Not zombies. Croatoan's.
Dean grabbed a beer out of Bobby's fridge while Delilah finished making herself some coffee.
"So, you're his vessel, huh? Lucifer's wearin' you to the prom?" Dean said, walking into the living room and sitting on Bobby's couch.
"That's what he said."
A few seconds later, Delilah followed him. Just before she sat down next to him, she put her hot cup of coffee on the coffee table.
Dean took a sip of his beer. "Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in. Huh, Sammy?"
"So, that's it? That's your response?"
Dean shrugged. "What are you looking for?" He asked, taking another sip.
Delilah yawned and pulling the blanket that laid on the back of the couch over her as she pulled her feet underneath her.
"I don't know. A...a little panic? Maybe?"
"I guess I'm a little numb to the earth-shattering revelations at this point." Dean muttered, resting the hand with his beer in against the couch's arm rest.
"What are we gonna' do about it?"
"What do you want to do about it?"
"I want back in, for starters."
At this point, Delilah rested her head against Deans arm, her eyes falling shut.
Dean glanced down at her. "Sam—" He got cut off.
"I mean it. I am sick of being a puppet to these sons of bitches. I'm gonna hunt him down, Dean."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh, so, we're back to revenge, then, are we? Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well last time."
Sam voice was strained. "Not revenge. Redemption."
Dean sighed. "So, what? You're just gonna' walk back in and we're gonna' be the dynamic duo again?"
"Look, Dean," Sam started. "I can do this. I can. I'm gonna prove it to you." He promised.
Dean swallowed thickly. "Look, Sam—it doesn't matter—whatever we do. I mean, it turns out that you and me, we're the, uh..The fire and the oil of the Armageddon. You know, on that basis alone, we should just pick a hemisphere. Stay away from each other for good." He took a swig of his beer.
"Dean, it does not have to be like this. We can fight it." Sam argued.
"Yeah, you're right. We can." He nodded. "But not together. We're not stronger when we're together, Sam." He said sadly. "I think we're weaker because whatever we have between us—love, family, whatever it is—they're always gonna' use it against us. And you know that." He told him firmly. "Yeah, we're better off apart. We got a better chance of dodging Lucifer and Michael and this whole damn thing, if we just go our own ways."
"Dean, don't do this."
"Bye, Sam."
Dean sighed as he hung up, ignore Sam's protests. Looking down, he smiled, seeing that Delilah had fallen asleep again. He brushed some hairs away from her eyes before he leant forward and put his beer and phone on the coffee table. He shifted down the couch a little and rested his feet next to his beer on the table and wrapped an arm around Delilah's shoulders, his eyes falling shut.
Dean blinked, feeling a shiver run through his body. Glancing down at Delilah, he noticed that she was still sleep. Looking up, his eyes widened when he saw the state of the room. "What the..." He frowned, gently shaking Delilah awake. "Wake up, sweetheart."
Delilah moaned. "Again? Can't I just have a good nights sleep." She said frustrated. Sitting up, her mouth fell open in shock when she opened her eyes. "Dean? What the hell going on?" She asked, panicking.
Dean swallowed thickly. "I don't know, Lila."
They were still in Bobby's house except the house was no longer clean and homely, in fact, it was the complete opposite. There was mess all over the floor, Jack's toys were covered in dust, the walls were littered in cobwebs and the entire place looked like it had aged 100 years.
"How is this possible?" She questioned, standing up. She was still stressed in her P.J's. A baby pink tank top with small white shorts and fluffy pink ugg type slippers. "Oh my god. Where's Jack?" She asked frantically. "Jack?!" She shouted, running towards the stairs. She stopped short, seeing a few of the steps had caved in. "Jack?" She called up the stairs.
"Lila, I don't think he's here." Dean told her softly, stepping behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Where the hell could he be then?" She asked, turning around. There were tears in her eyes. "And Bobby? Where's Bobby? What's going on?"
Dean swallowed thickly. "I don't think Bobby's here either." He looked at a spot behind her shoulder.
She turned her head following his gaze. "Oh my god..." She whispered, her bottom lip quivering. Her eyes were focused on Bobby's wheelchair which laid on it's side, covered in webs and dust.
"Yeah." Dean agreed, cleaning his throat. He ran his hands down her arms, giving her hands a squeeze before letting go and walking over to Bobby's wheelchair. He moved it upright and frowned at the bullet holes as Delilah held back a sob.
"Where is everybody, Bobby?" Dean muttered to himself.
Delilah stood there with her hands in her hair, trying to calm her breaths. Don't be scared. Turn it into something useful...
Dean walked round to Bobby's desk and opened a draw. Inside of it sat John's journal. "Bingo." He muttered, opening it.
"What's that?" Delilah asked, walking over to him as she wiped a tear from her eye.
"My Dad's journal. Maybe there's somethin' in here that could let us know what's goin' on." He shrugged, knowing it was a long shot. He turned a few pages and found a picture.
"That's us." She blurted out, confused. She pulled the picture from the book and held it in front of them. "That's me, you, Cas, Jack..."She breathed. "Jack looks like he's about 5..6 years old in this." She frowned, looking at Dean. "And who're those guys? I've never seen 'em before? Hell, I don't even know this picture." She stressed.
Dean bit his lip and took the picture off her, studying it. Bobby was sitting in his wheel with Cas standing next to him. Next to him stood Dean who had an arm around Delilah's shoulders, and Jack stood in front of her holding a shotgun. She had a arm wrapped around his shoulders. Next to them were 3 guys he'd never seen before. Everyone one of them held a weapon.
"Camp Chitaqua." Dean said suddenly.
"What?" Delilah frowned.
Dean pointed to sign in the picture. "It was taken at a place called Camp Chitaqua."
She nodded, seeing the sign. "You think they could be there?" She asked him hopefully.
Dean shrugged, leaning the palm of his hands against Bobby's desk. "It's our best lead."
"Alright then."
"We're gonna' need a car." Dean pointed out, standing up straight.
Delilah nodded in agreement. "We'll look in Bobby's scrap yard. He's gotta' have a car that works."
"Alright, let's go." Dean said, grabbing Delilah's hand and walking to the door. They exited Bobby's house warily.
"God, this feels like a horror movie." Delilah commented quietly as they walked towards the scrap yard.
"Don't worry 'bout it." Dean told her, squeezing her hand. "I ain't gonna' let anythin' happen."
At any other time, Delilah would have smile. Instead, she frowned. "What exactly is happening, Dean?"
"I'm not sure but..." He paused, unsure of how to tell her. "I think we might be in the future."
Her eyes widened as they stopped and Dean checked over the first car he could find. "The future?" She asked, wrapping her arms around herself when Dean let go of her hand. She was really starting to feel the cold morning air now.
"Uh-Uh." Dean nodded, yanking the car door open. He got in the drivers seat and started to hot wire the car. "Only thing I know that could pull somethin' like this off is Angels." He frowned when the wires didn't spark. Pressing a button, he popped open the bonnet and exited the car. He walked round to the front of it and nodded. "No battery. Great."
"Angels? Was It Cas?" She asked, frowning.
Dean shook his head and Delilah followed him as they went to the next car. "Not Cas. I'm thinkin' more like Zachariah."
"Who's that?" Suddenly, a loud bang made her jump. "What the hell was that?" She panicked, looking around frantically.
Dean walked up to her cautiously. "I don't know." He told her honestly. "Just stand by me, OK?" He told her, tugging her arm towards the next car.
Once again, Dean got in the drivers seat. Leaning down and removing a panel, he grabbed the wires he needed and grinned when he saw them spark as he touched them together. "We might have a car that works." He told her happily.
"Good." Delilah breathed, her eyes looking at her surroundings. Next thing she knew, a body slammed into her and she yelped as her body hit the ground forcefully. "Dean!" She screamed. A man was on top of her, broken glass in his hand. She tried to grab his arm and fight him off but she wasn't strong enough and he swiped the glass across her right shoulder. She left out a scream.
Suddenly, the weight was gone and she held a hand up to her bleeding shoulder as she crawled back and lent up against the car. She looked over and saw Dean crouching on top of the man, punching him repeatedly in the face.
The man on the floor managed to gather up his strength and threw Dean off of him.
"Dean!" Delilah screamed as the man got on top of him. She saw Dean grab the mans hand, an attempt to keep the glass away. Delilah looked around frantically and saw a crowbar a few feet away. She quickly got to her feet and grabbed it before running over to Dean. The hunter in her didn't hesitate as she swung the object at the guys head. The sharp side of the crowbar impaled the man's skull and he fell to the door.
"Are you OK?" She asked, falling to her knees beside him.
Dean nodded and sat up. "I'm fine, sweetheart." He grabbed her hand and stood up, pulling her along with him. "What about you? Did his blood get in your wound?" He asked, pulling the strap of her tank top and bra aside so he could look at the cut. It wasn't deep but was still bleeding.
Delilah looked at him confused. "No..."
"Good." Dean nodded. He looked down and kicked the guy. "C'mon, we gotta' go." He entwined her fingers with his and walked over to the car. Delilah got in first, scooting over into the passengers seat and then Dean followed behind her. Closing the door, he hot wired the car again before putting as much distance as he could between them and Bobbys house.
After a few moments of silence, Delilah spoke. "I killed him." She stated, shocked.
Dean shook his head. "He wasn't human. Don't worry 'bout it." He looked over at her. "You cold? You can have my jacket." He said, giving her no room to argue as he carefully took it off, always keeping one hand on the wheel.
"Thanks." She smiled at him slightly as she slipped it on. Then Delilah frowned. "How'd you know? He didn't have black eyes like a demon or -"
"It's a virus." Dean interrupted her.
She looked at him puzzled. "A virus? Like Swine flu?"
Dean shook his head, glancing over at her before looking back to the road. "I think it's a croatoan virus." He sighed. "Me and Sam came across somethin' like this before. The infected people try n' cut you and then they'll cut 'em selves n' mix their blood with yours. It's how you get infected."
She leaned back against her seat, hand going to her forehead. "First, I wake up with no idea where my son is," She started, feeling tears fill her eyes.
"We'll find him." Dean assured her.
"Then," She continued. "Bobby's gone too. Only his wheelchair left n' that has bullet holes in it so it's not hard to guess what's happened there." A tear fell down her cheek.
"I'm sure Bobby's fine." His voice sounded strained.
"Oh, and then, it's turns out we've travelled to the future." She laughed sarcastically. "Freakin' peachy." She spat. "And now, on top of all that, it's a freakin' zombie apocalypse."
"Not zombies. Croatoan's." He corrected her.
She glared at him. "Like it makes much difference."
Dean frowned and slowed the car, seeing a sign by the next turn off on the road. It read:
CROATOAN
VIRUS
HOT ZONE
NO ENTRY
BY ORDER OF ACTING REGIONAL COMMAND
AUGUST 1, 2014
KANSAS CITY
"Guess we ain't goin' that way." He muttered.
Delilah's mouth hung open. "Holy shit. We really are in the future."
Dean gave her a sad smile before he continued his previous speed. "Let's try the radio." He suggested, leaning forward and turning it on. There was nothing but static. "That's never a good sign." He said, turning it off.
"No, it's not." She agreed, pulling his jacket even further around herself.
"'Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia.'" A voice said suddenly from the back seat.
"Holy shit!" Delilah jumped, turning round. "Where the fuck did you come from?"
"Language, missy."
"I thought I smelled your stink on this Back to the Future crap." Dean commented angrily.
Zachariah ignored him and looked down at a newspaper he was holding. He read from it.'"President Palin defends bombing of Houston.' Certainly a buyer's market in real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports. That's right—no more sports." He closed the newspaper. "Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum, if you ask me."
"How did you find me?" Dean demanded rather than asked.
"I'm afraid your little friend Cas didn't give everyone a sigil. Wasn't to had to work out where you'd be, Dean."
Dean cursed under his breath and he looked at Delilah. "Jack. He used Jack to find me."
Delilah's head shot up and she looked at Zachariah disgustedly. "You sick son-of-a-bitch using my kid like that. What kind of angel are you!?"
"Put your dog on a leash, Dean." Zachariah retorted.
"Oh, you-" Delilah started to climb over the back seat but Dean pulled her down.
"Shut up, Badly." He told Zachariah angrily before turning to Delilah. "Don't." Dean warned her. "You don't know what he's capable of." He said, remember the time he gave him stomach cancer.
Delilah slumped back in her seat. "OK, so you used Jack to find Dean to bring him to the future?" She guessed, looking back at the angel. She saw him nod. "Right, so why the hell am I here?"
"Good question." Dean told her, nodding.
"It wasn't part of the plan." Zachariah admitted. "But when I saw you two laying there all cuddled up, I couldn't resist." He said. "I thought I'd show your little Delilah what your stubbornness is gonna' lead to. Maybe she can help you change your mind."
"What are you talkin' about?" Delilah asked, glancing between the two.
"Oh, Dean didn't tell you?" Zachariah taunted. "You see, your man here, could stop all of this."
"People would die!" Dean argued.
"People are dying, right now, Dean!"
"Wait!" Delilah interrupted. "How could you stop this?" She asked Dean, confused.
Dean sighed. "Michael – the angel – is the only angel that can kill the Devil." He started. "But, catch is, Michael needs a vessel in order to do so."
"And that vessel is Dean." Zachariah finished for him.
Delilah nodded. That made sense. The whole Michael sword thing she heard Dean tell Bobby when she first met them and a few other snippets of conversation that never really made sense, now suddenly did. "But if Dean says yes, people die." She stated.
"Well, yes, but if he doesn't say yes, more people die." Zachariah replied. "And this will happen, this world you're in now. This is your future if he doesn't say yes. I want to show you both how bad it gets."
"Okay, well, good, great." Dean said sarcastically. "You have had your jollies. Now send us back, you son of a bitch."
"Oh, you'll get back. All in good time. We want you to marinate a bit."
"Marinate?" Dean frowned.
The angel nodded. "Three days, Dean. Three days to see where this course of action takes you." With that, Zachariah vanished.
"Wow." Delilah commented. "Just...Wow. This is a lot to take in, in just one day."
"Yeah." He agreed, shifting his eyes over to her. "Are you alright?"
She nodded. "Alright as I can be." She frowned. "Why didn't you tell me? I would of understood."
Dean shrugged one shoulder. "I guess I didn't want you ta' think I was doin' it 'cause I was a coward." He admitted.
Delilah smiled at him. "I could never think that of you, Dean." Suddenly something occurred to her. "Wait." She turned to him. "This whole angel vessel crap. Didn't Sam say he was Lucifers vessel?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah and that's why me n' Sam need to stay away from eachother." When she frowned at him, confused, he clarified for her. "If we're together, and they find us, they'd have both of us right where they'd want us n' would do whatever if takes to get me to say yes."
Slowly, she nodded. "Like...Hurtin' Sammy..."
Dean's face was pained. "Yeah, like hurtin' Sammy."
She understood what he meant but she could see one problem in his plan. "Right...But what if they find Sammy?" She questioned softly. "They could still use him against you, even if you aren't travellin' together no more."
Dean glanced at her, a thoughtful expression on his face before he turned back to the road, not replying to her.
"OK, we're gonna' need to ditch the car." He told her as he stopped. It was dark by the time they'd reached the camp.
"Why?" She asked.
"They'll be able to hear the engine n' I want us to be as hidden as possible 'til we know exactly what we're dealin' with." He explained, opening his door. "You ready?"
She nodded and opened her own door. They both excited. It was about a 5 minute walk until they reached the camp. They ducked down behind a abandoned car. "It's the sign from the photo." Delilah pointed out, quietly.
Dean nodded. "Yeah," He agreed. Suddenly his face fell. "Oh no.." He breathed, stealthily walking towards a smashed up car. Delilah followed him, confused until she noticed that the car was Dean's Impala. Well, what was left of his Impala anyway. "Oh, baby, no." He peered into the drivers side door. "Oh, no, baby, what did they do to you?"
"Shit, Dean!" He heard Delilah cry out. He turned around just in time to see...Himself knocking her out with the butt of his gun. The future-Dean quickly kicked present-Dean's legs out from underneath him before knocking him out as well.
When Dean woke up, he found himself handcuffed to a pipe. He frowned, looking across the room. His frown deepened when he saw that Delilah had her hands and feet duct-taped to the chair she was passed out on. He looked ahead of him and saw future-Dean cleaning a gun. "What the hell?" He muttered.
Furture-Dean looked up. "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?" He asked, putting his gun down on the table in-front of him.
"Because you'd only be hurting yourself." Dean joked.
Future-Dean didn't look impressed. "Very funny."
Dean sighed. "Look, man. I'm no shape-shifter or demon or anything, okay?" He flicked his head at Delilah. "And neither is she."
Future Dean nodded. "Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you were out. Silver, salt, holy water—nothing." He shook his head. "But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lockpick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you want to explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance, while you're at it?" He said. "What about her?" He flicked his head towards Delilah, his voice sounding strained. "How the hell is she here?"
"Zachariah." Dean answered.
Future Dean seemed to stand up straighter. "Come again?"
"I'm you from the tail end of 2009. Zach plucked me n' Lila from Bobby's couch and threw us five years into the future."
"Where is he? I want to talk to him."
Dean shook his head. "I don't know."
"Oh, you don't know." Future Dean said sceptically.
"No, I don't know. Look, we just want to get back to our own friggin' year, okay?" Dean replied angrily. "Is she OK?" He asked, looking over at Delilah.
Future-Dean nodded, his face softening. "She is. 'Cept that cut on her shoulder. Did she get infected?"
"No. I stopped the bastard before he could."
Future-Dean eyed him sceptically before nodding. "Okay. If you're really me, then tell me something only I would know."
Dean looked thoughtful before he smirked. "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 liked it."
Future-Dean looked convinced. "Touché. So, what, Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah. Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?"
Future-Dean nodded. "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. World really went in the crapper after that."
"What about Sam? Bobby? Lila?"
Future-Dean stilled. "Sam..." He sighed, sadly. "There was a heavyweight showdown in Detroit. From what I understand, Sam didn't make it."
Dean frowned. "You weren't with him?"
Future-Dean shook his head. "No. No, me and Sam, we haven't talked in...Hell, five years."
Dean frowned harder. "We never tried to find him?"
"We had other people to worry about."
"Like Bobby, 'Lila and Jack?" Dean guessed. "Where are they?" He questioned. "We saw Bobby's wheelchair." He cleared his throat when he felt his voice tighten. "There was bullet holes in it..."
Future-Dean nodded. "You can pretty much guess what happened there."He answered simply before walking towards the cabin door.
"Wait! What about Lila' and Jack?" He asked, glancing at Delilah to make sure she was still unconscious. "Are they even alive?" He questioned, though it sounded like he was begging. Future-Dean ignored him. "Where you going?"
"I got to run an errand."
"Whoa. You're just gonna leave us here?" He frowned. "And why won't you answer my question?" His mind started to race.
"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."
"Okay. All right. Fine. But you don't have to cuff me, man." Future Dean ignored him and pulled the cabin door open. "Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?"
"No. Absolutely not." With that, future-Dean left, closing the door behind him.
"Dick." Dean muttered. He felt around the door with his hands, grinning when he felt a loose nail in the floorboard. He picked at the wood around it and within 10 minutes, he'd got it and and was free of his handcuffs.
Soon as he was free, he rushed over to Delilah and carefully ripped off the duct-tape. Once it was off, he picked her up and laid her on the floor, gently shaking her. "C'mon, sweetheart." He muttered, cupping the back of her head in his hand. "Wakey-wakey."
She made a small sound in the back of her throat as her eyes blinked open. "Dean?" She squinted. "Where the hell are we?" She asked, pulling herself into a sitting position.
"Camp Chitaqua." He told her, helping her stand up.
"What happened?" She felt the back of her head and winced at the bump.
"Uh, future me knocked us out." He told her sheepishly.
Her eyes widened. "Future you?" She asked, shocked. "This day is just getting weirder and weirder."
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