A/N: Hey guys! So this chapter is a few hundred words shorter than the other but it's filler but it's longer than most filler chapters I write. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
Happy Reading!
And as always, REVIEWS = LOVE!
DISCLAIMER ON PREVIOUS CHAPTERS
THIS FANFICTION IS UNBETA'D BUT PROOFREAD. ANY REMAINING MISTAKES ARE UNINTENTIONAL. APOLOGIES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.
"He has Katrina," Ichabod spoke smoothly, his eyes wild. "Here. Here," he said handing everyone around him an old book. "We much search through any and every resource that is available to us in order to protect Katrina."
"Look, we understand that you want to save your wife but you need to calm down," Sam said but his comforting tone seemed to do the opposite.
"Calm down? I will not! You heard that head!" he shouted.
"It's friggin' bad enough we have to deal with the damn Apocalypse again. You freakin' out ain't helping," Dean chimed in.
"I care not about the Apocalypse," Ichabod spoke tightly.
"You don't care about the Apocalypse?" Abbie questioned. "That's nice. When were you going to tell me, huh?"
"No, please...Ms. Mills..." he began but was interrupted when she put her hand in face.
"I get it. Wanting to save someone so bad that everything else seems to just fall away, but Crane, the Apocalypse is huge and we're in this together, right?" she asked holding out her fist to him.
"Of course," he said pounding his fist against hers. "I am sorry. The thought of Katrina being..."
"I know but I really believe that ending all of this will bring her back to you," Abbie said handing him a book. Ichabod nodded and sat down at the table.
The group scoured the books silently for hours. The only sound was the turning of the brittle pages until Sam stood up and almost knocked his chair over.
"Look at this," he finally said. His voice taut. Dean took the Men of Letters book from Sam and began to read.
"It is said that the Headless Horseman holds prisoner a woman in the depths of Purgatory. A woman of great power and grace. He has held her in captivity for over 180 years. We are not foolish enough to believe that she has been unaffected by this evil. It is believed that the Horseman has been twisting and tempting her from the moment he captured her. If this is the case, there is no telling who or what she has become," Dean finished. Ichabod began to shake his head repeatedly but before he could say anything Jenny spoke,
"So what now?"
"Is there a way into Purgatory?" Abbie inquired.
"Yeah. Stand to close to a Leviathan while giving it the gank," Dean replied. "But getting in is the easy part. It's getting out that's tricky."
"What?"
"Ignore him," Sam said. "Look, it takes a lot to get into Purgatory."
"I believe I know of a way," Ichabod commented. "I remember reading about it."
"What is it?" Jenny asked.
"We must return to the cemetery. The mausoleum in which Capt. Irving was hid is the doorway," he said.
"What?" Dean asked as he and Sam packed their bags.
"The mausoleum is a facade," the colonial man informed them as they made their way down the dark corridor. "Inside is the door."
"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Dean questioned as he pushed the filing cabinet to the side and stepped into the police station.
XX
"What now?" Sam asked as he and Dean sailed along the highway behind Abbie's SUV.
"I don't know, Sammy. We'll just take it one step at a time," Dean said his eyes glued to the road. The brothers were silent for a moment.
"You don't trust him, do you?"
"Who?"
"Ichabod," Sam said. "You don't trust him."
"No. No I don't trust him not to get himself or someone else killed," Dean admitted. "You know as well as I do going into to something like this with nothing but your emotions guiding you is..."
"Dangerous," Sam finished, his brow furrowed. Silence over took them again as Dean pulled the Impala to a stop. Everyone got out and geared up.
"Wait," Dean said, stopping the group. "I think Crane should stay behind."
"I will not," Ichabod said indignantly.
"Why?" Abbie asked.
"He's too emotional," Sam answered. "Emotions lead to..."
"Someone getting iced," Dean finished.
"I am in complete control of my emotions," Ichabod said standing up to his full height.
"Oh yeah, you seem stable," Dean commented. "He needs to stay behind."
"If he stays, I stay," Abbie said. Dean rolled his eyes.
"Fine but if he gets out of hand, he's your responsibility," Sam said sharply.
"I agree with the Winchesters," Frank said. "If you can keep him under control in there, he can go. Is that a guarantee, Mills?"
"Yes, sir." she nodded.
"Alright then. Let's go," the captain said as he led the way in the creepy ass cemetery. He stopped at the door of the mausoleum. "How do we get in?" Ichabod stepped forward and ran his hand along the door. He lifted the large lion head shaped knocker and pressed the button that lie beneath it. The doors swung open and after a few glances at each other, the group entered. Inside it looked like a normal mausoleum except for the latched door in the floor.
It took, Sam, Dean, Frank and Ichabod to lift the cement door, but once they did, it revealed a set of stairs that lead to the darkness. Dean set his jaw, clicked his flashlight on and descended the stairs. Jenny, Frank, Abbie, Ichabod followed with Sam pulling up the rear. The narrow corridor was pitch-black, dank and rank. It smelled of wet, rotting corpses. The ground was marshy and the darkness was thick seemingly never ending.
"What the hell, Dean!" Jenny said harshly, bumping into him. Dean didn't respond.
"Dean?" Sam said from the back of the line. "Dean."
"Yeah Sammy?" his gruff voice said.
"What's going on?" he asked his older brother, his voice taut. They could all feel the tension rising in the tiny space. The five of them waited impatiently for the answer to Sam's question.
"This is it," Dean answered in a tremulous voice.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked in a thick tone.
"This is it, Sammy," Dean said again. "This is the door to Purgatory."