After catching his breath, Sam spoke. "Do you think he was telling the truth? About Zachariah taking Carly and Dean?"
"He had no reason to lie. It is quite possible they sensed what we were doing to the horsemen and followed us," Castiel said.
"Where would Zachariah take them?"
"There's one place I know of but it will be guarded by every angel they have."
"So, how are we going to get them back?"
"I say we defeat Pestilence and then go for them."
"Are you out of your mind?" Sam asked, anger rising inside himself. "Getting them back is more important than some damn horseman."
"We both know it isn't. The angels won't kill them and we have an open window. If we don't take it now, we may not get another chance. Dean and Carly can handle themselves," Castiel insisted.
"What if the angels just kill them?" Sam asked.
"They wouldn't, especially since Dean and Carly are possible vessels. They were taken to try and convince them to say yes. As long as they hold off until we get there, we can turn the tides. With three of the four rings, we will have the upper hand. We get the third ring and then go for them. It's the best move," Castiel explained.
"But Dean has the other two rings," Sam said.
"No, he doesn't," Castiel said, revealing the two rings in his hand. "I took them before our departure."
"I don't know about this…" Sam worried.
Castiel stepped forward and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. "We can do this. I know we can."
Zachariah left the two to think over his words. When he vanished, the room got deadly quiet. Both contemplating what they would do and how the hell they planned to get out of this room.
Dean paced back and forth as Carly sat at the table with her head in her hands. She sat like this for quite a while until she rose to her feet, slamming her palms onto the glass surface of the table. Dean stopped walking when the sound echoed through the room.
"I'm going to say yes," Carly muttered.
"Carly, you can't," Dean insisted.
"And why can't I?" Carly snapped, causing Dean to jump. "Even if we get out of here and continue with our plan, Sam or I must go to hell with Lucifer. If it has to be one of us, it'll be me. I say yes and then you three can get the rest of the rings. You can defeat him."
"Then you'll die."
"Yeah, well it's better than killing you," Carly said, meeting his gaze. "It's either let Lucifer possess me and I'm thrown into the pit saving everyone else or let him possess me as Michael possesses you and I take the risk of watching myself kill you."
"There has to be something else we can do." Dean insisted, his hands rising into the air before slamming back down against his thighs. "As long as we say no, they can't do anything to us. They need us to say yes and they can't kill us because we're too important. If we hold off, Sam and Castiel can get us out."
"Dean that doesn't change the fact Sam or I will be going to hell! Don't you get that?" Carly yelled, getting up from the table.
"If you both say no, Lucifer will have to find another vessel," Dean said.
Carly shook her head. "Oh, so you want to throw an innocent soul into Hell, is that it?"
"It's better than losing either of you," Dean admitted.
"That's selfish, Dean."
"I've been to Hell and I could not imagine you going through the same thing I did. I couldn't handle knowing you were being tormented in such a tragic way."
"It's not your choice," Carly muttered, grabbing at her stomach.
She gasped as her legs turned to jelly. Dean saw this and appeared behind her, catching Carly before she hit the floor. As he caught her, he saw the pained expression on her face.
"What's happening?" Dean asked.
"She's hungry." Dean looked up to see Zachariah leaned up against the wall. "Time works differently in this place. She hasn't fed in about eight hours or so and since she just unlocked her powers, her hunger is more ferocious than that of Sam. She'll need more blood soon or she'll be in agony. It's possible she could detox fully but that didn't work too well for Sam, did it?"
"What is it you want?"
"You know exactly what I want. If you agree to let Michael possess you, I will get the blood Carly needs and she'll be free of pain. Simple as that," Zachariah said.
"No…" Carly grunted, gritting her teeth. "Don't."
"It's your choice, Dean. Let Michael possess you and save Carly or don't and watch Carly writhe in pain. It's all up to you."
After disposing of the demons' bodies, Castiel and Sam went straight to where Pestilence was hiding. Having more of a plan would've made things easier, but they were in a time crunch. The faster they defeated Pestilence, the sooner they could go get Dean and Carly. They just had to hope neither said yes by the time they got there.
They stopped in front of a skyscraper at least twenty stories high. The second they took a step inside this gutwrenching pain erupted in both of them. The closer they got to the elevator, the stronger the pain became.
The entire lobby was empty, aside from a dead guy behind the main desk who looked almost like a zombie from The Walking Dead. Sam pushed the button to the elevator and the doors slid open, a body falling on the floor in front of them.
The two stepped over the body and into the elevator, pushing it further into the lobby so the doors would close. They didn't truly know where Pestilence was situated but the head offices were on the top floor, so that is the button Sam pushed.
As the elevator rose higher up into the building, the feeling got worse and worse, which meant they were heading in the right direction. Castiel never got sick due to his angelic grace but this horseman affected him just the same as it did Sam. They both had a runny nose, blurry vision, felt cold yet hot, and their limbs were weak almost numb.
They knew this battle would not be easy, especially after the elevator doors opened and the two collapsed onto the floor. Sam and Castiel grabbed the fake walls around the cubicles and pulled themselves back up. Each step felt as if cinderblocks were tied to their feet.
As they walked further into the office space, men came out of nowhere with knives in hand. They looked healthy or at least a lot better than Sam and Castiel looked. The two tried to fight the five men off but in their weakened state, they only got through three before having their weapons knocked from their grasp and their hands pinned behind their backs.
The two were escorted toward the biggest office and thrown onto the floor. The door was closed by the two men as they went to stand in front of it. Sam and Castiel looked at one another before gazing at the man leaning against the desk. He had a suit of high quality and shoes to match. His arms were crossed and an annoyed expression was plastered across his face; they'd found him.
"Where's the rest of the Scooby Gang?" Pestilence asked with a low gruff voice.
"Dealing with baddies much scarier than you," Sam replied.
Pestilence nodded as one of the demons grabbed Sam by the back of his arms and lifted him to his feet. Once held in place, Pestilence moved back from the desk and stood mere inches from Sam.
"Oh I am quite scary," Pestilence said.
Sam shook his head. "No, you make those around you sick. Sure it sucks but scary isn't the word I would use."
"You're just as brave as everyone says, Sam Winchester."
"I do my best."
Pestilence nods again before the demon lets go of Sam's arms and slams his elbow into his back. Sam fell face forward back onto the floor. As he hit the floor, Pestilence laughed.
"Your best won't be good enough this time around. You're weakened due to being in my presence and half your friends are god knows where else. Coming here was not your smartest move," Pestilence explained.
"Well, I've never been the brightest bulb," Sam said.
"That is evident." Pestilence said, looking from Sam and Castiel to the demons. "Kill them."
The demon standing behind Sam smiled. "Gladly."
The two demons lifted Sam and Castiel up by the back of their shirts before throwing them into the wall, cracking the paint. Both got up onto their wobbly feet, punching toward the demons only to miss entirely. The demon in front of Sam sucker-punched him straight in the face, breaking his nose. Meanwhile, the demon in front of Castiel hit him in the gut and elbowed him in the back so he collapsed onto the floor.
The demon grabbed Sam by the throat and began to squeeze, Sam's face turning red. Castiel saw this and had the chance to grab the weapon he hid in his sock and sliced the back of the demon's ankle. He let go of Sam and stumbled backward as Castiel threw the blade up to Sam, allowing him to stab the demon in the chest.
When he hit the floor, the other demon left Castiel and went for Sam. The two fought one another, the blade flying out of Sam's hand. Castiel stumbled forward and grabbed the blade and embedded it into the demon's back.
When his body went limp, Sam and Castiel looked toward Pestilence who had not moved since the fight began. The two shared a look before lunging at Pestilence. Touching him made their skin tingle and ache but they held him down as Sam cut his finger off.
Pestilence fell to the floor as he turned to dust. The strength returned to Sam and Castiel as Sam handed the ring to Cas who put it in his pocket with the rest of the rings. He then placed his hand upon Sam's forward to heal his broken nose and other injuries.
"You ready?" Castiel asked.
"Yeah, let's go get Dean and Carly."