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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫

𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨

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The next morning, the three Winchester siblings pulled up behind Hailey, the guide and Hailey's youngest brother, Ben. It seemed the trio made it just in time because Hailey, the guide and Ben were already getting ready to make their way through the trail.

"Got room for three more?" Dean asked, shutting his car door.

"You want to come with us?" Hailey sounded surprised. Delaney wasn't exactly sure why though considering they told her that they would help Hailey find her lost brother.

"Who are these guys?" The guide asked, looking over the three siblings suspiciously.

Hailey turned her body slightly to look over at the guide. "Apparently, this is all the park service could muster up." 

Delaney scoffed at the brunette, not liking how Hailey sounded just then. Her and her brothers were just trying to help Hailey and she was being so rude towards them. "Bitch," she muttered to herself, causing Sam to elbow her in the ribs since he had heard her comment. Glaring at him, Delaney punched him in the shoulder. Did he seriously blame her for the comment?

Ignoring the two youngest Winchesters, the guide asked Dean, "You're rangers?"

"That's right," Dean responded, grinning brightly at the guide.

Hailey raised an eyebrow as she gave Dean a once over. "And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?"

"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts," Dean replied, starting to make his way over to where the guide and Ben were standing.

"Oh, you think this is funny? It's dangerous backcountry out there."

Delaney crossed her arms across her chest. "Oh, honey, we know all about dangerous. Don't you worry."

"Yeah we just want to help them find their brother that's all," Dean said before leading the group up the trail.

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As the group made their way through the trail that would lead up to where Hailey and Ben's brother could have set up his camp, Delaney appreciated the fact that they had a guide because all the trees looked the same and she knew she would have gotten lost without the guide, Roy.

"Roy, you said you did a little hunting," Dean noted, ending the silence that had taken over the group for the past few minutes.

"Yeah. More than a little."

"Uh-huh," Dean mumbled, looking around them. Delaney had no idea where Dean was going with this but she wished he would shut up if it was only going to piss Roy off. The man was a jerk without having the added trait of being pissed off because of Dean. "What kind of furry critters do you hunt?"

"Mostly buck, sometimes bear," Roy answered, keeping his eyes trained around them in case anything were to come out and attack them.

Dean moved a little ahead of Roy and everyone. "Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?"

Roy roughly grabbed Dean by the back of his shirt and brought him close enough so that their faces were mere inches apart. If anyone else were to walk by, they would think Roy was going to kiss Dean. Delaney would laugh at that thought any other time if her brother wasn't about to get his face pounded in by some stranger. She went to help Dean but Sam grabbed her by her beltloop on her jeans and held her back.

"What you doing, Roy?" Dean questioned, clearly not phased or scared at all by Roy. Couldn't really blame Dean for not being scared since he's dealt with demons since we was young. At that point, nothing could scare you ever again.

Ignoring Dean, Roy shoved him off and grabbed a stick that was lying next to him. He stabbed the stick into the ground, activating a bear trap that was hidden in the leaves and dirt. Roy turned to Dean with a sly smirk. "Maybe you should watch were you're stepping...Ranger."

Dean sucked his teeth as he watched Roy begin the walk again. He chuckled and turned to the four behind him as Sam finally let go of Delaney's beltloop and she stumbled at the sudden freedom. "It's a bear trap." Dean began following Roy again, making everyone else follow his lead.

As Delaney and Sam neared the trap, Sam made sure to keep her to his far right so if it were to reactivate or react to one of them accidentally hitting it again, the trap would get him instead of her. She smiled gratefully up at her brother before rushing to catch up to Hailey who seemed to be yelling at Dean...again.

"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers, so who the hell are you?" Hailey snapped.

Dean looked over Hailey's shoulder to Sam and Delaney who halted in their walking, Ben moving on ahead with Roy. He gave them a look that told them to keep walking and he'd handle it. Delaney worriedly looked at Dean, who just smiled reassuringly at her and waited for her and Sam to keep walking before he began explaining things to Hailey.

"Why do you think Dean didn't want us to stay with him?" Delaney questioned Sam, who kept peeking over his shoulder to make sure things were going okay with Hailey and Dean.

"You know how our brother is, he likes to take charge with everything. I'm guessing things went fine because Dean's back to his usual smirking self and they're walking over."

Dean sent his sister a wink as he passed by with Hailey trailing behind them. Shrugging, Delaney followed after Dean and Hailey.

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After about another half hour or so of walking, they finally made it to where they were supposed to be. "This is it - Black Water Ridge."

"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asked, scanning the area around them. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary at first glance.

Roy pulled out his little device that was able to them the coordinates they were at. After pushing a few buttons, the coordinates popped up on the little screen on the bottom. "35 and minus 111."

Dean stood next to Sam as they both took a good look around them. This was the coordinates their father had left them. Delaney didn't know what the boys were looking for but she hoped one of them would tell her what it was so she could help.

"You hear that?" Dean asked after a moment. Delaney thought it was odd considering there was nothing to hear. It was like all sound ceased to exist where they were. The silence was actually pretty unsettling if Delaney was honest.

"Yeah not even crickets," Sam commented, his eyes still scanning the area.

"I'm going to go take a look around," Roy announced to the group.

Sam ceased his inspection of the area at Roy's announcement of checking out the area. "You shouldn't go off by yourself."

Roy chuckled. "Aw that's so sweet. Don't worry about me." Before either Winchester male or Delaney could protest, Roy was already making his way through the area.

"Alright, everybody stays together," Dean said to the group, looking at each of them. His eyes landing on Delaney's for a second longer than everyone else. "Let's go."

The group began walking in the direction that Roy had. They were hopefully going to find something on this hike through the area. Delaney really wanted to make sure they found Tommy okay so he could return home with Ben and Hailey. She couldn't even begin to imagine how Hailey and Ben were feeling right now. Delaney couldn't imagine her life without Dean and Sam in it or having them be missing. As much as their overprotectiveness could get annoying at times - more so with Dean than Sam - she loved them both so much and didn't want anything bad happening to them. 

She already lost her mom and Lord knew where John was, so they were the only family Delaney had left. The two boys were also two of the most important boys in her life - minus Will, of course - and the thought of losing either one of them sent a wave of anxiety through her core. 

"Hailey! Over here!" Roy called from where he was ahead of them.

The group ran over to find Roy standing by an attacked campsite. Delaney could only rightfully assume this was Tommy's campsite. It looked like a bomb had gone off at the site and there were things littered everywhere and tents ripped to shreds, blood splattered across them.

"Oh my God. Looks like a grizzly attack," Hailey gasped as she took in the sight before her. "Tommy?" She called out, dropping her backpack to the ground. "Tommy? Tommy!"

Sam rushed over to her and told her to be quiet.

"Why?" Hailey stupidly asked.

Delaney crossed her arms with a sigh. "Something obviously might still be out there. If you start screaming your head off, we could be the thing or things next meal."

Before anyone could say anything, Dean called for Sam and Delaney to come over to him. Both siblings hopped over the little hill that Dean was behind and squatted next to him. 

"The bodies were dragged from the campsite. But here, the tracks just vanish," Dean explained, motioning to the tracks that ended just a few feet in front of them. "It's weird."

"So what could it be then?" Delaney asked, looking between her two brothers. She didn't know much about demons or what kinds of demons were out there, but she was still curious as to what they were dealing with. It obviously wasn't a grizzly attack as the old man had told them.

Dean sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "It's no skinwalker or black dog."

The three Winchester children made it back to the others as Hailey was picking up a cellphone from the ground. The top half of the back was smashed and the screen was cracked. Hailey's tears spilled over her cheeks at the thought of something bad happening to her brother.

Dean squatted next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hailey, he could still be alive," he said in the tone he used to use on Delaney when trying to assure her everything was okay. When Hailey turned to look at him, sniffling softly, he offered a small smile. It basically said he was there for her and they would find Tommy.

Suddenly, a male shouted for help from somewhere to the group's right. Delaney stepped closer to where the sound was coming from and tried to decipher how far the guy was. Without hesitation, Roy and Dean darted in the direction and the others followed after them. The man continued to scream for help as the group raced towards the screaming.

Delaney stopped short when the screaming suddenly ceased, causing Dean to slam into her back. He quickly grabbed her arm so she wouldn't fall forward and break her face. The group looked around them, hoping to see a glimpse of the man that was screaming to them for help and Roy kept his gun raised in case something jumped out.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Hailey asked, hoping everyone else felt the same as she did.

Feeling something in his stomach tightening, Sam began to back up. "Everyone back to camp," he ordered before rushing back to camp with everyone following. When they got back to camp, everything they had left behind was missing.

"Our packs!" Delaney groaned, stamping her foot.

"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone," Roy remarked, crouching down where his bag used to sit.

Hailey looked around the camp site, frustrated. "What the hell is going on here?"

"It's smart," Sam explained, pissed that whatever they were dealing with outsmarted them. "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."

"You mean someone - some nut job - out there just stole all our gear," Roy incredulously said, shaking his head as he looked around. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of what stole their stuff.

Sam walked over to Dean and grabbed him by the arm. "I need to speak with you... in private." He began dragging Dean into a clearing that was a little away from the site. Delaney quickly followed after her brothers so she wouldn't miss out on any information.

"Let me see Dad's journal," Sam commanded, holding his hand out for Dean to place their Dad's journal into his hand.

"What's going on?" Delaney asked, wondering what was going through Sam's mind.

Once the journal was placed into his hand, Sam began flipping through the pages. "Alright, check that out," he told Dean as he flipped the journal around. On the page he was on, there was a drawing of a some monster looking creature. It had thin legs, a boney chest and three hairs were sticking out of its head.

"What in the hell is that thing?" Delaney inquired, never having seen anything like that before.

Dean couldn't help but laugh at Sam's suggestion of what they were going up against. "Oh come on. Wendigos are in the Minnesota Woods or Northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far West."

"What's a Wendigo?" Delaney asked, both of her brothers looking at her.

"They're basically these cannibalistic creatures that attack, well, anything with meat on them. Mostly humans though," Dean explained. "However, there is no way one is out here in these woods."

Sam sighed and closed their Dad's journal. "Think about it, Dean - the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice."

Dean groaned and threw his head back. This was so not something he wanted to be dealing with. Wendigos were a bitch and a half to deal with and get rid of. "Great. Well, then this is useless." He pocketed his gun into the waistband of his jeans, no longer needing it.

"We got to get these people to safety." Sam pushed the journal into Dean's chest before making his way back to the site.

Delaney grabbed Dean's wrist before he could walk away. He gave Delaney a confused look and she quickly let go of his wrist. "Dean, should I be worried?"

"Don't worry, kiddo. We can handle this sort of this thing. No need to worry," Dean assured Delaney, kissing her forehead before following after Sam who was yelling at the rest of the group to get their stuff so they can move.

"What?" Hailey was asking as Delaney made her way back onto the camping site.

"Kid, don't worry. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it," Roy defended, thinking the boys were insulting his guiding job.

"It's not me I'm worried about. If you shoot this thing, you're just going to make it mad. We have to leave now," Sam deamanded.

Roy scoffed. "One, you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to give anybody orders."

"Relax," Dean snapped at Roy who quickly looked over at him. "We never should have let you come out in the first place."

"I'm trying to protect you," Sam defended his case.

"You protect me?" Roy argued, stepping closer to Sam. "I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight."

Delaney flinched at that statement. She never really got to get those from her mother because she passed away when Delaney was only six months old. Dean must have noticed her flinch because he squeezed Delaney's hand, leaving his hand there in case Delaney needed something to hold onto; which she did.

"It's a damn-near-perfect hunter. It's smarter than you. It's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive, unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here," Sam calmly said, getting in Roy's face. Delaney had to give Sam props for taking charge for once. She's never seen Sam so in charge before and it was weird but awesome at the same time.

Roy laughed in Sam's face. "You know you're crazy right?"

"Yeah? You ever hunt - " Sam was cut off by Dean walking over and shoving him to shut up.

"Chill out," Dean ordered to Sam. 

Hailey ran forwards yelling at the guys to stop. "Everybody just stop. Look, Tommy might still be alive. I'm not leaving here without him."

Dean and Sam exchanged a look before Dean nodded and turned to look around at the group. "It's getting late. This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it - not in the dark." 

Hailey, Roy and Ben seemed to have calmed down a bit because they were actually listening to Dean and following what he was saying.

"We need to settle in and protect ourselves," Dean concluded.

"How?"

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"One more time? That's.." Delaney trailed off, motioning for Dean to finish the sentence for her. Sam and her were sat on a rock a bit away from where Hailey and Ben were sitting at the fire Roy had made. The weather had drastically changed over the past two or three hours. Who knew the woods could be so cold?

"Anasazi symbols. It's for protection," Dean responded, continuing to draw in the dirt around their camp site. "The Wendigo can't cross over them." This caused Roy to laugh, which Delaney could tell annoyed Dean cause his shoulders tensed up a bit. "No one likes a skeptic, Roy."

Dean walked over to his siblings and sat on Delaney's other side, making her be in the middle. "So wanna tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours?" He asked Delaney who looked just plain miserable.

"Dad's not here. I mean obviously he would have left us a note, or a sign, or something. Right? So what are even still doing here? We should take these people back and go look for Dad," Delaney ranted, flinging the stick she had in her hand across the clearing in front of her.

Sighing Dean stood up and crouched in front of Delaney, holding out their dad's journal. "This is why... this book. This is Dad's single most valuable possession. Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. He's passed it down to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off - you know, saving people and hunting things. He didn't count on you being with us, Della, obviously but I think he wants us kids to help him do what he's been doing since mom died."

"That makes no sense though," Delaney voiced, earning odd looks from both boys. "I mean wouldn't Dad have called you guys? Wouldn't he just tell you guys what he wanted and where he was?"

"I don't know," Dean admitted softly with Sam nodding in agreement that he was also just as confused as both Dean and Delaney. John suddenly going off the grid was definitely odd and the fact he only sent them coordinates and nothing else was a bit worrying. "But the way I see it, Dad's given us a job to do and I intend to do it for him."

"Dean, I want to find Dad," Delaney said. "I want to find out what killed Will. I know Dad doesn't want me to know about this business for whatever reason, but all I can think about since Will died is about who killed him and why. Will never did anything wrong, and if this is what killed Mom and it is a demon, I want to find him and send him back to Hell where he belongs."

Dean's eyes softened as he noticed the tears that slipped from his sister's eyes. Over the past few weeks, he hadn't even realized how broken she was over the loss of Will. He knew she loved him and it broke her heart to see him die in front of her, but she hadn't showed any grief towards him and Sam. Maybe she was better at hiding her emotions than he thought. To think he used to believe she was a horrible actress.

Sam wrapped an arm around Delaney's shoulders and brought her closer to him as she sniffled and quickly wiped at her eyes as she realized she had been crying. "It'll be okay, Delly."

"Della, we're going to find them. I promise," Dean stated, rubbing his sister's arm since he couldn't hug her from where he was. "I promise we will find the thing that killed Will and Mom, okay?"

Delaney nodded and forced a smile at Dean. She didn't trust herself to talk because she knew she'd probably end up crying. That would just show weakness and Delaney wanted to show her brothers that even though she had to deal with Will's death, she could still be helpful in their search for John and the demon that killed both Will and their mother. She could mourn and still be productive.

"Listen to me, Della, okay? You have to prepare yourself. This search could take a while, and all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul. It's gonna kill you," Dean stated bluntly. "You have to be patient, baby girl, okay?"

Delaney scooted closer to Sam who wrapped his arm tighter around her and kissed the top of her head. "How do you guys do it? How does Dad do it? Now that I know what happened to Mom and Will, I have all this pain inside of me because I couldn't do anything to help either of them. Mom because I was barely able to sit up on my own yet. Will because he was already dead by the time I got there. If I was with him, maybe it wouldn't have happened you know?"

"Well, for one thing, them," Dean began, nodding towards Hailey and Ben. "I mean, I figure our family's already screwed to Hell, maybe we can make other people safe and have no worries. It makes things a little bit more bearable." He softly smiled when Delaney seemed she was starting to feel better. "And I'll tell you what else helps... killing as many sons of bitches as I possibly can."

This finally got Delaney to laugh, her brothers joining in with her soon after. Maybe she could get through this whole thing after all. She had Dean and Sam on her side and she could do anything with them backing her up. 

ORIGINALLY POSTED: DECEMBER 5TH, 2017

EDITED: AUGUST 8TH, 2019