CHAPTER ONE

"Excuse me ma'am?" Cas called out to a woman in a power suit walking by.

"I'm sorry kid, I work hard for my money and I'm not giving you any change." she responded rudely.

Cas looked down at his wardrobe. He was wearing a long, tan trench coat over a pair of skinny jeans and a worn out plaid shirt. On his feet were a pair of Converse almost as worn out as his oversized plaid. From his appearance, he did look like the type to ask for money from strangers. "I don't need any-" he began until he realized the woman had strutted away.

Cas pulled out his map of the New York City subway station. He examined it carefully trying to find which train he was supposed to take. He stood there a good five minutes until he realized he had absolutely no idea what he was looking at. Cas looked up from his map with a face of panic. He had somewhere to be and he was late already. He returned his attention back to the map again.

"Do you need some help?" a voice asked. Cas jerked his head up. There was a short girl with a round face wearing leather pants and studded boots. She had a silver necklace around her neck that said "Meg" on it. "I'm in a bit of a rush but I can always help out a man with a face like yours."

Cas blushed uncomfortably. "Um, yeah kind of. I'm lost... I've never been on a subway before and I'm trying to get to Harlem. Can you maybe point me in the right direction?"

The woman shot him a seductive smile. "You're gonna wanna get on that train over there," she said, pointing to a train, "And stay on there until you hear the announcer say something about Harlem."

"Thank you!" Cas exclaimed appreciatively.

"Anytime," the woman replied, getting extremely close to Cas and carefully slipping something into his trench coat pocket. She then shot him and wink and walked away in the opposite direction.

Cas noticed the doors of the train closing. He quickly sprinted towards the closing doors and just made it in. The train was packed tightly. He looked around trying to find an open pole or an open seat. Scanning his surroundings carefully, he saw one seat open next to a man in a leather jacket. Cas scrambled to the seat before anyone else could steal it. He squeezed himself in and took a deep sigh of relief. He stuck his hand in his pocket trying to find whatever that woman had put in there. He guessed it was probably her phone number or something since she was obviously trying to flirt with him. Cas pulled out something that resembled a small bouncy ball, except it wasn't rubber and didn't look like it could bounce. It was black and felt metal. He thought nothing of it and put it back in his pocket.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to relieve some of the stress from finding the train. Just before Cas almost fell asleep, he heard the man sitting next to something mumble something under his breath.

"I'm sorry, were you talking to me?" Cas asked.

"Oh no," he chuckled, "I said 'Must be nice to live in a house without any mirrors.'" He slightly tilted his head towards a teenage boy in pants that looked like he was wearing a diaper.

Cas was confused for a second but then caught onto the joke and started laughing uncontrollably. After he finally caught his breath, he choked, "That was really funny."

The man's green eyes gleamed with pride and his pearly whites glistened. He looked down and picked up a subway map off of the floor. "Is this yours?" he questioned.

"Yeah thanks!" Cas responded.

"So I'm guessing you're new to the big apple, huh?"

Cas thought for a second. His landlord warned him not to talk to any strangers anywhere in New York. Not everyone was as friendly as they looked. This man could be a thief or a terrorist or just running from the law. Should he initiate conversation? What if he found out where he lived? What if-

"I've been here for a year or two now," the man continued. "Still trying to find somewhere to work. I don't really know what I'm doing."

The man seemed friendly enough. Plus, he'd probably never even see this man again.

"My grandmother died a couple weeks ago and her apartment was left vacant so I'm just living there for a while." Cas replied.

"Oh I'm so sorry for your loss. There's been a whole lot of death in my family and friends so I know what you're going through. My name is Dean, by the way."

"I'm Castiel." he smirked. Dean shot out his hand for a handshake. Cas put his hand in Dean's. He had a really warm and firm handshake. It made him feel safe but it sent chills up his spine. He quickly pulled away.

"Cas - I like it." he grinned. He subtly winked at him.

"It's actually Castiel-" he began until the train halted to a stop. He listened, waiting to hear a voice announcing where the train had stopped. No voice came. He looked out the window, trying to see if they were at one of the stops but it was pitch black outside. They were still inside the tunnel.

"Is this your stop?" Dean joked.

Suddenly, the short man sitting across from Cas stood up on top of his steal and yelled into a megaphone.

"NOBODY MOVE. Sit down where you are and no one gets hurt, okay?" Everyone who was standing up on the stand sat down on the floor and everyone in their seats stayed where they were.

A man in a police uniform stood up on the other side of the train. "Excuse me, what do you think you're doing sir?"

The man with the megaphone chuckled darkly and reached into his leather satchel. "I hope you don't mind officer," he began, "But I'm disturbing the peace." In one quick swift motion, he pulled a handgun out of his bag and shot him in the forehead.