Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to The CW and Eric Kripke.
Suggested Songs:
- "The Wheel" by The Grateful Dead
- "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel
Chapter Twenty-One: Part Two
The sun was just rising when they arrived at the lonely warehouse. Sam was as pissy as ever and his eyes were exhausted. Something told Melissa he hadn't slept at all. The place was trashed, desolate. Scrap metal littered the dirty concrete floors and there were piles of rubbles in every nook and cranny. Melissa breathed in the dusty smell and searched around, her flashlight cocked over her gun. She felt...better. Or at least she thought she did. An indescribible weight had been lifted. She'd let Dean into her world a little more, something she hadn't been truly able to do since embarking on her own. It wasn't everything, but it was a start.
She could see Dean was troubled by the dangerous look in his eyes and the way his knuckles turned white as he gripped his gun. Whatever Castiel was going to tell them, it was big.
"What was so important, Dean?" Sam asked again, flashing his light around worriedly.
"If I knew, would I be here?" Dean retorted, leading the way up a rickety set of stairs to the next floor.
The upper level of the building surpassed being trashed; it looked like a warzone. None of them said a word as they waded their way through rubble. Melissa could hardly tell what the purpose of the warehouse had been before whatever happened.
"What the hell?" Dean piped up, kicking things aside as he walked.
"It looks like a bomb went off," Sam appraised.
Early light streamed lowly through the broken windows and Melissa stayed quiet as she searched around for any sign of Castiel. A few more minutes of wandering around, and Dean finally got a lead. A symbol written in blood on the wall, the same one Anna had used in the cabin to banish the angels.
"So...what? Castiel was fighting other angels?" Melissa asked, hands on her hips as she stared at the symbol, the boys getting farther away as they picked through the wreckage.
"I don't know," Dean shrugged, calling back to her. A moment later, a weak cough came from a pile of soot and rock. A certain treanch-coated angel lay limp but alive. Dean immediately went to help Castiel, calling Sam and Melissa over.
"Hey...Cas?" Dean ventured, watching the angels eyes clear only slightly as they all crouched around him.
"What's...what's going on?" Castiel asked breathlessly, eyes darting around the room.
"Just take it easy," Melissa swallowed nervously, wondering who'd been the victim: Castiel or his enemies.
"Cas, you okay?" Sam echoed Melissa's concerns.
"Ugh," Castiel groaned, a hand on his aching head. "Castiel. I'm not Castiel. It's me."
Melissa raised her eyebrows. "Who's 'me'?"
"Jimmy," the man (possibly Castiel?) replied. "My name's Jimmy."
"What?" Dean blurted out. "Where the hell's Castiel?"
"He's gone."
. . .
His name was Jimmy Novak, and his home was Pontiac, Illinois. They'd come close to the middle of the country, stopping at a motel off some back road. The town was full of pine trees, and the crisp air was homey as they stood outside, debating Jimmy's fate. He'd been a devout man, and become a vessel. Castiel had split during the angel brawl, back to heaven is what one would assume. But according to Jimmy, it had been over a year since he'd seen his wife or his daughter. It would be a hell of a surprise for him to show up outta nowhere.
"Dean, he's the only lead we got," Sam reasoned, half his face lit up by the glow of the soda machine next to him. Jimmy was back in the motel room eating like a starved man.
"He doesn't know anything," Dean said, his face stern.
"Are you a hundred percent about that?" Sam asked.
Dean sighed. "You think he's lying? What, you wanna go Guantanamo on the guy?"
"Dean, maybe he doesn't even know what he knows," Sam continued.
"Huh?" Dean furrowed his brows.
"I say, at least we get him to Bobby's and stay for a day or two. Maybe all he needs is some hypnosis. Hell, maybe Cas'll just drop back into him," Sam said, pacing around a little as he thought.
"I don't know, man," Dean scratched his head nervously.
"Dean," Sam began seriously, "back there, that was angel-on-angel violence. Now, I don't know what's goin' on here, but it's big. We can't just let a lead like that go."
"He's right," Melissa chimed in for the first time. She tugged at the sleeves of her henley and looked down at her boots, eyeing the scuffs. "We ain't got much else to go on, and I know for a fact there's less than ten seals left. And I'm not so sure that guy just walkin' back into his life after a year is such a good idea."
Dean ran a hand down his face and shook his head.
"What?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You remember when this job was about helping people?" he asked, looking straight into her eyes. "Getting them back to their families?"
"You think I don't wanna help him?" Melissa retorted, trying not to feel guilty. "Dean, if we wanna question him, you can damn well bet the demons do, too. You really wanna send him back to his family with those black-eyed bitches on his ass?"
Dean sighed once more, and Melissa gave Sam a nervous, sideways glance. But the eldest Winchester only turned back and walked toward the motel room in defeat.
. . .
The next morning, Jimmy had vanished. Apparently, in the early hours of the morning, Sam had gone to get a coke, and Jimmy had slipped right past him. Melissa felt as though the silence were swallowing her up as she rode in the back of the Impala, watching cornfield after cornfield pass by the window.
"Hey, guys," Anna appeared and spoke up suddenly.
Melissa jumped and turned to Anna angrily. "Jesus Christ!"
"Dammit!" Dean swerved over for a moment before regaining control.
"Smooth," Anna deadpanned from Melissa's left side.
"Ever try callin' ahead?" Dean snapped.
"I like the element of surprise," Anna replied.
Anna proceeded to deliver grim news as always: Castiel got ripped from his vessel and dragged back to Heaven. They didn't know who, but he must have gotten someone seriously pissed off. After filling them in, Anna disappeared as quickly as she had come, leaving a cosmic-sized hole in her place. Melissa still felt very uneasy around the angels. They were nothing like she expected them to be. Hours passed, and the sun shone brightly in the cozy heat of the afternoon.
Melissa had awoken from a brief sleep, staring out the window again, trying to avoid the relative silence of the car. She glanced into the side mirror, and that was all it took. She noticed it. The way Sam bit at his nails, twirling his phone around nervously in his free hand. His eyes were wide and glassy, skin shiny with light perspiration. His face was sallow, and his brow was set in frustration. Dean stared straight ahead, dead set on finding Jimmy, a little pissed at both the other hunters for disagreeing with him the night before. If they'd listened to him, they wouldn't taken Jimmy home, but at least then he would have had protection. Now, he was out on his own, and whoever Casitel had pissed off was probably on the poor bastard's ass.
Frankly, Sam looked sick. Melissa audibly sighed. It was just what they needed now.
"Hey, you okay, Sam?" she said worriedly, reaching to feel his forehead. "You look feverish."
Sam swatted her hand away quickly. "I'm fine."
She narrowed her eyes at him, looking to Dean for support but finding he was still giving both of them the cold shoulder. Though she thought she saw a concerned flick of his eye, she wasn't going to push it.
"Whatever you say, Sammy," she said, leaning back, pushing her hair from her face.
Sam sighed angrily but said nothing more. She knew he would feel her eyes on him. She didn't care. Thinking back to all the shady shit she had seen from him in the past almost year, she made up her mind. She was not going to take her eyes off him. There was one thing his behavior was reminding her of: withdrawal.
. . .
Sideways. Things had gone sideways, and then they'd straightened out, and then they'd gone sideways again. Jimmy's home was just as quaint as Melissa expected, but it was chocked full of demons when she and the boys showed up. It had taken a little wrestling, but eventually, all the demons inside were dead. Jimmy's wife and daughter were alive, and they still had time to get away from the man-turned-vessel before his prescense killed them. Civilians weren't meant for angel play.
The wife and the daughter were off in a hotwired car, and Jimmy slept glumly in the back of the Impala next to Sam as Dean sped down a nameless road on their way to Bobby's. There, they could figure out exactly what the hell do to with Castiel's vessel. Rain pattered down on the car's metal roof, and Melissa could taste the blood as she bit at her lips nervously. There was only one demon knife, which Dean had wielded while fighting off the demons that had possessed Jimmy's former friends and neighbors. Melissa, with her demon specialty, had gotten by with her fists and her Latin. Sam had tried to use his mojo. He'd tried his hardest, and eventually it worked, but had gone almost completely white in the face in the process. Melissa had almost thought his eyes were going to roll back in his head.
"What the hell happened back there?" Melissa finally snapped, her nails forming divets in her palms as she clenched her fists. She was tired of having this goddam fight over and over again, but it needed to be done.
"What?" Sam asked tiredly when he saw she was turned around to face him with violent look.
"You practically fainted trying to put down that demon!"
Suddenly, Dean put a gentle hand on her arm. She looked over with her wild, stormy eyes and Dean shook his head at her. It wasn't the time. She clicked her tongue and gave him an angry glare, but said nothing as she stared ahead again into the rain, crossing her arms like a petulant child.
"Okay, I didn't faint. I just got a little dizzy," Sam continued depsite his better judgement.
Melissa sighed furiously through her nose and tried to calm her shaking nerves. "The point is," she began more calmly, though hot patches still rose on her cheeks, "once upon a time you were strong enough to gank Alastair. Now you can't kill stunt-demon number three?"
Sam met her with only silence. His arms were crossed and he bit the inside of his cheek.
"I'm not trying to pick a fight, alright? Just...you're scarin' me, Sam," she admitted, her voice jagged.
"I'm scaring myself," Sam replied.
Melissa chewed on her lip more and decided to table the argument for later, feeling her heart flutter anxiously. After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence, the ring of Sam's cellphone split through the air. Sam muttered a few words Melissa wasn't paying attention to before he turned to the side and shook Jimmy by the shoulder.
"It's your wife," Sam told him.
"Amelia?" Melissa heard Jimmy ask groggily before he straightened up in his seat nervously. "Oh my god."
. . .
Melissa followed Sam and Dean swiftly through the rickety catwalks of the warehouse. Her jaw was tense but she was comforted by the weight of the revolved in the waistband of her jeans. It couldn't kill a demon, but it could sure as hell slow one down. Dean had the demon knife, and Sam of course had whatever was left of his mojo. As far as they knew, they were taking on one demon. The one that had possessed Jimmy's wife. Because they needed Jimmy's knowledge, and the most effective way to get it was through his family. His pressure point was about as easy to find as Sam and Dean's.
The plan was essentially to use Jimmy as bait, which no one was particularly comfortable with, but it was the best way to rip off the bandaid. According to the phone call Jimmy had received, Amelia had Jimmy's daugter Claire tied up and knocked out. And there was a knife just itching to slice her up. She was nine years old. She'd lost a father and now she'd lost a mother. Jimmy would go in first, and offer himself up, and then the three hunters would do the dirty work.
But, of course, these days their plans weren't exactly up to snuff. Melissa nearly jumped out of her skin as a hand was clamped over her mouth from behind and two other demons emreged from the shadows of the catwalk and captured Sam and Dean. Melissa practically rolled her eyes, feeling almost as though she had expected this. She didn't bother looking up to face whatever black-eyed bitch had her by the shoulders. The hand was removed from her mouth as they began to descend the catwalk back into the littered room where they had first found Jimmy.
"Get your fucking hands off me," she growled, "I can walk myself."
She felt the rumble of a sickly laugh in the chest of her assailant. "Nice try."
She sighed, hoping she could simply intimidate the demon enough to break free. There weren't many other options. But somehow she needed to grab the gun unnoticed. Though by the time they were in view of Jimmy, his wife, and his daughter, she still hadn't managed to make it happen.
"Like I didn't think you'd bring the three musketeers," the demon said in Amelia's voice. Melissa could practically see Jimmy's skin crawling as he watched his wife being invaded. And for a moment, all she could feel was sympathy. Sure, she still wasn't pleased that he'd practically led those demons to his family, but she could understand. She'd watched herself kill a man while possessed, and she'd had to watch Dean watch her go through it. And she was reminded of why demons were her specialty.
"Nice plan, Dean," Sam said mockingly as the demons stopped them, all standing in a line before Amelia, Jimmy, and the unconcious Claire.
"Yeah, well," Dean shrugged. "No one bats a thousand."
Melissa scoffed bitterly. "I'll say."
"Got the knife?" Amelia asked, her eyebrows raised. The demon behind Dean held it up with a smile. Melissa sighed. She hadn't even noticed they'd taken it. Maybe she was getting rusty from all the apocalypse stress.
"You know what's funny?" Amelia asked wickedly.
"You wearing a soccer mom?" Dean quipped, squirming in the demon's grasp.
"I was actually bummed to get this detail, picking up an empty vessel," the demon within Jimmy's wife continued as though nothing had happened. "But look what just got dropped into my lap."
"Well, now you have us," Sam bit out. "So let them go."
"Sam, Sam, Sam…" the demon drawled. "Why try to be chivalrous when your Wonder Girl powers aren't working, huh? Now for the punch line. Everybody dies."
Things happened quickly after that, Amelia raised a gun and shot Jimmy in the gut before barking out the order for the demon holding Sam to waste Claire. Melissa felt a rush of anger as she watched the demon move towards the little girl, seeing Rosie in Claire's young features. She elbowed the demon behind her in the stomach as hard as she could, creating enough time to grab her gun from her jeans and shoot the demon, who had just begun picking up a lead pipe that looked like it could do some damage, in the shoulder.
Unfortunately, the creature barely flinched. And she had fired up the demon behind her so much that he threw her against the scrap metal shelf near them, and she lost sight of the little girl as her gun flew out of her hand and she landed on her side. The wind was knocked out of her, and she thought she could feel some blood beginning to drip down her forehead, but she was too focused on saving Claire to wallow in pain. She was trying to recover, but stumbled a little as she got back on her feet. Finally finding the little girl again in the scuffle, she saw Claire exorcising one of the demons. Her eyes were of a bright white light and Melissa couldn't tell exactly where she should focus her energy. It looked like Claire (or whatever was inside her) no longer needed saving, and Amelia was nowhere to be found.
"Castiel," Melissa heard Jimmy sputter through the blood that had begun to drip out of his mouth as he watched his daughter. Melissa's eyes widened.
Sam had managed to get the demon knife back and was taking care of one of them, but the demon that had thrown Melissa was pummeling Dean mercilessly. Her rage flared more and she ended up going towards them when only her fists to retaliate, but before she could thrown the possessed man off of Dean, Casitel, still in Claire's body, approached and placed a hand on its forehead. And with one touch the bitch was sent back to hell.
"Dean!" Melissa cried out hoarsely, going over and helping him up, quickly assessing his cuts and bruises, and from his shallow breathing she suspected a broken rib or two.
"You're bleeding," he breathed frantically.
"Ditto," she said, then turning her dangerous eyes back to the action.
Immediately, they zeroed in on Sam. Melissa had suspected he would've been able to waste the demon by now, but instead, he hovered over her, the knife clenched in his left hand. Melissa didn't understand it until he seemed finished with the hell-bitch and turned around. His mouth was covered with dark blood, dripping down his chin and oozing brightly on his pallid face. Her breath caught in her throat, and all at once she understood. Her stomach sank, but there was no time to lose as Amelia came back into the picture, and Jimmy still lie bleeding out on the dirty floor of the warehouse. And then there was the problem of the child angel. Melissa still didn't know what to focus on.
But before anyone else could make a move, Sam stood from the demon he had bled dry, raised his hand, and killed the demon within Jimmy's wife. She screamed as a burning, yellowish light streamed from her. Dean rushed over to catch her as she fell backward, finally back in control of her body again. Melissa went straight for Sam, and Castiel knelt down towards Jimmy. Melissa couldn't stop the memory of Pamela's death from creeping into her mind as Jimmy lay there, the red stain slowly growing on his stomach beneath his hand.
For a moment, Melissa took Sam by the shoulders and just stared at him. He had yet to wipe the blood from his lips, but his eyes were electric and dark. They made her shudder. His look was guilty and he didn't say a word, but his eyes only spoke of hunger and power. She had to turn away.
"As you wish," she heard Castiel speak through Claire as she turned back around, and watched Castiel transfer from the little girl into a dying Jimmy. Claire slumped to her knees and a recently awakened Amelia ran to her, as the trench-coated angel sulked back to the hunters, in fighting form once again.
"Cas…" Dean said helplessly. "What were you gonna ask me?" Nothing about this entire event had made any sense. Why had Castiel been fighting the angels? Why was whatever he had to say been so dangerous it couldn't even be uttered inside Dean's head? But one look at Castiel's calculating eyes told Melissa they weren't getting any answers tonight.
"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean," Castiel soke coldly, similar to the way he had upon first meeting them nearly a year ago. "I serve heaven. I don't serve man. And I definitely don't serve you."
And the angel brushed past them, back to the machine he had been created to be.
. . .
The storm followed them as they drove back to the motel. Melissa bit her nails as she sat in the back, wishing she could doze and knowing she couldn't at a time like this. Dean had opted for no music, and no one said a word. When Sam had tried to explain himself to Dean (he wasn't even going to try with Melissa, he knew nothing good would come of it) his brother had only told him he was disappointed. He wasn't angry. He was just done. Melissa had managed to pull Dean aside while they were getting rid of the bodies, and decided it would be best to bring Bobby in for help. She'd called him straight away. And any minute, Sam would receive a fake phone call, urging the three to come to South Dakota. And then Sam would spend the forseeable future in the panic room to detox.
After seeing Jimmy suffer the way Pamela had, and finally understanding why Sam had been acting like a junkie for the better part of the past year, she was starting to think this whole looking back into the past thing wasn't such a gret idea after all. Maybe she didn't need to be any part of herself from before. She could practically feel the ache in her bones from withdrawal as she remembered those last few months with Allen. Not being able to keep food down, delirious with fever. And Sam was in for it all. No doubt it would be about a million times worse considering all the demon shit that went with it.
If she hadn't been so fucking pissed she would have pitied him.
Author's Note: Boy, it has been awhile. Sometimes you just need a break to focus on other things. But I'm so motivated to get through season 5. Something big is coming. ;) Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy what happens next!
Thank you so much to Purplestan, Ladysunshine6, and LoveFiction2018 for your reviews! I'll try to post more regularly for you! I'm think I'll shoot for once a week again.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
Peace and love.
