Apocalypse

Chapter Three: Marks of Angels

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

Warning(s): Strong violence; some swearing; spoilers for the entirety of season one and much of season two of Supernatural; character hurt

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all of the reviews I've been getting for this fic so far . Each one really means a lot to me, and a good review can leave me feeling better for most of the day.

Enjoy this chapter!

Dean frowned, and raised his eyebrows. "They're the only ones with enough power to fight the demons," he repeated. "Pardon me for saying this – but I think that's extremely unlikely. Where's your proof?"

Abby blinked. "You think I'm making this up?"

"He's not sure what to believe," Iona stated before Dean could make any kind of response. "He thinks he has to save his brother on his own, and that he's the only one who can understand all of this."

Dean frowned, immediately turning to the girl. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, immediately suspicious. It sounds like she's been reading my mind… Dean stared hard at Iona. "Who are you, really?"

"Is he feeling all right?" Malcolm asked Lyra.

Lyra frowned. "Why are you asking me that? It's not like I'm a mind reader or anything."

"Well?" Dean ignored Malcolm, Lyra, and Abby, keeping his full attention on Iona. If she can read my mind, there's only one possibility that I can come up with – that she's one of those children like Sam. If that's the case, then her mom would have been burned alive while pinned to the ceiling…

Iona shrugged, and glanced down a moment. "Sometimes, I can hear what people are thinking," she admitted. "Most of the time, I have to try really hard, though… But you were shouting."

Dean glanced at Abby, who was staying quiet, and then at Iona again. "Did something happen to your mom when you were a baby?" he asked.

Iona blinked, and then narrowed her eyes slightly. "How did you know that?" she asked.

Dean didn't say anything out loud – mainly because he didn't know how much he could trust Abby, Lyra, and Malcolm. There was another reason, but one that he wouldn't admit even to himself. Instead, Dean concentrated briefly on a mental image – partly because he wanted to test just how far Iona's abilities went.

The child frowned, and then lowered her head slightly. "Oh… I'm sorry," she said softly. "I thought I was the only one."

"So did we," Dean replied, violently pushing down the pain that tried to overwhelm him. "Don't blame yourself, all right? The thing that did this is to blame – not you or any of the other people like you."

Iona nodded slowly, but didn't say anything. She looked grave, but there was nothing about her expression to suggest that she was feeling sad or guilty.

Dean turned back to Abby, and released his breath in a slight sigh. Then, he frowned as something occurred to him, and turned back to Iona. "Can you check if Abby's telling the truth or not?" he requested.

Abby gave a frown. "That's not really fair," she protested. "I'm telling the truth!"

Iona glanced at Abby, and then closed her eyes for a moment. Finally, she opened them again, and said, "She believes she's telling the truth."

Dean nodded, and looked at the young woman again. "Can you tell me anything else that you found out?" he requested.

Abby's attention wasn't on Dean any longer, though. She was watching Iona with a look of wonder in her eyes. "I didn't even feel you doing anything to me," she commented. "You know… if you need any help with how to train those abilities, I'm happy to tell you everything I know."

Lyra cleared her throat, while Malcolm simply looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than there.

Dean sighed, and crossed his arms. "Abby," he said, making a mental note to find out what her full name was – just so that he could use it to get her attention.

"Sorry." Abby looked at Dean once more. "What did you say?"

Dean watched the young woman closely. "I want you to tell me more," he answered. "If you haven't been deceived in some way, then these people – whoever they are – would be our last hope." He still wasn't really sure he believed in the people with the power to beat the demons – but he was hardly going to risk turning down any kind of advantage.

"I can't explain just how I found this out," Abby admitted after a moment. "It was really strange… It was kind of like the spirit of this cave forced its way into my mind to tell me these things. And the only thing really clear to me was that these people each have some kind of mark."

"Whereabouts and what does it look like?" Dean asked.

"I think it's kind of like a birthmark, and not one that's likely to be noticed," Abby replied. "About all I can make out right now is that it's different for men and women – but both have the mark on their left inner thigh."

Dean sighed heavily. "You can't be of any more help?" he questioned. "A face – or even just a name – would be really helpful. I'm not gonna go around asking everyone to let me see if they have a mark on their thigh. A little more help, please."

Abby shrugged. "I can only tell you what I know," she replied. "And that's not a whole lot, I'm afraid. And you could just ask if someone has a strange mark anywhere on their body – you don't have to specifically mention where."

Unable to help himself, Dean's mind flashed on a brief thought. He tried to push it away, but a quick glance at Iona revealed that the child had apparently heard it anyway. As Dean watched her, the child blushed, and averted her eyes, fiddling with one of the rocks on the ground in front of her.

Malcolm had already backed away by this time. Lyra, on the other hand, had been watching the goings-on with some interest. As Iona looked embarrassed, the young woman glanced at Dean. "What did you do to her?"

Dean frowned at Lyra. "What makes you think I did something to her?" he demanded. "It's not my fault that we have a bloody mind-reader here!"

"Uh… Do you think you could watch the language around the child?" Abby requested. "I don't think her dad would be too happy if – once they're reunited – Iona starts repeating all sorts of swear words."

"It's not like he said a really bad word," Malcolm commented, from where he stood at a safe distance.

Dean bit his lip against the response that immediately sprang to mind, but couldn't help thinking, She'll be lucky if her dad's even still alive… If Iona heard that, though, she gave no sign.

"That's going to be really annoying, having a mind-reader around." Lyra looked at Iona. "No offence, kid… But with you around, not much is gonna be private. Maybe if you could control it better…" She noticed the way that Abby and Dean were staring at her, and shrugged. "What? Sorry, but it's the truth."

She is right, Dean thought. But I think it was a little harsh of her to actually say that. He looked at Iona. "It's all right," he said. "But it would be really great if you and Abby could work on some way of shielding off the thoughts of other people, all right?"

Iona stared at Dean for a moment. Then, she glanced away, staring at the other people, which included Adam, Isabelle, and Jake. The three were talking to a man who Dean assumed was one of the people Jake had told him about.

Dean abruptly frowned as something occurred to him, and looked closely at the girl, suddenly feeling rather suspicious. She said that the demons took her parents… But her mom was killed in a fire…

"My dad got married again." Iona spoke without looking at Dean. "I see her as my mom cause I don't remember my real mom."

That makes sense… Dean looked at Abby. "We're gonna need to get these caves shielded," he told her. "Once you finish that off, I want you to work on Iona's powers with her. Right now, we need to avoid letting anyone else know about the kid." He made sure to include Lyra and Malcolm in that statement. I don't think it'll take much to cause a panic, and knowing that there's a mind-reader around could do that, which is the last thing we need right now. After all, he himself was feeling somewhat uncomfortable around Iona, and he should be used to people with strange powers because of Sam.

Sammy… Dean felt an overwhelming pain as he thought of his brother. His heart seemed to squeeze in his chest, and for a moment, he felt like he couldn't breathe. His strongest desire was to rescue his brother from the demons.

Knowing that waiting – at least for now – was the right thing to do didn't make it any easier…

"I'll go with you while you're shielding," Malcolm said to Abby as he directed an obviously nervous glance at Iona. "You can let me know if there's anything I can do to help you out with."

Abby glanced at Lyra, looking almost as if she'd prefer the woman to come with her. She didn't complain, though, and headed towards the gap she'd already come through.

Dean turned to Lyra as he stood next to Iona. "So… is there anything in particular you have experience in?" he asked her.

Lyra shrugged. "I haven't had any experience in martial arts or shooting or anything like that," she answered. "I can do just about anything with a needle and thread, though – and I can also cook."

I guess we need to have people able to do practical things as well as be fighters, Dean thought. I need to organise everyone together… As it is, we won't be able to do much if we're this disorganised with some people not able to defend themselves. "I'd like you to go and see Jake, and talk to him about seeing the person experienced in self-defence. You and the other people around are gonna have to learn how to defend yourselves."

"Ok…" Lyra said slowly. "Do you want me to take care of Iona?"

Dean shook his head. "I'd prefer to keep her with me," he replied. "There are some things I need to ask her." Once Lyra had walked off towards the main group, Dean turned his attention back to Iona. "So… When did your powers start up?" he questioned.

Sam winced, rubbing at his forehead slightly. He had a really bad headache, and his mouth felt quite dry – he was really thirsty. He swallowed hard, and squinted, feeling somewhat dizzy and like he was close to being sick.

The demon was gone, and Sam had been tied up again. The blood on his cheek had dried, and he knew that infection was a distinct possibility – but he had no way of cleaning the scratches. Not only was he tied up again, but there didn't seem to be any water source around.

Sam squeezed his eyes shut. He felt like there were ice-cold fingers probing at the inside of his mind. The demons haven't killed me yet… Why? What could they possibly want with me? Unless it was simply for revenge because of how many demons he and Dean had fought and killed…

I have to assume that Dean's still alive… Not that I've seen anyone else around, of course. Apart from that woman… At least the body was now gone. The scent of blood had been really tempting while she'd been there.

But Sam still didn't know what was happening to him…

Sam attempted again to pull himself free of his bonds. This time though, they had been tied too tight, and all he succeeded in doing was hurting his wrists.

Abruptly, a sharp pain lanced through Sam's forehead, and he couldn't help gasping a bit as his surroundings blurred around him, briefly becoming a completely different place to where he was currently being held.

It appeared to have once been a town, but now it was in ruins. Silent figures moved around, and there was the sound of someone sobbing and pleading for their life. Closer to where he was, though, was the sound of snarling that seemed to come from some kind of animal. As his vision sharpened, Sam could see that it was a creature that looked similar to a wolf, only with huge talons and sharp fangs.

Sam recoiled automatically, but then realised that the creature wasn't looking at him. Its attention was on someone behind him, and Sam turned to see a blonde woman huddled on the ground, her arms covering her head. Before he could do anything, though, he felt something soft brush against his side as the creature leaped at the woman.

The woman's arms didn't offer much in the way of protection, and Sam could only watch helplessly as the animal tore her throat out.

Sam gasped a few times as his surroundings returned to the building he was inside, and he slumped slightly, closing his eyes for a moment. Ow… His head was pounding, and he felt like he would really want some aspirin, at least.

Finally, Sam raised his head. Then, he stared at the corner opposite him, partly surprised by the fact that he didn't have too many difficulties seeing in the dark, but mostly surprised by who was standing there.

"Dad?"