Hey guys. Just a little bit of Supernatural that I have been working on over the last couple of days for you.
Sometimes you wonder if your whole life has been planned out for you from the first scraped knee to the now sharp wound in your flesh, leaving you unable to respond but so able to feel the fire burning within you, to experience death's cool, smiling face as he reaches down for you.
The scent of charcoal weaved its way into my sinuses, muscles aching as I woke up. The sound of Metallica blasted faintly, from what I could only guess was Dean's stereo, in the distant kitchen of the base. I forced a deep breath of dank air into my lungs as the covers slipped forward over my chest and I sat up, head giving a displeased thud. My white henna tattoo itched on my neck and I traced the tiny halo and wings with my fingertip, swinging out of bed. Feeling the cold floor under my heels, I reached and flung the hung robe around me and staggered, nest of hair and all, toward the smell of singed food. My stomach growled as though affirming how accustomed I had become to Dean's overly-fried breakfast the past few months. Dean's hollow eyes flickered up to mine, dim in the rooms light and I felt a small laugh pass through my lips at Sam's paler expression as he saw me over the edge of the coffee he was sculling.
"Do you always wear your hair like that?" He grinned weakly as the cup knocked back to the table. His cheekbones were sticking out more than normal and I swore they were tinged a shade of blue in the shade. I glanced up at my hair, an absolute mess of midnight black tangles, and I feigned amusement, "Oh Sam, it's how all the people wear their hair now," I smirked nodded at his own tousled mess as I took a seat. He blinked and then rolled his eyes as Dean's voice piped up.
"Coffee's on the table and today's menu is a choice of burnt French toast or….stale Captain Crunch." He smirked proudly, the oily spatula waving dangerously close to the edge of his face before I noticed his bright green orbs did their routine glance over to his little brother. I huffed a bit and grabbed a piece of blackened toast, shoving it in my mouth gratefully. It was better than what I used to eat anyway.
Lifting my head, mouth full, I scanned the room briefly, brows narrowing, "Cas gone out again?" Castiel, angel of the lord had become my go-to person since I started living with the Winchesters; he was a decent listener, I had to admit. Unable to see the angel anywhere, I turned to the guys; Sam just shrugged and Dean nodded grumpily but brushed it off quickly, an unsettled weight sitting on his shoulders. I knew he had a little run-in with Castiel recently so I let it go with a sigh.
"Left yesterday afternoon Liv, thought you would have noticed." His lips twitched slightly in a moment of critique and in my sour, sleepy mood I almost walloped him one, but thankfully he noticed my glare and with a chuckle, he mumbled into the frying pan, "Should be back soon." I nodded and set back into finishing breakfast to the soothing hum of metal.
A sound like a gust of wind whipped past my ears from down the hall as I finished tying up my purple converse shoes, giving myself a quick once-over in the mirror, and I ran back through the doorway to find the source of the familiar sound. Blue, black hair no longer a mess but straightened down to shoulder height, favourite grey hoodie adorned and the usual black jeans with a netted skirt tucked nicely at the hip. All ready to go out somewhere, determined today would be that day.
I felt my chest rise as I did a quick skip out of the door, padding down the rest of the hall to the more brightly lit main room. Just as the sound had told me, the angel had returned, looking innocent as he handed over a large plastic bag full of assortments to the stern-looking hunter. I lingered silently in the doorway as I examined their exchange. Dean picked up what looked like a magazine from the back before giving Cas a double take and dropping the magazine angrily to leave the room, only to quickly return and collect it with the rest of the bag and giving the angel a slight nod before returning down the other hallway like a shy rat scurrying back into his den.
"Back to the batcave," I chuckled quietly.
Cas looked up at the sound and I quietly walked into the room, eyes searching his expression for any hints as to what he would say next, because I could never tell.
"You saw that." He stared blankly as a hint of guilt flushed through my cheeks and I nodded.
"Not that I really knew what that was but…" I tilted my head, "Got a few ideas." I grinned at him as his own expression softened into a slight smile.
"You find it funny. I was only trying to make it up to Dean."
"Right," I giggled silently as I settled onto the couch with the hot coffee clasped between my palms, looking up at the confused angel's expression as he shook off my comment. "I do understand the appeal of this coffee though," he smiled as he stole a whiff of my drink, the tips of his invisible wings brushing against my leg as he sat down. It was odd seeing him so relaxed and almost human in motion, the way he had been the last few days, but there was something guarded about him that I noticed in the tightness of his gaze.
"Hey guys, check this out." Sam's warm, excited and yet recently more rasped voice floated through the door into the room as he dangerously dangled his laptop, placing it on the table in front of us as Dean hurried back, his eyes shifting to avoid my slight smirk.
"What is it?" Dean narrowed his brows.
Cas and I quietly surveyed the screen. "Now I know we are meant to be focusing on the third trial but it's nearby so I thought…well." Sam's hand flicked acknowledgement at the article on the screen, killings, bloody photos, throats ripped out. I knew straight away what it was and I felt excitement boil within me. After Dean's eyes scanned the screen, his face darkened. "No."
"What?" Sam looked up at him in annoyance, his darkened emerald eyes flashing with a spark of anger.
"I said no, you aren't strong enough to do anything like this, this is a parasite, Sammy, it's way too dangerous for you to be doing in the condition you're in right now!" Dean's jaw clenched as Sam flared his nostrils, looking away from his brother's worried fury.
"I- I could, perhaps..?" I tried to mumble into the conversation but I was cut off by the sharp growls of not just Sam and Dean's harsh refusal but Castiel's too, his hand firm on my shoulder, so I bit my lip and hid my face back in the heat of my coffee, swallowing hard.
It wasn't long after that when I found myself back in my room on the warm mat of my single bed, wrapped up in a blanket, listening from afar as the rest of them heatedly discussed the case without me. I tried to push away the lump that was scratching against my throat and the tears that burned and pricked behind my eyes. All I wanted to do was help, to be like Dean and hunt monsters, help people. But no, I had to stay hidden in this cold, dank, pathetic hole of a base so the king of hell didn't use me as his chess piece. The tears were flowing freely now and I couldn't do anything to stop it, quickly wiping as much away as I could as I heard a gust of wind next to me and glanced up in time to see Cas' face drop slightly at my expression.
"I-…I apologize." He murmured as he stood stiffly next to my bed, looking unsure on how to handle the upset nineteen year old wreck in front of him. I nodded shakily, sniffing away another threatening stream of tears. Cas shifted slightly before relaxing, his hand coming back again to rest, warm and comforting, against my shoulder.
"For Dean and Sam too… though they may disagree."
I said nothing but I was grateful for the slight gesture he was providing me. It wasn't something he would do often and twice in one day was unheard of. Castiel and physical contact never seemed to go well together.
"Dean and I are going to deal with this, Sam and you are to remain here."
He paused, "I am glad Dean has forgiven me." His expression softened slightly and I gave him a gentle nod, mumbling, "Go on then."
I felt a wave of grateful energy emit from his mind and I blinked in surprise as he vanished, lying back against the blanket, feeling the heat on my shoulder slowly disappear into the crisp air and I shut my eyes as the rumble of the Impala could be heard fading into the distance.
It wasn't after I had slipped into a slumber on my bed when I heard a terrifying noise pierce through my ears. It was like a strangled animal, something terrified and broken before the sharp yelp of mercy put it out of its misery. Leaping up I threw the blanket off and sprinted down the hall, dark shoes slapping against the concrete floor towards the noise. It came from deep within the base, what sounded like it could have been the far side bathroom so, ducking through a few more doorways, I pressed my ear to the rough wood and strained my hearing.
The tap dripped ominously and I heard nothing else but something was wrong, something was definitely wrong and I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. My mind kept trying to settle on one point but I refused to let it. It couldn't be him. Not him, he couldn't find me here, Dean promised he wouldn't, he promised that it was impossible.
It couldn't be Crowley.
A slight groan emanated from under the door and my eyes widened, "Sam?!" I shoved hard on the door but it wouldn't budge, so flattening myself to the floor, I peeked under to see red seeping out onto the floor. I screamed his name again and kicked and scratched and beat the door to no avail, leaning back against the door as I slid down, the back of my head scraping down the door as a sob broke through.
I was supposed to be looking after him. If only I had been allowed to go on that stupid hunt, Dean or Cas could have stayed behind, they could have broken down the door at got to him and here I was crying pathetically because I couldn't get in. Well, I refuse to be that person anymore.
Getting up, I pushed hard against the wooden frame of the door. Shutting my eyes, I took a step back before ramming all I could against it. I felt pain blast through my shoulder like a cold burn before I landed on the floor, feeling water splash over my hands. I opened my eyes and all I could see is pink. The river of crimson flowing from Sam's body mixed with the water on the ground in an array of swirls. My hand automatically shot to his neck, checking his pulse which was strong and steady. He was just unconscious, but he wouldn't be for long if I didn't stop the bleeding. I staggered back to my feet and flung myself to the cabinet to grab a cloth, leaving a tinged pattern across the wall.
This was beginning to look more and more like some kind of murder scene, I thought, as I pressed the cloth to the younger Winchester's forehead, bloodying it quickly as I shivered from the ice-cold water that took up the floor. I grabbed my phone from my pocket, smudging red across the screen as I sent a terrified text to Dean.
Sam was still unconscious as I held the rag there, heart racing, looking around to think to calm myself down. That's when I noticed the door I had come through was still shut and locked tight with the dead bolt.
I froze and looked around in horror. Had I been locked in? Was it a demon? Could Crowley have been here after all? I whipped my head around, scanning every inch of the small room. There was nowhere to hide in here; the half metre square window was too far up the wall, too small to escape from. So how?
I removed the red stained rag from Sam's head and examined the gash on his forehead. The bleeding had slowed down somewhat and I looked around to the cabinet again, resting Sam's hazel hair back against the ground, letting it mix slightly with the flood on the floor.
I tried to think back, one minute I was pressing against the door, the next minute I was on the ground. I went to tighten the steadily dripping tap and let out the water from the overflowing sink, spilling more water onto the ground with a shatter, breaking the silence.
The boys always kept a decent amount of supplies around the place so it didn't take long to get my hands on a curved need and some dental floss, unfortunately that was the best I could do. I swallowed and knelt down, gently pulling Sam's head onto my lap and hoping to God he would stay unconscious during my first time stitching up a cut.
I knotted the end of the floss and started to stitch, heart racing as each pierce dragged the floss roughly through his skin. It felt like hours later when I finished the tying knot and admired my work. I was hoping it wasn't too bad for a first time effort.
Chucking some towels on the floor to soak up the mess I looked in despair at my favourite blue singlet now covered in blood. I propped a towel under Sam's head and l let my gaze rest on his face for a moment. He and I got along like siblings, arguing one minute and laughing the next but I'd never seen him as weak as he was now. The trials were really taking their toll on him.
I sighed and turned my head to face the door again when I heard the slam of the front door. "Sam? Liv?!" He shouted anxiously.
"Bathroom!" I shouted back and within a half second Castiel had appeared beside me, glancing behind him at the locked door with a frown as Dean tried to get in and found it locked. Cas opened it easily without moving and Dean barged in, his face paling at the blood everywhere.
"Is…is he?" He looked at Sam in horror. I shook my head quickly, "He should be fine, I hope. I stopped the bleeding. He must've passed out and hit his head." We all knew that Sam wasn't going to last much longer if he didn't finish the trials. Dean nodded and pulled me to my feet. "You did good, kid."
I pursed my lips slightly, face still serious, looking from Castiel to the door and back to his frown.
"How did you get in?"
Cas' rough voice echoed throughout the room as he looked at me accusingly. I stumbled slightly over my words as I stared back at the ominously dark door.
"I don't know… I wasn't strong enough to break through. It was locked when I turned around. I…" I started tearing up again and I hated myself for it but the terror that gripped me every time I thought of him would not allow for strength, "I thought it was him."
The angel's expression softens as he turns to me again, his head lowering as he looks me in the eyes. "Crowley cannot find you here and he never will." He looked up at Dean briefly and back at me.
"There's something I have yet to tell you about how you ended up living with the Winchesters."
Cliffhanger as would be a traditional Supernatural ending ;) Please review and hopefully will update soon.