Wendigo

~Blackwater Ridge ,Lost Creek, Colorado~

Two tents are set up near a fire ring. Crickets chirp. Inside one tent, two young men, Brad and Gary, are playing head-to-head handheld video games.

"Dude, you're cheating." Brad says.

Gary tells "No, you just suck."

Something growls outside. In the other tent, a third young man, Tommy Collins, records a video message on his cell phone.

"Hey Haley, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge." Tommy say.

Something dark flicks behind the tent wall behind him, too fast to be identifiable as more than 'something dark'; the screen on Tommys' phone, displaying the video as he records it, caught it.

"We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."

He stops recording and sends the message.

Brad closes his game system and tosses it aside. Gary stares at his system for a moment, then turns to look at Brad, who is getting up and unzipping the tent.

"Hey, where ya goin'? My moment of victory." Gary asks his friend.

"Nature calls." He replies.

Brad goes outside and zips up the tent behind him. He goes to stand against the tree to relieve himself. The fire crackles. Something snaps a stick causing him to look towards the sound and sees the trees rustling. Brad shakes his head and returns his attention downward, then looks up sharply as something growls.

Inside Tommy's tent, he hears Brad scream. Gary hears the same and rolls over.

"Brad?" He calls out.

"Gary, what's goin' on?" Tommy asks.

Gary opens the tent and sticks his head out to look around. He sees nothing. He hears the same growling and looks up as something pulls him out of the tent. He screams.

Tommy turns out the lantern he had on. Shadows move very quickly around the outside of his tent. Tommy looks around, his eyes following the shadows and growling. Silence falls. Something slashes open his tent open and he screams.

~CEMETERY, Palo Alto, California~

Birds chirp. Sam, wearing a suit and tie and carrying a bouquet of various flowers excluding roses, walks through an otherwise deserted cemetery.

Sam sighs and stops next to a gravestone. It reads "JESSICA LEE MOORE", "Beloved Daughter", "January 24th 1984 – November 2nd 2005". There is a small picture of a grinning Jess set into the stone above her name, a black-and-white picture of her leaning against the stone between a white teddy bear and a wooden box with a crucifix leaning on the picture, a small American flag next to the box, and three candles standing on the gravestone; one is of the Virgin de Guadalupe.

Sam looks between the gravestone and the flowers.

"I, uh..." He laughs. "You always said roses were, were lame, so I brought you, uh..."

He looks at the picture set into the gravestone, then looks away, choking back tears. He steps closer to the gravestone.

"Jess...oh God..." Sam kneels to set down the flowers.

"I should have protected you. I should have told you the truth." He cries.

Sam leans the flowers in front of the crucifix. An arm covered in dirt shoots out of the ground and grabs him by the wrist.

~IMPALA~

~November 10th, 2005~

Sam jerks awake and realizes he is riding shotgun next to Dean, Jules playing in the backseat and the cemetery visit is days behind them, if it ever occurred.

Sam blinks and rubs his eyes. Dean looks over, concerned.

"You okay?" He asks his brother.

Sam glances over and away. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Dean nods. "Another nightmare?"

Sam just clears his throat and shifts uncomfortably.

"You wanna drive for a while?" Dean offers.

His question makes Sam laugh.

"Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that."

"Just thought you might want to. Never mind." Dean defends.

"Look, man, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."

"Mm-hm." Dean is still not convinced.

"Did you have a bad dream Uncle Sammy? When I have bad dreams daddy sings to me." Juliette says and her innocence warms Sams' heart.

"Really? Daddy sings to you." He says laughing.

Dean glares at his brother to shut up and Sam gets the message.

"All right, where are we?" He asks picking up the map.

"We are just outside of Grand Junction." Dean replies.

Sam folds down the map, which is of Colorado and has a large red X labeled 35-111.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon." Sam worries.

"Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica—" Sam cuts him off.

"We gotta find Dad first."

"Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence. Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do." Dean tried to ease his brothers' mind.

"It's weird, man. These coordinates he left us. This Blackwater Ridge."

"What about it?" Dean wonders.

"There's nothing there. It's just woods." Sam puts down the map. "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

They drive past the National Forest sign that says, "Welcome to LOST CREEK COLORADO National Forest".

~RANGER STATION~

The Impala is parked next to a sign that says "RANGER STATION Lost Creek Trail, Lost Creek National Forest".

"So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote." Sam says.

He looks at a 3D map of the national forest, paying particular attention to the ridge labeled "BLACKWATER RIDGE". Dean and Juliette look at the decorations.

"It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place." Sam reads.

"Dude, check out the size of this freaking bear." Dean interrupts him.

"Wow." Juliette says amazed by the huge bear.

Sam looks over, Dean is looking at a framed photo of a man standing behind a much larger bear. Sam comes to stand next to the pair.

"And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure." He continues.

A forest ranger, Ranger Wilkinson, walks up behind them; when he speaks, Dean and Sam whip around, startled.

"You boys aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" He questions.

"Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper." Sam lies laughing a little and Dean grins and raises a fist.

"Recycle, man."

"Mm-hm and why would two UC students be carrying around a kid?"

"She's my daughter actually and I couldn't find anyone to watch." Dean tells the man.

"Bull." The ranger declares.

Sam's eyes flick to Dean, who doesn't move.

"You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"

His question gives Dean an idea.

"Yes. Yes, we are, Ranger..." Dean checks the rangers nametag. "Wilkinson."

"Well I will tell you exactly what we told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the twenty-fourth, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" Wilkinson asks.

Dean shakes his head.

"You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine." He informs the brothers.

"We will. Well that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?" Dean says.

"That is putting it mildly."

"Actually you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother's return date."

The Rangers eyes him.

Dean and Sam leave the ranger station with Dean holding a piece of paper and laughing.

"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam questions his brothers intention.

"What do you mean?" Dean wonders.

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?'

Dean and Sam stop on opposite sides of the Impala, with Jules standing beside her dad.

"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" Dean presents.

After a pause Sam asks "What?"

"Since when are you all shoot first ask questions later, anyway?" He wonders.

"Since now." Sam enters the car.

"Really?"

Dean helps Jules into the car before he gets in.

"Daddy?" Jules asks.

"Yeah bug."

"What's a hookup."

That questions leads to Dean harshly glaring at his brother who is in a stunned silence.

~COLLINS HOUSE~

Dean, Sam and Juliette are standing at the door to a house. The brothers argued about whether or not to bring the little girl, but Dean didn't feel comfortable leaving her in the car.

Once they knock the door opens to reveal Haley Collins.

"You must be Haley Collins. I'm Dean, this is Sam, we're, ah, we're rangers with the Park Service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. He wanted us to ask a few questions about your brother Tommy."

Haley hesitates. "Lemme see some ID."

Dean pulls out a fake ID with the name 'Samuel Cole' and holds it up against the screen. Haley looks at it, then at Dean, who smiles.

"If you are the why do you have a child with you?"

"My daughter and it's hard finding a babysitter these days."

Haley luckily believes them and opens the door.

"Come on in."

"Thanks."

The door swings open and Haley catches sight of the Impala.

"That yours?" She asks.

"Yeah." Dean replies

"Nice car."

Haley turns to lead the three into the kitchen, where her brother Ben is sitting at the table on a laptop. Dean turns his head to mouth something to Sam, who rolls his eyes.

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam questions.

Haley comes back into the room with a plate of cookies and offers one to the little girl.

"Here you go sweetie."

Taking one Juliette flashes the girl a smile " Thank you."

"He checks in every day by cell. He emails, photos, stupid little videos,we haven't heard anything in over three days now." She proceeds to explain.

"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception."

"He's got a satellite phone, too." She says.

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean wonders.

"He wouldn't do that." The boy, Ben says.

Dean eyes Ben making the boy look away.

"Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other." Haley explains.

Sam asks "Can I see the pictures he sent you?"

Haley agrees and takes the laptop to pull up pictures.

"That's Tommy."

She clicks twice and another picture comes up, then the still frame opening the latest video.

"Hey Haley, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow." Tommy's voice can be heard over the speakers.

Sam spots something in the frame but closes not to say anything.

"Well, we'll find your brother. We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing." Dean speaks.

"Then maybe I'll see you there. Look, I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself." Haley informs the guys.

"I think I know how you feel."

"Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asks.

"Sure." Haley agrees.

~BAR~

The sound of a game of being played, as well as, low rock music as the three Winchesters are sitting in a bar going over their case.

Sam is researching on his laptop while Dean tried to distract Juliette from the atmosphere around them by playing patty cake.

"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found." Sam says interrupting their game.

"Any before that?" Dean asks pulling Jules on to his lap.

Sam pulls out newspaper articles from Johns' journal and shows him.

"Yeah, in 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack."

Dean reads the headline in The Lost Creek Gazette that says.

GRIZZLY BEAR ATTACKS!

UP TO EIGHT HIKERS VANISH IN LOST CREEK AREA

HIKERS DISAPPEARANCE BAFFLE AUTHORITIES'

Families continue search and rescue efforts in spite of disappointing [...]

Sam types on his laptop.

"And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936."

Switching he opens up to Tommys' video.

"Every twenty-three years, just like clockwork. Okay. Watch this. Here's a clincher. I downloaded that guy Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out."

Sam pulls up the video and goes through three frames of the video one at a time. A shadow crosses the screen.

"Do it again." Dean demands and Sam does.

"That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move."

Dean hits Sam causing him to look up.

"Told you something weird was going on." Dean says.

"Yeah."

Closing the laptop Sam proceeds to say "I got one more thing."

Sam hands over another newspaper article.

"In 'fifty-nine one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive."

Dean stares at The Lost Creek Gazette.

"Is there a name?"

~SHAW HOUSE~

An older man, Mr. Shaw, talks to Sam and Dean while leading them inside his house. Shaw has a cigarette in his mouth.

"Look, ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this. It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a..."

Sam interrupts him "Grizzly? That's what attacked them?"

Shaw takes a puff of his cigarette, takes it out, and nods.

"The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?" Dean inquires.

After a pause he continues. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing? We knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it."

"I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make." Shaw says unconvinced.

Sitting down Mr. Shaw says "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."

Sam sits down across from Shaw. Dean is standing with Juliette in his arms rocking the child gently in hopes of getting her to sleep.

"Mr. Shaw, what did you see?" Sam asks.

Shaw pauses "Nothing. It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though. A roar. Like...no man or animal I ever heard."

"It came at night?" Sam wonders and Shaw nods.

"Got inside your tent?" He continues asking.

"It got inside our cabin. I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door. It unlocked it. Do you know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up till I heard my parents screaming." Shaw recounts.

"It killed them?"

"Dragged them off into the night."

Shaw shakes his head. "Why it left me alive...been asking myself that ever since."

He pauses, then moved his hands to his collar.

"Did leave me this, though."

Opening his collar he reveals three long scars. Claw marks. Sam and Dean look at them.

"There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon." Shaw tells them.

Dean and Sam walk the length of a corridor with rooms on either side.

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside, they just go through the walls." Dean says quietly trying not to wake his daughter.

"So it's probably something else, something corporeal."

"Corporeal? Excuse me, professor." Dean jokes at his younger brother.

"Shut up. So what do you think?" Sam asks.

"The claws, the speed that it moves...could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog. Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature, and it's corporeal. Which means we can kill it."

Dean gently places Jules in her carseat before going to the back of the car and opens the trunk of the Impala, then the weapons box, and props it open with a shotgun. He puts some guns in a duffel bag. Sam leans in.

"We cannot let that Haley girl go out there." He says.

"Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?" Dean asks.

"Yeah."

Dean looks at Sam.

"Her brother's missing, Sam. She's not gonna just sit this out. Now we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend." He says picking up the duffel.

"Finding Dad's not enough?" Sam asks sslamming the weapons box shut, then the trunk.

"Now we gotta babysit too?"

Dean stares at Sam.

"What?" Sam asks him.

"Nothing." Dean replies as he throws the duffel bag at Sam and walks off.

~FOREST~

The man Haley hired to help find her brother, Roy, talks to her and Ben while checking a shotgun. They're all carrying full backpacks.

"I'll tell you again, I don't think Ben should come." Roy warns her.

"Roy.." Haley tries to speak.

"Look, you're paying me good money to keep everybody safe. I think Ben's safest at home." He tells her.

The sound of the Impala pulling up draws their attention. Haley shakes her head as Sam and Dean get out of the car. Sam opens the back door of the Impala and pulls out the duffel bag.

"You guys got room for two more?" Dean asks holding Jules.

"Wait, you want to come with us?" Haley wonders.

"Who are these guys?" Roy asks.

"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue." She says.

"You're rangers?" Roy questions.

"That's right." Dean answers.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans? While carrying your daughter." Haley asks Dean.

Looking down at himself. "Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts and where I go, she goes."

Dean heads past Haley.

"What, you think this is funny? It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt." Roy angrily says.

Sam turns back.

Dean tells him "Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be. We just wanna help them find their brother, that's all."

~MINE~

A mine shaft lets in light. Two men, Tommy and Gary are hanging by their wrists from the ceiling. There are assorted corpses with them. Growling is heard as Gary spots a tall skinny shape and starts yelling. Tommy does his best to turn away and does close his eyes tightly as Gary yells.

~FOREST~

The group hikes through the forest, Roy in the lead, then Dean, Haley, Ben, and Sam giving Jules a piggy-back ride bringing up the rear.

"Roy, you said you did a little hunting." Dean converses with the man

"Yeah, more than a little."

"Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?"

"Mostly buck, sometimes bear."

Dean passes Roy.

"Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" Dean jokes.

Roy suddenly grabs Dean making everyone freeze.

"Whatcha doing, Roy?" Dean wonders

Roy grabs a stick and pokes the bear trap Dean had almost stepped in.

"You should watch where you're stepping. Ranger." Roy says dropping the stick and retakes the lead.

"It's a bear trap." Dean announces.

They hike on, while Haley catches up to Dean.

"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers." She says grabbing Dean's arm. "So who the hell are you?"

Ben goes past his sister and Dean. Sam looks at Dean, who indicates with his expression that he will be fine and to go on by. Dean watches him go for a moment.

"Sam and I are brothers, Jules is my daughter and we're looking for our father. He might be here, we don't know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat."

"Why didn't you just tell me that from the start?" Haley asks.

"I'm telling you now. 'sides, it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman...ever. So we okay?" Dean says.

"Yeah, okay." Haley agrees.

"And what do you mean I didn't pack provisions?"

Dean pulls out a big bag of peanut M&Ms and sticks his hand in the bag as he hikes on.

"Hey bug want some?" Dean calls out to his daughter who cheers happily.

Haley waits a moment, then follows.

~LATER~

Roy still leads the way, followed by Sam, Ben, Haley, and Dean and Jules, who are playing eye spy.

"This is it. Blackwater Ridge." Roy announces.

SAM moves pass him. "What coordinates are we at?"

Pulling out a GPS, which reads N 35o 45.383, W 111o 00.55.

"Thirty-five and minus one-eleven." Roy tells him.

Dean comes up to Sam and they listen.

"You hear that?" Dean asks.

"Yeah. Not even crickets."

"I'm gonna go take a look around." Roy tells the group.

Sam tries to tell him "You shouldn't go off by yourself."

Roy dismisses his concerns "That's sweet. Don't worry about me."

Roy waves his gun and pushes between Dean and Sam to retake the lead. Dean turns back to the others as Ben and Haley catch up.

"All right, everybody stays together. Let's go." He says.

~CAMPSITE~

The group minus Roy are looking around near a large rock.

"Haley! Over here!" Roys' voice draws their attention.

Haley runs towards Roy's voice, followed closely by the others. They come to a halt.

"Oh my God."

The tents are torn open and bloody and all the supplies are scattered. Dean covers Jules' face in his neck so she doesn't see anything.

"Looks like a grizzly." Roy says.

"Tommy? Tommy!" Haley screams

Sam moves to catch up with Haley.

"Shh." He tells her.

"Tommy!"

"Shh-hh-hh!"

"Why?" She wonders.

"Something might still be out there." Sam tells her.

"Sam!" Dean calls to his brother.

Sam goes over to him, snapping a stick, and crouches next to him.

"The bodies were dragged from the campsite. But here, the tracks just vanish. That's weird." Dean says quietly.

"I'll tell you what, that's no skinwalker or black dog." Dean says.

He goes back to the campsite and Sam follows. Haley picks up Tommys' cell phone which is bloody. She cries. Dean hands his daughter to Sam and moves to crouch next to her.

"Hey, he could still be alive."

Haley just gives Dean a Look.

"Help! Help!" A voice calls out.

Roy leads the way as everyone runs to the aid of the shouter.

"Help! Somebody!" The voice is heard again but when they arrive they find no one.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Haley says.

They listen but no one hears anything when suddenly Sam calls to them.

"Everybody back to camp." He says.

Back at the campsite, all the supplies are missing.

"Our packs!" Haley cries.

"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone." Roy says wastefully.

"What the hell is going on?" She wonders.

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

"You mean someone, some nutjob out there just stole all our gear." Roy says unconvinced.

Sam goes to his brother.

"I need to speak with you. In private."

"Bug I need you to stay here, alright, while I talk to Uncle Sammy." Dean tells her glancing at Haley.

"Okay daddy."

The brothers head a little ways away from the group.

"Let me see Dad's journal."

Dean hands it over to Sam who opens it and flips through until he finds a particular page.

"All right, check that out."

Sam points to a First Nations–style drawing of a figure.

"Oh come on, wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or, or northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west." Dean says in disbelief.

"Think about it, Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice."

"Great." Dean takes out his pistol. "Well then this is useless."

Sam gives Dean back John's journal and heads past him, stopping for a moment.

"We gotta get these people to safety."

Back at the campsite, Sam addresses the group.

"All right, listen up, it's time to go. Things have gotten...more complicated."

"What?" Haley asks.

"Kid, don't worry. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it." Roy tells him.

"It's not me I'm worried about. If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now." Sam says angered.

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

"Relax." Dean tries to calm down both men.

"We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? I'm trying to protect you."

Roy steps right into Sam's space.

"You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night." He says outraged.

"Yeah? It's a damn near perfect hunter. 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." Sam tells him.

Roy just laughs. "You know you're crazy, right?"

"Yeah? You ever hunt a wen.." Dean pushes Sam making him stop what he was about to say.

"Roy!" Haley calls out.

"Chill out." Dean says.

"Stop. Stop it. Everybody just stop. Look. Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him." Haley tells them.

Sighing Dean says "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. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

"How?" Haley wonders.

~CAMPSITE~

Night has fallen as the group has built a campfire, and Dean draws something in the dirt around the campsite while Haley pokes at the fire.

"One more time, that's.." She asks.

"Anasazi symbols. It's for protection. The wendigo can't cross over them."

Roy just laughs, gun over his shoulder.

"Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy." Dean says.

He heads over to sit next to Sam, who is at the edge of the campsite after checking that Juliette is safe with Haley.

"You wanna tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours?"

"Dean.."

Dean cuts him off "No, you're not fine. You're like a powder keg, man, it's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?"

"Dad's not here. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Tell you the truth, I don't think Dad's ever been to Lost Creek."

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

"This is why." Dean comes around to Sam's front and holds up John's journal.

"This book. This is Dad's single most valuable possession—everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he's passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business."

SAM shakes his head "That makes no sense. Why doesn't he just—call us? Why doesn't he—tell us what he wants, tell us where he is?"

"I dunno. But the way I see it, Dad's giving us a job to do, and I intend to do it."

"Dean...no. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about."

"Okay, all right, Sam, we'll find them, I promise. Listen to me. You've gotta 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 gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man." Dean tries to reason with his brother.

Sam looks down, then up. "How do you do it? How does Dad do it?"

Dean looks over at Haley and Ben. "Well for one, them."

Sam looks over as well.

"I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little bit more bearable and for her" He looks at Juliette " I do it to make sure she grows up in a better world than we did."

He pauses before continuing "I'll tell you what else helps."

Sam looks back at Dean.

"Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can."

Sam smiles but the moment is ruined by a twig snapping.

"Help me! Please!" The voice is heard again, only now everyone knows it's not human.

Dean stands and readies his gun.

"Help!"

Sam shines a flashlight about.

"He's trying to draw us out. Just stay cool, stay put." Dean tells everyone.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy is still not convinced.

"Help! Help me!" The wendigo growls now once it realizes no one is coming.

Roy points his gun at the sound. "Okay, that's no grizzly."

Haley is standing with her arms around Juliette and Ben.

"It's okay. You'll be all right, I promise." She tried to assure them.

Something rushes past her causing her to shriek.

"It's here." Sam announces.

Roy shoots at the rustling, then again.

"I hit it!" He cries before taking off to see what he hit.

"Roy, no! Roy!" Dean calls but Roy is already gone.

Dean turns to Haley, Ben and Jules.

"Don't move".

Haley nods holding a stick, burning at one end, as a weapon as Sam and Dean run after ROY.

"It's over here! It's in the tree!" Roys voice can be heard.

The Wendigo reaches down from the tree and snaps Roy's neck.

"Roy!" Dean calls.

Sam shines the flashlight around, but it's to late Roy is gone.

~CAMPSITE~

~The Next Morning~

Sam is sitting against a hollow tree stump, holding John's journal and playing with a lanyard attached to same. Haley and Ben are sitting by the out fire trying to process everything that transpired last night. Dean is walk around with Juliette, trying to calm down the little girl who is shaken.

"I don't...I mean, these types of things, they aren't supposed to be real." Haley says.

"I wish I could tell you different." Dean says.

"How do we know it's not out there watching us?"

"We don't. But we're safe for now."

"How do you know about this stuff?"

Dean pauses while he considers his answer. "Kind of runs in the family."

Sam comes over. "Hey. So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch."

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

Sam shows the wendigo page of John's journal to Haley and Ben.

"'Wendigo' is a Cree Indian word. It means 'evil that devours'." Sam explains.

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

"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Haley asks.

Dean places Jules on the ground who hugs his leg as he picks a couple things up off the ground.

"Well, it's always the same. 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 wonders.

"Exactly. Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality." Sam says.

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

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

"You're not gonna like it." Dean glances at Sam, then back to Haley.

"Tell me." She insist.

"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 its victims alive. It, uh, it stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden, and safe. We gotta track it back there."

"And then how do we stop it?"

"Well, guns are useless, so are knives. Basically.." Dean holds up the can of lighter fluid, the beer bottle, and the white cloth he'd picked up. "We gotta torch the sucker."

Dean leads the way through the woods, Molotov cocktail in hand. Haley follows holding Juliettes' hand, then Ben, then Sam. They pass trees with claw marks and blood.

Sam moves up so he is leading the group now.

"Dean" He calls.

Dean catches up. "What is it?"

Sam and Dean look around at the trees. There are bloody claw marks and broken branches everywhere.

"You know, I was thinking, those claw prints, so clear and distinct. They were almost too easy to follow."

The sound of growling makes the brothers whip around.

Haley is standing under a tree. Blood drips on her shirt. She notices and looks up, then leaps out of the way grabbing the little girl and covering her eyes as Roys' corpse lands where she'd stood.

Dean examines Roy as Sam goes over to the girls.

"You okay? You got it?" He asks lifting his niece into his arms.

"His neck's broke." Dean says.

Sam helps Haley up as more growling is heard.

"Okay, run, run, run, run, go, go, go!" Dean tell the group.

Everybody takes off.

Ben falls and Sam hurries back to help him up, dividing the group three and two.

"Come on, I gotcha, I gotcha." Sam tells him.

Dean and Haley stop short, the wendigo is in front of them causing Haley to scream.

"Haley?" Ben screams.

Sam stops running and picks up Dean's Molotov cocktail, the bottle broken.

"Dean!" Sam calls but no one answers.

"If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?" Ben asks.

"Honestly? I think because Roy shot at it, pissed it off." Sam tells him.

"Uncle Sammy where's daddy?" Juliette asks.

"We're gonna find him okay bug." He says trying to soothe his niece before she cries.

Ben finds a trail of peanut M&Ms and picks one up. "They went this way."

Sam catches up to Ben, who hands over the M&M and Sam laughs.

"It's better than breadcrumbs." He tosses the M&M away.

Sam and Ben follow the trail. They come to a mine entrance marked with a sign that says WARNING! DANGER! DO NOT ENTER EXTREMELY TOXIC MATERIAL. Sam looks at Ben, shrugs, and goes inside, Ben follows. Above the entrance is a larger sign that says KEEP OUT NO ADMITTANCE.

~MINE~

Sam shines the flashlight ahead of them but turns it off when he hears growling and pulls Ben against the wall. The Wendigo comes towards them and Sam covers both Ben's and Jules' mouth before either can scream. The Wendigo takes a different tunnel at the crossing. So they keep going. The floorboards creak and they fall through the floor landing in a pile of bones. There is another pile nearby of skulls. Ben spots them and leaps backward.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay." He tells the boy to calm him. Then checks on Jules who only has a small cut on her knee.

"Daddy"

Juliette's cry makes the boys look up and spot Dean and Haley hanging by their wrists from the ceiling. Each runs to their respective sibling.

"Dean!" "Daddy" Both Winchester call.

"Haley, wake up!" Ben calls.

Sam grabs Dean and shakes him. "Dean!"

Dean finally opens his eyes.

"Hey, you okay?"

Dean winces. "Yeah."

"Haley, Haley, wake up, wake up!" Ben says.

Sam cuts Dean down and Ben takes care of Haley . They help them over to an empty patch of floor and get them sat down. Dean makes pained noises as Jules climbs onto his lap.

"You sure you're all right?" Sam asks.

Dean grimaces. "Yeah. Yep. Where is he?"

"He's gone for now."

Haley divests herself of rope and stands up and spots Tommy still hanging and starts crying.

"Tommy..."

Haley touches his cheek causing his head to jerks up and she jumps back and shrieks. She turns to Sam.

"Cut him down!"

Sam cuts Tommy down.

"We're gonna get you home." Haley tells her brother.

The stolen supplies are piled in the corner. Dean picks up flare guns.

"Check it out."

"Flare guns. Those'll work." Sam says grinning. Dean laughs and twirls the guns.

They head down a tunnel, Sam leading, Dean with Jules in his arms and the flare guns and Haley and Ben supporting Tommy, who is limping.

They are almost free when a growling noise alerts them that the Wendigo is back.

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

"We'll never outrun it." Haley realizes.

Dean looks back at the others. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah, I think so." Sam says.

"All right, listen to me. Stay with Sam. He's gonna get you out of here." Dean tell everyone handing his daughter to Sam with a kiss on her head.

"What are you gonna do?" Haley asks.

Dean just winks and starts walking and yelling. "Chow time, you freaky bastard! Yeah, that's right, bring it on, baby, I taste good."

Sam waits until Dean is a safe distance away. "All right, come on! Hurry!"

The Collins follow him down the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Dean is trying to distract the Wendigo so the others can escape.

"Hey, you want some white meat, bitch! I'm right here!"

The four hurry down a tunnel only to be stopped by growling. SAM points the gun at it, then lowers the gun and turns to the Collins.

"Get him outta here." He instructs handing Jules over.

"Sam, no." Haley tries to stop him.

"Go! Go! Go!" He tells them.

"Come on, Haley!" Ben says.

Haley and Ben help Tommy along the mine tunnel with Haley holding one of Juliettes hands.

Sam holds the flare gun ready to shoot, looking down the tunnel.

"Come on. Come on."

Sam hears the growling and turns the Wendigo is right in his face. Sam shoots and misses, then runs after the Collins.

"Sam!" Haley says as he catches up.

"Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry." He says.

They run to the end of the tunnel, the Wendigo right behind.

"Get behind me." He instructs them being large enough to hide all four.

The Wendigo approaches, taking its time, taunting them.

Dean comes up behind the monster.

"Hey!" He calls

The Wendigo turns and Dean shoots it in the stomach. The flare goes off and it goes up in flames.

"Not bad, huh?"

Sam grins.

~ RANGER STATION, THAT NIGHT~

An ambulance loads up Tommy. Two Police Officers interview Ben. Sam is holding Jules as a paramedic checks her knee.

"And the bear came back again after you yelled at it?" The officer asks.

"That's when it circled the campsite. I mean, this grizzly must have weighed eight hundred, nine hundred pounds." Ben says.

"All right, we'll go after it first thing." The officer tells him.

Haley talks to Dean, both have already been patched up.

"So I don't know how to thank you." Haley says.

Dean smirks lasciviously and Haley smiles despite herself.

"Must you cheapen the moment?"

"Yeah."

A Paramedic comes up to Haley.

"You riding with your brother?" They ask.

"Yeah." She agrees.

The Paramedic heads back to the ambulance and Haley turns to Ben. "Let's go."

Sam and Ben nod at each other. Haley kisses Dean on the cheek and waves goodbye to Jules.

"I hope you find your father."

Haley and Ben head for the ambulance.

"Thanks, Sam." She says as they climb in the ambulance with Tommy, who is shirtless and bandaged.

Sam sits on the Impala's hood with Dean who is holding his daughter and the three watch as the ambulance drives away

"Man, I hate camping." Dean says.

"Me too." Sam agrees.

"Me too." Jules says making the brothers laugh.

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

"Yeah, I know. But in the meantime? I'm driving."

Dean tosses Sam the keys and gets in the back. He lays with Jules in his arms as the duo fall asleep to the sounds of the Impala's engine.