Chapter 1: After Dark
There was no time. No time to think after a thick black cloud had enshrouded towns and the events that followed. The news was abuzz with chaos slowly becoming more out of control, bar fights and animal attacks the hot topic amongst most. It was as though the world would end again, even with celestial intervention.
In the midst of this, someone in a small home worked feverishly typing away or making a phone call to anyone who could help. After all, she had been a hunter. Had. She was now the liaison for many and only picked up jobs on occasions. In between work at a very large archive and maintaining a steady relationship with an occasional hunter, it was busy and very few moments to have any sort of leisure. Right now, at a very late hour, she looked at the sky through the large bay window seeing the ominous cloud overhead. She heard her phone ring now, picking it up with no sign of hesitation.
"Any other news?" She asked quickly.
"The archive was destroyed." The other person replied, sounding as though her heart had been broken.
"Whatever caused this must've been something unnatural." She said, seriousness seething in her tone. "That place is sealed tight."
"Well, we can recover the documents." The other reassured on the other end. "In the meantime, find out what happened. That's what you hunters do."
They hung up quickly, letting her catch a breath. But everything in her home seemed calm, her little dog sleeping the bed a few feet away from her desk. It was quiet until a bright light appeared, forcing her to shield her eye and dog to bark ferociously. It was who appeared in front of her that took her aback. Brown hair, a little taller than average, blue eyes that were only more with the light surrounding him. This man was celestial, almost too much like an angel and less like any man she met. Instinctively, she reached for her blade. After all, it was the time to use it.
"I'm not going to hurt you." He reassured her, his voice a little rough.
"If you tell me who you are, then I may put the blade down." She replied.
"Castiel." He replied simply.
The name sounded familiar and made her wonder if there was a connection to the Winchester brothers. He elaborated more, explaining what chaos had transpired in the last few hours. She stood up promptly, leaving the room for a moment. He knew them. He knew who she was. As she gathered the blankets and had finally made her way to the kitchen where she stood by watching the little coffee machine she had come back to life.
It had been eight years since she had seen them and now she was left to process everything that happened. Working with a witch, being cursed with the Mark of Cain, killing Death. It seemed to be all too much but it wasn't. Not to her hunter's mind; it was the consequences of releasing it. She could tell Castiel was standing there, watching her slowly.
"You're sure it's okay if I'm here?" He asked, a bit of caution mixed in with the roughness.
"It's alright. I trust you now that I know who you are." She replied.
"Who are you exactly?" He asked, curiously.
The question stopped her in her tracks for a minute. Who was she to the Winchesters? To any of the hunters she helped? Then she could answer.
"Sam and Dean. They helped me after I lost my own family." She replied.
She went on to explain about her past with them, the times she died only to come back, then how she ended up where she was now. It wasn't a really interesting story to her but to the angel, it was a story that no one could make up. As she handed him one cup of freshly brewed coffee, she sat with him at the table.
"And you're only twenty-three?" He said.
"Yes but I sometimes feel older." She replied. "Now, I help hunters instead of hunting."
"I still feel as though I'm intruding." He apologized.
"Don't worry. You're not; my boyfriend is out on his own job." She said. "And with this going on, I need to be on board."
Castiel could see why Sam and Dean had both talked about her as though she had been family. He got the sense that she could help eradicate the consequences of unleashing 'The Darkness'. It had been resolved; she was going to take him back to the headquarters and join in the fight as well.
It wasn't long after he lied on the couch while the little dog kept an eye on him. He did like it although the animal didn't seem to care for him. But after what seemed like a long while, Castiel gave into getting some rest before the day long drive ahead. It also didn't feel like a long time when he woke up on the same couch but with towels left on the side table.
"The shower is all yours if you want." She said.
He took advantage of having an actual shower, taking a little time to get ready, then see the same girl from the night before in her full hunter attire. She dressed like his friends did. Dark pants, boots, a dark grey shirt with a denim shirt on top, and all topped off with a hoodie. Her short, dark hair was still a bit damp.
Before they left, she took her dog over to the neighbour who looked delighted. He tried to understand why someone would look so happy over a dog but it was a human trait that would confuse him for that moment. After a few minutes, he found himself in the passenger seat of an old navy Toyota Celica. The girl, who had finally introduced herself as Alison Marsden, started up her old car carefully leaving her neighbourhood.
"Let's get to headquarters." She said with a very strong resolve.