Wendigo.

CHAPTER FOUR , THIS WENDIGO'S GOT A LITTLE CHICKEN SMELL TO IT

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It was now morning,

but Roy had disappeared in the night. Willow's guess? The Wendigo got to him. They told him to keep his ass in the circle, but he didn't listen. Willow's should respect the dead (even though she didn't know for a fact Roy was dead) but that asshole was like a mosquito and he just happened to get swatted.

Dean was doing his best to explain everything to Hailey and Ben.

Willow had found a place beside Sam against a tree trunk. She didn't say anything. She figured he would just snap at her anyway. Willow sputters her lips and stuffs her hands into her jacket.

"Is that offer for a drink still up?"

Willow doesn't look at him, but she does grab the flask from her pocket and hands it to him. Sam grabs the flask, "Thanks."

Willow presses her lips into a tight line, not talking.

"And...I'm sorry."

Willow raises her brows, "And the plot thickens." She turns to him, intrigued.

"I've been an ass. To you specifically." Sam states.

Willow nods her head, "True, true. All very true."

"Then again. I'm an ass all the time, so...it was kind of fun getting a taste of my own medicine." Willow smirks. "Does that make me a little sick in the head?"

"I mean, a little." Sam chuckles, he takes a swig of Willow's whiskey. Willow frowns, she it quickly turns into a smirk. "I can live with that."

"You know, I've noticed something about you and I've gotta ask..." he hands the flask back to her.

Willow sucks in a sharp breath. "Oh, boy..." she then chuckles. "What is it?"

"You look at everything. And I mean, everything like it's some kind of test." Sam states. "It's almost like you see things that we don't."

Willow hangs her head low. "Ohhhh, that." She nods and softly laughs. "Okay, well...I have a photographic memory."

Sam laughs, he looks to the side; enjoying his laugh. But once he looks back at Willow he notices her brows furrowed and his smile drops. "Wait, you're not kidding?"

"Don't let the alcoholism and intense drug intake confuse you, man." She inhales a breath and points at her head. "I'm kind of a genius when I want to be."

"What's your I.Q. Then?" Sam leans closer to her.

Willow huffs, she takes a swig and hands it back to Sam; which he gratefully accepts.

"180."

Sam spits out some of the alcohol and Willow gasps. "That's my good whiskey. Not the cheap kind." She squints her eyes.

Sam coughs and Willow rolls her eyes. "180?! You're kidding."

"I wish that I was. But sadly, I am a child prodigy and a master of my own mind." Willow leans her head against the tree trunk.

"The average is 85 to 115."

"Yeah? And what's yours?" Willow looks back at Sam.

Sam looks down, "I-I don't wanna say."

Willow lets out a small laugh and so does Sam. Her eyes skim across the claw marks that are embedded across the tall trees and she exhales a small breath. "I fucking hate Wendigos..."

Sam raises his brows, "Yeah..." he hands Willow her flask back and she cracks a small smile. "Thanks, Samantha."

"Is there seriously no other nickname for you to—"

"Nope. Nope. Dean has Sammy. I have Samantha." Willow sighs. "It's a thing now." She stands up.

Sam hates to admit it, but Willow calling him Samantha was in fact a thing now. He chuckles and stands up as well. They both walk back to the campsite.

"Hey," Sam calls out. "So, we've got half a chance in the daylight."

"And I, for one...want to kill this evil son of a bitch." Sam adds.

Willow raises her brows and smiles. Dean mirrors her expression.

"Well, hell, you know I'm in," Dean says.

Willow rolls a shoulder. "I mean, I'm still a little rusty; but...yeah. I could go for killing something right now."

...

"Wendigo is a Cree Indian word. It means, "Evil that devours." Sam explains to Hailey and Ben.

"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man, sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or miner of hunter." Dean adds.

Hailey looks at the hunters. "How's a man turn into one of those things?"

Willow was lying on a log, her eyes trained on the trees. "Well, it's always the same." She starts. "During some harsh winter, a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help—becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."

"Like the Donner party." Ben voices.

Willow clicks her tongue and points at him. "Exactly."

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities—speed, strength, immortality."

"If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less-than-human thing," Dean adds. "You're always hungry."

"So, if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Hailey asks.

The brothers fall silent, Willow moves her head to the side and watches as the brothers hesitate to answer. Willow inhales, "You're not gonna like it."

Hailey turns to the girl lying on the log. "Tell me."

Willow sits up with a slight groan. "More than anything, a Wendigo knows how to last long winters without food." She explains. "It hibernates for years at a time. When it's awake, it keeps its victims alive. It stores them so it can feed whenever it wants."

Willow tosses a small rock into the ground. "If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe."

"And we got to track it back there."

Hailey nods her head, "And then how do we stop it?"

Dean chuckles, "Well, guns are useless—so are knives. Basically...we gotta torch the fucker." He holds up two Molotovs he had just crafted.

"But...you only have two," Ben states.

Dean winces, "Yeah, that's where Will comes in."

Willow tilts her head, reading Dean's sheepish expression. Like he was just waiting for her to explode. Dean's eyes then shift to her duffel. Willow looks at her duffel. She keeps her eyes on the black bag, thinking. She then raises her brows. Her head snaps back over to Dean and he slightly jumps. "No." Her voice already had a force behind it.

"Will, we really need—"

"Hell no."

"What are we talking about?" Hailey asks.

"Nothing," Willow says, her eyes still on Dean's. Dean holds his hands up, "We need to defeat this thing. And you might be the only one who can give us a fair shot."

Willow folds her arms and growls. "You're gonna have to reimburse me."

Dean nods, "Okay, done."

Willow exhales through her nose. She crouches beside her duffel and zips it open, revealing a bag full of alcohol.

"Oh my god."

Willow rolls her eyes at everyone's reactions. "Yeah, I know. I've got a problem."

"Will," Sam walks over to Willow and crouches in front of her, a smile on his lips. Willow pulls her brows together from the soft expression across his face. She looks behind her, thinking he was possibly talking to someone else who happened to go by Willow as well. But she looks back at Sam, a hesitant expression on her face.

"your problem probably just saved our asses."

Willow raises her brows, "Huh. I guess I will take that as a "Keep on drinking, Will. It's good for you"."

Sam's jaw goes slack, "Th-That's not what I was saying at all—"

"All right, do you guys know how to make Molotovs?" Willow stands up and looks at Ben and Hailey.

Ben shakes his head and Hailey deadpans. "Of course not."

Willow shrugs, "Never hurts to ask." She sighs. "All right, we should get to Molotov-ing it up. Like right now."

It took a minute, but everyone had managed to make enough Molotovs for each person. Hoping that just one for each of them would be enough. Even though they used three bottles of whiskey, she still had at least 2 bottles left in her duffel.

At the bottom of her bag, Willow had found a flare gun she could've sworn she misplaced. "No, shit!" She grabs the flare gun.

"Wait, you packed a flare gun?" Dean asks.

Willow could've told everyone she didn't mean to. But that would make her look like she was a drunk that couldn't do her job. And she could totally do her job. Willow lets out a small breath, and she tilts her head in a cocky manner. "You didn't?"

Dean frowns which causes Willow to smirk triumphantly.

"Wait, can flare guns work?" Hailey asks.

"Yeah, as long as you hit the son of a bitch in the chest area. They can work." Sam says.

Willow stuffs the flare gun in her waistband.

"A-Are you sure you want to hold it?"

Willow turns on her heel, meeting Sam. "Why wouldn't I want to hold it? It's mine."

"I-I know. I just...the drinking and the pills—"

"Samantha?"

"Yeah?"

"What did I tell you about questioning my skills?" Willow tilts her head and quirks a brow.

Sam closes his mouth and swallows. "Uh, you know what? Yeah, you can handle it—"

"Thank you." Willow turns away from him and grabs a Molotov.

☆

Everyone was walking through the forest, on high alert. Dean was the last person, watching for any movement in the back. Sam was in the front and Willow was in the middle.

Willow had noticed Sam stop in his tracks, his eyes trained on the tall trees. She makes her way up to Sam, her eyes now on the claw marks that were scratched into each tree. Willow pulls her brows together and she softly laughs. "Clever, bitch..."

"Dean," Sam calls out.

Dean walks over to the two hunters. "What is it?" He trained his eyes on the claw marks scattered across each tree.

"You know, I was thinking that those claw prints, so clear and distinct..." Sam shakes his head, a bitter chuckle escaping his lips.

"...they were almost too easy to follow." Willow finishes.

A growl echoes through the woods, Willow could've sworn her body began to shake as well. The bushes begin to shake and the growls quickly begin to move around them.

Suddenly, a scream rips through Hailey's throat. She stumbles to the forest floor, and Roy's body fell from the trees and slams to the ground. Willow runs over to Hailey and touches her arm. "Are you okay?"

Hailey's eyes were still on Roy's lifeless body as she nodded her head.

"His neck's broken," Dean says, inspecting Roy.

Willow helps Hailey onto her feet. "We've gotta go!"

"Now!"

Everyone runs away from the roars and growls. As they sprint away from the Wendigo, Ben trips and rolls in the dirt. Sam helps the boy up, "Come on!"

Sam and Ben run to catch up with the others. But Ben's heart drops when he hears his sister's scream from the distance. Sam and Ben stop in their tracks, in hopes of finding any trace of the three. Sam looks at the ground and his eyes catch sight of the green hat Willow is wearing.

Sam picks the hat up from the ground and inspects the blood splattered across it. He sucks in a small breath and tucks the hat into his jacket pocket.

...

"Oh, this is such bullshit..."

Willow weakly lifts her head up to inspect the ropes digging into her wrists. Her vision blurs and she feels her brain practically shake against her skull. She felt as if she was hungover.

"I think I might be able to—"

"Don't. Try anything."

Willow scoffs, she looks at Dean who is hanging next to her. "And why not? I don't want to be here staring at your mug all day."

"Oh, come on. You used to like this mug." Dean grunts through his injuries.

"Notice how you used that word in past tense?" Willow quirks a brow. "Is Hailey okay?"

Dean looks to his side and inspects Hailey's injuries. "She's unconscious but alive."

Willow nods her head, "Okay, so we can't get outta here. What's the plan?" She shifts her eyes back to Dean.

Dean slightly opens his mouth. "Why exactly do you assume I'm the one with the plan?"

"Because you shut my plan down." Willow seethes. "It was a good plan by the way."

"Well, by all means, Willow. Explain this good plan of yours to me." Dean sighs.

Willow inhales, "First, I get out of my restraints. Then, I get everyone else out of their restraints and then I shoot the Wendigo with my flare gun." she then clicks her tongue. "Boom. Good Plan."

"Oh, yeah? How are you gonna get out of the ropes, Will?" Dean asks.

Willow cranes her neck forward, "Uh, I'll just yank on then, De." she says in a mocking deep tone. Willow raises her shoulders and begins to yank at the ropes. The wooden planks that the ropes were tied to move, but they don't budge. She presses her lips into a small line. Willow lifts her shoulders again. She drops her shoulders with more force and Dean winces.

"Okay--you're just hurting yourself now."

Willow huffs, she inhales a breath, then softly hums. "Okay, I guess my good plan has some...flaws."

Roars are heard from down the tunnel, which causes Willow and Dean to look down the tunnel.

"Oh, shit." Dean exhales.

The Wendigo stalks towards the two. Willow then quirks a brow, "Yeah...oh shit."

☆

Sam and Ben had fallen through the wooden planks that were holding them up. They fell against a dirt hill and rolled through it until they got to the flat surface. Ben slowly lifts his head up and he's immediately greeted with bones scattered across the ground. His eyes widen and he lets out a large gasp while scurrying away from the remains.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay." Sam quickly reassures the boy. The youngest Winchester looks back up at the spot they fell from. He hears a weak cough from his side, he looks and his jaw goes slack. Sam runs over to his brother hanging unconscious from the ceiling. "Dean." he grips Dean by his jacket and shakes him awake. Dean forces his eyes open, but he lets out a groan due to the pain in his side.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"I'm good too, thanks for asking."

Sam snaps his eyes over to the girl hanging beside Dean. Willow's head was hanging low, her hair was now out of the ponytail; so it was hanging past her shoulders. She slowly lifts her head, dried blood on her hairline. Sam lets out a small breath, "I was going to ask about you."

"Uh-huh--sure you were."

Sam cuts Dean out of his ropes. He sets Dean against the cave wall and walks back over to Willow. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, god--don't start that 'pretending to care about me' shit now." Willow groans, but you can hear the genuine annoyance in her tone. "Cut Hailey down first."

Sam gives her a small nod before helping Hailey down. Ben and Sam help Haoley down and sit her next to Dean. Sam quickly walks back over to Willow and cuts her down. She lets out a stifled groan as she drops from her restraints. Sam wraps an arm around her waist and puts her arm around his shoulders.

Willow tried her best to walk on her own, but Sam had a good enough grip on her to allow her to just melt into his arms. He gently sits her on the dirt ground and Willow leans her head against the wall, grateful for just a moment for her muscles to settle. Sam crouches between Willow and Dean.

"Where is it?" Wilow exhales tiredly.

Sam looks around, "It's gone for now."

Willow slowly nods her head and her eyes flutter shut. She exhales a small breath, her body becoming heavy. Then a large, gentle (yet firm) hand grips her thigh. She inhales a breath and her eyes fly open. Even through the dark, Willow could still see Sam's piercing forest-green eyes. "Don't go to sleep, all right? That cut on your head looks nasty."

Willow swallows. She doesn't reply back. But her eyes drift behind him to see Hailey and Ben walking over to the other side of the cave. An unconscious person was hanging in the dark corner. Hailey sniffles and cups the boy's face, "Tommy."

Suddenly, Tommy gasps awake which causes Hailey to jump back. Hailey lets out a chuckle of relief, she then turns back to Sam. "Cut him down."

Sam cuts Tommy down. Hailey and Ben quickly catch him. Willow keeps her eyes on the three siblings reuniting and a small genuine smile cracks onto her lips. A shuffle is heard beside her, she looks to the side and watches Dean look through the bag. He pulls out two flare guns and Willow raises her brows. Dean looks at her, "You still have yours?"

Willow groans, she reaches into the back of her waistband, and her brow twitches. "Oh, shit." she pulls the flare gun out from her waistband and chuckles. Dean manages to chuckle through his pain. He forces himself onto his feet, he holds a hand out to Willow and she scoffs.

"You're kidding, right?"

Dean shrugs shoulder, "It's up to you, Wi."

Willow huffs, "A nickname for my nickname...only you could pull that shit off." she grabs Dean's hand and he pulls her onto her feet, despite his pain.

Willow and Dean lean against the wall.

"Check it out."

Sam turns to Dean, who is holding up two flare guns.

"Those'll work."

Sam and Dean were in the front, leading the three siblings out of the cave. Willow was in the back, her fingers wrapped around her flare gun.

An echoed growl forces the group to stop in their tracks.

"Looks like someone's home for supper." Dean voices.

"We'll never outrun it."

Willow sucks in a sharp breath and holds it. She pushes through the group, "All right, listen up--"

"No."

Willow rolls her eyes at Dean's voice. "You don't even know what I was going to say." she looks at him.

"You want to be the one to lead the Windigo away--"

"Wendigo--"

"--and my answer is no, Will."

"Right. Cause I'm gonna listen to the likes of you." Willow growls. "We don't have time for this shit." she takes a threatening step towards Dean. "These three need to get out of here and you two..." she looks between the brothers. "You need to find your father."

Dean keeps his shaking eyes on Willow's. She watches as he begins to internally lose his mind over this. "Don't. Get all sentimental on me, Winchester. We need to do this now." she holds a hand up. Dean closes his mouth and clears his throat.

"Besides, if this all works out, you'll get to see my gorgeous mug again." Willow sends him a reassuring smile. Dean lets out a chuckle and looks away from her for a second. "Yeah...yeah, you'll be back." he looks back at her. Willow nods her head. She looks at Sam and raises her brows when she notices his eyes are already on her. Willow already knew what Sam was wondering. Why would she risk her life for them? Willow has made her true intentions perfectly clear from the beginning. So, why the sudden change of heart?

"Good luck." Sam softly speaks.

Willow presses her lips into a firm line. "Okay, you guys gotta go." she inhales a breath before jogging away from them. Despite the deep cut in her leg, she still managed to jog at a decent pace. Willow knew that everyone suspected that she had a change of heart. That she was selfish turned selfless. But the truth is, Willow figured that if there was a slight chance her life would end today. It wouldn't be a bad way to go.

So, she opens her mouth and calls out for the Wendigo.

"It's chow time, motherfucker!" Willow calls out. She pivots the corner of the tunnel. "I know you've already eaten dinner. But, Don't worry, I've got your dessert!" she continues down the tunnel. Her boots sink into the muddy soil and her bones feel like they're grinding against each other. Sweat soaks her brow and she can hear her own heartbeat. Willow wipes nose, "Of course, I'm going through withdrawal now...because I'm the luckiest bitch out there."

Willow couldn't hear the Wendigo near her anymore, so she doubled back to the group. She figured the Wendigo went back to where it was familiar, where the larger group was. Willow heard more screams mixed with growls coming echoing through the tunnels and through her ears. She quickens her pace down the tunnel, her breathing quick.

Willow sees a tall pale skinny figure in her sight, it was stalking after the group that had been pressed into a corner. She holds up her flare gun and aims it at the Wendigo's back. "Yo!"

The Wendigo twists around and faces Willow. Without another second passing, the girl pulls the trigger; the flare embedding into the Wendigo's chest. The flare begins to burn a hole in the creature's chest, causing it's entire body to erupt into flames. Willow inhales a breath, "It might just be because I'm hungry, but...this dude smells like chicken." she points at the burning creature.

Sam laughs while Hailey grimaces in disgust. Ben chuckles, "Cool." his eyes were on the flames. Dean frowns and nods, "He does smell like chicken."

...

"So, really, I don't know how to thank you."

Willow raises her brows, "Eh. You don't have to do anything..." She looks at her combat boots. Hailey tilts her head. From the light blush forming across Willow's cheeks and the way, she stuffed her hands into her pockets. Hailey could see that Willow was shy. It caused a chuckle to leave her lips.

Hailey takes a step towards the girl and wraps her arms around her neck. Willow freezes and goosebumps form across her body as Hailey speaks softly against her ear. "Thank you."

Willow swallows, hesitantly lifts her hand, and touches Hailey's back. A ball of warmth forms in her stomach. Hailey pulls back and meets Willow's flustered expression. She smiles, "I'll see you around."

"Yeah, I doubt it," Willow replies, pressing her lips into a line.

"You riding with your brother?"

Hailey turns to the paramedic. "Yeah."

Sam, Dean, and Ben walk over to the two girls. Willow wipes her nose and looks to the side, praying her face would cool down. Hailey and Ben say goodbye to Sam and Dean before making their way into the ambulance. Dean leans against the Impala with Sam by his side. Willow watches as the ambulance drives away. She lets out a small breath, unsure why she got nervous all a sudden.

"Hey."

Willow turns and meets Sam's eyes. She pulls her brows together from the soft look across his face. Sam pulls the green hat from his pocket and Willow raises her brows. He holds it out to her, "You forgot something."

Willow softly snorts, "Right..." She grabs the hat and pats the dirt off it. She looks back at Sam and presses her lips into a small smile, remaining civil. "Uh, thanks."

Sam gives her a nod. The three hunters take this moment to rest. "Man, I hate camping." Dean voices.

"Me too," Sam speaks.

Willow digs through her pocket and pops open her prescription bottle. She pops a few pills in her mouth and tilts her head back, swallowing them dry.

"Sam, you know we're gonna find Dad, right?" Dean questions.

"Yeah, I know." Sam nods. "But in the meantime..." he looks at his brother, a smug look across his face. "...I'm driving."

Dean digs through his pockets and throws the keys towards Sam. Sam catches the keys and Willow sighs. They all walk to the car doors.

"And I will just stay in the back. No arguments." Willow holds a hand up while pushing the car door back. "Because I'm just that nice."

She gets back into the car and immediately goes to sleep.

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author's note.

Y'all saw what I did with Willow and Hailey?? 🤭

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