Kate woke up and hurried to get ready. Dean and John left the night before and they were going to take the bus to school. She had started to question why the swirls had shown up and why they didn't show up again.
Taylor grabbed his backpack and yelled for Kate. "Hurry!"
Kate scrambled and grabbed a biscuit from Bobby on the way out.
Bobby watched them run down the driveway and chuckled. Kate could pack up a motel room and be ready to go at a moment's notice but always seemed a beat behind when school was involved.
"So, I was thinking," Kate said. "I bet Nate would let us use him to test the blood thing."
Taylor considered it. "He probably would. I don't want to hurt him though so anything we do needs to be done in a petri dish."
Kate nodded. "Right there with you. Ask him about it. I'm eager to figure this stuff out."
### ###
John found the entrance to a cave. "Dean, this way."
Dean followed him. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he had hunted with his dad but it felt comforting. They didn't need to talk. Even orders were nonverbal.
The wendigo had plagued the area for a while and a much older hunter identified the creature and asked John for help. Although the creature was massive and an incredible hunter, John, and Dean considered the hunt to be simple. The cave was deep and damp.
Dean scrunched his nose. The smell inside the cave made his stomach turn.
John put his hand up to signal for him to stop.
Dean stopped walking and listened. The sound of a woman crying met his ears. He nodded once at John to let him know he had heard the sound and understood it was likely the creature.
John pulled out a flare gun and crept deeper into the cave.
Dean pulled his own flare out and poised it to fire when he needed to. He heard the faintest noise behind him and hit the ground as the creature lunged.
John lost sight of Dean as he was thrown back.
Dean felt the sinewy fingers wrap around his neck and flailed in an attempt to find the fallen flare gun.
John didn't want to light the thing on fire with Dean under it. He also didn't want Dean to be injured by the wendigo's hands.
Dean twisted out of the way and yelled "Shoot it!"
John swore and sent the flare into the chest of the monster. He heard Dean yell and dove into the flames to pull him out.
Dean felt John's hands on him and scrambled away from the creature.
The cave was suddenly dark as the flames died down. "Dean, are you hurt?"
Dean groaned. "I don't know."
John helped him hobble from the cave. "Sit. Let me look at you."
Dean squinted at the bright sun. He was in pain but his head was too scrambled to pinpoint what hurt the most.
John peeled Dean's jacket off and hissed. "You have some burns."
"It is okay. I'd rather this than be wendigo food." Dean said.
John checked him over and then helped him to the car. "I'll take a look at your leg when we get to the car."
Dean groaned. "I am okay. I just hit a rock when I went down."
John felt of his leg and looked at the burns on the back of his neck. "I think you're okay for now."
Dean took the pain meds John provided. Feeling the pain from the burn on his neck reminded him just how tough Kate had to have been to hide the burn on her arm for days. "Something was off about that wendigo."
John nodded. "I know. I'm going to go back in."
Dean stopped him. "Not alone."
"You are injured." John said.
"I have a bruised hip and my neck is burned. I'm not crippled. You are better off with a second set of eyes." Dean said.
John gave in, although he didn't want to. Dean's injuries were not severe and he really did need the second set of eyes.
Dean followed John back into the cave. He made a mental note to see if he could find night vision goggles. Most creatures had the ability to see in the dark as an advantage over hunters. That was part of the reason they were hunting the thing in the daytime. When night fell, the creature would have the entire forest to hunt them.
John heard the woman's cries again and stopped. Wendigo were solitary creatures. There was a possibility that the cries were human.
Dean gagged silently. The smell was getting worse.
John noticed the smell too. He flicked his flashlight and weapon toward the wall of the cave as something blew by.
Dean turned as well.
John managed to catch the creature in the binds of his flashlight. "What the hell?"
The creature was stunned as the light blinded it. Dean acted quickly and hit it with the flare gun.
John continued into the cave to make sure the cries were or were not human. His foot hit something and he looked down. "Found the kill floor."
Dean grimaced. "Son of a bitch was busy." He heard a whimper and flicked his light toward the sound. There was a woman in the corner.
John approached her carefully. "Are you okay?"
The woman snapped her head up and screamed.
"You're okay. We are here to help." John said.
Dean pulled a bottle of water from his pack. "Here."
John carried the woman out of the cave and to the car. "What is your name?"
"Megan." The woman said.
"Megan, we are going to get you to a hospital. What happened in there?" John said.
"I don't know. I was on a hike and then I woke up in that place." She said.
They were able to get a little more information out of her before they dropped her off at the hospital. She understood why she shouldn't mention them and was just thankful the mysterious me had saved her.
John drove due to Dean's injuries.
"Dad, what was that thing?" Dean asked.
"I don't know. Wendigo are solitary. It looked like a small wendigo." John said.
"It looked like a wendigo kid." Dean said. "Oh, god. Don't tell me the things reproduce."
"They don't. That's just it." John was perplexed and called Bobby.
"What do you mean a wendigo kid?" Bobby asked, dumbfounded.
"If you shrunk a wendigo, it would look like what we saw." Dean said.
"Balls. I'll do some research." Bobby said.
"We are headed back. Dean got banged up." John said.
Bobby sighed. "Kate is going to be happy about that."
"Hey, I'm in one piece." Dean said. "That is all I promised her."
John shook his head. "Since when do you answer to her?"
Dean scoffed. "She gets sad when I get hurt."
John smiled to himself. When he thought of Kate's tenacity, he missed Mary a little bit more.
### ###
Taylor talked to his science teacher under the cover of preparing for the school's science fair. "I am just interested in genetics and can't decide between that and stuff like blood types. I think it is really cool that you can treat sick people with healthy blood."
Mr. Bryant was used to students not caring about coursework and was happy to answer all of Taylor's questions.
Taylor took the information and made notes. If all else failed, he could do the actual science project.
Kate met up with Taylor at lunch. "So, what did you find out?"
"I've got notes. There are some simple things we can try." Taylor said.
"What did Nate say?"
"Oh, I haven't asked. Hold on. Hey, Nate!" Taylor said.
"Hey, what's up?" Nate asked.
"We want to test out some stuff with our abilities and blood. Do you want to help?" Taylor asked.
"Sure. Ellie is wanting Kate to spend the night. We could make a weekend of it." Nate said.
"Great. I'll ask Bobby." Kate said with a grin.
They took the bus home and raced up the driveway.
Bobby heard them hit the porch and the door swung open. "If one of you busts a hole in the wall there will be hell to pay."
"Sorry!"
Bobby grumbled and went back to his books. His office was getting messy with the amount of research he was doing. Well, it was always messy but he was running out of storage. He reached beside his chair into a box with stuff from the bunker. He jerked his hand back and chuckled. "How did you get in there?"
Millie stretched and curled back into herself.
"Kate, come get your cat." Bobby said.
Kate slid into the office.
Bobby lifted Millie out of the box and held her up for Kate.
Kate took Millie in her arms and carried her to the kitchen.
"Do not put her on the table!" Bobby shouted.
Kate made a face and removed Millie from the tabletop.
Taylor finished his homework and went into Bobby's office. He looked around. "You need more shelves."
Bobby looked up at him. "I'll get right on that."
"Did you think about the blood stuff?"
"I am a little busy." Bobby said with a sigh.
"Oh. Anything I can help with?" Taylor asked.
"You two can take care of dinner tonight."
"Okay." Taylor said and backed out of the office.
Kate finished her homework and put everything back into her bag. "Let me see your notes."
Taylor looked out the window. He needed something to do to get his energy out. "I want to chop down a tree."
Kate tilted her head. "Why?"
"Why not? We could make a shelf for Bobby." Taylor said.
"We'd need to use a saw and stuff. I don't think he'd let us." Kate said.
"Not without an adult but Dean could help." He went back to Bobby's office. "Can I cut down a tree?"
Bobby put the book down and sighed. "Son, are you trying to give me a migraine?"
"No." Taylor said, sheepishly. "I just need to get some energy out and I could make a shelf."
Bobby rubbed his face. "If you look behind the shop, I stacked a bunch of pallets up. You can use those. You can use a drill or whatever you need but stay away from the table saw. If you need to cut something, use a hand saw or mark it and I'll help you."
Taylor thanked him and went back to Kate. He told her his plan and took the kittens with him. Working with his hands freed his brain to think. He found the pallets he was looking for and carried two of them into the shop. He sat on the ground and used his knife and a hammer to pry the nails out of the wood.
Kate ran outside to join Taylor. "Hey. How can I help?"
Taylor pointed to the other pallet. "Take all the nails out." He found some sandpaper and started smoothing down the weathered wood.
Kate removed the last nail and dropped it into a bin of used nails and screws. She watched the kittens playing. They were rambunctious and fun to watch.
Suddenly, both kittens stopped playing and stared at the same spot, hackles up and ears pinned back.
Kate tapped Taylor.
Taylor looked up and saw that both kittens were afraid of something. He put himself between Kate and the door and inched forward. He saw the swirls of light and motioned for Kate to look.
Kate thought that the swirls looked like 'eye squigglies'. She got closer to the door and tried to reach toward the swirls.
Taylor stopped her. "If it was anything good, I don't think the cats would be this upset."
Kate considered his opinion. "It isn't attacking." She stepped out of the shop and felt the swirls surround her. She went to give Taylor a thumbs up but her legs started to sting.
Taylor grabbed her arms and pulled her back toward him.
Kate hit the ground as the swirls let go and disappeared. "What the hell was that? Ghost of a jellyfish?"
Taylor looked at her eyes. "Your eyes are glowing."
Kate blinked rapidly. She covered her eyes and then opened them again.
"Still glowing."
"I'm guessing whatever it was is gone. Then kittens are calm." Kate said.
"Animals have better senses than humans." Taylor said.
Kate sat down to hold Millie. "Supernatural radar in kitten form."
Taylor looked around outside. "What did it do to you?"
Kate shrugged. "No idea."
"You shouldn't have went to it. You could have gotten hurt." Taylor said.
"I'm fine." Kate said and sat on the floor.
"Did it sting you?"
"A little." Kate said. "I'm fine though."
Taylor felt uneasy but went back to working on the shelf.
Bobby called them inside after a couple of hours. "Dean and John will be back soon and will want dinner. Kate-" Bobby stopped, "What is wrong with your eyes?"
Kate had forgotten about her eyes. "Are they still glowing?"
"Still? Are they still glowing? How long have they been like that?" Bobby demanded.
Taylor recoiled. "A few hours."
Bobby slammed his cap on his desk. "Neither of you thought to come inside and tell me? What caused it?"
Kate wrung her hands. "Jellyfish ghost."
Bobby rubbed his face. "One of you had better explain."
"Well, the other night, we saw those swirly lights that you guys couldn't really see." Kate said.
"Yeah?"
"So, they came back." Kate said.
"Did they attack you? What was it?" Bobby asked.
Kate shut her mouth.
Bobby sighed.
"The kittens got spooked and then we saw the swirls and Kate got a closer look and they wrapped around her legs but they let go and nothing happened." Taylor said.
"Balls. Well something happened or her eyes wouldn't be glowing like that." Bobby said.
Taylor's heart sank. "We should have told you."
"Ya' think?" Bobby shot back.
Kate fidgeted. "It didn't seem alarming."
Bobby took her by the elbow and walked her to a mirror in the hallway.
Kate tiptoed and looked at her eyes. "Oh, wow. That looks cool."
"You can't fit in at school if you have neon lights for eyes." Bobby said.
Kate dropped back to her normal height.
Bobby pointed to the kitchen. "Go start working on dinner."
Taylor skirted by him and went into the kitchen.
Bobby grumbled "digits" before looking for a book on spirits.
"I didn't think it was an issue." Taylor said.
"Me either." Kate said. "Now, it seems obvious but I didn't question it."
Taylor nodded. "I think it made us... calm."
Kate bit her lip. "I am going to talk to Bobby."
Taylor cut some fresh vegetables and turned the oven on to preheat.
Kate walked back into Bobby's office.
Bobby eyed her.
"Before you tell John or Dean, can I talk to you?" Kate asked.
Bobby tilted his head but motioned to the chair in front of his desk.
"I know that we should have told you about what happened. We weren't hiding it. We honestly didn't think it was a problem. I realize it was but after it left, it seemed normal. It may have done something to us." Kate said.
Bobby studied her. "Would you be saying this to appease me?"
"No. I'm anxious now. I wasn't before."
Bobby thought about what she was saying. They did seem oddly unbothered when they walked into the house. "Okay. Just go work on food."
Kate returned to Taylor. "I think he understands."
Taylor grimaced. "Man, I hope so."
John pulled the impala up beside Bobby's house. He was a little worried about the shape Dean was in. The burn was bothering him more than he was letting on.
Kate ran outside but stopped before she got to the steps. She grimaced and rubbed her neck.
Dean got out and walked toward her. "What is wrong? Whoa, your eyes."
Kate tilted her head. "My neck started hurting. Yeah, the eyes are a long story." She saw the burn on his neck and made him turn around. "What happened?"
"I got a little burned." Dean said.
"This is where my neck started hurting." She said. She put the palm of her hand on the side of his neck. She closed her eyes and focused her energy on the wound.
Dean felt electricity go through him and his whole body drew tight.
Kate's eyes flew open and she fell backward on the steps.
Dean crouched as he felt his legs grow weak.
John was instantly at Dean's side. "What happened?"
Kate got closer to Dean. "That has never happened before."
John looked at the back of Dean's neck. "There is no burn."
Dean felt the back of his neck. "Whoa. My hip is fine too. Your eyes are normal again."
Kate rubbed her eyes. She had healed David and his buddies but that was because she had a great deal of Taylor's power. "Power boosting jellyfish ghost." She whispered.
Dean and John both looked at her.
Kate shook her head. "Come inside."
Bobby told them about what had happened outside. "I do believe her when she says they were too calm to think it was an issue."
"Why is it a jellyfish?" Dean asked.
"It kind of stung before Taylor pulled me away." Kate said.
John chewed his food. "If you see anymore... jellyfish... tell someone."
Taylor visibly relaxed.
"Can we spend the night at Ellie and Nate's house this weekend?" Kate asked.
The adults traded looks. "That should be okay." Bobby said.
Kate fist-bumped Taylor and took her plate to the sink.
After dinner the kids went back outside to clean up the workstation they were using for the shelf.
Dean and John stayed inside to tell Bobby about the wendigo and mini wendigo.
"That's a new one." Bobby said.
It was dark by the time the kids returned to the house. They went to bed and whispered about possibly plans for the sleepover
Dean sat down at the table with a glass of whiskey. "Why do I have the feeling that they are up to something?"
"Huh, I'm not the only one with that feeling." Bobby said.
John didn't think Taylor would be eager to be back in hot water. "Dean, keep an eye on it. I will need to get back on the road. I think they both have a good idea about how things work."
Dean nodded. "Is that code speak for 'beat the children'?"
John chuckled. "No. Don't do that. Just keep an eye on them."
Dean smirked. "Bobby, you are going to have to man up."
Bobby smacked the back of his head. "Keep running your mouth."
### ###
Taylor woke up as a pillow crashed into the back of his head. He heard a squeak from Kate and assumed she had gotten whacked too.
Dean flicked the light on. "Up and at 'em."
Kate groaned. "Sam must be so happy not getting woken up like this."
Dean scoffed. "This is better than an alarm clock."
Kate grumbled her way down the stairs in search of food. "Bobby." She whined.
"What?" Bobby said from the table.
"You should wake us up instead of Dean." Kate said and wrapped her arms around his back.
"You could set an alarm." Bobby offered.
"Dean wakes us up before the alarm goes off." She saw John enter the kitchen. "Your son is mean."
John smiled. "He does have that reputation."
"Maybe talk to him." Kate said with a yawn.
Dean hopped down the stairs. "Tattletale."
Kate put a hand on John's shoulder once he sat down. "He's too cocky."
Dean tossed her a muffin. "So are you."
Kate scrunched her nose. "Maybe you shouldn't fuss at me for personality traits that I share with you."
Dean grinned. "Those are the traits that are most important to fix."
John nodded. "I agree with that."
Dean shot him a look. "What does that mean?"
John shook his head. "Go on and get ready for school, Katie."
Kate stuck her tongue out at Dean as she left the room.
"If you keep tormenting her, she will stop healing you." John said.
Dean's grin fell. "You have a point."
Taylor ran down once he got dressed. He grabbed a muffin and ate it while Kate finished getting dressed. "Any plans today?"
"I am packing out." John said.
Taylor nodded. "Where are you going?"
"On a few hunts." John said, simply.
Taylor heard Kate coming down the stairs and grabbed his book bag. "Have a good day."
Bobby and John said goodbye to Taylor and Kate and went back to their coffee.
Dean dropped them off and waved to Ellie. "Be good."
Kate turned and glared at him.
He smirked and rolled the window up as he pulled away.
Kate wasn't worried about the test due that day. She had studied but had a good grasp of the information. Ellie was nervous though. "Ells, it will be okay. You know your stuff."
Ellie was antsy. "I don't think I do."
"Listen, I'll study with you during lunch." Kate soothed her.
Ellie shrugged. "Okay."
Taylor had already worked out some details with Nate and made a mental list of things they'd need. His science teacher gave him some slides for his project and he felt confident that they could do some hands on research in a safe way.
At lunch, Kate did help Ellie study. "See, you know this. Why are you so freaked out?"
"My mom won't let me do the sleepover if I don't get a good grade on this." Ellie said.
Kate sighed. "You'll do great."
At recess, they brainstormed. "We have one of those things that you check your blood sugar with." Nate said.
"That may work for the slides. Then, it isn't enough blood for anyone to get mad about." Taylor said.
"I'll find it. We just need the thing the lancets go in." Nate said.
"Right, I'll bring the rest of the stuff. Do you think Ellie would do it?" Taylor asked.
Nate shrugged. "I don't know. She has a big mouth."
### ###
Bobby spent the morning looking for ideas on what the swirls of light could be. He had so little to go off of that there was no way to narrow it down. He picked up his phone when it rang. "Hey, Ellen."
"Hey, Bobby. I asked around and no one has heard of Jacob Henderson." Ellen said.
Bobby sighed. "Thank you. How are you and Jo?"
"Ah, same as ever. Jo hasn't tried to take off but asks me constantly to take a hunt. She wants to see the bunker." Ellen said.
"Well, bring her one of the times we go. She did help find the place." Bobby said.
Ellen grumbled. "I'm not sure what she did would be considered help."
Bobby chuckled. "Tell her I said hi. I'll let you know when we head that way."
John packed his duffle as he spoke to Dean. "I'm leaving you the information for two cases. You should be able to do them by yourself but here is the number for another hunter that could help."
Dean helped him repack the truck and gathered some snacks for the road. They'd need to visit Taylor's grandmother soon. He checked the time. "I'll have to go get the kids in a little bit."
John excused him and finished packing before getting back on the road.
### ###
Kate circled answers on her test and noted that it didn't take long at all. She glanced at Ellie and saw her chewing on her pencil. She closed her eyes and focused on Ellie, trying to read her. Ellie was anxious and stuck on a question. Kate saw the answer and tried to gently push the answer into Ellie's head. It worked. She had to do it four more times before the test was finished.
Ellie walked with Kate to her locker. "I think I did pretty well. I couldn't figure out the answer to number eight and it just came to me."
"Yeah," Kate said. "I told you that you had it."
Dean picked them up and was a little concerned with how deep in thought both of them were. "So, anything happen today?"
"No." Kate said.
Taylor glanced sideways at Dean. "Boring day. We are kind of excited to spend time with Nate and Ellie."
Dean tapped the steering wheel. "If you have anything you need to say, say it now. If I find out about it later I'm going to count it as a lie."
Taylor slid down in the seat a little. "We want to do a couple comparisons with our blood."
"Explain." Dean said.
"My science teacher gave me some slides because I said that I wanted my science project to be on blood types and properties. Nate's mom has lancets so we could put one drop on each slide. It would be sanitary and a tiny amount of blood." Taylor said.
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why hide it?"
Taylor put his forehead on the dashboard. "I wasn't meaning to. I just got the idea and was trying to find a safe way to do things."
"If you use the lancets and do not try anything on each other, that should be okay." Dean said.
Taylor relaxed. He didn't know what had gotten into him or why he had a knee jerk reaction to hide things. He assumed it had a lot to do with how he was raised. He hid things so Craig didn't fly off the handle. He didn't want John or Bobby or Dean mad at him but his biggest fear was being in trouble again. He wasn't worried about being kicked out or harmed.
Kate stayed quiet. She was focused on the 'jellyfish'. She reached out to Aphrim and he had yet to answer. The strange being had felt like running water wrapping around her legs. It stung but not horribly. If the being was evil, she would have felt it.
### ###
Friday afternoon, Kate and Taylor walked home with Ellie and Nate.
Dean took the opportunity to knock the two hunts off his list.
Nate told Ellie that Taylor was doing a science project and asked if they could use a tiny bit of her blood. She agreed as long as it was only a tiny bit.
Nate's mom gave Tayor a hug when he walked in the door. "Long time no see."
Taylor hugged her back. He always liked Nate's mom. She was kind to him.
Kate liked her too. She just hadn't spent as much time around her.
"Who is hungry?"
Nate and Taylor assured her they were starving before scampering off to Nate's room.
"If you girls want to put your stuff in Ellie's room, you could come back and hang out with me." Anna said.
Kate smiled. "Yes, ma'am." Ellie's mom was the closest thing she had to a female role model aside from Ellen or Lacy. She did get a little sad sometimes or perhaps jealous.
Nate poked his finger and let a drop of blood hit the slide.
Taylor did the same. "Last time we did this, we could see something in our blood that wasn't in anyone else's." Taylor sat the microscope on Nate's desk. "I don't think normal people can see it."
Nate looked through the lens. "Looks normal to me."
Anna finished making a snack and put it on the bar. "Nate, pull the trashcans back up to the house and then wash your hands."
Nate ran outside and grabbed the trash cans.
Taylor took one from him. He looked up and froze. He shoved a thought into Kate's mind.
Kate's head snapped up. Jellyfish were back. She looked out the window and saw the swirls hovering in the driveway. "Mrs. Anna, can I borrow a jar?"
"Sure, sweetie. Why?" Anna asked.
"Taylor found a cool bug."
Anna handed her a clean jar and lid.
Kate stepped outside.
"Kate, get back." Taylor said.
Kate handed him the jar. "Try the thing you do on dirt, but reversed."
Taylor licked his lips. He pictured himself drawing the substance into the jar and was shocked when it did just that.
"Quick, shut the lid."
Nate stared at the jar. "Did you catch air?"
Kate shook her head. "You can't see it?"
Nate shook his head. "No."
Taylor twisted the lid on the jar until it would be impossible for anyone else to open. "Is that grace?"
Kate took the jar. "Smooshed together it looks like it."
"I thought the box had the last of it." Taylor said.
Kate turned the jar of it. "Maybe the last of it but not all of it."
Anna called them inside. "Did you catch your bug?"
Kate blushed. "No. Can I keep the jar so we can try again later?"
Anna smiled. "Of course."
Kate took the jar and put it in her bag. She sent Bobby a message. 'Jellyfish may be grace. We trapped it. Ellie's mom made a snack. I'll call later."
Bobby felt his phone buzz. He read it and flipped through pages of the book he was looking at. "Balls."