Chapter 2: The Boss

I open my drawer and grab out a pair of khaki army green pants and a grey shirt that's colours have been warn down to a lighter version at the hems. I throw my hair up into a pony tail and I look in the mirror. By body is lean and the bones on my face are defined with the lack of food I had in my pack in a matter of three weeks. It's a good thing I made it here when I did because my small daily portions would have only lasted a week more at the most. Then I'd be stuck trying to find animals to feed on and animals are scarce enough as it is. I know how to set up a trap but it would take too much time. I was running low on food and energy and I needed to make it to the cabin. When I was younger, my father took my brother and I on a fishing trip to the cabin. I only caught one rainbow trout, where as my brother caught several. My dad was so proud of him that day. And I could not help but be proud of him too. He was my little brother, I was always proud of him. He was such a good kid. He was nice and smart and athletic. He was good at everything he did. People were mesmerized by him, me included. There was something in the way he carried himself. He hurts the most. He holds the deepest grief and pain inside me. I just couldn't save him in time. He was far too young to die. I would trade spots with him in a heartbeat. It should have been me, not him. He didn't deserve to die. He was only 16. God, it should have been me.

I walk to Castiel's cabin and I walk through a curtain of beads and then I knock on his door. He opens it in a matter of seconds.

"Blake," he yells happily. "Come in!"

I walk in.

"So what brings you here?"

I tap my nails on the table. "How do I impress Dean," I ask. "I want to go out, you know. Fight for the people I've lost, and save the people I can. I want to mean something, contribute to the camp."

He nods. "Do you have a gun," he asks. I nod. "Well you see, Dean usually goes out to this little place just outside of camp and he shoots a few cans to blow off steam or whatever. He says it gives him peace or something, I don't know. But he should be there in about an hour. So if we go there, you can start shooting and then he'll show up and all you have to do is get a few bullseyes. Assuming that you can do that of course."

I smile. This might actually work. "Castiel, you're a genius," I say. He smiles. "So I've been told."

I load my gun and point it at the target. I breathe in and shoot as I exhale. The bullet knocks the can off the log. I shoot the next three off as well. Castiel smiles.

"Wow, you're not too bad actually."

I smile at him. "I'll hit this one with my eyes closed," I say daringly.

He laughs at me. "Go for it!"

I look at the can and aim the gun, then I cover my eyes and shoot. I hear the can get hit. Castiel begins to clap. I turn around to find that Dean is the one clapping.

"Very impressive," Dean says.

I curtsy. "Thank you."

His mouth moves into a position just shy of a smile. "So what is it you want," he asks. "Because I know that Cas knows I come out here at this time. And I know that you want something from me. So what is it?"

He's good. He's really good. "I want to go on missions with you."

He stares at me for a second. "You're going to have to do much better than getting a lucky shot on a pop can to convince me. But A for effort." He smiles and then pats Castiel on the back and walks away.

I approach my cabin and as it comes into view, I see a girl at my doorstep. She looks in the window and then knocks on the door again.

"Hello," I say, questionly.

She turns around, surprised. "Hi! Uh sorry, I just uh, I um," I stand in front of her and she holds her hand out. I shake it in confusion. "I'm Adeline. Everyone calls me Ade though."

I nod. She lets go of my hand and we stand in awkward silence for a good ten seconds. "Sorry, I just wanted to meet you. Everyone is talking about you. The girl that walked all the way from Kansas City."

I smile, flattered. "I'm Blake," I say.

She nods. "I know. I just thought you could maybe use a friend around here. Uh, I'm having a get together with some friends of mine tonight and we would be happy to have you."

I chuckle a little. It's been so long since I've seen a friendly face. It's refreshing. "Are you sure," I ask.

She grins. "You are more than welcome."

I nod. "Okay, I'll be there."

She widens her smile and eyes. "Great! Cabin 286. See you tonight!" She practically skips off in joy and pleasure I almost laugh at her.

"Mission training isn't too bad if you can shoot a target and bring a guy down but Dean hand picks them so it may be a little harder for you."

Castiel asked me to come over because he had a new plan. I like that Castiel likes me. It makes me happy. There's something about him, like he is something specail.

"Why does Dean hate me so much," I ask.

"I don't think he hates you. To be honest I think he adores you."

I burst into a laugh. Castiel smiles at my reaction.

"What," he giggles. "Here's the thing about Dean, if he likes you, he hides it as best as possible. He doesn't want any weaknesses or anything to hold him back. He tried that once and it ended in his brother becoming Satan so..."

I frown and shake my head. "What? Where is his brother? He has a brother? And why is his brother Satan?" I laugh a little at the thought.

Castiel stares at me in confusion. "Wait a second, whoa, you don't, you didn't-", he shakes his head and stares at me in awe. I widen my eyes for an explanation. He stands up straight and laughs and runs his fingers through his hair. "Oh my god this is hilarious, we-we need to get Dean in here." He runs to the door and yells, "Dean!" at the top of his lungs. In seconds Dean is at the door and Castiel brings him in.

"What, what's wrong," Dean asks, alert.

Castiel laughs and puts his hands on my shoulders. "Blake doesn't know anything. Nothing. Not about hell or demons or Lucifer rising or the apocalypse or Croats or the virus, nothing."

What the hell is going on.

Dean looks at me in surprise. "Nothing," he asks me.

I shake my head. "What the hell are you guys talking about," I ask.

Dean sits down on the chair across from me. "Okay, first things first. Demons are real. Lucifer is real, God is real, Angels are real. For a matter of fact, Castiel is an angel."

I look over at Castiel and he smiles and nods with excitement.

"You wanna know what happened to the world? Hell. Lucifer rose and he brought the apocalypse with him. This virus is called Croatoan. It infects people and makes them want to kill people. Cas, you tell her about it."

Castiel smiles at me. "In July of 1587, colonist George Howe is found dead. Howe was attacked by members of the neighboring Roanoke nation, whom Governor Lane had harassed in 1585. When describing the bloody scene, Governor John White commented that the Indians had "beat his head to pieces," shot him with sixteen arrows, and assaulted him with clubs. This attack came as no real surprise to the governor, who was aware that the tactics of his predecessor might have generated a sense of injustice among neighboring Indian nations. Knowing of the peaceful nature of Croatoan people, the governor quickly dispatched representatives. The Croatoan were an Algonquian people who populated the islands on the outer banks of North Carolina—just south of Roanoke. Roanoke was one of the first English colonies in America. Late 1500s. The embassy succeeds in renewing the old love that was between the tribe and the colonists. White accompianied the Roanoke delegation and promised the Indians that the colonists had no intention of taking over Croatoan territory and did not represent a threat to their existence. Simply put, the governor wanted to let the people of Croatoan know that the colonists wished to live with them as brethren and friends.

Governor White left Roanoke in August of 1587, for England, in search of supplies and a possible relief effort should evacuation become a necessity. Before leaving his post, the governor instructed the colonists to leave him a sign should they feel the need to remove themselves from the region under any circumstance. He instructed them to place a cross on a tree as an indicator that they were in distress and their evacuation was necessary for their survival. This would give the governor some intimation as to the colony's status and assist him in locating them. It would be the last message he would give, and the last time he would see the colonists.

In 1590, Governor White returned to Roanoke Island. There he found that all of the buildings were in disrepair or had been carefully dismantled. There was no sign of fighting. No sign that the colonists were abruptly carried away by natural or unnatural forces. There was no cross. Only 8 simple letters, C-R-O-A-T-O-A-N, that shall forever be a mystery to all who hear it.

White took the letters to mean that the settlers had moved to Croatoan Island some 50 miles away. But, he was unable to search Croatoan Island because a hurricane hit the outer banks of North Carolina and blew his fleet to sea. After the storm abated, the fleet was low on provisions and decided to return to England. He made a second attempt months later, but that vessel was also turned back due to bad weather. No trace of the settlers was ever found.

In 1597, the English government officially declared the colony of Roanoke… lost. There were theories. Indian raid, disease, but nobody knows what really happened. They were all just gone. Wiped out over night.

But Dean's dad kept a journal. You see he hunted monsters and a while ago, Dean found something about the Roanoke Colony. His Dad always had a theory about Croatoan. He thought it was a demon's name. Sometimes know as Daeva or Reshef, the demon of plague and pestilence. Reshef is a demon that was first mentioned in the bible "Plague went before him; Reshef followed his steps." In most translations though Reshef has come to be translated as 'pestilence' due to the parallelism to the line that comes before it.

Now, what really happened is that Reshef took a little visit to the island. He poisoned all the people with the Croatoan Virus and they all killed each other, except for one. One of them lived. It was named Croatoan because the first person to be infected was one of the Craotoan Tribes poeple. Reshef took all the bodies and buried them all across the land and by the time someone actually got there, the hurricane had covered everything up. Then the one man who was left with the virus was hidden away until a few years ago in a little town where it infected all the people.

Dean, tell her about the virus since you're so good at it."

I look over at Dean. He fake smiles at me.

"The virus was initially used in River Grove, Oregon in 2006, a small town with around 30-50 residents give or take. The release of the virus in River Grove was a sick test drive, to find out the effects the infection would have on humans. The entire town, except three people, were either killed off or mysteriously vanished by the end of the outbreak. My brother and I tried to protect them, but we weren't so successful. The second time the virus popped up was a widespread pandemic released by Lucifer in 2012. And now, most of what used to be the largest cities in the US are left empty and in ruins, the only residents the few infected left alive. The outbreak was so powerful, President Palin ordered the bombing of Houston, Texas following the first signs of infection in that area. Mostly every city is guarded by the military with orders to shoot on sight with the notion that anything left moving inside the quarantined areas must be infected and killed before it has a chance to escape.

The virus is considered "demonic germ warfare", leaves traces of sulfur in the blood of the people infected. One becomes infected by either direct exposure or from getting infected blood in an open wound. Within three hours of being exposed to the virus, the people infected will begin to show symptoms, which include enhanced speed and strength. The longer the infection is in the blood, the stronger and faster they become, making them more difficult to kill. Croats try and find anything living to kill. Croats are mindless and extremely violent, with one goal and one goal only: to infect everyone and wipe humanity off the planet. The only cure is a bullet to the head."

I stare at them in awe. It makes sense. They carry on to tell me about demons and angels and Lucifer rising. I can only imagine how many people they've lost. How many people that they loved... That's why I don't share my story very often. Everyone has a sob story. Mine is probably minor compared to the things they've been through.

"Someone said you were going to Adeline's tonight," Castiel says to me.

I nod. "Yeah, why?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Have fun," he says with a laugh. Dean smirks a little too.

I walk up to Adeline's cabin and I can hear people inside. I knock on the door with uncertainty of why I'm actually showing up to this thing. Adeline opens the door.

"Blake," she squeals.

I try and look positive but I don't know if it's working. She hugs me and shakes me around a little bit. She has hazel eyes and red hair. She's tall and slim and she wears baggy clothes. She's wearing a crucifix. What have I gotten myself into.

"Come on in," she says.

I walk into the cabin and I look around. There is a bible on the table and a small wooden cross on the wall. I don't even want to ask about it. I don't want to bring the subject up at all. It's sickening. How do they still praise God with all the shit he's putting us through.

"Come sit," someone yells from across the room.

There's about ten people in this cabin and they are all wearing crucifixes. I resentfully sit down. They all smile at me.

"So, you walked all the way from Kansas, eh," a plump man asks. I think he's canadian.

I nod. "Yeah, Kansas City."

He smiles. "I'm Edward Gillman, nice to meet you." He holds his hand out and I politely shake it.

"So why Nebraska? Where were you headed," a middle aged woman asks me.

"My family had a cabin by the Niobrara River. I was going to go there and live by myself."

They all smile and nod and drink wine. "That is just so wonderful. Inspirational, really! I think God has a plan for you. You must have an angel on your shoulder, watching out for you. He protected you so that you could find us. Pray with me."

They all bow their heads, close their eyes, and hold hands. I look around as they begin praying in synch. I quietly grab someone's glass of wine and down it. Then I bow my head as well and wait for it to be over. This reminds me of church. My family used to go every Sunday. That was a long time ago though. I used to sing in the choir and play the piano for everyone. It's all but a memory now.

"Now, everything happens for a reason. It's all a very complicated thing to understand but God works in mysterious ways," a woman named Eliza tells me. She opens her mouth to continue but there's a knock on the door.

I sigh on the inside in relief. The woman opens the door and Dean is standing there. Everyone smiles and greats him.

"I came to get Blake," he says.

Hallelujah.

I stand up. "Sorry, I guess I have to go," I say. "Thank you so much for having me!"

Everyone waves me goodbye and I follow Dean out the door. We walk down the steps and into the darkness. He puts his hands in his pockets.

"I thought I would come save you," he says.

"Why did you think I needed saving," I ask calmly.

He shrugs. "You don't seem like that kinda girl."

I look over at him as we walk. "What kind of girl do I seem like, Dean Winchester?" I look over at him playfully.

"One with common sense and the capability of ditching her beliefs when she doesn't believe in them anymore. That's why I came and got you."

I nod. "Well thank you, because I was about to drink all their wine."

He smiles a little. "I'm headed to the bar if you want to meet some real people," he says in a suggesting tone.

"I would love to," I say.

I walk into the bar just as 'Back in Black' by AC/DC comes on the jukebox in the corner of the room. A few people look over at us. They nod at Dean and some just eye me up. Dean guides me to the bar and we sit on a stool beside each other.

"Two moonshines please," Dean says.

I've never even had moonshine and I'm pretty sure it's illegal. The bartender hands us each a glass. The man looks old. Maybe in his late fifties early sixties. He has a short grey beard and light blue eyes. I stare down at the glass.

Dean holds his up. "Cheers."

I grab mine and clink glasses with him and then I take a sip. It burns in my mouth. I don't want to swallow it but I can't spit it out. Dean needs to know I'm not weak. It's getting worse. It's just sitting in my mouth. I don't know what to do. My tongue is going to fall off. It's going to burn holes in my mouth. Dean looks over at me and I swallow. It tastes like liquid fire in my throat. I hold back a cough and the bartender washes his glasses and looks up at me in amusement.

"How does it taste," he asks.

Dean looks over at me.

"Like kerosene," I say bitterly.

They laugh.

"I'm surprised you swallowed it! Dean here spit it out his first try," the bartender says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's pretty strong," Dean says in his defence.

"Strongest in all of America, I've been told. That stuff there is 97 years old. I keep a bottle for Dean under the cabinet," he says with a wink. "The names Jack." He holds his hand out and I shake it.

"Blake Hudson," I say.

He nods and begins to dry glasses again. "The girl who walked all the way from Kansas," he says.

I nod and smile a little.

"How'd you manage that by yourself?"

"I can shoot a gun," I say.

He chuckles. "Where'd you learn that? You seem pretty young," Jack says.

"You pick up on it pretty quick when you've got a pack of Croats running at you."

They smile and nod.

"I can drink to that," Dean says.

He raises his glass to his lips and I know I have to do the same. I hold my breath and I swallow it as quick as possible this time. I cough once after and then I think about how this is how drinking drain washing fluid would taste. Jack begins staking cups and leaves Dean and I to ourselves. I swirl the drink around in my cup.

"You know, it wasn't a lucky shot today," I say.

Dean glances over at me.

"Why won't you just give me a chance?"

He takes a sip of his drink. "Because you're a good person, Blake. Good people have people who care about them and wouldn't want to see you get hurt. And you know what happens to good people in this world? They get screwed over and they get killed. And then I'm left with that over my shoulder."

I take a sip of moonshine out of my own will. "I'm not a good person, Dean. Not anymore anyways," I say without eye contact.

"I know how you feel," he scoffs. "If you want to go out and risk your life, fine. But I'll have you know that it would kind of suck not to have you around."

I smile a little. "I've only been here for two days," I say.

He nods. "I feel like you and me, we're the same. I have a dark past, I'm assuming you do too judging by how much you love to talk about it. I save people as my day job, you want to save people. I'm from Kansas, you're from Kansas. You see? We are two birds of a feather."

He's definitely drunk. He throws back his drink and sways to the side a little but catches himself.

"Then why don't you let me go on a mission if I'm so much like you?"

He looks ahead. "I'm considering it now that you say it."

I smile and take another sip. It's like drinking acid. But I smile and swallow it down. "Judging by your stability and change of heart, I'm going to say this isn't your first drink. But Dean, I'm going to hold that against you in the morning even if you don't remember it." I smile to him and step off my stool. "Goodnight Dean," I say. Then I walk out of the bar and into the cold Nebraska night air.