Title: 3.) Episode 1.03: "Savagery"
Description: (Original airdate: June 27th, 2008)
Sam451823 - December 5, 2008 02:15 AM (GMT)
“Josh, face it! We’re lost!” Sara said, plopping down on a rock on the trail around the Grand Canyon. She gazed up at the stars twinkling in the sky, amazed at how they resembled tiny diamonds. The moon lit up the darkened night, enough brightness to see the rocky and dusty trail they were on. Sara was very upset that they were lost, in the middle of the night, unfamiliar territory surrounding them. But she had to admit. It was beautiful out here.
“We aren’t lost,” Josh said confidently. “We just need to find our way back to the main trail and away from this one that we’re on. It’s obvious that it hasn’t been used in a while.”
“We should’ve just paid the extra eighty bucks for the guided tour,” Sara said, shivering, trying to shake off the cold night air. She was dressed in hiking shorts and boots. They were supposed to be set up at camp with the rest of their tour group, relaxing by a nice cozy fire, roasting marshmallows and drinking ice cold water. Josh, however, wanted to go on a tour of the Canyon with nothing but the five dollar map he bought at the beginning of the trail from the cart that sold odd trinkets and memorabilia. Sara knew it was a bad idea, but Josh said it would be alright, an adventure for two, so she had agreed. Now she was regretting it.
Josh adjusted the map once again, eyeing it with the flashlight he had sticking out of his mouth. “This thing is backwards. Nothing on it makes sense.” He looked up at Sara. Realizing she was shivering, he moved to sit next to her, hugging her close and kissing the top of her head. “Some honeymoon, huh?” He asked, chuckling. “I’m sorry honey. This is entirely my fault.” He unhooked the canteen hanging on his belt loop, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Sara.
Sara smiled up at Josh and pecked his cheek with her lips. She took a long draw of water from the aluminum jug, and then handed it back to Josh. “Come on; let’s find our way out of here and to a nice hot meal.” Taking the map, she looked it over.
Falling rocks and crunching sounds emanated from behind Josh and Sara, both jumping at the unexpected sound. “Hello?” Josh called out. He stood quickly, thinking they had finally been found. Shining the flashlight into the night, he scanned the area for whoever made the sound. Finding nothing, he sat back down beside Sara. “Must have been an animal,” he said.
Sara looked behind them, squinting her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to see into the darkened region of the trail. Suddenly, a large shadow ran silently through her field of vision. Jumping up, she grabbed Josh by the arm.
“What?” He inquired, concerned. He attempted to see whatever had scared Sara. “Honey, it’s probably just a wild animal.”
“Let’s just go find the others. Fast, ok?”
Josh took the lead, scanning the area with his flashlight. A loud and very primal howl rang out all around them, scaring Josh so much that he dropped his flashlight. The impact broke the handle and spilled the batteries all over the ground. Sara stood. First, fear enclosed in her mind. Then, darkness eclipsed her line of vision. Josh screamed a horrific scream. “JOSH!!!” Sara yelled. She reached out for him, but he was no longer there.
Sara began to panic as she knelt to the ground. She felt the area around her for their knapsack. Josh always carried a small pistol with him. You weren’t allowed to take one with you into the Canyon, but Sara feared that something like this might happen and that they would need protection, so Josh kept up his knack for not going along with the rules and brought it. Sara found it.
“Josh?” Sara whispered this time. She looked up and found herself face to face with a pair of deep red eyes. She fired a shot off, but the thing was gone. The eyes had just vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
Sara heard a crunch behind her. Then she felt a stabbing pain. Her face dropped to see three claws sticking out through her stomach, blood rushing out hard and fast. That’s the last thing she saw. And then, she was dead.
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Opening Credits roll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_AqUE4ywfQ
Theme Song: “Bring Me to Life,” Evanescence
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Chapter One:
Engine rumbling, Sam drove the Impala up to the Grand Canyon National Park tourist information building. Pulling himself out of the driver’s seat, he stretched his long legs and hammered the kinks out of them by bouncing in place. “Man, that driving gets to you after a while.”
“Now Sam, both Travis and I offered to drive. You just wouldn’t here of it,” Ruby said.
Sam rolled his eyes. Ruby knew full well that Sam didn’t let anybody drive the Impala, but himself. Ruby behind the wheel of a car was just asking for trouble. Besides, he remembered how Dean felt about Ruby, and the thought of her having any control over Dean’s most prized possession just scared the living crap out of him.
“So you think playing the tourist gig will get us in far enough that we’ll be able to figure out what happened to that poor couple last week,” Travis asked, grabbing his knapsack from the backseat.
“Yeah, I think so. We just go on the same tour the Durskels did and we should be able to blend in well enough to figure out what happened to them,” Sam said from the boot of the car, looking over all the pictures and police reports one more time.
It was total carnage at the scene. The report said that what is believed to be a savage, wild animal found Mr. and Mrs. Josh Durskel alone and lost on a path up by Phantom Creek, ripped Mr. Durskel to shreds, removing his heart in the process, and stabbed Mrs. Durskel from the back to the front with three of its claws and the front of her neck had been chewed off.
“Phantom Creek?” Travis asked.
“Yeah, named by the Native Americans, they used the area for pit houses and a ceremonial kiva’s dating from since about 1050 AD. It’s one of the most popular tourist attractions from the Grand Canyon, and one of the hardest to get to.” Sam looked up, “this should be fun,” he said with sarcasm dripping in his voice.
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The trio walked into the GCNP building and was greeted by a cheerful elderly woman, wearing a brown park service uniform. “Welcome to the Grand Canyon. How may I help you?”
“We were considering taking one of your weekend tours out in the Canyon,” Sam said.
“Perfect. Just follow me,” the lady said as she guided them to one of the ticket booths. “My name is Mildred Carlson and I can help you with just about anything when it comes to your vacation out to that wonderful place. We have a variety of packages to choose from.” Mildred sat at the chair behind the small desk that held several stacks of pamphlets and brochures. She nodded towards a series of chairs, opposite her chair, offering Sam, Ruby, and Travis a place to sit. Ruby picked up one of the brochures and started skimming through it. “We have several romance packages if you’re interested sweetie,” Mildred said to Ruby, smiling with a twinkle in her eye.
Ruby crinkled her nose, confusion on her face. Mildred nodded toward the brochure she had in her hand. When Ruby looked down at it, she realized she had inadvertently picked up a Honeymoon and Romantic Getaway brochure. Also seeing that Mildred had her left index finger nudging towards Sam, she instantly dropped the brochure back to her desk. “Look Grandma, we’re just here to take the tour. So button it up and sell us the tickets already.” Ruby then smirked at the lady before walking off to look around the building.
Sam’s eyes grew wide as saucers. He knew Ruby could be brash, but that was ridiculous. “I’m sorry about her. Sometimes her mouth gets in the way of her good sense,” Sam apologized to Mildred. Mildred beamed at Sam and continued with her sales pitch.
When they had finished buying their tickets, Sam led Travis over to Ruby. “Did you get those tickets, Sammy?” Ruby asked snappishly.
“Yeah, we got ‘em.”
A young man, decked out in hiker’s gear rounded the corner. “Are you three the Malone party?”
“Yes we are,” Sam said to the man. “I’m Harrison Malone. This is my wife,” he signaled to Ruby as she bit her tongue almost clean off, “Judy. And this is our friend Ralph Carter.”
“Hello,” Travis said.
“Hello,” the man said. “The name’s Guy Napier. I’ll be your tour guide for the next four days.” He noticed Ruby’s odd expression. “Are you okay, ma’am?”
Sam looked at her, “Is something wrong honey?”
Ruby gagged silently. She hated Sam for doing this, but she decided to play along. She’d chew his ass out later. “No, everything’s fine dear. I’ve just got a bit of an upset stomach.”
“Ok, then grab all of your gear and meet me out front by the jeep,” Guy instructed them.
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Sam, Ruby, Travis, and Guy were driving along a path in the jeep, their gear packed in the back. They stopped by a dead end series of outposts, mules tied to each of them. “This is the end of the road by jeep, the rest of the way, we go on foot,” Guy said, pointing to the mules.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Ruby said.
“Not really ma’am.” Guy said with a chuckle.
When Guy hopped out of the truck, Ruby glared at Sam. “Sam, you son of a bitch!” Ruby seethed in a whisper. “I could put your insides on your outside for this!”
“Look Ruby they only had two rooms left on the same tour that Durskels took until the next month, one being a solo room and one being a honeymoon suite. Travis and I are definitely not going on a honeymoon and who would you rather be married to Ruby. Me or Travis?”
“I hate you so much right now!” Ruby told him, though she knew he was right.
Guy was back now and he had loaded all their gear. “Let’s go,” he said, slapping the jeep’s side.
As the foursome headed out, Ruby stomped around her mule and stared it in its eyes. Crinkling her nose at the smell, she looked up at Sam and said, “Centuries on the front lines of a demonic war, fighting on both sides, and I’ve been reduced to pulling a jackass!” She whispered furiously.
Sam and Travis grinned at each other, taking pleasure in her distress.
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Chapter Two:
After several hours of hiking, the trio along with Guy decided to take a small break before continuing their trek by crossing Kaibab Bridge. After they passed over the four hundred fifty foot suspended structure, they would then travel into Phantom Ranch where they would camp for the night.
Sam had never seen anything like what he was experiencing on the tour. The landscape was breathtaking. A vast wilderness of rocks painted in different shades of orange and brown with small patches of grass shooting up in all directions. Green rivers with white-crested caps washed over stone, falling from mountainous terrain into splashing waterfalls. The sky was so blue that you would’ve thought an artist had painted it into the air. Well-traveled pathways lined the side of every crag and long-winding caves guided the way to the bottom of the gorge that had been created by time and erosion, to craft this majestic ravine.
Sam stood in awe, gazing over the scenery, wishing desperately that Dean was standing beside him. Dean had once suggested they take a trip to the Grand Canyon to try and escape all the craziness in their lives and just have an adventure that didn’t involve demons or the supernatural. “Dean would’ve loved it here,” Sam mumbled to himself.
“Huh?” Travis asked, coming to stand next to his friend.
“Nothing,” Sam said, turning to face Guy. “How much further is it to Phantom Ranch?”
“Not much further, another hour or so.” Guy hefted his gear over his shoulders and started over Kaibab; Sam, Travis, and Ruby closely behind.
“So, Guy,” Sam started, walking up next to their guide. “I heard that a couple was mauled by a wild animal up by Phantom Creek last week.”
“Yeah,” Guy said uncomfortably. He’d been instructed by his superiors to end any questions with giving out as little information about the murders as possible. “It was tragic, but you have nothing to worry about. That couple had gone off by themselves and got lost. It was a horrible accident, but occasionally it happens. That’s why we encourage all our visitors to take the tour if they want to come up here. That way they get to explore the encampment with the safety of a trained professional at their disposal.”
“Can it, Smokey. We aren’t interested in another sales pitch.” Ruby glanced over at Sam who was giving her a stern look. Nothing Ruby did should’ve surprised Sam by now and yet, it always did. “Didn’t you have a man completely vanish last month? And how about last year, the five people that went missing then? Only one was ever found. Seems like there are a lot of ‘occasional’ accidents around here,” Ruby said smugly.
Guy didn’t say a word in response. He just continued walking. The next hour was spent in silence, until they came up upon Phantom Ranch. The property was marked off by cottonwood trees lining the creek and their shadows shading the cobblestone porches of the cabins and the canteen house.
There were two corrals meant for the mules. A place where they could rest while waiting to help their passengers back through the Canyon.
Guy led them to where they would be spending the night. Two cabins, side by side. They were very similar to the cheap motels that Sam and his friends usually stayed in. However, the outside of the cabins were surrounded in a cobblestone finish with green rooftops. It was a beautiful setting.
The quartet of travelers walked up to the two cabins. Guy began to speak. “Okay, Mr. Carter and I will be staying in this cabin and Mr. Malone, you and your wife will be staying in that one.” He pointed at the adjacent building.
Travis and Guy went into their cabin as Sam and Ruby walked to theirs. When Sam unlocked the door to their cabin, they stood, staring at their accommodations in shocked confusion. Beyond the threshold, the walls were painted a tacky pink with red hearts, beaded heart curtains hung in the doorway to the bathroom affording little privacy, and slammed right up against the wall was the ugliest, red velvet heart-shaped bed imaginable with a gilded mirror hanging on the ceiling. A roasting fireplace sat directly beside it, burning and omitting a bright, orange glow. And the worst of it all… someone had set the stereo in the room to playing Barry Manilow.
Ruby stared, unable to move, but able to scream. “OH MY GOD!!!”
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It was nearing midnight when Sam, Ruby, and Travis left the campgrounds. They had just finished dinner with Guy, who was now nestled in his bed and living in dream land having been drugged and knocked out by his spiked food. Sam saw it as a sure fire way to not be caught during his hunt.
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“Do you even know where we’re supposed to be going, Sam?” Ruby asked.
“The police report said that the Durskels were found three miles south of Phantom Creek and two miles west of Phantom Ranch. That means that they were found about another half a mile down this path.”
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Sam turned on his flashlight and ran it around the area as they reached their destination. “Blood splatter over on the rock, that’s probably where the werewolf got Mr. Durskel.”
“What makes you think this is a werewolf?” Travis asked.
“Removal of the heart, lunar cycle’s right, all in all, basic werewolf behavior,” Sam replied.
“Yeah, but if it is a werewolf, why only take Mr. Durskel’s heart and not both of them. It ripped Mrs. Durskel to shreds enough to get the heart if it wanted it.”
Sam looked at him. He was very impressed. Travis was right. A werewolf will take the heart of every victim, especially if it has already done the work. “What do you think it is?”
“My guess? A skinwalker. They have a similar pattern of attack to werewolves, but they won’t always take the heart and they don’t need to follow the lunar cycle.”
“Not bad, Sheridan,” Ruby complimented. “You actually one-upped Sam. Not very common.”
“Well thank you,” Travis responded.
“Yeah, Travis, good job. But that sucks.”
“Why?” Travis asked.
“Because I brought the equipment to rid us of a werewolf. I don’t have what we need to vanquish a skinwalker.”
“Not a problem,” Travis said. He walked over to the woods and grabbed a branch. “This is all we need.”
“Wood?” Ruby said skeptically. “Don’t you need a flame attached to the end of that?”
Travis pulled out a lighter from his back pocket. “I’ve got the flame. Its just not attached yet.”
“Correct and prepared,” Ruby said, now as impressed as Sam was.
A branch cracked around the trio. Sam checked his watch. “Right on time.”
“What do you mean?” Travis asked.
“One thing in common with all the victims. All the ones that were found were killed around midnight, give or take an hour.”
Another branch could be heard snapping. Travis held his lighter in the palm of his left hand, the branch in the other. He held it down by his side, ready in a pinch to light and strike.
A howl closed in from all sides. Neither Sam nor Ruby nor Travis could tell where it actually came from. The three got closer together. They weren’t afraid, but whoever this witch was certainly wasn’t going to get the upper hand in what was about to happen.
Each of the three faced a different direction. Sam faced the creek. Ruby faced the way they had come from. And Travis faced the woods. Everyone was sure that when the beast would attack, it would come from the woods. It was the most shielded location near them. However, they felt they’d better be safe, then sorry.
Two wolves came running out of the trees. Travis, reflexively, lit the end of the branch and waved it at the oncoming animals. They cringed at first, but then they split up, one going left and one going right.
Sam threw some rocks at the one facing Travis on his side. That detoured its attention. Well gave it a different focus point anyway. It came running at Sam. He threw more rocks at it. “Travis? Help.”
Travis let the branch burn. The flame ignited more as Travis made it accelerate by pouring some of his bourbon on it. “Batter up!” He stepped into the swing and nailed the wolf right on the side of its body. The flame bounced off the wood partially and caught on the beast. It ran away, rolling in the dirt, trying to put out the fire. As it went out, the animal ran back into the woods.
The other one was right on top of Ruby, successfully pinning her down to the ground. It was snapping at her and Travis started running after it. Before he could swing, Ruby kicked the thing over her head by putting her feet on its stomach. It splashed down in the middle of the creek.
Skinwalkers were immortal. One wouldn’t be able to drown. It had been under for about fifty seconds now. Then one minute, then two. Where the hell was it?
The surface was broken by bubbles. It was under the water, still breathing. Had it turned itself into a fish to get away? This witch mustn’t have mastered the skill of changing from one animal to another without turning back into its human form first because a boy with blonde hair, brown eyes, and no shirt on came shooting out of the barrier of liquid. Sam, Ruby, and Travis just stared at the boy. “What?”
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Chapter Three:
“A kid?” Travis asked over by the fireplace, head in his hand as he looked at the boy sleeping in the heart-shaped bed. “Damn, man. I can’t believe he’s only a kid.”
“We don’t know if he really is a kid, Travis,” Sam pointed out. “That could be just another skin that he’s using. Skinwalkers are like any other shape shifters. They take on many forms, and can adapt by using any form in their arsenal at will. Some lore even suggests that they can steal your skin by looking you in the eye. That thing could be a one hundred year old man for all we know.”
“This conversation is turning one hundred years old,” Ruby said, starting to sit down on nearby chair, groaning as she looked at the pink upholstery. “God, help me. I’ve been sucked back down into the Pepto-Bismol part of Hell.”
Sam turned, smirking. “Oh, but darling. I thought you liked pink?”
“You keep it up, Winchester, and you’ll have those heart-shaped candies by the bed shoved so far up your ridiculously tall ass, and you’ll have to eat them just to get them back out the way they came in.” Ruby forced herself into the chair, crossing her arms and frowning in distaste. “So what are we supposed to be doing Sam? Just wait and let Cujo over there take a nap and when he wakes up, stay still while he munches on our face again?”
“No, we ask him questions when he does,” Sam responded. “His eyes don’t glow in the day yet.”
“So what’s that mean?” Travis asked.
“When a skinwalker has been completely turned, its eyes glow during the day like an animal’s would at night and at night they don’t glow. Well its daybreak and his eyes aren’t glowing. That means he hasn’t turned yet.”
“Which also means that he hasn’t killed yet,” Travis reasoned.
“Exactly,” Sam answered. “My bet is that the other one was trying to convert him. Once he’s killed, he’ll turn just as crazed, just as evil. The other one was leading him. We need to keep him safe, and figure out what’s happened to him so far.”
The words no sooner left Sam’s lips then the kid began to stir, groaning lightly in his sleep. Everyone turned, watching as his eyes slowly opened, stirring slightly at first, and then violently darting up. “What?!”
“It’s alright,” Sam said, walking up to the edge of the bed and kneeling down as he came up close to the boy. He recoiled, looking on at Sam in fear. “Honestly, you’re alright. You’re safe. I’m Sam. That’s Travis, and that’s Ruby.” The boy looked around at the new faces, fear still etched on the edges of his own. “What’s your name?” Sam asked serenely.
“Al… Alex,” the child stammered quietly.
Sam smiled, nodding. “Alex,” he replied. “I’m glad that you’re ok. You gave us quite a scare for a minute there.”
“I…” The boy looked around, still confused and still scared. “This place is weird. Way too much pink.”
Ruby chuckled. “Amen to that one, Cujo.” Sam glared at Ruby, who threw her hands up in surrender.
“Well, she’s right,” Alex said, still nervous. “Just too much.” He looked at Sam wearily. “You were out there when I woke up in the water.”
“Woke up?” Sam asked.
Alex nodded. “I get these headaches; don’t know what’s happening around me when they happen. I can’t see anything and all I can hear is this noise like something howling. Then I wake up somewhere completely different. It’s happened before. They were spaced out at first, but now it happens so often. I don’t like them. They scare me.”
“Have you ever told your parents about this?” Sam asked, to which Alex shook his head.
“No Mom. No Dad. I don’t have any family. I don’t have anybody.”
“You said you hear something howling?” Sam continued. “When you get the headaches?”
Alex nodded. “It sounds like a wolf maybe, or a coyote. You three were there when I woke up from the last one. Why was I in the water? I was in town before the headache happened.”
Sam tried to fight a grimace, putting on a smile for the boy’s sake as he pulled the pink covers over his body. “You just rest Alex, okay? We’ll figure all this out later. I promise.” The boy nodded in agreement, lying back down and closing his eyes.
Sam looked at the others, shifting his eyes to the cabin door. They all stood and moved out, Sam shutting the cabin door behind him. “Bingo.”
“You mean Cujo,” Ruby said.
“I mean ‘Bite me’ if you don’t stop with the dog cracks,” Sam retorted. “The wolf that you burned, Travis, is trying to turn Alex.”
“Which means he’ll be back,” Travis said.
“And skinwalkers are excellent trackers,” Sam said. “I’ll give it a few more hours before it finds out where we brought Alex.”
“Well the good news is that we have plenty of supplies inside for a good ol’ fashioned wolf roast, and a hatchet to tear off a head or two.”
“Let’s hope it’s only one,” Sam said. The group went back inside, ready to prepare for their soon to be arriving guest.
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It was nearing seven a.m. The group was mulling around the cabin, everyone prepared, waiting. Sam held the hatchet close, not wanting to let it out his hand. Travis had soaked a piece of wood in kerosene, grabbing his lighter and holding both at the ready. Ruby stared out the window, waiting for any sign of the creature’s arrival.
The sign arrived in the form of a howl. The sound, however faint, snapped Alex out of his sleep instantly. He shot up out of bed, looking around franticly. Sam moved over to him, a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all ok, Alex. You’re perfectly fine.”
“We need to go,” Ruby said.
Sam nodded, and then turned to Alex. “Alex, I want you to stay in this cabin. When we leave, lock the door and no matter what you hear, do not come outside. Do you understand me?” Alex only nodded, and Sam smiled, patting him on the shoulder. He stood, moving out to the dusty prairie just beyond the porch with Ruby and Travis.
Their guest arrived, barreling down the mountainside, past the rock and dirt. Its gait was slow, menacing, a low growl emanating from it. “Remember,” Sam warned. “Don’t look this thing in the eye.”
“Thank you for the advice, Professor.” Ruby smarted off.
That was when the creature lunged. The group spread out quickly, but the speed of the beast was insurmountable. Its front claws slashed across Sam’s right leg, a low growl of pain escaping him as he buckled a moment, but pulled himself together again.
Travis had struck his Zippo, lighting the wood, the makeshift torch now ablaze. “Here puppy,” Travis taunted. “Let daddy shove this fiery stick up your ass, will ya?”
The wolf turned, here one second and on Travis the next before anyone could blink. The flaming piece of wood flew from his hand as he hit the ground, the wolf growling and snarling as Travis held its throat in an attempt to push it back. It shook loose, its fangs barring into Travis’ shoulder which earned a stout cry.
“Guess he minds, Daddy,” Ruby said. She charged in, her knife in her hand. But the wolf, startled by her courage, released Travis and lunged at her, locking its jaws around the wrist which held the knife. Ruby growled in pain as the knife flew from her grip, punching the creature repeated with her free hand until it relinquished its grip. It stared at her in malice, licking Ruby and Travis’ blood from its muzzle. “Damn you! That smarts!” She snapped, returning the sadistic glare.
Sam was moving forward, ready to fight, when the dusty ‘front yard’ filled with the indoor light of the cabin. Everyone turned, seeing Alex in the doorway. His arms were at his sides, standing straight and silent, eyes ahead and distant. “Alex? I thought I told you to stay inside,” Sam said.
The boy’s head turned to Sam, his face now contorted in fury and hate as he pointed a slow moving finger at him. “Trespasser…” That was all Alex said in a monotone, hypnotized voice as he lunged off of the porch, closing in on Sam with the same speed as the skinwalker that was attacking Ruby and Travis. He was on top of Sam in a flash, pinning his back to the ground. The sheer strength the child possessed already… it only proved further what he was capable of if Sam didn’t snap him out of it soon. Sam struggled, trying to remove Alex from his chest without hurting him.
Travis, seeing that Ruby had the one under control, had grabbed the wood again, moving towards Sam. He saw that the child was starting to morph into a wolf. His fingernails extending into claws as he ripped fresh holes into Sam’s shirt and bloody gashes in his chest. He was getting ready to swing at him, but hesitated, the face of the child that he used to be being all that he could see. Just a kid…
“Travis, no!” Sam yelled.
“Travis!” Ruby shouted. “Do it!” Travis snapped out of hesitant space, brow bent in determination. But he turned to Ruby, tossing her the stick.
“Ruby!” He called. “Catch!” She caught it, squaring off with the wolf as Travis went to pull Alex off of Sam, holding on to him by his waist, pulling fiercely against him as Sam held on to his wrists, both men struggling.
“Alex,” Sam grunted, still fighting. “Alex, listen to me. You don’t want to hurt me. You don’t want to be like this. You’re scared and you’re alone. You don’t have to be a killer though. Don’t let that thing control you!” Alex’s enraged expression slacked for a moment, but turned dark again in a flash. He yanked one hand free of Sam’s grip and cocked it back, ready to plunge his hand with its inhuman strength into Sam’s chest to claim his prize. “Alex,” Sam said, his voice softening as he watched the boy. “Please, Alex, I know that you don’t want to kill me.”
Alex’s face dropped suddenly, looking at Sam behind the eyes Sam knew belonged to him. Tears began to form, his hand shaking even as both men still fought to hold on to him. “Sam?” Alex said, his mind cleared, but his body still fighting to attack.
The wolf was charging at Ruby, who was welcoming the attack with a fervor and necessity for the violence. She sighed, grinning happily and motioned the monster on. But just as it was about to reach her, it turned, noticing the change in Alex. Howling in anger, it started to move to him.
“No you don’t!” Ruby growled. Before the beast could think to make a step of its paw, Ruby had thrown herself onto it, plunging the sharp fiery wood into its side. The flames engulfed it, the beastly shrieks filling the dawn’s air. As it burned, Alex’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed against Sam. Sam caught him, and checked his pulse in fear. Thank God… Alex was only unconscious, probably from the shock of being freed from the other skinwalkers mind control spell.
“Take him inside,” Sam instructed Travis, hoisting him into Travis’ arms. As Travis ran inside, Sam grabbed the hatchet, moving to the writhing form of the beast. In one swift motion, he moved the blade down on the thing’s neck, taking head from body.
Travis emerged from the house, rejoining the other two. And as the body continuing to burn in the moonlight, the three watched with sighs of relief, holding tightly to their respective injuries. Sam looked to Travis, nodding. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Travis replied.
“Next time, don’t freeze like a scared little panty waste though,” Ruby snapped. “What the hell was that?”
“You wouldn’t understand!” The fierce anger in Travis’ voice caught Sam by surprise, and left even Ruby without a smart comeback as they looked at each other, than at him, in confusion. Wiping some of the blood from his face with his hand, Travis sighed, shaking his head as he walked towards his duffel, taking the hatchet from Sam’s hand and kneeling down, repacking his bag.
“You just wouldn’t understand,” he muttered.
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“Guess this is the best place to bury this thing,” Travis said, five feet down into what would be a six foot hole up in the hills behind the cabin, digging with the collapsible shovels that Sam had packed with them. Sam nodded in agreement, tossing out a shovel full of dirt.
“It’s off the trail, and no one will think anything about a patch of dirt in the middle of nothing but dirt and rock. But we can’t leave the bodies like that. Game wardens and Park Rangers see that, and that’s how investigations start.” Travis nodded in agreement. After a few moments of silence, Sam looked up, leaning on his shovel. He had to ask this. “So, how’d you come up with the skinwalker theory?” Travis was coming along more and more as a hunter. And it was evident by his earlier outburst that there were reasons for his decision, just as there were for all of them, reasons that just weren’t polite to pry about. But if he was going to keep doing this, then the least they should do was to keep building him, and keep doing it together.
Like Dad told Dean and himself when they were kids, “Two is one, and one is none..” Maybe he should have listened to that a long time ago, Sam thought.
Travis shrugged at the question, tossing out another shovel full of dirt. “Most hikers take the trails by day,” he said. “This is Native American territory, plus indigenous to coyote, wolves, yadda yadda. And hell, the skinwalkers name Yeenaaldlooshii even means ‘with it, he goes on all fours.’ So, when Guy went nighty-night, I dug through our research on the deaths over the past years up to the most recent, see if it fit a pack hunting pattern for nighttime or daylight hikes. It did.”
“Explains the ‘trespassers’ thing Alex said while entranced,” Sam said. “Native Americans are very proud of their heritage and very territorial and they have every right to be. It thought we were on its grounds.” Travis sighed, shaking his head as he tossed out another shovel full of dirt.
“Makes no damn sense to me. Witches that were once God-fearing folk, going off killing family or other kinds of sick things by forcing others to do it to stir up bad mojo in them, just to get a leg up in the power circuit only to turn into skinwalkers and make a need for fire and head-cutting.”
“Yeah,” Sam said, “And here I thought a silver bullet was the miracle cure.”
“Ranks the bastards right up there with Wendigos on the ass pain circuit if you ask me.” Sam groaned, rolling his eyes.
“Don’t get me started.” Travis raised an eyebrow.
“Uh-oh...sounds like my boy there is talking from experience.”
“And then some.” Sam smiled, tossing his shovel up out of the makeshift grave. “Travis, you did a damn good job tonight.”
”Thanks man,” Travis smiled. “Not so bad yourself. For Winchester. And a white boy.” Sam laughed, even as Ruby shouted down to them:
“I want to get away from the burnt wolf hair smell YESTERDAY! Let’s get to burying this asshole!”
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Epilogue:
“So good to be out of that pink cloud.” Sam laughed at Ruby’s grumbling, shaking his head as he threw the remainder of their clothing and gear into the Impala’s trunk.
“You know, I hear you piss and moan a lot. A LOT. But I have never heard anything get to you as bad as that cabin did.” He shook his head, brushing past her and muttering, “Now I know where to take you on our honeymoon.”
“If only the world didn’t need your sorry ass, I’d cut it off and mount it over my fireplace,” Ruby growled.
”Damn, if I didn’t miss a sexy conversation. Mounting asses over fireplaces? Hell, you two must’ve had a fun honeymoon.” Travis came up behind the two, watching as Sam fought hard not to laugh at how Travis’ words bit into Ruby even more.
”I’ll be in the diner shoving forks in my eyeballs,” Ruby growled. “Come get me when you’re done.” Sam shook his head, turning to Travis.
”Guy doing alright?” Travis waived him off.
“Yeah, poor old guy just thinks had bad food poisoning and slept too long. Apologized for “being such a bad tour guide” and gave us our money back.”
”Well he wasn’t a bad guide,” Sam said. Travis shrugged. “But, I won’t argue with getting our money back either.” Travis laughed. Just then, Alex emerged from the tourism center, moving up to the boys. “Hey there, kiddo!” Sam said, ruffling the young man’s hair with a smile. Alex laughed, shoving Sam’s hand away. “So, feeling better?”
”Yup,” Alex said. “Thanks to you guys and that sweet lady.”
”Sweet?” Travis said, shocked. “Kid, you sure you’re feeling alright?”
”Well she doesn’t like pink, I don’t like pink. Sweet.” Sam smiled, patting Alex on the shoulder.
”So what now, Alex? You don’t have a place to go. And you don’t need to wander around by yourself. Even for someone like you, it still isn’t safe.”
“I’ve been doing it for a long time, Sam,” Alex said. “It’s not a big deal. I can take care of myself. I bet you’ve been taking care of yourself for a long time too.”
”Whenever my brother would let me.”
”Least you have one,” Alex said. “Bet he’s a good guy.” Sam gave a sad smile.
”Yeah….yeah, you’re right on that one.”
“Hey, you two idiots ready yet?” Ruby’s voice made both Travis and Sam turn their heads, seeing Ruby walk across the street towards the car, French fries in hand. “Let’s get out of here before more of that bastards friend come to gnaw on my wrist, okay?”
“Fine,” Sam said. “Just let me say goodbye to Alex.”
”Alex?” Ruby said. “Where?”
“Right….” Sam turned, but where Alex once stood, there was only empty space. “Here?”
Travis looked around, shocked. “Damn, that kid is fast.”
Sam stared down the length of the road, wondering where on earth that boy had gone to. And if he was alright. Could he make it on his own? Sam wasn’t sure. He hoped so. He truly did. Maybe he’d get lucky enough to find a place and make a life for himself. But in the meantime, there was little left to do. It wasn’t like they would see the kid again.
Sighing, Sam just shrugged, folding himself into the driver’s seat of the car after Travis had hopped in the back. Once Ruby jumped in, he turned the car on, and they were off, the sounds of Bad Company's "Where I Belong" blaring across the speakers…
'Help me find my way home
Along this rocky road, 'cause I can't carry on
Will you head me to my bed
Ease my aching head, take me where I belong...'
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End Credits roll
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