A/N: To those people who are still reading this story even though I SUCK at updates…I love you all so much. Sorry for being an asshat and not posting as much as I should! Being busy is not an excuse and Im gonna try and work harder.
Disclaimer: Yadda yadda
Episode: The Rapture.
Lift. Aim. Shoot.
I pull the gun down. I squint my eyes. Yup. Three bullets have hit the bulls-eye. I take a deep breath and bite my lip. I shift my eyes towards Braden. He stands there looking at the shots impressed.
I sigh, "This isn't doing anything. I can shoot a gun. It's the other stuff I don't know how to do."
"If you can master regular hunter abilities, than imagine what you can do—"
"I've been shooting a gun since I was twelve years old! And judging by my shot, I think its mastered."
"You just need to trust me on this."
"I know," I rub my hand down my face. "I know. Sorry. This whole thing…its just screwed up, ya know?"'
Now would be a good time for Braden to hug me. His scent and strong embrace would make me feel safe and not vulnerable. Now would be a good time to tell me that he will protect me and stay by my side until this is all over with. Now would be a good time for him to suggest a break and possibly take me out for an early dinner. And possibly there, we could rekindle what we once had. Stable relationship.
Now would also be a good time for Sam to leave us alone so Braden and I can have a conversation of our own. Now would be a good time for Dean to stop boring a hole in the side of my head with his stare from inside the house. He's been staring since the moment I stepped foot on Bobby's dirt.
I roll my eyes and look down. Braden coughs, "Do something you've been wanting to do this whole time." I look at him with a smirk. He smiles back. "Let me see your hands." I hold them up for him in a surrender position. "Go."
I purse my lips in a smirk. Two seconds later I hear a thump and Sam's groan following close behind. With a smile, I turn around. Sam is on the ground, picking himself up.
"Did—did you do that?" Sam asks. He swipes the dirt off his jeans. "H—How—"
"I told you," I said and looked back at Braden. "He knows me well. But you haven't made any sort of noise for a while. I assumed you were in the same spot you were when we started. You're not leaning on anything, so I knew you wouldn't hit anything on your way down."
"How long have you been able to—"
"Long," Braden answers for me.
"Why haven't you used this before? It could've saved us a lot more time, injuries!"
"Because Sam!" I yell back at him. "What will I look like in front of you—in front of Dean when I do that? I wont look like your sister that's for sure. I'll just be walking skin and bones who apparently has powers that can destroy the world in a minute." I glare. "I know you don't have a problem with using them, but I do."
Boom. My feet fly off the ground. Loud noises erupt through my brain. My back hits the ground and all the breath in the world leaves me.
Heat rolls over me. Sam and Braden lie on the floor. Braden clutches his shoulder. Sam squeezes his eyes shut and rolls over on his stomach.
I cough up the dusted dirt. Dean runs over to me. I watch his mouth moving but I can only hear a tight ringing. I open my mouth to speak but my throat closes. I feel my tongue swell up and my eyes roll to the back of my head. I'm seizing and all I can think about: I did this.
"Do it, Sam," there is a smirk on my face as I laugh. "Go ahead. Kill your little sister."
My wrists are chained to a wooden chair. Darkness surrounds me. I feel that I am in a dungeon from the renaissance era. I pull at the shackles and laugh silently.
Sam stands in front of me. He is all I see. Dean? I don't know where he is. But I'm not worried about it.
Sam holds a gun to my face. He holds his gun in his right hand and stands sideways to me so that he is facing a door in case anyone tries to intrude. His head is tilted. His famous bitch face is painted on. His lips are pursed, twitching occasionally. He begins to twitch.
"Come on, Sam," I egg on. I roll my neck and let out a mock laugh. "Don't be such a disappointment like you have been your whole life. Come on!"
Sam pulls the trigger and the bullet hits between my eyes.
My eyes are heavy when I wake up. I lay on the padded couch in Bobby's living room. My throat feels like it was scorched under the summer day's sun. My ears slowly form audible voices of the boys around me.
Sam and Dean are in the kitchen, discussing something loudly. Whatever it is, they think they're whispering. I hear my name come up several times.
Braden holds my hand gently when he sees my eyes flutter open. He has a scratch on his face, bright red. His grin widens when I look back at him. He is so beautiful. His blue eyes contrast perfectly to his tan skin. Others could say that he needs hair cut, but I like his messy on his lazy days; I like how he doesn't try to be like the others who gels theirs' back for the ladies. I like when he bites his lip when he thinks of something sexy or when he gets nervous. I like him—I like him a lot.
"What happened?" I ask. My voice is scratchy.
"You blew up a car," Braden answers.
"A car?"
"One of Bobby's old junk cars. Before the explosion, you were yelling at Sam. I think it had to do with your emotions. I mean, you didn't do it on purpose did you?"
"No, of course not." I glance back into the kitchen. "Is Sam alright?"
"Yeah, just a sore shoulder." Braden shrugged. I reached up and cupped his cheek. I run my finger over his scratch that is slowly turning into a scab. He takes hold of my hand and smiles. "It's only a cut. If anyone got hurt, it's you."
"Yeah, well I caused it. I deserve it."
"You didn't know what you were doing. You didn't know you could do it," Braden shook his head.
I motion my head towards Sam and Dean. "What are they talking about?"
Braden shrugged, "I dunno. You were only out for ten minutes. They've been in there for five. You had a seizure. Whatever you did messed you up. They're probably just scared for you. They never had to deal with something like this before, ya know? This is all new for them."
"They shouldn't have to deal with it," I sit myself up right. I run my fingers through my hair.
"They're Sam and Dean. They're not going to let their little sister deal with this on their own. If there is one thing I learned when being around you guys, is that you really do put my family first. I have never met a family like yours before—in that aspect anyway."
"Yeah that's true…" I look into the kitchen. Sam and Dean's conversation is slowly coming to a stop. I can tell by the amount of pauses they are taking. "I had another dream while I was out. It was about Sam."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I was strapped down and he had a gun held at my head…he was so angry. Expect, I wasn't scared…at all. I was challenging him…telling him to shoot me and that if he didn't he would continue to just be a disappointment. I woke up when the bullet went through my head."
"Well do you think it means anything?" Braden asks. His eyebrows furrow. I know he's concerned.
"It's not my first dream that I've had like that. Who knows what it means?"
Sam and Dean walk in. When they see me, they are no longer deep in thought. Dean walks faster over to me. I notice Sam's awkward stand with his shoulder out of wack.
"Hey," Dean says. "How are you feeling?"
"Uh, I'm coming back to life," I nod. "What were you guys just talking about?"
"I was just trying to figure out what was happening before all of that happened," Dean explains.
I nod my head slowly. I didn't necessarily believe him. If that were true, they wouldn't have been in there that long and Braden could have easily pitched in.
"Where's Bobby?"
"Cleaning up the junk yard." Sam answers.
"How's your shoulder?" I ask.
Sam grins, "Don't worry. I'm okay. "
I get up from my seat on the couch. The three boys immediately become more aware and move to help me—or sit me back down (Dean).
"What are you doing?" Sam asks.
"I'm going to talk to Bobby—see how much damage is done." I say. "Don't worry, I think I can walk a few feet by myself."
"Madds—"
"Just keep gossiping about me while I'm gone," I say over my shoulder and open the porch door. "You seem to have no problem with it while I'm just in the other room."
Bobby is bent over. Metal scratching on metal screech in my ears. He picks up scraps and tosses them to the side. I clear my throat. He turns around.
"Hey," he says. "How you—"
"Feeling?" I finish his sentence. "Sorry I just answered that question a few times back in there. I'm fine…just a little bit out of it. I guess." I look around at the broken bits and pieces of two cars. "Sorry about the mess. I don't even know—"
"Honey, you don't have to apologize."
"Bobby, what do I do?" I lean back on a one of the cars that was actually still standing.
"What options do you have?"
"I can think of three. Stay here and deal with it…go somewhere far far away so no one other than me gets hurt…or…."
"Or what?" Bobby narrows his eyes. "Kill yourself? Is that what you're thinking about?" I bite my lip and move my eyes. "Look, I can tell you that your last option is not happening…over my dead body its not happening. Okay? And leaving? What makes you think Sam and Dean aren't going to find you? Or even Braden for that matter."
"Staying here and dealing with it is sure as hell not really working. I don't know what to do. I don't know who else to turn to for advice except you."
"Thanks?"
"What do you think I should do?"
"If you don't learn how to work this out then what just happened out here can become a lot lot worse. Look, there's nothing we can do. I've tried searching for everything...we're gonna have to learn to embrace it."
"And become a monster?"
Bobby shrugs, "You always were a little monster." I smile. Bobby's lips even turn into a grin. "Running away wont do you any good and neither will killing yourself. I mean you saw what happened to your family when Dean was in hell."
"I guess you're right."
"Guess?"
"Can I ask you something? It's completely personal. I need your honest opinion and promise for confidentiality."
"Holy shit, what is it?"
"I think I like Braden again. A lot." I admit.
"Oh, brother," Bobby rolls his eyes.
"Do you think he's changed at all? Or is it all an act? He seems like he really cares about me. And Bobby, you would know better than anyone else. Is it a bad idea to like him again?"
"Well sweetie, I just think that dating is probably not good right now. You have too much to worry about. You don't need to add a boyfriend into the mix."
I pause and look down at the ground with pursed lips. "You're right."
"So, what do you and your brothers plan on doing?"
I shrug, "I don't know. I guess we'll just chill here and drink all your booze until we figure something out or a case comes our way."
"Don't I get a say in that?"
I smirk and walk away.
/
I pad down the wooden hallway floor to grab myself a drink. I make sure to be real quiet when I pass a sleeping Sam on the couch in the living room.
The refrigerator lights blind me when I open the door. Who knew that Bobby would actually get his refrigerator fixed?
When I close the door and my eyes adjust to the light, I look out the window. Three men stand in Bobby's junk yard. They're in business suits and staring into the house into the window at me. I blink my eyes into their silver orbs.
Bright and glorious lights shine within them. They're no intruders. They're angels. Well…pretty much the same thing.
I groan and set down my water bottle down on the counter. Should I wake up Sam? I look down at my attire. Random T-shirt and boxer shorts. Hopefully they wont start any fights and besides its three in the morning.
I open Bobby's screechy porch door. The angels stand side-by-side with their hands held behind their backs. I raise my eyebrows. I swallow any ounce of fear that may be tingling in my veins.
"Who are you?" I ask. "And don't give me the obvious answer 'angels'."
The man in the middle is the first to answer. His skin is almost as dark as his black suit. His face is as cold as ice and the frown reminds me of the shape of rainbows I would draw in kindergarten. "Where is Castiel?"
I cock my head to the side. "I don't know. I haven't seen him in a few days. Is something wrong?"
The three men glance at each other, silently speaking through their minds and eye contact. I silently curse at myself when I realize that I brought no weapon with me outside.
"Very wrong," The middle man says.
An angel knife slides out from his sleeve. So did the other two's like domino transition. I back up. I know I cant run into the house like a little baby. I move my head side to side to crack my neck.
The angel to the right comes at me first. His arm is high and in stabbing position. I kick him in the stomach. He goes flying into one of the cars. It's alarm blares.
The other angel runs at me. I hold out my hand. He runs into it. My hand goes through his chest and grips his vessel's human heart. The dude's mouth and eyes go wide. A neon purple mist flows from his eye sockets. My mouth opens in wonder. Is that his grace? The mist winds into my mouth while I'm distracted. I swallow the nothingness taste.
I'm taken down on my back. The middle-man is on top of me. He has his hands around my throat. "Maybe Castiel will respond to his wonder-girl in harm's way."
I begin to see stars in my eyes. My throat closes slowly and his hands are relentless.
I hear my brother's yell, "Hey!"
Sam and Dean come running down. A gun shot goes off. It doesn't hurt the angel, but it does enough to get him off of me. I crawl towards my brothers—towards to safety.
"What the fuck is going on?" Dean yells.
"Angels," I wheeze.
"Sam, go get her inside. Now."
Sam helps me back to my feet. I walk inside with a limp. Bobby is waiting at the porch door. When I see my water bottle where I found it, I grab it with a chug.
"What the hell just happened out there?" Sam demanded.
I shook my head and breathed loudly, "I was just coming to get a drink when I saw those three assholes standing out there. They were looking for Cas."
Dean trudged back in not looking too happy. "They disappeared before I could do any damage." He turns to me. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was just seeing what they wanted." I say. "They don't know where Cas is."
"They said that to you?" I don't know why that got Dean's attention so quickly.
I give him a confused look. "Yeah. They thought by causing me trouble, he would show up. But, he didn't." I don't know if I was disappointed that Cas didn't show up. I mean, my brothers were there so it was no big deal. But now that my body is transitioning, does that mean Cas doesn't care anymore? That he gave up on me?
"Okay, we need to go," Dean says.
"What did you see Mr. Future?" Bobby says. If this wasn't such a serious moment, I would make a sarcastic comment about him in his robe right now.
"Right before I woke up, Cas came to me in a dream." Dean explains.
"Wait so he was chatting with you when he should have been saving me from dying?" I raise my eyebrows.
"I think he's in trouble. He gave me an address and told me to go there. He couldn't speak to much about it. He was afraid of anyone overhearing."
"Castiel's in trouble?" Sam speaks. The boy looks so tired that his eyes are barely opened.
"Yes. Bobby, thank you for letting us stay here. But we really need to do this."
"You kids are getting yourself into a lot of trouble, you know that?" Bobby responds.
"Yeah, well we cant really dig ourselves out it anymore. We don't find trouble. Trouble finds us," Sam stands. "You okay, Madds?"
"Yeah I'm good," I softly rub my neck where the angel had gripped. I stand up too and look at Bobby, "Pray for me."
"Honey, I don't even know if prayer will fix any of this right now. But I'll pray everyday for it all to end."
Bobby leaves the room. I stand alone in the kitchen. He prays for it all to end. I want it all to end too. But how do I do that without killing myself?
I don't know where Dean is driving. I don't even know if Dean knows where he is driving. Its dark outside—still the middle of the night. It's raining lightly but Dean has the windshield wipers on full speed as if we're driving in a storm. He's quiet, deep in thought. I wonder if he's thinking about Cas or thinking about me.
I look at the poor bastard sitting next to him. Sam leans on his elbow against his window. His hair is shaggy from the brutal wake up call. He's just as confused as I am as to where we were going.
Dean pulls up to some warehouse that looks like it hasn't been touched in days. I should be confused, worried, and freaking out—but abandoned warehouses are something I know so well like the back of my hand.
We walk inside with a handgun in our belts and flashlights in our hands. We stick together.
Inside, the warehouse looks like it had just been through a tornado. Sparks from broken electricity lines flicker every couple of seconds. Metal boards and other scraps of rubble litter the floor.
"Well, what did he say, Dean? What was so important?" Sam asks. He flashes his light everywhere. I don't know what we are looking for cause all I see is a bunch of crap.
"If I knew, would I be here?" Dean sasses. We find a set of stairs and go up. I didn't think it was possible for up here to look even crappier than downstairs but I was proven wrong. "What the hell?" Dean echoes my thoughts.
"It looks like a bomb went off," I say.
"There was a fight here," Dean says.
"Between who?"
Dean's flashlight bean lands on a symbol in the wall. It's painted with blood. I recognize it as a sigil similar to the one Anna made when she thought she was human.
"Check it out," Dean says. "Look familiar?"
"Yeah, it does," Sam nods.
"Anna used something like that to wish the angels back to the cornfield," I say. I take a step further than my brothers. I blink my eyes silver in case there was something that we were missing. But everything looks the same in black and white shade.
"So, what?" Sam says, "Cas was fighting angels?"
"I don't know," Dean says helplessly.
"Dean," I grab his attention. I hope over huge debris to get to a passed-out Castiel. He lies in his normal attire with blood on his lip.
My brothers rush next to me. Sam is the first one to try and wake him, "Cas? Case. Hey, Cas?"
Castiel stirs awake. He looks around confused, "What's…what's…What's going on?"
"Just take it easy," Dean says. "Take it easy."
"Oh, no," Cas looks down at himself.
"Cas, you okay?" I ask. I'm kneeling next to him. My hand is on his shoulder. I can already tell something isn't right.
"Ugh, Castiel," Cas groans. He looks at all of us. "I'm not Castiel. It's me."
"Who's 'me'?" Sam tilts his head.
"Jimmy," Cas—well Jimmy answers. "My name is Jimmy."
"Where the hell is Castiel?" Dean demands.
"He's gone."
Dean drove us back to the motel. And by us, I mean my brothers, me, and Cas…Jimmy. But first, Jimmy had us stop and grab dozens of take-out burgers. Apparently Castiel never fed his vessel during the years.
I have never seen a man eat so much. Not even Dean. Watching Jimmy scarf down numerous greasy burgers makes me sick to my stomach. But he looks relieved like he has been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
My brothers and I watch in disgust. I cant help the grimace on my face when I sucks down his third soda in less than a minute.
"You mind slowing down?" Dean speaks up. "You're gonna give me angina."
"I'm hungry," Jimmy simply says. He chomps down another bite.
"When was the last time you ate?" Sam asks.
Jimmy shrugs, "I don't know. Months." He goes back to eating ravenously, moaning in delight.
I had to excuse myself before getting sick right in front of everyone. I stand off to the side.
Sam shifts in his seat, "What the hell happened back there? It looked like an angel battle rally."
"All I remember is a flash of light and I, uh…I woke up and I was just, you know, like, me again."
"So, what? Cas just ditched out of your meat suit?" Dean says.
Jimmy shrugs again, "I really don't know."
"Do you remember anything about being possessed? Anything at all?" I ask.
"Yeah, bits and pieces. I mean, angel inside of you, it's kinda like being chained to a comet."
"Doesn't sound like fun," I say, thinking of what I'm going to have to undergo when I begin my change. Sam glances at me.
"Understatement," Jimmy grunts.
I look away and press my lips into a thin line. I cant help but think about me. I know I should be focused on Jimmy, his situation, and learn what happened to my guardian angel. Instead, I focus on the pain I will face. Will I starve myself? Will I feel any kind of emotion? The thought worries me until its all I can think about.
"Cas said he wanted to tell us something," Sam says, "Please tell me you remember that."
"Sorry."
"Come on, what do you know?" Dean presses. His hands are folded and he leans over the table anxiously.
Jimmy swallows, "My name is Jimmy Novak. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois."
"That's it?" I raise an eyebrow. "I mean that's all you know? The dude has been inside of you for who-knows-how-long and that's all you remember?"
"Well, your face is familiar," He takes a long sip of his soda, "He had a strong connection with you."
"He was my guardian angel."
Jimmy gives me a sympathetic smile, "I may not be his vessel anymore, but I strongly believe that he is still protecting you now in this very moment."
I offer a slanted grin, "So, did you leave a family behind when you agreed to being an angel's bitch."
"Maddie…" Sam gave me a warning look. I shrug.
"It's alright, Sam," Jimmy says. "I have a wife and a daughter. You actually remind me of her, Maddie. Smart…quiet…"
"Quiet?" Sam repeats questioningly.
"Smart?" Dean raises his eyebrows.
I swat Dean on the back of his head. "Did you leave them suddenly?"
Jimmy coughs awkwardly. Suddenly I feel as if I have taken a step too forward and prying to deep. "I mentioned to my wife how angels had been speaking to me through prayer. Soon, it was all I ever focused on. My wife, Amelia, thought I was going insane and actually made me take medication."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."
Jimmy holds up his hand and smiles politely, "It's truly okay. I followed the Lord's calling for me. I don't think I did anything wrong."
"Will your wife let you back in?" I ask.
"Madds—" Sam cuts in. What? What did I possibly do wrong now? He glances over at Dean, "Can I speak to you two for a moment. Outside?"
Dean and I follow Sam outside. Its loud out here. The motel is parked outside a busy turnpike in the middle of Pennsylvania. Next to the motel is a 24/7 gas station where I can clearly see a drug deal going on in the back of the store. The wind brushes the trees' branches against each other. The air whistles.
Sam locks his hands in his jacket pocket and hunches over. Its what he does when he is cold. "So, what do we do?"
Dean cocks his head. The answer was obvious to me. Dean and I were on the same page. "What do you mean? The guy's got a family. We buy him a bus ticket and send him home."
"I don't know about that Dean. He's the only lead we got."
"He doesn't know anything." I shrug.
"Are you 100 percent about that?" Sam asks.
"You think he's lying? What, you wanna go Guantanamo on the guy?" Dean says.
"Dean, maybe he doesn't even know what he knows."
"Huh?"
"I say, at least we get him to Bobby's. Maybe all he needs is hypnosis or a psychic. Or hell, maybe Cas will just drop back into him."
"I don't know, man," Dean shakes his head.
"Dean, back there, that was angel-on-angel violence. Now, I don't know what's going on, but it's big. And we can't just let the only lead we got just skip out." Dean still shakes his head, not liking the idea at all. "What?" Sam asks.
"You remember when our job was helping people? Like, getting them back to their families?"
"You think I don't want to help him? I'm just being realistic. I mean, hell, we're doing him a favor."
"How?"
"Dean, if we want to question the guy, you can damn well bet the demons do, too. "
"Sam's got a point," I chip in. Their heads turn towards me. "There is just no way that the demons haven't heard about this jimmy guy yet. They have an actual human being who has been inside an angel's head to torture information out of. He would be putting him and his family at risk."
Dean sighs in defeat. We go back into side to tell Jimmy what we came up with. To say he wasn't happy was an understatement. He was exasperated, looking at us like we had three heads. I don't blame him either. If someone told me I wasn't allowed to see my family, I would be pissed.
"The hell are you talking about, I can't go home?" Was his response. He was done eating. He was standing now, looking at us with wide eyes and an open mouth.
"There's a good chance you have a bull's-eye on your back," Dean explains.
"What? From who?"
"Demons."
"Come on, that's crazy. What do they want with me?"
"I don't know, information, maybe?"
"I don't know anything," Jimmy replies louder. He feels like he has repeated it so many times and his point is just not getting across.
"I know, but—"
"Look, Im done, okay? With demons, angels, all of it. I just want to go home." Jimmy is settled down. He looks worn down, like he hasn't slept in weeks. Suddenly I feel guilty, sympathetic.
"We understand."
"I don't think that you do understand. I've been shot and stabbed and healed, and my body has been dragged all over the Earth. By some miracle, I'm out, and I am done. I've given enough, okay?"
I don't try responding. If there wasn't a chance of demons getting to him and his family, I would offer him a ride home right now. He needs rest, he needs freedom. Keeping him locked up here with us will not give him what he needs.
Sam speaks up, "Look, all we're saying is that until we figure this out, the safest place is with us."
Jimmy looks down at his shoes in defeat, "How long?"
Sam hesitates, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Jimmy shakes his head. Obviously, not liking that answer moves past Sam to the door.
"Where are you going?" Dean demands.
"To see my wife and daughter, okay?"
Sam puts his foot down, "No, you're not. You're just going to put those people in danger."
Jimmy throws his hands in the air in exasperation, "So, what, now I'm a prisoner?"
Sam shrugs, "Harsh way to put it."
Jimmy runs his hands down his face and exhales loudly. Mumbling something under his breath he walks to the bathroom and slams the door behind him.
I couldn't fall asleep that night. All I could think about was the negativity Jimmy felt when being an angel. I think back to when I blew up a junk car back at Bobby's because of my fluctuating mood. Sam could have died, Braden could have died—and for what? Just because I was angry? It wasn't right.
I hear someone shift out of their bed. I look over at Dean. He is still sound asleep, passed out and dead. And Jimmy was out on the other bed. That only left Sam. The couch was empty. I see his large shadow walking out.
My gut tells me to follow him. I ease out of bed, hoping not to stir Dean awake. I throw on a sweatshirt and go outside. Its cold enough where I can see my breath.
Sam walks to the vending machine. Why would he want a soda now? At four in the morning? I follow quietly. It wouldn't surprise me if Sam was up to something he wasn't supposed to be doing. I hide behind a light post.
He brings out a flask from his pocket. People don't pour regular booze into their hand and licking it up from there. The liquid is dark. Like I said, not your normal booze. Cause its not booze. The way Sam greedily licks his hand, making sure he gets every drop—tells me this is wrong.
Sam turns his head. I instantly turn my body so I stay hidden.
Do I tell Dean? Or should I bring it up to Sam? Last thing I need is for Sam to bitch about me invading his privacy.
I need to investigate further.
I make sure to sneak back into the motel before Sam turns around to come back inside and realize I wasn't sleeping. However, when I opened the door, I immediately felt something different in the room. I look at the two beds and see one completely empty.
I walk over to Dean and shake him awake. "Dean, Dean!" He slowly stirs awake. First, he sits up alarmed. MY urgent voice early in the morning was enough to snap him awake into reality and away from the dream world. "Cas—Jimmy is gone.
Deans voice groggy and filled with sleep, "What do you mean he's gone." He steps out of bed and paces the room. Jimmy's stuff isn't here. "Where's Sam?"
On cue, Sam walks in the door. When he sees Dean and I awake he is surprised but hides it with a concerned face. "What's going on?"
"Jimmy left…where were you?"
I look down at the ground and shuffle through the room, gathering my stuff together knowing that if I look into his face, sadness would overcome me. And Sam would look into my eyes and see something was wrong.
Dean quickly dresses into jeans, a t shirt, and a flannel. I do the same, pulling my ripped skinny jeans to my waist and an oversized white T whom I assumed was Sam's. It fell down to my thighs so I tucked the front part into my waistline. I slip on my grey converse and tie my a hair into a high pony.
Sam is rushing to fill his duffel bag while Dean strolls out of the bathroom, brushing his teeth. Sam looks up at him and sighs, "Dean would you hurry up?" I pack the remaining books into my bag and straighten up. Dean laughs with the toothbrush in his mouth. Sam glares, annoyed, "Uh, this is funny to you?"
I would have thought Dean would be pissy right about now.
"Mr. Big-Bad-Prison-Guard, Jimmy McMook give you the slip? Yeah, it's pretty funny. What were you doing, anyway?" Dean asks.
Sam stiffens. He has never been the best liar. Or was it because I knew he was lying that I could tell all his weaknesses in his lying performance. "I was getting a coke."
Dean pull the toothbrush out of his mouth, "Was it a refreshing coke?"
"Can we just go, please?" Sam says, agitated.
Dean walks back to the bathroom snickering to himself. Its better to have Dean in a good mood than a bad mood. You don't get that very often.
The car ride was silent. Sam wasn't talking—probably blaming himself or thinking about whatever the hell it was that he just drank. Dean was probably too concentrated thinking of a plan—what to do when we find him, how to find him and where. While at the same time, be on the look out for any demons or angels that could cross our path.
I liked the quiet. So I held my peace and didn't say a word.
An hour into the drive, Anna, the angel from before, randomly appeared right next to me in the back seat. I was dosing off at this time so when I heard her girl voice go, "'hey guys," I let out a tiny yelp. But so did Dean and Sam, also taken off guard. Dean actually swerved out of control and almost ran us off the road.
It was one thing to be attacked by a demon—knowing what was coming and having time to figure out a strategy. Angels are different. They decide to show their face whenever they want to even in the most surprising times. To be honest, they scare the crap out of me.
"Smooth," Anna comments.
"You ever try calling ahead," Dean cries from behind the steering wheel.
"I like the element of surprise," Anna's voice was so monotone that I couldn't tell if she was teasing or being dead serious. Either way, it worked. We were surprised.
"Well, you look terrific," Dean grins.
Oh, right. I forgot they had sex. Wow, hitting on a girl, or…uh…angel while looking for Jimmy who was probably on every creatures MOST WANTED List? Wrong.
Anna moves her eyes to Dean. "Um, yeah, not the most appropriate time, Dean."
Well thank god she knew to keep her priorities straight. "You're a pig." I say from the back.
"I'm being friendly," Dean replies.
"You're being a perv," I say back. "What are you doing here, Anna, anyway?"
"You let Jimmy get away?" She asks no one in particular. I look at the back of Sam's head.
Dean points his thumb over in Sam's direction, "Talk to ginormo, here."
Anna tilts her head over to Sam. She squints her eyes in concentration. "Sam. You seem different."
Sam shifts in his seat. A nervous smile gets smacked on his face. "Me? I don't know. He? A haircut?"
I did that haircut for him.
"That's not what Im talking about." She continues to stare at him until he becomes uncomfortable and turns away. She looks back at Dean. "So, What'd Jimmy tell you? He remember anything?"
"Why? What's going on?" Dean asks.
"Its Cas. He got sent back home. Well, more like dragged back."
"To Heaven? That's not a good thing?"
"No, that's a very bad thing. Painfully, awfully bad. He must have seriously pissed someone off."
"Cas said he had something to tell me. Something important."
"What?" Anna looks at him confused.
"I don't know," Dean shakes his head.
"Does Jimmy know?"
"I don't think so."
"You don't think so?" Anna repeated. "Whatever it is, its huge. You gotta find out for sure."
"That's why were going after Jimmy," I say.
"That's why you should have let him go in the first place. Hes probably dead already." Anna disappears after that. Wow, the sass. Plus, that was a little harsh. What was up her butt?'
On the ride there when Dean had to stop for gas, Sam went into the convenience store. I watched his every move—the way he aggressively punched numbers into his phone, how he passed back and forth while speaking into the phone. His hands shook as he lowered them. I sink back into my chair when he snaps his head in my direction. I pull my legs to my chest and rock myself back and forth—Sammy the only thing on my mind.
"You sure this is there house?" I ask as we march up a set of stairs that lead to a front porch. I was looking at a baby blue Victorian house. About two stories high with a nice chimney on top. I couldn't believe someone would give up their apple-pie life (as me and my brothers call it) just to be an angels bitch.
Screaming and breaking of glass was heard from inside the house. My brothers and I whip out our guns and break in. Misfit was everywhere. There were about six other people in the house. One being Jimmy, thank god. Another was a little girl with a mother fighting her way to rescue her from the mean man's arm. They must be Jimmy's family.
The other three had evil in their eye that was represented by black orbs.
Dean stabs one of the demons through the throat with his knife. I dodge a few punches and kicks before one of them grabs me by the throat and slams me into the wall.
The man is big a burly, his fist can snap my neck in one squeeze. He tilts his head, looks me in the eyes, and smirks, "Lilith is sure gonna love me after this."
My eyes widen and I fear for the worst. My hands wrap around his and I desperately try and pull him off of me. Dean comes up from behind and stabs the dude in the back. His insides glow gold before he falls lifeless on the floor.
I clutch my throat and try and blink the stars out of my eyes.
Sam's hand is up in the air. Veins are popping out of his neck and his eyes are squeezed shut like he is going to explode any second. He was straining himself too hard.
Dean follows my eyes.
The demon Sam is dealing with looks at him with a smirk. "Aw. Cant get it up, can you, Sam?"
Dean runs over with the knife out in the air, "No, but I can."
Before Dean could stab her, black smoke erupts from the host's mouth as the demon escapes her body. She falls dead to the ground.
Dean grabs Sam, I follow with a limp, and we run to the impala where Jimmy and his family are waiting.
When Jimmy sees us approaching he sighs and mumbles a "Thank god."
"Where's your wife?" Dean demands.
"Right here," She walks from the other side of the Impala.
"Lets go."
I sit in the front with Sam and Dean while the other family squeezes into the back seat. My seats. My breathing becomes normal again when we speed off into the distance.
That same night, we found an abandoned garage where Jimmy, my brothers and I could talk. Amelia, the wife, and their daughter, Claire sit together in the back seat of the impala.
"You were right." Jimmy sighs, looking down at his feet as he kicks a pebble around.
"I'm sorry we were," Dean says.
"I'm telling you," Jimmy looks into Dean's eyes. "I don't know anything."
"I don't think they're incline to believe you," Dean says referring to the hundreds of demons out for Jimmy's blood.
"And even if they did, you're a vessel. They're still gonna wanna know what makes you tick." Sam adds.
"Which means vivisection, if they're feeling generous." I said.
"I'm gonna tell you once again, you're putting your family in danger. You have to come with us." There goes Sam with that speech again.
"How long?" Jimmy asks. "And don't give me that 'we'll cross that bridge when we get to it' crap."
"Don't you get it? Forever. The demons will never stop. You can never be with your family. So you either get as far away from them as possible or you put a bullet in your head. And that's how you keep your family safe. But there's no getting out and there's no going home." Sam speaks frustratingly.
My eyebrows shoot up at the outburst. I guess Anna wasn't the only one who had something crawling up her ass this morning.
"Well don't sugar coat it, Sam." Dean comments.
"I'm just telling him the truth, Dean. Someone has to." Shots fired.
Jimmy walks away and talks to his wife. I don't know if I would be able to handle saying goodbye to my brothers for the rest of my life. Even if they were the biggest pain in my ass.
"I'm gonna go find a car for Amelia and Claire." Sam walks away.
Dean looks back at him and turns to me, "Is everything alright with him?"
I shrug, "I honestly don't know. But is there ever a day where were all doing just fine and dandy?"
I let the question sink in. We fall in silence for a moment. I look up to the sky, wondering if Castiel was looking down at us right now.
Sam pulls up in a junk car in the next five minutes. The car was a piece of crap, black and dusty but it will get from one place to the other.
"Okay, so, uh, here's your car," Sam says.
Jimmy turns back to his family. He knees down and holds Claire by her shoulders in a fatherly way. "Hey. Take care of your mom, okay, bub?"
"Okay." The little girl whispers back.
I open the back door of the impala for Jimmy. He slides in to the other side. Sam and Dean get in the front.
Jimmy fell asleep rather quickly. At least the sleep would temporarily take away the pain of leaving his family behind forever.
I watched the pellets of water hit the side windows, rolling down and connecting with each other to make a bigger raindrop. When I was little, I would follow them with my finger, and race the other drops.
I was pulled out of my trance when Dean spoke up. His voice was filled with accusation but luckily it wasn't directed towards me. "What the hell happened back there?"
My ears perk up. I sit up straight and listen.
Sam played dumb. A move that never works when dealing with our older brother during arguments. However, it doesn't stop us from trying.
Dean has always been attached to the car even when it was still dad's. I remember getting a pogo-stick for Christmas. Sam and Dean saved up enough of their own money to get it for me when I was twelve. However I jumped to close to the car and left a small scratch. Dean knew it was me and I tried telling him that I had never seen it. He called me out on my bullshit, but helped by covering the scratch up with a sharpie marker. Dad was too busy to notice.
"You practically fainted trying to gank a demon," Dean continued.
"Okay, I didn't faint," Sam defended. "I got a little dizzy."
"Well, you can call it whatever you want. Point is, you used to be strong enough to kill Alastair. Now you can't even kill a stunt-demon number three?"
"What do you want me to say about it, Dean?"
"Well for starters, what's going on with your mojo? I mean, it's yo-yoing all over the place. I'm not trying to pick a fight here, okay? I just – you're scaring me, man."
Sam scoffs, "I'm scaring myself." Sam's phone rings and opens it with a sigh. "Hello?...Who is this?" Sam looks over back at us. Sam holds out the phone in my direction. "Hey Its your wife."
Jimmy stirs awake and takes the phone from Sam. "Amelia?" Castiel mumbles into the phone. I cant help but watch him interact with his wife. His eyes widen and he looks up at me. "Oh my god."
What are the odds that we could have left Amelia and Claire unharmed for the rest of their lives? Slim. What are the odds that Amelia would get possessed and put herself and Claire in danger? Not slim at all.
That's exactly what happened.
We traced the phone to a warehouse off the interstate. Jimmy raced out of the car and started to charge towards the building. Dean grabbed his arm and held him back from making a wrong move.
"That's my family in there. What are you doing?!" Jimmy demanded, trying to pull his arm free from Jimmy's grasp. "If this was your family, you would be doing the exact same thing as me."
"Yes, I know. And that's what you're going to do." Dean said. "But you need to go in calmly. Alright, they're expecting you to come alone. That's exactly what you're gonna do."
"We'll work our way through the catwalks. We'll be right behind you." Sam adds.
"All you gotta do is stay calm and stall. Let us do our job."
"You want me to stay calm?" Jimmy exasperates. "This is my family we're talking about."
"Listen to me. This will work out. You understand? Nobody's gonna get hurt."
"Yeah, whatever." Jimmy sighs. "Give me a minute, okay?"
Jimmy walks away from us and towards the ware house. When he was out of clear shot, I turn my head to my brothers. "There's no way they're expecting him tocome alone, Dean. You know this is probably a trap."
"Yeah, I know." Dean nodded. "That's why I have a plan."
I narrow my eyes and wait for his cue. Dean led us through an opposite hallway. When we turn a corner, we were ambushed by four bastards with deep black eyes.
I blink my eyes silver and glare. But it was like they knew I was going to do that, and stabbed me immediately in the shoulder. At the sudden pain, I became weak and yelped in surprise.
This caused my brothers to become distracted and stop what they were doing, enough to make them loose focus.
They grab us by the arms behind our back. I bite my lip to try and not scream through the pain.
They bring us to an open area on the first floor. Little Claire is sitting in a chair with her head down. Amelia is talking to Jimmy with a stupid smirk on her face. She stares at us, knowing we would appear anytime soon.
"Nice plan, Dean." Sam mutters.
Dean shrugs, "Yeah, well, nobody bats 1,000."
"Got the knife?" Amelia asks the demons holding us up. One of the demons pats Sam down until they pull out Ruby's knife. They hand it over to her. "And you know what's funny?"
"You wearing a soccer mom?" I say through clenched teeth.
"Is I was actually bummed to get this detail, picking up an empty vessel. Sort of like a milk run. Now look who landed in my lap."
"Yeah, well, you got us, okay? Let these people go." Sam demands.
"Oh, Sam. It's easy to act chivalrous when your Wonder Girl powers aren't working, huh? Now for the punch line. Everybody dies." Amelia holds up her gun and shoots Jimmy in the gut. He falls to his knees. Amelia turns back to one of the demons holding Sam. "Waste Little Orphan Annie."
Amelia leaves the room while Dean walks around Jimmy and towards Claire. I struggle against the man holding me. The demon picks up a pipe and swings it towards Claire. But she wakes up. She holds up her hand and grabs the pipe. With her other hand, she places two fingers on the demons forehead. The demon screams and its insides turn into a silver, exorcised by a bright light. Holy shit, she was an angel.
I use the distraction to turn on my demon and head butt him. I kick away from him. I try to ignore the screaming pain from my right shoulder. The demon throws my to the ground and the wind is knocked out of me. When he comes down on me, I reach out my hand and go through his chest. I grab his heart and twist it with such force. He dies with a bright light shining through him.
I lay there on the floor panting, with my one hand covered in blood. I turn my head to stare at the lifeless body next to me and one word comes to mind: Monster.
I force myself to stand up. Sam is able to grab Ruby's knife back from the female demon. Dean is being pummeled like a soccer ball from the other male demon. Claire walks over to him and places her two fingers on his head, exorcising him.
I begin to walk to where Sam was, however I thought he had it under control. He brings his knife up and carves a line on her neck. He lowers his head down and starts drinking the blood that trickles down her skin. That's what it was. Sam has been drinking demon blood and that's how he has been getting his strength.
I step behind Dean and Claire, looking in to a man's eyes that I knew wasn't Sam. His mouth was still bloody like a lion who had just finished the meal of his last kill. Sam turns back around and stabs the demon right in the heart.
Sam turns around and holds out his hand in time to catch Amelia who was creeping up on us. He exorcises her with his recharged psychic powers. When the black smoke erupts out of her, Dean helps to hold her up straight. And Claire walks over to Jimmy who was a few minutes away from death.
She kneels next to him and begins speaking, "Of course we keep our promises. Of course you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Your real home. You'll rest forever in the fields of the Lord. Rest now, Jimmy."
That was it. She wasn't going to save him?
"No." Jimmy spits out blood. "Claire."
"She's with me now. She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours."
"Please, Castiel." Jimmy begs. "Me, just take me. Take me, please."
The four us start to slowly approach but we hold back so they can talk.
"I wanna make sure you understand." Castiel speaks from Claire's body. "You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it."
"It doesn't matter. You take me. Just take me."
Castiel nods. "As you wish."
Castiel touches Jimmy's face and a bright light emanates from his eyes and mouth. Claire drops to her hands and knees. Castiel is back in Jimmy's body. He walks past Amelia, no longer having a bullet wound in his gut, and stands next to Sam and Dean. Amelia runs to Claire and embraces her in a tight hug.
Castiel starts to walk away but Dean calls out to him. "Cas, hold up. What were you gonna tell me?"
Castiel turns around. His face is as stern as his voice, and I'm almost not used to it. "I learned me lesson while I was away, Dean. I serve heaven, I don't serve man, and I certainly don't serve you."
Castiel walks away. My brothers and I watch him with shocked faces and open mouths.
We drove through the rain in silence. I was thinking about my destiny while Sam and Dean were thinking about Sam's. Nothing new, right? I didn't like stabbing the man with my bare hand, tugging on his heart until his face shines bright and he is laying lifeless besides me. But it made me feel good. For a second, I start to think that's how Sam feels and that's why he is giving himself this power. But it wasn't normal, not right. Sam always wanted to be normal and has always had the chance to be. He was throwing it all away, and for what? Revenge?
Sam pulls me out of my thoughts. "All right, let's hear it."
"What?" Dean asks. He keeps his eyes on the road through the windshield that was covered in rain drops. The street lights are blurry and the night is eerie.
"Drop the bomb, man. You saw what I did. Come on, stop the car, take a swing."
"I'm not gonna take a swing."
"Then scream, chew me out!"
"I'm not mad, Sam." Dean says.
I look through the rearview mirror and into Dean's eyes hoping to find a flicker that would tell me Dean's true feelings—that he was mad and that he was going to take a swing when he had the chance.
"Come on. You're not mad?"
"Nope."
"Right. Look, at least let me explain myself."
"Don't," Dean stops him. "I don't care."
"You don't care?"
"What do you want me to say, that I'm disappointed? Yeah, I am. But, mostly, I'm just tired, man. I'm done. I am just done."
Sam's phone rings. It's a call from Bobby saying that we better shag ass over to his place.
When we get to Bobby's, he leads us down to the basement and towards the panic room. Sam opens the door and steps in. I'm about to follow in with him when Dean holds my shoulder back. I turn around to give him a weird look, but his eyes told me not to question him.
"Go on inside. I wanna show you something." Bobby says, but he doesn't step foot in there either.
Sam turns around, "All right. So, uh, what's the big demon problem?"
"You are." Bobby answers. "This is for your own good."
Dean pushes me behind him. Bobby and Dean lock the doors and shut the barred window.
Sam screams from inside. "Guys? Hey, hey. What?" Dean grabs my wrists and starts leading me away. My head whips back to the panic room. "This isn't funny. Guys! Guys?"
"What are you doing, Dean!" I yell at him.
"He needs help, Maddie."
"And you think locking him in there is going to make him any better?!" My voice is still climaxing. I look back at the panic room and back to Dean. "Sam, that's our brother not some animal!"
"Don't you think I know that!" Dean yells back at me. We're now in the living room. Bobby has shut the door behind him and walks to pour himself a drink. "I don't know what else to do between you and him I am running all straight out of options. Okay? Sam is doing this to himself. He's throwing his life away and for what? Revenge?"
"It could kill Lilith."
"You're fucking with me right now, aren't you? You want to destroy your brother's life just to kill off one of a million god damn demons in this world? Huh?" Dean screams at me. But I hold my spot. I would never let Sam die, but I certainly as hell wouldn't look him up in the basement. Dean laughs pathetically. "Huh, I can finally see the demon side coming out of you too."
I take a step forward and look him straight in the eye. "Fuck you, Dean. You're about to lose your brother. Don't push your luck and make your sister leave you too. You have too much self-loathing in you to survive on your own." I glare at him. "Sam's not here right now. Don't you dare drive me away too."
