Sophia's Chronicles
Chapter 35: The Pain of Mind
(Dean POV)
Spokane, Washington – 26 June 2011, 10.45pm
Dean couldn't sleep. Not when the bed next to his was still empty. No sign, no call from Sam and it had been hours. Something was definitely wrong. He'd probably searched the whole town that day and did it again today. Sammy was nowhere. This is all my fault, he thought. I should have been there. He kept berating himself for choosing to do something so… insignificant like hunting Amy. He knew he was right to kill her but compared to keeping Sam safe, this was nothing. He should have just listened to Sam but no, he just had to go behind Sam's back. If he hadn't gone out of his way to kill her, his brother would still be here. The sound of his phone ringing snapped him out of his daze. "Bobby?" he answered.
"Any word on Sam?"
"I went everywhere, Bobby. He's not here. It's like he just… vanished."
"Maybe that's what happened. What if he didn't take off? What if something took him?"
"We talking… angel or demon? That kind of thing?"
"It's just a hunch."
"So what do we do about it?"
"Meet me at Sioux Falls. I'll scrap up something."
"What, you want me to just leave town?"
"Well, you can't just sit around in that motel room. We'll find him, Dean."
Dean had to agree with that. He was making no progress in this motel room. "How's your case?"
"The feds are involved because it's occurring all over the country, so I couldn't get much even with Jody's help. Legally, that is. I'm working on Plan B right now. I'll tell you more when you get here."
Sioux Falls, South Dakota – The Next Day, 2.27pm
With a heavy heart, Dean settled next to Bobby at the motel table, popping open a beer. "What d'you got?"
Bobby laid out the pictures from the file he'd stolen from the local PD evidence locker. "They all look almost identical and all the vics showed no sign of struggle. The feds think all of them knew the killer or killers but if this was an angel or a demon they wouldn't even have gotten the chance to struggle. And get this, there were traces of sulfur found at every single one of them," Bobby summarised.
"That confirms it then. Demons are behind this," Dean concluded.
"Not so fast. Ever since Crowley became King, the only demon-related killings have been those involving hellhounds coming to collect soul contracts. This seems like something else," Bobby reasoned.
"What, now we don't think that Crowley is capable of something like this? The guy tried to open Purgatory."
"I know, but it doesn't seem like his MO, y'know?"
"Maybe these are all people at the end of their deals," Dean speculated.
"All of them? At the same time?" Bobby argued. Dean had no answer to that. Bobby flipped through the notes in the case file, hoping to find something. "Here." He pulled up the photo taken in Philadelphia. "This one had an exceptionally high sulfur level. And a lot of footprints were found. Could have been a number of demons. The notes say they suspect cult involvement, because of some kind of strange symbol carved into the tree."
Dean studied the symbol. He had never seen it before, and neither had Bobby. "Wait a second…" He rummaged through the photos of the trees from other states. "All of these have the symbol too. They're just not as noticeable."
"The one in Philadelphia was the last one, so the carving probably didn't have enough time to be grown over before people discovered it." Bobby copied the symbol onto a notepad. "This is a start. I'll try to figure out what it means."
Dean's jaw clenched as a distinct possibility surfaced in his mind. "What if they took Sam, Bobby? What if it's the demons? Something's going on in Hell and maybe they needed Sam for something so they nabbed him."
"It's definitely possible." Bobby hated confirming that such a thing was possible, but they needed answers. "If only we could find a demon to tell us what the hell is going on in Hell!"
"I believe that's my cue," a snarky British voice greeted them. The men jumped to their feet, brandishing their knives and guns while facing their unexpected visitor.
"Crowley," Dean snarled.
"Nice to see you too, Dean. And Bobby, I'm heartbroken that you wouldn't call," Crowley said, furtively placing his hands in the pockets of his long black coat.
"Well, you did try to open Purgatory, you kidnapped people who I care about, and you sold the idea to Cas that all of this was a good idea!" Dean yelled.
"It's all in the past, mate. Your people are alive, aren't they? And Purgatory's closed?" Crowley responded.
"Cas is dead, and that's on you!"
"Cassie was careless! He got what came for him," Crowley replied, shaking his head in mock sorrow. "Not my fault Feathers couldn't outlive his fifteen minutes of fame." Dean was ready to carve some sense into him with his demon-killing knife but Bobby held him back.
"What do you want?" Bobby asked.
"Just to help, of course. I heard the moose was missing and I thought I'd aid in your search-and-rescue." Crowley's lips turned up on one side, an eternal reminder of his useful but secretive presence in their lives.
"You heard? How?"
"I have my methods." He didn't bother to elaborate. "I can help you find him."
"What's in it for you?" Dean questioned, clearly sceptical of what the demon had to say.
"Please, Dean, always so suspicious. Can't I ever do something out of the goodness of my heart?"
"No," Bobby and Dean replied simultaneously.
"That's touching. But there is… something." He paused. "I want you to find out where Cas kept the weapons of Heaven."
"You gotta be kidding me," Dean remarked. "Why would we let you anywhere near that kind of power?"
"Because that's what's gonna save Sam," Crowley posited. When the men didn't say anything, he used a finger to lightly push his right ear forward, pretending to listen carefully. "What's that, you ask? How are the weapons of Heaven gonna save Sam? Well, gentlemen, it's going to kill the bitch who has him, that's how."
"You're still not making any sense," Bobby said.
"I'm willing to bet on my undead life that it's Sophia who took your brother," Crowley stated. "It's tough being a single parent, as I'm sure you boys understand. So my guess is that she took your brother to get him to become Lucifer's meatsuit again. Then we'll have a wholesome archangel family set on destroying the world."
Dean's eyes widened in shock. His heart raced. There was no way he could let that happen. What's worse was that he knew that Sam wouldn't give in and Sophia could be torturing him right now. Oh, the things I would do when I find her…
"Why should we trust you?" Bobby snapped Dean out of his thoughts. "For all we know, you could just be trying to get the weapons for yourself."
"Bobby, always the careful one. You'll make a good businessman yet," Crowley complimented. "The answer is in those, gentlemen." He pointed to the pictures on the table. "First she steals my souls, then she steals my throne," he grumbled.
"Wait, so you're saying this is all Sophia?" Dean inferred, exchanging worried looks with Bobby.
"Is grass green? Is the sky blue? Yes, this is her sigil on the trees, lads." Crowley traced it with a finger. "She took their souls before they were due just to show the demons she was more capable than me. And it worked!" he said furiously. "They just fell to her feet and worshipped her! Mindless sheep. Such disrespect for the values that Hell was built on. Without honouring our contracts, we are uncivilised, I tell you, uncivilised!"
"So you want to gank her so that you can become King again," Dean could see the logic in that.
"And you'll get your brother back in the process," Crowley explained. "Why don't I sweeten the deal and let you keep the weapons when we're done? And then I'll make sure you never hear from a demon again."
"Seems a little too good to be true…" Bobby remained sceptical. This could be their only shot at finding Sam but he knew better than to work with a demon. After all, that was what got Cas killed. If what he was saying was true, then it made sense that Crowley was desperate enough to give up the weapons afterwards if all he needed was to kill Sophia to save his own ass.
"Sleep on it," Crowley suggested, before placing one of the pictures back on the table and vanishing. Silence eclipsed the room as Bobby and Dean took a moment to take in what they had just heard from Crowley.
"What're we thinking? We buying what he says?" Dean turned to Bobby.
"We can't just take his word for it," Bobby said. "How do we even know if Sophia took Sam? Who're we gonna ask?"
They were both stuck. They couldn't trust any demon with intel like this and no hunter they knew could probably get close to Sophia. Unless… "I have an idea," Dean spoke up. "It's a long shot… but it could work." When he articulated his idea to Bobby, the older man's eyes widened, then he frowned, and then his expression eased, seriously considering their options.
"Are you crazy? If this goes sideways, we're both dead meat," Bobby threw his arms up. "But what the hell, what other choice do we got?"
(Sophia POV)
Sophia's House, Illinois – 3 July 2011, 7.03am
"Sam," I patted his cheek lightly. "Sam, wake up, Sam. The sun's out, the birds are singing and it's a fresh new day to say 'yes'." The Winchester slowly stirred awake, still vexed to see me. It wasn't my fault he was so hard-headed. We'd been here for days. Every day I explored a new method of torture, healing him at the end of the day just to begin again in the morning (after all, I needed to spend time on other things). This was very educational and would've excited me, were it not for the need to see my lover again looming over my head. Are you proud of me, tough guy? I imagined asking him before we melted into each other's arms once again. Admittedly, Sam was tough to crack. How did Lucifer manage to get Zara in line with torture? It seemed she was more receptive to the kiss of his lash than Sam. She was more of a daredevil and refused to abide by conventional standards of good and evil, anyway. In that sense, she was more like Lucifer than I. Maybe I needed to find the side to Sam that was more like me. Maybe that was the key to getting his consent.
I rubbed my palms along his chest, feeling its muscular surface hard as rock. My hands travelled to his sculpted shoulders, then his neck. Channelling my comforting, maternal energy, I took hold of his consciousness and yanked it out of his body. His wispy smoke-like form stared back at me with surprise and looked back at his own body.
"Don't worry," I told him. "Your body will be fine when I return you to it."
When he looked back at me, he scanned me from top to bottom, the look of surprise never fading. "Y-You look different."
"This is my true form you're seeing." I extended my wings outward slightly, letting him see their golden shine.
"H-How?" he stammered.
"You're having an out-of-body experience, Sam. What you see here will be the true nature of things. Nothing can hurt you here, and I will make sure of it." I took both his hands in mine and took us outside while his gaze remained fixed on me.
"You just spent the whole of the last who-knows-how-many days torturing me and you just expect this to change-"
"Look around you," I cut him off.
In this state, his senses were heightened, his mind separated from the damage of the cage and his experience phenomenal. Sam scanned the landscape, suddenly growing silent. The virgin rays of sunlight streamed into the field, spreading into every corner slowly. The colours of my wide array of flowers and other plants appeared so vibrant and pure that they threatened to escape the fabric of space like a pop-up book. The swirling of the cool morning breeze swept over the field like a paintbrush blending colours and caressed our forms with the gentleness of a lover.
"Incredible, isn't it?" I asked.
He remained silent, unwilling to answer, as though admitting the astounding beauty of what he was experiencing was to somehow give into my pressures. I myself looked around the field, pleasantly in awe of the scene before me. It never got old. My gaze swept across the swaying stalks of plants and rested on something peculiar. I didn't think Sam noticed. It was a lean black figure in the distance, standing still, and only I seemed to be able to see it. While I let Sam look at everything else, my attention was focussed on this strange thing in my land. Upon closer inspection, I realised that it was a person simply looking at me, unmoving and eerie. They didn't seem to be moved by my awareness of their presence. I felt a tingle in the back of my neck like I'd never felt before. There was a strange vibe to this being, one that I could not place, but I realised that I'd been silent for far too long. I needed to return my attention to Sam.
"This is the Earth, Sam, in all its natural beauty. Here, the aesthetic meets the logos, and produces a truth. It is the truth that encompasses everything else. It is the truth of the divine, of creation, of meaning. This is what I see and I want you to see it too," I explained.
"Why are you showing me this?" he finally said.
"We are more alike than you think." I rested a hand on his shoulder with the gentleness of a feather. "I know you have an appreciation for these things and you understand how important they are. It's who you are and I suspect that you would be more in touch with this side of yourself had you not been so rudely snatched away from your academic pursuits by Dean all those years ago." This seemed to inspire some unspoken thought in him. "The world is a beautiful place. Its true nature is transcendent of the human perspective, of human suffering. This is what the world will look like when you die and ascend to Heaven. If you think about it further, you will find that human suffering is in fact temporary and not worth ruminating about. After all, would it be so bad to exist in a mode like this in death?"
Holding his hand, I led him to the river nearby, bringing him to the small waterfall at its head. He stared at the cascade, entranced by its glimmer as water flowed off the ledge and plunged into the lake below. The impact caused small droplets to break off the stream and float in the air. This created somewhat of a mist, which, in this slowed-down time, appeared as tiny glass beads migrating outwards from the river.
"This is where God blessed my son," I revealed. "I stood in this very water when God Himself reached out to me. This water is probably imbued with some divine property because of this."
"God talked to you?" he inquired.
"Not exactly. The old guy still doesn't like to show Himself. But His presence is familiar. You just know it when you feel it. God wanted me to have this child, Sam. The one that you helped to create, all because you let Lucifer in." Speaking of the devil (or his son), the little one strode over with his carefully stepping feet. He ran over to me as soon as he spotted me, hugging my leg. Sam stared in wide-eyed surprise at Luc, unable to form words. I picked Luc up and soon his chubby arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me in to give me a peck on the cheek. I chuckled, pleased by his innocent expression of love. In his true form, Luc still appeared as a baby, though his vessel was growing into a toddler quickly. Looks can be deceiving, however, since Luc was far more knowledgeable than a human toddler even as a baby.
Luc eyed Sam with the same compassion he had for the world around him, even reaching for his wispy form. Hesitant at first, Sam reached to Luc with his giant finger, allowing Luc's tiny hand to curl around it. A smile cracked on Sam's face. "Look at how pure he is. God wanted him for Lucifer and me, and for the whole world too."
"How can you say that…" he began, still admiring Luc's divine form with curiosity. "…and think that Lucifer would be a good influence on him? Shouldn't you be afraid that Lucifer would corrupt him?"
"You underestimate Lucifer. I knew him from the beginning, from before he was tainted by The Darkness. He was good and pure, just like Luc here. He lost himself along the way but he is recovering, believe it or not. I agree that some semblance of insanity remains in him, but that is only because of how his family has treated him – betraying him, ostracising him, casting him out of their hearts and out of our home. It was harsh what happened to him and I know better than anyone what it's done to his mind. I sincerely believe that this child will save him. Luc will restore him to his truest self and all will be right again. Why else would God send His own blessing?" I reasoned.
Holding Luc with both arms, I rested a wing on Sam's back as I guided him around the garden. He studied every variety I had with utmost fascination. Glad to have an interested companion, I named all the different plants and briefly explained their properties. The amalgam of the different scents greeted us as we walked through the plots. The silent acknowledgement of his nod and focussed gaze suggested that he was enjoying this tour. Leaving Luc to play with Dog, we stood in front of the house. "This isn't so bad, is it, Sam?"
"No, it isn't at all," he admitted. "But you know what is? You thinking that this is all gonna 'tame' Lucifer. Do you actually think he'll just… leave Hell and demons and all that power behind to be here with you and his son?" he snapped with a tone that enraged me. Huffing mockingly, he continued, "I'll admit, you almost had me sold there. And I would've bought it, if it wasn't Lucifer you wanted to help. You expect me to believe that he isn't going to raise his son to be just like him and destroy the world? Insane or not, he'll never let humans go. He'll do what he's always wanted to do – destroy us. It's funny that you think you can change that."
I scowled. As much as I wanted to smite him then and there, I tried to exercise patience. I had to try reason as much as I could, seeing as force did little. "What do you know about him? You've only had your faulty bible and related texts, all one-sided and unreliable. He and I have a bond, an understanding, and I'm the only one he'll listen to. Luc and I can save him. Only us. No one else."
He huffed. "You're right, I don't know him. But I know his type. People like him, who get a kick out of killing and destroying, will do it again and again, no matter how many times you try to stop them. It's a part of who they are. That's why God locked him up!"
I'd had enough. I didn't need all this negativity coming from a mere human like him. "That's it, show's over." I grabbed his shoulders and hurled him back into his body. He awoke with a loud gasp for air, chest heaving. Before he could regain full awareness, I held him down and dug into his guts with my fingers. "How dare you think of him like a human? We are the divine, we are powerful and we are nothing like you apes!" Blood pooled around my fingers as my nails clawed through flesh. His raw screams filled my ears and urged me to go on. I went slowly to accentuate the pain. "We are greater than you can ever imagine. Our power unrivalled. Our perspective but a mere collection of words to you mortals. How can you live with such simplicity and yet be so annoying and sure of yourselves?"
My fingers sunk into his body, the warm, bloody mess of his insides coating them. Then, I pulled them out all at once, and grabbed a small knife which glowed red as I heated it. Taking my time, I used it to cut and burn an Enochian poem onto his bare chest. Blood spilt and the smell of burnt human flesh permeated the air. It roughly translated to:
"Blood pours but life is not lost
Words are said but naught is known
The prideful shall learn their lessons
In this vessel that the divine hath shown"
"Don't worry, you won't die from this," I reassured him as his wails died down. "I would never let you get off that easily." I stood over his body in this position and was admiring my work when I felt a tingle in the reaches of my mind. I was being summoned. "Someone's calling me. Don't move," I ordered him before I left.
Rusty Old Cabin, Iowa – 3 July 2011, 8.16pm
I followed the trail. Whoever was summoning me was using a really old spell. I'd felt it being used sometime before, in the early days of humanity. Of course, I wasn't capable of responding, or not that I remembered. I just wanted to forget those two hundred thousand years in the vault. Someone went through a lot of trouble to get this spell and gather the materials for it. This had better be important. When I arrived, I was let down by the damp interior of a run-down cabin with cracks on the walls and long-dried blood on the floor. So much for having admirers. Where I stood, a copper bowl containing a lotus, some incense and some accessorial flowers was placed before me.
"Nice touch with the jasmine and the roses. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that you were trying to flatter me," I told my callers.
"Yeah? Because the date's just beginning," Dean said with his gruff, threatening voice as he dropped a match to the ground, evoking a ring of holy fire around me.
"Is this the thanks I get for sparing your lives?" I replied with a mock sense of disappointment. Blobs of yellow light wavered on their faces as the flames danced.
"That depends," Bobby answered, lines of worry etched into his face. He looked to Dean to ask the questions.
"What did you do to my brother?" Dean seemed tired, like he'd tried looking just about everywhere for answers.
I sighed nonchalantly. "Your brother's fine." Their eyes widened, finally relieved to hear something about the one who went missing. "And he will be fine, as long as he says one little word."
"So it is true, then," Bobby spoke up. "You're trying to bring back Lucifer."
"Kudos to you for putting that together. Are we done here?" I narrowed my eyes, impatient.
"My brother will never agree to this," Dean stated with his gruff voice. "Believe me, whole armies of angels and demons have tried, and we never budged. So just save us all some time and give him back and we'll forget this ever happened."
I huffed. "Or what? You'll hurt me? Please, Dean, that's foolish even for you." He gulped, probably desperate and running out of options. I scanned him from head to toe. "You know what, I can actually offer you a deal. I'll give you your brother back, all healed and fixed up, but you take his place. You become Lucifer's vessel."
A moment ago he was just curious and worried, wondering if his brother was alive. Now, though, he was furious, his frown deepening. "No way."
"Then I'll just have to spend every day sticking sharp things in wherever it hurts until Sam says 'yes'." Dean refused to make eye contact with me. Frowning, he clenched, darkening the shadows on his face where the muscles went taut. While some deep thought was taking over him, a plan of escape formed in my mind. The air was pregnant with moisture and my own magic worked within this ring of holy fire. Slowly, I began coalescing the water droplets towards the edge of the holy fire, wearing it down, but this would take time. "So what was your plan? Trap me, ask me about your brother, and sternly tell me to release him? This holy fire is not going to last very long and then I'm going smash you to bits. Maybe I'll do it in front of your brother so that the hope he so dearly holds onto will die right before him."
"Do whatever you want. Sammy won't give in to you. He's stronger than that," Dean taunted. His earlier scepticism about his brother's willpower seemed to have vanished into thin air. This had to be an act.
"Is that why you yelled at him for going off on a case on his own? Because you trusted that he was strong?" The two men were visibly perplexed at my knowledge of their affairs. Always nice to have the element of surprise. "You don't even trust your brother to be sane, which was why you killed Amy, wasn't it? So thank you, Dean, for helping me prove that no one on this God-forsaken planet has faith in him." My plan was working, and the holy fire would die soon. "You know, I don't get why you're so worried. Lucifer and I can fix your brother's mind. We can keep him, and you and whoever you care about, safe if that's what bothers you. I don't really care for whether or not humans live or die, and with a child to raise I doubt Lucifer will too." I flashed my most reassuring smile, but it did not seem to convince them. With barely a sound, I sent a final wave of energy, pushing the mass of water droplets outwards and dousing the flames. "Time's up, gents. Sam might miss me."
Instantly, they jumped to attack, brandishing angel blades. Pity, they should've known those won't work on me. With a flick of the hand, I tossed Bobby to the far wall and heard something crack as I walked towards Dean. His arm raised to strike me but I caught it and reached into his gut instead, drawing blood. He groaned in agony and dropped the blade. I pushed him up against the wall and drove my hand deeper into his abdomen, feeling his organs squishing in my grasp. Dean shut his eyes tightly, unable to see through the pain. "Sammy can't say no when his brother's life depends on it," I whispered sharply.
"Get away from him!" I turned sharply. Bobby's palm was bleeding. An incision had been made down its middle. With a jerk of the arm, he pulled open a curtain.
"No!" I yelled but it was too late. He slapped his bleeding palm against the window, which had an angel-banishing sigil drawn on it. I tried to resist its push and stay grounded with every fibre of my being but there was no avoiding its forceful propulsion. I felt myself being pulled and plummeted across space, with no control over where I was headed. I was simply a star being shot across the sky, a blazing trail of fire following me. At one point, it seemed like I would never land. That's the thing about these angel-banishing sigils – they don't just shoot you away, but they also make your journey unpredictable. When I finally crashed into the earth, rocks and dust flew everywhere. I was pummelled into the ground, creating a giant crater where I'd fallen. Where the hell am I? It was only when I got up that I realised that I wasn't even on earth. I was on the freakin' moon. Dust floated around in the weak gravitational space and slowly migrated in the direction of the earth.
The Freakin' Moon – 3 July 2011, 8.40pm USA time
For a moment, I simply stood, watching as this cloud of dust travelled away from me towards this marble-like blue orb of a planet. When this cloud reached the atmosphere, it would gain traction and become a shower of fiery rocks raining upon the earth. Good, I thought. I wanted someone to suffer for all the angst I was feeling. Here I was, trying so hard to put my life together and then there are these humans in the way. Why did it have to be Sam? Why couldn't it be someone more agreeable, someone with better perspective? It must have been a lot easier mere centuries earlier, when humans were more religious. The death of religion must have inflated the human ego, making them think they are greater than or equal to the divine. Such arrogance. No wonder Lucifer wanted to kill them all!
A rage built up in me like a wave about to crash against the shore. Thoughts of Lucifer still rotting away in the cage swirled in my head. It pained me to think that all his fate had ever been was to be trapped in that cage for all eternity. Having been subjected to it myself, I would never wish to relive it or even remember it. Yet he had been thrown back in there, like he had never stepped out of it in the first place. I couldn't imagine what it was doing to him and I felt a pang of regret for snapping at him earlier when he'd asked me to free him. And the only thing standing between us was this stupid human and his foolhardy brother.
When it was just the two of us, I could have still bore the thought of it taking this long to release him. But we had a son now. A son who needed his father as much as his mother. A son who needed to be loved in a world that would be cruel to him and would only see him as a Hellion. I wasn't going to let this go on any longer. I rushed back home, to that basement, and forced Sam awake with my fingers gripping his jaw. "Look at this, Sam," I held up my bloodied hand. "Do you know what this is?" His eyes opened and closed, his pupils shrinking to focus on the image before him. "This is your brother. Or what's left of him."
His eyes widened, and then shrunk back from effort as he scrunched up his face, still exhausted from the earlier wound I'd inflicted on him. "I don't believe you."
"Believe it," I rubbed my blood-stained finger on his lips. He struggled to turn away, disgusted. "Smells like him, doesn't it? It's not a hard thing to believe that your brother would be stupid enough to summon me and then demand I hand you over with empty threats, is it? Do you see now, what your tiny little world has become? There's nothing left for you here. You know I can bring your brother back if you wanted. I could give you anything you wanted. All I ask for is one small thing."
A single moment passed as he adjusted his gaze to meet mine. "Screw… you…" he spat out, staring me straight in the eyes, and a smirk spread across his bloodied and battered face.
The wave crashed against the shore. And the shore was crushed, decimated, like Sam's right knee under my steel grasp. What measly indignation he had left devolved into shrieks of pain and I wanted nothing more than to break every bone in his body, heal him and then do it all over again. A million different ideas for torture raced through my mind. This was it. The Darkness. My Darkness. I had never been so close to it before. My Dark essence almost threatened to take over. Perhaps I would have even reverted back to my real form. The only thing that stopped me was the piercing sound of a cry. Luc's cry.
My breath stopped. What's wrong? Is my baby okay? I let out a breath to release myself from anger and shift into 'Mother' mode and hurried upstairs. The sound of Dog barking reached me when I pushed open the basement door and entered the living room. It was night. The house was shrouded in darkness except for the dim yellow lights. The doors were wide open as usual, letting in the cool night breeze. There Luc was, sitting and crying on the front porch. I heaved a sigh of relief, finding that he was unhurt. His wailing quietened to a soft sob as I lifted him up onto my waist. "What's wrong, son?"
It melted my heart to see his eyes glistening with tears and his lips quivering as they did then. Something bad must have been bothering him if a happy child like him was put to tears like this. And I found out why. Shaking, he lifted his arms and a chubby finger pointed into the distance. Suddenly, the loud barking died with a whimper. My head jerked in the direction of the whimper and I was taken aback by what I saw. There, in the darkness and under the dim moonlight, was the figure I had seen earlier when I was with Sam. The dark, mysterious figure who had been too far away to identify. Now he wasn't alone – there was another with him. They both stood as he had before, unmoving, silently staring across the distance at me. I had no idea who these beings were, or what they wanted with me, but from the chilling sensation I felt from seeing them, I guessed that they were a manifestation of something more powerful than I, and I was right to be anxious.
"Dog!" Luc cried. I glanced at a limp bundle on the path between us. Cautiously, I went near it. Its blood shone black in the moonlight and a foul smell came from where its abdomen had been torn open. I gasped. They had killed my dog. Right in front of my son. Luc seemed devastated by the sight. I had never wanted him to see suffering like this. He was just a child – he wasn't ready for this yet. And here he was, faced with the cruel reality of mortality that all terrestrial creatures faced. Surprisingly enough, a learning opportunity presented itself here. Comforting Luc, I laid his hand on Dog's brown fur, instructing him on how to heal. He took in short breaths, still shaken by the sight of the injured creature. I assured him that he could save it if he tried. An understanding gleamed in his eyes and he wiped away his own tears. Eventually, he managed to do it and the mutt breathed again.
"You did it! It'll be fine now," I whispered into his ear as I kissed his forehead, proud of his achievement. Now onto the other mystery. I glanced back at the figures and stifled another gasp. They had moved closer. Now I could see them more clearly. They looked like they were made of stone and had this peculiar armour that reeked of ancient magic. Along with that, they both held long spears in their arms and that's when it clicked for me – these figures matched the descriptions that Lucifer gave me after he had come to release me from the vault. These were the guardians of my vault. They hadn't been there when I'd gone to retrieve my trident from the vault but they were here now. What this all meant was unknown to me.
Leaving Luc with Dog, I approached them with my blade in hand. They were unfazed by my arrival before them. I thought one of them might acknowledge my presence and tell me why they were there, but they simply stood like statues. Finally, I asked, "Why did you kill my dog?"
The figure on the left jerked his head down at me, taking me by surprise. "It was in the way," his low voice said, rumbling from its rocky core.
"It was in the way? You don't just come here and kill my pets, pal!" I snapped. It remained silent. This was getting a bit much for me. I was already mad from trying to break Sam, and now these figures who I didn't know came to do who-knows-what in front of my house. I didn't have patience for this thing's attitude right now. Deep breaths, Sophia, I told myself. "Who are you?"
"We are agents of Khaos."
I waited for him to elaborate but he said nothing. "Okay… what do you want?" I probed.
"Khaos would like to meet you."
"Then why doesn't He come here Himself?"
"He wants you to come with us."
Everything about this was strange. Khaos clearly knew how to find me and talk to me, so why wouldn't He be here? Every time I think I know something about Khaos, He just keeps finding ways to surprise me. I wondered what it would be this time. "Okay," I accepted. Still, the figures remained silent. I sighed. "I'll come!" I emphasised.
"No vessel," the figure said.
"What?"
"No vessel," he repeated.
"Yeah, I heard you the first time!" I crossed my arms. "Why would He ask such a thing of me?"
"I cannot answer you," his tone was monotonous.
"Well, you're not the brightest tool in the shed, are you?"
"I do not understand your question. Please phrase it differently," he instructed.
Another sigh escaped me and I pulled a hand down my face. "Fine. You know what, I'll just get my son and we can go, alright?"
"No son. You alone," he answered.
No… How could Khaos just expect me to leave my son here alone? Well, I guess he wouldn't be completely alone. My vessel will be here. Zara could take care of him. That would have to be enough since I couldn't get one of my friends to be here the whole time, especially with a prisoner in the basement. What about Sam? I couldn't let him die while I was away. His soul would be sent to Heaven and then I wouldn't be able to get his consent. I needed to make arrangements before I left to see Khaos. Begrudgingly, I ran a few quick errands all while grumbling about Khaos to myself.
Sophia's House, Illinois – 4 July 2011, 5.30am
"I've gotten you supplies. Food is in the fridge, clothes are upstairs, there are books on the shelves," I told my vessel.
Are you really going to just leave? I don't know if I even remember how to walk! I heard Zara say to me.
"Don't worry. It'll all come back to you when I leave. You'll be fine," I reassured her. "I don't know how long I'll be gone so I got some things for Sam too. I've put a saline solution into his arm so he'll be hydrated. I just need you to inject a nutrient medium into him once a day." I looked to a syringe kit in which I'd kept the materials needed. "Don't let him die and more importantly, don't loosen his straps."
Uhh… sure thing. I sensed uncertainty.
"What we're doing is important, don't you forget that. Wouldn't want Luc to grow up without a father now, would we?" If there was anything I could trust in her, it was her love for our son. We had birthed him together, after all, and her maternal love was no less than mine. It was something I felt us bonding over and I could sense the authenticity of her affection whenever we looked at him. This was how I knew she would do as I said and let me back in when I came back.
Finally, I picked Luciel up and kissed him all over his face, causing him to squeal excitedly. "Be a good little cherub when Mommy's away, okay?"
"Okay," he answered with the cutest tone possible. I felt reluctant to be away from him. Trusting that he was in good hands, I flew out of my vessel.
A/N:
I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who favourited/followed! Hope you guys are enjoying the ride.
Alright, so finally we get to find out what the hell Khaos wants with Sophia. The next two chapters will be centred around this and Zara's time alone with the baby (and Sam). Things are bound to get interesting for the both of them. Dean and Bobby don't remain idle in the mean time either. As usual, tell me what you think :)
