Evie sits in her car seat in the back of the Impala, playing with the ears of her stuffed dog. Dean is driving and Sam is in the passenger seat asleep.
It's been a week since Jessica died and they spent the whole week in Palo Alto with the brothers looking for her killer while Sam also had to attempt to Evie that she wouldn't be able see her mom again. Evie kind of understands, partly since she saw everything happen, but she doesn't fully understand it and is still a little confused. During the week, Sam and Evie also went to Jessica's grave once a day after they had her funeral and Evie spent some time with Jess' parents.
Evie has spent half the week waking up from nightmares about what happened. She wakes up screaming and crying, waking both brothers up, and Sam has to calm her down. It usually takes a few hours to get her back to sleep so she ends up sleeping until about 9 or 10 which is unusual as she would always be up by 7 or 8 before everything happened.
Evie has basically shut down. She doesn't talk much and when she does it's only to tell her dad that she needs or wants something. She hasn't said anything about who killed her mom or that he had black eyes. She doesn't know much but she knows eyes aren't supposed to be completely black. And she knew that Brady's eyes were never black before.
Sam suddenly jerks awake making Dean look over in concern.
"You okay?" Dean asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam assures.
"Another nightmare?" Dean asks. He keeps his voice quiet so Evie doesn't hear him. Sam clears his throat, not giving an answer. "You want to drive for a while?"
"Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that." Sam chuckles.
"Just thought you might want to. Never mind." Dean says.
"Look, man, you're worried about me, I get it and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay." Sam tells him.
"Mm-hmm." Dean nods, not believing him.
Sam looks back at Evie, seeing her play with her dog and a sad look on her face. Sam sighs sadly, wishing he could do something for her to help her, but knows there isn't anything. Sam gets a container of fruit out and opens it.
He taps Evie's leg with his hand getting her attention and he holds the container out to her. Evie shakes her head.
"Evie. You haven't eaten all day." Sam says. Evie huffs, taking the container and putting it in her lap. She takes a strawberry slice out and puts it in her mouth. "Hey." Sam gets her attention and she looks at him again. "Make sure to chew." He states, his voice slightly firm so she knows he's serious. Evie nods, chewing the strawberry slice.
"She better not get fruit in my car." Dean states. Sam gives him a look. "I'm just saying." Sam rolls his eyes, grabbing the map on the dashboard.
"All right, where are we?" He asks his older brother.
"We are just outside of Grand Junction." Dean informs.
"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon." Sam says, glancing back to see Evie eating and looking at the passing scenery.
"Sam, we dug around for a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica--"
Sam hits Dean to be quieter.
"We gotta find dad first." Sam mumbles.
"Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after 20 years, it's no coincidence." Dean says. "Dad will have the answers. He'll know what to do."
"It's weird, man. These coordinates he left us. This Blackwater Ridge."
"What about it?"
"There's nothing there. It's just woods. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"
+++
They got to a Ranger Station and are inside, looking around. Sam is holding Evie who holds her dog, resting her head against Sam's.
"So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote." Sam says, looking at a 3D map of the national forest. "It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."
"Dude, check out the size of this freaking bear." Dean says, holding up a picture of a man standing behind a giant bear. Sam walks over to look at it and Evie whines, leaning into her father at the sight of the bear. Sam lowers the picture, putting his free hand on Evie's back to comfort her.
"And a dozen more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure." Sam says.
"You boys aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" They hear and slightly jump, Sam holding Evie closer, both brothers turning to see a ranger.
"Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper." Sam lies.
"Recycle, man." Dean says, holding up a fist.
"Bull." The ranger calls. "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"
"Yes." Dean decides to go with it. "Yes, we are, ranger--" He looks at the name tag on the man's coat. "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 24th, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" Dean shakes his head. "You tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure her brother's just fine."
"We will. Well that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?" Dean asks.
"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."
~ ~ ~
After getting a copy, they leave the station, walking out to the car and Dean is laughing.
"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam asks.
"What do you mean?" Dean asks.
"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?" Sam asks.
"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" Dean suggests as Sam buckles Evie into her car seat. He doesn't say anything as Sam finishes and shuts the backdoor before standing up and seeing his brother's look.
"What?" Sam asks.
"Since when are you all shoot first ask questions later, anyway?" Dean asks.
"Since now." Sam says, getting in the car.
"Really?" Dean asks, getting in the car.
+++
They get to the Collins house and Sam is holding Evie while Dean knocks on the door. After a moment, a young woman with dark shoulder length hair answers it.
"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. Sam couldn't get a sitter for Evie." Dean tells her.
"Lemme see some ID." Haley demands. Dean pulls out a fake ID and shows it to her. "Come on in." She says, opening the screen door.
"Thanks." Dean says.
"That yours?" Haley asks, looking at the Impala.
"Yeah." Dean nods.
"Nice car." Haley says, walking back inside. Dean gives a look to Sam who rolls his eyes at his older brother. They go into the dining room where Haley's younger brother, Ben, is sitting at the table on a laptop.
"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam asks.
"He checks in every day by cell. He emails photos, stupid little videos. We haven't heard anything in over three days now." Haley says.
"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception." Sam says.
"He's got a satellite phone, too." Haley says.
"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean considers.
"He wouldn't do that." Ben defensively states.
"Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other." Haley tells them.
"Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam asks.
"Yeah." Haley nods. She gets on the laptop Ben was on and pulls up the pictures and videos and Sam walks over, sitting down. "That's Tommy." She says, going through a few of the pictures, landing on a video and she plays it.
"Hey Haley, day 6, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow." Tommy says in the video.
"Well, we'll find your brother. We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing." Dean says.
"Then maybe I'll see you there." Haley says and she sees Dean's questioning look. "Look, I can't see around here anymore. So I hired a guide. I'm heading out in the morning and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."
"I think I know how you feel." Dean says.
"Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asks.
"Sure." Haley nods.
+++
They get to a bar and Sam sits down with a half asleep Evie on his lap and Dean sits next to him.
"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, opening a journal and taking some newspaper articles out.
"Any before that?" Dean asks.
"Yeah, in 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack." Sam says, getting his laptop out. "And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936. Every 23 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 goes through three frames of the video, a shadow crossing the screen in the background.
"Do it again." Dean says and Sam does so.
"That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move." Sam says. Dean hits Sam making him look at him.
"Told you something weird was going on." Dean says.
"Yeah." Sam closes the laptop. "I got one more thing." He hands Dean a newspaper article. "In '59 one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive."
"Is there a name?" Dean asks.
+++
"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--"
"Grizzly? That's what attacked them?" Sam asks, cutting Shaw off. They're at Shaw's place and Sam is holding Evie who is now awake, not having felt comfortable enough to fall asleep.
Shaw takes his cigarette out and nods.
"The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?" Dean asks. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing? If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it."
"I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see the difference it would make." Shaw says, sitting down. "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."
"Mr. Shaw, what did you see?" Sam asks, sitting down across from Shaw and putting Evie on his lap.
"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." Shaw says.
"It came at night?" Sam asks and Shaw nods. "Got inside your tent?"
"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."
"It killed them?" Sam asks.
"Dragged them off into the night." Shaw says. "Why it left me alive... been asking myself that ever since. Did leave me this, though." Shaw pulls the collar of his shirt down to reveal three long scars. Evie's eyes widen, whining a little, cowering into her dad. Sam moves her head so she's facing his chest.
"There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of demon." Shaw says.
+++
"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside, they just go through the walls." Dean says as they walk down a corridor.
"So it's probably something else, something corporeal." Sam says.
""Corporeal"? Excuse me, professor." Dean says.
"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 says.
~ ~ ~
They get to the parking lot and Dean opens the trunk of the Impala before opening the weapons box, propping it up with a shotgun. Sam is holding Evie who managed to fall asleep finally.
"We cannot let that Haley girl go out there." Sam says as Dean packs some weapons.
"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." Sam nods and Dean looks at him.
"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." Dean says, picking up the duffel bag.
"Finding dad's not enough?" Sam asks, slamming the weapons box shut and then slamming the trunk shut. "Now we got to babysit, too?"
"Says the man literally holding a baby." Dean says, pointing to Evie.
"I'm her dad. That's not babysitting, idiot." Sam slightly snaps.
"The dad who just woke her up." Dean states, watching the 2 year old rub her eyes and squirm in her father's hold.
Sam quietly huffs, mentally cursing himself for causing noise louder than he should've. He opens his eyes, seeing Dean's look.
"What?" Sam slightly snaps.
"Nothing." Dean denies before walking away.
+++
It's the next day and Dean pulls up to another car in the woods that Haley, Ben, and a guy are standing by. The brothers get out of the car and Sam gets Evie out of her car seat, the girl thankfully sleeping, her stuffed dog in hand. He goes to the other side of the car and gets the duffel bag.
"You guys got room for three more?" Dean asks.
"Wait, you want to come with us? And bring a toddler?" Haley asks.
"I don't have many options." Sam grumbles.
"Who are these guys?" The guide, Roy, asks.
"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue." Haley says as Sam walks by them.
"You're rangers?" Roy asks.
"That's right." Dean nods.
"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Haley asks.
"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts." Dean says, walking past her.
"What, you think this is funny? It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt." Roy says.
"Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be. We just wanna help them find their brother, that's all." Dean says.
+++
They're walking and Dean and Roy are up front followed by Haley and Ben, and Sam is at the back, holding a now awake Evie. He tried to get her back to sleep since she hasn't slept much, but she just wouldn't.
"Roy, you said you did a little hunting." Dean says.
"Yeah, more than a little." Roy says.
"Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?" Dean asks.
"Mostly buck, sometimes bear." Roy says.
"Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" Dean asks. Roy suddenly grabs Dean's jacket, yanking him back a bit. "Whatcha doing, Roy?"
Roy picks up a big stick and pokes the ground where Dean was about to step with it, a bear trap capturing it Evie jumps as she watches.
"It's okay." Sam quietly comforts her.
"You should watch where you're stepping. Ranger." Roy says before walking off.
"It's a bear trap." Dean chuckles before starting to walk, the other three following.
"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag and brought a baby. You're not rangers." Haley states to Dean, making him stop. "So who the hell are you?"
Ben walks by them and Sam looks at Dean who nods so the younger brother follows Ben.
+++
"This is it. Blackwater Ridge." Roy states.
"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asks and Roy pulls out a GPS.
"35 and minus 111." Roy informs.
"You hear that?" Dean quietly asks Sam. Evie listens, but doesn't hear anything.
"Yeah. Not even crickets." Sam says.
"I'm gonna go take a look around." Roy says.
"You shouldn't go off by yourself." Sam says.
"That's sweet. Don't worry about me." Roy says, walking past all of them and Dean turns to the others.
"All right, everybody stays together. Let's go." Dean says.
~ ~ ~
They're still walking through the woods when Roy calls for Haley and they all run to where his voice came from, finding the campsite Tommy and his friends were at wrecked.
"Oh, my God." Haley mumbles. The tents are torn open and bloody and the supplies are all scattered around. Evie whines a little, cuddling into her dad, keeping a tighter grip on her dog.
"Looks like a grizzly." Roy says.
"Tommy?" Haley calls, taking her backpack off and walking a bit ahead. "Tommy!" Sam puts the duffel bag and Evie down, rushing to Haley, shushing her. "Tommy!" Sam shushes her again. "Why?"
"Something might still be out there." Sam says.
"Sam!" Dean calls. Sam goes over to Dean, giving a reassuring look to Evie as he passes her. He crouches down next to Dean.
"The bodies were dragged from the campsite. But here, the tracks just vanish. That's weird." Dean says and they stand up. "I'll tell you what, that's no skinwalker or black dog."
They go back to the others and Haley picks up Tommy's bloody and broken cellphone. Dean crouches next to her.
"Hey, he could still be alive." Dean says.
"Help! Help!" They hear someone yell.
Roy runs off, Dean immediately following, before the other three people following. Evie tries to call after her dad, but he's too far away by now.
The group of five stop and listen for more screams of help, but aren't hearing any.
"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Haley asks.
They try to listen for more yells, but don't hear any. Suddenly they hear an ear piercing scream. One that makes Sam's blood run cold and his heart drop to his feet. The same scream he heard a week ago.
Sam immediately runs back to the campsite, the rest following. When they reach back they find Evie and all of their stuff gone. Sam walks over to the tent, picking up Evie's stuffed dog.
Sam feels the tears prick his eyes and his heart hammer in his chest.
"Evie!" Sam yells as loud as he can. "Evie!" He looks around, having small hope of finding her, but comes up empty. He balls his hand up before punching the tree closest to him. He retracts in pain, hissing a little.
"Hey, hey. Let me see." Dean says, trying to look at his hand.
"I'm fine." Sam insists, ripping his hand away from Dean, wiping the blood on his knuckles off on his jeans.
"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone." Roy says.
"Yeah, it's a big loss." Sam bites.
"Hey, you're the idiot who brought your kid out here." Roy says. Sam charges at him, but Dean holds him back.
"Hey, hey. No." Dean says.
"What the hell is going on?" Haley asks.
"It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help." Sam says, stuffing Evie's dog in his jacket pocket.
"You mean someone, some nutjob out there just stole all our gear." Roy says.
"And a child." Dean says. "Which matters more."
"I need to speak to you... in private." Sam quietly tells Dean, the two walking off. "Let me see dad's journal." Dean hands him the book and Sam flips through the pages before landing on the one he wants. "All right. Check that out."
"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.
"Think about it, Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice." Sam says.
"Great." Dean sighs. "Well, then this is useless." Dean says, holding up his pistol. Sam gives him the journal back.
"We gotta get these people to safety." Sam says.
"What about Evie?" Dean asks.
"We can't worry about both Evie and them. I need to find my daughter, but not while taking care of people clueless to what we're actually fighting." Sam bites.
The two walk back to the campsite.
"All right, listen up. Things have gotten... more complicated." Sam says.
"What?" Haley asks.
"Kid, don't worry. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it." Roy says.
"It's not me I'm worried about. If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. You three have to leave. Now." Sam says.
"One, you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to give anybody orders. Three, your kid just got taken and you wanna leave?" Roy asks.
"Relax." Dean says.
"I said you leave. Not me. We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? I'm trying to protect you." Sam says.
"You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night." Roy says.
"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 says.
Roy laughs.
"You know you're crazy, right?" The older man asks.
"Yeah? You ever hunt a wen--"
"Chill out." Dean shoves Sam away from Roy.
"Boys! Stop. Stop it. Everybody just stop." Haley gets their attention. "Look. Tommy might still be alive. And so could Evie. I'm not leaving here without my brother."
"It's getting late." Dean says after a moment. "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 asks.
+++
It's nighttime now and they built a campfire. Everybody but Sam is in a circle that Dean made. Sam is sitting a bit away on a log and holding Evie's dog, playing with its ears.
He wishes he would've grabbed her. He forgot to grab her. How could he forget to grab her? How could he let her get taken? He just lost the love of his life, he can't lose his baby girl a week later.
Sam is ripped out of his thoughts when Dean sits next to him.
"You wanna tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours?" Dean asks.
"Dean--"
"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?" Dean says.
"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." Dean says.
"Then why did we even come here? I mean, why did we stay if we knew he wasn't here?" Sam asks.
"This is why." Dean sits across from Sam, pulling out 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."
"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?" Sam asks.
"I dunno. But the way I see it, dad's giving us a job to do, and I intend to do it." Dean says.
"Dean... I gotta find dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about." Sam says.
"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. She can't lose another parent." Dean says, glancing down at the dog.
Sam looks down at the dog, tears gathering in his eyes.
"If we didn't come here... or if I didn't put her down... I'd still have her right now." Sam mumbles, still looking at the dog. Before Dean can say anything, Sam keeps talking. "How do you do it? How does dad do it?"
"Well for one, them." Dean says, looking over at Haley and Ben by the fire. "I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Make things a little bit more bearable. I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can."
Dean smiles and Sam manages a small smile.
"That includes the son of a bitch who currently has the niece I've only had for a week. So, trust me, we'll kill this thing and get her back. Alive." Dean promises.
+++
It's the next day and after having heard a sound, Roy went after it, and they weren't able to find him. Sam is currently sitting against a tree stump, holding John's journal and playing with the beads on a rosary. He's thinking about Jess and Evie and praying to whatever's out there that his daughter's okay.
After a bit, Sam walks back to the campsite.
"Hey." Sam greets the other three. "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 says.
Sam shows the page of the wendigo in John's journal to Haley and Ben.
"'Wendigo' is a Cree Indian word. It means 'evil that devours'." Sam informs.
"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 says.
"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Haley asks.
"Well, it's always the same. During some harsh winter a guy find's himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp." Dean says.
"Like the Donner Party." Ben says.
"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.
"So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Haley asks. "Or..." She trails off when she makes eye contact with Sam who sadly looks down.
"You're not gonna like it." Dean says, glancing at Sam with cautious eyes, seeing his younger brother trying to keep himself together.
"Tell me." Haley orders, looking at Dean, not wanting to have Sam explain given his daughter is in the same position as her brother.
"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?" Haley asks.
"Well, guns are useless, so are knives. Basically--" Dean holds up a can of lighter fluid, beer bottle, and white cloth he picked up. "We gotta torch the sucker."
+++
They found Roy's dead body after it almost fell on Haley after falling from a tree. They heard growling making them all take off. Sam and Ben got separated from their older siblings since Ben fell and Sam helped him back up. They hear Haley scream and run to where the sound came from.
"Haley!" Ben yells. Sam picks up Dean's broken Molotov cocktail.
"Dean!" He shouts.
~ ~ ~
"If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?" Ben asks as him and Sam walk through the woods.
"Honestly? I think because Roy shot at it, pissed it off." Sam says.
"They went this way." Ben says, holding up an M&M. Sam walks over to him, taking the piece of candy and chuckling.
"It's better than breadcrumbs." Sam says, tossing the candy away. They follow the trail, ending up at a mine entrance that's marked: WARNING! DANGER! DO NOT ENTER EXTREMELY TOXIC MATERIAL.
Sam looks at Ben and shrugs before going inside, the younger one following him.
Sam takes a flashlight out, shining it around as they walk. They hear growling and Sam turns the flashlight off, pulling Ben against the wall. The wendigo starts coming towards them and Sam covers Ben's mouth before he can scream. The wendigo takes a different tunnel at the crossing so the two guys keep going.
The floorboards creak and then the two fall through the floor, landing in a pile of bones. Ben looks up, seeing a pile of skulls and he leaps backwards.
"Hey, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay." Sam tells him.
They look up, finding Dean and Haley hanging by their wrists from the ceiling. Sam runs to Dean as Ben runs to Haley.
"Dean!" Sam grabs Dean and shakes him. "Dean!" The older man opens his eyes. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah." Dean winces.
"You know where Evie is?" Sam asks.
"Over there." Dean nods to behind Sam. The young father looks behind him, seeing his toddler passed out next to all of their bags. Sam quickly cuts Dean down, helping him over to where Evie is.
Sam sits on his knees, cutting the ties off of Evie's wrists and ankles.
"Evie?" Sam calls, gently patting her cheek a few times. "Evie? Hey, baby doll, come on. Wake up." Sam shakes her a bit. "Wake up, honey." A small groan emits from Evie making Sam sigh in relief.
"Daddy?" Evie asks.
"Hey, pumpkin." Sam smiles, most of the anxiety leaving his body. The events seem to catch up with the toddler who begins to sob. "I know, honey. It's okay. I've got you." Sam tightly hugs her, kissing her on the head a few times. "I got ya. Never putting you down again. I promise."
Sam gently rocks her until she manages to somewhat calm down.
"Hey, look what I got." Sam reaches into his pocket, pulling out her stuffed dog. Evie takes the plush, hugging it, keeping one hand clutching onto her dad's jacket.
"Hey, you know, on the bright side, that's probably the most sleep she's gotten all week." Dean says.
"Dude, seriously?" Sam asks.
"I'm just pointing out a silver lining." Dean says.
Sam rolls his eyes, turning his attention back to Evie who is still crying a little.
"Where is he?" Dean asks.
"He's gone for now." Sam says.
Haley stands up suddenly and the brothers follow hers and Ben's movements to find Tommy strung up by his wrists.
"Tommy..." Haley cries as her and Ben reach their brother. Tom's head jerks up making the woman jump back and shriek.
"Cut him down!" Haley exclaims.
"Don't let her go." Sam tells Dean, putting Evie on his brother's lap. Evie whines, starting to cry again. "I'll just be right over there and then I'm back, baby. Stay with Uncle Dean."
Sam rushes over to Tommy to help him down. Dean lightly wraps an arm around Evie to keep her from falling off his lap.
"It's okay, shorty." Dean quietly tells her, digging through their bags. He slowly gets up, holding two flare guns and Evie. "Check it out."
"Flare guns. Those'll work." Sam says, grinning. Dean laughs, twirling the guns, making sure they don't hit his niece.
Sam now has Evie back and has one gun, Dean having the other. Haley and Ben are helping Tommy walk as the group begin to head down a tunnel. They stop when they hear growling.
"Looks like someone's home for supper." Dean says.
"We'll never outrun it." Haley says.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Dean asks.
"Yeah, I think so." Sam nods.
"All right, listen to me. Stay with Sam. He's gonna get you out of here." Dean says.
"What are you gonna do?" Haley asks. Dean winks before starting to walk off.
"Chow time, you freaky bastard! Yeah, that's right, bring it on, baby! I taste good!" Dean exclaims, walking away and Sam waits until he's a safe distance away.
"All right, come on. Hurry." Sam tells them, leading them down a tunnel. They hurry down a tunnel before they hear growling. Sam points the gun before lowering it when nothing's there.
"Get him and her outta here." Sam says, handing Evie to Ben.
"No, daddy." Evie cries, reaching out to her dad as Ben holds her and she squirms in his hold.
"Sam, no." Haley objects.
"Daddy." Evie sobs.
"It's okay, pumpkin." Sam assures her, quickly placing a kiss on her forehead. "Go." He orders them. "Go! Go!"
They run off, Evie still sobbing in Ben's arms.
They're running for a while before hearing running after them and turn back to see Sam.
"Sam!" Haley calls.
"Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry." Sam ushers them forward and they go as fast as they can. They reach the end of the tunnel and the wendigo is close behind. "Get behind him." The three huddle behind Sam who can mostly hide them. Evie is crying, one hand clutching her dog, the other clutching the sleeve of her dad's jacket.
The wendigo gets closer which makes Evie's cries get more frequent.
"Hey!" They hear and the wendigo turns to Dean who shoots it in the stomach. The flare goes off, the monster bursting into flames. "Not bad, huh?"
Sam grins before turning to the group behind him and taking Evie from Ben.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, pumpkin. It's okay. You're okay now. We're okay." Sam shushes her and bounces her, trying to calm her down. "Everything's okay. You're safe."
+++
They're at the ranger station and an ambulance is loading Tommy up. They also attended to everybody else's injuries, Dean and Evie both having a few bandages, Haley only having one on her forehead. Dean is currently leaning against the Impala while two police officers question Ben and Sam is behind him, holding Evie.
"And the bear came back again after you yelled at it?" The officer questions.
"That's when it circled the campsite. I mean, this grizzly must have weighed 800, 900 pounds." Ben says, Sam nodding in agreement.
"All right, we'll go after it first thing." The officer says.
After finishing, the two walk over to Haley and Dean.
"Let's go." Haley tells her younger brother. She turns to Dean and kisses him on the cheek. "I hope you find your father." She turns to Ben, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "Thanks, Sam. Hope she gets better."
"Thanks." Sam smiles.
The two siblings head to the ambulance, sitting in the back as the medics load up, getting ready to go. Sam sits on the Impala's hood next to Dean.
"Man, I hate camping." Dean says.
"Me too." Sam says.
"Sam, you know we're gonna find dad, right?" Dean says.
"Yeah, I know. But in the meantime? I'm driving." Sam says, smiling a little. Dean tosses Sam the keys who catches them.
While Dean gets in the passenger seat, Sam puts Evie in her car seat.
"I will be right in front of you the whole time. I'm right here." Sam promises her. "You're in the car and we are all safe now." He tells her, buckling her up. "You could try to get some sleep, if that seems possible. Probably not." He mumbles the last part to himself. "You okay back here?"
Evie nods a little, tightly hugging her dog. Sam kisses her on the forehead, lingering for a little bit, just comforted knowing that she's alive and not seriously injured.
"Okay. Right up here." Sam says, patting the back of the front seat. Evie nods. Sam kisses her on the nose before shutting her door and getting in the driver's seat.
"You wanna take any longer?" Dean sarcastically asks.
"Shut up." Sam rolls his eyes, starting the car and driving off.