A/N And I'm back phew. Finals have been brutal. But, I'm almost done. I only have a psych final on Saturday and then I'm home free. Thank the good Lord that psych is my easiest class. But as a reward to me and you, I have finished this chapter and I'm one chapter ahead. YAY! That means that next week you will get another chapter and then probably another chapter the week after. I'm soooooo excited because cute things are going to happen after some not so cute things but...CUTE THINGS *SQUEEEE* *chokes* *coughs* *regains composure* Heh sorry about that. It's just that Dean and Avery have been butts for twelve chapters but now they'll be less butt-ish. YAY x2! Okay enough of that. Remember if you leave a review you get a sneak peek of the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. Y'all are kings. Enjoy!

Ch. 12

Broken Bones

"So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."

-Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Dean's heart plummeted into his stomach. "What do you mean she's gone, Sam?"

"I mean that she isn't in the bunker anymore! She left! I don't know how and when it happened, but she's gone Dean!" Sam's angry voice came from the receiver.

"What the hell!" Dean shouted and Cas jumped in the seat beside him wincing slightly. He had taken a real beating against the Rit Zien. "What do you mean you don't know? You were supposed to be watching her!"

Dean heard his brother sigh heavily before continuing. "There's something wrong, Dean. I keep losing time, and it's not getting better. I know you keep saying that this will go away but it hasn't and now I can't remember how the hell Avery left. One minute we were talking and then suddenly half and hour had passed and she was gone."

If Dean wasn't panicking before then he definitely was now. He could feel its icy grip in his chest. Everything, the precarious tightrope he had been walking to keep everything from falling apart had snapped beneath him and he was in free fall. Dean felt like such an idiot for not taking Ezekiel into consideration when putting Avery under lockdown, and now he was paying the price. And even if Avery hadn't taken advantage of Ezekiel, Sam was becoming more and more suspicious.

If Sam finally figured out that he had an angel riding shotgun he would cast out Ezekiel in a heart beat and then die in the next. And Dean couldn't let that happen.

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, did she take her duffel bag. The one she had with her when she got here?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment. "Yeah, she did. Why do you ask?"

Relief and triumph coursed through Dean and he smirked. "I hid a phone in her bag and I turned the GPS on. We can track her as long as she doesn't find the phone and ditch it."

Sam scoffed over the line. "Let's hope you hid it well, Dean, because if she finds it before we find her then we're screwed."

"I'll call you when I have news." Dean said before hanging up. "Okay Cas, change of plans. Avery's MIA, we need to go find her."

"No Dean," Cas said grimly and Dean looked at his companion shocked. "The angels, they need help. I can no longer sit by will my brethren suffer."

"Cas, you can't go on your own without backup." Dean said earnestly. "I mean, you're human now."

"That's never stopped you or Sam before." Cas frowned and Dean bit his lip.

"What I mean is that you have a second chance and you should enjoy that. It's a brave new world, Cas." Dean laughed half heartedly.

Cas looked at him. "I don't think that means what you think it means," Dean was stunned for a moment but Cas looked away resolved.

"I'm sorry, but this is something I must do."

Dean's smile fell and he looked away stonily. He understood where Cas was coming from and he respected his friend's decision, but that didn't mean he had to like it. "Okay Cas,"

Castiel gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Dean."

Dean nodded and drove Castiel to the nearest motel before sending the angel off with as many supplies as he could offer. Fake IDs, money, weapons, anything the angel might need on his quest.

"Are you sure about this Cas? Sam and I could help." Dean offered again. He didn't feel right about this. It felt like he was abandoning him.

Cas nodded. "You two have your hands full with Avery and Abaddon. Besides, this is my doing. I have to fix it."

Dean looked down grimly. "Okay, call me if you need anything."

"I will." Cas promised. Dean clapped the angel's shoulder and turned to leave but Castiel stopped him one last time.

"Be patient with her. Imagine what you would do if you had her same circumstance. I am fairly certain that if you understand her you two will be less quick to anger." Cas told him and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Okay Dr. Phil."

Cas frowned. "That's not my name."

Dean smirked. "Alright, Katie White."

Cas squinted at Dean and his frowned deepened. "I don't understand. We've known each other for several years now—"

Dean laughed and shook his head. "Forget it Cas. I'll see you on the flip side."

"Goodbye Dean, and good luck."

I breathed in fresh air and savored its sweet taste on my tongue. Freedom. It was something I had taken for granted all my life. No one appreciates how important freedom is until it's taken away from you. I had been hitchhiking to the nearest bus station and managed to get myself within a ten minute walking distance of it.

After one cross-country trucker had taken me as far as he could I jogged the rest of the way to the bus station to buy the earliest ticket out of Kansas. There was a bus leaving for Illinois in fifteen minutes so I bought it and retreated to a corner of the station where it was less populated and I was less likely to be disturbed.

I rummaged through my bag for a moment before pulling out a beaten up copy of The Screwtape Letters. I pulled down the brim of the baseball cap I had purchased that proudly sported the Jayhawks logo and I flipped open to where I had last left off.

I quickly found that no matter how hard I tried to concentrate on my book, I couldn't. The elation of being free from the bunker had quickly dissipated and was replaced with paranoia that at any moment, Sam would appear through the entrance of the bus station and find me.

I glanced at the clock over the register every couple of minutes impatiently. Every second I wasn't on the move was a second that the boys could be using to close in on me. The only comfort I had was that Dean was still on the hunt with Cas. It would take him a while to get back to Kansas.

Time ticked by at a snail's pace but finally there was an announcement over the speaker that my bus was ready to leave. I packed up my things and trudged over to get in line to board the bus. I froze when I saw a tall muscular man with light hair get out of a rusty Ford pickup truck.

I quickly turned around and put as many people between myself and the man to try and hide. I peeked over a grumpy elderly woman's shoulder just to make sure I wasn't being paranoid but my fears were confirmed. It hadn't been a trick of the light. The man that had just gotten out of the truck wasn't a man at all.

His face was disfigured and charred like it had been held against an open flame. The skin was dripping off his skull, blistered and angry. But his eyes were the most frightening. They were a startling coal black, deep and fathomless, cold. He was a demon.

I didn't know how I was able to see the demon's true face

I quickly got on the bus and had my ticket punched before getting to the back and drawing the shades on my window. I sank as far down as I could in my seat and I prayed that the bus would start moving and get me the hell away from that place.

I kept a watchful eye through the space between my seat to see if the demon had gotten on the bus with me but the man never appeared. The doors on the bus closed and it rumbled to life before crawling out of the depot. I let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in my chair.

I peeked out of the window and could clearly make out the same man fading in the distance as the bus drove further and further away.

How had that demon known where to find me? I was deeply unsettled that after only being out of the bunker for a couple hours I was already confronted with a supernatural creature.

Maybe he wasn't actually looking for me. I thought to myself. Demons were pretty rampant these days so it could be perfectly practical that it was there for other reasons. The bus station was located near a crossroads.

But that wasn't a crossroads demon. It had black eyes, not red.

"Shut up brain." I growled to myself. I was definitely overthinking the whole thing…but just in case…

I pulled out a sharpie from my backpack and pushed the sleeve on my left arm up. I pulled the cap off the sharpie with my teeth and started to draw the anti possession sigil on my arm. It was a little lopsided and the edges and the flames where a little smudged from where my fingers rubbed into the wet ink, but it was clear enough that it would do the job.

"You really shouldn't draw on yourself."

I looked over at the slight brunette in the seat across the aisle who had spoken. She pulled out the earbuds she was wearing and I could hear the faint sound of music leaking from them. The volume must've been pretty high for me to able to hear it on the noisy bus and I wondered how she wasn't deafened by it.

"They've linked liver failure and nerve disorders to people that've drawn on themselves with permanent marker." She continued and I found myself a little annoyed. Who the hell did she think she was lecturing a complete stranger?

"I'll be fine but thanks for your concern." I responded a little rudely.

"Are you a satanist or something?" The girl asked curiously and I balked at her.

"Uh…no."

"Cuz your doodle sure looks Satan-y." She flashed me a toothy grin and I glanced around to see if anyone other than myself was witnessing the strange encounter.

"It's for protection." I stuttered without thinking and pulled my sleeve down to cover the now dry sharpie tattoo.

"From what?" The girl asked excitedly. "Satan?"

"No!" What was with this chick and Satan? "I just found a picture of this online and I thought it looked cool." Hopefully that was explanation enough for the girl and she would leave me alone.

The girl frowned at me. "You're going to risk liver failure to look cool?"

"At least I'm not shooting up heroin." I smiled facetiously and turned away signaling that I was not interested in continuing the conversation.

"My name's Sadie if you were wondering." The girl, Sadie, said cheerfully. I narrowed my eyes at her and muttered 'Christo' under my breath.

"What was that?" She asked but didn't flinch. I let out a little sigh of relief. I didn't know how I was able to see the demon's true face and I didn't know how to turn it on and off. When I met Crowley I couldn't see his true face. It made me angry that I didn't know the rules of my powers or their extent. For God's sake, I had once erected a force field during the confrontation with the wicked witch but try as I might, I couldn't recreate one.

"Nothing," I shook my head and then added hesitantly. "My name's Avery."

"That's the spirit!" Sadie grinned. "I couldn't help notice you sad sacking it all alone. What's got you down, hun?"

I gaped at her again. I had never, in my entire life, met someone so nosy.

"Is it a boy?" She whispered conspiratorially. "I bet it's a boy."

"Kind of…" I muttered uncomfortably and glanced out the window. "It's complicated."

The girl jumped out of her seat and took the one next to me which was alarming to say the least. "Then un-complicate, dear. This boy, do you love him?"

"What?" I spluttered and felt my cheeks go red. "No! We aren't even friends."

Sadie smiled at me knowingly. "You don't have to be friends to be lovers."

"We are not lovers!" I choked out.

"Well you're something!" Sadie giggled delighted. "I've never seen someone turn so red so quickly."

"It's really not what you think." I assured her. I wondered how Sadie would feel if I told her that I was escaping my captors and not running away from my 'true love'.

Dean watched as the little blinking dot headed east.

"Where are you going?" He muttered to himself quietly. After making a quick pitstop at the bunker he had immediately started following Avery's trail. Sam tried to insist on accompanying him but Dean refused.

"I drove her away I need to bring her back." Dean had said gruffly throwing spare clothes in his bag.

"I can help you." Sam protested angrily.

"No you can't, she's already skittish enough," Dean argued. "A hunting party won't make this easier. She'll fight harder if she thinks the threat is bigger."

"Then why don't I go?" Sam asked. "You two have never been on good terms. What makes you think that if you go she'll come quietly?"

"I don't think she'll come quietly." Dean scoffed. "And you can't go because you might go all Memento. What if it gets worse while you're out looking and you lose a week? Two?"

Dean felt guilty using his brother's condition, which was his fault, against him. But the real reason he didn't want Sam to come was because it wouldn't just be Sam. Ezekiel was still riding shotgun and from what he could gather, Ezekiel was the one that let Avery leave.

He didn't have time to confront the angel while Avery was getting further and further away. He also didn't want Sam to have to go through another blackout. Not when he was on high alert.

"Look," Dean sighed. "I'll be back in no time. All right? It will be fine."

Sam looked at his brother. "Just— try to be understanding okay?"

Dean rolled his eyes. First Cas and now Sam? "All right princess I will."

Dean started up the Impala once he saw the red dot get onto the interstate. If he had to guess, Avery probably had gotten on the first bus out of Kansas. If he could get in front of her than maybe he could cut her off before she discovered the phone.

He peeled out of the empty lot and started to follow Avery's trail. Dean didn't know what he was going to do when he eventually caught up with her. He didn't want to have to bring her back using force. Honestly, he was tired of fighting with her. It was exhausting and too reminiscent of a chick-flick for his taste.

He knew that he would have to approach with caution and follow Sam and Cas's advice. Be understanding.

The only way this would work is if she trusted him. He needed to find a way to relate to her and make her feel like they were both on the same side.

Dean sighed. How he was going to do that? He had no idea.

"So what's in Illinois?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. I had managed to read about two and a half pages of my book before Sadie had decided to bombard me with more questions that were none of her damn business.

"Another bus to another state." I told her.

"And where will that bus take you?" She pressed.

"To another bus that will take me to another state." I slammed my book shut and glared at her but she didn't seem put off by my hostility.

Sadie gave me a knowing look. "So you're running."

I shrugged.

"Why?" She asked me and I gave her a tired look.

"A lot of reasons— look, Sadie, you seem nice and all but this isn't any of your business and I would appreciate it if you could just leave me alone, okay?" I said, quickly turning away and reopening the book. I didn't want to see her hurt expression.

"Sorry…" Sadie said slowly. "I didn't mean to pry."

"It's okay." I managed tightly still not looking up from my book.

"Are you running from your boyfriend?"

"Oh my god."

Dean was only about an hour behind Avery when he stopped to refill the Impala. He checked her location on his phone and frowned the he realized that she had stopped moving as well, in Illinois. He zoomed in the GPS and found that her little red dot had stopped at the bus station and didn't seem to be moving.

That meant one of two things: She had found the phone and ditched it or she was waiting for another bus.

He ripped the pump out of the car and quickly paid for the gas. He had to get to that bus station before Avery set off again.

I was sitting on my duffel waiting for my bus to arrive when my stomach churned and my vision blurred. Suddenly I wasn't at a bus station anymore. I looked down at myself and found that I was wearing a victorian era bottle green dress.

"Avery, run!" Slater laughed delightedly as a very angry man barreled through the shop I was in towards us.

My feet moved of their own accord and I hiked up my skirts so I could run after Slater who had already bolted out the door.

"Wait for me, you prat!" I called in a false english accent. A very good one, though, if I did say so myself.

"You lot won't get away with it this time!" The shopkeeper roared. "I'll 'ave all o' Scotland Yard come down on your bloody 'eads, mark my words!"

I squealed in delight—yeah, squealed— and turned the corner down an alley. We ran until I was out of breath and then we skidded to a stop once we had lost the shopkeeper.

"You've done it now, Thomas." I scolded breathlessly barely managing to hold back my laughter.

"Oh it's Thomas now?" He teased giving me a light shove. I noticed how my accent had vanished completely now that I was alone with Slater.

"Yes it is." I crossed my arms and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Don't pretend like you didn't have fun." Slater grinned.

I turned away from him and humphed but I couldn't keep the smile completely off my lips.

"Wait, what's that?" Slater said in mock surprise. "Is that a smile I see?" His fingers darted out and he started tickling me. I squealed again.

"Tommy! Cut it out!" I gasped with laughter and slapped his hands away.

"Not until you forgive me." He said mischievously. I tried to run from him but Slater wouldn't have it. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back while still managing to tickle my sides wickedly.

"Fine! Fine, I forgive you!" I relented between giggles.

"Of course you do." Slater said with a soft smile as his hands slid from my waist to hold mine.

"There they are!"

We both jumped and turned to see the shopkeeper flanked by two police officers.

"Well damn!" Slater chuckled. "Have you caught your breath? I can't have you slowing me down." He asked me with a grin.

I smacked him. "You're also not wearing a corset."

Slater shook his head and grinned before he tugged on my hand and we started running down the alley once more.

The victorian street melted away and I blanched when I saw the time and realized I'd missed my bus.

What the hell just happened?

I jumped up shakily realizing I had no time to spare and I picked up all my belongings. I was walking from here and I needed to find a ride soon if I was going to get out of Illinois.

I thought furiously about the vision or memory that I had just experienced as cars rushed past me. I walked down the road further and further away from the station. Every so often I would stop and hold out my thumb to try and flag down a car but no one stopped for me.

Slater and I had been very close once upon a time. And from the looks of it he'd been very mischievous. Not at all the responsible man I'd met a couple of weeks ago. But all in all the content of the memory was very unimportant. Why had I remembered it now? What triggered it?

I kept walking but froze when I heard an unmistakable rumble from behind me. My heart plummeted into my stomach and I felt like someone had poured cold water down my neck.

The Impala.

I dove off the side of the road and rushed into the forest I was walking along. I kept running until I couldn't hear the car anymore and then I stopped before hiding behind a tree.

My heart pounded unsteadily in my chest and I fought to quiet my breathing. Minutes passed and I heard nothing besides the wind rustling through the dry leaves and the songs of the birds in the trees.

Snap

The echo of the branch breaking underfoot startled the birds from their perches and I felt my entire body tense. I could hear Dean's footfalls heavy on the forest floor. They were much too close for comfort and I knew I wasn't going to be able to outrun him if it came down to a chase.

I quietly and slowly unzipped my duffel bag and cringed at the tiny noise the zipper made each time I moved past every set of teeth. I stuck my hand in the tiny opening and groped through my belongings for the gun I'd stashed there.

When my hand finally closed around it, I pulled the gun out and held it to my chest. I let my bag rest at the foot of the tree and waited for the inevitable.

There was another snap and I realized that if I let Dean get too close he would be able to disarm me. So in that moment I decided to reveal myself, gun trained on my pursuer.

But it wasn't Dean.

"Who are you." I demanded. The man in front of me didn't even look startled at the sight of my weapon. He was tall and burly with dark black hair and olive skin. The man must've weighed at least two hundred pounds, a third of which was muscle.

"It doesn't matter who I am. It matters who you are." The man answered and a sick grin started to creep across his face. "Abbadon has been looking for you." His eyes flickered and turned black.

This was so much worse then Dean finding me. So. Much. Worse.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus—"

The demon growled and closed the distance between us in a few short steps. "Omnis satanica potestas!" I tossed the gun to the side—It was no use to me now—and I fumbled with my inside jacket pocket where I had the angel blade. Before I could pull it out the demon's fist closed around my throat and he threw me to the ground pinning me there under his massive weight.

Goddamit! I seethed as I struggled for air. Why did the bad guys always go for choking? I resisted the urge to scratch at his meaty fists and I spat out a couple of more words in latin with the air I had left.

Thankfully the demon hissed and shuddered from the exorcism and I was able to use the distraction to pull out the blade and bury it in his chest. The demon went stiff as his entire being flickered and dissipated from existence. When it was finally gone the man's hands went limp and he fell to the side allowing air to rush back into my burning lungs.

I dragged in a hideous breath and choked violently as my lungs tried to get re-accustomed to oxygen.

"H-help." Came a weak voice from my left and I froze. Oh no.

"Please," The voice cut off with a wet gargling cough and then started again. "Please, I have a w-wife, kids. Help me." I turned to look at the man I had just stabbed in horror before I scrambled towards him and pressed my hands over the gaping whole in his chest. Blood bubbled through my fingers despite my efforts and I felt tears glide down my cheeks.

"Oh god." I whispered in terror. What did I do?

"Please."

I looked at the man. He was grimacing in agony and there was a thin trail of blood running down the side of his mouth. His teeth were stained red like he'd eaten several pomegranates and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the man's eyes were when he opened them.

"I'm so sorry." I said thickly, my voice was chased by more tears.

"Why—?" More blood bubbled up between my fingers and the man started thrashing. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and then he was still.

"Oh god, oh god!" I sobbed again and again. I pressed my lips to the man's and breathed into his lungs for him before starting compressions. "Please wake up!" I begged and breathed for him again. I could taste his coppery blood on my lips and I felt my stomach heave. I swallowed the nausea and I kept trying to resuscitate him.

Every single time I pressed down blood pumped through him and out the wound. I tried plugging it and doing compressions but I couldn't. His blood kept leaking out of him. I didn't know how long I was there, pumping the man's chest, but he started to get stiff and cold.

I finally fell back on my thighs defeated and shaking.

My hands were stained with drying blood and my face was wet with tears. How many people had I killed now? Three? Four?

I suddenly longed for Dean to find me. I didn't know what I was doing anymore. All I knew was that I was getting people killed. But just as quickly as the thought entered my mind I drove it out.

The desperation and hopelessness of being a prisoner in that bunker would kill me if I had to endure it indefinitely. I couldn't live like that.

But can I live like this?

I took a deep breath and backed away from the man's corpse—God, I didn't even know his name— tears still rushed down my face but I wasn't crying anymore. I pulled out a bottle of water from my bag and washed off the blood as best I could. The water was gone before the blood was so I wiped my hands on my jeans. The stains left there looked like they could be from anything.

I swallowed and realized that the man's blood was still on my lips. I wondered for a single numb moment if the blood still classified as demon, and if I would get psychic powers from it, before I turned and wretched violently into a neighboring bush.

Murderer. Murderer. Murderer.

I wiped my lips and picked up my duffel.

Murderer.

I found my gun and stuck it in my back pocket.

Murderer.

I glanced at the fallen man one last time before walking out of the forest and back to the road.

Murderer.

P/N Oh Avery...

Leave a review and tell me what you think. What you like, what you don't like. Where you think this might all be going. I love to hear what you guys have to say.

Love always,

Lucy