Hey guys! My family traveled for Thanksgiving so I just got time to write this. I haven't had much time to edit so endless apologies if there are mistakes I didn't catch. The next chapter should be up soon c:
Adam had never noticed just how noisy Hell was until it fell completely silent.
And nothing screamed louder.
From outside the cage, there came a noise unlike anything he'd ever heard. It resembled the sound a television would make when switched to a channel out of its perception, turned up to full volume. The static filled his ears, but it spoke to him. His breath hitched. It wasn't just white noise, it was a voice. He hadn't heard another voice besides Lucifer's in centuries. The mass of light in the distance wasn't light at all, Adam realized. It moved like a living creature. It had the form of a living creature. And it knew his name.
"Adam," It called "run."
The voice echoed inside the cage. But he couldn't. Adam had been unable to move since Michael fell down the gateway. He was bound by whatever ungodly forces Hell bestowed. He was immobilized.
And for the first time, he was truly scared. His whole stay in the pit, he knew he was still alive. He clung to the microscopic hope that he would be freed someday. Sam and Dean or Castiel or somebody would come for him. That thought alone kept his spirits up. The one reason he didn't waste away into another broken soul. Now that this thing was here, Adam felt what little remained of his confidence slipping.
"Adam!" The voice rang again minutes later, sharper, more urgent this time. Whatever this thing was, it was intent on him. Adam didn't wonder how it knew his name, only it's purpose. He guessed it was a warning, instructing him to run from an oncoming danger, and since he could not move, he made for easy prey.
"I… can't," he answered finally in defeat, "I can't." He hadn't spoken since he said yes to Michael. He was surprised he still could.
That was when he felt Lucifer stir. Since entering the pit, Adam had only made contact with Lucifer twice. For all Adam knew, the exiled angel had remained dormant since Michael left. He couldn't see him, but he heard his quick, frantic movements and half-hearted warning to the owner of the voice.
"Leave now! Get out or I'll trap you in here with me!" He yelled. The old furiosity flaring up again. The fire burned ever hotter.
Lucifer sounded nothing like he remembered. His voice was inhuman. Adam realized that he was no longer in vessel. He hoped, but doubted, that Nick was back home, on Earth with his family. While he couldn't imagine why someone would agree to embody the devil under any circumstances, he still deserved a somewhat normal life. There was something in Lucifer's voice, though, a tiny falter. A hint of apprehension. Fear.
Instantly, the static stopped. The creature of light melted down into the form of a man. Adam was unable to distinguish any features, only that he was medium height and thin. It was beyond him why anyone would wander willingly into Hell, let alone the cage of the freaking devil.
"Is that so, brother? Because I'm the one with the powers of Heaven at my disposal, and you're locked inside a kennel." The man remarked snappily, approaching the gate. When he reached out a hand and touched it, Adam almost lost consciousness. He was drifting, hardly aware of the unfolding action around him. There seemed to be a scuffle, the yelling of voices and shuffling of feet being all Adam could hear.
The voice instructed him once more to run, and this time he found that after an unknowable number of years, he could. And, like hell, he did.
Although, the voice never specified where to run to. But with Lucifer behind him, that direction wasn't an option. The gates of the cage grew larger with every step. Adam couldn't remember ever loving the feeling of running so much.
However, as he approached the gate, he fell. He had been struck by something and was rendered immobile. Paralyzed again. Lying flat on his back, with nowhere to look but up, Adam caught sight of black trails of smoke cascading downward towards him. He was unsure whether the scream that pierced his ears was from his own mouth or the man who had been at the gate.
Was this it then? Was this going to be where he dies? And if he did, what would happen… would he go up to Heaven? Back down to Hell? Or maybe, if one dies in Hell they just… cease to exist? Adam was terrified now. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited, wondering what it would feel like.
However, he would never find out. Or at least, not then. The smoke soared backwards as if repelled by a force field. He felt an arm slide across his back and another under the crook of his knee. Adam felt himself being slowly lifted off the ground, into a sort of fireman's carry, and then nothing.
When Adam jolted awake, he found a pair of pale blue eyes locked on his own. He was lying on a large bed in a small hotel room. The stranger looming over him was a lanky boy with dirty blond hair who seemed to be around his age. He looked at Adam inquisitively, but said nothing. Adam guessed he was as alien to him as he was.
"Uh.. hello." That seemed to him an appropriate greeting, having absolutely no idea where he was or when or how.
The boy smiled widely at him. "Hello, Adam Milligan."
Okay, or not. "Wh-who are you?"
The boy stood and turned on the light beside the bed, casting his shadow on the wall behind him. "My name is Samandriel." From the sides of the boy's shadow, flashing wings stretched across the entire wall.
"You're a-"
"An angel of the Lord, yes."
Adam jumped to feet, almost falling over, and dashed to the door.
"No. The answer is no. If it's that or death, go ahead and kill me. The answer is no."
Samandriel looked at him inquisitively again. "What are you….. oh" He laughed when it dawned on him. "Look, I'm not here to ask your permission. I already have a vessel, and I quite like it."
Now it was Adam who was the confused one. "If you're not here for me, what do you want?"
Samandriel smiled, taking a seat on the bed. "I am here for you. I'm here to take of you."
"Take care of- I'm... how old am I?"
"Twenty three." Samandriel answered immediately.
"Twenty three? I was nineteen when I… I've been in the cage for… oh my god."
"Five years, yes."
"Felt like three centuries… Wait a minute, how d'you know how old I am?"
"Adam James Milligan. Born 1:17pm on September 29th, 1990 at Sanford Westbrook Medical Center in Windom, Minnesota. I was there."
"You were… you were there?" Adam asked, his mouth hanging open.
Samandriel grinned and nodded "Not in this body, of course. Got him a few years ago. I was a nurse. Your mother's nurse." His eyes filled with sorrow, "Kate. She was a kind woman. Told me stories about her mother."
"Yeah," Adam laughed "grandma was a character. But, is it really 2014?"
Samandriel nodded slowly. Adam whistled.
"What-" Adam began, but the angel cut him off.
"My turn to ask questions. Tell me something, Adam: why would you go by 'Milligan' would could be a Winchester?"
Adam's face fell. When he met his father, he instantly idolized him. He wanted to be just like him, and, after a few visits, he wanted his last name, too. But his mother had refused. She tolerated John, sure. She knew he was a hunter and wanted no involvement with that life. She didn't blame John for Adam, or for leaving- she loved her son desperately and accepted his occupation. However, she felt that if he wasn't going to be a stable parent, an actual father figure, her son's last name should be hers.
"My mom, I guess. She never thought my dad was a real dad, so…" he trailed off.
Samandriel said nothing.
"So, uh, what happened down there?"
"In the cage?"
"Mhm"
"Well, Lucifer tried to kill you. Then he almost killed me. Then I got you out." Samandriel answered matter-of-factly.
"You got me out?"
The angel nodded slowly, he hadn't realized he had spared Adam that one little detail.
"Oh uh, well, thanks."
"I might've… left a mark."
"What?"
"To get you out, I had to touch you. Carry you. So, you probably have marks from where I did."
"A mark?"
"More of an imprint, really."
Adam shrugged. "It's whatever. You almost died getting me out."
"Anything for a Winchester." He said proudly.
"Right. You said you're here to take care of me. Why?"
"Well, you've been in Hell for five years, so I'd imagine you're a little….. sore. And two, you have angels on you."
"You mean other than you?"
Samandriel laughed "Yes. The perks of being a Winchester is that you're a Winchester. But the downside to being a Winchester, is, well, that you're a Winchester."
Adam laughed too, "That's actually incredibly accurate. What do the angels want this time?"
"What Sam, Dean and Cas want. To close the gate to hell for good. And…. To defeat Crowley" Samandriel's face grew dark. Adam, however, was relieved.
"Castiel? He's still alive?" Adam had not forgotten Michael's thoughts on his brother.
The angel nodded and asked "You knew him?"
"Met him briefly, but I was Michael, remember?"
"Right. Don't be fooled by Michael's tainted thoughts. Castiel was good. Is good. A little misguided once, but everything he did was for Sam and Dean. He rebelled to keep them safe."
Adam nodded. "Yeah, Michael never really understood that. "
"Castiel and I, we listen to our father. He told, no, he ordered us to serve the humans. To love them more that we do him. We listened. So Castiel has his Winchesters and I've got you."
"So we're like, what, roommates?"
"Roommates." The angel agreed.
Adam yawned. He hadn't just how tired he was. After all, he had been awake for three hundred years.
"Sleep." Samandriel said as Adam sat back down on the bed. The angel pressed a finger to his forehead and the boy slacked instantly.
Samandriel smiled.
Things to know
1. We'll meet up with Team Free Will soon.
2. Adam will soon learn about Crowley.
3. Be prepared for some major PTSD.
4. I adore Samandriel
