For my reviewers: Elm Treigh, JustKillMe21, chase83, Bloody Scarlett Cherry Blossom & Rosa4dean. Over 200 reviews, I can't believe it!
Adiana walked briskly down the hallway of Rhode Island State Mental Hospital. She wore bright white scrubs and had one of her new IDs clipped to the breast pocket. The scrubs were Dean's. She'd had to pin the shirt up, so that she wasn't swimming in it and roll the pants several times. Hopfully no one would notice. In fact, she was simply hoping no one would notice her at all. She'd only had to interact with one of the nurses at the check-in desk.
Sam, claiming to be one of the nurses, had called in sick and said he had gotten a replacement. Adiana arrived an hour before the usual nurse's shift with the excuse that he had told her the wrong time. The head nurse told her that it was quite alright and had handed her a list of patients for the day. Adiana had it attached to her clipboard, along with a list of questions she had carefully constructed for Gloria Sytnik. She reached room two thirty-five, Gloria's room, and pushed open the door.
The room was dimly lit, the light barely inching past the bars over the window. Gloria sat on the edge of her bed, a book open in her hands. She was wearing a long deep-green sweater that seemed to swallow her thin body. Her dark blonde hair was limp and lines were etched into her face. Despite her frail appearance, she seemed relaxed. She turned her head as Adiana closed the door.
"Good morning. You're not the usual person."
"No, uh… just filling in. So how you feeling today, Gloria?"
"I've never felt better."
"So…nothing bothering you lately?"
"You mean, am I stark-raving cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?" Adiana blushed, hands tightening around her clipboard.
"I didn't mean…" Gloria smiled.
"That's all right. I know what people must think." Adiana glanced down at the questions on her clipboard. Forget it. She'd be better off just winging this. There was a pale orange chair in front of the window. Adiana perched on the edge of it.
"But what do you think?
"I think what I saw was real."
"Do you think… could you tell me what happened?"
"It was all over the news." Gloria shrugged slightly. "I stabbed a man in the heart."
"Why?"
"Because it was God's will."
"So God told you to stab this man?"
"I get the sense God's a little busy for house calls," Gloria said but without any hint of bitterness. "No. He…He sent someone."
"Who?"
"An angel. It came to me in this beautiful, white light." Gloria paused for a moment, her eyes slightly unfocused, remembering. "And… it filled me with this feeling. It's hard to describe."
"And this angel, he…"
"Spoke God's word. Look, what I did was very important. I helped him smite an evil man. I was chosen for redemption."
"Redemption for what?" Gloria just stared at Adiana. "Right, sorry. Not my business. This man you stabbed, did the angel tell you his name?"
"No. He just told me to wait for the sign, and the very next day I saw it, right beside the man's doorway. And I knew."
"Do you know why you had to kill him?"
"I just know what the angel told me, that this man was guilty to his deepest foundations. And that was good enough for me."
"Okay, Gloria," said Adiana, standing up. "I think that's enough for today."
"Goodbye, Nurse… You didn't tell me your name."
"Maggie. Nurse Maggie J. Houlihan." Gloria's quiet laughter followed her out the door. Adiana glanced down at her ID. She was going to have to remember to look up exactly who all these aliases were. She walked back down the hallway to the front desk. The head nurse was flipping through a stack of files.
"Yes?"
"I'm really sorry. I left my glasses in the car. I was in such a rush to get in this morning. Could I go get them?"
"Make it quick, Ms. Houlihan."
"Yes ma'am." Adiana breathed a huge sigh of relief as she opened the door to the hospital and made her way down the front steps and across the parking lot. She opened the passenger door of the Impala.
"Hey, how'd it go?" asked Sam as Adiana shut the door.
"Good. I don't think anyone suspected me, and I think Gloria really believes she saw an angel." Sam started up the Impala and backed out of the parking space.
"Huh. I didn't find anything suspicious at her apartment, either."
"You went to her apartment? I thought you were going to find a motel and stay there with Dean to make sure he didn't sneak off somewhere."
"I figured he's got food and pay-per-view TV. He'll be fine. So Gloria really believes she saw an angel?"
"Really, really." Sam and Adiana didn't say another word on the way back, both lapsing into a thoughtful silence. Angels. Adiana had been raised Lutheran. She believed in God and angels. At least, she thought she did. But angels telling someone to kill? And why would they appear here and now? It didn't make any sense. If, and that was a big if, there really was an angel there must be a reason for it to be here. Well, they'd just have to work it like a case unless they had reason to believe otherwise. Gloria had seemed so sure though.
The Impala pulled into the Hideaway Motel's parking lot, and its rumbling ceased as Sam turned the keys in the ignition. Adiana followed him to a bright red door, which he unlocked. She heard a loud humming and glanced over her shoulder, half expecting to see a swarm of bees. No wait. The sound was coming from inside the room. She stepped into the doorway and around the short glass wall.
Dean was laying on one of the beds, a contented grin on his lips. He had ear buds plugged into his phone and was no doubt listening to some classic rock band, but that wasn't the cause for his obvious pleasure. The bed was vibrating causing the soft buzzing sound Adiana had heard. An attachment next to the bed read 'Magic Fingers: Tingling Relaxation and Ease. Only 25¢'. Sam tried to get his brother's attention.
"Hey." Dean didn't respond. Sam hit him on the foot. "Hey!" Dean glanced at him.
"Hey. Man, you've gotta try this. I mean, there really is magic in the Magic Fingers." Dean waggled his fingers for emphasis.
"Dean…you're enjoying that way too much." Sam tried not to look at his brother. "It's kind of making me uncomfortable."
"What am I supposed to do?" asked Dean, sitting up. "You've got me on lockdown here. I'm bored out of my skull."
"Hey, you were the bank robber on the eleven o'clock news, not me. We can't risk you just walking into a government facility."
"Hmm. Hey babe, we have to try this later." Adiana crossed her arms with an amused expression.
"What do you need me for? That bed seems to be working for you just fine." Dean shrugged and fell back on the pillow. She went to wash her hands, the humming finally stopping as she dried her hands on a towel.
"Aw, damn it. That was my last quarter. You got any quarters?"
"No!" Sam practically shouted.
"Adiana?"
"Sorry," she apologized, coming out of the bathroom. Dean sighed.
"So, did you get in to see that crazy hooker?"
"Yup, but… I don't know. She didn't really seem crazy to me."
"She seriously believes she was touched by an angel?"
"Yeah. Blinding light and everything. I mean, she's living in a mental hospital, but she's totally at peace."
"Oh yeah, you're right. Sounds completely sane. What about the dude she stabbed?"
"Uh yeah, Carl…Carl…"
"Carl Gulley," helped Sam.
"Right. She said she killed him because he was evil."
"Was he?"
"Sam did the research on that."
"I don't know." Sam shook his head. "I couldn't find any dirt on him. I mean, he didn't have a criminal record. He worked at the campus library. He had lots of friends. He was a churchgoer."
"Hmm." Dean stood up, pacing thoughtfully. "So then Gloria's just your standard-issue wacko. I mean, she wouldn't be the first nut job in history to kill in the name of religion, know what I mean?"
"No, but she's the second in town to murder because an angel told them to. Little bit odd, don't you think?"
"Well odd, yes. Supernatural, maybe. But angels? I don't think so."
"Why not?" asked Adiana.
" 'Cause there's no such thing." Sam let out a frustrated sigh.
"Dean, there's ten times as much lore about angels as there is about anything else we've ever hunted."
"Yeah, and you know what, there's a ton of lore on unicorns, too. In fact, I hear that they ride on silver moonbeams, and they shoot rainbows outta their ass." Adiana and Sam looked at each other and back to Dean, their eyes wide with shock.
"Wait…" started Adiana.
"There's no such thing as unicorns?" Sam sat down on the bed, pouting. Dean rolled his eyes.
"That's cute. I'm just saying man, there's some legends that you just file under bull crap."
"And you've got angels on the bull crap list?"
"Yep." Adiana began pulling off her white medical uniform, her regular clothing already on underneath.
"Why?" she questioned, sitting down on the other bed to unroll the pant bottoms.
"Because I've never seen one."
"So? I've never seen a werewolf, but they exist, right?"
"So, I believe in what I can see."
"Dean, you and I have seen things most people couldn't even dream about," Sam huffed.
"Exactly, with our own eyes. That's hard proof, okay? But in all this time, I have never seen anything that looks like an angel. And don't you think that if they existed, that we would have crossed paths with them, or at least know someone that crossed paths with them? No. This is a demon or a spirit. They find people a few fries short of a Happy Meal, and they trick them into killing these randoms."
"Maybe." Dean rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Can we just...I'm going stir-crazy, man. Hey, let's go by Gloria's apartment, huh?"
"I was just there. Nothing. No sulfur, no EMF."
"You didn't see any fluffy, white wing feathers?"
"Ha ha."
"There is one thing he didn't look for though," interjected Adiana contemplatively. "Gloria said the angel gave her a sign beside Carl Gulley's doorway."
"Could be something at his house. It's worth checking out," said Dean, eager to go anywhere.
The house was a small, two-floor building with maroon siding. Thin black railings led up to a porch surrounded by white, wooden pillars. The inside of the house was barely visible through the windows. The clouds blocking out the sun wasn't helping the lighting any. Dean parked the Impala on the curb in front of the house, and they all got out.
"Oh, hey, Sam. I think I found it." Dean pointed to the porch. A white plastic angel, about half the size of the door, rested against the wall. "That's a sign from up above." Sam shoved his hands in his pockets and said nothing. Adiana kept her mouth shut as well, but this was beginning to get irritating. She didn't mind that Dean didn't believe in God or angels, but he shouldn't make fun of Sam for it. "Well, I think I've learned a valuable lesson. Always take down your Christmas decorations after New Year's or you might get filleted by a hooker from God. Ha!"
"I'm laughing on the inside," mumbled Sam, trying to peer into the upper windows.
Adiana sighed. She glanced over into the garden next to the house, her eyes resting on the padlocked doors that led down to the cellar. Something made her pause. Gloria had said something about…what? She had been talking about the sign and then… She opened the gate and went into the garden, stopping in front of the cellar doors. Dean noticed her move away. He nudged Sam and gestured for them to follow. She stared hard at the doors. The boys were quiet, sensing that she needed to think. She wound and unwound a strand of hair around her finger. Why these doors? Gloria had said… Oh.
"Gloria said the guy was guilty to his deepest foundations."
"You think she literally meant the foundation?" quizzed Dean.
"It's worth a shot, right?"
"Could be." Dean went to the Impala and came back with three flashlights and a small lock pick. He handed a flashlight to Sam and Adiana before crouching down to break open the small padlock. It clicked open, and he pulled it off, opening the wooden doors. The trio stepped down into the cellar, their flashlights barely reaching through the blackness. Adiana slid along one of the walls, the light passing over tools hung on nails and screws. The air was thick and musty, and Adiana coughed, holding a hand up to her mouth
"Hey," beckoned Sam. Dean's flashlight beam swung over.
"You got something?" He and Adiana crept to where Sam had stooped down, the beams of their flashlights meeting on the wall. Four long white scratch marks led to a point on the wall where Sam was digging with his hand. He pulled something away. "What is it?"
"It's a fingernail." Adiana's nose crinkled in disgust. The nail was caked in dirt, and there appeared to be old, caked-on blood. Dean grabbed a shovel from the corner and handed one over to Sam and kept the other for himself. Adiana kept her flashlight trained on the floor, so they could see.
They dug for about fifteen minutes when Sam's shovel hit something. He stopped and brushed the dirt away. It was a leg bone. Carefully, Sam and Dean dug around the bone, finally revealing an entire skeleton. They stepped out of the hole, turning their flashlights back on to get a better look at the skeleton.
"So much for the innocent, church-going librarian," said Sam. Dean nodded.
"Yeah, well, whatever spoke to Gloria about this knew what it was talking about. I'll give you that." Adiana wondered who this person was and if there was someone still searching for them.
"So um, do we just leave it like this or…"
"Yeah we'll leave it," decided Dean. "Someone's bound to find it and then they can tell the person's family. Give them some closure. Course we'll have to wipe our prints off these shovels."
"Right."
"Then, we'll drop Dean off at the motel, and we'll do some research on missing persons at the library," suggested Sam to Adiana.
"Come on, I'm not getting left behind again. There's not even any quarters left!" protested Dean.
"Okay, okay I'll stay with you," soothed Adiana. "But we're going to do research. Sam, if you look at newspapers in the library, I'll use my laptop and check online. Deal?"
"Deal," agreed Dean quickly.
"Alright, deal," Sam laughed.
"Did you bring quarters?" Sam looked down at his brother who was sitting on the edge of the bed, gazing eagerly back at him. He glanced over at the Magic Fingers coin slot and back at Dean.
"Dude, I'm not enabling your sick habit." He threw two burgers wrapped in foil at Dean. "You're like one of those lab rats that pushes the pleasure button instead of the food button until it dies." Dean narrowed his eyes, putting one of the burgers next to Adiana who was stretched out on the bed surfing the web.
"What are you talking about? I eat. And I've got news." He held up a police radio. Sam sat down on the bed across from him.
"Me too."
"Alright, you go first." Sam pulled a notepad out of his pocket.
"Three students have disappeared off the college campus this year. All of them were last seen at the library."
"Where Carl Gulley worked?"
"Yup."
"Sick bastard."
"So, Gloria's angel-"
"Angel?" scoffed Dean.
"Okay, whatever this thing is-"
"Well, whatever it is, it struck again." Sam blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"I was listening to the police radio before you got here. There was this guy, Zach Smitt, some local drunk. He went up to a stranger's front door last night, this guy Frank, stabbed him in the heart."
"And then I'm guessing he went to the police and confessed?"
"Yep. Roma Downey made him do it. Now, I, uh…" Dean turned around and pulled a yellow post-it note off the back of Adiana's computer. "I got the victim's address."
"Alright, we'll check it out. Adiana. Adiana?" Adiana shut her laptop.
"Sorry, what?"
"Anything else?"
"Uh, I mean I found that address…Look, I found a few quarters. Oh get your mind out of the gutter!" she exclaimed as Sam cringed. "It was really relaxing. You should try it. I fell asleep."
"Yeah, that kind of backfired," Dean sighed.
"Okay, so anyway. Mr. Smitt's house, yes?"
After searching through the first floor of the house, Adiana hadn't found anything that would suggest suspicious behavior. Maybe Dean had found something on the second floor or Sam, in Frank's computer. She took the stairs up to Frank's study where Sam was still searching on the computer.
"Find anything?"
"Nope." Dean entered the room behind her, carrying a handful of magazines.
"Well, Frank liked his catalogue shopping, that's about all I got. You?"
"Not much here, except he's got this one locked file on his computer that I…hold on." His fingers flew over the keys, and the computer beeped. Sam grinned. "Not anymore. God…"
"What?" Dean asked, moving to better see the screen. Adiana began to read the first e-mail.
"All these e-mails. Dozens to this lady named Jennifer." He clicked on the next e-mail. "This lady who's thirteen years old."
"Oh, I don't wanna hear this."
"Looks like they met in a chat room. These e-mails are pretty personal. Setting up a time and place to meet."
"Well, that's never a good idea," muttered Adiana.
"Great," said Dean, folding his arms.
"They were supposed to meet today."
"Huh. I guess if you're gonna stab someone…good timing. I don't know, man. This is weird. I mean, sure, some spirits are out for vengeance, but this one's almost like a do-gooder. Like an…"
"Avenging angel?" suggested Adiana. Dean didn't answer her. He walked around the desk, jamming his hands in his coat pockets.
"Well, how else do you explain it, Dean?" asked Sam, angrily. "Three guys, not connected to each other, all stabbed through the heart? At least two were world-class pervs, and I bet if you dug deep enough on the other guy-"
"Hey." Dean grabbed a paper off of a bulletin board hanging on the wall. Sam clenched his jaw in frustration, taking a deep breath before responding.
"What?"
"You said Carl Gulley was a churchgoer, right?"
"Yeah."
"What was the name of his church?"
"Uh…Our Lady of the Angels."
"Of course that'd be the name." Dean flipped the paper for Sam and Adiana to see. It had a bright blue headline with the church's name. "Looks like Frank went to the same church."
"Well, you're in luck because the thirteenth of next month is open." Adiana and Dean followed Father Reynolds down a thick red carpet that took them through the center of Our Lady of the Angels. The building was huge and gothic in design with enough pews to seat well over a hundred people.
"That's great. We were really worried that we were going to have to move everything around. We were going to have the wedding back home, but then she got a job offer up here, so we packed up and left," Dean informed the priest, taking Adiana's hand. She gave his hand a small squeeze. Father Reynolds, an aging man dressed in a black priest suit, smiled at them.
"I understand. Where did you say you lived before?" Father Reynolds stopped and turned to them. Dean had an answer ready.
"Premont, Texas."
"Yup," nodded Adiana.
"Really? That's a nice town. St. Theresa's Parish, you must know the priest there." Adiana glanced up at Dean, slightly panicked. They were in Rhode Island, and they would meet the one priest who knew another priest in that obscure town.
"Sure, yeah. That's, uh…" Dean faltered. "Father O'Malley."
"I know a Father Shaughnessy."
"Shaughnessy, exactly. What did I say?"
"We're just happy to be here now, Father," commented Adiana quickly.
"And we're happy to have you. We could use some young blood around here."
"Mm. Hey, listen, I've gotta ask you," started Dean. "You know, we got this nice house, but… no offense, but the neighborhood?
"It's gone to seed a little, there's no denying that. But that's why what the church does here is so important. Like I always say, you can expect a miracle, but in the meantime you work your butt off."
"Yeah, we heard about the murders."
"Yes. The victims were parishioners of mine. I've known them for years."
"And the killers said that an angel made them do it?" asked Adiana.
"Yes, misguided souls. To think that God's messenger would appear and incite people to murder. It's tragic."
"So, you don't believe in those angel yarns, huh?" said Dean with relief. Adiana had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Of course, he believed in angels.
"Oh, no. I absolutely believe. It kind of goes with the job description." Trust Dean to make this an awkward situation. There had to be some type of diversion.
"Father, who's in that painting over there?"Adiana pointed to a large painting of an angel, clasping what looked like a long spear.
"The Archangel Michael with the flaming sword: the fighter of demons, holy force against evil."
"So, they're not really all peaceful… They can be fierce, right?"
"I like to think of them as more loving than wrathful. But yes, a lot of Scripture paints angels as God's warriors. 'An angel of the Lord appeared to them. The glory of the Lord shone down upon them, and they were terrified.'" Adiana and Dean nodded as Father Reynolds stared at them expectantly. When they didn't respond, he finished, "Luke two nine".
"Right, of course," laughed Adiana with a small smile. "Well, we don't want to take up too much of your time so…"
"Oh, it's no trouble. I'll show you to the door." Father Reynolds accompanied them out the front door of the church and onto the steps.
"Thank you for speaking with us, Father."
"It's my pleasure. I hope to speak with you again soon. You have my contact information?"
"Yes, it's all online."
"Hey, Father, what's all that for?" questioned Dean, gesturing to the bottom of the steps. A section of the stone was covered in candles and pictures with a small cross standing in the front.
"Oh, that's for Father Gregory. He was a priest here."
"Was?"
"He passed away right on these steps. He's interred in the church crypt."
"When did this happen?"
"Two months ago. He was shot for his car keys."
"Oh geez. I'm sorry," offered Adiana.
"Yeah. Me too. He was a good friend. I didn't even have time to administer his Last Rites. But like I said, it's a tough neighborhood. Ever since he died, I've been praying my heart out."
"For what?"
"For deliverance from the violence and the bloodshed around here. We could use a little divine intervention, I suppose." Dean offered his hand to Father Reynolds who shook it.
"Well Padre, thanks. We'll see you again." Adiana shook the Father's hand as well, and he started back up the steps. Adiana and Dean went to the memorial. Sam joined them, having waited until he was sure the priest was gone to come out from behind the railing. "You heard?"
"Yup," affirmed Sam, staring down at a picture of Father Gregory.
"Now it's all starting to make sense. Devoted priest dies a violent death, that's vengeful spirit material right there. And he knew all the other stiffs because they all went to church here. In fact, I'm willing to bet it's because he was their priest. He knew things about them that nobody else knew."
"Then again, Father Reynolds started praying for God's help about two months ago, right? Right about the time all this started happening?"
"Oh, come on, man. What's your deal?"
"What do you mean?"
"Look I'll admit, I'm a bit of a skeptic. But, since when are you all Mr. Seven Hundred Club? Seriously, from the get-go you've been willing to buy this angel crap, man. What's next? You gonna start praying every day?" Dean put the picture of Father Gregory back. Sam opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
"I do."
"What?"
"I do pray every day. I have for a long time." Dean and Adiana were both taken aback. After how much Sam seemed to be rooting for this to be an angel, Adiana had figured he must believe in them, but she didn't think he was the praying type. Dean was even more surprised than she was.
"The things you learn about a guy. Huh. Come on. Let's go check out Father Gregory's grave."
The trio walked back up the steps and entered a side door labeled 'Crypt'. They went down a winding staircase to a corridor of stone. Small windows illuminated statues of saints and angels. It was silent, and Adiana stayed close to Dean. The statues seemed almost to be watching them. They moved through a second set of doors into a room with markers on two of the walls. One of them was Father Gregory's. Vines curled over the wall, trailing down next to his name.
"Now this is interesting," said Dean, touching the vines.
"What?" asked Adiana.
"Well this is – where's Sam?"
"He's right-" Adiana turned around but Sam wasn't behind her. "Maybe he saw something." They went back to the corridor.
"Sam come on, get the lead out…" Dean stopped when he saw Sam collapsed on the floor. "Sammy? Sam!" Dean ran to his brother and began to shake him. Adiana pulled out her cell about to call 911 when Sam groaned. "Hey! You okay?"
"Yeah…yeah. I'm okay." Sam sat up and gazed with awe at the angel statue in front of him.
"Come on." Dean helped Sam up. Adiana had no idea what was going on. Had Sam had a vision again? It had been so long since the last one. But then… She noticed the boys heading back out of the corridor and hastened to catch up. They all stopped in a small room that was used as the choir practice space. "You saw it, didn't you? Didn't you?"
"Yeah. Dean, I saw an angel." Sam sat on a bench, still half in a daze. Dean pulled a flask out of his coat and offered it to Sam. "I don't wanna drink." Dean shrugged and took a swig before putting it back.
"So…what makes you think you saw an angel?"
"It just…it appeared before me and I just…this feeling washed over me, you know? Like peace…like grace." Adiana to a seat next to Sam on the bench. An angel. An honest to goodness angel. Could it really be? Dean, however, was having none of it.
"Okay, Ecstasy Boy. Maybe we'll get you some glowsticks and a nice Dr. Seuss hat, huh?"
"Dean, I'm serious. It spoke to me. It knew who I was."
"It's just a spirit, Sam. And it's not the first one to be able to read people's minds. Let me guess…" Dean sat down on the bench next to the one Sam and Adiana were on. "You were personally chosen to smite some sinner. You've just gotta wait for some divine Bat Signal, is that it?"
"Yeah, actually."
"Great. I don't suppose you asked what this alleged bad guy did."
"Actually I did, Dean. And the angel told me he hasn't done anything. Yet. But he will."
"Oh, this is just…" Dean chuckled and stood up. "I don't believe this."
"Dean, the angel hasn't been wrong yet!" yelled Sam. "Someone's gonna do something awful, and I can stop it!"
"You know, you're supposed to be bad too, Sam. Maybe I should just stop you right now."
"You know what Dean, I don't understand! Why can't you even consider the possibility?"
"What, that this is an angel?"
"Yes! Maybe we're hunting an angel here, and we should stop! Maybe this is God's will!"
"Adiana, help me out here."
"I…I…" Adiana looked back and forth between the brothers, who were both returning her gaze anxiously. "I don't know what to think, okay? I mean, I believe in God and I believe in angels. And I don't pray every night, but I pray sometimes. And Sam I know that you think you saw an angel, and maybe it was and maybe it wasn't but… I'm beginning to feel like you're right." Sam let out a sigh of relief. Dean rubbed his jaw in aggravation.
"Okay, alright. You know what? I get it. You've both got faith. Hey, good for you. I'm sure it makes things easier. I'll tell you who else had faith like that: Mom. She used to tell me when she'd tuck me in that angels were watching over us. In fact, that was the last thing she ever said to me."
"You never told me that," whispered Sam.
"What's to tell? She was wrong. There was nothing protecting her. There's no higher power. There's no God. There's just chaos and violence and random, unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere. It rips you to shreds. So, you want me to believe in this stuff? I'm gonna need to see some hard proof. You got any?" Both Adiana and Sam were silent. Adiana wanted to say something, but what can you really say to someone who's seen so much death? Still, she hated to see Dean's face turn into that mask it always did when he was trying to hide the fact that he was in pain. "Well, I do. Proof that we're dealing with a spirit. We're going back down to the grave." Dean turned his back on Adiana and Sam, opening the door to the staircase. They glanced sideways at each other before getting up and going back down to Father Gregory's grave. Sam reached out to touch the vines.
"That looks like-"
"It's wormwood, a plant associated with the dead, specifically the ones that are not at rest. I don't see it growing anywhere else, except over the murdered priest's marker. It's him, Sam."
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Dean, I don't know what to think."
"Okay. You want some more proof? I'll give you more proof."
"How?"
"We'll summon Gregory's spirit."
"In the church? Will it work?" queried Adiana.
"Yeah. We just need a few odds and ends and that séance ritual in Dad's journal," informed Dean heading for the door.
"Ha! A séance, great. I hope Whoopi's available," said Sam with a smirk.
"That's funny, actually. Seriously. If Father Gregory's spirit is around, the séance will bring him right to us. If it's him, then we'll put him to rest."
"But if it's an angel, it won't show. Nothing will happen."
"Exactly. That's one of the perks of the job, Sam. We don't have to operate on faith. We can know for sure. Don't you wanna know for sure?" Sam thought for a moment then nodded.
"Dude, all right. I'll admit, we've gone pretty ghetto with spell work before, but this takes the cake." Sam shuffled the paper bag he was carrying between his hands. "I mean, a SpongeBob placemat instead of an altar cloth?"
"We should have gotten the Little Mermaid one," said Adiana, a bit disappointedly. "It would have been better."
"We'll just put it SpongeBob-side down." Dean shrugged as he walked to the Impala. Sam laughed, but stopped abruptly.
"Guys, that's it."
"What?"
"That's the sign." Adiana turned to look. A man stood alone, waiting to cross the street. There didn't seem to be anything special about him or around him for that matter. Dean didn't see anything, either.
"Where?"
"Right there, right behind that guy. That's him, Dean. We have to stop him." The cross-walk sign signaled it was safe, and the man began to cross the street. Sam started after him, but Dean stopped him.
"Wait a minute!"
"What are you doing? Let me go."
"You're not gonna go kill somebody because a ghost told you to. Are you insane?"
"Dean, I'm not insane. I'm not gonna kill him. I'm gonna stop him."
"Define 'stop,' huh? What are you gonna do?" The man got into his car and started the engine.
"Dean, please. He's gonna hurt someone, you know it."
"Maybe he's right, Dean," Adiana suggested. "Father Gregory can wait. The least we can do is follow this guy." Dean thought it over.
"Alright, come on." He unlocked the driver's door to the Impala and got in. Adiana put her hand on the door handle, waiting for him to unlock it. Instead, Dean started the car.
"Dean, unlock my door," demanded Sam.
"You're not killing anyone, Sam. I've got this guy, you go do the séance. Take Adiana with you. It'll be good for both of you. Besides, this is her first real hunt."
"Dean!"
"Dean, be careful," advised Adiana, knowing it was no use trying to stop him.
"Don't worry. Keep an eye on that one." Dean jerked his head toward Sam before pulling away after the man. Adiana shook her head.
"Let's go. It's at least a fifteen-minute walk."
Adiana lit the last candle and blew out the match. She was crouched in front of Father Gregory's grave with Sam. They had placed the candles, six white around a larger black one, on top of the upside-down placemat. The flames flickered eerily in the small crypt. She took some of the crushed-up herbs out of a bowl into her hands as he began to read a chant from his dad's journal. When Sam nodded, she threw the herbs into the black candle's flame and it sparked momentarily bright, flaring up almost to eye-level.
"What are you doing?" They spun around. Father Reynolds was standing in the doorway. "What is this?"
"Uh…Father, please. I can explain." Sam stood up, putting the journal on the floor. "Um…" He looked to Adiana, who shrugged helplessly. "Actually, maybe I can't. This is a séance."
"A séance? Young man, you are in the House of God," said Father Reynolds, angrily.
"It's based on early Christian rites, if that helps any."
"Enough! You're both coming with me." He beckoned to Adiana, who got up and walked over next to Sam.
"Father, please, just wait-" The room was suddenly filled with a brilliant white light. Adiana squinted, barely making out the form of a man.
"Oh my God." Father Reynolds stared into the light, amazed. "Is that…is that an angel?"
"No, it's not. It's just Father Gregory," observed Sam, in bitter disappointment. The light began to fade, and in its place was a man Adiana recognized as Father Gregory from the picture.
"Thomas?" Father Reynolds spluttered in disbelief. Father Gregory smiled.
"I've come in answer to your prayers. Sam, I thought I sent you on your path. You should hurry."
"Father, I'm sorry," said Sam, approaching Father Gregory, "But you're not an angel."
"Of course I am."
"No, you're a man. You're a spirit. And you need to rest."
"I was a man. But now, I'm an angel. I was on the steps of the church, and I felt that bullet pierce right through me. But there was no pain. And, suddenly, I could see…everything. Father Reynolds, I saw you, praying and crying here. I came to help you."
"Help me, how?" Father Gregory smiled, and then Father Reynolds understood. "Those murders…that was because of you?"
"I received the word of God. He spoke to me, told me to smite the wicked. I'm carrying out his will."
"You're driving innocent people to kill."
"Those innocent people are being offered redemption." He turned to look at Sam. "Some people need redemption. Don't they, Sam?"
"How can you call this redemption?"
"You can't understand it now. But the rules of man and the rules of God are two very different things."
"But those people," said Adiana softly, "They're locked up now. And they're never going to get out."
"No, they're happy. They've found peace, beaten their demons. And I've given them the keys to heaven."
"No, no! This is vengeance. It's wrong," insisted Father Reynolds. "Thomas, this goes against everything you believed. You're lost, misguided."
"Father…no, I'm not misguided."
"You are not an angel, Thomas. Men cannot be angels."
"But…but I don't understand." Father Gregory sounded unsure for the first time. "You prayed for me to come."
"I prayed for God's help, not this. What you're doing is not God's will. 'Thou shalt not kill.' That's the word of God." Father Gregory turned, looking down at his grave, his shoulders beginning to shake. When he turned back, he seemed to almost have tears in his eyes.
"Let us help you," offered Sam.
"No."
"It's time to rest, Thomas, to be at peace," asserted Father Reynolds. "Please…let me give you Last Rites." Father Gregory was silent, reflecting on himself, his options. Adiana watched him carefully, hoping he would agree, unsure if he would. He finally nodded. Father Reynolds held out his hands, palms facing upward. "O, holy hosts above, I call upon thee as a servant of Christ to sanctify our actions this day, in fulfillment of the will of God." He made the sign of the cross in the air. Father Gregory began to flicker, slowly at first, then more rapidly.
"Father Reynolds?" Father Gregory's voice was full of fear.
"Rest." Father Reynolds held one hand out, and Father Gregory knelt on the ground close to his hand. "I call upon the Archangel Raphael, master of the air, to make open the way. Let the fire of the Holy Spirit now descend that this being might be awakened to the world beyond." Father Gregory was consumed in a shining white light. It burned for a few seconds and then faded away.
Adiana and Sam were packing their bags when Dean entered the room. Sam had barely spoken since they'd left the church. Adiana had tried to get him to talk.
"Weeks of training, and I don't even get to use any of it," she joked. Sam had barely smiled, and Adiana didn't blame him. It would have been nice if there had really been an angel, proof that there was something good watching over them in this world. She still had hope, though. Dean shut the door, putting the Impala's keys in his pocket.
"How was your day?"
"You were right," Sam admitted with a sigh. "It wasn't an angel. It was Gregory." Dean pulled the flask out of his coat, taking a long drink. He handed it to Sam, who accepted it this time, knocking back a swig. He then offered it to Adiana, but she shook her head. "I don't know, Dean. I just…I wanted to believe so badly." Sam sat down on the bed. "It's so damn hard to do this…what we do. All alone, you know? There's so much evil out in the world, Dean. I feel like I could drown in it. And when I think about my destiny, when I think about how I could end up…"
"Yeah well, don't worry about that, alright? I'm watching out for you."
"And I am too," said Adiana, sitting on the bed behind Sam.
"Yeah, I know you are. But you're just two people. And I needed to think that there was something else watching too, you know? Some…higher power, some greater good. And then maybe…"
"Maybe what?" asked Dean.
"Maybe I could be saved." Adiana felt herself tearing up as she watched Sam, his eyes filled with frustration."But, uh…" Sam laughed resignedly. "You know, I just clouded my judgment, and you're right. I mean, we've gotta go with what we know, with what we can see, with what's right there in front of our own two eyes."
"Yeah, well, it's funny you say that." Adiana looked up at Dean, who seemed to be struggling with something. She almost got up but felt like she shouldn't move.
"Why?" questioned Sam.
"Gregory's spirit gave you some pretty good information. The guy in the car was bad news. I barely got there in time."
"What happened?"
"He's dead."
"Did you…"
"No. But I'll tell you one thing…the way he died, if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, I never would've believed it. I mean…I don't know what to call it."
"Dean, what did you see?" asked Adiana.
"Maybe…" Dean was shaking, his hands clutching the side of the table he was leaning against. "God's will."