Chapter 8

The following morning was overcast, and the smell of rain was in the air. Sam rolled over in his bed and listened to the sounds around him. It was still early, but he wasn't getting any more sleep. He was on edge and tense as he got up to take a shower and double check his weapon's bag, hoping Gabriel would be back soon. He came from the bathroom and could smell the aroma of food coming from the kitchen and figured Meg was up. After dressing, he wandered toward the front of cabin.

"I fixed a light meal for you," Meg offered sitting a plate on the table with a cup of instant coffee.

"Did you pack those power bars and a couple bottles of water?" Sam asked as he made a quick sandwich and scarfed it down.

"Yes, and the first aid kit. Do you have any idea what we're going to be walking into?"

"None. Let's just hope where Gabriel sends us is not in the middle of some monster's lair or clubhouse."

"Now would I do that to you Kiddo?" Gabriel asked popping into the kitchen, making Meg jump back and putting Sam between her and Gabriel. She was still cautious around the archangel knowing his powers.

"Don't worry sweetcakes," Gabriel addressed Meg. "I'm not going to zap you. I think Samsquatch over there will need you in his quest. I'm counting on him to get our brothers out of Purgatory."

"What do we have to do?" Sam asked as his anxiety started to rise.

"Relax Bucko, you've got this, and I have a little gift for you," Gabriel said stepping closer to Sam and snapping his fingers. He held out an angel blade for him to take.

"An angel blade?" Sam questioned taking the silver blade and feeling a slight vibration in it. It seemed to warm with his touch instead of being cold like metal usually was.

"This will kill any monsters in Purgatory, including Leviathan. I figured it wouldn't hurt to have an ace in the hole."

"Thanks, I guess." Sam stored the blade in his pack before turning back to Gabriel. "Now what?"

"Do you have weapons to give to that one and Dean when you find him?" Gabriel asked nodding to Meg who glared back at being called that one. "Maybe some that has long range since there are things there you don't want to touch with a ten-foot pole."

"Yes. Can you tell us what to expect once we're there?"

"Well, it's a world full of monsters who's only purpose is to kill or be killed. There's no cravings for them there, so, they have nothing better to do but kill each other."

"Great! Do they have memories of how they got there? Of whom killed them, for example?"

"I guess, I've not ever been there, of course. You just need to watch your backs. I don't know how long it'll take you to find our lost family."

"I know," Sam mumbled as he looked around the kitchen. "Once we find Dean and Cas, how do we get out of Purgatory?"

"Now that's a little more complicated," Gabriel told him. "There's a spell that you will need to preform that will open a portal for you to come through. It will only be opened for a few minutes, so no lingering about. And it would be a good idea to do it where nothing else can follow you back to this world."

"Tell me how to do it," Sam ordered.

"I have it all written down here," Gabriel replied pulling a scroll from a pocket and a leather bag from another. "And here are the ingredients, except for one."

"Okay, what other ingredient do I need?" Sam handed Meg a machete to strap onto her belt as he did the same. He slipped knives into his pockets and a gun into the small of his back. He nodded as Meg picked up a gun and slipped it into her jacket pocket.

"Angel grace, specifically my grace." Gabriel opened his hand to show a vial of white, swirling liquid moving slowly inside. "With a little of Cassie's grace combined with mine should create the portal back to Earth."

"Got it." Sam took a small tin and put the scroll, leather bag, and vial of angel grace he wrapped in a bandanna into it. He put it in an inside jacket pocket in case he lost his pack. After patting his jacket, he felt it was safe enough to make the journey.

"So, whatever you do, don't lose those things or you're stuck there. The portal is only one way once you go through it, you can't come back that way and it will only be opened, like I said, for a few minutes."

"Alright, I think I'm ready. C'mon Meg, grab your pack. Where are we doing this?"

"Outside would be the best place. Oh, one other thing," Gabriel noted as they walked from the cabin. "When you come back, I'm not sure where that will be."

"Doesn't matter as long as we make it back."

"Well, that's up to you Sammy. You're smart and know how to defend yourself. Pray to me when you get back. I wanna see that Cassie is alright." Gabriel stepped away from them and bent to rake away the leaves so he could draw sigils on the ground in front of them. He stood and spoke in Enochian as he cut his palm, letting a small amount of grace flow out and drip onto the sigils. They began to glow and change color before suddenly a light blinded them for a moment and a thin opening about seven feet tall and a foot wide that shimmered and seemed to be alive appeared between the sigils. "You better hurry."

Sam grabbed Meg's arm and quickly walked toward the shimmering apparition, holding his breath as he moved through it. He could feel a dampness, like morning mist, caress his skin and he closed his eyes. All too soon the sensation was gone and the air around him seemed heavy and musty smelling.

"I think we're here," Meg whispered looking around at the surroundings and taking in Purgatory.

Sam opened his eyes and let them adjust to the hazy, dim light and slowly turned a three sixty circle to survey the surrounding area. There was no color to the place. It was all dull shades of grays, tans, browns, and blacks. The trees and bushes seemed deformed and stunted in growth. The ground was dry and cracked like there had been no rain there in a long time. Sam couldn't tell if it was morning, afternoon, or night since he couldn't see the sky overhead. There were no sounds of insects or birds or anything alive that he could hear. He caught a very faint noise off in the distant that sounded like a river.

"We should move from here," Meg mumbled, pulling out her machete. "And better try to use these so we won't attract as much attention."

"You're probably right," Sam agreed. He pulled out his machete and started to walk through the brush and trees. "Cas, if you can hear me, it's Sam. I've come to get you and Dean out. I don't know where we are, but I think I hear the sound of running water somewhere nearby. If you know where the river is head that way. I hope Dean is with you."

"You think he heard you?" Meg asked as she kept her head moving back and forth checking for danger as she strained to hear.

"I don't know, I hope so," Sam told her in a quiet voice. He didn't like the feel of the place. The air felt heavy and pressed in on his body, but he hoped to get used to it and it wouldn't hamper his fighting abilities. The overall feel of this place made his skin crawl and he tried to stay hyper alert knowing they could be attacked at any time.

They moved quietly through the wasteland, trying to keep a straight course toward the river sounds. Sam used the machete to mark their path to be sure they didn't get turned around since landmarks were hard to discern. They seemed to have been walking forever and the river didn't sound any closer. No warning came, when two monsters sprang from the brush to attack them.

Sam was driven to the ground but got the machete up in time for the vampire to spear himself on it. He screeched his pain and anger as Sam quickly rolled him off the top of him. He jerked the blade from its body and brought it down with a mightily swoosh to take the head off. He looked over at Meg and saw she had sliced off one arm of her attacker and was spinning around to connect with the neck and almost took the head off. With one more hard swing, the monster was down and not getting back up.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm not some weakling female; the bastard tried to bite me," Meg grunted looking at her torn shirt. "And this was one of my favorites."

"Come on, we better keep moving. The fight might have drawn others this way."

Meg fell in behind Sam as they continued it the direction of the rushing water sounds, hoping to find the river soon. She didn't know how long they had been walking but she kept an eye on Sam when she heard him huffing and panting and saw sweat running down his face. He stumbled but caught himself and knew she needed to intervene.

"Okay, we need to stop for a minute to catch our breath," Meg told him looking around and grabbing his arm to lead him to a sheltered spot under a tree with a cluster of boulders at their backs. "You're not going to help your brother or my angel if you keel over from exhaustion, and you need to be able to fight. We've been lucky so far and not ran across any more monsters."

Sam dropped to the ground breathing hard and accepted the bottle of water she thrust into his hands. He put the cold bottle to his forehead to cool off before opening it and taking a small sip. He's surprised that he's not actually hungry or thirsty and figures this place does something to you to void the need for it. He pulls a bandanna out and pours a little water over it to wipe his face and neck, thinking it felt like heaven. He looks at the bottle to see a chunk of ice floating around in the water and realizes Meg must have taken part of the water out and froze it the night before and then added the water back. He looked at her with appreciation and respect that she would have even thought of that.

"The water sound seems closer now," Meg mumbled keeping her voice low. This place seemed to carry sound better than it should since they had not found the river yet.

Sam cocked his head and closed his eyes as he picked up on the few noises that were around them. He could hear a faint rustle of parched leaves in the tops of the trees, but the breeze didn't reach to the ground. It seemed to stay well above them. He stiffened when a branch cracking nearby meant there was someone out there. He looked to Meg and saw she heard it and quickly closed her water bottle so she could pick up her machete. He followed suit and gripped his blade tightly in his right hand afraid to move for fear of giving their position away. Shuffled footsteps moved away from them as whatever it was hadn't found them. Sam let out the breath he was holding and tried to relax a little before taking another small sip of water, and then handing the bottle back to Meg to put into the cold bag in her pack.

They stay there for a little longer and Sam looked at his watch but knew it wasn't working here, that time moves differently in this place. He thinks it should be dark by now but there is only a slight change in the sky like darkness never really comes here. He wasn't sure if that was an advantage or problem. He didn't need to eat or drink but would he need to sleep? His body was tired, but it seemed the urge to actually sleep wasn't there.

"We should get going now," Sam told Meg as he stood and steadied himself on the boulder behind him. He let the dizziness pass and rolled his shoulders as he slowly stepped from their hiding place. He looked for a tree and cut a groove into it down low where it wouldn't be noticed as easily by the monsters.

"Watch yourself," Meg offered. "We can stop for a few minutes now and then. Get our bearings." She didn't want to come out and tell him she was worried about him. He was driven and wouldn't stop until he found his brother.

"I'm fine," Sam insisted as he used his bandanna to wipe his face again and draped it around his neck since it was still cool. He would pause to listen every so often, trying to keep the rushing sound of water in front of them. It happened without warning, what meager light they had was suddenly sucked away leaving them in a twilight world that was not completely dark but not light either.

"What just happened?" Meg asked stepping closer to him as she looked around in the shadows that had gotten darker and deeper.

"I think this is night around here," Sam replied. He started moving again but at a slower pace since he couldn't see as far ahead now. He strained his ears to hear any movement in the shadows knowing now would be the perfect time to attack.

"Maybe we should find a place to stop until it gets light again," Meg suggested jumping when a loud crash sounded off to the left but not close. She didn't scare that easily, but they didn't know what to expect here and had to stay on high alert.

"Up ahead, I think that might work," Sam agreed seeing what looked like a useable location. He headed for it and checked it out before nodding it would work. It was a little tight, but the closeness seemed to keep them calm. They huddled together in the bushes and waited for what was considered day to come.

A/N: Sam and Meg get their first look at Purgatory and are welcomed with monsters attacking them. Will they find Dean and Castiel? Throwing a twist your way in the next chapter. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Reviews/Comments are welcome. NC