A Queen

Sesson 1 Episode 2 - Wendigo

"Well, I'm hot blooded
Check it and see
I got a fever of a hundred and three
Come on baby, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded"

I found myself humming along to the Foreigner song, while I was reading Twilight. It had come out about a month ago, and I had mentioned to Dean that it sounded like it might be a fun little book to read. Honestly, I'm not fully sure where it came from, but I found it in my bag a few days ago, and it smelled faintly like pine, so there was really only one explanation, but he hadn't mentioned it, so I wasn't going to bring it up.

"You know Bella, Jacob?" Lauren asked—in what I imagined was an insolent tone—from across the fire.
"We've sort of known each other since I was born," he laughed, smiling at me again.
"How nice." She didn't sound..."

"Is it everything you hoped it would be?" Dean's voice sounded out in the silence of the car
"Huh?"
"The book. Is it as good as you thought?"
"Oh, um, its okay. I'm not that far into it. This budding love triangle is going to give me a headache, though." I responded with a small laugh.
"Love triangle, huh?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sure you're super interested in all of this."
"Anyone ever tell you, you apologize too much?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me through the rear view mirror. I didn't get a chance to respond though, Sam jerked away from another obvious nightmare.
"You okay?" Dean asked, concern lacing his tone.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Another nightmare? Instead of answering him, Sam just clears his throat and turned away, looking out the window. "You wanna drive for a while?"
Laughing, Sam turned back to Dean "Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that."
"Just thought you might want to. Never mind."
Sitting up and leaning against the back of the front seat, I stuck my head up between the brothers.
"Ohhhhhhh can I drive?" I asked, trying so hard not to sound too excited about it. Dean just turns his head to stare at me, looking like I just asked him to kill a puppy.
"Not a chance in hell, doll." Great. A new nickname. Scrunching up my nose to try and cover up the blush rising to my cheeks, I huffed and sat back in the seat again.
"Look, man, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."
"Mm-hm."
"All right, where are we?" Sam asks as he grabbed the map, unfolding it in his lap.
"We are just outside of Grand Junction."
            I decided to pick up my book again, tuning them out.

"How nice." She didn't sound like she thought it was nice at all, and her pale, fishy eyes narrowed."Bella," she called again, watching my face carefully, "I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of concern was unconvincing."You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" the tall, older boy asked before I could respond, much to Lauren's irritation. He was really closer to a man than a boy, and his voice was very deep."Yes, do you know them?" she asked condescendingly, turning halfway toward him."The Cullens don't come here," he said in a tone that closed the subject, ignoring her question."

            "It's weird, man. These coordinates he left us. This Blackwater Ridge." Sam says just as I tune back into the conversation.
            "What about it?" Dean asks.
            "There's nothing there. It's just woods. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"
As she contemplated the question, she looked out the window just in time to see a National Forest sign that said "Welcome to LOST CREEK COLORADO National Forest." She loved the woods, the smell of the trees, all the sounds of nature. It felt like home to her, like it was where she belonged. They pulled up in front of the Ranger Station, deciding to get out and look around, trying to figure out why John had sent them here. As I stepped out of the car, I looked around, taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I could feel the tension I didn't even know I carried, leaving my shoulders, being surrounded by so much nature.
            "You coming, doll?" Breaking out of my daze, I opened my eyes and turned to look at Dean.
            "Yeah, right behind you." I said with a smile. Entering the building, I could hear Sam up in front of me, start speaking.        
            "So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote." He said, pointing to a 3D map of the forest. "It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."
            "Freya, come here. Dude, check out the size of this freaking bear."
            "Jesus Christ, that thing is huge!" I said as Sam walked up behind me to look at the picture of a man standing behind a MUCH larger bear.
            "And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure."
            "Hey, sweetheart. You said you're really fast, right?" Dean asked me. Nodding at him, I waited for him to continue. "Think you could outrun a bear like that?" He asked with a grin.
            "I don't need to outrun the bear, honey, I just need to outrun you." I replied, patting his cheek as I turned to walk back over to the 3D map, Sam snickering to himself behind me.
            "Dude, yes...." Sam said, still laughing at Dean.
            "You kids aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" Came a voice from behind us.
            "Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper." Sam replied, looking up at the ranger with a small laugh.
            "Recycle, man." Dean said, raising a fist in the air with a grin. This dude... One wonders how he's so good at lying when he pulls stunts like that...
            "Bull. You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"
            "Yes. Yes, we are, Ranger Wilkinson." Dean responded after a second, leaning down to read the Ranger's nametag.
            "Well I will tell you exactly what we told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the twenty-fourth, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" The Ranger asked Dean, who simply shook his head. "You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine."
            "We will. Well that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?"
            "That's putting it mildly."
            "Actually you know what would help, is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother's return date." Dean said, raising his eyebrows at the Ranger. Okay, I take back everything I just thought, maybe he is decent at this...
            "Thank you, Ranger Wilkinson." I said as he handed the permit to Dean, tipped his hat at me and left. Sam was already ahead of us, heading out the door towards the Impala. Just as I went to open the door, Dean's arm came up in front of me, blocking my exit, as he held the door closed. I could feel the warmth of his body seeping into my back as he leaned down to speak in my ear, his breath tickling my neck, sending shivers down my spine and causing goosebumps to erupt across my skin.
            "That wasn't a very nice thing to say, now was it, doll? Two can play that game." He spoke lowly. As quick as he was there, he was gone, holding the door open for me to walk out. I could not be more grateful for November in Colorado, as the temperature helped cool down my heated cheeks. He didn't say anything else as he followed me out towards the car, looking at the permit as he walked.
            "What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam asked, stopping at the passenger door.
            "What do you mean?" Dean responded, looking a little confused by Sam's question. I watched silently, looking between the brothers. The thought of Dean 'hooking up' with this Haley chick didn't settle in my chest right, but I wasn't going to say anything about it.
            "The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?"
            "I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" Dean responded, sounding a little irritated with his brother. Pausing, they just stared at each other for a minute.
            "What?"
            "Since when are you all shoot first, ask questions later, anyway?" Dean asked.
            "Since now." Turning away, Sam got in the car without another word. I looked up at Dean, a worried look in my eye, but he just shook his head and opened my door for me, closing it as soon as I was settled.
            "Really?" He says to Sam, getting in the driver's seat, starting the car and driving off.