Dean secured Castiel on the back seat as best as he could and closed the door, before climbing into his own seat.
He turned to see the boy twisting in an attempt to get a look at the broken man behind them. "Don't look Bumblebee. you don't need to see that."
The kid ignored him, crawling over the center console and sitting in the back floor boards, small hands moving to grip Castiel's mangled ones.
When dean tried to protest he was met with an understanding glance and a nod. He pulled the car into gear, swinging it around as gently as possible before gunning it down the road, alternating between speed and gentle breaking in an attempt to make the ride as painless as possible for his unconscious angel.
Bumblebee set to work, using bottles of water in his pack to rinse the blood from the man's wounds, and on of the shirts as a cloth.
By the time that they had reached the main road Castiel's face looked nearly recognizable, despite the swelling and the gashes, and his raw hands were gingerly wrapped in another of the boy's was the blood that was dripping onto the leather seats from the back of the angel's head that worried the child the most.
The moment that they entered town Dean snatched up his cellphone, fumbling in Sam's number. It rang. "Come on, Come on." Another one. "Dammit Sammy."
SPNSPNSPNSPN
Trooper Hines looked up to see Sam stalking forward, a bloodied body draped over his arms. "Holy shit Winchester, what the hell happened."
The hunter grunted. "It's over. Ansdale, he ended it. I'll explain the details later but, uhh." He swallowed, looking the trooper dead in the eye.
The man simply nodded. "Is there some sort of protocol here? Something that you people, err, do with things like this?"
Sam nodded. "We salt and burn the bodies. It keeps the spirits from remaining attached to their bodies after death."
The trooper grimaced, but calmly replied. "There's an incinerator in an out building here. I'll have Mathis take his dog and then we can deal with the body."
The hunter nodded once more, but the buzzing of his other-other phone against his thigh changed his mind. "Hang on. Dean's calling." HE laid the body on the floor. "Go give B back to Mathis. I'll be right here."
The trooper did as he was instructed while Sam dug his phone from his pockets, the task made difficult by the blood on his hands.
"Dean. What is it? Did you find Cas?"
The squeal of tires and a pained moan crossed the line.
"Yea. I found him. He's in a bad way Sammy."
Sam ran his hand through his hair, grimacing at the slick feeling of blood.
"Is the kid with you?"
"Yea, he's keeping Cas company. I'm heading to the hospital now."
"Dean, he's just a kid, he shouldn't have to_"
"I know dammit, but he crawled back there anyway. Listen. You dealt with the spirit, right?"
Sam nodded, and then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Yea. Well, Ansdale did."
"Good. I want you and trooper Hines to meet me on the edge of town. I'm gonna need a police escort the moment I cross the county line."
"Dean, I can't. I've got a body here."
There was a hard smack as Dean slammed his hand against the door in frustration.
"Alright. You've got to deal with that, but see if Hines can spare one, alright?"
Sam was set on edge by the fear that was obvious in his brother's voice.
"Yea. I'll see what I can do. Drive safe."
The line cut out and the hunter sighed in the same moment that trooper Hines walked in.
"Buddy you look like hell. What did Dean say?"
"He found Castiel and he's in a bad way. He asked if we could give him a police escort to the hospital."
The trooper nodded, turning to press his radio.
"Listen up ya'll we have an officer down and on his way to OR Hospital. Can we get a police escort ASAP?"
There was a crackling of static before Diane Swint's voice crackled over the line.
"Sure thing sugar. It's for that Black Impala right?"
"That's right."
Another voice followed.
"10 4. I'm on him."
"Thanks Teddy. Diane, just call ahead and make sure that the hospital knows they're coming."
"On it."
The radio clicked off, and the trooper turned his attention back to the hunter.
"Alright. Now, back to the body."
SPNSPNSPNSPN
The two men hauled the body outside to a small concrete building adjacent to the main prison. No sooner did they enter the building that the laid the corps on the table, both leaning over to catch their breath.
"Winchester, I can not wait until you leave this town." A huff. "I've gotten more exorcise in the past 4 hours than I have in my whole damned life."
Sam chuckled, sucking in a deep breath before turning to face the piles of coal. "How do I work this?"
"Do you see any kindling? Papers, anything like that?"
Sam fumbled in his pockets and pulled out Ansdale's journal. "I've got this."
Trooper Hines sighed, glancing over at the body before nodding. "He won't be needing it anymore anyway."
Sam opened up the journal and tore out the page it opened to, the first page that he had read. He lit it and tossed it into the furnace, followed by a few more pages.
Trooper Hines snatched up a torn bag of rock salt from a makeshift cupboard. "I just pour this on him?"
Sam nodded, feeding more pages to keep the fire smoldering. The trooper did so, and then tore the door from the wooden cupboard, breaking in over his knee. He then set the wood over the burning book and waited for it to light.
The trooper shook his head. "Alright. Now, grab a shovel."
The hunter obeyed, snatching one off it's hook from the wall. " Get to shoveling the coal into the furnace.
He did as instructed, his breath coming out in huffs as he worked. He watched as the kindling ignited the coal into a blaze.
Smoke began to ill the room. "Hurry, let's get him in there."
Sam dropped the shovel and moved to help the trooper grip the salt covered body. the both worked to heave him into the massive over, shutting the iron door an before dashing out of the building, there eyes watering from the smoke.
As the coughing subsided and clarity returned to there vision, the two men glanced a each other, collapsing onto the pavement with a groan.
"It's over, right? Ya'll are finished here? The blur is gone?"
Sam nodded, running his soot streaked hands through his hair. "As soon as Cas is stable we'll be out of your hair." He paused. "Probably sooner since Dean will want to get a hotel closer to the hospital."
Trooper Hines stretched. "Well then let's get you back to your motel so you can pack everything up." He glanced at the blood and soot covered hunter. "And you might want to take a sower while yer at it."
Sam chuckled, pushing himself up from the ground. "So what are you going to put in your report?"
The trooper shrugged. "Hell if I know." He stood, and they walked towards the front gates.
" I'll probably say that old man Jenkins snapped, used mirrors to trick the kids off the roads, and murder them. Then we chased him here where he set fire to himself an there were really nor remains left after that to recover."
Sam smiled. "That'll be enough to satisfy the public. It'll also explain Mrs. Moore's death."
The trooper nodded. "Does your brother still have the kid?"
"Yea, he's heading to the hospital to. Dean said that he refused to leave."
"Sounds like that kid."
They reached the gates and waved goodbye to a very bewildered looking Mathis before climbing into the car.