Seven Devils
Chapter 8 / Wham Bam Shang-a-Lang
"Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."
— Book of Revelation 8:5
It looked like one of those suspenseful standoffs from Westerns. Only the man — Carver Endlund — was still on the phone ordering hookers and Marlene...well, she didn't have a gun. Or much of anything. With that in mind, she eyed a hanger on the couch and made a grab for it. Marley pointed the "weapon" at the strange man in what was supposed to be a threatening manner. He hung up the phone.
"H-heey," Edlund drawled in a shaky voice, hands raised in surrender. He's not particularly scared of the hanger but rather of what the girl could do to him with it.
"Who the hell are you?"
"This is my house," he told her. Suddenly, his eyes went wide, "Are you an angel?"
Marlene wanted to burst out laughing. "No," she answered, insulted by the assumption. And then asked, suddenly suspicious, "Are you?"
"No. I'm a writer."
Marley looked around at the whole mess, "Yeah, I can tell." She had to hope that Castiel hadn't dropped her off in the middle of nowhere, at some sexually depraved stranger's house. Was he one of the hunters? A friend of Dean's?
"Why are you here? Who are you?" "Carver Edlund" sounded extremely panicked, "Are you a fan? Listen, this is not okay, I'm going to call the police —"
"No!" she instantly screamed, startling the poor guy, "No police, please." Marley put the hanger neatly on the couch and extended her hand, "I'm...Marlene. A linguist."
Hesitantly, "Carver Edlund" reached out his right hand to shake it. Marlene eyed it suspiciously, then looked up at the guy, remembering his conversation on the phone. They had a mutual understanding. He cleared his throat and withdrew the hand in humiliation. Marlene pursed her lips — it was...awkward.
But then "Carver Edlund" looked like he'd been struck by a lighting. His eyes went comically wide, "Wait, did you say you're a linguist?"
Marley's brow furrowed, "Yes?" she replied slowly.
"Marlene Ter-Gabrielyan? Yale graduate? Left your old life behind after your friend's death and never looked back?"
She felt a sudden urge to take hold of that hanger again. But the guy looked harmless. Maybe a little on crack, jittery, but pretty tame. "How...how do know all this?"
"Carver Edlund" stormed up to his desk like a man possessed and fumbled with a stack of papers, "This...this can't be happening. You're not supposed to be here right now, not until chapter..." He looked up at her, horrified, "Oh God."
Marley stared at him in absolute bewilderment, "Are you on drugs? What is all this?" But the guy just kept repeating "Oh God" and pacing the small space behind the desk. It took a loud crash in the hallway to break him out of this panic-induced trance. Both Marlene and the strange manwho hadn't introduced himself whipped their heads towards the sound.
"Oh, God," "Carver Edlund" mumbled one last time, staring at Dean and Castiel. He had given up on understanding what's going on.
"Chuck," Dean nodded in greeting.
So that was his name. Dean then looked at Marley, surprised. He didn't say anything, though, and neither did she. They exchanged knowing looks. Marlene nodded at him, Dean nodded back as if saying "Yes, you were right about everything. Sorry I didn't believe you but I'll never actually say it 'cause I'm a prick with machismo galore."
Dean turned his attention back to Chuck, "We need your help."
The writer paled, "My help? With what?"
No words were said but it seemed there was no need for that — Chuck required no further explanation. Unlike Marlene, who was infinitely confused, he seemed to understand everything perfectly. Chuck's face fell, he pursed his lips.
It didn't bode well.
𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐
"So...there's an entire book series about you and your brother?" Marley asked. While Chuck had been going through his notes on the new chapter, Dean'd decided to tell her all about the unfortunate circumstances of their first meeting with the writer.
He looked extremely unimpressed with her, "This is the only thing you've taken out of this conversation?"
"So...what you write comes true?" Marlene turned to Chuck, ignoring Dean's question.
"No," Chuck said, "I-I don't think so. I'm not God, I can't make things happen. I'm just his messenger. Here to...to write everything down."
"Before it happens?"
"He is the prophet of God," Castiel explained evenly.
Dean didn't seem to give two shits about it, though, eager to return to the very reason they'd come here in the first place, "So did God give you Sam's location?" he asked impatiently.
Chuck muddled around with the papers and adjusted his glasses, "T-they arrive at 's, the place where —"
"St. Mary's?" Dean repeated, "What is that, a convent?
"Yeah, but you guys aren't supposed to be there. You're not in this story," he looked at Marlene,
"None of you."
"Yeah, well..." Castiel glanced at Dean and Marley, "We're making it up as we go."
It appeared that they needed to do it faster than they'd hoped for. Chuck's entire house started shaking, a blinding white light spilled into the room from the window, accompanied by a racketing noise. Dean grabbed Marlene by the arm and pulled her away from the window as the glass blew up.
"Aw, man!" Chuck yelled, "Not again! No!"
"It's the Archangel!" Castiel said to Dean. "I'll hold him off! I'll hold them all off! Go! Take Marlene with you! Just stop Sam!
With a single touch of the angel's hand, Dean and Marlene were transported away.
𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐
The first thing she heard was silence. The first thing she saw was darkness, stark after the bright light in the living room of Chuck's house. The Archangel. Could it have been be Gabriel?
Marlene looked around and saw statues of crying angels lined up along the corridor of a church. Where were they now? 's, her mind supplied helpfully.
"You alright?"
Marley almost forgot she wasn't alone. She followed the deep voice and found Dean looking at her, his brows furrowed in concern. She must've looked terrified.
"So this is where it happens," she felt chills running down her spine. This place felt off. Malicious. Evil...
"Let's hope not," Dean muttered, "Wait here, I'm going to —"
"No. I'm coming with you."
Dean gave her a stern look, "This is not some college frat party."
"Really? Cause you sure look like a deuche to me," Marlene retorted, "You can't tell me what to do. This is not just your fight, Dean."
He stared at her in silent frustration, then heaved out a reluctant sigh, "C'mon."
Dean led them down the corridor, towards an open door right at its end. Marlene could make two silhouettes: one tall, the other much shorter, standing with their backs to the door. As Marlene got closer, though, she recognised the black hair and the leather jacket of the girl. And it seemed Dean did too, for they both halted when Ruby looked back at them.
She smiled mischievously and closed the doors with a single gesture .
"No!" Dean beelined for the door. He tried to open it, but Ruby had sealed it shut, "Sam!" He banged on the wood, "Sam! Sam!"
There was a crash from the other side, screaming. A woman cried out in agonising pain. Dean and Marlene exchanged similar looks of trepidation and tried to push the door open. Marley joined him in the effort, although she suspected her scrawny built was of little help. Dean slammed his entire weight into the door again and again, but it wouldn't budge. More screams came from the inside and then...everything went disturbingly quiet.
Marley could feel it in her bones, with the little angel blood she had in her body. The last seal had been broken. She suddenly stopped and looked at Dean — he stopped too, as though seeing it in her eyes. But then his nostrils flared up with resolution. He grabbed a huge candelabra from the wall and pounded at the door with it.
Once, twice — it looked like nothing would break through, but Dan didn't give up. He stepped away from the door, tightened his grip on the candelabra and all but smashed into the door, breaking it open.
Marlene instantly spotted Ruby, crouched by a man at the alter. The demon whipped her head around and caught Marley's eyes with a wide smirk, "Took you long enough. I was hoping you'd come to see the bitch die. You know, vengeance."
Ignoring the barb, Marlene turned her attention to the man by Ruby's side. Sam. He looked completely lost, shaking. Her eyes fell on the body of a woman next to him. She was wearing a white dress that was now stained with blood, her blonde hair spilled on the cold stone in a halo. So this was the body Lilith had chosen after killing Tessa.
"You're too late," Ruby cut her eyes to Dean. Marley noticed a flicker of steal in her peripheral vision and turned to see him drawing a strangely-looking knife.
"I don't care," Dean said and launched himself at the demon. For a second, Marley thought that Ruby would retaliate, but Sam stood up just in time and grabbed her from behind before she could land a blow. Frozen with fear, Marlene watched as Dean plunged the knife deep into the demon's chest while Sam held her in place. He twisted it mercilessly, and Ruby's eyes went wide. her body flickered with red light before shutting down. Dean pulled out the knife, and the demon crumpled to the ground.
That was when Marlene noticed the trickle of Lilith's blood move, forming a sigil...
Sam looked at Dean, eyes flooded with tears, "I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly.
...the pattern was coming together, "G-guys," Marley called right before a white light shot out from the ground and the entire covenant began to tremble.
"We need to go!" Dean yelled over the racket. But neither one of them could look away from the light, even as the building started to tumble down.
Gabriel, please save us. I know you've been ignoring me. I know I didn't listen, but please, please get us out of here.
"He's coming," she heard Sam whisper before everything went white.
𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐
Dean peaked out at his surroundings and dropped his arms in shock. They were on a freaking airplane. How in the world?... Dean turned to Sam. He looked equally freaked out.
He looked around, "What the hell?"
"I don't know," Sam mumbled in confusion.
Dean craned his neck to see the rest of the cabin in search of Marlene, but she was nowhere to be found. "Where's she?"
Sam gave him a baffled look, "Who?"
"The girl. Marlene."
Sam opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the pilot, "Folks, quick word from the flight deck," he said over the intercom, "We're just passing over Ilchester, then Ellicott City, on our initial descent into Baltimore —"
Dean's brows twitched together, "Ilchester? Weren't we just there?" he looked out the plane window.
"...So if you'd like to stretch your legs, now would be a good time to — "
A stream of bright energy shot up into the sky, sending a shock wave through the entire city. And the airplane got caught in it. The cabin erupted in screams and chaos, oxygen masks dropped down. Dean and Sam put theirs on as the light grew brighter, glaring, followed by the familiar ringing sound.
Dean looked out the window and all he could see was blinding white.
𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐
Starry nights and sunny days
I always thought that love should be that way
But then comes a time when you're ridden with doubt
You've loved all you can and now you're all loved out
Marlene was still shielding her face from the light when she realised she wasn't in the convent anymore. Perhaps, it was the music that clued her in or the giggles and the clinking of champagne glasses. Last Marley checked, she was about to be obliterated by an infernal flame, but the warmth she was currently feeling came from the...blazing sun. It was shining from the bright azure sky above the yacht she was on.
She was on a yacht. A yacht?
Marley jerked away when someone bumped into her, "Scusi, signorina," the waiter apologised and proceeded towards a sunlit deck, balancing a platter of drinks on his hand. Absolutely mystified and half certain she had died and gone to Heaven (the irony), Marley followed the music.
We've got a wham, bam shang-a-lang
And a sha-la-la-la-la-la babe
Wham bam shang-a-lang
And a sha-la-la-la-la-la babe
The deck was facing a wide, sapphire sea that stretched for miles and miles, disappearing into the blue skyline. Marlene watched the waiter as he distributed colourful cocktails between three bikini-clad, giggling girls and put another one next to a man in a fancy deck chair. He was wearing a wide-brimmed straw fedora and a pair of stylish sunglasses, and Marley knew exactly who he was.
The three girls tittered between themselves, throwing sultry looks at the "stranger". Damn, Marlene felt like she was going to melt in her black jeans and a three-dollar parka.
And she probably would've if she was still in the...
Gabriel'd heard her. He'd saved her. But...Marlene looked around. Where were Dean and Sam? Her chest tightened with worry —
"Are you just going to stand there?" Gabriel droned.
Marley shuffled awkwardly in her combat boots. She belonged on this yacht just as much as almond belonged in chocolate — not at all. Marlene trudged up to Gabriel's deck chair and stood beside him, looking rather unimpressed by the whole Hugh Hefner-extraordinaire ambiance.
As if sensing the judgement she didn't even try to hide, Gabriel snapped his fingers, and the half-naked models disappeared. He lowered his sunglasses and gave Marlene an evaluating once-over, "Well, you look like crap," the archangel very joyfully pointed out.
"You got me out of there."
"Call me sentimental," Gabriel shrugged off, sipping on his piña colada.
She remembered Lilith's lifeless vessel, remembered blood trickling down the cold stone of the convent from the alter and curling into a sigil...Oh God.
"L-Lucifer is..." Marley tapered off.
"Yup. Lucifer is."
She watched Gabriel try to catch the straw with bewildered fascination. Is that what he'd been doing this entire time? Getting wasted on yachts with floozy models?
"Where've you been?"
At last, Gabriel succeeded in his herculean endeavour and took a long sip, "Me? Around."
"Around?"
"Here, there, a little bit of everywhere," he put the cocktail glass on the little table and stood up, spreading his arms, "Enjoying the world while it lasts."
"He's coming". Marlene shivered from the recent memory. "Where're Dean and Sam?"
Gabriel shrugged, "How should I know?"
"Wh — you...you just — just left them there?" she spluttered.
"Oh, don't worry, they'll be fine."
"How can you be so casual about it?"
"About what?"
"The Apocalypse."
"Oh, that. Marls," Gabriel turned to her, "I've been around for so long, it's like changing channels."
She squinted at him, arms crossed, "So you knew? That my father was working with the angels, that Lilith was the last seal — you knew all of it?"
Gabriel looked mildly offended, "Of course I knew all of it," he scoffed.
"And you didn't even try to stop it?"
"Look, I was really rooting for Deanne..."
"You could've helped them! You're an Archangel — "
Gabriel's face grew stern, "I cannot affect the events."
"By doing nothing you are affecting them."
He walked away to stand at the railing, his back to Marley, "This is beyond your understanding. It was — "
""Long foretold?"" she derided, "Yeah, I heard that. Pretty shitty excuse for killing millions of people. Why don't you take your family feuds to Jerry Springer like normal people? I'm sure their ratings will skyrocket."
Gabriel turned to Marlene, the expression on his face strikingly serious, "This needs to happen, Marls, no one can stop it. Lucy's out of the bag and there's no way of sticking him back inside. He and Michael will have their fight, dad knows it's been a long time coming."
"And what happens then?" Marlene asked, "What if Lucifer wins, huh?"
"Then he wins."
She burned Gabriel with a silent glare, more angry at herself for having a shred of hope in him. Marley wanted to believe that he was one of the good ones, but it appeared that being soulless dicks was the angelic MO. "Get me out of here," she demanded, "I need to go."
"Let me guess," Gabriel smiled, "You're gonna go find Dean-o and his overgrown sibling?"
"I don't know," Marlene sighed, exhaustion tumbling down on her like that wretched convent almost had, "I don't know what I'm going to do. Is there something I can do? Apocalypse is happening. Lucifer is free. Maybe I'll just go back to Yale to finish my degree before I die."
"Oh, come on, stay here!" Gabriel whined, "Everything you could possibly want, only a finger snap away. Look at this view," he pointed to the blue sea, "First-raw seats."
Marlene narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head in disbelief, "You're psychotic."
"You're delusional. It's a shitshow out there, Marls."
"Don't call me — " she closed her eyes and sucked in a breath, "My father is responsible for this 'shitshow'. I need to at least try to find a way to make it right."
Gabriel contemplated her words, looking into the distance like he was in a renaissance painting, sea breeze blowing into his face, ruffling his golden curls. "Don't call me again," he finally said and glanced at Marlene, "'Cause I ain't pickin' up." It was just a statement. A fact. An Archangel wasn't at anyone's beck and call.
Marley nodded, "I know."
𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐
"—and Governor O'Malley urged calm, saying it's very unlikely an abandoned convent would be a target for terrorists, either foreign or homegrown..."
"Change the station," Dean growled.
Sam leaned in and adjusted the radio, "— Hurricane Kinley, unexpectedly slamming into the Galveston area—" he glanced at Dean and, noticing how tightly he was gripping the wheel, changed the station again, " — announced a successful test of the North Korean nuclear—," and again, "—a series of tremors..."
Sam turned off the radio altogether. The car fell into complete silence. But not for long.
"Dean, look—"
"Don't say anything," Dean droned, eyes trained on the dark rode ahead. Sam sighed, his face contorted with guilt. It had been eating at him ever since they made it off that plane alive. The fact that he had let himself be fooled by a demon, blinded by his righteousness. That he had betrayed his brother. That he had broken the last seal.
And freed Lucifer.
"It's okay," Dean glanced at Sam, "We just got to keep our heads down and hash this out, all right?"
A pause. "Yeah, okay," Sam said quietly. What'd happened in the convent seemed like one of his nightmares. Only he didn't get to wake up in the morning and prevent the end from beginning. He was living it.
Though some things were still muddled in Sam's mind. He could swear he'd seen a girl. Dean'd mentioned her name on the plane. "Dean," Sam called.
Dean threw him a quick look, "What?"
"Was there...a girl with you? In the...in the convent?"
"Yeah," he answered after a short pause.
"Who was she?"
"No idea."
"Dean — "
He let out a frustrated sigh, "Her name is...was Marlene. She showed up at Bobby's, knew everything. Hell, she warned us about Lilith. Said the bitch killed her friend, wanted revenge."
Sam looked at him, shocked. "Was she an angel?"
"No. But her father's chummy with them," Dean gripped the wheel tighter, "Sounded a little shady to me. She had some weird anti-demonic hoodoo crap on her, said it was her dad's."
"So she's a witch?" Sam asked, brows twitching together.
"Doubt it. But she's hiding something, that's for damn sure."
"Maybe she's a hunter."
Dean scoffed, "She almost blacked out when she saw us ice Ruby. That girl ain't a hunter." There was a pause before he spoke again, "She's probably dead now, anyway."
"What?"
"Whoever put us on Soul Plane, didn't get her a seat. She wasn't there."
Sam frowned and turned away. If the girl was dead...he might as well have been the one to kill her. "Maybe she got away."
"Yeah," Dean droned, "Maybe."
"It could've been angels," Sam spoke after some time of contemplation, "That saved us. I mean, you know, beaming us out of harm's way? They could've saved her too."
"Well, whatever. It's the least of our worries — "
Dean almost lost control of the car when something heavy dropped into the backseat. Sam whirled around, eyes going wide with shock when he saw a girl sitting there. The same one he had seen with Dean in the convent.
"Ho — wh — are you out of your goddamn mind?" Dean spluttered, catching her eyes in the rear-view mirror.
Marlene caressed the rough textile of the seat just to make sure she was sitting and not floating in nothingness. She was in a moving car, on the ground. And Dean was in the driver's seat. And his brother next to him. And they were alive. Gabriel'd been right.
Thank you, she thought to herself, hoping that he'd at least hear that message.
"Hi?" Marley greeted faintly.
"How the hell did you get out of there?" Dean demanded, trying to keep his eyes on the rode and glare at her at the same time.
Deciding it wasn't the time to drop the 'A' bomb yet, Marley opted for harmless lying. Or as she liked to say it, fanfiction on the truth, "How did you?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," San replied, his voice soft and reassuring after Dean's threatening rumble. Marley's eyes flashed to him, "I'm Sam, Dean's brother. And you must be Marlene?"
Her smile was wane but genuine as she said, "Nice to finally meet you, Sam." He seemed a little confused by that but returned her smile nonetheless. Marley scooted to the centre of the backseat and leaned forward like a toddler on a road trip, "So where are we going?"
Dean looked at her sideways, "We — " he pointed at Sam and himself, " — are going to figure out what the hell is happening."
"Alright. And how do we intend to do that?"
She noticed Sam turn to Dean as if waiting for his response, too.
"First we need to find Cas."
𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐
"...she's asleep."
"Should we wake her up?" a voice wondered.
A pause. Then an annoyed sigh. Marlene wanted to press a pillow to her head to cancel out the white noise, but found that there was no pillow. And she wasn't in a bed. A thundering slam of the car door did well to wake her up. Marley jumped with a start and look around like a newborn fawn.
Dean was giving her a stern look from the open window, "You'd better get your ass out of here if you want some food."
And she did want food. God, did she want food. Marlene hadn't eaten since...Well, the last thing she'd put into her rumbling stomach was a Twinkie she'd found in her car on the way to South Dakota. Behind Dean and Sam's imposing figures was a second-rate diner, but to Marlene it looked like an oases in the middle of a Syrian desert.
Feeling like crap and looking the part, she shuffled out of the car and followed the brothers inside. They had no trouble finding an empty table. Dean and Sam sat on one side and Marlene on the other, making it look like a job interview. A very terrifying and potentially life-threatening job interview.
In an effort to avoid awkwardness, Marley looked up at the TV: a newswoman was reporting an outbreak of swine flu in Georgia, and one of the experts, a very chunky bald man, raged about the dangers of a global pandemic. Well, that was a relief. Marlene had been expecting to see her face suddenly pop up on the screen. That would certainly make a great icebreaker.
Pleased yet still paranoid, Marley looked away from the TV and found Sam staring at her. Startled, she pursed her lips in a nervous smile and dropped her eyes to the menu.
"You ready to order?"
Marlene almost jumped when a waitresses suddenly materialised in front of their table. She glanced up at the woman — she didn't look particularly suspicious. But neither had Allison-the-waitress who'd killed two demons.
"Bacon Cheeseburger," Dean told her.
Sam gave his brother a side-eye and cleared his throat, "Uh, an egg-white omelette, please."
The waitress wrote it down into her little notebook and looked at Marlene, "Well?"
Marley wet her chapped lips and glanced at Dean and Sam. They didn't think the woman was suspicious and they were hunters. "I...I'll have...uh, pancakes with whipped cream. No maple syrup, t-thank you."
"A cheeseburger, Dean? It's ten in the morning," Sam told him as soon as the waitress was gone.
"Look, I've had a stressful day — "
"So how did you guys get out of there?" Sam and Dean were a little surprised by the abrupt question, "The convent."
"Your guess is as good as ours," Dean grumbled, "One second we're about to be baked in the infernal oven and the next we're on a freaking plane up in the air. Whoever put us there, must've saved your ass, too."
"Yeah," Marley mumbled, "Probably."
"But then why weren't you on the plane with us?" asked Sam.
"I have no idea," she shrugged, "Last thing I remember is that white light and then...the backseat of your car." And also a short period of times spent on a yacht in the Mediterranean with an Archangel.
"So how's your father doing, Marlene?" Dean asked after a moment of silence. He sounded deceptively casual about it, but Marley could tell that it was a sneaky question.
She was about to answer when a bell above the diner door rang, signalling the arrival of a new hungry customer. And in walked a tall police officer. Thrown into a complete stupor, Marley watched as he took off his hat and swept his shrewd, law-abiding eyes over the diner. She quickly turned away.
"Is everything alright?" Sam sounded concerned.
"That bad, huh?"
"I need to go," Marlene blurted and stood up.
"Heey, wow, wow, wow," Dean grabbed her by the sleeve of her coat and pulled her back, "You're not going anywhere."
"You don't understand, I can't be here," Marley tried to tell them, eyes pleading. She glanced back at the officer. He was seated at the table by the window, looking through the menu.
"Like hell you can't. Put your ass back into that seat."
Sam sighed, "Dean — "
"You still don't trust me, do you?"
"He doesn't trust anyone. Don't take it personally," he reassured Marlene, ever the diplomat.
"Look," she said impatiently and sat down, "There's...a police officer in this diner. And...there's also a high chance that he might...uh, find my face rather familiar."
Sam frowned, "What do you mean?"
"The police are looking into the death of my friend, the one..." Marley leaned in a little and lowered her voice, "The one that Lilith...killed." Judging by Sam's face, he already knew where this was going, "And apparently, people who mysteriously disappear from the crime scene are quite suspicious."
"Now you're telling us?" Dean asked, incredulous.
Marlene checked on the officer to make sure he hadn't heard anything. Then she glared at Dean, "Can you not shout?"
"Are you a suspect?" Sam asked.
"I...I don't know. I could be. I mean, it doesn't look too good, does it?"
There was a long, contemplative pause. "We'll figure it out," Sam told her, his eyes were warm and kind. He looked extremely tired, "Don't worry about it. We've...experience with law-enforcement. Just, uh, don't do anything that would draw attention. Like stand up in the middle of the diner."
Marley sent him a grateful smile, eyes prickling a little. She had been so on edge the past few days, she didn't even have the time to process everything that'd happened. And these men, these strangers, had been so kind to her...No, she couldn't cry in front of them. This was simply not an option.
"So..." Marley drawled instead, eyes glimmering with amusement as she looked at Sam, "You'd trust anyone, then? Even a wanted criminal?"
Dean huffed out a laugh, "If it ain't Sammy. The kind soul," he mocked.
Marley didn't miss the change in Sam's face. He looked away, jaws clenched. The atmosphere at the table quickly shifted from awkward to very, very tense.
It would be a long ride.
𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐𖤐
Chuck's house had been a mess. Now, it was an absolute wrack. It was a like a bomb had gone off in the middle of his living room, and Dean, Sam and Marlene had to make their way through the wreckage to get inside. It was extremely quiet, which was why a sudden noise from the kitchen made them halt in attention...
Suddenly, Chuck jumped out from the corner and launched a vicious attack at Sam with a toilet plunger. Sam stumbled back from shock and brought his hands to his head, "Geez! Ow!"
Noticing who he was hitting, Chuck stopped, "Sam!" he exclaimed incredulously.
Sam sent him a disgruntled look, "Yeah!"
"Hey, Chuck," Dean stepped forward. Marley smiled in greeting.
"Dean, Marlene," Chuck looked them over and then turned back to Sam, "So...you're okay?"
"Well, my head hurts," Sam grumbled.
"No, I mean — I mean, my — my last vision," Chuck spluttered, "You went, like, full-on Vader. Your body temperature was one-fifty. Your heart rate was two hundred. Your eyes were black."
Marlene looked at Sam in alarm. Black eyes?...Surely, it couldn't be —
"Your eyes went black?" Dean asked, his voice grave.
Sam looked over his shoulder, not quite able to meet his brother's eyes as he mumbled, "I...I didn't know."
Dean considered his answer for a moment and then quickly dismissed it, turning his attention to Chuck instead, "Where's Cas?"
Chuck's face darkened, "He's dead. Or gone."
"What?" Marlene's heart fell. He had done the right thing, he'd saved them...and that was what he got?
"The Archangel smote the crap out of him," Chuck shook his head as though trying to get rid of that memory, "I'm sorry."
"You're sure?" asked Dean, "I mean, maybe he just vanished into the light or something."
"Oh, no. He, like, exploded," Chuck spread his arms in an 'explosion' gesture. "Like a water balloon of chunky soup."
Marlene didn't know angels could die. She had always thought of them as one with the universe, celestial beings that couldn't be touched or felt. Or hurt. It was strange, finding out that even they, God's first children, were no match for death...
...why is Sam staring at Chuck? Marley frowned.
"W-what?" the prophet asked, uncomfortable.
Sam waved a hand by his own left ear, "You got a — "
Chuck brought his hand to his right ear, "Uh...here?"
"Uh, the..." Sam pointed to the other side.
"Oh," when Chuck found whatever it was Sam had been pointing to, his face went white with disgust and horror, "Oh, god." He pulled something out and gaped at it, "Is that a molar? Do I have a molar in my hair?" Chuck sounded like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. His face crumpled, "This has been a really stressful day."
"Cas, you stupid bastard," Dean muttered angrily.
Sam turned to him, "Stupid? He was trying to help us."
"Yeah, exactly."
Marlene sensed a strange ripple in the air. A vibration. The familiar noise began ringing in her ears.
"So, what now?" she heard Sam's voice, but barely.
"I don't know."
"Oh, crap," Chuck whispered, drawing their attention.
"What?" Sam sounded wary.
"I can feel them."
"The angels? They're coming here?" Sam asked.
Chuck nodded, "They're gonna be here soon."
"Fucking Zachariah," Marlene cursed.
Dean drew a knife from his belt and before Marley could understand what was happening, he cut his left palm open.
Her jaw dropped, "Holy shit — "
"Sounds about right," Dean muttered and brought his hand to the sliding door in the living room. The crimson blood looked stark against the white wood as Dean started painting...
"Is that a sigil?" Marley asked. It looked a little like the one she'd used to to summon Castiel.
"A precaution," Dean slid the door back just in time for the beginning of the show.
"Thought we'd find you here."
Sam, Dean and Marlene whipped around: Zachariah was smiling at them, flanked by two suit-clad angels. They looked like arrogant assholes from Wall Street who lost nerve cells at the stock-market by day and snorted cocaine by night. Sometimes, both at the same time.
"Playtime's over, kids. And you, young lady, are grounded," he told Marlene, taking a step forward, "Time to come with us."
Dean pointed a threatening finger at him, "You just keep your distance, asshat."
Zachariah frowned, "You're upset," he noted with ignorant confusion.
"Yeah. A little. You sons of bitches jump-started judgment day!"
"Maybe we let it happen. We didn't start anything."
"Oh, really?" Marley scoffed, "So Lilith just Shawshanked her way out of Hell?"
When Zachariah looked at her, she felt a chill run down her spine, "Some people we just can't control. Right, Sammy?" Zachariah winked at him and turned to Dean, "You had a chance to stop your brother, and you couldn't. You," he looked at Marley again, "Well, you couldn't really do anything. Daddy issues, am I right?" Marlene tightened her jaw, glaring at his gleeful face. Ah, what a piece of shit. "So let's not quibble over who started what. Let's just say it was... all our faults and move on. 'Cause like it or not...it's Apocalypse now. And we're back on the same team again!"
"Is that so?" Dean sounded quite sceptical about it.
"You want to kill the devil. We want you to kill the devil. It's...synergy."
Marley narrowed her eyes at him, "How very convenient for you." Zachariah shrugged.
"And we're just supposed to trust you?" said Dean, "Cram it with walnuts, ugly."
"This isn't a game, son," Zachariah said, suddenly solemn, "Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now. Hard and fast. Before he finds his vessel."
"His vessel?" asked Sam, "Lucifer needs a meat suit?"
"He is an angel," Zachariah said with a chuckle and turned to see if his cronies'd appreciated the retort, "Them's the rules. And when he touches down, we're talking Four Horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies — the greatest hits."
Every chapter from the Book of Revelation...Marley glanced at Dean and saw the same horror reflected on is face. For a moment, he was actually considering it. And it seemed that Zachariah noticed it as well. "You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help."
A mirthless smile tugged at Dean's lips, "You listen to me, you two-faced douche," he gritted out, "After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!"
Zachariah stepped forward, his face turning rigid, "You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?" he huffed out a laugh and suddenly stopped, eyes drawn to Dean's left hand, wary. "You're bleeding."
"Oh, yeah," Dean smiled, "A little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up." Before Zachariah could understand what was going on, Marlene slid the door closed, revealing the bloody sigil on it.
Zachariah's eyes widened, "No!"
Dean slapped his hand on the banishing sigil, and the angel's screams were swallowed by the bright light. Marlene, Sam and Chuck flinched away from it, shielding their eyes. And when they were able to see, Zachariah and his buddies were long gone.
"Learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch," Dean spat.
Marley gaped at the scene, dumbstruck, "Holy shit," was the only thing she could produce. Again, it was quite fitting.
Chuck sighed next to her, "This sucks ass."
Very accurate, indeed.