed, Kerry grabbed her phone off the side and called Ellen first, literally to tell her that the hunt went fine and that she would willingly take on this new hunt. Ellen thanked her, and they both hung up, before Kerry then rang her dad.

"Bobby Speaking."

"Hey pop, How are ya?"

"Kerry! Are you ok? You aren't hurt are you? You've been eating well? Sleeping well? Do you have your next hunt from Ellen yet?"

"Dad. Dad. Dad! Dad? DAD!!!"

Bobby went quiet and Kerry breathed a sigh of relief now that she was able to get a word in.

"I'm fine. No I wasn't hurt this time, just got a bit tired. I'm eating fine, My sleeping is still in fits and starts, and yes, I've spoken to Ellen and I'm heading out to Arizona in the morning for my next hunt."

"Ok, I'm happy enough with those answers. Right, I'll let you go to sleep, and I'll speak to you next week."

"Ok dad. Thanks, Love you."

"Love you too darlin"

Kerry rolled her eyes in amusement at her dad's actions, but at the same time she was perfectly aware that he was just looking out for her, and like any parent, he was worried that she would get hurt. She had a relatively peaceful night's sleep that night, and was actually disappointed when her alarm woke her the next morning. By six, she was in her Mustang and back out on the road for her three day trip. She drove in relative peace listening to her Nickelback albums, when suddenly at around six pm, after two food and toilet stops and eight hours of driving, her stomach began to churn, and the next thing she knew, she had to pull over to be sick. She looked confused as she began to drive again, but had to stop again an hour later just before she reached her first motel in Bloomington, Illinois. When she reached the reception, the receptionist looked at her in shock.

"Oh my, you look really ill! Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine, just ate something that didn't agree with me. Do you have a room please?"

She handed over her credit card and five minutes later, the receptionist showed her to her room, and offered to help if she needed anything. Kerry genuinely smiled and thanked her, and the second the door shut, she was rushing to the bathroom yet again to be sick. As she came back out, her phone was ringing, but it was a number she had never seen before.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kerry"

"Sam?! Oh my God, what are you ringing me for? Are you ok?"

Sam laughed down the phone before answering.

"Why don't you look out your window and see for yourself?"

She did so, and the second she laid eyes on her 'brother' she squealed and flew out of the room, launching herself into his arms as she wrapped her arms round him in an attempt at a bone crushing hug. He smiled and hugged her back, but she wasn't stupid, she could see that he was still torn up over Dean. His eyes were almost black with the bruises under them, and he had definitely lost weight. Kerry looked behind him and saw the Impala parked only three cars away from her own.

"How did I miss that?" She asked out loud. "Oh, wait. It was probably the sickness."

"Sickness?"

Kerry filled Sam in on the fact that since she fought the Wendigo yesterday, she hadn't been feeling too great. Sam shrugged it off, but still warned her to see a doctor if she was to get too bad.

"So, you sticking around for long?"

"Actually, no. I have a new hunt in Florida, so I'm heading out in a few minutes. I was just about to get into the car when you pulled up. To be honest I thought you were hunting me down, but when you just got out and went straight to the reception I realised you weren't. What are you doing all the way here alone anyway?"

Kerry looked to the floor, slightly nervous about telling him. She rubbed the back of her neck, a habit she hated as it always told people she was nervous. Sam raised an eyebrow, then his eyes widened as he realised why exactly she would be feeling nervous.

"Please don't tell me you hunt?"

"So what If I do? I can't just sit around or go to college knowing that there are still so many demons out there, destroying people's lives. I have to do something!"

Sam narrowed his eyes slightly before shrugging and telling her to do what she had to do. He also warned her that if they were to ever come across the same hunt, she was to leave him alone to do it as he didn't need the distraction. Kerry felt slightly hurt and angered by that comment, but before she could say anything, Sam's phone started ringing, and once he finished his conversation, he declared he had to leave now. He hugged Kerry and she hugged him back, telling him he was still her brother. He smiled warmly at her.

"I know. And you'll always be my annoying baby sister."

Kerry laughed and punched him in the arm, but the movement jarred something in her stomach and she found herself fighting off the sickness again. Sam chuckled and hugged her before getting into the Impala and driving away. Kerry looked away, she couldn't bear to see him go again, but just hearing it was enough, and as the engine faded away, she found herself rushing back into the room to be sick yet again. This time, she curled up on the bathroom floor and started to cry too, eventually falling into a restless sleep that kept ending up with her waking up to be sick.

The following day, she was back on the road, and for some reason her stomach settled as if nothing had happened. She found it puzzling, but soon forgot it as she started to drive through the more scenic towns, the wind blowing in through the windows, cooling her down. It took another two nights to reach Estrella, and both nights, she woke three times to be sick, but still couldn't work out what was wrong with her. She shrugged it off though, deciding it was purely just her stomach annoying her.