Chapter Text
48 Hours Later
“Damnit!” Sam lightly banged his hand that was holding the piece of newspaper he was squinting at for the past few minutes, hoping against anything that this sealed the pattern for him.
And yet again, it hadn’t.
Sam couldn’t remember the last time he was so befuddled with the store of knowledge and information in front of him. Not his schoolwork and certainly not hunting cases. He usually had a pretty good knack of picking up information and evaluating it against everything he knew which was quite a lot and then finally deducing the monster and its pattern.
The good news was that there was definitely something in those woods. He hadn’t been able to stop the arrogant smirk on his face as he saw his father realise the same when he had visited the mortuary yesterday afternoon and seen the bodies for himself.
Heart cleanly ripped out for one, head smashed in so bad you couldn’t make out anything for the other and guts lying strewn around the outside for the last one. Those were just the three bodies discovered in the last couple of weeks and no matter how bad a fall you had in the mountains, nothing did that kind of damage.
This was something more sinister.
But the bad news was, they didn’t know what. Sam had been researching lore, a few ancient books he had gotten from Bobby the last time and he couldn’t find anything that matched the patterns. They didn’t know much about the victims from previous years, with a small town like that there was almost no accountability held for the some of the nameless hikers passing through.
But the more bad news was, there was a definite hike in the bodies this season than any of the last years. Sam didn’t have an answer for that either. He just knew they were running out of time.
It wasn’t a werewolf because the lunar cycle wasn’t even close enough to match the victims. Neither a Wendigo who loved to snack and could create that kind of bodily damage but there was so much clean technique involved the wounds that John’s expert eyes could see, it didn’t match for a more wilder monster. It pointed towards something smarter, more lethal.
But they didn’t know squat.
Sam jerked out of his concentration as he felt his phone vibrate in his jeans. He flipped the phone with one hand, his other still pulling out more papers from the stack. He had lost track of how long he had been holed up in this library from the other town. He probably needed some food to keep going.
“Hello?”
“Sam.” Dad’s grim voice came through the line. Sam immediately snapped to attention as he heard the tone in it. Something was wrong. “There’s been another one.”
Sam’s hand tightened on the phone as despair ran through him, he was already too late. “Who was it? Was it a young woman?” he whispered, straining his ears to hear anything. Or hopefully nothing.
“No.” John sighed. “It was an older man. The two women you saw in our town, you think they will be heading in?”
“I don’t know.” Sam pressed his thumb in his eyes, feeling a headache bloom behind them. “Surely the cops will try to stop the hikers after this one? There’s something different about this season, Dad. This is already the fourth death in just over a month! Whatever is killing these people, its like..its getting stronger and more ruthless.”
John sighed again on the other end. Considering that the two of them were at each other’s throat regarding this particular hunt, his Dad had been quite calm since his visit to the morgue and finally knowing that his son was right. Sam hadn’t gotten his chance at the ‘I told you so’ yet but he couldn’t even think about it right now. They had to work together to find and kill this thing first.
God, he missed Dean.
“How did he die?” Sam asked, already hating to hear what he will.
There was a bit of a pause. “Severed head.” John said quietly.
Sam resisted the urge to gag, he didn’t want food anymore. “Was he fished out of the ravine too?”
“Yeah. They are still trying to…find the rest of the body.”
“Damnit.” Sam slumped in his chair. “The only common thread between the victims is them being pushed in the ravine, dismembered in some way or the other. It doesn’t point to any specific thing, who knows there might be more victims than what washed up…”
“I have been trying to find missing person’s cases, there’s a few but they don’t necessarily track to the forests. I might have a lead on a witness who was camped overnight during the death of one of the earlier victims. See if he heard or saw anything.”
Sam breathed out. That was a start. “We need to know what exactly is happening in those woods, Dad. Either someone tells us…or we see it for ourselves.” He swallowed hard.
There were a few seconds of silence on the other end. “We find what it is first before we go in completely blind.” John said firmly. “I’ll talk to you later. Stay put in the library until I come and get you.” With that, he hung up.
Sam slammed the phone shut with a huff and leaned back in his chair. His mind went back to the shop he had seen driving in with his Dad earlier that morning. If there were any answers to be found, it could be there. For once, he couldn’t just stay put in the library where he could easily lose himself for hours.
He had to find a different way.
Sam heard the bell jingle above the door as he entered the shop. It was just a few minutes away from the library, just because the town was so small everything wasn’t too far away from each other. Except the damn forest. That was a good drive away.
And this was the only town closest to it. So people have to had travelled through here for gearing up for the longer hikes or overnight stays in the mountains. Which brought him to this shop – ‘Kent’s Mountain Trails – Sports & Travel Gear’. It wasn’t huge or impressive by any shot but it looked like it had all the basic things one might need for a hiking trip. And the existence of this shop he was sure depended on those hikers wanting to go in those woods.
There were 2 people milling about when he entered and he could see a huge man standing behind the counter, probably the owner of the shop. He slowly walked around, pretending to be interested in some backpacks and the shoes lining the back of the store. He waited patiently as he saw the two people go towards the check-out counter.
Just as he thought, the big guy came lumbering over after a few minutes to where he stood, scratching his head looking at some shoes.
“Anything I can help you with?”
Sam turned to look at him. He was tall and broad, but his face looked so sweet and towards the older side. If he had to guess, this man must have been a town resident all his life, maintaining this shop. They always knew everything that went on around. “Umm, I was just looking at getting some new hiking boots. I always stretch mine out every few months.” He laughed lightly. “I want to be able to have a good pair for the upcoming hike.”
A quick dark look passed the man’s face before he was giving a wide smile. “Sure sure. We can find something that you can make work for a good year, hiking and all. Just on that, where are you going for the hike?” the curiosity was not well masked in his tone.
Sam gave an exciting smile. “The White Bane Forest trails just after this town, I have heard so much about them over the past few years! My cousins have been once or twice, I can’t wait to go this season! You must definitely know about them.”
He nodded quickly, trying to keep his smile up. “Yes of course. Most of the hikers who go there buy their gear from us first.” He nervously folded his hands together. “Uh..there’s been some trouble in those woods lately, you know?”
Sam tried to slow his heart beat down as he pretended to look surprised and blank. “What kind of trouble?”
“You know just some people who don’t know how to walk those trails right..” the man grumbled, rubbing his hands together. “Or don’t know how to respect the mountains” he softly continued.
Sam widened his eyes, that was new. “Respect the mountains?” he asked lightly.
The man stared intensely for a few minutes before he quickly cleared his throat and looked away. “You know what I mean, just you need the right technique, and you can’t be brash about it. Those mountains have been standing since the beginning of history and let me tell you boy…they are majestic. When I was just young fella, my nana used to tell me these old tales of the place up there…its beautiful and so much more than you could comprehend with just your gaze.”
Sam watched the look in his eyes drift, presumably to all the myths and stories he had heard or the sights he had seen.
Myths
The thought sent a quiet shockwave through his body. He had been so busy looking at the victims and their histories to find a common link- he hadn’t looked much further into the actual place of the deaths. It was all about the mountain and the forest it held and the ravine that flowed through it. Having just heard the man in front of him talking reverently about the place, there was bound to be some mythical backdrop to the woods from centuries ago. If he started to dig in it, he was bound to find something. He didn’t know how it would lead to the crude deaths, but it would be a start.
“You okay, boy?”
Sam pulled himself out of his thoughts, berating himself to lose focus like that. “Sorry, yeah.” He quickly smiled. “I was just thinking about what you were saying. I am sure those mountains have a rich history, some myths and fantasies?”
The man cleared his throat, looking more aware now than when he was talking. “Yeah.” He said shortly. “Ain’t nothing up there but young people like you wanting adventure and taking pictures and all that crap, I don’t understand.”
Sam bit his lip. “I am nothing like them. I feel humbled when I am climbing these mountains.” He shrugged casually. “You know how they say- you don’t conquer a mountain; she just lets you crawl up her side if you are lucky.”
The man nodded slowly. “You know it.” He spoke. “There’s some strong legends about the forest, not everyone is interested or bothered to even know about them. But make no excuse, they are always there. And they will always protect the place and everything in it.”
Sam felt his nerves singing as he took in the information and he wanted to know so much more. But the bell jingled again and the man quickly looked away. There was a young group of women coming through, filling the empty shop with chatter and giggles.
Damn it, Sam thought, watching the man about to step away. “Listen son, I’ll leave you to it. And I wish you the best for your travels.” The man came a bit closer, his tone almost a whisper. “You seem like a good lad, that’s why I am telling you this. Be careful up there. Respect and be humbled. And you will be just fine.” With that, he walked away.
Sam let out a huge breath he wasn’t aware he was holding on to. He finally felt the first stirrings of excitement he usually felt when he was researching for a hunt. He might have something to work on now.
But at the same time, he felt the dark truth of the situation glaring at him. They were still running out of time. And he still didn’t know how to stop the deaths.
If they even could be stopped.
“Sam!” John’s voice bellowed over to him as Sam tried to quicken his pace. “Where the hell have you been? I told you to stay in the library.”
John was huffing, his forehead glistening even in the sharp frigid air around them. He was in one of his Fed suits, though his overgrown hair on his face and head didn’t make him look too authentic. Sam felt for him for a second, the man had been on back to back hunts for a stretch now.
“Sorry, Dad.” Sam started as he came to a stop in front of him. If he had been here just a few minutes earlier, he would have beaten his Dad back to the library. “I found something.”
John narrowed his eyes. “From the library?”
“No, uh I went to this sports and hiking shop in town.” Sam held up his hands as he watched his Dad’s eyes widen in anger. “I tried looking at everything here, I just couldn’t find anything. Now I know what I need to look for, the owner of the shop told me a few things.”
“What things?”
“I need to look into myths of the mountain- especially the Bane Forest. The way he was talking…there’s definitely some history there.”
“How is that connected to the deaths?”
“I don’t know yet.” Sam sighed. “We have come across haunted places before, you know? Places that are just steeped in religion or history. If this is something similar-“
“You are saying the forest itself is brutally ripping human bodies apart and throwing them into the ravine?” John shook his head. “We have heard and seen crazier stuff, Sam. Something else is at play here.”
“I don’t know the whole story yet.” Sam said quickly. “I just need to find out about these myths, maybe try to find a common link in the victims then. If we are lucky, it could be just a purification spell at a centre point of the forest. Or a bigger ritual- remember the one you did at that asylum place in Portland?”
John rubbed at his eyes. “That place was full of angry resentful spirits. We don’t know if there are any spirits here. The cleansing won’t work on a massive stretch of land like up in the mountains.”
“I need to talk to Bobby. Or Pastor Jim. He’ll know something-“
“Hold on, Sam.” Dad put his hand up. “You don’t even know for sure that’s what it is. Do your research first. I’ll help you.”
Sam looked up at his Dad’s face and saw there was something in his expression before he schooled it. “What is it, Dad?”
“We just need to find this thing as soon as possible.” John took a breath. “The police are not looking into it, it’s all accidental death for anyone who cares to even ask about this. Now a few people might stay off the mountain after hearing about the extent of the deaths. But the sense I am getting after coming to this town…people are still heading up. Lots of solo travellers in fact.”
Sam felt his heart sink. “Anyone could be the next victim, anytime.”
“I think..” John cleared his throat. “I might have to check the place out, get some more clues. I need to check EMF-“
“You can’t be thinking about going up there by yourself.” Sam clenched his fists.
“We can research as much as we want right now, but we need some hard clues. A way to stop these killings as soon as possible.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Sam burst. “You weren’t even convinced there was anything here in the first place until yesterday!”
“What do you want me to say, Sam?” John gritted his teeth. “I believe you now, don’t I?”
“You can’t keep me out of this then!” Sam said firmly. “I’ll come with you.”
John balked. “Sam-“
“You can’t just go up there without back-up. Especially not knowing what you are going up against.” Sam argued. “I just need a few hours now to research as much as I can about these myths and if I am right, we might just have a way to ID this thing and find a way to kill it.”
“I need to get up there before it gets completely dark. I don’t feel confident with camping out there in the night.” John pressed on.
“One hour, Dad.” Sam pleaded. “And a little extra to pick up any items we might be missing. But if we get it right? We can kill this thing tonight.” Sam might have been lying a tiny bit but there was no way he was letting his Dad go alone without him.
John glared at him for a few seconds. “You start researching and I’ll think about it.”
“I’ll just follow you up if you leave me behind.” Sam threatened.
“Then I’ll knock you out and lock you in the car.”
“Just try it, old man.” Sam huffed, as he turned away to go inside the library. He had to make the next hour work for him. Cause there wasn’t any other choice.
Dean looked down at his phone for the hundredth time and sighed loudly.
“You know you can press the buttons yourselves and bring the phone to your ear and that should also work.”
Dean rolled his eyes as he watched Bobby come down the steps towards him. Their relationship had changed over to what it had been when they had first met when he was just a kid. Now countless summer trips to Sioux Falls along with all the monsters they had hunted together; Dean felt a deeper connection to Bobby than he felt for anyone apart from his family.
Not that they ever told each other that. Also didn’t stop Bobby from being a complete ass to him.
“Haha.” Dean said blankly, looking down at his phone again. “You know how Dad gets when he is into a hunt. And it’s definitely looking like one from what he said last night.” Dean hadn’t been able to stop the slow terror gripping his heart when his Dad had told him the state of the bodies and that they were looking at some supernatural strength there. He had hoped that there had been nothing to find or kill, even though that would make Sam lose whatever battle he was in with their father this time.
He had hoped they would just start driving and be here with him.
“Your brother hasn’t called you yet either?” Bobby asked, settling himself down on the chair outside with a grunt. Their own walk in the woods earlier had done a number on his back. They had walked for so long without a single trace of the Wendigo.
Dean shook his head. “Nah. I texted him like two hours ago. Knowing him, he has his head buried deep in a mountain of books.” He felt a pang in his heart, not knowing if his brother had eaten well in the middle of his intense research. It was usually Dean who shoved a plate in front of him or else he would never think about it until he dropped.
On cue, he heard the phone ring loudly. But not his.
It was Bobby’s home phone.
“Want to bet who it is?” Bobby grumbled as he painstakingly got up and started to make his way inside.
“Should have just called on my cell phone.” Dean muttered but quickly followed Bobby inside. He wanted to pick it up and hear either of their voices but refrained himself and waited as Bobby picked up.
“John.” He grumbled in the same voice he always used with his father. Dean strained to hear but could only catch a slight murmur. He flicked his phone open to see if his brother had texted yet.
Nothing. With a slight unease in his stomach, he inched forward watching Bobby take in whatever his father was asking.
“We didn’t have much luck with the Wendigo today, unfortunately. How about you? Find anything?” Bobby gestured Dean closer, so he could listen in as much as he could. Bobby knew how on the edge he was already.
“Actually we have some idea now, that’s why I am calling you.” Dean heard his father’s voice come through in a static. Jesus, Bobby needed a better phone. “It looks like a nature spirit or something.”
That didn’t sound too bad, Dean thought and looked at Bobby scrunching his face. “Aren’t they supposed to be the good kind?” he asked.
“Uncle Bobby, It’s Sam.” His brother’s voice came over the line and Dean felt a smile tug at his lips. He would give his brother hell later for ignoring him but for now he would just listen to him geek out.
“Hi Sam.” Bobby’s voice also had that soft edge to it whenever he talked with him. “What have you found this time?”
“Would you believe it-it’s a nature spirit that’s the source of the forest, the mountain, and the ravine too. I can’t wrap my head around it but the legends around this-mostly fiction that’s come out of it has been around the same deity for centuries. It said that one of the kings had travelled through these lands looking for a deity he could worship because he had everything in his life except faith. And he found her, and he knew right away that he found the one. He left everything behind and gave his life to the mountains and the land around it.”
“Are you talking about a Goddess here?” Bobby asked, the doubt clear in his voice. “I know all legends are true but…”
“It doesn’t match what we have seen so far.” Sam said, his voice sounding low. “I know it is connected to her somehow.”
“Bobby.” John cut in, heavily. “Even if the whole part about the nature goddess is true and even if she is the one doing the killings-perhaps because she is the protector of the lands. We still have to stop her. And soon, we are running out of time. We think a purification spell is our best chance.”
Dean rubbed his palm roughly down his mouth. He couldn’t completely take in what he was hearing, but it sounded serious enough. And he wasn’t even there.
“To lay down a spell like that for a big expanse of land.” Bobby sighed. “You are going to need some supplies. And not to mention some backup.”
Dean was going to say something, he had to.
“We don’t have much time, Bobby.” John said firmly. “We need to get up there tonight and figure out how to nail down some more information on how these killings are happening and a way to stop them.”
Bobby opened his mouth to say something before Dean had snatched the phone away from him. He couldn’t stay silent anymore.
“Dad, it’s me.” He said quickly. He saw Bobby shake his head and quickly walk away towards his library.
“Dean.” John didn’t sound very surprised.
“Are you talking about going into the forest tonight?” Dean asked, his heart pounding away in his chest. “Why are you rushing into this when you haven’t found out exactly what it is?”
He could hear some shuffling in the background. “There was another death last night, Dean.” John said heavily. “And there’s only so much we can do from here; I need to have a look at the scene. And if this purification spell works, we’ll maybe get some more time on our hands.”
“I am coming there now.” Dean said, tightening his hand on the phone. “I can be there in a few hours, and we can go in together.”
He could just feel his Dad shaking his head on the other side. “We are leaving as soon as possible; you can’t make it on time.”
“Then wait for me! Come on, Dad. You promised.” Dean bit out. “And you are taking Sam with you too?” He didn’t know what he feared more. His Dad going alone or taking Sam with him.
A bit of shuffling again. “Hey Dean.” His brother’s voice came over the line.
“Oh, now you answer me?” Dean said harshly. He knew he shouldn’t throw his anger born out of fear at his younger sibling, but he couldn’t help it.
“Sorry Dean.” Sam didn’t seem to take the bait. “I was so busy trying to research this thing, we only about found some solid information now.”
“But it’s still not enough, is it?” Dean argued. “You know next to nothing about this thing, and you want to go up against it?”
“It’s not the way I want it.” Sam said, his tone troubled. “But people are dying, Dean. Those two women I overhead…they are going to be there too. And it looks like this deity is just picking up people without any care. You drop a candy wrapper and that could set her off. There is something missing I haven’t put my finger on. The only way is to go and see for ourselves.”
“What’s going to happen when you show up with a fucking gun on her land?” Dean said, disbelievingly. He forgot again how similar his dad and Sam was. “Don’t think that’s going to set her off and throw you off the cliffs?”
“We’ll have the purification spell.” Sam said quietly. “We did think about it, you know?”
“That’s enough then, isn’t it? “Dean said mockingly. “Of course, the two of you have thought about everything, why worry?”
“Enough Dean.” John’ voice boomed over the phone. “Watch it. I know its risky tonight and if things were different, I wouldn’t be signing off on it. But that’s the way it is now, and me and Sam are going to be just fine. We’ll update you when we are back- there might not be cell reception once we reach there.”
Dean rubbed his eyes hard and felt Bobby besides him. He was holding a heavy brown book in his arms. “I think Bobby’s got some tricks up his sleeve for getting rid of your goddess.” Dean said shortly. And to hopefully protect you.
“Yeah.” John said. There was a slight pause. “Stay put, Dean. We’ll be just fine. I won’t put him in any danger I can’t work out of myself.”
Dean nodded jerkily. “Yes sir.”
“Okay, now let Bobby talk. We are pressed on time.”
Sam had gotten so used to the Impala with his brother driving that he felt so out of place in his dad’s huge truck right now.
They had been driving for two hours now, the horizon bright in front of them as the sun had started to set, showing signs of the encroaching darkness not far behind. Compared to Dean’s loud off-key singing, turning up the radio high and tapping his fingers on the wheel, his dad was a complete contrast. He sat still, face scrunched up in tight lines that seemed forever etched now and only the occasional grunt when Sam tried to say something.
Tried to ask what their plan was to go up against what essentially was a nature goddess. How were you supposed to kill one? Were you even supposed to kill one?
Sam glanced out the window and stared, his heart skipping a beat. He could see the mountain rising towards the darkening sky, it wasn’t huge or tall in comparison to the others he had seen or even climbed in recent years. But the appearance of it was unusual and the lone form of it looked imposing in its surroundings. Sam peeked through the passing blur of trees to spy the canopy of tall trees halfway down the mountain. It seemed to spread out for miles as far as he could see on his side. From the map he had seen and the many images, Sam knew the woodlands stretched on all sides of the lone mountain and the areas it covered was massive.
“We are here.” Sam broke the hushed silence of the car. Tension was thick in the air, he could feel it emanating from his father.
John quickly flicked his gaze over to the views before he was focusing on the road again. “Here’s the plan.”
Sam looked at him as he continued in his usual firm military voice. “You’ll carry the backpack with all the items we need for the purification ritual. Bobby said our best bet is to carry it out at the site of the attacks, which is at the cliff point we marked on the map earlier. It’s a 3-hour hike up, but we do it straight up from a shorter route, which should cut an hour down. We don’t want to be seen by the travellers who are coming back for the day or the few camping overnight.”
“Isn’t there any way we could warm the ones staying the night?” Sam asked, biting his lip.
John shook his head. “We can’t tell them the truth obviously.” He grunted. “The good thing is that the camping site is almost an hour away from the cliff point at the base of the ravine. No one should be hiking that path in the darkness now.”
His dad didn’t sound terribly convinced but it was all they had for now.
“You know how to lay out the purification spell?” John asked him sharply. “Down to every tiny details. The spell is the most important part, Sam.”
Sam bristled. “Yes sir.”
“We won’t be getting any cell reception at the point. So, you better have everything ready to lay out. We can’t call Bobby in the last minute if we need anything.”
“I know!” Sam said, voice raising. “I understand the ritual and I’ll do it right.” He had to do it right. That was the one and only option they had.
“I’ll watch your back and give you as much as time as I can.” John kept his voice steady still.
Sam nodded jerkily. He could see the mountain getting closer now. “What if the spell doesn’t work? The site of the attacks might not be the right location for it. Or the spell might not be right for this kind of entity.”
“Sam.” John cut in firmly. “You cannot crowd your head with what if’s just before you go on a hunt.”
“I am just trying to plan out all scenarios.” Sam said, narrowing his eyes. “You have to agree that we are going in half handed.”
“There’s been plenty of times where we have had to go in without many choices.” John said, his hands tightening on the wheel. “And there’s going to be plenty more. You have to keep your head on straight and do what you are supposed to do.”
Sam huffed and looked away from him. His father would just never understand where he came from.
“Sam, do you understand what I am saying?” John’s tone was hard.
“Yes.” Sam muttered.
“I didn’t hear that.”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. We are here. Get yourself ready, we have a tough walk ahead.”
Sam took a breath and let it out slowly, calming the errant thoughts in his head. His dad was right in one way, he couldn’t let himself slip away on all the things that could go wrong tonight. There were just too many things. His main priority was to make sure to watch his dad’s back and put an end to whatever was doing the killings up there.
He pulled out his phone from his pocket, his worried face reflecting back from the screen. His fingers itched to click one button that would lead him to his brother. As much as he hated the fact that he was so far away from him tonight, perhaps he could take satisfaction in the knowledge that Dean was going to safe from whatever they were walking in.
Sam had gotten so used to sitting in the Impala with his brother driving besides him. He had also gotten so used to him being the steady protector at his side, Sam didn’t know what to do with the fear growing inside of him to not have that tonight.
Sam crushed the urge that screamed at him that he couldn’t do this without Dean. He had to.
He just had to.
Dean had his bag roughly shoved in the back of the Impala for the second time in two days and no apologies to his baby was going to be enough at this point.
But he didn’t have a choice.
“I thought you would already be on the road.” Bobby came out the door, the hallway light spilling around him. There was enough light left in the day still but once it would all be shrouded in darkness soon, he knew it.
His fingers itched to hold the steering wheel. Instead, he clenched his fists and looked up at Bobby. “I don’t want to leave you alone for the hunt, you know that.” He said roughly.
“Don’t be an idjit.” Bobby grumbled. “I can call someone. I do know other people apart from the Winchesters, ya know?”
“Just that you don’t like anyone else.” Dean felt his lips quirk up. “Just us.”
“Meaning just your brother. I was hoping to get the little geek.” Bobby walked down the steps slowly. “Not the two grouchy men that seem to follow him everywhere.”
Dean looked away, he wasn’t there with the little geek now. “I am hurt, old man.” He snipped. Then softly, “I am sorry, Bobby. I need to be with them.”
“Don’t you say sorry for not abandoning your family, boy.”
“You are family, too.”
“Being away from Sam has clearly taken a toll on you, you sound sappy like him now.”
Dean shrugged, “He has an annoying way of rubbing off on you.” He cleared his throat. “Do you have any idea what they are walking in to?” he asked seriously.
Bobby sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. He suddenly looked very old. “I am not sure, Dean. It looks to be a nature deity of some sort, but they vary from place to place, and you couldn’t go up against the bigger ones. They are practically gods and you are not even supposed to be knowing them. If this one is to blame for all those violent deaths…there’s definitely something wrong with the place itself.”
Dean swallowed hard and looked down at his watch. 3 hours of drive and he would just reach to where they had been holed up in. The mountains were a further 2 hours drive. He would never be able to catch up them in time.
“They can look after themselves.” Bobby reminded him. “Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be there to support them. But…trust in your family, kid. Or else this gig just gets tougher than it already is.”
“I know.” Dean nodded quickly, swallowing the fear down. He didn’t have time for it. “I gotta get going.”
Bobby slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Look out for yourself. Your dad will rip me a new one if you end up getting lost in that forest. I’ll research some more and let you know what I find. Okay?”
“Got it.” Dean opened the driver’s side door. He looked at Bobby one last time. “Thanks.”
“Get out of here before I kick you out.”
Dean smiled and got in. He could feel the anticipation in his blood. He was going to be there for his family, that’s what he did.
He had made a promise to his brother that he would always watch out for him. And he wasn’t about to break that promise anytime soon. If ever.
“Come on, baby.” He patted the dash gently. “Let’s see if you can get me home as fast you can.”
The car rumbled under him as he pressed the pedal and that was all the answer he needed.