A/N - I really hope this chapter doesn't get confusing. It flicks back and forth between what the boys are doing and what Castiel is doing. I just wasn't sure when I read it back.
Chapter Six.
During their hours of research at the library, the sun had begun its daily hiatus, sinking low behind the building, surrendering to the night before Sam and Dean emerged with fresh determination. It didn't take long with Dean's interpretation of driving before Sam saw the gates to the cemetery approaching.
Even after years of living the life they did, the sight of wrought iron gates protruding from the darkness and the knowledge of what was to come still sent a slight chill down his spine. So minor that he barely felt it, Sam still knew it was there every time. He figured the day he stopped feeling that minute rush of terror was the day he had truly lost his mind.
'Dude, where are you?' Dean said suddenly, breaking the silence that had filled the front of the car.
'Uh, nowhere,' Sam said. 'Just thinking I guess.'
Dean tutted sardonically. 'As if life wasn't dangerous enough already.'
Sam shook his head and fought back a smile. Whilst he was feeling the creeping of trepidation his brother was characteristically cracking jokes. He leaned forward a little so that he could see through the shadow created by the single dim lamppost on the side of the road.
'What the hell?' he muttered as he saw a figure flickering in and out of view.
'What?' Dean asked, clearly having not seen the same thing Sam had.
'Is that Castiel?' Sam asked, pointing to where he had seen the familiar outline of the angel just seconds before.
'I don't see anything,' Dean said, killing the engine and getting out quickly.
Sam followed suit though still preoccupied with the space beyond the gates. With another flicker, Castiel was back, his eyes meeting Sam's for a nano second before he disappeared again. Sam turned his head slightly, intending to ask Dean if he had seen. Upon finding that Dean's head was half submerged in the trunk of the car, rooting through the weapons arsenal, Sam decided not to bother.
X X X
If he were human, Castiel would probably be feeling dizzy right now. Transporting himself back and forth from the cemetery to here was annoying but necessary. He needed to check for the soul. If he was right, it would be floating somewhere around here, still deciding where to land.
The only thing more irritating now was that Sam Winchester had seen him and judging by the look of sheer confusion on his face, he would want to know what he was doing. The Winchesters were frustrating like that, always asking questions, refusing to be left out of the loop.
Admittedly, that had probably been their key to survival.
Castiel swept the area with another glance. No sign.
He would have to go back again.
X X X
'I'm telling you Dean, I saw him! I don't know what the hell he was doing. One minute he was there, the next he was gone,' Sam protested as the two brothers trudged through the graveyard looking for Caroline Gunner.
'That is kind of Cass' MO' Dean pointed out before abruptly taking a left.
Sam sighed and trotted after him. 'Something was off about it, Dean, he was doing it over and over like his ability was malfunctioning or something.'
'Dude, can we just focus please? We'll talk to him after we smoke this chick, alright?'
Sam rolled his eyes irritably as Dean stopped suddenly and crouched beside a relatively new gravestone. Brushing some leaves aside, Dean pointed at the name and looked at Sam knowingly.
'Catch,' Sam said, throwing a shovel to his brother before striking the ground with his own.
X X X
He had been right after all. The soul was somewhere around here. Beneath the whistling of the wind that played with his trench coat and turned his vessels hair into a tousled mess, Castiel could hear it. The ethereal sounds of a tortured entity gasping for resolution, a place to settle. He had to find it - and quickly. His search had already gone on for too many days longer than he had hoped and, with no real place to go, the soul could soon reach its final resting place.
Then it would be too late.
A high pitched screech in the distance prompted him to spin around. He came face to face with what appeared, on first glance, to be a white mist emerging from the emptiness of his location. Castiel had seen enough souls to know that it needed a minute to gain some recognisable features. Then he could confirm it was the one he was looking for.
Another unpleasant squeal echoed around him as the mist contorted and Castiel saw its face.
'Not what I'm looking for,' he muttered to himself as the face twisted in a picture of anger and hissed at him.
He took an unnecessary step backwards as the mist twirled in the air, its eyes glaring darkly at him.
'Help me!'
Castiel's line of sight shot to the left of the entity as another, brighter mist appeared by the hissing soul. If he bothered to feel emotion, Castiel would have felt triumph at that moment in time.
'Gotcha,' he said, as the familiar face looked back at him, eyes slightly drooped, sadness dripping from every feature.
He stepped closer, reaching out his hand, hoping he could get a strong hold on it and return it to its body. Before he could get close, he heard the tortured screech again as the hissing soul careened towards him, sending him flying backwards.
'It's the only way!' he heard before he literally fell back to Earth with a bump.
X X X
'Sam look out!' Dean shouted, a split second too late.
He watched with a familiar feeling of horror as his younger brother was thrown from the hole they had been standing in and connected harshly with the trunk of a massive oak nearby.
'Shit!' Dean cursed as the spirit of Caroline Gunner turned to face him, a psychotic smile spread across her face.
Before he could react, Castiel appeared behind the spirit and rammed his hand through its stomach, dispelling it.
'What the hell, Cass?' Dean shouted incredulously, climbing out of the grave.
'Woah,' Sam uttered from beside the tree, where he stood shakily on his feet. Two concussions in one day were too much, even for him. 'I didn't know you could do that. Where've you been?'
'I don't have time!' Castiel snapped sounding like a parent become impatient with a small child.
Sam walked back towards the grave Dean and he had dug as Castiel spun a 360, his eyes darting around erratically as though he were looking for something. Sam was certain he had never seen the angel behave like this before.
'What's going on?' Dean asked just as the spirit reappeared behind him.
'Dean!' Sam shouted out a fruitless warning as the ghost took hold of his brother by the throat.
All curiosity surrounding Castiel's odd behaviour was forgotten as he ran and slid himself into the grave. Picking up the shovel he had dropped moments before, Sam slammed it over and over into the wood of the casket they had unearthed until he saw a gaping hole in the wood.
'Sam!' Dean's strangled tone spurred him to work faster.
Tossing the shovel aside, he grabbed the duffel bag Dean had left by the open grave and retrieved the lighter fluid from it. He used one hand to pop the lid and tip it all over the remains whilst using his other hand to withdraw the cigarette lighter he carried in his jeans pocket.
'Sam, hurry,' Dean's voice was almost a whisper.
Flicking the lighter open, Sam pulled his thumb over the ignition, lighting it instantly and tossing it onto the open coffin. Within minutes the screech of the ghost as it burned out echoed through the graveyard and Dean fell to his knees clutching at his throat.
'Dude, you alright?' Sam asked, turning to face his brother.
Dean nodded to Sam, feeling far from alright. 'Just another day at the office,' he croaked, shrugging his shoulders. 'You?'
Sam didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on something else as he clambered out of the hole. Dean got to his feet and turned so that he could see what Sam was staring at.
Castiel stood before them, his arm around the waist of a dark haired, apparently unconscious woman. Her hair hung across her face where her head drooped loosely. She groaned suddenly and shivers appeared to wrack her body as she attempted to lift her head, her hair slipping slightly to reveal a glimpse of shocking blue eyes.
Realisation settling nauseatingly in his stomach, Dean turned to look at his brother. Sam's face had paled and for a moment he appeared to be frozen to the spot. Dean realised he was wrong however when Sam took a step forward, a tear spilling down his face as he moved, his hand outstretched towards the woman.
Sam's voice was a whisper as took another step.
'Molly?'
A/N - It had to be done, Sam couldn't be sad forever (love him too much) and people come back from the dead on Supernatural all the time. More will be explained in the next chapter which I will post in a couple of days. I'm kinda tired as I have tonsilitis so energy levels a bit lacking.
