Calloused fingers impatiently tapped against the tan fabric of a trench coat, off sync with the guitar rhythm of a song that whined softly through the speakers. The angel sprawled across the backseat in boredom, watching as rays of light shifted with the motion of the 1967 Impala, highlighting golden strands of the driver's sandy brown hair. His green eyes catching the angel's gaze in the rearview mirror, capturing him in a matching stare before settling back on the road. Endless rows of corn blurred as the Impala roared down the open road, an occasional passing car or farm house in the distance taking away from the monotony of the corn. A town had come into view and the angel righted himself against the stitched leather bench seat. It was the only town the three men had seen for hours and their last chance to get out of the cramped space before leaving the state.
Sam and Dean parked the Impala in an empty gravel lot to walk into town for some food from a convenience store down the road, leaving Cas to stay with the car. It wasn't a habit the Winchesters wanted to continue on with, parking so far away, but after being cooped up in the car with Cas for three days straight, they decided the short walk would be good for them. They didn't want or need the crass angel saying anything to piss off the locals in this area anyhow. It seemed everyone in these parts carried a gun on their person and most of them didn't need any extra coaxing to use them. Except it turned out it wouldn't have been a problem anyhow. The town was practically deserted, and the only sign of life was an occasional face in the window, peering out at the brothers through drawn back curtains. Sam looked at Dean who shrugged in response, frowning. Something wasn't right, but there was no one around to explain the reasoning.
Cas, left to his own devices, fiddled with his calloused hands after propping himself against the side of the Impala. The warm summer breeze that tickled his skin felt nice and for a second, he wondered what it would be like to wear something other than his usual garb. The thought of taking off the trench coat made the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. What a day that would be. Lazily shoving himself away from the car, he turned around to see his vessel's reflection in the window, studying it casually as if he were gazing at a stranger. That unruly brown hair complimented by eyes as blue as the ocean, and that incessant 5 o'clock shadow he never stopped shaving. How his vessel's wife must have pictured him and the memories they made, just as people saw him now. No longer Jimmy Novak, devoted husband and father, but rather Castiel, a fallen angel. Never in a million years had he thought this was how his life would turn out. Riding around with the Winchesters in the backseat of their car; saving people, hunting things. It was their family business after all.
Still contemplating the reflection of the scruffy tax collector in a trench coat, he noticed two suited individuals in the large grass field behind him. He shook his head, straining his eyes harder into the reflection, making sure that he wasn't in fact seeing things. He spun around on his heel to realize they were two of his brothers striding randomly in the field. He was instantly confused about the scene unfolding before him. Something obviously wasn't right, seeing as there were angels waltzing around a grass field in the middle of nowhere. But there was something else that he couldn't put his finger on. Something far worse he felt and it made him clutch at his stomach as it churned with worry. Dean called it a gut feeling, but Cas didn't understand the reference since he never felt anything in his gut besides the occasional craving for cheeseburgers.
Instantly, he was up on his toes walking in their direction. He opted to travel on foot, leery of what kind of situation he had on his hands and hopped the fence, wading through the waist high grass leaving a mowed trail in his wake. The closer he got, the more he was sure they were caught in a trance, only blank stares occasionally meeting him in the distance. He thought this to be odd and even more so when they stopped abruptly to look up to the sky to where Cas had noticed a wall of ominous clouds furiously rolling in. His face furrowed with concern only confirming his suspicions that Heaven was up to no good. His brothers seemed to suddenly snap out of their trance just long enough to give Cas a terrified and pleading look. He tried running to them but was flattened by a crack of light that struck down from seemingly nowhere, nearly missing him in the process. It seared into the earth leaving behind nothing but scorched grass and a black crater in its wake.
Cas crawled to his feet to find his brothers hopelessly trying to escape with their lives, hap hazardously dodging the beams of light that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Taking a longer look at the sky above, he saw clouds that were compact and shapely, definitely not free floating and soft. He watched in horror as his brothers were struck down one by one, that familiar white angelic light flashing from the sea of grass that swallowed them whole. Castiel, realizing the situation at hand and the black clouds that still threatened above, feared he would be next so he materialized to the driver's seat of the black car, cursing Dean for taking the keys with him. It seemed only right, because Cas had never driven a car and he would surely crash it if given the opportunity but at the moment he did not care. He needed to get to the boys, to protect them, but when he shut his eyes to leave, he only reopened them to find himself still sitting in the car. He yanked and yanked on the door handles which all seemed to be stuck. It reminded him of Dean's silly little expressions whenever he found himself in sticky situations. His particular favorite was son of a bitch–or was it seriously? It was always something different.
A rotating black cloud formed over the Impala at an astonishing speed, blocking out the light from the sun, masking the gravel lot around him in an eerie dimness he could have mistaken for dusk. Another crack of thunder made both Cas and the car shudder. He looked out the window and shrieked, seeing a twister forming from the clouds directly above. This wasn't good, not at all. Giving the doors one last defeated yank, he buckled himself in and searched for anything bolted in that he could grip to, settling on the steering wheel. The thrust from the tornado pitched his head cracking against the window as the metal frame of the car groaned and creaked. He peered out the window again, only seeing debris swirling around him making him dizzy at the sight. He knew he wasn't on the ground anymore, but a small part of him still hoped that he was. His knuckles turned white as the car started to spin uncontrollably within the twister. He shut his eyes tight anticipating his time was running out quick. He tried to relieve himself by remembering when Dean made him watch the movie Twister with him. He could still taste the salty popcorn and see the hearty smile on Dean's face as they sat silently on the couch together. Cas had asked so many questions about the movie which should have aggravated Dean into ordering him to leave, but he just continued to laugh it off and answer his questions. It amazed him that even after all they had been through, what Cas had put him through; Dean still always gave him another chance. The humans' ability of tolerance and forgiveness never ceased to amaze Cas and Dean was living proof. He dragged in a deep breath trying to sooth the pit that was forming in his stomach. We're family. I need you. It seemed he always got himself into these situations, and it was always Dean who picked up the pieces. He shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
The car plummeted, flipping to the ground with a loud crash. Glass shattered everywhere, metal contorting in ways it wasn't meant to. The metal frame caving in, leaving the innards sardined, crushing Cas between the seat and the roof. The clouds had vanished but he was left in a bloody, broken heap, his body draped over the back of the bench seat. The pressure from the decimated metal starved him of air was a major problem as he struggled to free his body that was contorted five ways to Sunday. One arm had gotten stuck behind his head in the cramped space while the other had lost all feeling being trapped under his body. He tried to shift his weight enough to free his arm and push out the roof and within a few minutes he had adjusted himself enough to straighten the metal back out. He flopped to the ground with a grunt, rolling over in relief. Kicking his way out of the twisted frame, he staggered breathlessly away from the vehicle. When he caught his breath again, he painfully straightened himself out to inspect the damage.
It startled him when he heard a bellow from behind, almost jumping out of his skin. He cringed. "What the hell, Cas? I leave you for one second and–" He stopped midsentence when Sam nudged him, pointing to the charred field. Dean stepped towards the man in a trench coat to take a better look, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady the shaking angel. "Cas, what happened? You ok?"
Cas stuttered trying to catch his voice, "I–I think Heaven just tried to kill me."
Dean took in a fistful of the torn trench coat, giving Cas a once over. Satisfied, there was no serious damage, he let him go and stepped towards his car, distraught at the sight. Sam ran both his hands through his hair, pacing slowly. He took in scene, from the totaled car to the scorched fields. He heard some distant thunder from town, but he hadn't given it a second thought. What the hell happened? He spun around to the disquieting sound of Castiel's voice booming over his brother. "I need to know what's going on up there. Let go of me, Dean. Please." He shoved away from Dean, his trench coat slipping away from his tight hold. "Cas, are you insane? Heaven just tried to barbeque you and you want to drop in for a visit? No way, man. I can't let you do that." But before Dean could finish his spiel, Cas was gone. Sam frowned at where Cas had been standing.
Minutes later, he returned sagging to the ground with blood oozing from his mouth and ears. Dean and Sam rushed over to him and held him up, trying to keep the battered angel on his feet. "Dammit, Cas." Dean swore under his breath, more scared than he wanted to let on. "We need to get him to a hospital!" Sam shook his head, taking in the damage on the Impala versus Cas and reasoned with him that they weren't going anywhere without help. Sam looked up and saw a cloaked figure walking towards them down the road. He pointed and shouted, "Dean! Maybe that man can help us! If we could just find someone to drive us–"
Cas jerked, spitting blood from his mouth. "No! Sam d-don't!" He stammered trying to tug the brothers away from the direction the man was coming from. The angel was clearly distressed so they pulled him to the back of the Impala. "We need to get out of here now! That–that man is not... we aren't safe!" He was gripping both of them by their shirts now. "Cas what are you talking about? Who is that?" Sam said with urgency, alarmed that Cas had even been frightened by someone. "Barachiel…" He shook his head in disbelief. "He's supposed to be dead. I don't understand. I watched him die." The blank stare worsened and Castiel rose to his feet like nothing had ever been wrong with him, stepping from behind the car and stopped in his tracks. He was still bloody and beaten but everything the boys shouted begged went unnoticed. Dean tried to pull Cas back behind the Impala but he wouldn't budge. "Son of a bitch! He must be under a spell," he hissed. Sam nudged Dean and motioned up at the sky. Black clouds were rolling in and fast. They looked back at each other quizzically. "You think that's how the angels got deep fried extra crispy?" Sam leaned in quietly. "I don't know, but Cas is gonna end up just like them if we don't do something like now."
A deafening crack of thunder jolted the Winchesters, shaking the ground they stood on. This was no ordinary thunderstorm. The rumble was so distracting they hadn't noticed the cloaked man had moved within shooting distance. Sam fumbling for the pistol wedged in the small of his back, gasped as the man swiftly raised his hands above his head with a sharp clap. A lightning bolt struck from the sky causing Sam and Dean to shy away from the electricity consumed the man's body, settling in the tips of his fingers. He rolled the blue light about his fingertips, ogling at the voltage with intense pleasure. Switching the intense stare on the frozen angel, the corners of his mouth lifted into a crooked little smile. The boys tried to get a better look at the dark figure controlling lighting from his fingertips. The black hood concealed most of his features, leaving his mouth and nose clear in sight. He turned his hands over so they were parallel to the pavement. Before the brothers could comprehend what was happening, spider webs of blue light shot from his fingers faster than they could blink, striking Cas to the ground. Sam shot furiously at the man as he vanished into thin air. Dean screamed and ran to catch Cas, cradling his twitching, stiff body in his arms. He checked for a pulse but remembered angels didn't have one. Sammy knelt next to Dean, towering over him and the unconscious angel and squeezed his shoulder tight. Tears rolled down Dean's cheeks as he pressed his forehead against Cas, sucking in a sharp, unsteady breath. He rasped softly, "you can't die on me now, man. Not like this."