~***~

Night had fallen and we had a fire going in the trashed campsite. Haley and Ben were snuggled close by the fire, trying to keep warm. Dean was moving around the campsite, finishing up some wards against the Wendigo.

"One more time, that's-" Haley started, but I cut her off after taking a drag from my cigarette.

"Anasazi Symbol. It's for protection. The Wendigo can't cross over them." I explain, finishing up a ward as Roy laughed sharply.

"Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy." Dean grumbled, glaring at him. I moved over to Sam, sitting down besides him and stomping out my cancer stick.

"Hey." I hum, leaning against his shoulder, sighing out. He hums softly, laying his head atop mine, mimicking my sigh. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?"

Sam lifted his head, gazing down at me in confusion. "Nothings wrong, Lottie."

"Bull." I cross my arms over my chest, urging him to continue.

"Its just.... Dad's not here. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? I mean, he would've left us a message, or a sign or something, right?"

I nod gently, gazing out into the dark woods. "I had that feeling too." I agree.

"Then let's get these people back to the town and lets hit the road. Go find Dad. I mean, why are we still here, Lottie? Is it Haley?"

Jealousy reared its ugly head as I pulled out another cigarette. I lit it up and took along drag, ignoring the jealousy for now. Dean and Haley seemed to be getting on perfectly, and I hated it. And I had no right butting in. "Sam. We leave and don't kill this thing, more people are going to die unless we end it. No one else is going to help."

"She's right, Sammy." Dean said, shocking the hell out of me. "And I think we're here because of this." He said and reached over, grabbing the journal that lay on my lap. "This is Dad's single most valuable possession. Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here, and now he's passed it onto us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The Family Business."

"It makes no sense Dean, why doesn't he just call us. Why doesn't he tell us what he wants? Tell us where he is." Sam grumbled.

"I don't know, but the way I see it, Dad's given us a job to do, and I intend to do it."

"Dean, I can't. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about." Sam admitted. I grasped onto Sam's shoulder, smiling at the tall man.

"Okay, alright, Sam. We'll find 'em. We promise." I coo. "Now listen to me. You have to prepare yourself. I mean, this search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul. It's going to kill you. You've got to have some patience, Sam."

"How do you two do it? How does Dad do it?" Sam asked.

I smiled a little, looking over at Haley and Ben. "We do it for them." I say softly.

"I mean, I figured our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Make things a little more bearable." Dean added. "I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can."

"When Dean gets it, you know you will." I start, feeling Dean gaze at me. "Cause he's a bone head and all." Sam and I cracked up.

"Help me! Please! Help!" We stopped laughing as the same voice from earlier screamed out. Dean stood up, readying his gun. Sam and I stood as well, shining our flashlights around, looking for the source of the cry. "Help!"

"He's trying to draw us out. Just stay cool, stay put." Dean directed, pulling me behind him.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy scoffed.

"Quit bein' a little bitch about it, man!" I growl, pulling out my gun. The voice called out again, but this time a voice growled out that had me blank out, the screams of my mother echoing in my ears.

"Okay, that's no grizzly." Roy's voice started to shake.

I could feel my hands start to shake as I gazed into the dark woods. A shadow darted past, a soft yelp leaving my lips as I backed up a little. Dean gazed back at me for a second, his eyes showing concern. "It's here." Rustling echoed through the air. Roy fired off his rifle, a whimper echoing out in the aftermath.

"I hit it!" Roy yelled, moving forward to see what he shot.

"No! Roy!" Dean yelled as the man disappeared into the dark thicket. Dean turned to Haley and Ben. "Don't move!" He ordered, beckoning us to follow.

"It's over here! It's in the tree's!" Roy's voice calls out.

"Roy!" Dean shouts, stopping me from going any further. "Son of a bitch!"

~***~

Sam sat on a stump close to camp, John's journal balanced on his knee as he flicked through the pages. We were unable to find Roy, so we came back and protected ourselves. I sat away from the group, my knees bouncing and a cigarette balancing in my shaking fingers. I rubbed at the top of my head, trying to get myself to stop shaking. Rough hands wrapped around my wrists, tugging them forward and rubbing soft circles in them. I let out a shaky breath and let my eyes lift up to meet his.

"You alright?" He asked softly. I nod once before shaking my head. I crush the cigarette underneath my boot. He sighs out softly, pressing a soft kiss to my hands. Dean stood up and pulled me upwards, leading me over to Sam.

"Hey, so we've got a half a chance in the daylight, and I for once want this evil son of a bitch dead." Sam started, gazing up at the two of us.

"Well, hell, you know I'm in." Dean said. Sam proceeded to show us what he had found. Haley and Ben ended up crowding around the three of us, trying to see for themselves. Sam had the journal open to John's entry on the Wendigo. "Wendigo is a Cree Indian word. It means, 'Evil that devours'."

Dean nodded. "They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, or other Frontiersman, or a miner, or hey, even a hunter."

Haley scrunched up her nose as she looked at the page. "How does a man turn into one of those things?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Well, it's always the same. During some harsh winter, a guy can find himself starving, cut off supplies for help. He becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members or his tribe or camp." I explain.

"Like the Donner party." Ben spoke up.

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, and even immortality." I add, rubbing the back of my neck. "And if you eat enough of it, over years, you become less than human. You're always hungry."

"So, if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Haley asked hesitantly, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"You ain't gonna like it." I say gently.

"Tell me." She demanded.

I held my hands up. "Alright." I light up another cigarette and take a long drag. "More than anything, a Wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake, it keeps it's victims alive. It, well, it stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants. Haley, if you brothers alive, it's keeping it somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We're going to have to track it back there."

She took a few moments to process, but eventually nodded. "And how do we stop it?"

Dean spoke up after letting out a sigh. He walked over to one of the very few packs that hadn't been torn apart and rooted through it. "Well, guns are useless, so are knives." He explained. He withdrew a couple of objects, a can of lighter fluid, an empty bottle, and a white scrap of cloth. He held them up with a smirk.

"We gotta torch the sucker."

~***~

Daylight broke quicker than I remember it did. We spent the entire night preparing for the upcoming day. Haley and Ben got a lesson on the Wendigo while I kept close to Dean the entire night, wanting nothing more than to curl up on his lap and act like a scared child, but I knew I had to keep a strong front.

I kept the Molotov close to me as we ventured into the woods. We followed the trees that had claw marks and blood. It was obviously a path made by the creature. But it seemed a little.... odd. My hair stood on end after walking for a while. I stopped in my tracks, looking around.

"Dean." He steps up besides me, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

I pointed ahead of me, towards the trees. They were different than the ones we had been following before. Sure, they still had claw marks and blood, but these were all battered and broken. Tree branches were scattered everywhere, and some trees looks like they were torn out instead of falling naturally. "Somethings wrong. These claw marks are really clean. They were almost too easy to follow."

Dean's confused look turned into one of recognition, and just as he was about to reply, a low growl echoed through the air, catching everyone's attention. I held my breath, the fear crawling up my belly again. Haley was underneath a tree, and something dark had dripped down onto her shirt. She glanced over to see what it was. I ran at Haley, pushing her from harms way. A body crashed down onto the spot she had been standing on. I let out a sigh of relief as she lay on my front, grasping onto my jacket. 

"You okay?" I ask as she pulls away, gazing at the body.

"Yeah, just a little shocked, I guess." She sighed after nodding.

"His necks broke." Dean noted. Another growl echoed through the air and I was up in an instant, pulling Haley along with me.

"GO! GO! GO!" I shout, taking the lead with the frightened woman tightly in my grasp. We stopped after a moment, looking back and expecting to see everyone behind us. I pushed Haley behind me as the Wendigo jumped down. "Mother fucker!" I yelp, falling backwards as it lunges.

Haley's scream ripped through the air. I pounded my fist against the creatures back, screaming out curses and kicking my legs around. M n' M's spilled out of my jacket as it grasps at my leg and dangled me, keeping its fast pace. It felt as if the world were distorting around me, then everything went dark. I yelped out in pain as the hard ground met my front. I scrambled forward, trying to get away. The sound of clothes and skin shredding echoed, my screams following. Pain washed over my back. A large, clammy hand grasped at my head, lifting me up by my hair. I seethed out in pain as I stared at the pale creature. It threw me against a wall, a sickening crunch echoing through my ears as my head crashed against the stone. I let out a breath of air, staring up at the ceiling, my eyes unfocused. The edges of my vision started to blur as my body is pulled away from the wall, being hoisted up, and hung by my wrists. My head lolls forward, my world slipping....