Chapter 1: Hell Hounds
Waking up was something Castiel didn't enjoy, it reminded him that he was not only human that his grace had been ripped away from him because he had not chosen his family over closing Heaven but, also that the Hell that he lived in of this future was reality and not just some tight gripping nightmare that haunted his dreams. The awakening fear that he had when waking up the memories tearing through his head of the screams of those who were once his brothers and sisters crashing to the Earth in a second making him feel the pain of his own doings come ripping back. Rubbing at his already raw and swollen eyes Castiel sighed popping his back in several places before looking around the cabin he called home, there were rugs that littered the floor ones he had found in burned down buildings some that smelled of powder and something of a hospital. The small dust bunnies he could see that lined the walls, the sounds of metal against metal outside brought his reality to the present, he no longer knew what was going to happen next didn't have the strength to move on through day to day without the pills that he had been introduced to.
It was hard getting the pills in the first place without Dean being on his back about supplies running low, or that they could use the medicine for the injured men and woman who came into the camp constantly. Castiel felt like the world was on his shoulders when he thought of Dean, he was no longer the man who could see the good in situations the one who always knew what to say or do in a situation. No longer his best friend, he felt another pang in his chest harder this time he leaned again the wall near his beads that rattled together from the breeze outside, Dean's smile pierced his head the smile he rarely saw unless it was with Sam. Thinking the name was like a bucket of cold water over his head, the man he tried to save the one who was kind, gentle, was going to kill himself to save them do the trials and cure Crowley while dying in the process. He didn't deserve this pain of having Lucifer inside of him, the man himself was someone Castiel used to look up to always smiling in bad situations self sacrificing it hurt that he would have made a better angel than Cas himself.
He didn't have much time to break down completely, not that his soul could break anymore the fragments of who he once was still lingered everywhere on Earth everywhere he failed to do what he thought was right was a part of him. "Castiel!" came the gruff familiar voice, Dean. Though the man looked the same, acted the same, and still gave the ex angel the butterflies he wasn't the Dean he cared about. "We're heading into town to go on a supply run. You comin' man?" Castiel felt his heart thump sadly, Dean wasn't looking at him like he used to there was just an empty void guarded when you looked into his green eyes and that hurt Castiel a lot. "Sure.." he mumbled, pulling on his coat just in case there were any infected nearby he needed the extra layer to keep their teeth from his flesh. The thump of the holster on Dean's leg made the fallen angel's heart have a rhythm with it, he was silent more than usual he knew but it's not like Dean would notice the man never really could look at the angel now. It brought unwanted memories Castiel was sure of.
Looking around while Dean threw his bag into the back of the truck, he noticed no one else was coming the only ones in the car would be Dean and him. "Where are the others..?" he questioned cocking his head to the side, surely looking like one of those puppies that Sam used to love. "Just you and me, it's a short run shouldn't need more than 2 people." Dean deadpanned still not looking in his direction he climbed into the beat up truck that had a couple dents and claws marks on it. The engine roared to life making a bucking noise as smoke filtered out the back pipe, smelled like gasoline which made Cas' head spin with the fumes. Climbing into the passenger seat he automatically laid his head against the window looking out at the what he remembered the world used to look like before the infection, before the humans were created. It was a beautiful place that color everywhere, there was fresh air that was pure and the animals that lived around seemed to enjoy the greenery as did Castiel. His favorite part of his fathers creations was the sunset, that turned the earth a bright orange and pink that cascaded across the trees making the leaves tremble like secrets being spread to eachother.
Arriving to an old supermarket it looked like, you couldn't tell the lettering had decayed and hung loosely in the wind, moving silently amongst the board that held there. It was oddly quiet as they exited the vehicle, the wind whipping the longer part of Castiel's hair in his eyes for a moment. There was no one on the street as them, no people that were infected nothing. Suspicious he cocked his gun, there was never a quiet moment like this, as if he felt the unease of Castiel, Dean cocked his gun to looking around for any signs of danger. When time passed agonizingly slow they finally turned toward the building and nodded at eachother, there was a lock and chains on the door probably from when the store manager had closed up the shop before the infection had spread so fast that it had only been mere weeks for it to happen. Turning back Dean was rummaging through the old duffel bag, Castiel had recognized it as soon as Dean had went on the first run with him. It was Sam's the one he carried with him on the roadtrips, always keeping his personal iteams in it, especially the necklace that Dean had thrown away. The pendant, hung loosely off of the zipper and swung in the wind, it glistened in the sun the one thing he had left to remember his brother by.
That's when he heard something distant, it was mixed together like a buzzing. He quirked his head to the side, listening intently to the potential danger. That's when he recognized it, howling it was hell hounds. He felt his eyes widen in fear, the hell hounds have been apart of this too Lucifer let them out whenever he got bored with humanity. Turning quickly he opened his mouth to warn Dean when somthing hard slammed into his side knocking the breathe out of him, he wheezed as he held the gun against the invisible hell hound. He felt his legs tremble with the weight of the dog pinning him to the ground. Then another dog was dragging him across the pavement, toward what seemed like a dark alley. It had trashcans over turned and there were some body parts that were scattered here and there. Castiel felt panic seize him as he look around for Dean who was fighting off a hell hound, "Dean!" he yelled, cursing as he fired, getting a yelp! out of the mutt. Standing up he felt pain jolt through his thigh, gritting his teeth and cursing that he thought he could make it through a day without taking as many pills as he could. He shot at the dog in front of Dean, he could see it. He felt his chest tighten that means he's going to die. "Are you okay Cas?" Dean asked, warily having this long distant look once again, he knew that it was the memories that had to be subsiding the man from glancing at him longer than a few seconds. "I-" Castiel felt a cold hand on the back of his neck, the feeling of the breath escaping him. "Cas-!" the urgency in Dean's voice made him smile, but as he swayed onto the ground and felt someone dragging him, he knew that this was it. He would never be able to apologize for what he had done to the Winchesters' never ask his father for help, because who was he to deserve help?