CHAPTER FOUR — INTO THE WOODS
wendigo — part one

"I'm nine! And, I'm really good at finding people." — grace winchester

IT HAD BEEN A WEEK SINCE JESSICA MOORE DIED IN THAT HORRENDOUS INFERNO AND THEY STILL HAD NO LEADS ON THE CREATURE THAT HAD DONE IT. The only thing they did know was that the thing that had killed Jess had also murdered their Mary Winchester decades earlier. So, after their search in Stanford came up empty, the Winchesters decided to first find John, then together track down the monster. Which was why the Impala was currently racing down the highway to the coordinates John had left for Dean in his journal. It was the only lead they had.

Grace had yet to recover from the loss of Jessica. The physical pain faded after a day but the guilt that racked her heart, that stayed. Truthfully, she didn't think it would ever leave.

Dean's gaze darted between the road and Grace in the rear-view mirror as he tried to keep an eye on them both. He was also worried about Sam who was currently asleep in the passenger seat. Grace didn't have to be the psychic that she was to know his dreams weren't exactly balls of sunshine. Her own dreams hadn't been pleasant either, but when were they ever?

Suddenly Sam jerked forwards, awake, and gasped for breath. The other two turned to look at him worriedly as he then proceeded to sit up and rub his tired eyes. "You okay, Uncle Sam?" Grace asked with a frown, knowing the look on his face all too well.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, plastering on a calm and emotionless face. It didn't do what he had hoped for though because Grace and most likely Dean, knew he was lying.

The youngest Winchester kept her eyes on her Uncle who had noticed the concern in them but decided to ignore it. He didn't want them to worried, but like that was going to stop them. Dean nodded distantly at Sam's words, not fully taking them in. Because there was no way, after having your girlfriend murdered just a week prior, that you would be okay. Even if you happened to be a Winchester. The past week had been hell for both Sam and Gracie and Dean knew it. Restless nights, nightmares infecting the little sleep he managed to get and they yet to dig up a lead on the creature who took Jess from him. So, there was no way he was 'fine'.

"Another nightmare?" Inquired Dean, glancing over to the passenger seat. Sam cleared his throat awkwardly and didn't answer. His silence spoke volumes. After a moment silence he added, much to all their surprise. "You wanna drive?"

Sam wondered whether his brother had hit his head recently because never had he heard those words come out of his mouth. His Baby was precious to him, normally he would never let anyone even touch the wheel. A laugh escaped Sam as he stared back at Dean with wide, surprised eyes. "Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that." He pointed out.

Dean backtracked at the sight of the incredulous look Sam was giving him. "Just thought you might want to. Never mind."

"Can I drive?" Grace spoke up, smiling innocently.

Sam laughed and Dean shook his head before turning back to look at her. "Maybe when you're sixteen." In disappointment, Grace pushed herself away, hitting her back against the leather seats as she did so.

Sighing, Sam started. "Look, guys, you're both worried about me." Of course they were, he was family and he was hurting. "I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly fine." Dean just hummed, he didn't really believe Sam's words and neither did Grace. She may not have been an expert in losing people, but she knew what being haunted felt like, and it wasn't very nice. Sam reached over and grasped the map before unravelling it all and focusing on where John Winchester had sent them. "All right, where are we?"

"We are just outside of Grand Junction."

From the back of the car, Grace watched as her Uncle folded down the map in his hands before letting out a heavy, burdened sigh. "You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

"Sam, we dug around there for a week." Dean reminded him as he kept glancing between his brother and the road. "We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica—"

"—we gotta find Dad first." Sam finished for him, cutting Dean off abruptly.

Grace fiddled with her long sleeves again and rested her head back against the leather, feeling comfort in the car. "Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence." Dean identified and even Gracie could see there was some sort of a pattern there. "Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do."

But what if he didn't? Even John Winchester didn't know everything.

Sam studied the map he had tightly between his fingers and frowned at the paper. "It's weird, man." He admitted and Grace leaned forwards again to stare at the giant red cross marked on the map. "These coordinates he left us. This Blackwater Ridge."

"What about it?"

"There's nothing there. It's just woods." Sam stated, puzzled, and then placed down the map, resting it on his lap. "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

Grace plastered on a hopeful smile. "Maybe we'll find out when we get there." God, did she hope that was true.

LOST CREEK NATIONAL FOREST

THEIR FIRST STOP UPON REACHING LOST CREEK NATIONAL FOREST WAS THE RANGER STATION. So, once it came into view, Dean pulled the Impala right outside and then the trio entered the building. Grace was immediately mesmerised by the large 3D map of the forest, finding it fascinating. The whole room was covered with photos and leaflets and all sorts of information concerning safety whilst travelling out in the woods.

"So, Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote." Sam spoke up as he joined Grace in studying the model. "It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."

"Mines are dark and creepy." Grace stated with a shiver. She had been in a mine once before and it wasn't a nice experience.

Dean suddenly piped up like an excited child. "Dude, check out the size of this freaking bear." Both Grace and Sam looked over to find her Dad exuberantly pointing at a framed photo on the wall. They walked over to him and joined Dean in staring at the photo of a man standing behind a rather large bear.

"Woah." Grace breathed out. Her Dad was right, it was a big bear. She still didn't like the idea of the man standing over it though, like it was a trophy.

"And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area." Sam mentioned, having read the information a few minutes prior. "It's no nature hike, that's for sure."

Suddenly, a man's voice spoke up, startling the Winchesters. Simultaneously, they whipped around to find themselves staring at an actual Ranger, not a fake one like Dean and Sam were. "You kids aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?"

The Ranger looked at the trio suspiciously and raised his eyebrow at the sight of Gracie by their sides. "Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors," Sam quickly glanced at the nine-year-old between him and Dean, "and assistant from UC Boulder, just working a paper." For a former law student, he was very good at lying.

Dean grinned and fist-bumped the air. "Recycle, man!" Grace smiled and copied his motion causing Dean's own grin to grow.

"Bull." Scoffed the Ranger. Their faces faltered and they shared a look of defeat. It seemed their lies weren't going to work this time around. But before they could come up with yet another lie, the Ranger continued. "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"

Grace looked up at her Dad who stood there considering it for a moment before replying. "Yes. Yes, we are, Ranger..." He glanced down at the nametag on the man's uniform. "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 Ridge until the twenty-fourth. So, it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" Dean shook his head and then Ranger Wilkinson added. "You tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure her brother's just fine." If only they were as sure as he was.

Dean nodded. "We will. Well, that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?" He asked with his signature smirk across his lips.

"That is putting it mildly." Stated Ranger Wilkinson with a scoff. Grace already liked the sound of this Haley and smiled to herself.

"Actually," Dean continued as a thought occurred to him, "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."

Ranger Wilkinson stared at the man before him hesitantly before Grace spoke up. "We really think it would help calm Haley if she saw it." She lied through her sweet smile. Okay, so maybe her family weren't always good influences.

After Grace emphasised her Dad's point, the Ranger gave in and went to go and print them off a copy. Then the Winchesters strolled out of the Ranger Station, permit in hand. Dean had it tightly between his fingers and used his other hand to mess with his daughter's already chaotic hair as the duo smiled at each other. Victory was clear on their faces as they made their way back to the Impala, ready to find this Haley and see what she knew.

Whilst Grace and Dean looked rather pleased, Sam was the opposite and now his face contorted into a harsh and icy glare. "What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" He asked his brother in disbelief. Hookup?

Dean frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The coordinates to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for?" Demanded the younger brother rather angrily. "Lets just go and find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?"

The three of them came to a halt outside their doors to the Impala, all the while Sam continued to glare at them from the opposite side. "I don't know." Dean started to explain sarcastically. Meanwhile, Grace was leaning her back against the car, after all, she wasn't tall enough to look over the top of the car and participate in the conversation. "Maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" Grace wasn't much of a hunter, but even she knew that that was the first move to make. Sam clenched his jaw. "Since when are you all about shoot first ask questions later, anyway?"

"That was always more Dad's thing." Grace added from behind the car. Dean didn't know whether to agree with his daughter or protest.

Sam shrugged nonchalantly. "Since now."

Dean exchanged a concerned look with his daughter before watching as his brother turned away and got in the car, not before slamming the door loudly behind him. It made Grace jump in fright, jolting her away from the vehicle. "I'm worried." Admitted Grace in a whisper as she was frightened her Uncle would hear them.

Dean sighed and confessed. "Me too, Pumpkin, me too."

A FEW HOURS LATER, THE WINCHESTERS FOUND THEMSELVES IN A BAR. Their next stop in Lost Creek was the home of Haley Collins, the sister who was in search of her brother, to try and find out what she knew. Like always when the 'adults' wanted to pretend to be some special agent — this time, Rangers — Grace remained in the car and out of sight. They came back a little later with some photos and files belonging to Tommy Collins, hoping to find something useful among them.

Now, they were combing through what they had as Grace stood next to them, quietly sipping on her lemonade. She bopped her head along with the loud music in the background as both her and her Dad looked at Sam as he started to explain. "So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found." Sam withdrew John's journal and opened it up.

"Any before that?"

Sam grasped a bunch of newspaper clippings and handed them out to Dean. Then Grace leaned over, straw still hanging from her lips, to read what they had to say. "Yeah, in 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack." They stared at the headlines curiously, they all said similar things: missing hikers, bear attacks and the fact that the bodies were never found. Sam opened up his laptop as Grace tilted her head at the papers, focusing on the words. "And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936."

She frowned in thought at the dates before grabbing a napkin and a pen and writing on it. Dean looked over her shoulder at her scribbles and raised his eyebrow. Feeling his presence, Grace moved her head around only for her Dad to quickly turn back to the newspapers as if nothing had happened.

The last video Haley received from her brother was up and ready on the screen of Sam's computer. "Every—"

"Twenty-three years!" Grace cut in with a wide grin, holding up her note covered napkin. Both Sam and Dean smiled at the girl who was presenting them her math with such enthusiasm.

Nodding, Sam verified. "Yeah, every twenty-three years, just like clockwork. Okay. Watch this." He twisted the computer around for them all to see. "Here's a clincher. I downloaded that guy Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out." Together, they stared intently at the screen as Sam clicked a few buttons showing them pieces of the video. And right there, in only a few of the pictures was a large shadow speeding past the outside of the tent. Whatever it was, Grace didn't like the look of it.

"Do it again."

As the sequence repeated, they focused in on the suspicious form in the background and tried to make sense of it. "That's three frames." Sam stated. "That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move."

Grace slurped up the remainder of her lemonade before pointing out. "Bears can't move that fast."

"Exactly." Agreed Sam.

With a hit to the shoulder from Dean, Sam looked up and over to him. "Told you something weird was going on." He said triumphantly. Grace then pushed her empty glass away from her.

"Yeah." Sighed Sam before closing down the lid of his laptop. "I got one more thing." He handed Dean another article who held it out for both him and Grace to read. "In '59 one camper survived this supposed 'grizzly attack'. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive."

A shiver crawled up Grace's spine as she thought about the woods those years ago — where she was found. She remembered the fear she had felt, waking up in the middle of nowhere, confused and completely alone She remembered the chilling cold, the pricking of the branches on her bare feet. She could even still feel the empty void inside of her from not truly knowing who she was. But for now, she was Grace Winchester, and that was enough.

Dean noticed the fall in Grace's face at what his brother had said and grabbed her hand comfortingly. And once he noticed the slow rise in her features, his concern faded and he released his grip on her hand.

He then glanced down at the paper before looking up at his brother. "Is there a name?"

GRACE WAS WELL AND TRULY SURPRISED WHEN SHE WAS ALLOWED TO COME WITH HER DAD AND UNCLE TO TALK TO THE SURVIVOR FROM ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. After all, she had expected them to leave her behind in the Impala or in some strange motel room somewhere, but not this time. Something about if she could get anything from the man about the creature he had faced decades prior because he was the closest anyone had every gotten to it and lived to tell the tale. She kept to her Dad's side as they made it to the front door of Mr Shaw, the kid who survived the '59 attack (now all grown up and in at least his fifties) to try and find out whether he knew anything that would tell them what they were dealing with.

With a suspicious glance at Grace, he let them all into his apartment. There was a lit cigarette held tightly between his lips 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—"

"Grizzly?" Sam supplied as he cut in, knowing fully well what was on the record. "That's what attacked them?" Even Mr Shaw could get the feeling that the people in front of him weren't convinced on that story. The man then took a long puff on his cigarette as he paused and then proceeded to remove it from his mouth with a nod of his head.

"The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?" Her Dad queried although they all already knew the answer. Grace had once been informed that this was called Rhetorical. There was a brief pause as silence enveloped the room before Dean spoke up again. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?" There was another pause as Mr Shaw didn't answer. "If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it." He told the man, looking back at his brother and daughter.

The elder man scoffed in disagreement. "I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make." Slowly, he sat down in his chair and made himself comfortable for what was to come. "You wouldn't believe me. Nobody ever did."

Grace walked closer to the man and knelt down, placing her small hand on the arm of his chair. "We will." She said with a comforting smile. They had been through this so many times before: people fearing that they will sound crazy for the things they had seen. But the Winchesters always listened.

Sam sat down across from Mr Shaw, looking at him with sympathy and then questioned softly. "Mr Shaw, what did you see?"

He didn't say anything, not to start with, and Grace couldn't blame him. Bringing back painful memories was bad enough, but finally admitting what everyone else had just dismissed over decades, well, that was something. There was fear in his eyes, Grace could see it, because even after so long, it still haunted him. "Nothing." Mr Shaw admitted. "It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though. A roar. Like..." It looked as if he was enthralled by fear as he recalled the memories. Grace could relate. "no man or animal I ever heard."

The Winchesters exchanged a look as this further proved that something strange was happening at Blackwater Ridge. "It came at night?" Sam asked and Mr Shaw nodded. "Got inside your tent?"

"It got inside our cabin." He amended sorrowfully and Grace noticed the tears brimming in his eyes as he mentally relived the horrors of the event that had haunted his entire life. "I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came it. It didn't smash a window or break the door. It unlocked it." Well, if that wasn't creepy, Grace didn't know what was. "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?"

Mr Shaw looked down sadly. "Dragged them off into the night. Why it left me alive... been asking myself that ever since." He hesitated, as if debating something, before reaching up to his collar. "Did leave me this, though."

Grace withheld a gasp at the sight of three long, rather rigid, scars in the shape of claw marks. They stretched from his shoulder to down past his collarbone and served as a constant reminder of the worst day of his life. The young girl was transfixed by the raised, jagged pieces of skin and then started to feel her own shoulder burn. All the pain of what had happened, the fear, the sorrow, it was shooting through her body like an electric shock. And there was nothing she could do to stop it. All she could do was try and focus on the attacker, to try and figure out what they were fighting. Grace breathed heavily as she sensed it, the fast moving shadow, the killer. She couldn't get much from it, it was just a memory from decades ago, but she could tell one thing: it was hungry.

She shook herself from her trance and her Dad, having seen enough of her vision episodes, realised what had happened. He glanced at Sam, then to Gracie, silently telling him about her vision, all the while Mr Shaw was oblivious to the psychic girl in front of him.

Mr Shaw concluded, fear burning like fire in his eyes. "There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of demon."

Then the Winchesters bid farewell to Mr Shaw and left alone. Grace was still pretty shaken up after what she had just experienced so she held tightly onto her Dad's hand to try and bring her some solace. They were walking through the corridors in Mr Shaw's building, and began to discuss everything they had just learnt as they made their way back to where they had parked Baby. No one questioned Grace about what she had just felt, she wasn't ready, and they knew she would tell them when she was ready.

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors." Mused Dean as he gripped his daughter's hand a little tighter. "If they want to get inside, they just go through the walls."

In response, Sam pointed out. "So it's probably something else, something corporeal."

Core-petal? Core-pretzel? Grace furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"It has a body." Sam explained to the nine-year-old, having seen her perplexed look, who then nodded her head in understanding.

"Corporeal? Excuse me, Professor." Dean teased his little brother.

"Shut up." Sam said, not that amused by Dean's comment. "So what do you think?"

Dean thought about it from a moment before replying. "The claws, the speed that it moves... could be a skin-walker, maybe a black dog. Whatever we're talking about, were talking about a creature, and it's corporeal." A mocking smirk was sent his brother's way. "Which means we can kill it."

Grace brought herself back into the conversation as she finally adjusted after everything she had felt. "If it has a butt, that means we can kick it."

"Hell yeah, it does." Dean agreed, grinning down at his daughter. Grace giggled and Sam held back a smile, shaking his head at the two of them.

It was the dead of night when the Winchesters exited the building. They made their way back the Impala, heading straight fro the trunk instead of hopping in. Grace pulled her coat over her body to fight back the biting nighttime chill. She trailed behind the two men as her Dad pulled open the trunk of the car and then propped up the lid to the weapons compartment.

He stuffed a couple of the guns into a duffle bag as Sam leant into the compartment. "We cannot let that Haley girl go out there."

"Oh yeah?" Dean replied sarcastically as he glared at his brother who was holding a harsh look on his face. "What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?"

"Yeah." Sam snapped angrily.

Grace frowned and Dean looked back at his brother in disbelief. They both knew that that wasn't going to work. They knew from experience that telling people the truth didn't always go well, and besides, Haley was looking for her brother, she wasn't going to back down if they tell her a few nightmares. "Her brother's missing, Sam." Dean reminded him. "She's not just gonna sit this out. Now, we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend." Dean seized the bag.

Sam was getting angry now at his brother's words. He slammed shut the weapons compartment before, with an aggressive push, closed the lid of the trunk. "Finding Dad's not enough?" He then scoffed as the other two watched him with concern. "Now we gotta babysit too?" Babysit? If protecting grown and capable adults was babysitting, then what did he call looking after her? Both Dean and Grace wore the same strange look as they stared at the man before them. "What?"

Dean sighed heavily for a moment before dismissing what he was about to say. "Nothing." He then forcibly tossed the bag into Sam's arms, who instinctively wrapped them around it. Sam looked down at the bag and then at Dean who had walked off with Grace's hand still clutched in his own.

Grace knew he was hurting, sometimes she could even feel it, but that didn't mean they were going to leave innocent people behind to die. That was not what being a Winchester meant.

EARLY THE FOLLOWING MORNING, AS THE SUN ROSE AND FILTERED BETWEEN THE CANOPIES, THE IMPALA ROLLED UP AT THE BEGINNING OF THE HIKING TRAIL. Haley, her other brother Ben, and the guide they had hired were already prepped and ready to go at the foot of the trail. All three turned in surprise at the sight of the sleek Chevy Impala coming to a stop before them. Grace grabbed the duffel her Uncle had placed in the backseat before exiting the car. She gave the bag back to Uncle Sam before kneeling down to tighten the knots on her laces.

"You guys got room for three more?" Dean called out with a smile before turning back to wait as Grace caught up.

Haley looked at them in surprised and then queried. "Wait, you want to come with us?" After the response she had received from Ranger Wilkinson, Grace could understand that she wasn't expecting official company.

Their guide spoke up, frowning at the new additions. "Who are these guys?" He asked, eyeing the trio suspiciously.

"Apparently, this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue." Haley answered, looking back at the man — who they later found out to be named Roy — but not before she glanced at the young girl curiously.

Sam walked past them all, eager to get into the woods and it all over with. The suspicious look had not yet dropped from Roy's face and then he questioned. "You're Rangers?"

"That's right." Dean responded confidently. There was an incredulous sent in the direction of Grace, so Dean added. "This is my daughter, Grace." Roy still didn't look convinced. "Her Mom's outta town."

A Mother. That was something Grace didn't have, not that she knew of anyhow, and she doubted she ever would. Since the day he had taken her in, Dean had become both Mother and Father and raised Grace on his own. She may not have a mother, but she had her Dad and as long as she had him, she was going to be okay.

Haley turned back to Dean, raising her eyebrow as she quickly scanned over his outfit. "And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?"

Dean then glanced down at his clothes for a moment before looking back up, his face now lined with a cocky smile. "Well, sweetheart," he returned, "I don't do shorts." After that, he started to walk ahead and towards where Sam had gone and Grace was slowly following behind.

And just as he passed Roy, the man snapped at Dean. "What, you think this is funny? It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt." Sam turned back at his words. Grace tilted her head, furrowing her eyebrows. They knew Tommy was in danger, they weren't stupid, but it appeared Roy thought they were. Two twenty-something-year olds with a child still in single digits, it didn't exactly scream 'mature'. But still, if there was anyone out there who was more competent than a Winchester (besides Uncle Bobby), Grace would like to shake their hand.

"Believe me." Dean began strongly. "I know how dangerous this could get." Grace had told them late the previous night about what she felt at the sight of Mr Shaw's scars, her words alone were enough to make them more on edge out in the woods. "We just wanna help her find her brother." And that was the truth.

The Winchesters started to walk off down the trail but Roy persisted. "You know it's dangerous yet you still bring a five-year-old with you."

Grace was not usually an angry person, but Roy was making her mad. She walked over to the man, glaring daggers up at him from her small height. "I'm nine!" She corrected rather fiercely. "And, I'm really good at finding people."

Roy scoffed at her words. "Sweetheart, this isn't finding your Momma in the supermarket, this is dangerous."

Grace kept her eyes locked on his, staring straight into them as she replied. "I know."

And with that, the young girl followed after her Uncle and Dad, the latter of the two giving the girl a 'well done' pat on the shoulder as she caught up. Then, together, the two trios wandered into the woods in search of a missing brother and a missing father.

The first chapter of Wendigo is here!!!

More Grace and Dean Father/daughter content which is very cute. And Grace doing math and being so proud of it is adorable. We're seeing more psychic powers which is interesting.

You know, the more I think about what I'm going to write for this series, the more I think the person the Grace Protection Squad should protect her from the most, is me. I'm sorry in advance for future books (or am I *inserts evil laugh* no, I am actually sorry).

Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Hopefully, I'll see you in the next chapter.

Sincerely Rosie aka Winter326