A/N: I am so deeply sorry for the long wait with this chapter. As you all may know, school started up and I got my butt kicked in the first month, hence why this chapter took so long. But, I'm hoping that I'll be able to plan out these chapters better so I can write them faster. Don't forget to check out the poll on my profile. So, let's get on with the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.
Mason, Utah, Nelson Park, 8:30 A.M.
The call had come in at about 7:40 in the morning. Not that he wasn't used to it, Adam had grown accustomed to being called at early hours about incidents that had been called in. And from the brief description he got from the dispatcher, this didn't sound like an unusual incident. It was about an attack that happened out at Nelson Park. Possibly an animal attack, which they hardly had to deal with in that area.
Adam didn't think that this case would be any different from the other few attacks that happened in that park. Despite how he felt, he forced himself to make the twenty minute drive up the park. When he arrived, the scene was crawling with police officers and a few ambulances were parked. Stepping out of the car, Adam began to make his way towards the crime scene and his partner, who was talking with the remaining victim, quickly began to follow him.
"Well good morning to you." Caroline said, calmly.
Adam only blinked and hummed in his own exhaustion. "It's never a good morning when your alarm is a call about an attack."
"Can't argue with that. But, you look like you need a boost so, here." Caroline casually handed a coffee cup over to Adam, who took it without looking.
This had been a regular thing to happen between them. Caroline knew how Adam worked when he was pulled out of sleep. He needed something to wake him up and coffee was always the way to go.
"So, you going to give me the all of the details?" Adam asked before taking a drink from the cup.
"Right. A group of people were walking through the trail up here. They noticed that a campsite looked a little disheveled and when they came to investigate it, they found no one. So, they immediately called it in and some of the officers were dispatched out here."
Caroline and Adam had made it up the main hill, towards the scene and both ducked under the police tape that had been set up. They both came to a halt in front of the scene. The camp was messy. The tent had been torn and the structure was taken down, it was nothing more than a lump of fabric, camping gear was sprawled across the dirt and they spotted a pair of footsteps that were scattered wildly around, like the campers were trying to find the right way to go. But, that was all he saw. No animal tracks, just footprints.
"How many victims were there? And who were they?" Adam asked as he knelt down near the ground.
"Carly Johnson along with her sister Nicole and friend Alice were out here camping."
Adam followed a set of the footprints which brought him around the entire campsite and then went off into the woods. The footprints eventually disappeared since the entire ground was covered in grass and not dirt.
"Alright. No animal tracks in the area surrounding the camp. Their footprints circle around the camp once and then they disappear through here." Adam looked into the woods, seeing it being lit by the sun that was starting to come up.
"Okay, so let's think. Judging from the footprints, they were panicked and they had no idea where to go. Finally, they run into the woods because..." Caroline pointed at the wooded area.
"Possibly something stalking them around the campsite and scared them enough to where they just go blazing into the woods."
Caroline stared at the scene and shook her head. "But, what could scare them so much? I mean we don't have problems here with animal attacks. A few on occasion, but nothing this serious."
"I know. Especially, if you take into consideration that I don't see any animal tracks around here. Maybe it wasn't a four legged creature."
"So, what, you think that they might have been kidnapped?"
Adam stood back up and turned to her. "I'm not too sure. That isn't to out of the ordinary."
"No it's not. What do you want to do then?"
Adam took a glance around the area and then finally settled on his plan. "Alright, our main priority is to try and find those girls. I want our men scouting the area. Let's set up a perimeter of about 200 ft. From this camp site and then spread out. We need to cover as much land, find anything that could pertain to the case."
"Alright." Caroline turned towards the group of officers behind her. "Alright! Let's head out. Set up a 200 ft. perimeter and branch out from there."
Adam stood by as Caroline began to lead the mean towards the area where they needed to start the search. He could spot a case that was different. He has encountered several of them too many times. Adam walked away from the campsite and found himself a small area where there were no police officers and pulled out his phone. Scanning through his contacts he finally settled on the name that had popped into his head the minute he knew this case was different. However, he was slightly reluctant. Maybe he should wait a little longer, just to make sure this Isn't some kidnapping or usual case. Adam stared back down at the name one more time, his thumb hovering over it. Eventually concluding that the call would wait, just a little longer.
The name. Thomas Collins.
Two Days Later...
Dean downed the last of his beer and eyed the empty bottle briefly before getting up to retrieve a new one. Pulling the beer out of the fridge, he took a quick glance down at his watch. He had just woken about forty minutes ago and Sam and Natalie weren't in the motel room. He tried calling them several times, until he found a handwritten note say that they had gone out. Out where? They were in some town, they had never been to before, where the hell could they have gone? Dean figured that he would just have to sit with his own curiosity until they came back or one of them decides to call him back.
They haven't had a job in about a week, since that whole fiasco with counseling two witches. Dean pulled over Sam's laptop and began to search away for any cases that they might be able to take up. Ten minutes into his search, he came up empty handed. Usually, by now, he would have been able to find some kind of hints at some weird activity. Nothing.
Dean blew out a breath and continued looking until he stumbled upon the gem. "This might be something." He clicked open the news article and began to read through it when the motel door opened.
Looking up, Natalie and Sam sauntered into the motel room, each of them holding a plastic bag with food and smiles on both their faces.
Dean gave them both a look. "Where have you two been?"
"We went out for a walk." Natalie answered as she placed the bag down on the table.
"A walk?" Dean raised his brows. "Why did you two go on a walk?"
Natalie tilted her head to the side, shredding off her jacket and tossing it onto the bed. "What? Are we not allowed to go out and take a walk? What kind of world is this?"
Dean rolled his eyes at Natalie's sarcastic tone. "Where did you two even go to walk?"
Natalie and Sam both took a seat at the table as the three of them took out a sandwich from the bags. "They had this really nice little park..." Natalie began as she unwrapped the sandwich. "And there were these trails that went into the woods. It was really...nice. You should've come with us."
"Well, so much for waking me up." Dean commented.
Sam smiled at Dean. "We did try waking you up."
"And you basically told us to screw off." Natalie added before taking a bite.
Dean hardly acknowledged their explanation, since he didn't remember being woken up at all. "You two could've at least answered my calls."
"Service wasn't good out there." Sam replied offhandedly.
"Whatever." Dean set down his sandwich and chewed at the contents in his mouth. "Check this out. I think I might've found our next case." He turned the laptop around and pushed it towards them.
"A group of campers have gone missing this week. This is at a local park up in Mason, Utah. The camp was completely eradicated, the occupants are missing and the police have no leads as to what might have done it."
Natalie and Sam chewed slowly as they intently read through the article. Natalie pressed her tongue against her cheek and nodded.
"Are the police sure that it wasn't possibly a really bad animal attack? I mean they are in a park."
"Nope. All of the campers are missing. There is absolutely no trace of them. They found no animal tracks anywhere near the scene, at least I don't think they do."
"So, you think that this could be something?" Sam asked.
Dean half shrugged. "We haven't had a job in over a week. Things have been a little quiet. Something about this seems off."
Natalie leaned back in her seat and wiped her hands over her pants, a habit she always tried to shed. "Okay. So, Mason, Utah...that sounds like about a twelve hour drive from here. When do you wanna head out?"
Dean closed the laptop and resumed his eating. "Well, I'm rested. I can make the drive so maybe, once we get done here..." He motioned at the table. "We'll pack up and head out."
They actually took their time with the meal. It doesn't take them that long to eat anyways and usually hurrying a meal often led to them having bad stomach aches. After disposing of the trash, the three of them went to work packing up their clothes. Dean made the quick trip down to the front desk to check out.
"We need to do that more often." Natalie spoke up, shoving a sweater into her bag.
"Do what?" Sam asked, a little preoccupied with his things.
Natalie leaned up and looked over at him as she folded one of her shirts. "Going out for walks. I haven't done that in a while. It was nice."
Sam smiled and nodded. "Yeah. We will."
"So, what do you think about this whole case that Dean found?"
"I don't know. Seems a little off, but, Dean usually tends to look more into things."
Sam finished packing his bag and noticed that Dean left after almost finishing. Deciding to do it for him, Sam walked by Natalie towards Dean's bed. As he brushed by, Sam placed his hands on Natalie's shoulders, giving them a few gentle squeezes to which Natalie only smiled at the gesture.
"Are you doing okay?" That was about the fifth time Natalie had asked that question to Sam and yet, he didn't seem to be annoyed by it.
"Yeah, I'm fine Nad."
"I know that feels like the hundredth time I've asked you this week, but, I can never be too sure."
Sam silently chuckled. "You don't have to apologize."
Natalie scoffed. "Who said anything about me apologizing?"
"That's your long version of an apology. I've heard it many times and I've learned how to decipher it." Sam casted her a quick look.
Natalie rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Think what you want to think."
The bags were all packed and they were ready to leave the motel, but, Natalie made sure to snatch one of the pillows. She was going to pass out during the ride, no doubt. Might as well have something nice to rest your head against.
The beginning of the drive started off simple. Dean was informing both of them what he had read about this case in Utah. A group of young women were out camping and their campsite was found in a complete mess and they were nowhere to be found. The conversation didn't last that long, they didn't have enough information to keep a full length discussion going and they all descended into a comfortable silence. Dean eventually vouched for turning on the radio, keeping it at a nice volume. Natalie eventually settled down on the backseat and passed out and Sam followed not too long after her. And Dean was more than fine with it. He liked it when it was just "him" in the car.
Finally, they had made it to Mason, Utah. Sam had woken up while they were still an hour outside the town, but, Natalie was still fast asleep. Dean pulled the car into the parking lot of a motel, when he suddenly thought of a great way to wake Natalie up. He brought the car to a halt in the middle of the lot and Sam looked at his brother.
"Wait a minute." Dean remarked quietly.
Taking a quick look back at Natalie, he couldn't help, but laugh at his idea. Shifting the car into reverse, he brought the car back until he was a good length away from the parking space he was going to pull into. Then, switching into drive, Dean silently asked Sam if he was ready, to which he only replied with a confused look. Sam had no idea what his brother was trying to do. Pressing his foot down on the accelerator, Dean half gunned the car and turned into the spot, then heavily pressed his foot down on the brakes. Both Sam and Dean surged forward towards the dash, however, the sound of Natalie screaming as her body fell off the seat and made impact on the car floor made Dean laugh.
Dean put the car into park and both he and Sam looked back to see Natalie, wedged between the back of their seats and hers.
"Dean!" Natalie's voice was hoarse and her annoyance of being woken up like this was too strong to miss.
"Wake up sunshine!" Dean cheerfully remarked and he looked over the seat ledge and down at her.
Natalie stared daggers up at Dean, but it only made him laugh even more. Seeing her wedged like that was priceless. Even Sam couldn't help himself from laughing. Natalie grabbed the pillow from the seat and brought it up until it made a soft thud against the side of Dean's face. Only then did he stop laughing and the hit made Natalie let out a triumphant ha.
Sam only commented on how they were acting like children. It was a given at this point. From how long Natalie has been with them, she and Dean always enjoyed the playful and childish tendencies with their friendship. Even though it made them look ridiculous, it did provide a kind of reliever for the group.
Natalie worked herself free from her confinement and helped with the bags from the trunk. Checking in and obtaining their room keys was quick. They got dressed in their uniforms and headed out the door. They decided to start their job at Nelson Park. The campsite was still being thoroughly investigated and they felt it would be the best place to get some information. The entire park was empty, no cars were parked, aside from the few police vehicles.
Dean continued driving up the parks main road, figuring that he would continue on until they spotted where the site was. And it actually wasn't too hard for them to spot it. Coming up over a hill, they spotted several cop cars that were parked on the side of the road and they knew this was their spot.
Pulling over, Dean parked the Impala in its own spot and put the car in park. They were just barely walking towards the scene when one of the officers had already began to approach them, most likely to get them off the scene. Without a word, they pulled out their badges and showed them to him, to which he stopped immediately.
"The feds are already getting in on this?" He asked. "I thought Turner didn't want the feds to get involved."
Natalie casted a glance up at Dean, who was quick to save the conversation. "Well, turns out there was more help to be needed. How's the search on the scene going?"
The officer nodded for the three of them to follow as he led the way towards the campsite. "The site was found two days ago, as you may already know."
Sam lifted up the security tape, allowing everyone to go under first before following. "What was the condition of the site when it was found?"
"It looked decimated. The entire tent had been torn down and many of the victim's belongings were scattered around the campsite."
The officer finally stopped once they reached the location and most of the campers belongings had already been taken by the forensics team. The only thing that remained was the torn down tent and a few camping bags. Dean and Sam both moved towards the tent and began to carefully search the area.
Natalie moved towards the police officer. "What have you been able to gather from the campsite?"
The officer merely shrugged. "Not much. Evidence wise. We have managed to find fragments of clothing, most likely from the victims. We also found a cell phone. That has been sent down to see what might be on it."
Natalie nodded. "Do you or anybody have any idea as to what might have happened to these people?"
"The most that I can say is that it was an animal attack. But, we never have that problem in this park. And when there usually is an attack, it isn't as severe, no one goes missing."
"So..." Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "No concrete guesses as to what caused this."
"No one. Not even Turner knows."
Dean and Sam both turned back around to the officer and Natalie. "Is there any way that we might be able to take a look at what was on the phone you found?" Dean asked.
"You're going to have to talk with either Turner or Morris on that one. They're the lead investigators on this case. They'll most likely be able to help you."
"Thank you." Natalie offered as the officer walked away to converse with the others. Walking towards Dean and Sam, Natalie took a quick glance at the campsite. "So, what do you guys think?"
Sam tilted his head in thought. "I was starting to lean towards possible werewolf, but, this isn't normal activity for one."
"I'm thinking maybe wendigo." Dean offered his choice and Sam thought on it for a moment. Sam's expression lightened once he had taken the time to piece some of this together.
"Makes sense. It's pretty much almost like the wendigo case we solved back in Colorado. Or maybe just an unfortunate kidnapping."
Natalie pressed her tongue against her cheek and hummed out in her disagreement.
"Who would come out in the woods to kidnap three young women?" Dean finally asked.
Natalie raised her brows at Dean's question and even he was starting to think back on what he asked. "Anyone who is crazy enough to try it. But, look at the footprints." Natalie pointed at the several imprints that were in the dirt. "Those are smaller feet and they are leading into the woods. It's almost like, they were being chased."
"They were chased into the woods..." Dean repeated as he glanced over the footprints several times. "It looks like they were almost running in circles. Like they had no idea where to go."
Natalie and Sam both nodded, following Dean's explanation. "And then something must've really scared them..." Natalie started.
"And that set them off into the woods." Sam finished.
"You might be right Dean." Natalie admitted. "This could very much be a wendigo."
"And if there is one, there has to be some kind of structure that would be a suitable place for it to hideout." Sam added.
"Okay, well, let's not jump to conclusions too fast, just yet." Natalie tapped both of them on the shoulders and motioned towards the car. "The officer said that the phone they found was at the station. If they've already went through the memory, I think they may have something to help confirm it."
….
Two days. Two long days of going back and forth from the campsite to the station. Adam had made sure that his team were working nearly round the clock and they have managed to find only scant evidence. But, nothing was solid enough to give them any kind of leads as to where these three women were. If this was some kind of crude kidnapping, time was running out for them. However, Adam was having a hard time going with his cop instinct. He knew that this was completely out of the ordinary for his team. He has seen his fair share of strange cases in this town. It's no wonder he can immediately sense when something isn't right and that is what he's getting with this case.
Adam wanted very much to call Thomas' number. This case wasn't the same as the one he experienced over six years ago. This was completely different. He has no idea how to proceed with this and he was absolutely lost.
Walking into his office, he gently closed the door and sat down at his desk, seeing that a file was already placed there for him. More information on Nicole, Carly and Allison. They were intending on camping out there for only a week. After interviewing their families, they can rule out that these girls wouldn't run away. Just as he thought. Adam didn't think that those girls would've just up and run away.
Pulling the file towards him, Adam silently read through the few papers. A knock at the door halted his reading and he looked up as Caroline poked her head into the room.
"You got a minute?"
Adam tossed the folder onto his desk. "It seems no matter what I'm doing I always have to make time. How's the search going?"
Caroline entered the room and closed the door behind her. "Well. The men have scouted out the area. They did find some animal tracks, but they debunked them as being dog tracks. Possibly from campers from before who had dogs. Um, we were able to find a few strands of hair about 100 feet from the original site. Those are being sent to forensics to get the DNA match on them."
"That's it?" Adam asked. "Only a few strands of hair. No footprints or any indication of which direction they might've gone?"
"None. You have to remember it's all grass fields in those woods. If there are any footprints, it's going to take a while for the crew to find them."
Adam slowly dragged his hands down his face. "How far from the area has the team been searching?"
"They've expanded their search all the way to the hill. Where the closed off mine is. Do you think that they would be there?"
"I did make it clear to the officers to look as far as they can into that mine. But, most of it would be blocked off due to the collapsed. That entire place is a virtual death trap."
Caroline blew out a breath and nodded. "I don't know. I mean by the looks of it, those girls seemed completely terrified by whatever was there. It would make sense if they tried to hide out wherever they could."
Adam was quick to disagree. "Those footprints disappeared into the woods. We found small blood stain about one hundred feet from the campsite. If this was some kind of animal attack, they wouldn't be missing."
"Unless we're considering a kidnapping." Caroline added. "I mean I agree that they wouldn't run into the mine, most likely they wouldn't have made it that far. However, if they were kidnapped, they could be well over the state border by now, which means we'll probably have to send out a request to the FBI."
That didn't seem like something Adam wanted to do. He didn't verbally support Caroline's decision. Adam had his own idea as to what was going on here. Not that he had any idea as to what caused this, but, he couldn't shake this feeling that something else was at play.
"I just don't think that this was a real kidnapping."
Caroline hummed out a curious laugh. "Then what else could it have been. I mean these girls practically vanished into thin air. That seems a little impossible."
Adam frowned and shrugged. "Ah, well, you'd be surprised at some of the things that can happen in this town."
"I've heard about some of cases before I was transferred here. The big case about the whole deal with victims getting their hearts torn out." Caroline made a empathetic face for the victims. "Not exactly something you expect to hear."
Adam let out a strained breath at the memory, over six years ago that case took place and yet, it was still something that he was tense about. Caroline was even able to sense it.
"I'm guessing that case wasn't an easy one."
"Yeah." Adam exhaled. "It wasn't, it was, um, a real eye opener for me."
From the window in his office, Adam noticed three people walking up towards the main desk and pulled out their badges. From what he was able to observe, they were from the FBI and he couldn't help but think on how young they looked.
"Why are the FBI sending down their agents?"
Caroline gave him a confused look. "What?"
Adam nodded in the direction of the agents and Caroline followed his gaze. "I don't know." She finally answered. "Did you call for agents to come down?"
"No." Adam shook his head. "Did you?"
"Of course not." Caroline walked over to the door and opened it, leaving Adam in his office. Walking over to the main desk, the officer working at it noticed Caroline and she could see a small relieved look on his face.
"Agents, this is Detective Morris, she's one of the leading investigators for the case."
"Hello, agents." She politely greeted them. "What brings the three of you down here today?"
Dean offered a genuine smile as he placed his badge back into his pocket. "Well, we were given information about the disappearances at Nelson Park."
Caroline nodded at Dean and took a quick moment to assess the other agents. Narrowing her eyes slightly she eventually nodded. "Well, you'll probably want to talk with Detective Turner. Follow me."
Adam had tried to make himself look busy by looking back at the file, but, he looked up several times when Caroline was talking with the agents. When he realized that she was bringing them to see him, he straightened up in his seat.
"Hey, Turner." Caroline stood in the doorway to his office. "These agents need to talk with you about the disappearances."
Adam took a moment to take in the sight of these three agents, almost immediately Adam could recognize them. Well, he didn't know who they were personally, but he had a hunch that they weren't exactly FBI agents. Exhaling silently, Adam nodded for her to let them in. Closing the folder, Adam watched silently as the three agents took seats in front of him. Adam nodded for Caroline to close the door, which she did without saying a single word.
"So, you three are here about the disappearances at Nelson Park."
Dean nodded. "Yes. We were given the information and we were advised to take the trip down here to see what's going on."
Adam leaned back in his seat, lacing his fingers together and resting his hands on his stomach. "I don't think that we sent in an issue to the FBI to send any of their agents down here. Granted, I know it's been more than 24 hours."
"Well, since it has been two days, our advisers thought that getting involved would be best. We don't know whether the victims might have crossed into other states."
Adam nodded silently, taking in Sam's reasoning. "I will tell you three this, the likelihood that these three victims are in another state is very low."
"What makes you say that?" Natalie asked. "This park is public, anyone can go in and out."
"Yes, but, from the evidence we have found at the crime scenes, their footprints. All of them led into the woods and then stopped about 100 feet from the original site."
"Well, that doesn't necessarily mean that someone couldn't have been responsible for it. My partners and I were just there." Dean motioned at Sam and Natalie. "We noticed how vast that place is. And at night, I don't have any doubts that it's pitch black out there."
"We found a cell phone near the hillside, far into the woods. There's no way those three women could've found their way to that location with ease."
"So, you think that they are still around the area?" Sam asked.
"Call it my gut feeling. I believe those women are around here somewhere."
Natalie, Sam and Dean sat in silence, each of them conveying their thoughts through glances. Adam had mentioned a hillside, possibly around that area could be a prime location for a wendigo to hide. They would need to check the location first. For Adam, watching these three doing their little silent communication seemed to only spark his suspicion even more.
Dean finally cleared his throat and looked back over at Adam. "Has there ever been any...strange incidents that might have happened around that area? Or has anyone ever reported seeing anything...out of the ordinary?"
Adam narrowed his eyes slightly and leaned towards his desk. "You think that these cases are out of the ordinary?"
"Well, the idea of three people just practically vanishing without a trace seems a little odd to me. It could be something, completely different." Dean admitted.
That was it. Adam finally got his answer and of course, he was right. "Or." Adam pressed. "Maybe you three have an idea as to what's going or what might have caused this."
Sam, Dean and Natalie shared confused glances with each other.
"You aren't really FBI agents." Adam offered with great ease and a confidence that was just seeping out from his tone. But, it wasn't condescending. There was a familiarity behind it. That seemed to spark something in the three of them. Adam could see the surprised looks on their faces and their demeanors immediately tensed. "I'm right aren't I? You aren't from the FBI. You're hunters...aren't you?"
Shit. Natalie was surprised, but she couldn't help the feeling of being a little, impressed? The three of them have been very lucky to not have their FBI façade called out by other officers. Although, there was that one time when Jody was able to call them out, but that was only because she recognized Bobby's voice. They were in a completely different town, none of them have been here before. And now this detective, who has no idea who they are, is suddenly able to detect that they are hunters. What the hell?
Sam hesitantly looked over at Dean and Natalie, who were wearing the appropriate shocked looks on their faces. And Adam, he was just merely waiting for them to say something. Sam didn't know whether they were fully screwed or if this guy was going to play along.
Swallowing a few times, Sam finally was able to put together his thoughts. "How do you know about hunters?"
Adam pursed his lips into a half smile and tapped his fingers against his desk. "You three might be surprised to learn that you aren't the first group of hunters I've encountered. There have been about four separate occasions where I've had to deal with them."
"So, you know about...all of it."
"That there are such things as monsters and ghosts...yeah, I know. The whole package."
Dean finally was able to gather himself and in his own shock, like Natalie, he was kind of impressed. "If you don't mind this question, how exactly were you able to tell?"
"It's happened the same way. Something happens in this town, a murder or a missing person and each of those times, it was different. Something about it wasn't right. And then, the next day or so, a few FBI agents come strolling through those doors. I knew it the minute I saw you three. Not to mention the fact that they asked me the same kind of questions you just did." Adam finished by pointing at Dean.
Natalie gave a sheepish smile. "So, what exactly is going to happen now?"
"What?" Adam asked and then gave the three of them a curious look. "You think I'm gonna announce it?"
Adam stood up from his chair, walked around his desk and made it seem like he was going towards his door. That prompted the three of them to internally panic. Instead, Adam walked over to his office windows and pulled down the blinds.
"You three are here because you think something is going on." Adam finished with the blinds and quickly sat back down at his desk. "You're here to help. So, I'll help in any way that I can."
That didn't really seem to make the three hunters feel entirely secure. They simply just stared at Adam, wringling with their own mind as to whether they should totally trust him. Adam caught onto it pretty quickly. All of the other hunters acted the same way.
"You can trust me. The first time I met a hunter was about six years ago. People were getting butchered, hearts ripped out, limbs detached. The hunter that I met was Thomas Collins, maybe you three have met him at one point."
Adam was going to go on with his reassurance, but paused when he saw the looks on all three of their faces. Particularly the young woman, who was staring at him with the biggest eyes. It was the first time that Adam was caught a little off guard. He had no idea what he said that would generate this kind of silent reaction.
"What did you just say?" Natalie finally asked.
Natalie's question caught Adam off guard and for a split second, he couldn't exactly pin point that she was questioning the name that had left his mouth. "Pardon?" Adam asked, looking for some clarification.
"That name."
Adam looked down, momentarily, in thought and then cautiously looked back up at her. "Thomas Collins."
Natalie felt a breath hitch in her throat. "How do you know Thomas Collins?"
Adam narrowed his eyes at her. Clearly, that name meant something to her, judging by her reaction. "How do you know him?"
Natalie swallowed. It had been a while since she had to talk about her father to, well, anyone really. Every time she had to bring him up, doesn't matter how long it's been, it was always a painful subject.
"He's my dad."
Her voice was so quiet, so small, and it was something that Adam didn't expect to hear. Granted, he knew that Thomas had a daughter, but he never actually got to meet her. Adam didn't even know her name. And now, here he was, sitting in front of her. He couldn't help, but feel like it was coming full circle.
"You're his daughter." He repeated.
Natalie nodded silently. "How do you know my dad?"
"He saved my life. Back on the first case I met him. Saved me from becoming dinner."
There was nothing that Natalie could say, her silence would have to do. She couldn't shake off this weird feeling of taking on a case that involves a man who knew her father. Sam reached for her hand, which was hanging limply down her side and took a firm hold of it.
Natalie wasn't saying anything else and by the look of it, she couldn't even begin to articulate some other question for him. Adam then decided to tread forward. "Listen. I don't want anyone from my team getting hurt. So, if you have any idea as to what this thing is, I need to know."
"Okay. Can you just tell us all of the evidence you found at the campsite?" Dean asked.
"We found some blood, belonging to one of the victims and a cell phone. It belonged to Carly Johnson and we had it sent for analysis. She took photos of the trip and I was just looking through them." Adam turned towards his computer and began to scroll through the files. "And I found something."
Turning the computer screen around, Natalie, Sam and Dean were staring at a slightly blurry photo of a woman, sitting in a tent. Adam gave them time to fully view the image, hoping they would see what caught his eye. Sam was the first one to spot it and he leaned towards the screen.
"Right there." He pointed at the middle of the screen at a shadow that was outside of the tent. Turning to Dean, he gave a quick tilt of the head. "Dean. I'm thinking you might be right on this one."
"A wendigo"
Sam nodded in clarification.
"What's a wendigo?" Adam asked after having fully appreciated how fast they were able to, at least, name something that might be it.
Dean looked behind him at the closed door, ensuring that no one would be able to hear them. "Uh. A wendigo is a creature that was once human, but when they resort to cannibalism, they turn into these creatures."
Adam nodded. "So, a human who resorted to cannibalism. That means someone must've been trapped somewhere or lost."
"Do you happen to have a mine close by the park?" Sam asked.
Adam thought for a moment and then ran his hand through his hair. "There is one. It's a couple miles away from the public area designated in the park. But, it's been closed for nearly fifty years."
"Why did it close?"
"Part of the mine collapsed and...one of the workers were never found." Adam had pieced it together. "Alright, so, are you for sure that we're dealing with a wendigo?
Dean nodded. "I would say that we are fairly certain that this is what we are dealing with."
"Okay, so how do we stop the thing?"
The three hunters gave Adam confused looks. "We?" Sam asked.
However, Adam didn't skip a beat. "Yeah, we."
Dean pointed between him, Sam and Natalie. "No, we're going to take care of this. But, you need to stay out of it."
"What makes you think I will? That mine has been sealed off for over fifty years. I'm going with you to make sure that this gets handled well."
"What, you don't trust letting us hunters go alone?"
"Every single time they've arrived, I've gone with them. I'm not going to let you three be an exception."
Adam didn't leave any room for them to argue. Dean was itching to keep on persuading him that he wasn't going with them. However, he didn't know this guy, he might even switch his views completely and rat them out. Looking over at Sam, Dean was hoping to find some kind of argument brewing from his little brother, but there was nothing.
Dean finally had to find his resolve. "Fine. You can come with us."
"Okay. Then how to we kill the thing?" Adam asked.
"Fire. Just blaze up the thing and that usually does the trick." Dean answered. "But, the sun's still up. They only hunt at night. So, we'll need to get ready."
Caroline blinked several times, feeling her lids drooping with heaviness. She hadn't been able to get much sleep for the past few days. That always was the case with her when something happened. She was always a restless person. She had decided to stay in late at her office, it was around 9:30 and most of the people had already gone home. Adam had left fairly early and she had tried calling him several times, but he never answered. Typical.
Moving to her computer, Caroline pulled up the images from the cell phone that were forwarded to her by Adam. The pictures were normal. The only thing that Caroline got from them were that the young women were having a great time, which seemed to weigh heavy on the situation. They needed to find out where they were. Caroline had already experienced a failed case, a young girl went missing and they never found her. They didn't even find the person responsible. For all Caroline knew, that case was still open. And it weighed a heavy burden on her conscious. She was not going to let these families down, not this time.
Since nearly all of the pictures looked normal, Caroline would occasionally glance down at her notes. Looking back up, Caroline immediately stopped on one picture and leaned in closer towards the screen. It was a picture of Nicole that was taken inside the tent and it was already night out. The tent was dimly lit by the fire they had set up and in the background, Caroline could make out the faint outline of something or someone standing outside of their tent.
"What the hell?" Caroline zoomed in on the picture, but it was too blurry to make out a full shape. It was a person, that she knew for sure. She thought about whether Adam had been able to see the image yet. Picking up the phone from her desk, Caroline went to dial out his number when one of the remaining officers walked over to her desk.
"Hey, Morris."
Caroline reluctantly placed the phone down. "Hey Rick, what's wrong?"
"The team down at the park have found nothing. They've been scouting the area for hours. The team has regrouped, but they are not sure how you want to proceed with the search."
Caroline glanced back down at the computer screen and licked at her dry lips. "Tell them to go home. There's not much more we can do for tonight."
"Alright." Rick gave a singular tap against her desk as he turned to go and make the call. Only to stop when Caroline spoke up.
"Hey Rick? Did any of our officers go and check out the mine?"
"Yeah, actually, a few of the guys checked it out. But, they were only able to get about a mile into the thing. That place is a damn trap. They didn't get to venture too far. You know that all of the hallways are blocked."
Caroline simmered on his words and then finally nodded. "Okay. Thanks." She wasn't satisfied. There was something about that mine. Everyone always says that it's a death trap since the collapse. But, no one has ever actually ventured very far into it. Who knows how stable or unstable that place actually is. That combined with the fact that they found Carly's cell phone near the path that leads to the opening of the mine. It all seemed to piece together a little too easily for Caroline to brush aside.
She moved quickly, shutting off her computer monitor, grabbed her cellphone, her gun, flashlight and her car keys. This was probably a really stupid idea she was beginning to play out. If no one else was going to risk checking through that mine, then she will. She didn't bother to tell Rick where she was going and she didn't make a call to Adam. This was something she was going to do on her own. It was just going to be a quick look around and hopefully it will help put her mind at ease.
The ride to the park went by quickly, since she has driven to this place several times over the past few days. Luckily, all of the cops had left the park, leaving Caroline free range and no chance of running into any of them. Parking her car near the main lot, she got out and turned on her flashlight. Then she began the walk towards the mine. She had to admit, walking alone in the middle of the woods in complete darkness, with nothing but a flashlight, can be a little nerve wracking. Caroline was never really a big fan of the woods anyway. Add that into this creepy atmosphere, it perfectly blends to make her nerves slowly increase. Finally reaching the hill's path, Caroline took careful steps along the soggy path, making sure she didn't slip. Reaching the top, her light shined on the entryway of the mine.
Now this is beyond creepy. Caroline thought once she entered the mine. The place offered a weird chill that hit her hard and the wind from outside was channeling through the tunnel, creating a distinct whistling type noise. It didn't take long before she finally reached where the tunnel track lines began. The miners would use it to transport carts full of coal or other materials throughout the mine. Soon the main tunnel branched off towards the left, that led into two separate sections and those tunnels continued on for god knows how long. Caroline crossed over onto the left side, making sure that the wooden platform that had been placed there was still strong enough to hold her weight, but she could tell that it was a little weak. Making it across, Caroline halted in her steps at the sounds of something...scattering? It sounded like little claws against the ground, almost like a rat was running around.
At first, that is what she thought it was. But, when she began to walk down one of the tunnels, which she picked by random, the noise seemed to be following her. She turned around, light bouncing off of the dirt walls and there was nothing. The noise resumed, this time, coming from behind her, down the tunnel she was walking in. As she turned back around, something quickly crossed the beam of her flashlight. She didn't get to see the thing for too long, but the screech that came after it caused her blood to go cold. Without any regard, Caroline turned back around and began to run out of the mine. As she made it out of the mine, Caroline pulled out her phone and quickly dialed out Adam's number
...
Adam placed his jacket on and fixed the collar. He was about to head out to the park in about ten minutes, he was just waiting for either Sam, Dean or Natalie to call him. He had taken a few hours to talk with them, finally coerced them into telling him their actual names. Adam had to admit, they were decent hunters, not like the ones he had met before. Looking down at his phone, Adam noticed that he had three missed calls from Caroline, all from earlier this afternoon. He really had a bad habit of not answering her calls most of the time. Just as he was about to dial out her number, a call came in and it was from Caroline.
"Speaking of the devil." Adam commented as he answered the call and placed the phone up to his ear. "You miss me that much Morris?"
Heavy panting came from the other end and the sound of panicked footsteps mixed in with it. There were no words, it was just a constant heavy breathing.
"Morris? You there?" Adam tried again.
"Turner!" Caroline called into the phone. "Turner! I made a really bad mistake!"
Adam pinched at the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Ah hell, Morris what did you do now?"
"I..." Caroline's voice was cut off by a small yelp, she had fallen in the process of running, but Adam could hear the footsteps and heavy breathing start back up. "I came down to the mine! Thinking I should take a look around!"
Adam stood in silence, for only a brief second. "You did what?!"
"I went to the mine!" Caroline yelled out.
"Oh for god sake! Morris what the hell are you doing there?" Adam called out. "Our men already searched the place and said that they found nothing!"
"Well you know me! There was something about that mine that was just poking at me!" Caroline's voice seem to break at certain points, telling Adam that her running was starting to go a little more rough.
"Well, why are you running? What's going on?"
"Something is...oh god. Something is chasing after me!"
Adam paused, his eyes fixing into a dead stare at the wall. Something was chasing her. "Well, what did it look like?"
"I don't know! I only saw it for a brief second and then it made this god awful screech! I saw it in the mine and then I just took off!"
"Okay, Morris I need you to listen to me. I'll be there soon alright just try and-" Adam was cut off by the other end going quiet. He could no longer her breathing or her footsteps. "Morris? Are you there? Morris?"
Adam ended the call and dialed out her number again, this time all he got was just a constant ringing. "Dammit!" Adam dialed out another number and placed the phone up to his ear.
"Yeah?" Dean's voice came through.
"We need to leave now." Adam was already gathering up his supplies. A flare gun, a regular gun, and a flashlight.
"Why, what's going on?"
"My partner went up to the mine by herself and I think the thing has her."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because she just called me and said that something was chasing her and now she's not answering my calls." Adam grabbed his car keys and was already out the door. "We need to get there now!"
"Alright we'll meet you there."
Adam hung up the phone and jumped into his car, turned on the ignition and sped out of his driveway. Caroline has done this to him on several occasions. Always going off on her own when she shouldn't. He always told her that she was going to kill him with stress. She always brushed it off as him joking, even when Adam wasn't someone who had a decent sense of humor. Or at least that's what all of his colleagues thought. He always had this serious look to him and he hardly ever smiled or had a good mood. Adam had his reasons for acting the way he does. But, when it came to his partner, Adam was always determined she never tried to do something stupid. This just proves that he can't always be there.
Natalie kept her light in front of her, following Sam, Dean and Adam as they made their way towards the hillside. Halfway there, they had found Caroline's cell phone, but no sign of her. As they continued on, Adam informed them on what Caroline was able to tell him in their short phone conversation, she was in the mine and saw the thing before bolting out. Now, Dean, Sam and Natalie were convinced that this was a wendigo. They ran up the pathway and picked up their pace as they entered the mine. They didn't know exactly where Caroline was when she saw the creature, but when they came to the same location she did, they thought it would be best to take a quick look there.
Sam and Dean were the only ones to make it across the platform when the four of them heard cries. Cries for help and it sounded just like Caroline. It was coming from farther down the main tunnel and Adam didn't hesitate before taking off.
"No wait!" Natalie whispered heatedly. Without thinking, Natalie took off after him and she could hear Dean and Sam's whispering protests. Natalie tried her best to keep up with him, but she was still able to keep him in sight, making it easier to follow him. They both finally came to a larger section of the mine. Wooden beams and platforms were placed down to create an easier surface to walk on, for the miners. They both took a step onto the wooden platform when the structure gave way under them and they both fell. Natalie was able to grasp onto a broken section of the wooden plank and tried grabbing for Adam only to have him slip through her gasp and down the hole.
"Nad!"
Natalie brought her other hand up and tried to keep a firm grasp on the wood. "Sam!" Natalie called out and looked up, eventually seeing Sam and Dean looking down at her. Sam quickly reached down for her arm and she grasp his arm with her other.
"Wait! Sam, just, let me go."
Sam gave Natalie a look. "Are you crazy? No, I'm not letting you go!"
"This thing is not going to hold both of us." Natalie was proven right. The platform began to bend and it was going to break away from what it was attached to. "Turner fell down. I need to go find him."
Sam gave a quick shake of his head. "No. I'm not gonna-"
The plank suddenly snapped and Sam lost his grip on Natalie's arm. She felt her body fall and then made impact on soft dirt. Natalie could see her flashlight lying a few feet in front of her and she quickly crawled over to pick it up. As she got to her feet, Natalie saw Adam just starting to get back on his feet and breathed a relieved sigh, at least he wasn't injured.
"Nad!" Sam and Dean's voice called out in unison and she shined her light up at them.
"I'm alright. Turner's fine." Natalie quickly looked over at Adam. "You are fine, right? No pain or anything."
Adam gave a weak wave at her concern. "I'm fine."
Natalie nodded and then looked back up at Sam and Dean, who looked like they were trying to make their way down to them. "Hey! Wait, what are you two doing?"
"We're coming down there." Dean answered, making it seem like the answer should've been obvious to her.
"No." Natalie quickly answered. "We're gonna need someone to stay up there to pull us out. You two just stay there, Turner and I will find Caroline and the women."
"I don't like that plan Nad." Dean offered genuinely.
"Sam." Natalie avoided Dean's reluctant reply. "Toss down the bottle." Natalie reached her hands out and caught the bottle that Sam had tossed down. "I'm gonna try and molotov this bitch. Okay. So, just wait there. We'll be fine."
Natalie placed the small bottle into her coat pocket and then nodded at Adam. "You ready, Turner."
"I'm not sure if I will ever be ready, but, let's get going."
They only had one way to go and they slowly took their time walking down another tunnel. Even though they were hunting down a wendigo, Natalie couldn't shake this feeling of awkwardness. She was trying to find these people and kill this creature with a cop. Not Dean or Sam who were hunters, but a cop. Plus, he was someone she had only just met a few hours ago. Now she was supposed to find a way for both of them to work on this together. Hopefully, it would just fall into sync once things started happening. But, everytime she looked at him, Natalie couldn't help but feel there was a sense of familiarity. This man knew her father, knew what he did for a living and he knew about her. Natalie knew that this sounded ridiculous, but she felt a little closer to her dad, just by standing next to this man.
"I know this is probably an inappropriate time to ask this, but, what did you think of my father?" Natalie couldn't help herself. She needed to have some kind of decent conversation with this guy if she was going to feel any sort of ease.
Adam glanced over at her, brows faintly creased together. "You're asking me this now?"
"Well, I'm sorry, but, I don't feel too comfortable with this pairing. No offense."
Adam made a hum noise. "None taken. But, why do you want to know what I thought about your father?"
Natalie merely shrugged. "He never talked about the people that he met on jobs. And I never thought that my dad would be buddy-buddy with some cop."
"Well, now wait a minute." Adam spoke up. "We weren't exactly buddy-buddy. We respected one another."
"I guess that's a good thing. Never thought that my dad would make good acquaintance with a cop." Natalie added.
"I'll tell you what, when we get out of this we can talk about your father, but right now, we need to focus."
Natalie gave her head a tilt in compliance. "Fine."
...
Caroline finally felt herself regain consciousness. But, she felt like her head was being weighed down and she had a terrible headache. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by only darkness. As she allowed her eyes to adjust, Caroline began to move around and realized that she was being hung, by her wrists. Oh that's just perfect. She had no way of reaching for the small pocket knife in her jacket. Instead, she tried pulling at her bonds, seeing if there was any way of working them loose.
Down the tunnel, Caroline could hear voices, they were quiet, but she could make out that it was a man and a woman. She could see beams of light come around the corner and by instinct she called out Adam's name. Both of the figures stopped and shined their lights right in her face.
"Turner it's me." Caroline whispered.
Adam and Natalie made a brisk walk over to Caroline and Natalie quickly cut the bonds around her wrists. As Adam assessed over Caroline for any injury, Natalie walked by them and saw three other people hanging by their wrists.
"Hey." Natalie looked back at Caroline and Adam. "I think I found your missing people." Natalie went to cut the bonds from one of them and it gently woke her up. "Hey, it's alright, we're here to help you." Natalie gently assured her.
"We need to hurry up and get these girls out of here."
Adam and Caroline quickly cut down the other girls, effectively getting them to wake up. It would make it that much easier to get them out of here. They made their back towards where Adam and Natalie had come from. One of the girls had a leg injury and could hardly walk on it, prompting Adam to carry her. Natalie eventually asked Adam for his flare gun, which she had to retrieve from his beltline. A very awkward situation for both of them. They were barely halfway down the tunnel when a loud screech made all of them stop and look back. Natalie angled her head towards the end and could hear impending footsteps coming towards them.
"Move." Natalie's tone was quiet, but stern. However, it didn't seem to pass the message onto the other people. Turning to them, she began to nudge them forward. "Move! Run!"
That finally got through to them. Caroline ushered Adam to go first and then the two girls before her and Natalie broke out into a run. Natalie took a glance behind her, allowing her to see the form of a shadow pass quickly in front of her vision. "Keep running!" She called out to the group and slowly stopped.
Caroline stopped as well and grabbed hold of Natalie's arm. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'll be a distraction. It'll give you guys time to get those girls out of here."
"Are you insane? I'm not about to just let you stay behind."
"Go!" Natalie demanded, a little too harsh for her taste. But, she didn't want Caroline here anymore. Plus, Adam won't be able to handle those three women on his own. Natalie made it final by pulling her arm out of Caroline's grasp and slowly walked back down the tunnel, leaving Caroline no choice, but to continue with follow Adam.
It didn't take Natalie very long to realize that she no longer heard anything coming from this side of the tunnel. Before, she could hear the thing making its way towards them, now...it was silent. She didn't like that. She was making her way back towards where they had found Caroline and the three girls. There was no way the thing would be back there. It was coming after them. Right?
Natalie felt a sudden tug on the back of her jacket and her back made a harsh, quick impact with the ground. And she could see the thing hovering over her, eliciting a wet growl. Natalie tried to get up quickly when the creature grabbed onto her leg and started dragging her. Natalie twisted her body in order to try and reach for the flare gun, but missed it.
"Natalie!"
Adam's voice came channeling down the tunnel, which in turn, made the wendigo pick up its pace. Natalie tried kicking her legs from its grasp, which only annoyed the creature. The wendigo suddenly stopped and grabbed the front of her jacket when gunshots were fired and Natalie could hear it hitting the creature, not creating any damage, but it was a distraction. That's what Adam was hoping for.
The wendigo dropped its hold on Natalie and charged after Adam. That gave Natalie enough time. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the small bottle. Pulling out the cap, Natalie quite shoved the piece of cloth into the neck of the bottle. When she looked up quickly, Natalie saw that Adam took a hit from the creature and she pulled out the matches from her pocket. Striking a few of them, she held it to the cloth until it finally caught fire. Standing up, Natalie took a quick second to mark down her target and then raised her arm.
This is probably a really bad idea. Natalie thought as she sucked in a breath. "Hey!" She called out, garnering the creature's attention. She waited for Adam to move a good distance away and then threw the bottle. Fire sparked everywhere, on the walls of the tunnel and on the ground. But, she made her target. The wendigo thrashed as the fire engulfed its body as it finally diminished into nothing. Natalie quickly made her way over to Adam, after getting by bits of the fire that remained on the soil, creating a good source of light.
"You got a pretty good injury on the head there." Natalie was trying to make it light. There was a decent about of blood streaming down his face.
"You're just trying to keep things light." He commented as he pressed his hand against his head and pulled away, seeing blood covering his palm.
"Okay, come on." Natalie pulled Adam up onto his feet. "Let's get out of here." She could feel her throat starting to itch from the smoke that was forming in the tunnel.
Natalie had to struggle with helping Adam, for one he was much more taller than her, like Dean and Sam. But, he was doing a good job with trying to keep himself walking, to put some of the weight off of her. Natalie had to keep him talking though. By the way he sounded, Natalie knew he was about to pass out.
"Don't you pass out on me." Natalie tried to hoist him up several times to jolt him back awake. "I can't carry you all the way back."
"I'm resilient." Adam weakly fought back. "I've been through worse."
"Everyone always says that."
They finally made it back to where they had fallen through. "Sam!" Natalie called out as she looked up. Sam and Dean were still sitting near the opening. "Hey! You need to get him up first."
Sam dropped down an end of a rope that he gone back to get from the car after Natalie and Adam had gone to find Caroline. Natalie quickly tied it around Adam's waist, noting that he was slightly more aware now. Natalie watched silently as Adam climbed up the side of the wall, while Sam and Dean were pulling the rope. Once Adam was out, Sam quickly got he rope untied and sent it back down to.
Natalie grabbed it, tied the rope around her waist and began to climb up. Her hand hooked onto the broken wooden platform and used it to pull herself out. Sam grabbed onto her arm and gently pulled her all the way out.
"You okay?" Sam asked, taking a quick look at her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Did the girls get out?"
"Yeah, Caroline also managed to get a hold of the police."
Natalie groaned at the tightness she started to feel in her back. "We're gonna have to come up with some total bull story to tell them."
"We'll figure that out later." Sam could hear Natalie suck in a quick breath and he sat her up gently. "You sure you're alright?"
"Yes. It's just my back that's starting to kill me." Natalie rested her head against his shoulder and Sam could feel her body shake from her laughing. "You know it's kinda funny, I only just now encountered by first wendigo."
Sam gave Natalie a slightly amused look. "How is that funny?"
"I honestly have no idea. I think the smoke from the fire is starting to get to my head."
Sam moved up on his feet and helped Natalie get back up on hers. "Come on."
The group didn't have to wait long for the police and ambulances to arrive. Several officers had to go back into the mine to perform their own sweep and to make sure that the fire didn't get to crazy. Caroline informed the officers about what had happened and she made up a pretty good story. She didn't stay long, since she followed the ambulance Adam was in all the way to the hospital. And that made Natalie a little nervous. He had a pretty nasty head wound, but, she didn't think that it was that serious. However, she wasn't a doctor, so she isn't the best person to make a call like that. Sam, Dean and Natalie made sure that the three girls were taken care off and after receiving their many thanks, they decided to head back to the motel. But, Natalie asked Dean to drop her off at the hospital, there was something that they needed to talk about, which confused both Sam and Dean, but he complied regardless.
After they arrived at the hospital, Natalie convinced Dean to head back to the motel with Sam. She would be just fine with walking back, it wasn't that long of a walk anyway. It didn't take much convincing on Natalie's part. Dean was willing to give her this one, without putting up too much of a fight. When Natalie made it into the hospital she had this sudden chill that washed over her. Thinking back on what happened at the hospital back in Sioux Falls, with the Leviathan. It seemed to put her on edge because those things could literally be anywhere. Swallowing her own paranoia, Natalie asked the nurse at the front desk what room Adam was in, and even though the nurse was reluctant, she finally told Natalie the room number, sending Natalie on her way.
Knocking on the door, Natalie waited for her the confirmation for her to come in. When she did, Natalie opened the door and slowly walked in. Adam was lying in the hospital bed, with Caroline sitting next to him. It was easy to see that they weren't expecting to see her.
"Hi." Natalie timidly greeted. "I hope this is alright. If not, I mean I can leave-"
"No, it's fine." Adam responded.
Natalie nodded and looked over at Caroline. "And how are you doing?"
"Honestly, I am not too sure. It's been one hell of a night, but, I will say thank you. For helping. Adam just told me everything, so, we owe everything to you and your friends."
Natalie lightly shrugged off Caroline's statement. "You really don't have to thank us. It's what we do."
"Okay. I get the sense that you two need to talk about something, so, I'm gonna go and finish up the files for this case." Caroline looked at Adam. "Please, just let the doctors do their job. No discharging yourself against their advice. Alright?"
"Yes. Yes, alright Morris."
Caroline smiled faintly at Adam's words. Caroline gave Natalie a smile and a small squeeze on the shoulder before leaving the room. "What's going on?" Natalie asked. "I mean I knew you had a nasty head injury, but, I didn't think it was that serious."
"Yeah. Um, I'm not exactly...the most healthiest person in the world. I've got my own medical problems."
Natalie raised her brows at this. "Oh. How long has it been going on?"
Adam made a groan as he sifted through his memory. "I'd say maybe a few years."
Natalie nodded and went to take a seat next to the hospital bed. "Are you sure that doing this job is a good thing for you?"
"Nah. I have medication that I take for it. It's just sometimes I have some kind of relapse. Nothing too serious. They just want to keep me overnight to make sure the smoke didn't do anything."
"I still don't think that a department would let someone like you take on being a detective." Natalie added.
"Whose to say they know everything that goes on with me?" Adam raised a brow at Natalie, who only nodded her head. "I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone else about my condition."
"Your secret is safe with me."
Adam hummed. He looked over at Natalie and his eyes roamed over her face, dissecting her features. "Has anyone ever told you, that you look just like your dad?"
Natalie was caught off guard, her lips parted slightly and her brows raised. "Um. No not really. People say I look more like my mom than him."
Adam's brow creased as he hummed out his disagreement. "No. I see a lot of your father in you. Of course, that might also due to the fact that I've never met your mother."
"How well did you know my dad?" Natalie asked. "I mean I know you met him on one of his jobs, but, you seem to act like you really knew him."
"Well, he came to town more than once. That was because I called him. He was the only hunter I really trusted and he told me that if anything weird was going on...to call him."
"How many times?"
"Probably four or five times."
Natalie had been watching his behavior as he spoke about her father and she noticed that he seemed so at ease. It told her that he possibly has no idea as to what happened to him. That would make sense. If he knew that her dad was dead he would've offered some kind of condolence. "When was the last time you saw him?"
"About, six years ago. He came rolling through town, helped me on another case. We talked for a few hours after and then he left. After that...the town went pretty quiet. A few hunters came here and there, but, he never did." Adam looked over at Natalie. "How is he by the way?"
There's the question. Natalie pursed her lips together and was hesitating. It had been quite a while since she had to talk about her dad like this. Each time, it was painful to bring up. "He, uh...he...passed away about four years ago."
Adam's already stern expression turned grim. Natalie could already see the empathy seeping from his eyes and the way his body relax. Adam couldn't form words. They both just sat in silence, waiting to see if one of them would say something. Adam literally had no idea. He thought that Thomas had simply gotten caught up in other things. He didn't expect to see him every single time. But, this wasn't the reasoning he was expecting to hear.
"I'm sorry." He finally offered. "I literally had no idea."
"I didn't think you would."
"Was it the job that got him?"
Natalie inhaled a deep breath. "You could say that. It was the life...and a little more than that."
"That's a real loss. He was a good man, your dad. Very honest and humble too. All of the other hunters I've met were a little beaten around the edges, still fairly decent."
"Yeah, my dad had a way of keeping up a good persona. That's just who he was."
"Did your family take it well?"
Natalie let out a small laugh. "No. It, uh, messed everything up. It literally, almost tore my family apart. Well, it actually did." Natalie quickly shook her head. "It's just a real complicated story and not one I am too keen on retelling."
"Well, I'm not going to ask you to do that."
Natalie nodded in relief.
"But, if it makes you feel any better, your dad did love you. From the few times he talked about you, he was proud to be your father."
"He always told me that." That was one thing that Thomas was always determined to tell his children every single time. Whether it was over the phone or when he was home and it didn't matter how many times he said it, Thomas always vouched to his kids how proud he was of them. That being their dad was the best thing to happen to him. He knew that his absence was a huge factor in their household. He was gone constantly. Reassuring his kids that he loved them and was proud of them was his way of helping to bind up the rift. And it worked. Despite leaving for two – three months at a time, he always maintained a close relationship with his kids.
"So, how do you think your partner is going to be able to handle all of this new information?" Natalie decided to bring up something that could possibly lighten the mood.
"Caroline is resilient. If she had not gone down to the mine, she wouldn't have believed it herself. She's probably going to stay away from woods for a some time though."
Natalie let out a genuine laugh. "I don't blame her. That was my first time confronting a wendigo."
"You were a rookie when it came to that thing?" Adam asked, feigning fake concern at the thought that he was partnered with someone who had never encountered that thing before.
"I think I did alright. So did you."
"Yeah, this is proof." Adam gave a quick motion at the sewed up wound on his head. "So, I'm guessing you and the Winchesters are going to be leaving town soon."
"Probably either tonight or early tomorrow."
"Then I'll say my gratitude. Thank you for helping."
Natalie smiled. "Like I said before, you don't need to thank us. And I'll offer the same thing my dad did. You have my number. If anything ever comes up, you can give me a call."
"I'm going to hold you to that. You better come through with it." Adam teased.
"I always do."
...
Natalie walked across the motel parking lot and jogged up to the motel room door. As she pulled out her key, she heard a commotion in progress coming from the room. It wasn't until she heard Dean and Sam struggling, then she slid the key in and hastily threw open the door. Just in time to see Dean slice off the head of a guy. Natalie stood in the doorway, mouth wide open as she stared at the headless body on the ground. Looking back up at Sam and Dean, she could see that they were still slightly flustered from their fight.
Natalie stepped into the room and quickly slammed the door. "What the hell happened? Why is there a headless guy on the ground?"
Dean pointed at the body with his machete. "That is no guy."
Natalie gave Dean a look and pointed down at the body. "What do you mean?"
"It's a Leviathan."
"How the hell did a Leviathan find you?"
Dean raised his arms. "You think I know?"
Natalie stepped around the body and went to stand next to Dean, the three of them continued to stare at the thing. "What are we gonna do with this headless Leviathan?"
Dean cinched his mouth to the side and then his face lightened. "We take it to Bobby's." Dean saw the looks on Sam and Natalie's faces."Look. We have an actual Leviathan. If we bring it to Bobby's, we'll be able to see what this thing can take and what its weaknesses are."
"Yeah, but, we have to ride with this thing in the Impala." Natalie added.
"Then we'll just have to suck it up."
Natalie gave Dean a deadpanned look. "I'm gonna have to sit with this thing...won't I?"
Dean merely shrugged his shoulder as he went about to gather up his things. "Great." Natalie said. "I'm gonna have to share a seat with a Leviathan."
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