In Black Forest, Colorado, three teenage girls sit around and drink on their annual camping trip. One of them, Ashley Monroe offers a toast to their last camping trip. She points out that her two friends got jobs and are leaving, and one friend assures Ashley that she'll find something. The third girl, Julie, tells Ashley to drink the rum because it will help.
Something moves in the forest outside, and Ashley worries that someone is out there. Her friends insist that there's nothing out there, and Julie goes out to get some more rum. There's a growling noise a few minutes later and Julie screams. The tent flap is still open, and the third girl nervously goes over to zip it shut. She reaches for the open flap, and something growls and pulls her out as Ashley screams.
At the bunker, Sam checks his texts for a response from Castiel and discovers the angel hasn't returned his messages. Dean comes in from town with supplies, tries some jerky, and gags on the ghost peppers. He insists that it's good, and Sam suggests that he have another piece. When Dean refuses, Sam takes out some bottled water and Dean finally asks for it. Sam tosses him the bottle and Dean gulps the water down. He then asks Sam where they are at with a mountain lion case in Colorado where three people died. Sam says that five people have died and Dean tells him that he's going to get ready.
Dean dreams of putting the Colt gun to the back of Sam's head, and asking for forgiveness. Sam smiles and Dean shoots him through the head. After a moment, Sam sits up and the head wound heals. Sam's eyes glow red and he tells Dean that they both knew it had to end the way it is. Dean bursts into flame, and Sam wakes up from his nightmare. He and Dean are the Impala heading to Colorado, and Sam says that he had a bad dream. Dean asks him to describe it, but Sam refuses.
The next day, the brothers arrive at the sheriff's station and Dean says that they'll go in as Fish and Wildlife. He gets out some old IDs from the trunk, and they note that their ID photos are much younger. Dean insists that nothing has changed with him, and Sam isn't convinced.
The Winchesters go into the station and approach Sheriff Dignan. She figures that the attacks weren't done with an animal, because the kills were too clean. Dignan says that if a person did it, they're a monster. The sheriff tells them that Ashley is the one witness and is in shock.
The brothers go to the hospital and talk to Ashley. She vaguely remembers running through the woods with a man chasing her, and says that she can't remember anything. Sam realizes that Ashley doesn't want to talk in front of the male nurse and talks to him in the hallway. Dean tells Ashley that they'll believe whatever she saw and they've heard weirder. Ashley finally says that it was a man who killed her friends, but he had claws and fangs. Dean figures that he was a werewolf and assures Ashley that she wasn't hallucinating. He tells her that monsters are real, and he and Sam hunt and kill them. Dean assures Ashley that they'll handle whatever came at her, and Ashley remembers what happened.
The werewolf scratches Ashley's face with one claw and tells her that if she tells anyone, she'll get worse.
Ashley asks Dean to protect her if she tells him, and Dean promises that they will.
Dean joins Sam and says that Andy May attacked Ashley. Sam points out that it wasn't a full moon on the night that Ashley was attacked, and goes to find an address on Andy while Dean looks at the crying Ashley.
Later, the Winchesters drive out to a cabin in the forest. Sam has learned that Andy lives there with his brother Josh. Josh answers the door and calls Andy over, and Josh says that they don't want visitors. Sam asks if they've seen Ashley, and Andy claims that they've never seen him. Dean explains that Ashley managed to get away, and Andy offers to help since they're out in the woods setting rabbit traps. Before they go, Sam asks them for their phone numbers and offers a silver pen. Andy stares at the pen and then says that they don't have a phone, and quickly closes the door.
Ashley calls Dean and asks him to come there. As the brothers leave, Josh watches them from the windows and complains about what Andy said. Andy says that he had to say something, he made Ashley promise not to tell anyone, and insists that he didn't want to hunt people in the first place. He starts to tell Josh that their father wouldn't want to hunt people, and Josh yells at him that their father is dead. Josh then says that if Andy wants them to stop hunting people, they'll stop. Andy doesn't believe him, but Josh insists that he's telling the truth. However, first they have to eliminate Ashley as a witness. After a moment, Andy nods in agreement.
That night, the brothers take Ashley to their motel. Ashley says that she had no one else to call and didn't want to be alone. Once she steps aside, Sam says that it seems too easy. Dean doesn't see the problem, and Ashley asks him to stay with her until she falls asleep.
Andy and Josh park outside, and Andy says that he's sure Ashley is there because he can smell her. He's spotted the Impala, and Josh tells his brother that they can handle it.
Dean asks Ashley how she's doing, and asks if he likes her job. He tells her that he does because he gets to help people. Ashley asks if he wants to do anything else, and Dean explains that he's where he's supposed to be. The woman talks about how they graduated from college and they were celebrating, and has no idea what she's going to do with her life. Dean assures her that she has plenty of time, and Ashley wishes that everything was already decided for them. He says that he disagrees with her.
Hours later, Sam wakes up a dozing Dean. Ashley is gone, and Sam says that he went out for food and when he came back, the door was open.
A gagged and tied Ashley is in the cabin workshop, and Josh and Andy come in. Andy insists that it isn't who they are, and Josh says that it is who they are and he wants to eat Ashley's heart.
The Winchesters pull up outside, and Dean insists that the brothers couldn't have taken Ashley without waking him.
Josh picks up an axe and Ashley screams. The Winchesters hear her, draw their guns, and break into the cabin. The werewolves hear them and run out, and a few seconds later the Winchesters come in. Dean unties Ashley and she says that the werewolves ran. As the Winchesters take her out, Josh and Andy drop down from the rafters and attack the Winchesters. Josh struggles with Dean, and breaks a rack of mounted antlers over his head. Sam and Andy fight, and Andy picks up Sam's gun and aims it at him.
Josh pins Dean to the wall, and Andy screams his brother's name. After a moment, Andy shoots Josh dead. He then aims the gun at Sam, who says that he doesn't have to do it. Andy explains that Josh was never going to stop and he turned into a monster, figures that he's a monster, too, and shoots himself dead. Dean tells Sam that was weird, and Ashley tries to walk away. When Dean asks if she's okay, she yells at him not to touch him, steps back, trips, and impales herself on the antlers. After a few moments, she says that it's a bitch, stands up, and complains that she was doing well. Ashley flexes her body, expelling the antlers from it, and asks Sam if he remembers her. Her eyes turn white, and the brothers realize that it's Lilith.
Lilith explains that she was dead but God brought her back. She was supposed to seduce Dean but figures it isn't going to happen. Lilith says that Chuck set up the whole thing as part of his story, and she used her powers to make Dean asleep and then make sure the brothers see the werewolves die. She asks for the Equalizer, saying that once she has it they're done. Dean tells her that Chuck can come get it herself. Lilith figures they're doing it the hard way, and the brothers die their blades. She blasts Sam them away and as Dean recovers, Lilith goes to the unconscious Sam. Dean offers to show her where the Equalizer is, and Lilith wonders if he's lying. She notes that she can't kill him, but figures that if it's an attempt to save Sam, she'll make Dean beg to die. Dean tells her that he's sure, and Lilith agrees.
As Sam lies unconscious, he dreams of fighting Dean in the bunker and Dean defeating him. Dean pulls up his sleeve, revealing the Mark of Cain, and Sam begs Dean to stop. His brother grabs him by the throat and holds him against the wall, picks up the First Blade and his eyes turn dark, and he jams the Blade into Sam's chest.
Sam wakes up and looks around, and discovers the cabin is empty.
Dean drives through the night with Lilith, and asks her why she's doing it. Lilith explains that she doesn't want to be there, and had to die for what she wanted most. Then the Winchesters and Chuck screwed up her plan, and Lilith can't hurt Chuck so she's hurting the Winchesters.
Sam runs out and confirms that the Impala is gone, and finds the brothers' truck.
Lilith chuckles at how she played Dean using Chuck's dialogue, and notes how Chuck is obsessed with them. In his story, it always ends with one brother killing the other. Lilith figures that the Winchesters had to see the werewolf brothers die because of foreshadowing. They arrive at the motel room and Dean tells Lilith that they didn't bring it. Lilith creates a cut on Dean's face, and then another. Dean chuckles and tells her to go to hell. Lilith cuts him again and promises she can make it last forever.
Sam bursts in and shoots Lilith in the head. She's unable to move, and Sam explains that he used a Devil's Trap bullet. Sam demands to know where Chuck is, saying that he killed her once and can do it again. Lilith tells him that he only killed her before he let her. The room shakes out, and the brothers run out as Lilith expels the bullet from her head.
As the brothers head for the Impala, they freeze in place. Lilith appears and figures the Equalizer was never in the motel room but they would have brought it with her. She goes to the Impala and looks in the front, and finds the Equalizer in the glove compartment. Sam tells her that they'll get it back, and Lilith melts the gun to molten slag. Lilith thanks them, says that she'll see them soon, and teleports away, freeing them.
Back at the bunker, Sam tries to call Castiel but gets no answer. They leave a voice mail warning him about Chuck and Lilith, and Dean wonders what else they can do. He says that Chuck was supposed to be gone, and figure that they're stuck in His maze. Sam wonders why Chuck doesn't kill them already, and Dean notes that according to Lilith Chuck only likes one kind of ending: one of them kill the other. Sam talks about his dreams of them killing each other, and wonders if he's somehow seeing Chuck's ending. He figures that he and Chuck are linked because he shot Him, and somehow he's in His head. Dean figures that they were free, and wonders what they're supposed to do. Sam suggests that they fight, and Dean wonders how they fight God without the gun.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 15, 2019