Chapter 2 – Eye of the Tiger

Some Time Later

The alarm beeped…and beeped…and beeped. Dean thought that if he ignored it, it would go away. No such luck. Dean swung his arm over the side of the motel bed and beat the alarm clock until it turned off. He sat up and saw Sam working away on his laptop.

"Good morning, Sunshine." Sam smiled.

Dean simply grunted.

"I have a case we need to check out. Plus, I think you'll like it." Sam smiled.

Dean stood up, his knees cracking. He felt like an old man, "What is it?"

"A man's family disappears after their cattle disappears. All that was left at the crime scene? Sulfur." Sam said.

Dean looked over Sam's shoulder, "Definitely seems legit. Where is it?"

Sam turned around, "Pontiac, Michigan."

Dean stood up straighter, "Where I exited Hell."

Sam nodded, "You think they're related?"

Dean shook his head, "I don't know. Let's go find out."

Dean moved away from Sam to take a quick shower. Sam packed both of their bags and got the Impala ready to drive the three hundred miles it would take to drive all the way to Pontiac, Michigan. Dean finished quick and blasted KISS as he started the long drive.

Castiel had been gone for five months. Dean was still a little in shock. Castiel and Dean had been so close. Dean wanted to keep busy so that his mind wouldn't dwell on how much he missed the angel. For two months after he disappeared, Dean tried to figure it out, but Dean knew it was a lost cause. Castiel did warn him something like this would happen. Dean just wished he had a little warning. Maybe then he wouldn't be so depressed.

It took nearly seven hours to get to Pontiac, Michigan. They had gotten up so early so they arrived right around noon. Sam was able to track down the family and he led Dean there. Dean was the one to request they get right to work. Sam didn't disagree; he knew Dean didn't want to properly let go of Castiel.

Sam and Dean wanted to check out past events at the local library before seeing the husband. They wanted to be able to tell him anything they knew. The Library was fairly close to the husband's farm anyway.

"I knew I didn't like this town," Dean said as he looked around at the barren wasteland.

Sam chuckled, "I bet the woods are still demolished."

Dean nodded, "Most likely."

Sam and Dean entered the Library and were actually surprised to see it pretty full with people. Dean didn't think that these many people actually lived in this town.

"So what are we looking for?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged, "I think we should start by looking for past family disappearances, cattle killings, or any other sulfur related crimes."

Dean nodded, "Sounds like a plan. Where are past newspaper clippings?"

Sam shrugged, "Let's ask."

Sam and Dean started looking around for a librarian. Instead, Sam ran right into a girl in a red cotton dress. Her long brown hair was tied back in a half ponytail, and her scared blue eyes stared right at Sam.

Sam helped her up when she fell, "I'm so sorry."

The girl looked flustered. She couldn't speak. So, she ran away instead.

Sam looked back at Dean.

Dean shrugged, "I hate this town."

One Week Later

"Sam!" Dean shouted.

Sam and Dean were in the woods trying to find the body of a ghost in Illinois. Dean found a trail of blood along a tree. Sam came running over and touched it. It wasn't fresh, but it couldn't have been there long. It had rained two days ago and the blood would have washed away.

Sam and Dean picked up on this at the same time. Dean looked at Sam before continuing on the path. Dean heard some noise in the distance. When he turned a corner he realized that there was some kind of bonfire going on. Dean ushered Sam over to view what was happening. Nearly twelve people were standing around a bonfire.

"No! Guys that's not a good idea!" A female voice shouted.

Some guy laughed, "Shut up, it'll be fine."

Someone else started reading off Latin very badly. Dean and Sam stared as one of the guys dropped something in the bonfire. Then, everything went cold and black smoke rolled over the trees. They were summoning a demon. The demon possessed the guy who had been speaking the Latin. Just as Dean and Sam were about to turn the corner and interject a tree collapsed right in front of them. Debris fell on top of the two and they had to duck so that the debris wouldn't get into their eyes.

When the brothers looked up, the bonfire was out, ten of the teenagers were missing, and a cloud of black smoke was disappearing into the ground. The boy teenager was lying, passed out, on the ground. The girl teenager was sitting with her hands crossed in front of her face and she was rocking back and forth.

Dean looked back to Sam, "How the hell did that just happen?"

Sam could only shrug.

The girl stopped whatever she was doing and looked the brothers' direction. Dean ducked, but Sam stared. The girl looked so familiar. Her brown hair swayed as she ran away from the brothers and the passed out teenager.

One Week Later

Sam and Dean were travelling to Bobby's house on the last day of the third week. They had been stopped when the Impala's brakes failed. Dean figured he needed to get them fixed before travelling any further. Sam and Dean stopped at a shopping center just to walk around for a while. They grabbed lunch at a diner about one hour before, so they just needed to waste time.

Dean spotted an Apple store and felt so tempted to go in. So, he dragged Sam in with him. Dean walked right over to the newest MacBook. Sam was also interested, so he played on the MacBook next to Dean. Sam was fascinated, but when he looked up, he was more fascinated with the girl in front of him.

She didn't realize Sam was staring at her, which was good. She had long brown hair and crystal clear blue eyes. She looked so confused at what was sitting in front of her. She pushed a button and the laptop beeped. She jumped with surprise.

Sam grabbed Dean by the arm and dragged him away.

"Sammy? What the hell? I was playing with Garage Band." Dean complained.

Sam ignored him, "See that girl? That's the girl I bumped into when we were at the library in Michigan and she's the girl that was praying at the bonfire in Illinois. Why is she here?"

"Why is she everywhere we go?" Dean asked.

"We'll wait and ask her." Sam said.

Sam and Dean waited until the girl left before leaving. It was dark out. The brothers followed her at a distance. Finally, they were out of earshot. Dean sped up and grabbed the girl's arm. He dragged her into the ally next to one of the stores. She screamed. Dean grabbed both of her arms and forced her against the wall. This knocked the wind out of her.

"Why are you following us?" Sam asked.

Dean tightened his grip and the girl squealed, "Please don't hurt me! I didn't do anything to you."

"Why. Are. You. Following. Us?" Dean exclaimed/asked.

She closed her eyes and looked absolutely terrified, "I'm sorry! I'm not stalking you!"

"Who sent you?" Dean shouted.

Dean shook her once more, which got an answer out of her.

"Castiel sent me to protect you!" She screamed.

Dean stopped his hostility and Sam stepped back. This was the first time anyone had mentioned his name in front of Dean. Sam saw how hard it was for Dean. Sure enough, though, the hostility came back. Sam knew that was how Dean dealt with pain the best.

Dean dropped the girl, "Wow. Thanks Cas for sending me the biggest wimp."

The girl got offended, but didn't let actual anger reach her voice, "Um. Excuse me, who has saved you these past three weeks? In Michigan, who set the salt? Me. In Illinois, who finished that demon and returned all teenagers home safely? Me. Who led you to the body of the ghost? Me. I don't want to hear it."

This only made Dean angrier. He grabbed her neck and forced her against the wall, "Who are you?"

The girl couldn't breathe, so she couldn't answer. All she showed were her eyes. They had the same pattern as any old demon only they were green. Dean dropped her and backed up. The girl fell to the ground choking and gasping. This isn't fair, she thought.

Dean repeated, "Who are you?"

The girl regained herself and stood up, "My name is Bernadette and Castiel sent me to protect the both of you."

Sam had called Bobby and let him know they had to spend the night wherever they were, because the Impala was going to take longer. This wasn't a lie, but Sam wanted to find out more about Bernadette before going to Bobby's house. He was, quite frankly, scared of her. They had seen a lot of things, but never something with green eyes.

Dean was fretting around the room. He placed salt across each door way and placed some sigils around Bernadette, who was sitting on one of the queen sized beds of some random hotel room. She allowed Sam to, gingerly, tie her hands up with rope. She was willing to do anything, as long as they cooperated.

Dean finally finished and sat in front of Bernadette. Dean stared at her for a second. He stared at her fear stricken face.

"Who are you?" Dean asked.

"I already told you." Bernadette said, "My name is Bernadette and Castiel sent me to protect you."

"You're going to have to do better than that." Dean said.

Bernadette sighed, "Castiel was my best friend. We lived together in Heaven. He was the closest person to me and every angel knew it. So, one day you're good friend Azazel decided to join Lucifer. And he was trying to recruit as many angels as he could. Now, I was a no one in Heaven. So, I don't know why Azazel went after me, but he did. He said, 'If you don't join me, I'll kill everyone you love.' Azazel wasn't kidding. I knew he would go for Cas first. Cas had serious potential, so I told Azazel I would go."

"A fallen angel." Sam realized.

Bernadette nodded, "Precisely."

Dean scoffed, "Cas sent a fallen angel to protect us. A fallen angel? Please, tell me what he was on."

Bernadette turned to Dean, "I would have a little more respect for the angel who pulled you out of hell."

Dean rolled his eyes like a child. He sarcastically said, "Oh whatever. Why would Cas send a fallen angel to us?"

"Trust." Sam, surprisingly, retorted. He turned to Bernadette, "He trusts you?"

Bernadette nodded. She was still very frightened, "I still worship the Lord."

"What?" Dean asked harshly. "A fallen angel, a demon, worshipping the Lord?"

Bernadette nodded, hurt by his words. She cried out, "I never wanted this!"

"Then why did you say yes to Azazel?" Dean asked.

"If I said no, he would have killed Castiel and you would still be in Hell." Bernadette mumbled.

It was then that Dean noticed that Bernadette refused to look at Dean directly into his eyes. She was scared. No, she was terrified. Why? Dean felt no different towards to her. To him, she was another demon that was worth ridding the world of. He didn't like her. Bernadette didn't like Dean either. She wanted to ask Cas, why not Sam? At least Sam was nice. Plus, considering their history, Bernadette didn't want too much to do with Dean. Did he even realize?

Dean tried to meet her gaze, but she turned away. Dean stood up and she flinched. She was petrified of not only Dean, but of everything. Hell had left her scarred and she wouldn't let it go for a long time. She didn't like Dean's hostility.

"What else did Castiel tell you?" Sam asked.

"That I would run into you in Michigan and from then on I would be your protectors. He said that I have to keep you alive and hunting." Bernadette said.

Dean scoffed again, "How are you going to keep me protected? I think I'd be better off protecting myself."

Bernadette hung her head, again refusing to meet Dean eyes.

"You can't even look at me. How are you supposed to protect us?" Dean asked.

"You should have thought of that before slicing me in the pit." Bernadette spat.

As she showed her rage, Bernadette bent her head and closed her eyes. Praying.

Dean backed up and looked at her. Sam sighed and grabbed a knife. He cut the rope incasing Bernadette's hands. She immediately folded them in her lap. When she finished, she smoothed out her dress and looked up.

"You want me to leave?" Bernadette asked, "Fine. Maybe you're right. I am too weak."

Sam was about to disagree, but Bernadette turned to him with asking eyes. She wanted to leave, but she couldn't. Sam grabbed the sigils and swept the salt away. Bernadette disappeared within minutes. Dean was still speechless. He stared off in the distance. Sam sighed towards him before his phone started ringing. It was Bobby.

"Bobby. Hey what's up?" Sam asked.

"We have a problem." Bobby said.