Castiel awoke in a dimly lit alleyway. He was curled up on the damp cement, and the moisture had soaked into his clothes and hair. It must have rained recently, he thought. He realised he was still wearing his hospital gown, only it was now coated with dirt on one side, and he realised it stank- of course it did, it hasn't been washed for a week. Slowly, Cas sat up. He winced, his joints aching as though he hadn't moved in days, and dragged himself to his feet. He shivered in the cool evening breeze
On his left was the alley's exit onto the street. He could see cars blurring past in a rainbow of colour, and a small diner on the opposite side of the road. A pack of hooded figures shifted on their feet, gripping silvery chains restraining vicious looking dogs; they guarded the exit to the alley. It might have been the light, or the distance, or maybe a hallucination, but in that moment Castiel would have sworn their eyes were completely black.
Shaken, Cas looked away and wandered to his right. It was a long way down the alley, but he could see a large gate, a silvery padlock stark against the gate's brown rusted tinge. If he squinted he could also make out a shadowy figure who waved casually when Cas looked right at it.
Either side of the alley was walled by about ten feet tall of brick, but Cas could still see the start of a forest over the top. Now that he was looking, he noticed a small wooden door embedded in the bricks, with an even smaller window overlooking the forest. Curiosity took hold, and Cas looked through the window, pressing his nose to the glass. It took his eyes a while to adjust to the sudden darkness beyond the wall. It was hard to see in the twilight, but Cas could make out tree trunks, scarred by what looked like claw marks. Everything was deathly silent.
With a crack like a gunshot, a hulking black figure smashed into the thin glass, all claws and fur and red-eyed fury. Castiel recoiled, terrified, and hit his head on the brick wall behind him. Seeing stars he glanced to his left then right. He hastily made his way to the gate. He'd figured this was the safest way to, after all if he was going to get into trouble he'd rather be against one person than against five people plus a pack of dogs, or worse- whatever the hell was on the other side of that door.
Cas wandered slowly over to the figure at the locked gate, breathing deeply, trying to calm himself down. As he drew closer the man's face came into focus, he found himself thinking how much easier this would be if he still had his glasses. Castiel was about twenty feet away from the man- he had been able to identify him as a man, even without his glasses- then he froze. The man's blurred features were beginning to look familiar; clean shaven, small eyes fairly sunken into his face, a beak of a nose and a slight line for a mouth. He waved again. Castiel squinted.
"Balthazar?"
Balthazar straightened up at his name, and shoved his waving hand back into the pocket of the dinner suit he was wearing. It must have cost hundreds of dollars. His trousers and shirt were creased and crumpled, the jacket looked worn and dusty, and a slight stubble covered his chin. He walked a few cautious steps towards Castiel, who noticed the suit, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Balthazar, what are you wearing?"
Balthazar laughed a low rumble, then nervously ran a hand through his brown-blond hair.
"After all this time, Cas, all the things you've been through, the first thing you say to me is a criticism on my fashion sense."
He started laughing again, his low rumble slowly morphing into harsh barks, robbing him of breath until he doubled over and started wheezing. Castiel stood with a small smile growing on his own face, reflecting that Balthazar's flashy suit perhaps wasn't the most pressing issue here.
"I thought I'd get one of the usual questions-" he imitates a young girl's voice, high and squeaky "Oh hello Balthazar! Do you mind telling me where I am? Gosh Balthazar, what are we doing in this dark alley? I don't mean to alarm you Balthazar, but I think I'm dead!"
Balthazar doubled over laughing again,and Cas- despite being slightly offended by Balthazar's impressions- allowed himself to chuckle.
Balthazar took a long, deep breath, and as he exhaled he was momentarily haloed by the mist. Recovering quickly he stood up straight again and stared at Castiel, his dark eyes suddenly serious.
"Castiel, do you know why you're here?"
The smile on Castiel's lips froze then faded. His eyebrows knitted together.
"Instead of rotting in the ground? No Balthazar, I have no idea why I'm here. But I sure as hell wish I wasn't."
Balthazar frowned.
"That's a shame. I thought we could have a party. Y'know, booze, babes- or guys in your case-" He shrugged his eyebrows, but got nothing except mild shock from Cas. He shrugged again.
"-whatever. But this is never any fun when you don't even know why you're here."
Castiel slouched on his feet, forehead furrowing as he contemplated what Balthazar said. He wasn't even sure if he was still dreaming. His surroundings seemed so real, so tangible, but the events unfolding before him seemed anything but. He glanced at Balthazar, who was staring at him expectantly, and thought over the past week. He'd supposedly died, but then came back to life as some form of spirit? Invisible to everyone but Tessa. He wondered if she was actually real. Who knew, for all he cared she was a hallucination. He'd blacked out at his own funeral, and woken up here, cold, confused and now he was talking to his ex-boyfriend. If he hadn't doubted his own sanity before, he certainly did now.
"You all right there Cassie? I can practically hear the little cogs whirring in your head. You always were a thinker."
Balthazar smirked, then lent back against the gate, which rattled metallically. Cas frowned, visibly annoyed, then sighed. He'd humour him for now.
"Am I dreaming?"
"Nope."
"Am I dead?"
"Well...your meat suit is."
His eyes narrowed,"Meat s-" Cas didn't even bother finishing his question, he shook his head and sighed. A grin spread across Balthazar's face at Castiel's obvious confusion.
"Is this some kind of elaborate practical joke? Because well done, ha-ha, very funny. Great one. I want out."
"Oh Cas, if only it were so simple."
Balthazar's grin dropped to a sad smile and he sauntered forward, dragging his feet on the ground. He clapped his hands around Castiel's cheeks, bringing their faces intimately close. Cas could smell alcohol on his breath. Balthazar's voice dropped to a rasping whisper.
"Oh no Cassie, you see, someone upstairs has a soft spot for you."
"Upstairs?-"
"Did I stutter? Yeah, upstairs. The big man's got plans for you Cassie. But no-ones allowed to tell you."
Balthazar backed away, and stood in front of the rusty gates. He swayed on his feet, staring at the ground which was still wet with rain.
"I wore this suit because I thought you'd like it. It's a Westwood. Very expensive. Not that I payed for it, mind." Balthazar stared vacantly into the distance. Cas crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly feeling overly exposed in just his hospital gown. He'd never heard of Westwood, but the suit still looked impressive, if a bit badly kept. He shivered again. Balthazar started to mutter unintelligibly, glaring intensely at the brick wall.
"Um... Balthazar?"
For a few minutes Castiel watched him mutter under his breath, quietly concerned for his own safety. Every so often he'd stop and stand silently for a while, eyes glazed over, then he'd resume his muttering. Nervously, Castiel rubbed at his own face, as though to clear something from his eyes. He ran his hands through his knotted and damp hair, glanced behind him to the door on the wall and sucked in a deep breath of the cool evening air. He stood for a while, awkwardly waiting for Balthazar's muttering to subside, he took a moment to look about his surroundings.
"My apologies, Castiel."
Balthazar was staring at him again, completely sober, with a defeated look undisguised on his face. Castiel was slightly taken aback.
"It's nothing, really, I just want to go-"
"You can't just go home Cassie. You're dead. Returning could...compromise the mental stability of those you hold...most dear."
The image of Dean nearly having an emotional breakdown at Cas' funeral flashed unbidden into his head.
"I've been told to let you in now."
"What, through the gate?"
Balthazar nodded slowly, almost sympathetically. Just like Tessa had.
"Please Balthazar, I don't understand- just tell me what's going on!"
Desperation and fear filled Cas' voice, and he started forward. As though he'd hit a brick wall, Cas rebounded, unable to get at Balthazar.
"You aren't required to understand me Cas. I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for what? You haven't done anything wrong! Look Balthazar if this is about Dea-"
Balthazar took a final step back, and waved his hand over the padlock. The silvery metal liquefied and fell in droplets to the ground, forming a pool of flowing moonlight. It rolled and boiled, then moved towards Cas, and despite being terrified he didn't move- although not for lack of trying- he was near paralysed on the spot. The molten silver formed a perfect circle around him, then solidified, turning dull and grey.
"I'm so sorry Cas."
Anguish filled Balthazar's face as the gates behind him creaked.
"Welcome back."
"Balthaza-!"
Castiel was cut off as the gates swung open, a hideous screech tore into the quiet of the night as rust tried to still the hinges. Cas squinted as a blinding white light expanded until it was all he could see. Blinded and deafened he dropped to his knees, clutching at his ears and closing his eyes against the light. He felt a hand on his shoulder, then another on his forehead, then his neck and all over his body until he was covered by invisible hands. He could hear a thousand voices screaming in his head, then all the hands seemed to press in on him at once with enough pressure that Castiel though he would implode. He screamed in agony, and was plunged into darkness once more.