EPOV
The four of us were together again, in Bobby's study, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
"So, they're all people we know?" Sam asked.
"Not just know. People we couldn't save," Dean answered as he loaded his gun before pausing as if remembering something. "Hey, I saw something on Meg. Did she have a tattoo when she was alive?"
Sam shook his head. "I don't think so."
"It was like a-a mark on her hand." Dean gestured to his own hand. "Almost like a brand."
Sam's eyes went wide. "I saw a mark on her, too."
Bobby straightened from where he'd been leaning over his desk. "What did it look like?"
"Uh, paper?" Sam took the notepad Bobby offered and drew a quick sketch of the mark. Once he was done he showed it to Dean.
"That's it." Dean gave a short nod.
Sam turned to show Bobby, who took the notepad. "I may have seen this before." Reaching for a few things on the desk, he nodded to the doorway right as the light began to flicker. "We got to move. Follow me."
"Okay, where are we going?" Sam asked as Bobby handed him a few things.
Pausing for a moment, Bobby looked to him. "Some place safe, you idiot." Getting back to it, Bobby grabbed some more things before he hurried out of the room.
Sam was right behind Bobby, with Dean and I close behind. We walked into the basement, heading towards a large, heavy, metal door. With his hands full Bobby couldn't open the it, so I stepped forward to do it for him, letting the guys in first.
It was dark in the room, the only light coming from the large air vent in the roof- which had a fan in it. Once I was inside I flicked the light on so the brothers could see where they were.
The room was completely made out of iron, and covered in pentagrams with a large Devil's trap on the ground. On one side, the walls were lined with a range of weapons. The other side had a bed, a desk that stuck out into the middle of the room, a couch and then a shorter desk that ran along the wall.
As I closed and locked the door, the brothers looked around in amazement.
"Bobby, is this-"
Bobby answered before Sam couldn't finish, "Solid iron. Completely coated in salt. One hundred percent ghost-proof."
Sam looked impressed. "You built a panic room?"
"We had a weekend off." Bobby shrugged.
"'We'?" Dean asked.
I nodded, moving over to take the things from Sam. "I'm more than just a pretty face, Winchester."
Grinning, Dean shook his head as he looked form me to Bobby. "You guys are awesome," he chuckled, grabbing one of the guns off the wall.
...
I sat on the couch, my legs stretched across it as I read the book in my hands. Bobby was at one of the desks reading as well, while Sam and Dean were at the other desk preparing some rock salt ammunition just in case we'd have to leave the safety of the bunker. Which chances are, we'd end up out there again.
"See, this is why I can't get behind God."
I looked away from the book and over to Dean, seeing him frustrated and annoyed.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked before I had a chance to.
"If he doesn't exist, fine." Dean shrugged. "Bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is. There's no rhyme or reason. Just random, horrible, evil. I get it, okay. I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself? You know, why doesn't he help?"
He had some good points. But if I was being honest, this wouldn't be the first time I've wondered that. Growing up with a religious mother, I was taught not to question things. But after losing my dad and having a pretty rough life, I always wondered why. Then as I got older I just couldn't understand how 'God' could put us on Earth and just leave us like he had. He was the ultimate dead-beat dad.
Instead of responding to Dean, Sam looked over at me before the two of us turned to Bobby, waiting for him to give Dean an explanation or something. Unfortunately, his response wasn't what I'd been hoping for.
He shook his head. "I ain't touching this one with a ten-foot pole." Turning back to his book, he taped his pencil on the page. "Found it."
At least he had something.
Pulling myself up, I moved over to take a look at what he'd found. "The brand is called the Mark of the Witness," I told the guys, reading of the page.
"Witness?" Sam asked, confused. "Witness to what?"
"The unnatural," Bobby answered. "None of them died what you'd call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts, they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They were like rabid dogs. It ain't their fault. Someone rose them... on purpose. "
As Sam opened his mouth to speak, I cut him off. "And before you ask, there's no way to tell who rose them."
"But whoever it was used a spell so powerful it left a mark, a brand on their souls," Bobby noted. "Whoever did this had big plans. It's called 'the rising of the witnesses'. It figures into an ancient prophecy."
"Wait, wait." Shaking his head, Dean stood from his chair and walked over to Bobby and I- Sam followed after a moment. "What- what book is that prophecy from?"
Turning away from the table, I looked to Dean as I answered. "Revelations."
"This is a sign, boys," Bobby started.
"A sign of what?" both brothers asked at the same time.
"The apocalypse."
DPOV
"Apocalypse?" I gave a short chuckle. "As in 'apocalypse', apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence, five-dollars-a-gallon-gas apocalypse?"
"No, the other apocalypse." The sarcasm dripped off Liz's tone.
"The rise of the witnesses is a- a mile marker," Bobby explained.
Sam nodded, clearly ready to get to work. "Okay, so, what do we do now?"
I scoffed, turning around and moving back to the desk. "Road trip. Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience." Clapping my hands, I pointed to Sam. "BunnyRanch."
"First things first. How about we survive our friends out there?" Bobby suggested.
Giving a short nod, I sat down and turned to Bobby. "Great. Any ideas aside from staying in this room until Judgment Day?"
"It's a spell," he gestured to the book again, "to send the witnesses back to rest. Should work."
"Should." Sam gave a short laugh. "Great."
"If I translate it correctly."
"Which you will," Liz assured him. Looking down at the book, she nodded. "And we've got all the ingredients in the house. So this will work."
"Any chance you got everything we need here in this room?" I asked with a small smile, hopeful but also doubtful.
Bobby turned to me with a raised eyebrow and slight frown. "So, you thought our luck was gonna start now all of a sudden? Spell's got to be cast over an open fire."
"The fireplace in the library," Sam noted.
I looked around the bunker, not feeling too good about this plan. "That's just not as appealing as a, uh, ghost-proof panic room, you know?"
EPOV
Haven't heard from you since my text...
Just stay safe, okay?
Love you xox
- T
I looked down at my phone for the millionth time, wondering if and how I should respond to the message I'd looked at a million times by now. I felt so guilty for not sending a message back. But at the same time, I couldn't lie and wouldn't tell the truth. So radio silence was the best option for now.
"Hey." Dean came over to me, offer a gun. He frowned as I quickly slipped my phone into my pocket. "You get a message or something? Everything okay?" he asked, nodding to my phone.
"As good as it can be when the ghosts of people we couldn't save are trying to kill us." I shrugged, taking the gun. "And yeah, I got a message from a friend. Letting me know they were safe."
Before he could say anything else, I started for the door, ready to get out of here. The bunker might have been the safest place, but it was small and confined. I'd never really been one for small spaces, but that's what happens when you've got a slight fear of them.
"Cover each other," Bobby told us as he got ready to leave. "And aim careful. Don't run out of ammo until I'm done, or they'll shred you." He came to stand by me at the door, looking to the three of us. "Ready?"
I gave a short nod. "Ready."
Opening the door, Bobby looked around before he stepped out. We all had our guns ready, the four of us heading for the stairs. I knew the brothers were right behind me, always were in times like this.
As we turned to start up the stairs, we all came to a stop. Sitting there, on top of the steps, was a guy- a dead guy. He would have been in his early twenties with curly hair. I remembered him for a shapeshifter case we did. It was Ronald.
He lifted his head and smiled at us. "Hey, Dean. You remember me?"
Dean, who stepped in front of the rest of us, looked up at him. "Ronald, huh? With the laser eyes? I wish I could say it's good to see you."
"I am dead because of you," Ronald started, getting to his feet. "You were supposed to help me!"
Suddenly Bobby raised his gun and shot at him. Once Ronald was gone Dean turned to Bobby, who simply shrugged. "If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk."
With the path cleared, we continued. One by one we headed up to the first floor, keeping an eye out for any movement. The moment we were in the study, the four of us got to work.
Sam and I started on making a salt circle surrounding the desk, while Dean moved to the fireplace and Bobby collected everything he needed that was in the room.
Turning to Sam, Bobby stopped him for a moment. "Upstairs, linen closet. Red hex box. It'll be heavy."
"Got it." With a short nod, the youngest Winchester rushed out of the room.
I finished the rest of the salt circle on my own. The moment it was done I looked up to see two girls standing in front of me. I recognised them... not just from the yard earlier when Sam and I found Bobby and stopped the girls from killing him. Years ago, one of the first Bobby and I had been on, the thing we'd been hunting... it got to the girls before we could get to it. We'd lost them.
I froze with guilt, unable to look away from them.
"Elizabeth," one spoke.
"You walked right by us while that monster ate us all up," the other added.
The first one spoke again, "You could have saved us."
A gun shot went off, the bullet hitting the girls and sending them away.
Looking over my eyes locked onto Dean's. He watched me a moment longer to make sure I was okay. With a short nod to reassure and thank him, he then got back to work.
Bobby stepped up to me, needing something else that wasn't in the study or the safety of the salt circle. "Kitchen. Cutlery drawer. It's got a false bottom. Hemlock, opium, wormwood."
"On it." I nodded, hurrying to the kitchen to get the things he needed.
SPOV
I opened the closet door, finding the red box Bobby asked for in an instant. As I reached for it I stopped at the sound of Meg's voice.
"You know what really pisses me off, Sam?"
I turned and aimed to shoot her, but she disappeared before I had a chance.
"You saw how I suffered for months." She appeared behind me. "I thought you must have learned something." I turned to aim at her, but froze at the broken look in her eyes. "I thought I died for something."
"Meg-"
"But what you're doing with that demon, Ruby... how many innocent bodies has Ruby burned through for kicks? How many girls just like me? And you don't send her back to Hell? You're a monster!"
Maybe she was right, maybe she was wrong. I didn't know if what I was doing was the right thing to do. Hunting and killing demons alongside Ruby- a demon. It sure as hell didn't seem right. But if that's what I had to do to make a difference, then that's what I was going to keep doing.
Raising my gun again, I shot Meg.
EPOV
I knew where all the hiding places were in the house. I knew where Bobby kept things. So finding the false bottom in one of the drawers was easy. In a matter of minutes, I had everything Bobby asked for.
Turning, I was maybe two or three steps away from the study when the doors slammed shut.
"Liz?!"
"Lizzie?!"
Both Dean and Bobby were clearly worried about me. I could hear it in their voices. But as I went to open the doors and they wouldn't budge, I knew there was nothing they could do for me, so there was no need to worry them further.
"I'm all right! Just keep working!" I told them, even though my gut was telling me I was definitely not all right.
"Hey, Lizzie."
I spun around to see Ronald standing in the middle of the room.
"Ronald." Giving a weak smile, I reached over to place the ingredients on the table. "Hey, come on. You don't wanna do this. I thought we were friends."
"That's when I was breathing." He slowly started towards me. "Now I'm gonna eat you alive."
Raising my hand, I flung Ronald across the room. "Look, Ron, I don't want to hurt you. You're a good guy, really. But if you give me no other choice..." I shrugged at him as he turned to me again.
He suddenly disappeared, but I knew better than to think he was gone. No way was he giving up that easily.
Where are you?
Scanning the room, I tried to stay prepared for whenever and wherever he was going to pop up. Unfortunately, I don't have eyes at the back of my head and therefore didn't see him appear behind me… but I felt it.
His hand pushed through my back and into my chest, grabbing and squeezing my heart.
Everything in me tensed as it went into panic mode. It was as if I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. My body didn't know what to do as his grip on my heart tightened. He was killing me and I could do nothing.
"Why do you deserve to live and not me?!" he yelled, squeezing more and more. "Why?! It's not fair!"
"Liz!" Dean was on the other side of the door, knocking on it, trying to get through. "Elizabeth!"
Movement at the other doorway caught my attention as Sam walked in, raised his gun and shot at Ronald.
The moment Ronald was gone I took a deep breath and fell to the ground, my body still in shock and unable to do much.
"Hey." Sam hurried to help me up. "You alright?"
I shook my head, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as I now stood again. "No."
"Let's go." His arm wrapped around my waist as he moved for the doors to the study.
Lifting a hand, I opened them with my mind, seeing as Dean still couldn't get them open himself. The moment the doors opened, Dean was there, making sure I was okay as he looked me over with a worried expression.
"You okay?" he asked, looking me over.
"I'll be fine," I insisted, nodding to the table. "Sam, give that stuff to Bobby."
When Sam hesitated, still clearly concerned for me, Dean looked to his brother. "I got her. You help Bobby."
Once Sam's hold on me was replaced by Dean's arm, the two of us moved over to the couch in the study while Sam hurried to hand Bobby everything he needed. Feeling a little better, I helped Dean reload the guns, knowing the ghosts would be back, and soon.
As soon as all the ingredients were together, Bobby lifted the book and began to recite some Latin words, reading the spell.
The windows blew open as a wind filled the room, blowing everything around. I looked down at the ground, watching as the salt began to move until it was no longer in the form of a circle and we were no longer protected.
All the ghosts appeared, one by one. We all shot at them as Bobby kept reading. Sam, Dean and I knew that at this point, no matter what, we had to make sure Bobby finished the spell or none of us would make it through the night.
DPOV
We were out of bullets. I'd managed to grab an iron rod to use, but before Sam or Liz could find weapons, the ghosts attacked.
Ronald pushed a desk towards Sam which then pushed him against the wall, holding him there. The two girls went for Liz, pushing her against the other wall so her chest was pressed against it- that way she couldn't see them, and couldn't use her powers to send them flying.
"Liz! Sam!"
"Cover Bobby!" Sam called as he tried to break himself free.
Before anyone could say or do anything else, Bobby stopped reading and started to groan in pain.
I turned to see Meg standing behind him, her hand reaching into his back, grasping at his heart in his chest. She was killing him.
He lost grip on the bowl filled with the spell ingredients. "Dean!"
Diving for it, I managed to catch the bowl before any of its contents could spill.
"Fireplace!"
With an order from Bobby, I tossed the ingredients into the fireplace and watched as it all burned a bright blue before the light grew so much I had to look away. The whole room glowed as the fire's energy burned the ghosts away, setting them free from the curse that lifted them.
Once the ghosts were gone, Bobby was free from Meg's grasp and fell to the ground.
"Bobby?" I crawled over to make sure he was okay.
Liz hurried over as well, dropping to her knees by his side. "Bobby, you okay?"
He didn't say anything, but gave a tired nod. He was okay. We all were.
...
I'd been asleep, on the floor in a makeshift bed I'd put together with some blankets and pillows Liz had given me. Sam was on the couch while Liz and Bobby were in their rooms upstairs. We'd all pretty much crashed after everything.
What woke me was a feeling, of being watched.
Opening my eyes, I turned my head to look over into the kitchen. Sure enough, standing there, leaning against the counter, was Castiel.
I looked over to make sure Sam was still asleep before I got up and headed over to the angel.
"Excellent job with the witnesses."
I frowned, coming to stop a few steps away from him. "You were hip to all this?"
"I was, uh… made aware."
His response and the fact he knew about it all, pissed me off. "Well, thanks a lot for the angelic assistance. You know, my friends almost got their hearts ripped out of their chests."
"But they didn't," he responded as if it were that simple.
"I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos. You know, Michael Landon. Not dicks."
I swear he looked smug as he looked at me and spoke again. "Read the Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."
That's bullshit. "Yeah? Then, why didn't you fight?"
"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had larger concerns."
"Concerns? There were people getting torn to shreds down here!" I exclaimed, keeping my voice low so I wouldn't wake anyone. "And, by the way, while all this is going on, where the hell is your boss, huh, if there is a God?"
"There's a God."
"I'm not convinced. 'Cause if there's a God, what the hell is he waiting for, huh? Genocide? Monsters roaming the earth? The freaking apocalypse? At what point does he lift a damn finger and help the poor bastards that are stuck down here?"
"The Lord works-"
I cut him off, "If you say, 'in mysterious ways,' so help me, I will kick your ass." He looked away and shrugged in defeat. It was then I realised what he'd meant before. About the concerns. "So, Bobby was right... about the witnesses. This is some kind of a... sign of the apocalypse."
"That's why we're here. Big things afoot."
"Do I want to know what kind of things?"
"I sincerely doubt it, but you need to know. The rising of the witnesses is one of the 66 seals."
"Okay. I'm guessing that's not a show at Seaworld."
"Those seals are being broken by Lilith."
At least that part I understood. "She did the spell. She rose the witnesses."
He nodded. "Mm-hmm. And not just here. Twenty other hunters are dead."
"Of course. She picked victims that the hunters couldn't save so that they would barrel right after us."
"Lilith has a certain sense of humour."
"Well, we put those spirits back to rest."
"It doesn't matter. The seal was broken."
"Why break the seal anyway?"
"You think of the seals as locks on a door."
"Okay. Last one opens and...?"
He pushed off the counter and turned to face me completely. "Lucifer walks free."
"Lucifer?" I shook my head. "I thought Lucifer was just a story they told at demon Sunday school. There's no such thing."
"Three days ago, you thought there was no such thing as me," he noted. "Why do you think we're here walking among you now for the first time in two thousand years?"
"To stop Lucifer."
"That's why we've arrived."
Lucifer. The Devil. Satan himself. Nothing good was going to come out of this. If he got out, it would more than likely end everything and everyone. Not just the people I cared about. Everything would be gone. It had to be the scariest things I could think of, Lucifer rising and returning to Earth.
"Well..." I tried to cover up my fear and shock by replacing it with disappointment as I looked to Castiel again. "Bang-up job so far. Stellar work with the witnesses. That's nice."
"We tried. And there are other battles, other seals. Some we'll win, some we'll lose. This one we lost." He stepped closer to me, getting into my personal space- I suddenly didn't feel too tough. "Our numbers are not unlimited. Six of my brothers died in the field this week. You think the armies of Heaven should just follow you around? There's a bigger picture here." He leaned in a little closer. "You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in." with that, he vanished, leaving me to think about everything he'd just said.
I was just threatened... by an angel. Could this night get any worse?
EPOV
Popping a pill into my mouth, I took a quick drink of water- finishing what was left in the glass on the table by my bed- before I grabbed my bag and hurried out of my room. After rushing to and down the stairs and walking into the kitchen, I moved over to the pantry and pulled out a granola bar out of it.
"So... you got no problem believing in... God and Angels?" I heard Dean ask Sam as the two of them sat in the study.
"No, not really," Sam answered.
"So, I guess that means that you believe in the Devil."
"Why are you asking me all this?"
When there was a long pause, and Dean didn't respond, I walked into the room, my duffle bag over my shoulder. "When Bobby wakes up tell him I'll call him later." Turning, I started for the front door.
"Where are you going?" Dean called, stopping me before I could leave.
"Uh..." Thinking of a quick lie, I looked over at the brothers with a shrug. "That friend that sent me a message yesterday, I'm just gonna go check up on them. Make sure everything's okay."
The look on Sam's face told me in an instant that he knew I was lying, and that he knew the truth. Still, instead of ratting me out, he covered for me. "Okay, just call us when you get there. Let us know if you get into any trouble."
"Will do." I smiled, hurrying out of the house before Dean could stop me again.
I knew I couldn't keep this up for much longer, keeping all these secrets from him. But during the four months he'd spent in Hell things had changed, and I just didn't know how to tell him...
Bamby