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"DAD, No!"
Joyce ran through the forest with her father's rifle in her hands as she followed closely behind as the Wendigo dragged her father across the ground. His screams were echoing through the thin air, followed by the Wendigo's snarls.
"Joyce, get out of here!" Her father screamed. The girl tried to aim as she ran, but it was too fast.
Joyce screamed as her father was thrown against a nearby tree, followed by the crunching of bones. She raised the rifle again, and she whistled.
The Wendigo turned to face her.
As she pulled the trigger, the Wendigo howled and darted towards the trees. As her father lay against the ground, she ran forward and kneeled down to him.
"Daddy, are you okay?"
"Joyce, get to the truck and get back to town. Do it! Now!"
She shook her head. "I won't leave you."
Joyce applied pressure to the wounds on her father's chest as much as she could. As a loud howl echoed through the woods, she gasped, turning her head.
"That gun ain't gonna kill it." He choked on his own blood. "And it will k—kill you."
"I can't leave you." Joyce cried.
Her father shoved her back against the ground, and she fell. "RUN!"
Joyce watched with wide eyes as the Wendigo swooped down and struck her father, killing him right before her eyes.
"NO!"
Staggering to her feet, Joyce ran back the way she came from. Her lungs burned and her chest ached as she ran, practically feeling the monster as it chased her down.
Tripping over a deep root, Joyce flew forward and slammed hard into the ground. As she lifted her head, she stared up at the Wendigo as the monster moved over her.
"SCREW YOU!" She screamed loudly. As she reached for the gun, the Wendigo raised its large hand, and swiped.
Joyce gasped, shooting upright from her spot in the backseat of the Impala; from what she realized, her head had fallen onto Sam's shoulder. She was coated with a thin layer of cold sweat, and her eyes were wide as she tried to catch her breath. Sam and Dean both looked at her, and Sam reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Joyce, hey, are you all right?" Sam asked, staring at her in concern. Dean glanced back at her through his mirror, waiting for a response.
She signed to Sam as she sank back in the seat beside him. "I'm okay."
Joyce looked over at him as he cleared his throat. As he lifted his hands, he signed. "Another nightmare?"
She nodded softly.
Kate was still fast asleep in the front seat beside Dean. She had passed out sometime before she did.
She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep. The past few days, she had been afraid to sleep.
Joyce didn't realize until then how close she was to Sam. Their arms and thighs were touching.
He was warm; and it calmed her down just thinking about it. As she attempted to slide across the seat, she signed.
"Sorry."
Sam smiled, shaking his head. "Don't be sorry. It felt nice, with this rain."
Joyce felt her face warm. She was thankful that it was too dark for her to see her reddened cheeks.
"Wanna talk about your nightmare?"
Joyce swallowed. Of course, Joyce trusted Sam. It wasn't about the trust. To her, it was an embarrassment. Re-living her past in the present, to be haunted by it still to this day. It was all too much.
"Maybe later?"
Dean looked back to the road. "Hey, you two in the back; keep your hands to yourselves. I see them movin'."
Sam scoffed at Dean's remark, and Joyce kicked the back of the seat.
Dean reached over and nudged Kate's arm. "Hey."
The blonde stirred awake and looked at the road.
"How we doin'?"
"We're getting close." Kate responded.
"What is this place?"
"Ever since Tasha and I were little, we've been coming up to this cabin with our parents." She answered.
"Now, why do you think Tasha will even be here?" Sam asked her.
"When she became a wolf, we knew it was gonna be hard, so we kind of came up with this escape plan in case things ever got bad."
"So, it's a rendezvous spot?"
"Pretty much."
Kate pointed. "Just down that road."
Dean shut off the headlights and eased on the gas as he turned and drove down the private road. Joyce didn't know what to expect— how would Kate react.
Dean pulled to a stop and the group examined the cabin; the lights were on.
"Now what?" Dean asked Kate.
Joyce felt a shot of guilt within her stomach.
"Maybe I should go in first, explain all this?"
"Sounds good."
As Kate reached for her door, Dean quickly pulled her hand back and smacked his handcuffs on her before cuffing her to the wheel.
"What are you doing?"
She stared up at Dean as he looked at her.
"You son of a bitch! There is no cure, is there? I trusted you. It's not her fault. It's mine."
"She killed people."
"Because I did this to her, okay? So if you want your pound of flesh, take me."
"We'll deal with you later." He told her.
"But she can be saved!" Kate shouted.
"No. Tasha's in too deep. You don't ever come back from that. Ever."
The silence that lingered was deafening. Joyce felt a shred of sympathy for the girl. She couldn't imagine if she had a sibling, being in that type of situation. She, too, would do anything to save them.
Dean opened his car door. "Come on, Sammy, Joyce."
The three slid out of the Impala as Kate screamed in protest and begged for them to stop. Joyce tried to block out the sound as she pulled her gun from her waistband and turned off the safety, following the two towards the Cabin. Joyce climbed the porch stairs and opened the front door, the three stepping into the light. Sam discarded his flashlight as they looked around.
Joyce nudged Dean's arm and motioned for him to move to the kitchen. As he did so, Joyce walked down the small hallway and towards a closed door.
Joyce reached for the handle, something hard and cold pressed to the base of her neck, just below her jaw. The woman froze, listening to them turn the safety off.
"Step back." He warned. Joyce immediately surrendered her gun, and the man yanked her arms back. Joyce grunted as he pulled her back down the hallway, where she watched Dean get dragged out of the kitchen. He looked to her quickly, clenching his jaw.
"You all right?"
She nodded. But as she did so, the man quickly leaned his face towards hers, and she winced. "You won't be."
Dean gritted his teeth. "Hey!"
He tightened his arms around Dean before they pulled them back towards the living-room. They walked towards an open door, and Joyce noticed Sam.
Dean piped in. "Sam."
Sam clenched his jaw as he stared at the two. Sam pointed the gun at the first man, who pulled Dean farther into the room.
"Drop the gun, or the dreamboats get their minds blown."
"Don't do it Sam." Dean warned. Joyce jumped as the man slammed the gun into the back of Dean's head, causing him to fall to the ground with a grunt. Joyce squirmed in the man's hold, but he pressed the gun deeper into her neck.
"Well, Sammy?"
Angrily, Sam clicked it off and dropped the gun.
"Tasha!"
Joyce watched as a third man dragged Kate into the room. Breathlessly, she stared at her sister.
"What did— who are these people?"
"Brandon, Travis, Shayne. I turned them. They're our new family."
Joyce stomped her foot on the man's and mouthed the word at Tasha. "Psycho."
Sam shouted as he slammed his elbow into Joyce's face, and the woman fell to the floor. Blood oozed from her nostrils as she attempted to sit up.
"Don't do it, Sam." Tasha warned as he moved forward. Sam stared at her angrily, his eyes moving to Joyce's limp figure.
"Yeah, you're a regular psycho Brady Bunch."
Joyce stared up at the man as he snarled and bared his teeth at Dean.
"Hey!" Sam warned. Tasha reached out and gripped Sam's neck, shoving him forward and pinning him to the bed. Joyce watched in horror as she choked him, her heart pounding in her chest.
"You always had crappy taste in guys."
"Tasha, we can talk about this."
She released Sam and turned around to her sister.
"They were gonna kill me. And now you're protecting them?"
"No! I'm protecting you."
"Yeah, I'm good, thanks. So here's how it's gonna be. You can walk away or you can join my pack."
"I'm not walking away." Kate told her, yanking from their grasp.
"Then prove you got what it takes." Tasha told her, glancing over to Sam. "Eat his heart out."
Joyce felt her entire body turn numb as Kate looked directly at Sam. She wanted to scream and tear through them both.
"Kate." Sam said softly. "You don't have to do this."
"No one's talking to you, Paul Bunyan."
She turned back to Kate. "So?"
Kate shook her head. "No."
Tasha pursed her lips. "Take them. Have some fun. Oh, and I want a heart to-go. Put it in a doggie bag."
Joyce huffed as the man grabbed the back of her jacket and pulled her up from the floor. As they pushed her and the boys out of the room, she accidentally stumbled right into Sam.
"On your knees!"
"Wow, well, I'm awfully flatt—"
The man punched Dean in the face, and the other punched Sam in the stomach. Joyce gritted her teeth as she tried to attack the third man, but he grabbed ahold of her wrist and bent her arm. Joyce yelped, falling to her knees. He released her arm and punched her.
Dean lifted his head. "You okay?"
"I've been better," Sam groaned. "These guys, huh? Can you believe them?"
"Yeah, couple of minor leaguers."
The man leaned forward. "You're dead. You don't get to talk. In fact—"
Sam hurried forward and buried his knife into the werewolf's chest. Dean quickly grabbed his shoulder and held him in place, and Joyce wound her arms around his legs as they impaled the last man.
"Well, welcome to the majors, boys."
Sam moved forward and grabbed Joyce's hand before pulling her onto her feet. As she hugged her arm to her chest, he noticed the blood seeping through the bandage.
Joyce shook her head at the look of his concern. "Don't worry about me."
She limped towards the hallway and Sam watched her. All because he did, in fact, worry about her.