The next morning, the three hunters gathered their gear and headed towards Blackwater Ridge. Scarlett hoped that Haley had a change of heart, but she was almost certain that wouldn't be the case.

Sure enough, whenever Dean parked the Impala at the bottom of an overgrown walking trail, Haley was standing there with the guide she'd hired. "You guys have room for three more?" Dean asked.

Haley looked at them in surprise. "You want to come with us?"

"Who are these guys?" The guide behind Haley inquired.

"Apparently, this is all the park service could muster up for search and rescue," Haley scoffed, looking at him.

His eyebrow arched up in response. "You're rangers?"

"That's right," Scarlett tilted her head to the side, challenging him. "Don't mind the biker boots and jeans," she nodded towards Dean.

Haley eyed Dean for a moment. "You must've read my mind," she told Scarlett.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts," Dean retorted, walking forward towards his brother.

Before he passed the guide, the older man made him stop in his tracks. "You think this is funny?" His tone was hard as stone, but it didn't phase Dean at all. "It's dangerous backcountry out there. Her brother might be hurt."

Dean shared knowing glances with Sam and Scarlett. "Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be," he countered. "We just want to help them find their brother. That's all."

Scarlett and Dean walked just behind the guide, keeping their eyes peeled for anything the other three might be oblivious to, while Sam trailed in the back of the group.

"Roy, you said you did a little hunting," Dean asked, never keeping his eyes planted in one place for too long. "What kind of furry critters do you hunt?"

"Mostly buck. Sometimes bear," Roy said, looking around.

Dean's smug grin made an appearance and Scarlett knew just where he was headed. "Tell me, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" He started to walk just past Roy, but he snatched him back. Scarlett looked back at Sam, wondering if they should intervene. "What are you doing, Roy?" He sounded condescendingly challenging.

Wordlessly, Roy picked up a stick and slammed it down into the bear trap that Dean nearly stepped in. "You should watch your step...Ranger." He walked forward again and Dean didn't object, falling into step next to Scarlett.

Haley took a few paces forward, catching up with them. "You guys didn't pack any provisions," she noted. "You're only carrying a duffle bag. You're not rangers, so who the hell are you?" She grabbed Dean's arm and spun him around to face her.

Scarlett turned quickly on her heels, just as Sam caught up to them. Dean gave them both a nod to go on ahead and they moved forward with Ben.

"Sam is my brother," Scarlett heard him start, as they slowly started moving out of earshot. "Scarlett is..." he trailed off slightly and by the time he'd continued, they were already too far away to make out any coherent words, especially with Roy speaking up about nothing important.

"You okay?" Sam said quiet enough for only Scarlett to hear. "I heard a lot of yelling last night and you were quick to get in the bathroom."

She nodded, keeping her eyes plastered on the ground below her. "I'm fine. there was just a lot of things that needed resolving."

"And now?"

She was quiet for a moment, contemplating her answer. "I'm not sure," she admitted, looking over her shoulder to where Dean and Haley were starting on their way.

"This is it. Blackwater Ridge," Roy commented, looking around.

"What coordinates are we at?" Scarlett asked him.

He pulled out his portable GPS and loaded it up. "35 and minus 111," he answered.

Dean caught up to them, looking around and noting the silence. "You guys here that?" He said quietly.

Scarlett nodded. "Not even crickets."

Roy slid his device back into his vest with a small huff. "I'm gonna go take a look around," he informed the group.

Sam looked over his shoulder and the man. "You shouldn't go off by yourself," he warned him, but judging by the look on his face, he knew it wasn't even worth his breath.

"That's sweet," Roy said dryly. "Don't worry about me." He held up his shotgun and started off on his own.

Dean turned back to look at the remaining four. "Alright, everybody stays together," he instructed. "Let's go."

They walked together, suspiciously undisturbed by any type of insect. Until, of course, Roy's voice called from afar. "Haley! Over here!" Scarlett noted the look of sheer horror that spread across Haley's face, and rightfully so. She took off in the direction of Roy's voice and Scarlett was quickly behind her with Dean, Sam and Ben.

Scarlett would be lying if she said she wasn't expecting a dead body, with the way Roy had yelled, but she felt weirdly relieved that the only thing found was a completely destroyed campsite. A death couldn't be accounted for, until you found a body. That's what her dad had always said, at least. But the blood that streamed down the tent was slightly disheartening.

"Looks like a grizzly," Roy commented, and Scarlett wanted to punch him in his face for being a know-it-all. He had a point, though. The way the tent was slashed, it did have similarities to a grizzly attack.

"Tommy?" Haley's shaky voice called, to no avail. She removed her backpack and started searching the debris. "Tommy!"

Sam grabbed her arm quickly, shutting her up. "Something might still be out there," he said.

"Sam, SJ," Dean called from deeper into the woods. There wasn't much urgency in his tone, likely not to disturb the already frantic Haley. The two walked down the trail and met Dean, who was crouching down and looking at something. They crouched beside him, looking at the marks on the ground. "The bodies were dragged from the camp. But here, the tracks just vanish. It's weird." He pointed at the spot where the dirt and pine straw was left undisturbed. "I'll tell you what. It's no skinwalker or black dog." He turned his back on the tracks and started back for the campsite.

Haley was sitting on the ground with a destroyed cell phone in her hands. Scarlett took point on this one, which may have only been because of her own selfish reason of not wanting Dean to be the one comforting her. "He could still be alive," she said, crouching down beside her. Haley looked at her, eyes unsure of the genuineness of the words, but before she could even open her mouth to respond, she was back on her feet staring in the direction of a man yelling for help.

Much to the hunters' dismay, Roy ran off ahead with his shotgun that was sure to do nothing to the creature. "Help!" Another cry came, making the group much quicker on their feet.

The cries ended abruptly, as they entered a clearing. They looked around wildly for any sense of movement. Sam looked at Scarlett and they had the same realization. "Everybody back to camp," Sam told them, turning to run back to where they'd left everything they'd brought. It had been a trap.

When they arrived back to the opening, everything they'd left had been snatched away. "What the hell's going on?" Haley looked at the trio in specific.

"It's smart," Sam commented. "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."

"So, some nut job out there just stole all our gear," Roy scoffed in disbelief.

Sam ushered Scarlett and Sam off to the side, out of earshot of the group. "Where's dad's journal?" He asked. Dean reached into his jacket and pulled the book out. Sam grabbed it from him and quickly opened it to the page labeled Wendigo and turned it to face Dean and Scarlett.

"Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods, or Northern Michigan," Scarlett debunked. "I've never even heard of one this far west." Dean nodded his agreement.

"Think about it," Sam objected. "The claws, the way it can mimic a human voice."

It made sense, as much as Scarlett hated to admit it. "Great, then these are useless," she held up her pistol, before tucking it back into her waistband.

Sam pushed the journal back against Dean's chest, shaking his head. "We've got to get these people to safety." He told them.

When they got back to the group, Scarlett sighed. She'd be the bad guy this time. "All right, listen up," she said with enough volume that they could hear her, but not loud enough to alert any attention, even though she already knew something had its eye on them. "It's time to go. Things have gotten more...complicated."

"Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it," Roy countered, all but rolling his eyes at her.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him. "Respectfully, you have no idea what you're up against," she snarled, more than fed up with his cocky attitude. "If you shoot this thing, you're just going to piss it off. We have to leave. Now."

"Enough with the nonsense!" He raised his voice at her. Dean took a step forward, standing next to Scarlett. "You're in no position to give anybody orders."

"Relax," Dean warned him.

Scarlett gave him a soft nod, thanking him, but continued speaking. "We never should have let you come out in the first place."

Roy ignored her pleas. "I was hunting in these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight," he stepped closer to her, only stopping when he caught Dean's glare.

"It's a damn-near perfect hunter," Scarlett continued, struggling to keep her voice down. "It's smarter than you. And it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here. You ever hunt a win-," Dean cut her off by pulling her off to the side and away from the heated conversation.

"Everybody just stop," Haley ordered, pulling Roy backwards a few steps. "Look, Tommy might still be alive and I'm not leaving here without him." She was staring directly at Dean, almost pleading with him.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. "How stupid can you be?"

"Scarlett," Dean barked, making her clamp her jaw shut. "It's getting late," he said to the group. "This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it. Not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

The group was hard at work preparing the camp. Dean and Sam worked on Anasazi symbols for protection, while Scarlett worked on building a fire in peace. She had her years in girl scouts to thank for that skill. Really, though, she was happy to be working on something with no conversation.

When she finished, the group was discussing a watch system. "I'll take first watch," Scarlett volunteered, not bothering to look at any of them. She took a seat on a log, looking out into the woods with her back to everyone else.

Silently, the group began shuffling around into their sleeping arrangements. She felt someone brush against her arm on her left and she looked up to see Dean, his body facing the opposite direction as hers. "Wanna tell me what's going on in that head of yours? And don't say you're fine."

"Which part?" She said sarcastically.

"The part that makes you lash out at park guides, even though they deserve it," he clarified. "Is this still about Haley?"

Scarlett shifted her legs, avoiding his gaze that rested on her face. "I don't know," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Last night was a lot for me. Finding out that you came back, but never said anything. And the way she looks at you. It's stupid. I'm probably just hangry."

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a big bag of peanut M&Ms. "Still your favorite?"

She looked down at the bag then back up at him, cracking a small smile. She opened her hand out, accepting them as a peace offering...even if just a temporary one. There was no missing the line that formed between his eyebrows, as he gave her the entire pack. "What's wrong?"

"Do you...really feel like you picked the wrong brother?"

Scarlett's face fell, once she registered what he was referring to. "You were awake," she deducted, before going silent. She pursed her lips into a straight line, shaking her head. "No," she said with certainty, finally meeting his eyes. "I was upset after everything that was said. I know that doesn't make it right, but yeah."

"I never said I was sorry," he recalled, frowning again.

"You didn't," Scarlett agreed, nodding her head. "But I know." She rested her head on his shoulder, lost in her own thoughts for a moment. "Do you think our dads were ever even here?"

Dean shook his head. "Honestly, no," he said dryly. "Like I told Sam, though. I think they're wanting us to pick up where they left off. Saving people, hunting things. The family business."

"Why won't they just answer the phone and tell us that, then?"

Dean didn't answer right away, considering her question. "I don't know." He let out a heavy sigh. "Sam is set on finding the thing that killed mom and Jessica. It's like it's the only thing he can think about."

Scarlett sat up again, looking at him with a curious gaze. "I mean, I'm kind of with him, Dean." She said slowly. "Finding our dads is the entire point of all of this. I-I have a life back in Phoenix."

"Right," Dean said curtly, nodding. "We'll find them and you can go back to your picture perfect life of normalcy."

"What did you expect from this, Dean?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "That we'd see each other again and all of our problems would just vanish? I moved on. I quit hunting and focused on my life."

Before Dean could counter, a yell came from deep in the woods. "Help!" It yelled. Scarlett and Dean both stood up and Sam was quick to join them. "Heeeelp!"

"It's trying to draw us out, just stay put," Dean told them.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy scoffed. Scarlett balled her hands into fists, glaring at him without a word. Another scream, followed by a deep growl came from the woods. "Okay, that's no grizzly."

The creature was moving in close, but stayed outside of the boundary. If they could just keep the people inside the circle-,

"I hit it!" Roy yipped, running into the woods after it.

"Roy!" Scarlett yelled, taking a step to the edge of the boundary, but Sam stopped her before she could cross it. "That vain son of a bitch," Scarlett grumbled. "We have to help him," she told the pair.

Dean looked at Haley and Ben. "Don't move," he told them. The three hunters belted off into the woods, following Roy's trail.

"He's right over here!" Was they last thing they heard from Roy.

They stayed in the circle for the remainder of the night, none of them getting much sleep. Scarlett sat next to Sam, leaning against a tree stump. She watched Dean talking to Haley and sighed. Sam followed her gaze, realizing the reason her her distress. "Jealous?"

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "No," she scoffed. "Just tragic that she's so set on dying, that's all."

Sam nodded, not convinced whatsoever. "We've got to teach them so that they don't die." And so they did. They gave the full background of how a normal person turns into a less-than-human things after eating enough people. Sometimes out of need for survival, sometimes from what cultures believe.

"Bottom line, if your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. And we've got to track it back there," Dean told Haley and Ben.

"And then how do we stop it?"

"Well guns are useless, so are knives," he scoffed. "Basically, we've gotta torch the sucker."

The five of them started off on the path that the Wendigo had been dragging the bodies before. About a mile out, Sam called Dean and Scarlett over to a group of trees that had claw marks in them. "Those claw marks are way too distinct," he muttered. "Too easy to follow."

Scarlett frowned, knowing what he was getting at. This was another trap. The group turned on their heels when a low growl came behind them. Bushes rustled all around them, but it was moving too quick to pinpoint one distinct location.

All eyes fell on Haley when a blood curdling screech came from her lips. Scarlett thought for sure she was a gonner. However, she realized that her scream was caused by the body of Roy falling from a tree above her, nearly falling on her. Dean moved his head to try and check his pulse, but there was no point. "His neck's broken," he announced. Sam lifted Haley up and Dean ushered the group away. "Okay, go, go! Run!"

Scarlett held her homemade Molotov close to her chest as they all dashed on their own path back to camp. She somehow ended up with Haley right on her tail and face to face with the Wendigo. "Shit," she breathed.

Sam and Dean managed to meet up, but there was no sign of Scarlett or Haley. "SJ!" Dean yelled, not caring if the creature heard them at this point. They ran down a trail that was covered in footsteps that led right to Scarlett's broken Molotov. "Scarlett!" He bellowed again. He looked around for any kind of blood or body trail, but what he found was so much better. "They went this way," he said, holding up an M&M.

Sam stepped forward, along with Ben, looking at the trail. "Better than breadcrumbs," he said.

They followed the trail cautiously, all the way to what appeared to be an abandoned mine. A sign was hung on the entrance that read

WARNING! DANGER!
DO NOT ENTER
EXTREMELY
TOXIC MATERIAL

They ignored the sign, knowing that the creature they were about to face was much more dangerous than any toxic materials they could encounter inside.

Dean ducked into the entrance, then Ben, then Sam. It was eerily quiet in the trails, aside from the growling that bounced off the walls around them. They could see the silhouette of the Wendigo at the end of one of the tunnels and Ben looked like he wanted to scream, so before he could, Sam covered his mouth with his hands. Dean nodded the go ahead and they continued down the path in the same direction the monster had gone, certain it would lead them to the girls.

They walked a couple of yards forward before finding themselves on a weak wooden platform. The rotten wood broke below them, sending them crashing into an opening below.

"Son of a bitch," Dean grumbled, coughing away the dirt they'd sent flying. Ben scrambled backwards into him, clearly spooked. "Hey, it's okay." He looked up to find the pile of skulls Ben had seen. They were in the middle of its dining room. He looked just past the bones and his heart dropped down into his stomach. "Scarlett." He scrambled to his feet and dashed over to where she was hanging next to Hailey. "SJ." He grabbed her face. "SJ, you gotta wake up. Scarlett!"

Scarlett's eyes blinked open. "Ugh," she groaned. "I'm up."

Sam tended to Haley alongside Ben, knowing Scarlett was being taken care of.

Dean cut Scarlett's hands free, catching her as she fell from the restraint with a grunt. "I got you," he told her, leading her to a wall where they leaned both of them. "Are you okay?"

Scarlett nodded, but her face told another story. "Where is it?"

"It's gone for now," Sam announced, looking around.

Haley rose to her feet and slowly walked towards an opposite wall. Dean was too hyper fixated on Scarlett to realize she'd even moved, but Sam noticed. He followed her gaze to a younger guy hanging in the same fashion as they had been. "Dean," Sam whispered, nudging his brother.

Dean looked over his shoulder to where Sam had gestured. He hesitated, frowning. "I'll be right back," he promised Scarlett, but she simply waved him off. She hated seeming vulnerable.

"It's Tommy," Haley confirmed. She jumped back, startled, when Tommy took a quick gasp in. "Cut him down," she practically begged. The brothers obliged, helping him to the ground. He was a lot weaker that either of them had anticipated, but it had been days since he'd eaten or drank anything aside from his own sweat.

Scarlett looked to her right and found an array of bags. "Check it out," she called, standing up. "Flare guns."

Dean grinned at the sight. "That'll do."

She handed one off to Dean, while Sam helped hold Tommy on his feet. It was really more like he was being dragged, but they had to get him out somehow.

All of Scarlett's senses were heightened with adrenaline. The son of a bitch had gotten the one-up on her once, but it wouldn't happen again.

A deep growling came from within the tunnels. "Someone's home for supper," Dean commented, looking around.

"We'll never outrun it," Haley objected, looking towards her brother that she had draped around her shoulder.

Dean looked between Sam and Scarlett, raising a curious eyebrow. "You two thinking what I'm thinking?"

"It's always terrifying when the answer is yes," Scarlett sighed. "But you're not going by yourself."

"You're already hurt," Dean insisted. "You and Sam can get them out and get them safe."

Scarlett looked to Sam to object, but he didn't. "Fine," she bared her teeth. "But if something happens because we split up, I'm kicking your ass."

"I'll hold you to it," he promised, winking at her. He took a few steps forward, before yelling out. "It's chow time, you freakin' bastard! Bring it on, baby! I taste good!"

Scarlett flinched slightly, but she knew he could handle himself better than the best. Still, though, the thought of the creature eating Dean made her skin crawl. "Let's get out of here," Sam grabbed her attention.

They helped Tommy out of the tunnel, all the while still hearing Dean taunt the Wendigo. They were growing closer and closer to the exit, but this made Scarlett grow more and more weary. "Get him out of here," Scarlett told Sam. "I'm going to go find Dean."

"Scar-,"

"Go!" She cut him off. They turned towards the light and followed it. Scarlett went deeper into the cave, taking cover behind rocks occasionally, to take in her surroundings and listen for any sign of Dean. "Come on," she whispered. "Scream, or taunt the damn thing." She heard a rock crunch behind her and she slowly turned her head towards the direction of it. When she looked its way, the Wendigo let out a horrific screech, making Scarlett's heart skip a beat. She threw herself down to miss a blow from the creature's claws and shot a flare its way, only spooking it and sending it running off.

Scrambling to her feet, Scarlett dashed after the others. "Scarlett!" Sam called, having heard the shot.

"Run!" She yelled, just as they came into view. She'd only had one shot and missed it, so the only shot they had of getting out was Dean.

There wasn't enough time to lift each individual out, especially not when the Wendigo was slowly making its way towards them, creeping in the shadows. The creature was mere feet away from them, when Dean's voice came from behind it. "Hey!" The Wendigo turned towards his voice, just as Dean shot the flare at it, hitting it right in the chest. Scarlett could feel her chest relax as the beast went up in flames, eventually burning into nothingness. "Not bad, huh?" Scarlett shook her head at him, running a hand through her hair. It was over and the group was safe.

One by one, they started to raise out of the hole in the ground, before returning back to the ranger station they had visited the day before yesterday.

The cops spoke to them all for a general statement. Scarlett was getting bandaged up by an EMT outside of the building, while Dean walked Haley towards the ambulance that her brother was being loaded into. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him, seeming deep in thought. "I feel like saying this might cheapen the moment, but...I feel like a simple 'thank you' isn't enough," she said meticulously. "If you get what I'm saying."

Dean's eyebrows raised in surprise. He absolutely got what she was saying. "Honestly, you're exactly my type a-and under different circumstances I just might take you up on that offer." He glanced over her shoulder at Scarlett, who was smiling kindly at the EMT. "I've, uh, I've got some stuff going on, and-,"

"I get it," Haley cut him off. "I kind of figured, by the way you looked at each other in the tunnels."

A female medic came up behind her, smiling politely. "Will you be riding with your brother?"

Haley nodded. "I'll be right there," she assured her. "Thank you." She told Sam and Dean. "All of you. I hope you find your father." She turned Ben around and led him to the ambulance that her brother was in.

Just as the door closed, Scarlett appeared next to them. "I never want to go camping again," she muttered, leaning against the hood of the Impala.

"Me either," Dean agreed. "You know we're gonna find our dads, right?" He spoke to them both.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "But in the meantime...I'm driving."

Dean considered the statement for a moment, before deciding to appease his brother. He tossed the keys up, letting them land in Sam's hand. The three piled into the car, Scarlett happily accepting the backseat. She sprawled across the bench and was snoozing before they hit the main road.