BLACKWATER RIDGE - LOST CREEK, COLORADO
EXT. FOREST – NIGHT
Two tents were set up near a fire ring. Crickets chirp. Inside one tent, two young men, Brad and Gary, were playing head-to-head handheld video games.
"Dude, you're cheating," Brad said.
"No, you just suck," Gary replied.
Something growled outside. In the other tent, a third young man, Tommy Collins, recorded a video message on his cell phone.
"Hey Haley, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge," Tommy said.
Something dark flicked behind the tent wall behind Tommy, too fast to be identifiable as more than 'something dark'; the screen on Tommy's phone, displaying the video as Tommy recorded it, caught it.
Tommy continued. "We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."
Tommy stopped recording and sent the message.
Brad closed his game system and tossed it aside. Gary stared at his system for a moment, then turned to look at Brad, who was getting up and unzipping the tent.
"Hey, where ya goin'?" Gary asked. "My moment of victory."
"Nature calls," Brad answered.
Brad went outside and zipped up the tent behind him. He went to stand against the tree to relieve himself. The fire crackled. Something snapped a stick. Brad looksd towards the sound and saw the trees rustling. Brad shook his head and returned his attention downward, then looked up sharply. Something growled.
Inside Tommy's tent, Tommy, who was reading Joseph Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces, heard Brad scream. Inside Gary's tent, Gary heard the same and rolled over.
"Brad?" Gary called.
Tommy sat up and asked, "Gary, what's goin' on?"
Gary opened the tent and stuck his head out to look around. He saw nothing. Growling. He looked up. Something pulled Gary out of the tent. He screamed.
Tommy turned out the lantern he had on. Shadows moved quickly around the outside of Tommy's tent. Tommy looked around, his eyes following the shadows and growling. Silence fell. Something slashed open Tommy's tent. Tommy screamed.
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
EXT. CEMETERY – DAY
Birds chirped. Sam, wearing a suit and tie and carrying a bouquet of various flowers excluding roses, walked through an otherwise deserted cemetery.
Sam sighed and stopped next to a gravestone. It read "JESSICA LEE MOORE", "Beloved Daughter", "January 24th 1984 – November 2nd 2005". There was 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 was of the Virgin de Guadalupe.
Sam looked between the gravestone and the flowers and began, "I, uh..." He laughed. "You always said roses were, were lame, so I brought you, uh..."
He looked at the picture set into the gravestone, then looked away, choking back tears. He stepped closer to the gravestone. "Jess... oh God..."
Sam knelt to set down the flowers. "I should have protected you. I should have told you the truth."
He leaned the flowers in front of the crucifix. An arm covered in dirt shot out of the ground and grabbed Sam by the wrist.
INT. IMPALA – DAY
Sam jerked awake. It was November 10, 2005, and he was riding shotgun next to Dean, Zach in back, Foreigner's Hot-Blooded was playing, and the cemetery visit was days behind them if it ever occurred.
Sam blinked and rubbed his eyes. Dean and Zach looked over, concerned.
"You okay?" Dean and Zach asked.
Sam glanced over and away. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Dean and Zach nodded. "Another nightmare?"
Sam cleared his throat.
"You wanna drive for a while?" Dean offered and Zach's eyes widened.
Sam laughed. "Dean, your whole life you never once asked me or Zach that."
"Just thought you might want to. Never mind."
"Look, man, you and Zach are worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."
"Mm-hm," Dean and Zach hummed.
Sam grabbed a map. "All right, where are we?"
"We are just outside of Grand Junction," Dean replied.
Sam folded down the map, which was of Colorado and had a large red X labeled 35-111. "You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."
Zach let out a sigh. "Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica—"
"We gotta find Dad first."
"Dad disappearing—and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence," Dean said. "Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do."
"It's weird, man. These coordinates he left us. This Blackwater Ridge."
"What about it?" Dean and Zach asked.
"There's nothing there. It's just woods." He put down the map. "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"
They drove past the National Forest sign that said, "Welcome to LOST CREEK COLORADO National Forest".
EXT. RANGER STATION – DAY
The Impala was parked next to a sign that says "RANGER STATION Lost Creek Trail, Lost Creek National Forest".
Sam said, "So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote."
INT. RANGER STATION – DAY
Sam looked at a 3D map of the national forest, paying particular attention to the ridge labeled "BLACKWATER RIDGE". Dean and Zach looked at the decorations.
Sam continued. "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 commented and Zach rolled his eyes.
Sam looked over. Dean was looking at a framed photo of a man standing behind a much larger bear.
Sam came to stand between Dean and Zach before saying, "And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure."
A forest ranger, Ranger Wilkinson, walked up behind them. When he spoke, Dean, Zach and Sam whipped around, startled.
"You boys aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" Ranger Wilkinson said.
"Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper," Sam replied.
Sam and Zach laughed a little.
Dean grinned and raised a fist. "Recycle, man."
"Bull," Ranger Wilkinson said. Sam and Zach's eyes flicked to Dean, who didn't move. "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"
Dean took a moment to consider. "Yes. Yes, we are, Ranger—" he checked the ranger's 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?" Dean shook 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?"
"That is putting it mildly."
Zach smiled lightly. "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 ranger eyed Zach. Zach raised his eyebrows.
EXT. RANGER STATION – DAY
Dean, Zach and Sam left the ranger station. Dean was holding a piece of paper and laughing.
"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam asked.
Zach nodded. "Probably."
"What do you mean?" Dean questioned.
"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for?" Sam said. "Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?"
Dean, Zach and Sam stopped on opposite sides of the Impala.
"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?"
There was a pause.
"What?"
"Since when are you all shoot first ask questions later, anyway?"
"Since now." He turned away and opened the door.
"Really?" He went around the car.
Zach sighed and got into the back.
EXT. COLLINS HOUSE – DAY
Dean, Zach and Sam were standing at the door to a house. The door opened to reveal Haley Collins.
"You must be Haley Collins," Dean said. "I'm Dean, this is Sam, that's Zach, 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 hesitated. "Lemme see some ID."
Dean pulled out a fake ID with the name 'Samuel Cole' and held it up against the screen. Haley looked at it, then at Dean, who smiled.
Haley opened the door. "Come on in."
"Thanks," Dean replied.
The door swung open; Haley caught sight of the Impala. "That yours?"
"Yeah."
Sam and Zach were looking back at the Impala.
"Nice car." She turned to lead Dean, Zach and Sam into the kitchen, where Ben Collins was sitting at the table on a laptop. Dean turned his head to mouth something to Sam and Zach, who rolled their eyes.
INT. KITCHEN – DAY
"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam asked.
Haley came back into the room with a bowl she placed on the table. "He checks in every day by cell. He emails, photos, stupid little videos—we haven't heard anything in over three days now."
"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception."
"He's got a satellite phone, too."
"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean suggested.
"He wouldn't do that," Ben said.
Dean eyed Ben. Ben looked away.
Haley put more food on the table as she told them, "Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."
"Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Zach asked.
"Yeah."
On a laptop, Haley pulled up pictures and said, "That's Tommy." She clicked twice and another picture came 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."
Sam and Zach spotted the shadow flicking past.
"Well, we'll find your brother," Dean told them. "We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing."
"Then maybe I'll see you there," Haley replied. "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."
"I think I know how you feel."
"Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asked, gesturing to Zach. "And to my partner?"
"Sure."
INT. BAR – NIGHT
Someone broke a game of pool. A waitress went past carrying beer. Sam, Zach and Dean sat at a table.
"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic," Sam said. "Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found." He opened John's journal.
"Any before that?" Dean asked.
Sam pulled out newspaper articles to show Dean and Zach. "Yeah, in 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack."
Dean and Zach read the headline in The Lost Creek Gazette.
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 pulled out his laptop. "And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936." He opened the laptop, which already had a window open to Tommy's 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 pulled up the video and went through three frames of the video one at a time. A shadow crossed the screen.
"Do it again."
Sam repeated the frames. "That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move."
Dean hit Sam and Zach. Sam and Zach looked up. "Told you something weird was going on."
"Yeah." Sam closed the laptop.
"Sam and I got one more thing," Zach said as he handed 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 looked at The Lost Creek Gazette. "Is there a name?"
INT. SHAW HOUSE – NIGHT
An old man, Mr. Shaw, talked to Sam, Zach and Dean while leading them inside his house.
Mr. Shaw had a cigarette in his mouth as he said, "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 interrupted, "Grizzly? That's what attacked them?"
Mr. Shaw took a puff of his cigarette, took it out, and nodded.
"The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?" Dean asked.
There was a pause.
"What about all the people that went missing this year?" Zach questioned. "Same thing?"
There was another pause.
"We knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it," Dean told him.
"I seriously doubt that," Mr. Shaw said. "Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make." He sat. "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."
Sam sat across from Mr. Shaw. "Mr. Shaw, what did you see?"
Mr. Shaw paused. "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?"
Mr. Shaw nodded.
"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?"
"Dragged them off into the night." He shook his head. "Why it left me alive... been asking myself that ever since." There was yet another pause. Mr. Shaw's hands went to his collar. "Did leave me this, though." He opened his collar to reveal three long scars. Claw marks. Sam, Zach and Dean looked at them. "There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon."
INT. HALLWAY– NIGHT
Dean, Zach and Sam walked the length of a corridor with rooms on either side.
"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors," Dean said. "If they want inside, they just go through the walls."
"So it's probably something else, something corporeal," Sam stated.
"Corporeal? Excuse me, professor."
"Shut up. So what do you think?"
Zach frowned as he said, "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."
EXT. PARKING LOT – NIGHT
Dean opened the trunk of the Impala, then the weapons box, and propped it open with a shotgun. He put some guns in a duffel bag.
Sam leaned in and said, "We cannot let that Haley girl go out there."
"Oh yeah?" Dean replied. "What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?"
"Yeah."
Dean and Zach looked at Sam before the eldest of the three said, "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 picked up the duffel.
"Finding Dad's not enough?" Sam shot back as he slammed the weapons box shut, then the trunk. "Now we gotta babysit too?" Dean and Zach stared at Sam. "What?"
"Nothing," Dean and Zach replied as the former threw the duffel bag at Sam and walked off, followed by Zach. Dean stared after them.
EXT. FOREST – DAY
A man, Roy, talked to Haley, who was wearing shorts, and Ben while checking a shotgun. They were all carrying full backpacks.
"I'll tell you again, I don't think Ben should come," Roy said.
"Roy—" Haley was cut off.
"Look, you're paying me good money to keep everybody safe. I think Ben's safest at home."
The Impala pulled up. Roy, Haley and Ben stared. Haley shook her head. Sam, Zach and Dean got out of the car. Sam opened the back door of the Impala and pulled out the duffel bag.
"You guys got room for three more?" Dean asked.
"Wait, you want to come with us?" Haley questioned.
"Who are these guys?" Roy wondered.
"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue."
Sam headed past everyone and Zach followed with a wary look at his younger brother.
"You're rangers?"
"That's right," Dean said.
"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Haley stated in a questioning tone.
Dean looked down at himself. "Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts." He headed past Haley.
"What, you think this is funny?" Roy inquired. "It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt."
Sam and Zach turned back.
"Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be. We just wanna help them find their brother, that's all." He headed past Sam and Zach.
INT. MINE – DAY
A mine shaft let in light. Tommy and Gary were hanging by their wrists from the ceiling. There were assorted corpses with them. Growling sounded. Gary spotted a tall skinny shape and started yelling. Tommy did his best to turn away and closed his eyes tightly as Gary yelled.
EXT. FOREST – DAY
The group hiked through the forest, Roy in the lead, then Dean, Haley, Ben, and Sam and Zach bringing up the rear.
"Roy, you said you did a little hunting," Dean said.
"Yeah, more than a little," Roy replied.
"Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?"
"Mostly buck, sometimes bear."
Dean passed Roy. "Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" Roy grabbed Dean. Sam and Zach looked on. "Whatcha doing, Roy?"
Roy grabbed a stick and poked the bear trap Dean had almost stepped in. Haley looked annoyed.
"You should watch where you're stepping. Ranger." He dropped the stick and retook the lead.
"It's a bear trap."
They hiked on. Haley caught up to Dean and said, "You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers." She grabbed Dean's arm. "So who the hell are you?"
Ben went past Haley and Dean. Sam and Zach looked at Dean, who indicated with his expression that Sam and Zach were to go on by; Sam and Zach obeyed.
Dean watched them go for a moment before saying, "Sam, Zach and I are brothers, 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?"
"I'm telling you now. 'sides, it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman. ...ever. So we okay?"
There was a pause.
"Yeah, okay."
"And what do you mean I didn't pack provisions?" He pulled out a big bag of peanut M&Ms and stuck his hand in the bag as he hiked on. Haley waited a moment, then followed.
EXT. FOREST – DAY – LATER
Roy led the way, followed by Sam, Zach, Ben, Haley and Dean.
"This is it," Roy said. "Blackwater Ridge."
Sam and Zach headed past Roy and asked, "What coordinates are we at?"
Roy pulled out a GPS, which read N 35o 45.383, W 111o 00.55. "Thirty-five and minus one-eleven."
Dean came up to Sam and Zach. They listened.
"You hear that?" Dean said.
"Yeah," Sam replied. "Not even crickets."
"I'm gonna go take a look around," Roy told the group.
"You shouldn't go off by yourself," Zach warned.
"That's sweet. Don't worry about me." He waved his gun and pushed between Dean, Zach and Sam to retake the lead. Dean turned back to the others as Ben and Haley caught up.
"All right, everybody stays together," Dean said. "Let's go."
EXT. FOREST – DAY
Sam, Zach, Dean, Ben and Haley were looking around near a large rock.
"Haley!" Roy called. "Over here!"
Haley ran towards Roy's voice, followed closely by the others. They came to a halt.
"Oh my God," Haley said.
The tents were torn open and bloody and all the supplies were scattered.
"Looks like a grizzly," Roy noted.
Dean and Haley looked around.
"Tommy?" Haley called as she took off her backpack and went through the campsite. "Tommy!"
Sam and Zach moved to catch up with Haley and said, "Shh."
"Tommy!"
"Shh-hh-hh!"
"Why?"
"Something might still be out there," Sam replied.
"Sam! Zach!" Dean yelled.
Sam and Zach went over to Dean, snapping a stick, and crouched next to him.
"The bodies were dragged from the campsite," Dean informed. "But here, the tracks just vanish. That's weird." The brothers stood. "I'll tell you what, that's no skinwalker or black dog."
Dean went back to the campsite and Sam and Zach followed. Haley picked up Tommy's cell phone; it was bloody. She cried. She turned the phone over and the back was open.
Dean crouched next to her and said, "Hey, he could still be alive."
Haley gave Dean a look.
"Help! Help!" someone called.
Roy led the way as everyone ran to the aid of the shouter.
The voice spoke again. "Help! Somebody!"
They found no one.
"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Haley said.
They listened.
"Everybody back to camp," Sam and Zach ordered.
Back at the campsite, all the supplies were missing.
"Our packs!" Haley cried.
"So much for my GPS and my satellite phone," Roy muttered.
"What the hell is going on?"
"It's smart," Sam stated. "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."
"You mean someone, some nutjob out there just stole all our gear," Roy said.
Sam went to Dean and Zach. "I need to speak with you two. In private."
Sam, Zach and Dean headed a little ways away from the group and the youngest continued. "Good. Let me see Dad's journal."
Dean handed it over. Sam opened it and flipped through until he found a particular page.
"All right, check that out." He pointed to a First Nations–style drawing of a figure.
"Oh come on, wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or, or northern Michigan," Dean said. "Zach and I've never even heard of one this far west."
"Think about it, Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice."
"Great." He took out his pistol. "Well then this is useless."
Sam gave Dean back John's journal and headed past Dean and Zach, stopping for a moment. "We gotta get these people to safety."
Back at the campsite, Sam addressed the group. "All right, listen up, it's time to go. Things have gotten... more complicated."
"What?" Haley asked.
"Kid, don't worry," Roy said. "Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it."
"It's not me I'm worried about," Sam told him. "If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now."
"One, you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to give anybody orders."
"Relax," Dean said.
Zach shook his head. "We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? We're trying to protect you."
Roy stepped right into Sam and Zach's space. "You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night."
Zach immediately sized Roy up. "Yeah? It's a damn near perfect hunter."
Sam stepped up next to his brother before saying, "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."
Roy laughed. "You know you're crazy, right?"
"Yeah? You ever hunt a wen—"
Dean pushed Sam.
"Roy!" Haley called.
"Chill out," Dean said.
"Stop. Stop it. Everybody just stop. Look. Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him."
There was a long pause.
"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?"
EXT. FOREST – NIGHT
The group had built a campfire, and Dean drew something in the dirt around the campsite while Haley poked at the fire.
"One more time, that's—" Haley began.
"Anasazi symbols," Dean said. "It's for protection. The wendigo can't cross over them." Roy laughed, gun over his shoulder. "Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy."
Dean headed over to sit next to Sam and Zach, who were at the edge of the campsite. "You wanna tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours? How 'bout you, Zach?"
"Dean—" Sam and Zach began.
"No, you're not fine. You're like a powder keg, man, it's not like you. It's not like either of you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?"
There was a pause.
After a moment, Sam said, "Dad's not here. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?"
"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." He came around to Sam and Zach's front and held 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 and Zach shook their heads before the latter said, "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," Sam argued. "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. You too, Zach."
Sam looked down, then up. "How do you do it? How does Dad do it? How does Zach do it?"
Zach let out a sarcastic laugh. "I'm barely managing, Sam."
Dean looked over at Haley and Ben. "Well for one, them." Sam and Zach also looked over at Haley and Ben. "I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little bit more bearable."
There was a pause.
"I'll tell you what else helps," Dean added as his brothers looked back at him. "Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can."
Sam and Zach smiled. A twig snapped.
Someone, presumably the wendigo, begged, "Help me! Please!"
Dean stood and readied his gun.
"Help!"
Sam and Zach shined a flashlight about.
"He's trying to draw us out," Dean said. "Just stay cool, stay put."
"Inside the magic circle?" Roy asked.
"Help!" the wendigo cried. "Help me!"
Growling sounded.
Rot pointed his gun at the sound. "Okay, that's no grizzly."
Haley spoke to Ben. "It's okay. You'll be all right, I promise."
Something rushed past. Haley shrieked.
"It's here," Sam and Zach said.
Roy shot at the rustling, then again. "I hit it!" He went to see what he hit.
"Roy, no! Roy!" Dean called before turning to Haley and Ben. "Don't move."
Haley was holding a stick, burning at one end, as a weapon. Dean, Zach and Sam ran after Roy.
"It's over here!" Roy informed. "It's in the tree!"
The wendigo reached down from the tree and snapped Roy's neck.
"Roy!" Dean shouted.
Sam and Zach shined the flashlights around.
EXT. FOREST – DAY
Sam was sitting against a hollow tree stump, holding John's journal and playing with a lanyard attached to same. Dean, Zach, Haley and Ben were among the tents.
"I don't... I mean, these types of things, they aren't supposed to be real," Haley said.
"I wish I could tell you different," Dean replied.
"How do we know it's not out there watching us?"
Zach shook his head. "We don't. But we're safe for now."
"How do you two know about this stuff?"
There was a pause while Dean and Zach considered, then the former said, "Kind of runs in the family."
Sam came over and greeted, "Hey." Haley stood. "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 and Zach said.
Sam showed the wendigo page of John's journal to Haley and Ben. "'Wendigo' is a Cree Indian word. It means 'evil that devours'."
"They're hundreds of years old," Dean explained. "Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter."
"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Haley asked.
Dean picked 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 said.
Zach nodded. "Exactly like that."
Sam continued. "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 said. "You're always hungry."
"So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Haley wondered.
"You're not gonna like it," Zach told her as he glanced at Sam and Dean, then back to Haley.
"Tell me."
"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 said as he held up the can of lighter fluid, the beer bottle, and the white cloth he'd picked up. "We gotta torch the sucker."
EXT. FOREST – DAY
Dean and Zach led the way through the woods, Molotov cocktail in the former's hand. Haley followed, then Ben, then Sam. They passed trees with claw marks and blood.
EXT. FOREST – DAY, LATER
Sam was leading the group now and said, "Dean. Zach."
Dean and Zach caught up and asked, "What is it?"
Sam, Zach and Dean looked around at the trees. There were 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."
They heard growling. Sam, Zach and Dean whipped around. Trees rustled.
Haley was standing under a tree. Blood dripped on her shirt. She noticed and looked up, then leapt out of the way; Roy's corpse landed where she'd stood.
Dean and Zach examined Roy as Sam went over to Haley and asked, "You okay? You got it?"
His neck's broke," Dean informed.
Sam helped Haley up. More growling sounded.
"Okay, run, run, run, run, go, go, go!" Dean and Zach yelled.
Everybody took off.
Ben fell and Sam hurried back to help him up, dividing the group three and two.
"Come on, I gotcha, I gotcha," Sam told Ben.
Dean, Zach and Haley stopped short: the wendigo was in front of them. Haley screamed.
"Haley?" Ben called.
Sam stopped running and picked up Dean's Molotov cocktail, the bottle broken. "Dean! Zach!"
EXT. FOREST – DAY
"If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?" Ben asked.
"Honestly? I think because Roy shot at it, pissed it off," Sam replied.
Ben found a trail of peanut M&Ms and picked one up. "They went this way."
Sam caught up to Ben, who handed over the M&M. Sam laughed. "It's better than breadcrumbs." He tossed the M&M away.
Sam and Ben followed the trail. They came to a mine entrance marked with a sign that said WARNING! DANGER! DO NOT ENTER EXTREMELY TOXIC MATERIAL. Sam looked at Ben, shrugged, and went inside. Ben followed. Above the entrance was a larger sign that said KEEP OUT NO ADMITTANCE.
INT. MINE – DAY
Sam shined the flashlight ahead of them. Hearing growling, Sam shut off the light and pulled Ben against the wall. The wendigo came towards them. Sam covered Ben's mouth before could can scream. The wendigo tool a different tunnel at the crossing. Sam and Ben kept going. The floorboards creaked and Ben and Sam fell through the floor; they landed in a pile of bones. There was another pile nearby of skulls. Ben spotted them and leapt backward.
"Hey, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay," Sam said.
Sam and Ben looked up; Dean, Zach and Haley were hanging by their wrists from the ceiling. Sam ran to Dean and Zach, Ben to Haley.
"Dean! Zach!" Sam called.
"Haley, wake up!" Ben told his sister.
Sam grabbed Dean and Zach and shook them.
"Dean! Zach!" Dean and Zach opened their eyes. "Hey, you two okay?"
Dean and Zach winced. "Yeah."
"Haley, Haley, wake up, wake up!" Ben said.
Sam cuts Dean and Zach down and Ben took care of Haley. They helped them over to an empty patch of floor and got them sat down. Dean and Zach made pained noises.
"You two sure you're all right?" Sam asked.
Dean and Zach grimaced before the former replied, "Yeah. Yep. Where is he?"
"He's gone for now."
Haley divested herself of rope. She stood and spotted Tommy still hanging and started crying. "Tommy..."
Haley touched Tommy's cheek. Tommy's head jerked up. Haley jumped back and shrieked. She turned to Sam. "Cut him down!"
Sam cut Tommy down.
"We're gonna get you home," Haley told her brother.
The stolen supplies were piled in the corner.
Dean and Zach picked up flare guns and said, "Check it out."
"Flare guns," Sam noted. "Those'll work."
Sam grinned. Dean and Zach laughed and twirled the guns.
They headed down a tunnel, Dean, Zach and Sam in the lead with the flare guns and Haley supporting Tommy, who was limping.
Growling sounded.
"Looks like someone's home for supper," Dean commented.
"We'll never outrun it," Haley said.
Dean and Zach looked back at the others. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah, I think so," Sam replied.
"All right, listen to me," Dean instructed. "Stay with Sam. He's gonna get you out of here."
"What are you and Zach gonna do?"
Dean and Zach winked and started walking and yelling.
"Chow time, you freaky bastard!" Dean yelled. "Yeah, that's right, bring it on, baby, I taste good."
"Come on out!" Zach shouted. "Don't be a spineless chicken."
The rest of Dean and Zach's words were indistinct.
Sam waited until Dean and Zach were a safe distance away before saying, "All right, come on! Hurry!"
The Collinses followed Sam down the tunnel.
INT. MINE – DAY
"Hey, you want some white meat, bitch!" Dean yelled. "We're right here!"
"Bring it on, ugly!" Zach challenged.
INT. MINE – DAY
Sam, Haley, Ben and Tommy hurried down a tunnel.
Growling sounded. Sam pointed the gun at it, then lowered the gun and turned to the Collinses before saying, "Get him outta here."
"Sam, no," Haley argued.
"Go! Go! Go!"
"Come on, Haley!" Ben cried.
Haley and Ben helped Tommy along the mine tunnel.
Sam held the flare gun ready to shoot, looking down the tunnel. "Come on. Come on."
Growling sounded. Sam turned: the wendigo was right in his face. Sam shot and missed, then ran after the Collinses.
"Sam!" Haley called.
Sam caught up and said, "Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry."
They ran to the end of the tunnel, the wendigo right behind.
"Get behind me," Sam ordered, hiding all three Collinses.
The wendigo approached, taking its time.
Dean and Zach came up behind the wendigo and yelled, "Hey!"
The wendigo turned. Dean and Zach shot it in the stomach. The flares went off and the wendigo went up in flames.
"Not bad, huh?" Dean and Zach said.
Sam grinned.
EXT. RANGER STATION – NIGHT
An ambulance loaded up Tommy. Two police officers interviewed Ben; Sam stood behind Ben.
"And the bear came back again after you yelled at it?" the officer asked.
"That's when it circled the campsite," Ben replied. "I mean, this grizzly must have weighed eight hundred, nine hundred pounds."
Sam nodded.
"All right, we'll go after it first thing."
Haley spoke to Dean and Zach; all three had already been patched up.
"So I don't know how to thank you," Haley said.
Dean smirked lasciviously while Zach's was more genuine. Haley smiled despite herself and questioned, "Must you cheapen the moment?"
"Yeah," Dean replied as Zach chuckled.
A paramedic came up to Haley and asked, "You riding with your brother?"
"Yeah," Haley answered.
The paramedic headed back to the ambulance. Haley turned to Ben. "Let's go."
Sam and Ben nodded to each other. Haley kissed Dean on the cheek and waved to Zach before saying, "I hope you find your father."
Haley and Ben headed for the ambulance and the former said, "Thanks, Sam."
Haley and Ben climbed in the ambulance with Tommy, who was shirtless and bandaged.
Sam sat on the Impala's hood with Dean and Zach.
"Close her up," paramedic two said.
A third paramedic closed the ambulance doors.
"Man, I hate camping," Dean admitted.
"Me too," Sam and Zach agreed.
The ambulance drove away, sirens on.
"Sam, Zach, you know we're gonna find Dad, right?" Dean said.
"Yeah, I know," Sam replied. "But in the meantime? I'm driving."
Dean tossed Sam the keys.
Sam, Zach and Dean got in the car, slamming the doors almost in sync.
The car started and drove off.
EXT. ROAD – DAY
The Impala drove along.