Title; Souls in the Abyss
Author; Tarklovishki
Rating; NC-17
Warnings; Overall murder, gore, grievous bodily harm, rape, character death. More warnings will apply with future chapters.
Spoilers; Spoilers for the end of season 7.
Summary; In Purgatory with nothing and no one to rely on but each other, it's a desperate race for Dean and Castiel to find a way out without ending up in the jaws of the creatures that hide there. Only, finding allies in dangerous times isn't as hard as they thought. Above ground, Sam races against time to pull them free without succumbing to his own returning darkness.
Authors Notes; This is my way of filling in the void that the finale gave us. This chapter is short, just setting up a couple of key points that will help further the story in the long run. I hope to have an update every week. Suggestions for the story are more than welcome. Enjoy!
Souls in the Abyss
Chapter 1
Dean looked around for Cas. He wanted to scream out for him to come right the fuck back, because hello; monsters coming to eat him, but because monsters were coming to eat him, he kept his mouth shut and hoped that he looked like nothing more than a big stump with clothes to them.
He didn't breathe, didn't move a muscle, couldn't think. He could hear the growls of his predators as they came closer, the crack of twigs and the shuffling of dead foliage as they moved. They were stalking him. After years of hunting down monsters like them, the tables were turned. He was the enemy to hunt now.
Dean thought about running, but decided against it. Where could he run to where they couldn't find him? Odds are, they've been here longer than he's been alive. They knew this place better than Dean did.
"Dean." The sound of wings accompanied Castiel's voice as he returned. A werewolf howled and then leaped through the trees, bloody fangs bared ready to sink into Dean's flesh. Castiel's hand shot out, grabbed Dean by the shoulder. The familiar tug around Dean's navel lifted him from the ground and, in an instant, they were somewhere else. Except, it all looked the same.
"Where the hell did you go?" Dean whisper-shouted. "I could have been killed!"
"I was looking for a way out," said Castiel seriously. He stood ramrod straight, shoulders back, like a soldier about to go into battle. "I couldn't find one. I heard your distress before I could look too closely."
"I hope you're not gunning for an apology because I almost got eaten!"
"You won't be able to die in Purgatory," said Castiel matter-of-factly, although the way his lips curved and his eyes softened, he looked remorseful. "You will just reanimate."
"Great. Just freaking great." Dean ran a hand through his hair, turning away from Castiel. "Well, what about Sam? How do we get back to him?"
The silence that followed his words forced Dean to turn around, because this was Castiel's cue to say something encouraging like "We'll get out of here soon" or "Sam will find a way to get us out of here." What he found, however, was Castiel looking anywhere but Dean, shifting uncomfortably.
"What?" Dean asked, unsure of whether or not he wanted an answer. "What is it?"
"There is no such things as time here." The words were spoken quickly, as if Castiel hoped to lessen the pain that Dean would inevitably find in them.
Dean thought he must have been missing something important there. "Yeah, and?"
"Time still runs on Earth, Dean. If we ever get the chance to return to Earth, we have to take into consideration that we may have been trapped down here for years. Longer than the rest of Sam's life. The last time you saw him may in fact be the last time you ever get to see him."
If those words weren't a sucker-punch, Dean didn't know what was. His mouth opened and closed, working for words that wouldn't come.
Castiel looked away again. "I'm sorry, Dean."
"No," said Dean hoarsely, his voice almost giving out on that one word. He refused to believe that Sam could die from old age while he was stuck down here. Refused to believe that Sam could actually be in his seventies when Dean got out. "No. We're going to find a way out of here. Quickly. Sam will be alive when we get back."
Castiel nodded. "I hope, for your sake, that that's true Dean."
"R-right, so … what do we do now?" Dean asked. Where could they go from here? He only had help getting out of heaven and hell from the angels, and they were certainly not around to give them a needed helping hand. The only people they could trust to pull them out of here was Sam and each other.
"We find some place safe to lie low for a while," said Castiel. He held up a hand when Dean opened his mouth to protest, because they didn't have a while. They didn't have time. "I know what you are thinking, Dean, but we are new here. Do you know how fast news travels about fresh meat down here? All of purgatory could already know about us. We have no choice but to hide."
"I don't like this," Dean murmured to himself, but ultimately gave in to the fact that Castiel was right. He hoped that Sam would meet up with hunters, make friends or do something so as to not be alone. Winchesters never reacted well to being alone. Or, they didn't survive long. "Will protection sigils work down here?"
"Yes," said Castiel. "Which is one small mercy in this cold, dark world."
"Right, so … what are we waiting for?" Dean rolled his shoulders back, preparing for a long walk ahead of him. "Let's get the hell out of here before something finds us."
To Be Continued. . .
