Hello! Thank you for the five follows already! I'm so happy! I know this chapter is shorter than the other one but that was a very long chapter. I'm have a planned storyline but there will be some chapters that have fun little plots and funny situations. I'm trying to keep it somewhat light hearted because the story is quite dark. I really hope you enjoy though and keep reading until the end!
I'll try and update again this week but I'm not sure if I can write a good chapter and get it up in time :( Please, leave a comment with any feedback, advice or grammar errors so I can improve!
Thanks again for reading this!
Chapter 2 - Operation: What The Hell?
"No Cas, for the last time, you want to take out his heart"
"But why? Doesn't he need it?"
"No, just take it"
"But I'll kill him"
"He'll be fine, just do it"
The motel door creaked open, opening up the discussion to Sam and Dean who were entering apprehensively.
"The hell?" Dean trailed off, not even finding words. I looked up at him from my cross legged position on the floor. Cas almost looked slightly embarrassed but it was clear he didn't really understand why he felt embarrassed. I did a quick scan of the room and could kind of understand why the two brothers were so horrified. Cas was currently poised over a game of 'Operation', next to him a forgotten game of 'Guess Who'. Beside me was a quickly solved game of 'Cluedo' and behind both of us was an angrily discarded 'Monopoly' board. I look back up at the two brothers, grinning sheepishly.
"What? You think I was just gonna sit here brooding for four hours?" I climbed up off the floor, Cas following my lead.
"I feel like this is the worst alternative" Sam stays, still staring at the room in disbelief.
"Hey, at least I'm not raising Satan" no one laughs at my joke and the penny drops.
"Seriously, you've done that?" I ask, mouth agape.
"That's for another time" Dean says, fully entering the room and shutting the door firmly behind him.
"Did you find out anything?" I ask eagerly, dismissing the mess of unfinished games. I'm not sure, but I think Cas sits back on the floor to continue the game.
"We got hold of a demon, found an old warehouse and asked him a few questions" Dean explains tiredly.
"And?" I step towards him but think better of moving any closer.
"And nothing" Dean looks at me like I'm annoying. I shoot him a sickly sweet smile and look to Sam instead. He just nods defeatedly.
"Wouldn't say a thing. He was afraid, borderline terrified" Sam picks up the story.
"Of you? I don't think you're that scary" I say skeptically. Dean chuckles a bit and Sam shakes his head.
"No, he was afraid to tell us anything. He kept saying he'd rather what we did to him then what would happen to him if he blabbed" I look between the two brothers.
"Who or what was it so afraid of?" I sink slowly onto the bed opposite the two men.
"We don't kn-" Sam is abruptly cut off by a loud beep. All our heads snap towards Cas, who has now dropped the fake tweezers of the board game. His eyes are full of dread and he makes eye contact with Dean. I see grave realisation dawn on his face.
"What?" I say, fear rising up in me once again.
"Lucifer" Cas says simply.
"What?" it comes out as a whisper, though I originally intended for to be louder.
"He's the only one that really strikes fear into a demon. The only one to make them hope that Sam and Dean will kill them first" Cas explains, his tone dark.
"But…but…no. What the hell does Lucifer want with me?" I ask shakily, "I'm no one, nothing important. What could he possibly want with me?" I bring my knees up to my chin again. I can feel myself beginning to shake, fright winding its way through my veins.
"That's what we're going to find out" Dean says, suddenly sounding very determined. I nod, not completely sure I believe that. I clamber off the bed, muttering something about getting some coffee before I wobble into the kitchen, closing the door behind me and closing out their worried looks. I grab the kettle, fill it up and switch it on. I robotically go through the motions of making coffee while my mind is busy running through everything that had happened to me in the last day. I hear the door softly open and close before feet come towards me. Dean gruffly clears his throat and I don't turn to face him, not trusting myself to not cry.
"How're you doing?" he asks, sounding uncomfortable.
"Not amazing right now, but I'll live. I think" I end my sentence sharply, prohibiting my mind from wandering.
"You will, we won't let anything happen to you" I sigh, finally turning to face the tall man.
"It's so stupid. I just want to burst into tears and run" I pause, sighing again, "but I don't even know what I'm running from" I finish. Dean nods and purses his lips as if he's thinking.
"Nobody's saying this is gonna be easy, but we'll get through it" he comforts. I nod, looking at the floor before turning to pour the water into my cup. I accidentally splash some on my hand and I jerk it back, hissing sharply.
"Hey, you alright?" Dean asks worriedly, quickly turning on the cold tap. I can't reply, I just stare at the burn forming on my hand as blackness inches it's way across my vision.
"Hey? Stay with me" Dean's concerned words slowly fade away and I am engulfed by the burning sensation in my hand.
Fire blazes across the room in front of me, dancing and unfurling in a twisted dance. My eyes are wide with fear and I strain against the rough rope tying my hands together behind my back. I watch a man raise a sizzling metal pole from the burning flames above me. He turns towards me, smiling, as I begin to struggle again. My chest heaves in fear, wracked with sobs of terror as he walks tantalisingly slowly towards me, holding the fiery sword out in front of him. I cry out, unable to prevent my body from reacting the way it is. He tuts quietly, moving ever closer, until he is inches from me.
"Dear one" his voice is filled with a sick fondness.
"My sweet, sweet Lorelei" He reaches out to stroke my face and I can feel bile rise up in my throat. He steps back as I heave into the flames surrounding me. The heat from them is sweltering. I felt as though my skin was melting and reforming just to melt again.
"Now, you will learn" his voice is barely a whisper as he steps closer again.
"That you are mine" A piercing scream is torn from me as he presses the tip of the fire blade into me, carving a symbol into my collar bone. The pain blossoms like a festival in spring. It spreads from my arm like ivy. Poisonous ivy, infecting and engulfing my veins - replacing them with burning hot flames. My body pulls itself apart like the petals of a flower being torn from itself and dropped into an endless abyss. Fire replaces my blood, metal replaces my skin and heat invades my mind, winding and flowing into my brain. The screaming doesn't end, it just fades into oblivion as the darkness yet again attacks my vision, clutching onto me and dragging me from this place.
I jolt awake, covered in sweat and still in the kitchen. Except now I'm in Deans arms, shivering in fear. My hair is plastered to my face and I'm gasping in air like each breath could be my last. I clutch Dean's arm tightly, too afraid to let go.
"What the hell was that?" He almost yells, but his voice is panicked.
"I…I don't know" I say breathlessly.
"I think it was a flash back" I'm still holding onto the man in front of me for dear life. He slowly raises me back onto my feet but I refuse to let go.
"CAS, SAM, GET IN HERE" Dean yells, keeping his hands on my back and my shoulder to keep me upright. The two other men burst in and I can see their confusion and worry at my sorry state.
"She had a vision, we think" Dean explains simply. Cas nods.
"That seems likely" he agrees, moving more into the kitchen so Sam can let the door swing shut.
"What did you see? Tell us everything" Cas says urgently. I nod furiously, removing one of my arms to grab the counter behind me. Dean doesn't let go, which I am grateful for. I'm not sure If I could remain standing on my own.
"I saw it all through my eyes. There was fire everywhere. I could feel it, it was burning me and scalding my skin." I pause for breath, moving my hand over my collar bone anxiously.
"What else?" Sam pushes gently.
"There was a man, I couldn't see him properly. But he had a…it was like a fire poker, like you'd use for an old fire. He, he" I break off, hand still over my chest. I look down at it and take in a sharp breath.
"He spoke to me and then…" I continue to stare downwards at my hand.
"Then he burned me. He burnt something into my chest." I let out a deep breath in solid fear. A heavy silence weighs over the room.
"I could…" I pause, deliberating whether to tell them.
"Please, you must tell us everything" Cas says sincerely.
"I could feel it. All of it. The heat, the flames, the burning, the mark. I felt, heard and saw it all as if it was really me there" I was shaking with the memory. The pain was so horrible. Cas nods gravely and Sam looks sick.
"Can you remember what he said?" Cas asks, not sounding like he wants to know the answer.
"He said that now I would learn. That I would learn that I belong to him. And he called me something, a name" I try to remember, thinking through it all. Then it suddenly hits me.
"Lorelei. He called me…Lorelei" I breathe. The three look puzzled.
"What is that? Who is that?" I ask hurriedly. Sam shakes his head.
"I can't think of any gods by that name, I'll have to research it" Sam springs into action, moving out of the door to go to his laptop. Cas nods at me once and follows the taller brother. I sigh, sinking down onto the floor as Dean releases me. I put my head in my hands, unable to stop the tears. I can feel Dean get down next to me, not speaking, just waiting. I lean on his shoulder and he lets me stay there in silence. I rarely found comfort in anyone, I wasn't a particularly trusting person in general. But after all the shit that had happened to me today, I allowed myself to feel safe in the presence of the two people who seemed to be trying to protect me. We stayed like that for a few minutes, sitting in silence, pondering everything and nothing. Eventually, moving was the best option left and I tiredly allowed Dean to pull me up off the floor. We made our way out of the kitchen and into the living space. Sam was staring intently at his screen, scrolling and pausing to read. Castiel was holding a shabby looking book and I stared at it, puzzled.
"What's that?" I ask blankly, honestly not 100% sure I was fully awake.
"It's a very old text. We angels have little to do with the gods and their actions, so there are very little scriptures and texts about them. This" he gestures to the book "is one of the only informative ones." I nod, acknowledging his help before waddling towards the bed and sitting down.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask the room observing the hardworking men. Sam looks up for his computer to address me.
"Cas and I are reading up on pretty much all the resources that'll give anything solid to work with. Right now, that's all we can really do. It might be best to get some rest and just keep us posted on any visions you have" he says kindly. I nod, glancing at the time. I sighed, seeing it was nearly three in the morning.
"Don't stay up too late on my account" I address the three before clambering over onto the bed and loosely pulling the blanket over me. I had left nearly all my clothes back in the other town. I had my purse, complete with cash, my ID and my card. I didn't really have any belongings other than my clothes, which can easily be replaced. Lying here, listening to the quiet taps of a keyboard and the patient page turns, I allow a calm to wash over me. My life had been thrown into the gutter and I was desperately hanging on to the grate, trying not to fall through the cracks. But I wouldn't allow myself to lose it, wouldn't let myself be weak. Of course I was afraid, I'd be insane if all this didn't bother me, but I would not let it make me a liability. I have to be stronger than that. I clutched the blanket with a new resolve, determined to get to the bottom of this. I closed my eyes, still clutching the blanket and waiting patiently for the tendrils of sleep to take hold.
P.s I know Dean might seem a little OOC here, but in the show he does have tender, sympathetic moments where he'll comfort or hug someone, so I drew on that for inspiration.