Chapter One: The Car
It was night fall, and Dean was driving to New York due to an strange call he has recieved at Hampton Inn the night alone was unusual. Dean Winchester rarely got any calls, and they were only from a handful of people. However,the people that do call him are all written down in his contacts. It had came from an unrecognized number. He would have assumed that it was just telemarketing, but there was something not quite right about it.
Cas eyed him with a watchful glance, concerned about his friend. With an unsteady hand, he pressed the answer button and brought the phone up to his ear.
"Help, please," a feminine voice sounded from the other line.
"Hello?" Questioned the older Winchester.
"Is anybody there? Please help me," the woman replied in a panicked voice. It was like she couldn't hear him.
"Mam? Mam, please, where are you?" Dean asked, keeping a steady voice.
"He's getting closer, Dean," a new voice called out. It was dark and gruff. Dean furrowed his brows but didn't say anything.
"How many more are going to have to go through this?" It taunted.
"Help... HELP!" The woman screeched, and the line fell dead. Dean held the phone out from him, staring at it blankly. Although he couldn't hear the conversation, he knew it couldn't have been good.
Castiel reached out to grab Dean's shoulder, but at that very moment, Sam thrust opened the door, making it crash against the wall. Cas retracted his arm as Dean jumped, looking up at his brother. Sam, with bags of groceries wedged between his arms, looked over at their concerned faces.
The small smile that was about to play on his face instantly vanished. "Hey," he asked, "what's going on?"
Dean looked at him for a second, trying to find his works. When he finally gathered them, he said, "Looks like we're going on a trip, Sammy."
That is why Dean Winchester and his brother, along with an angel named Castiel, were tracking the phone to a possible demon. Sam, Dean's brother, was sleeping in the back while Dean drove and Cas rode shotgun. He fell asleep just as they were leaving Kentucky, and boy, was Dean a little jealous. Sam seemed to have no problem falling asleep after the information was shared with him.
"Has it moved yet?" Dean asked a little tired after driving his 1967 Impala all day. Castiel looks down at thephone tracker, expertly hacked into by Dean, himself, and replies, "No, not for a whole hour." Castiel, of course, was still awake. Angels do not need the same things that humans require. He will not sleep, eat, or drink, nor will he have to use the restroom.
Dean started to wonder for a minute, "Why would it not be moved for a whole hour?" It could be a trap. That was possible, but they had all necessities for an attack or otherwise. He knew it was a demon. He knew it was a set up. They wanted to lure him out, but the joke was on them.
"Where is it?" Dean asked. Castiel looked down and creases his eybrows before saying," No set address, but it is in an alleyway somewhere. Still New York, of course."
"Of course," Dean thought to himself.
They both just sat in silence for awhile after that listening to hum of the car and Sam's snores in the back. They were both so eager to loosen up the tension in some way, but neither of them dared to open their mouth. Instead, Dean kept his eyes on the road, and Castiel stared out the window.
After about an hour Dean decided to break the silence and says," We're almost in New York, better wake Sammy up." So, Castiel reaches back and none too gently shakes Sam awake. He wakes with a start nearly falling off the seat in the process.
"Huh? What time is it?" Sam sleepily asked, trying to sit up.
"We are almost there," Castiel informed a now awake Sam.
Sam rubbed his eyes, still a little groggy. He responded with, "Yeah, yeah, great. Just, what's the time? I feel like I only got a couple hours, and it's still dark."
"It's eleven, sleeping beauty. Don't you worry, give us a couple hours and we'll be in a cosy hotel in no time. Then we can go hunting," explained Dean. They carried on the road, hoping to reach New York City before daylight.
It took a while, but they finally reached the city. By that time Dean began to look for a hotel to stay in that night. After another half hour of driving around, Dean noticed a Motel 6. He turned into the parking lot without any questions asked by the other two in his company.
Once the Impala was safely situated in an empty space, he turned back to tell Sam. No surprise, he fell asleep again. Groaning, he picked up a device near his hand and threw it at him. This action made Sam jolt upright.
"C'mon, Sam, let's go get a room," Dean instructed. He looked up at the passenger seat, but Castiel was missing. Dean didn't hear the door open. Cas must have teleported out. His suspicions were confirmed when he and Sam met up with Cas in front of the motel's doors.
Case made a movement to go inside, but Dean stopped him. He put his arm in front of the angel and pulled him to the side.
"Cas," Dean whispered carefully.
"Yes, Dean?" Castiel said.
"Remember what we said about teleporting. Don't use it unless you have to. It looks weird when a guy randomly appears out of nowhere," reminded Dean.
"Yes, of course, Dean."
They walk in and all three go up to the front counter. Dean allowed Castiel to discuss accommodations.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sam asked, a little wary.
"Don't worry. The guy needs to work on his people skills anyways," said Dean, grinning a bi to himself.
As Cas talked to the clerk about a room with one bed, Dean leaned against the wall near the doors. He turned his head to peer at the busy streets and notices a figure clad in all black staring at them from across the street in a dark alleyway. When he turned his head to say something to Sam his head, the figure vanished. Looking back over, Case was still talking to the clerk, so it wasn't him. Though this worries Dean, he decided not to tell Sam or Cas until they are safely in the room. Prying eyes were always hidden in the least likely of places.
Cas finally comes up. He held out the key to their room in front of Dean. "They gave me a card with a number and the hotel name printed on it," he said, confused.
Dean snatched it from Cas' hand. "It's a modern kind of key, Cas. You slip it in the lock, the lock lights up, and you go in," Dean explained.
Sam took the key from Dean. "Hey, we gotta go to room 221B. I think that's on the second floor," he remarked.
They all stand in agonizing silence as the elevator went up. Once they get in the room, Dean closes the curtains and they start discussing their hunt plans.
"So, when are we going to hunt?" Dean asks, turning from the window. Cas cocks his head and replies confused, "What do you mean?"
"Are we hunting the demon tonight or waiting 'till tommorrow?" Dean specifies at Cas' confused expression.
"I was thinking of waiting until tommorrow, that way you can get some sleep in and have a better sense of what is going on."
"What do you mean have better sense of what if is going on? I always know what is going on when hunting."
"I just figured you would want some sleep before heading out to kill a demon."
"Well, I can do just fine without it," Dean snapped. "I already had my four hours today. I can go on for a few more hours. Coming or not, I'm going."
"Fine we will go tonight," Cas says and whispers faintly under his breath,"I still prefer you to sleep first though."
"I heard that!" Dean yells as he goes to talk to Sam. Castiel rolled his eyes."He sure is stubborn, but I still like him," Cas thinks to himself as Dean talks to Sam. Cas walks to the window and pulls back the curtains to look out at the city. He begins to think and get a plan together when he notices someone standing across the street dressed in black staring straight at him. When he looks back he doesn't see him anymore. He is about to tell Dean when he over hears his and Sam's conversation.
"What do you mean we are going tonight? I thought we were waiting until morning." Sam complains to Dean.
"Well you thought wrong. We are going tonight." Dean shouts at Sam."Well I'm tired and would like some sleep, so you might want to rethink it."
"Excuse me! We are not going to plan a strategy based on your wants! Besides, you slept in the car on the way here."
"Well, it is a bit hard to sleep when you are being thrown around. And I didn't ask to do this, I hate the demon that killed our parents just as much as you do, but I would rather not lose anybody else, which would happen if we decide to do this.
" I didn't want to be a hunter, Dean! I was done with hunting, and you had to drag me back into it. Now there's no turning back!"
"Fine! You know what, just fine! I am tired any way!" Dan grabs a pillow, walks over to the couch to lay down facing the oppisite of Sam. They do not exchange any more words. Sam stands there for a moment as if waiting for Dean to say something. Silence greeted him, and he then walked over to the bed and layed down to sleep.
Cas takes a seat on the edge of the bed. Perched on that spot, he watched the Winchester brothers as they slept. Only, one was still awake.
Dean turns on his side and calls out to Castiel, saying, " Hey Cas, are you goining to be alright tonight?"
Castiel thinks for a moment before replying, "Yeah, I will find something to do." Dean turned back and tried to get some sleep. Instead of remaining in the room, Castiel took the spare room key and departed.
He had nowhere to go. Instead of targeting a particular place, he just wandered around aimlessly. The city certainly had some fascinating and historic sites to look up. He didn't want to start looking for the device without the Winchesters as backup.
Hours passed, and the sun seemed to be taking it's time to rise. The light hit the lower panel of a building at an odd angle. A tiny, round, black lump was barely visible on the pavement. The strange object caught the attention of Castiel. It was slowly rising up and down at a steady pace. Cas could deduce that it was a living thing from that alone.
Curious, Castiel walked over to it. Bending down with his face right in front of it, Cas poked the creature. All of a sudden, a furry black head poked its way out of the mass of darkness. Cas just woke up a sleeping stray kitten. It seemed to like him, too, for it stuck out it's bright pink tongue and brushed it across Castiel's nose.
Cas couldn't help but grin. He picked up the cat and held it close to his chest. It began to purr underneath his touch.
"Are you lost, young Felis domesticus? Do not worry, I shall save you," he cooed. He gave it a questioning glare, trying to formulate a name that would be considered normal for a household pet. "Mr. Nigglesworth," he finished. With that, he stuffed the cat into his pocket and headed back to the motel.
By the time Cas arrived, the Winchesters were already gearing up. The weapons were gathered and put into sheaths, salt packed, and several books (Their father's journal included) were packed into bags and ready to go.
Dean looked up when Case came in. "Hey, where have you been?" He asked.
"Observing the city," was his simple answer.
"Find anything interesting?" Sam interjected.
Cas reached into his coat and pulled out his newly found cat. Giving him a quick scratch on the ear, the angel laid him down on the table. "I found a cat," Cas declared, looking at the creature with proud affection.
Dean's eyes narrowed in scorn and dislike. "No, Cas, no. I meant find anything that will help us. We can't take that. We won't be able to take care of it," Dean stated in a straightforward tone.
"Dean, he will help us. Cats repel spirit, and Mr. Nigglesworth is not a 'that'."
Dean raised an eyebrow. "Mr... Nigglesworth? That's what you're going with?"
"Yes I am." Castiel gripped his hands behind his back.
Dean shrugged. "Your cat, Cas. I'm not responsible for anything it does."
Sam was at the computer. He stared at the screen, waiting for a moment to speak. Once he was sure that Dean was finished, he began. "Hey, guys, you might want to come see this," he called.
The other two gathered around the computer. Sam had pulled up the phone locater that Castiel had the night before. The phone was still in the same place, but it was moving. It wasn't going in a straight line, though. No, it was jumping across the screen like a ping pong ball. One by one, more signals began to appear and jump around in the same fashion. Dean leaned in to get a closer look. As sudden as it happens, the movements ceased and the phone looked as if it were staying in the same spot again.
Dean said under his breath, "Let's get to it then."