Supernatural High

I don't own Supernatural

Chapter 38

The weekend passed entirely too quickly. Gabriel and Cas seldom left Bobby's house, although the old hunter did grumble an awful lot about "stupid angels." When Monday finally came around, Sam got up early and got ready for school. He knew that the sooner he and Dean went back to everyday life, the better. School went by with normalcy. Sam got swept back up into the usual, dull routine. He functioned like a robot all day except when Dean, Gabriel, or Cas were around. Then he put on a smile and tried to show that he was okay. For a while, he began to believe it. That was until they had to part ways. When his friend, angel, and brother were gone, Sam was a different person, just going through the daily motions.

When sixth period English came around, Sam sat in his seat and stared at the board all period while Mr. Shurley gave a lecture. When the bell rang, signifying the end of class, Sam stood up, ready to plod on to the final period of the day. "Uh, Sam?" Mr. Shurley's voice caught his attention before he could leave the room.

Sam turned and looked at his English teacher. The curly-haired, bearded man sat as his desk looking more than a little uneasy. He wore a loose-fitting flannel, jeans, and a pair of moccasins that looked like they were three sizes too big for his feet. "Sam . . . if you don't mind, I'd like to speak with you. It's my planning period, and I'll write you a pass. I just . . . I feel like we should talk."

His words took the young Winchester by surprise. He glanced out into the hall where students were hurrying past to seventh period. A part of him wanted to rush out and join them, but he could hardly refuse his English teacher. "Okay," he mumbled, going over to Mr. Shurley's desk.

The English teacher smiled, seemingly relieved that Sam had agreed so easily. "Here, sit," Mr. Shurley said, motioning the desk across from his. Sam sat down and noticed that there was an almost panicked look in the teacher eyes. When Sam sat down, however, it disappeared. It was as though the man suddenly realized that whatever he was worried about could wait and, right now, Sam was important. "Sam," he said in shaky voice. "First of all, I want to offer my condolences for your father."

Sam winced a little. "Oh, thanks."

"And I just wanted to let you know . . ." he paused, looking around briefly before sighing. "I know about Lilith . . . And I know that she is not working alone, either. Look, being a teacher and being around these little creatures all day, I hear things. Lilith has friends – powerful friends in high places, don't be mistaken. Look, the road ahead, it's not going to be easy. Trust me, I've seen what awaits you. But I know that you and Dean will do just fine."

His words only served to confuse Sam even more. He's seen what's gonna happen? What the heck? "Mr. Shurley?" was all Sam could get out, too confounded by everything that had just been said.

Chuck Shurley rested his hand on Sam's shoulder. Before Sam could ask what was going on, he was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief. He had no idea why, but looking at his English teacher, he felt like everything was going to be okay. "I know that you and Dean will do just fine." Mr. Shurley smiled a little as Sam relaxed, and let his hand fall to his side. "That's all I wanted to tell you," he said. "Here, I'll write you a pass for seventh period."

When the day was over, Sam went back down to Mr. Shurley's room. His mind had been buzzing with questions. The calm, soothing feeling that he had felt earlier had evaporated and now he was buzzing with questions. Who were Lilith's friends? What were they planning? How much did Mr. Shurley really know and what wasn't he telling Sam? He was ready with all these questions and more when he got to the classroom. When he walked inside, however, it was completely empty. Sam waited for a good five minutes. Maybe Mr. Shurley had just walked out of the room to make copies of something and would be back. Still he didn't show up.

Sam waited until he heard Dean's voice calling for him in the hallway. Almost all the other students had left, but Sam was now feeling concerned. Did something happen to Mr. Shurley after he told Sam some of what he knew?

"Sammy!" Dean's voice came from the doorway. When he saw his little brother in the English room, he stepped inside. "Sam, what the hell? I've been looking for you for ten minutes!"

"Dean, I think something may have happened to Mr. Shurley," Sam confessed, going over to his brother's side.

Dean arched an eyebrow. "What? What do you mean?"

Sam told him everything that happened not even an hour ago. His brother listened with a thoughtful expression, and put his arm around Sam's shoulders when he was finished. "Sammy, don't worry about it, okay? Mr. Shurley probably just had to leave early. He'll be here tomorrow. Now, come on, let's go."

"Dean," Sam complained, but didn't fight as his brother led him out of the room. He sent up a silent prayer to Gabriel, asking the angel to check on the eccentric English teacher just so Sam could rest easy.

The brothers went back to Bobby's, and Sam heard nothing from Gabriel until that evening. The angels had not come over directly after school as usual, which was cause for concern. When Cas and Gabriel did arrive at Bobby's house at around seven-thirty that evening, both Winchester brothers went to their angels. The first thing Sam noticed was Gabriel's disturbed expression. His brow was knit together in worry and his lips pursed. "Gabe?" Sam asked when he approached. He took is boyfriend's hand nervously. "Is everything okay?"

Gabriel let out a sharp breath. "I went to look for Mr. Shurley, like you asked. Cas came with me and so did our sister, Hannah. We couldn't find Mr. Shurley at the school, so we went to his apartment in town. The place looked like it hadn't been used in weeks. It was all messy with dirty clothes and papers everywhere. But . . . the weirdest thing was . . ." The archangel paused, as though he were debating how much to say.

Dean was now fully interested in the fate of Chuck Shurley. He observed the angels warily. "Well?" he snapped at Gabriel. "Get on with it."

"On his computer we found . . . well . . . The best way to explain it would be to show you. Sam, can you get your laptop?" Gabriel asked. Sam nodded, obeying Gabriel's wish. He returned not a minute later with his laptop.

Gabriel opened the computer and inserted a flash-drive. Sam watched as Gabriel searched through the files and pulled up one simply entitled "Supernatural High." The first page had the title on it, but when Gabriel scrolled down, Sam saw a heading that read Chapter 1. The first passage read:

"Cas followed his brothers and sisters as they filed into the front doors of the school. No matter how hard he tried, he could not suppress the feelings of anxiety that were beginning to rise up inside him. He had lived a relatively happy and safe life for a long time, but now he had to venture out into a different world – a crueler world. Out here, the comforting walls of Heaven could not protect him. He felt almost exposed as he walked crossed the threshold into the building where he would be spending the majority of the next four years of his life. He knew that his brothers and sisters were all around him, but that didn't change the fact that they were not only going to a school with other supernatural beings, but demons."

Sam stared at the first paragraph with confusion. "Wait . . . why would Mr. Shurley be writing about Cas?"

"It wasn't just him," Gabriel said quietly. He scrolled down to the second chapter. This one was about Dean. Sam watched his brother's face while he read. At first, Dean looked purely confused, then it turned into anger, then something like astonishment.

"That . . . was exactly what I was thinking the first day of school . . . But . . . How did . . . ?"

"We think Mr. Shurley was a prophet," Gabriel explained.

"A prophet?" Sam repeated. "What's that?"

"It would explain the writing," Cas agreed. "A prophet is a human . . . but he or she is . . . chosen by God. They see things . . . important things before they happen. And they can hear the angels talk."

"Well, we can hear angels talk too," Dean pointed out, his brow furrowing.

"No, in our real voices," Gabriel clarified. "They can hear . . . Angel Radio, I guess is what you could call it. It's like an open channel – all the angels can hear it. So can prophets. They learn all of the juicy details that normal humans don't know."

Sam frowned. If Mr. Shurley was a prophet, then that meant that he saw the future. He knew everything that would happen with Lilith, didn't he? "Do you think something happened to him? I mean . . . he warned me that Lilith had powerful friends and then . . . then he just disappeared. Do you think Lilith sent someone after him?"

"It's possible," Gabriel stated. "But there is a problem with the prophet theory. If he was a prophet, the angels should have known – the archangels in particular should have sensed it. When a prophet is in the presence of a demon – whether its someone powerful like Lilith, or a weak little crossroads demon – an archangel is alerted. Michael or Raphael would have been called to protect him. And no one ever was alerted – and Mr. Shurley had demons around him every day."

His words formed a pit in Sam's stomach. He couldn't help but feel like Mr. Shurley's disappearance may have had something to do with what he told Sam. Why had he told me? Why did he put himself on the line just to warn me?

"Gabriel, can you call your brothers?" Dean asked. His face had grown noticeably dark as he listened. Now he stared at the computer screen, his green eyes flashing briefly toward the archangel. "I think it's time we talk about hunting."