BASED ON ERIC KRIPKE'S "SUPERNATURAL". ALL COPYRIGHTED CHARACTERS AND STORYLINES BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS.
"CASTIEL" TELLS THE STORY OF THE ANGEL WITH THE SAME NAME, WHO MOVES TO HEAVEN TO RESTORE ORDER AMONG THE ANGELS. ADVENTURE, POLITICS, ROMANCE BUT ABOVE ALL, SUPERNATURAL, ARE THE KEY PLOT ELEMENTS.
CHAPTER I: THE CALLING
"So I heard some rumors" a man says while leaning down a comfortable armchair and sipping some sort of alcoholic drink out of a spotless glass. Another man stands by the window, gazing outside with a worried look. "I heard that General Michael fell in the battle of Armageddon" the man continues after enjoying another sip. "Imagine that, the great Michael loosing to his little brother … so much for fearless leaders." He starts to laugh at his own thoughts with a malicious tone.
The man at the window, not sharing the other's sense of humor, turns around to face him, displaying a grim expression, obviously bothered by what he just heard. "You moron!" The armchair man freezes. "You're nothing but a maggot compared to Michael. You have no idea how great he really is … he would have snapped your neck like a twig if he would have heard you talking like that. I will snap your neck like a twig if I hear crap like that again."
"What do you think really happened?"
"Oh so you're suddenly concerned of his fate … I don't know. I have a bad feeling about it."
The two burry themselves into their own thoughts. Finishing his drink, the armchair man gets up, meticulously washes the glass and places it in the washing machine. Remembering that someone else is in the room with him, he apologizes: "Sorry, I totally forgot to give you something to drink." He receives no response. He didn't expect to. A disturbing silence installs itself between the walls of the room.
"So what other rumors have you heard?"
"What?" the distracted host asks.
"What other rumors have you heard?"
"Oh. I heard that someone has blown the horn."
"Where did you hear that?"
"From the guys down Topeka. They said it was pretty hard to miss."
"Are you sure they weren't just messing with you?"
"Come on … both them and Jefferson, Lincoln and Oklahoma City heard it. You see, it's like Kansas was first, the surrounding states after; it's spreading like news … doesn't this sound too logical to be only a prank?"
"Why would anyone blow the horn?"
"We're communicating through rumors Selaphiel, I mean doesn't that prove how low we are right now. Maybe the dominions are calling a round up for a change in the executive department. With Michael gone, there's no one in charge, its total anarchy."
"Remember Heaven?" Selaphiel says while adopting a blank stare "with its green fields and tall mountains, with giant waterfalls sprinkling into crystal clean lakes and trees of all sorts touching the blue clear sky."
"Is that how you saw it?" the host inquires curiously.
"Yeah … a long, long time ago…"
"How long have you been down here, in the trenches?"
"A very long time" Selaphiel sadly admits while casting a glance at the window. At God's orders, he left heaven and came to Earth to do his will. Since then, he has been blindly following Michael's orders without thinking of the consequences of his actions. He doesn't have a problem with faith, no, the thing bothering him the most is his desire to return to heaven and enjoy its peace once again. However, because of the newly installed anarchy due to the general's absence, he doubts the nearness of his homecoming moment.
Suddenly, a loud sound bursts out of the silence and deafens the two men, who cover their aching ears. The noise repeats itself several times, causing great agony to Selaphiel and the host. After it stops, the two shake their heads to recover from the initial shock. "It's real, they're really calling us" both say to each other. The room becomes quiet again.
Selaphiel and his friend arrive at an abandoned warehouse. Just when they thought they were alone, a handful of people appear in front of them. After they greet, they then surround a table lighted by the weakening power of a hanging lamp. The unsettled loud voices of the other men start to irritate the archangel.
"All right, all right, can we please calm down and discuss in a civilized manner?" Selaphiel's companion tries to impose order. It seems to have no effect as they continue to argue. "Can't say I didn't try."
"Enough" Selaphiel quietly declares. At his order, everyone ends any kind of sound producing action and points their attention to their commanding officer. "Now that we can all THINK CLEARLY, let's get to busyness. We all heard it right? Cause I think it would be a waste of time to dwell upon whether it was our imagination or not." The others nod in approval.
"Good. Now, next question: what do we do about it?"
"When the horn is blown that means that all angels must gather to the celestial palace, no matter what" one of them cries.
"We should do nothing. Michael's gone. What do they expect? Change of command? It's not going to do any good!" another man says.
While the group resumes their argument, Selaphiel's mind runs towards the green fields of his memories. Lately, with the apocalypse and the end drawing to a close, home is what he can think of. He sometimes found himself distracted even in the middle of a fight. He is tired but not exhausted; he just simply lost interest in this war between heaven and hell and being a good soldier, obeying every command coming from upstairs. Waking up from his conscious sleep, he again begs for silence through a gentle word.
"It looks like we have two choices: 1) we stay and do nothing, carry on with our usual day to day operations or 2) we get our asses to heaven asap. All those in favor for going … all those against…"
The majority votes in favor for. Selaphiel decides to leave his group a couple of moments before taking off to heaven. One of them goes outside and lights up a cigarette. The archangel's companion, Omiel, approaches.
"This stuff's supposed to kill humans" the man confesses while blowing smoke out of his nostrils. "I can't see why they're so bad."
"So what do you think of all this?"
"I tell you what I think. I think our boss's loosing it."
"Shut up or you'll get us both killed" Omiel snaps, frightfully watching the entrance of the warehouse.
"Relax" the other suggests with calm. "He won't hear you. In fact, he hasn't been hearing in a long time."
"The hell are you talking about?"
"He always has that look, you know, staring into nothing. He's distracted all the time like he's in another universe, hardly pays any attention to what we have to say and what's the deal with that badass attitude?"
"He's an archangel … you know how they are" Omiel defends his superior.
"No. He's old. He's been on Earth, fighting and following orders for way too long. Michael should have called him off years ago."
"If he hears you, we're both going to end up demon lunch down in the pit. Now he will not tolerate this kind of insults and neither will I."
"What happened to you Omiel? You used to be so much fun."
"It's a new world … I grew up. You should too."
The two angels stare each other in a cold manner, as if not recognizing who the other is. "Come on" Omiel points out "it's time." The other extinguishes his cigarette by throwing it down and pressing it with his shoe sole.
Omiel remembers the time he and his fellow angels disobeyed Selaphiel's orders numerous times. It was their way of having fun, completed by angering the archangel on many occasions. They were the ones who always had a problem with command and would have done everything to undermine authority. They got themselves punished once in a while but most of the time they turned out just fine and with a good laughter. Now, after the great battles for the 66 seals and the war to prevent the apocalypse, he suddenly lost interest. But he knows his team mate is right. Selaphiel isn't a 100% with them anymore, like he used to. Something is heavily distracting him.
Inside, all of them gather in a circle. "Are we sure about this?" a man from the group enunciates with doubt. Selaphiel reassures him and after pronouncing several words in Latin, he loudly says: "In Aether (In heaven). A bright light appears and envelops them, one by one. After mere seconds, they all disappear, leaving darkness to overwhelm the warehouse. Near it, hiding behind used metallic parts, a mysterious figure watches the fading light of the angels' departure. Pulling a cell phone out of her coat, she dials the first and only number on the list. After the receiver picks up, she softly whispers: "We got a problem…"