The girls followed along the coastline looking for the boys, staying out of site behind the trees. Maggie spotted them first. "There they are," she said, pointing. "This looks to be about a quarter mile from the cave.
Katie looked up at the darkening sky. "You think they'll go at night?" She asked.
"I wouldn't but who knows. We'll just have to watch them and see. We can sleep in shifts," Maggie said. She spread out the tarp they had brought, which was all the attention they had given toward looking like campers. It was more to protect themselves from the crawling beasties that covered the ground. They had their flare guns and lighters at the ready.
Maggie took first watch while Katie caught a little nap. She watched the love of her life as he and Sam wandered up and down the coast making sure everyone nearby was safe. They didn't look like they were planning on checking out the cave in darkness, which was both good and bad. Good, because it was more dangerous at night. The wendigo was more likely to be awake then. Bad, because if anyone that had been taken happened to still be alive, the sooner they got in there the better.
As she watched Dean, her heart ached for him. It was time to stop this nonsense. She looked at her ring in the faint light the moon was giving off and to her surprise it looked a little brighter. Maybe that meant Dean was feeling better too? She really hoped so. She wanted to end this soon. It was fun at first, and she still felt they were right to do it. But now she wanted her man. She'd had to be without him for several months when they went to the other world. And now she was missing him again.
Her thoughts followed this pattern for a few hours, until she woke Katie to take her turn at watch. As usual the last thing she thought of as she lay down to sleep was Dean.
Katie, too, watched the boys with thoughts swimming in her head. It was all she could do to keep herself from running into Sam's arms when he went into the shadows of the trees to pee. He couldn't have been more than 15 yards from her. She watched him in silhouette as he looked around him like he was perhaps looking for them.
She decided to talk to Maggie about calling a truce, no matter what happened with this case. Sam was the love of her life, and if they really had to give up their desire to be hunters, well, so be it. There were priorities after all.
Meanwhile, the boys were having their own thoughts. Dean, who had been only half-asleep when Sam came back from taking a leak, asked, "Any sight of them?"
"I think they're right behind us in the trees," he said, "but I can't be sure." He sat down on a small log that had been placed there for campers to use. "Dean, can we stop this? If it's so important to them to be hunters, can't we find a way to make it work? I really wanna run out there and find them and bring them here. Being away from Katie is tearing me up."
Dean was quiet for a time, and then he sat up and looked at his brother. "I hate to admit it, but they've won. I can't keep doing this either. I want my woman. I feel better when she's around, and I know she helps me handle this thing," he said, patting the mark of Cain on his arm. I know I'm overbearing when it comes to those I love. I'd put them all in cages if I had to, to keep them safe. But the girls are right, they deserve to live their own lives."
"Should we go get them?" Sam asked, a bit in awe of the feelings Dean had just expressed, something that didn't come easily to his brother. Although, Maggie was having that kind of affect on Dean.
Dean thought about that for a moment and then shook his head, "No," he answered. "Let's see how this plays out. I'd still rather not involve them in this if it's not necessary. We'll get them when this is finished"
Sam nodded, thankful that in a few hours he could hold his Katie in his arms again.
Dean got up to take care of his own call of nature and Sam's thoughts were all of Katie. When he realized that Dean was taking a bit too long for what he went to do, he got up and called his name. "Dean," he shouted. There was no answer. "Dean," he called again, panicky now and moving closer to the tree line. "Dean," he shouted a third time. Still no answer.
Katie shook her sister. "Something's going on, wake up." Maggie jumped up totally alert, as she heard Sam shouting for Dean over and over. They picked up their flame throwers, held their lighters in their other hand at the ready and went to meet up with Sam.
Meanwhile, Sam's calls for Dean were getting fainter as he ran closer to the cave looking for Dean. "It must have Dean," Maggie said, worried but keeping it together. "Come on, hurry!"
They ran out onto the beach, following Sam's foot steps in the sand. They led all the way to the cave. When they entered the cave they lit their flare guns. The cave had two paths. "Damn it!" Maggie said. "Sam went that way, so let's try this way," she said, indicating the right fork. The cave tunneled for quite a ways meandering back and forth around curves.
Then they heard a growl. "Get behind me," Maggie told her sister, and they turned off the flames. They hugged the cave wall for a few more yards until they could see a cavern open up ahead of them. It seemed to have a slight glow, as if lit by a fire. Maggie peered around the edge of the wall and gasped. The creature had Dean, who was unconscious, and was stringing him up with a rope. She backed against the cave wall and whispered, "He's got Dean, stringing him up."
"We can take him," Katie whispered back.
Maggie nodded, and they both relit their flame throwers. The creature sensed something and turned around. He saw the flames and growled, trying to back away. Using a technique they used during their gang days, Maggie went forward towards the creature while Katie held the entrance to the cavern, preventing escape.
Feeling trapped the creature growled and ran past Maggie so fast it was invisible, but it couldn't get past Katie without getting too close to the flames. Recognizing their chance, both girls began to close in, Maggie moving a bit faster to push it towards Katie. When it got close enough, Katie pulled a flask of gasoline from her jacket, opened it with her teeth and threw the contents at the wendigo. Then they both closed in and lit it on fire.
In the distance they could hear Sam still yelling for Dean, his cries sounding closer. By the time he reached them, the wendigo was engulfed in flames and thrashing about in agony. Soon it collapsed to the ground and the awful sounds stopped. Sam grabbed Katie and pulled her to himself, holding her tightly.
"Sam," she said. "Dean's in there strung up." Sam ran to help his brother, but Maggie was already cutting through the ropes. Sam held onto Dean so he could lower him to the to the ground more gently. He slapped at his face, and Dean moaned.
"You awake?" he asked his brother. Dean opened his eyes and said, "Why do you look like Maggie? Am I dreaming?"
Maggie threw herself down on top of Dean, and said "No, silly, Katie and I just rescued you. It's really me."
Dean kissed Maggie and held her close as he looked past her shoulder and found Sam smiling down at him, his arm around Katie. His eyes asked a question and Sam nodded, saying, "Yep, they sure did."
"Well where the hell were you?" Dean asked, accusingly.
"I was busy with the other Wendigo," he answered.
"There were two of them?" Dean asked.
"Yep."
Dean sat up and said, "What about survivors? Are there any?"
"Don't know yet, we need to look."
Dean stood up, a bit unsteadily, and the four of them searched the cave. They found several more caverns and a total of four people, three of whom were dead. The fourth was still alive, though barely. It was the last camper that had been taken.
They cleared the webbing from him and laid him gently on the ground, while Katie called 911. Then they took off.
"What will the cops think?" Katie asked.
"They'll make up some story that they can live with like they always do," Dean said. "Come on, let's get out of here."
They stood at their cars holding onto each other as the police and emergency vehicles arrived at the scene.
Dean swallowed hard before saying what he had to say. "Look girls, I still don't like it," he said. "But you have proven yourselves, and you're right that it's not right to tell you what to do, or to keep you from doing what you want. We'll work it out somehow."
Katie looked over to him and said, "Well we learned something too," she said. "We do want to hunt, but it's not worth being away from you guys. We can find a way to do it so we don't worry you too much and still feel the satisfaction we're looking for."
Sam and Dean exchanged glances, and Dean said, "Come on, let's go home."
"What about your car?" Sam asked the girls.
"We can have the rental company come pick it up," Maggie said.
"Works for me," Dean said as he opened the door for Maggie to get in. When they were all in the car, he looked at both girls. "Let's not do that again, okay?"
"Just take us home, Jeeves," said Katie.
To Be Continued...
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Dear readers,
I am sorry for the delay in getting a new chapter out to you. Several weeks ago I hurt my back, and have been in too much pain to write. I'm feeling better now, so here is a new chapter for you. It's a bit short, but it ends a section. Never fear though, the story isn't finished, and I hope to get my chapters out more quickly now. If you're also reading Soul Searching, I should have another chapter fort that one up today or tomorrow as well.
If I don't write again before the holidays, then I wish you blessings, whatever your faith. Be happy! Be safe!
Kat
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SamGirl27 aka Kat