It had been two weeks since me and Sam had left Dean and he felt happier than he had in a while. Until the night Zachariah paid a visit.
Dean closed his eyes to have a sleep and when he opened them, everything outside had been trashed, destroyed, devastated. Like something from Resident Evil.
When he left the motel, the first thing he saw was graffiti on a garage door. Big red letters spelling out the word CROATOAN.
Dean saw the little girl next and noticed the blood dripping from her mouth but before he could talk to her or do anything, more people appeared from one direction and from the other, soldiers on tanks, shooting the people.
"Oh crap," Dean said to himself and ran.
He broke through a fence, and there was a sign posted that he stopped to read.
Croatoan Virus. Hot Zone. No Entry. By order of acting regional command. August 1, 2014. Kansas.
"August first, 2014," Dean read aloud.
He couldn't think of anything else to do but hotwire the nearest car and get the hell out of there, head to Bobby's.
It would take a few hours but Dean didn't care.
Dean was still driving when the day had turned to night and he turned on the radio to static.
"That's never a good sign."
"'Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia'," Zachariah appeared in the passenger seat, reading from a newspaper and startling Dean.
"I thought I smelled your stink on this Back to the Future crap. How did you find me?"
"Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late-human informants. We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out," Zachariah explained.
"The bible freak outside the motel?" Dean guessed, remembering a preacher-bloke from outside his motel, back in his time. "Okay, well, good, great. You've had your jollies, now send me back, you son of a bitch."
"Oh, you'll get back all in good time. We want you to marinate for a bit."
"Marinate?" Dean raised an eyebrow.
"Three days, Dean. Three days to see where this course of action takes you," the archangel replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means this is the world if you and Sam and Sherrie stay apart. Sam isn't strong without you and he will crumble and become Lucifer's vessel. Sherrie, well we already know there's not stopping that," Zachariah explained. "Have a little look, see, decide if you really are happy being apart from Sam."
Dean was about to argue about what was said about me but the archangel had disappeared.
At Bobby's, Dean was only there five minutes. It was enough time to find a black and white photo of a bunch of men beside a wooden sign.
"Camp Chitaqua," Dean said.
On closer inspection, Dean recognized two of the men in the photo.
Bobby was sat in his wheelchair, glaring at something to the side and aiming a shotgun at it.
Castiel was stood behind Bobby and he also had a shotgun, casually laid in his arm, but he was dressed completely different; he was wearing blue denim jeans, a t-shirt and a casual, baggy jacket. The other three Dean didn't know.
He spun round and left the house, taking the photo with him, knowing just where to go.
As Dean approached the sign from the photo the next night, he saw armed men patrolling the other side of the fence so he was careful to move. And then he saw the impala.
The front side windows were smashed with the passenger door hanging open, the paintwork was scratched and the metal dented and bent.
"Oh, baby, no. Oh, no, baby, what did they do to you?"
Bending to look inside the car, he heard a noise behind him but didn't have time to even turn his head before he was knocked out.
When he came to, he discovered his right hand handcuffed to a ladder and a version of himself across the room, cleaning a gun.
"What the hell?"
"I should be asking that question, don't you think? In fact, why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?" 2014 Dean asked.
"Because you'd only be hurting yourself," Dean tried to joke to ease the situation.
"Funny."
"Look man, I'm not shapeshifter or demon or anything, okay?"
"Yeah, I know, I did the drill while you were out. Silver, salt, holy water-nothing. But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lock pick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you wanna explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance while you're at it," 2014 Dean said, snottily.
"Zachariah," is all that Dean said, but enough to make 2014 Dean stand up and ask him to repeat himself.
"I'm you from the tail end of 2009. Zach plucked me from my bed and threw me five years into the future."
"Where is he? I want to see him," 2014 Dean demanded.
"I don't know," Dean shrugged.
2014 Dean walked over to his past self and bent down to face him. "Okay. If you're me then tell me something only I would know."
Dean thought for a couple of seconds and a smirk spread over his face.
"Rhonda Hurley. We were, uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kind of like it."
2014 Dean looked with a blank face which changed into an impressed expression. "Touché."
"So, Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?"
"It's efficient, it's incurable and it's scary as hell. Turns people into monsters. Started hitting the major cities about two years ago," 2014 Dean answered, going back to the table.
"What about Sam?" Dean asked and watched the future version of himself go rigid.
"Heavyweight showdown in Detroit. From what I understand, Sam didn't make it."
"You weren't with him?"
"No, no, me and Sam, we haven't talked in-hell, five years," 2014 Dean replied.
"What about Sherrie? Was she with Sam?" Dean asked and 2014 Dean just shrugged.
"I don't know. I haven't heard anything about her, don't know if that's a good thing or not."
2014 Dean started holstering his gun and preparing to go out.
"Whoa, you're just gonna leave me here?" Dean cried.
"Yes. I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of The Parent Trap. So yeah, you stay locked down."
When 2014 Dean walked out Dean just muttered, "dick," and looked down to the wooden floor he was sat on.
Wooden floors had nails in and with that idea, he started picking straight away.
When Dean had picked the handcuffs and left, he was only out of the cabin seconds before Chuck appeared.
"Hey, Dean. You got a second?"
"No-yes. Uh, I-I guess. Hi Chuck," Dean stuttered, feeling a little happy that Chuck had made it.
"Hi. So, uh, listen, we're pretty good on canned foods for now, but we're down to next to nothing on perishables and-and hygiene supplies. People are not gonna be happy about this. So what do you think?" Chuck asked, holding a clipboard.
"I-I I don't know. Uh, share?" Dean suggested and suddenly had an idea. "Hey Chuck, is . . .Cas still here?"
"Yeah. I don't think Cas is going anywhere," Chuck said with a slight laugh.
Dean frowned, not understanding what was funny, but found out when he got to Cas' cabin.
Cas' voice flowed out of the door and Dean entered to see him part of a circle of women, speaking to them in a relaxing tone.
"Now, they key to this total, shared perception-it's, uh, surprisingly physical."
Dean studied Cas, who was wearing grey sweat pants and a blue flannel shirt, his hear shaggy and a lot longer, his face on its way to growing a beard.
When he noticed Dean at the door, he flashed a huge grin that past Cas never would have.
"Oh. Excuse me ladies, I think I have to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?"
Dean couldn't believe what he'd just heard; he couldn't believe what Cas had become, but Cas knew as soon as he saw Dean that he didn't belong.
"Whoa. Strange."
"What?" Dean asked.
"You . . .are not you. Not now you anyway."
"No! Yeah. Exactly. Now, why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly me back to my page on the calendar," Dean said, eager.
When Cas burst out laughing, Dean was startled because he'd never heard the angel laugh like this before.
"I wish I could just, uh, strap on my angel wings, but I'm sorry, no dice."
"What, are you stoned?" Dean asked.
"Uh, yeah, generally," Cas said, still laughing slightly.
"What happened to you?" Dean's face screwed up, confused, and Cas just answered, "Life."
Later, when 2014 Dean had got back, he got his past self, along with Cas and took them to his cabin, where two more men were waiting and a map was spread across the table.
"Lucifer is here," 2014 Dean pointed to a part of the map. "I know the map and I know the building."
"Oh good, it's right in the middle of a hot zone," Cas said, having obviously mastered the art of sarcasm.
"Crawling with Croats, yeah."
"Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the devil?" The former angel asked.
"Yes," 2014 Dean said bluntly. "We're loaded and on the road by midnight."
As the cabin emptied, Dean asked his future self, "why are you taking me?"
"You're coming because I want you to see something. I want you to see our brother."
"Sam? I thought he was dead."
"Sam didn't die in Detroit. He said 'yes'," 2014 Dean sighed.
"'Yes'?" Dean replied.
There was a long silence while Dean was left to realise. "Wait, you mean-"
"That's right. The big 'yes'. To the devil. Lucifer's wearing him to the prom," 2014 Dean said, sounding pretty pissed off.
"Why would he do that?" Dean asked.
"Wish I knew. But now we don't have a choice. It's in him and it's not getting out. And we've got to kill him, Dean. And you need to see it-the whole damn thing, how bed it gets-so you can do it different," 2014 Dean answered.
On the drive to the location on the map that night, Dean rode along with Cas.
"So, you're not an angel anymore?"
"Nope, I went mortal," Cas answered.
"What do you mean? How?"
"I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving. But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of-psshhew!-drained away. And now, you know, I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless! Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months," Cas explained.
"So, you're human. Well, welcome to the club," Dean said.
"Thanks. Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless. I'm hopeless. I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out?"
Dean stared at Cas in disbelief and let him carry on driving with the huge smile on his face.
When the team reached the destination, 2014 Dean sent Cas and the others one way and led past Dean the other; when Dean realised that the future version of himself had just fed Cas and his other friends to the Croats so he could use the diversion, Dean started to go after them but everything went black before he could get more than five steps.
When he woke up, he was on the ground in a garden and around him, thunder crashed and lightening lit up the skies.
Opposite, he saw the 2014 version of himself on his back, his neck being held down by somebody in a white shoe and when he opened his eyes, the shoe moved, audibly breaking the neck.
Dean followed the shoe up to the white suit trousers, the white shirt and the while blazer, then realised that the man wearing the suit was his also wearing his brother. Lucifer.
Hearing Dean stand up behind him, Lucifer turned round.
"Oh. Hello, Dean."
There was more thunder and lightening and Lucifer transported himself to behind Dean.
"You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"
"Well, go ahead. Kill me.," Dean spread his arms.
"Kill you? That would be a little . . .redundant, wouldn't it? I'm sorry, it must be painful, speaking to me in this-shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be," Lucifer said, observing a rose in a bush and when he reached toward Dean, Dean flinched and moved.
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What do you think I'm going to do."
"I don't know, maybe deep-fry the planet?"
"Why? Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God. You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?"
"Oh, good god, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile," Dean rolled his eyes.
"You know why God cast me down? Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created . . .you. The little . . .hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you-to love you, more than him. And I said 'Father, I can't.' I said, 'these humans are flawed, murderous.' And for that, god had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion years has done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it?"
Everything Lucifer had just said sank into Dean and made him realise THIS was why I felt sorry for Lucifer and he started looking around for me but when he couldn't see me, relief eased some of the tension inside him.
"Don't worry, Dean, Sherrie's around here somewhere. We never stray that far from each other, it's too painful. Ah, here is my beauty now."
Dean turned to face the same direction as Lucifer and watched me walk into the garden and into Lucifer's arms, sharing an intimate kiss with him before looking down at 2014 Dean.
"Oh dear, not the powerful and almighty you thought that you were, huh?" I smirked.
"You stupid woman. Can't you see what he's done to you?" Dean spat at me.
"Let's go, beautiful, you don't need to listen to this," Lucifer placed an arm around me.
"You better kill me now!" Dean shouted.
"Pardon?" Lucifer turned back to Dean.
"You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop. You too," Dean looked from Lucifer to me.
"I know you won't stop and you will definitely not kill her. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we always end up-here. I win," Lucifer said and looked at me, smiling and squeezed me. "In both ways. So, I win."
"You're wrong," Dean denied.
"See you in five years, Dean."
With a rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning, me and Lucifer were gone; Zachariah stood behind Dean and when Dean saw him, he reached forward and touched Dean's head.