7.
Bobby sat at his desk in the panic room and began researching the mark Dean had drawn. Sam and Dean sat at another small table and filled shotgun shells with salt, while River sat on the ground in the middle of the room with a pile of weapons she was checking. Dean sighed loudly causing River and Sam to look over at him. "See, this is why I can't get behind God."
"What do you mean, Dean?" Sam asked.
"If there is no god, then bad shit just happens to good people. No rhyme or reason it's just the way of the universe. But if there is a god and all this evil stuff just keeps happening to innocent people then where is He, huh? Where was He when our…where was He any of the times we needed Him?" Dean slammed a shotgun shell on the table.
"It's all just a cosmic joke, Dean. Life, if this is what you can a life," River set the gun she'd been loading down and glanced around their iron cage, "it's just a joke. One we don't know the punchline to. God doesn't care what happens to any of us, innocent or not."
"Well, isn't that a pleasant outlook," Bobby huffed, "I found the symbol you saw on the ghosts. The Mark of the Witness."
Sam stood up and walked to Bobby, glancing at the book the man was reading, "Witness to what?"
"The unnatural? I don't know. None of these people died ordinary deaths," Bobby readjusted his hat, "These spirits were forced to rise, they're in agony, this isn't their fault."
"What the hell could have the mojo for a spell like that? And why? What's the endgame here?" River asked.
"Don't know, but it seems to align with a prophecy."
Now Dean stood up, his brows knotting together in worry, "What prophecy? What book is written in?"
Bobby pulled another dusty book from the bottom of his pile, "It's known as the 'Rising of the Witnesses'. And the abridged version can be found in the book of Revelations."
"Always loved that chapter," River muttered, dusting her hands off and standing up stretching her back.
"This is a sign kids," Bobby told the younger hunters.
Sam and Dean exchanged a look then turned to Bobby, " A sign of what?" They asked in tandem.
"The apocalypse," River answered before Bobby could get the words out. He smiled at the red head as she stood in front of the Winchesters. "You two should really read more…you know if we don't all die today we should start a book club!"
Dean scoffed at her and Bobby, "Wait, the Apocalypse, apocalypse. The four horsemen, $5 a gallon gas…"
"Every civilization, every religion has an end times prophecy….what do we do Bobby?" River asked.
"I know what were gonna do. Road trip! Grand Canyon, Disneyland. Threesome at the Bunny Ranch?" Dean waggled his eyebrows at River. She grimaced, 'Eww'
"How about we try and survive our newly risen friends out there?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I like that idea better. How do we get rid of them?" River asked.
Bobby turned a few pages in his book, "Got a spell here that should work and I'm pretty sure I got everything we need in the house."
"Should work? Any chance we got everything we need right here in this room?" Dean asked.
River laughed, "You think our lucks gonna turn around now, Winchester. Now that would be a cosmic joke."
"Spells gotta be cast over an open fire anyways," Bobby said tucking a gun into the waist band of his jeans.
"The fireplace in the library," Sam said. Bobby nodded.
Dean sighed, "That is really not as appealing as a ghost proof panic room." The hunter spent the next few minutes arming themselves, shoving extra ammo into every available pocket before venturing out.
"Cover each other and aim careful. Don't run outta ammo until I'm done or we'll all be taco meat," Bobby grumbled before unlocking the steel door. Sam and Dean took point, Bobby in the middle with spell book and River trailed at the back making sure nothing snuck up on them. The basement seemed and felt empty as they quickly made there way the stairs. A figure sat waiting in the dark at the top of the stairs. Dean halted the group and raised his shotgun.
"Hey, Dean, remember me?" a heavyset, young man with curly hair stared down at them.
Dean and Sam looked at each other. "Ronald, right? With the laser eyes?" Dean said. They had run into this man a few years back while investigating a shifter case. The young man was tin foil hat level paranoid and had convinced himself the shifter was some sort of government conspiracy. Instead of listening to Sam and Dean he had attempted to apprehend the shifter, taking a bank full of people hostage and got himself shot by a SWAT sniper. "Well, wish I could say it's nice to see you but…"
The man stood up and yelled, "You were supposed to help me! I'm dead because of you! You're no fucking hero!" A shotgun blasted from behind, striking the spirit.
Dean turned to River, "What? Are we supposed to be talking to them or sending them back? Let's go Papa Bear." River climbed up the stairs and led the men into the library, they quickly laid a salt line around Bobby's desk and leading back to the fireplace. Bobby gathered his spell supplies and they started a fire in the fireplace.
"Sam, upstairs in my closet there's a red hex box wrapped in a cloth. Bring it down," Bobby began barking orders at the younger hunters. Sam ran up the stairs to retrieve the hex box.
The spirits of the two little girls that had taken Bobby reappeared causing the temperature in the room to drop and the lights to flicker. "Bobby!" they screamed and floated towards the hunter as he leaned over the fireplace. River blasted them away with her shotgun. "Dean, cutlery drawer in the kitchen it has a false bottom, I need wormwood, opium and hemlock. Hurry up boy!" Bobby yelled as he began drawing the spell sigil onto his desk. River stood in the middle of the room shotgun and iron fire poker at the ready for any more spirits. Dean ran to the kitchen and pulled out several drawers before finding the correct one. He removed the false bottom and began pulling out the ingredients Bobby needed. The heavy double doors to the kitchen slammed shut isolating Dean from Bobby and River.
"Dean!" River yelled into the door, pulling fruitlessly at the door.
"I'm fine! Keep working!" he hollered over his shoulder. He grabbed the last small bottle labeled "Opium" and turned back towards the shut doors. Victor Henrickson, the FBI agent from Colorado stood before them.
"Hi, Dean," he said quietly.
"I know," Dean began, " I messed up. We heard about the explosion after we left and I knew. I knew we should've stayed and protected you. It's my fault your dead."
Victor nodded, "You think we all died in some explosion of white light, Dean?"
Dean nodded, "We thought…the news."
"45 minutes Dean. Lilith wanted to have some fun first. Remember Nancy, the virgin? Lilith filleted her skin off. Nancy never stopped screaming. She made us watch."
Dean shook his head, unshed tears shining in the dim kitchen, "No."
Victor shook his head, "Yeah, so tell me why someone like you gets a second chance? Why do you deserve it when you've caused so much pain." Victor shoved his freezing hands into Dean's chest causing Dean to seize up in pain.
"Bobby, how's it lookin'?" River asked circling the room, "Hi, Corey." She almost ran into her former partner when he materialized in front of her.
He smiled maliciously down at her, "I know what that shifter did to you. You deserved every second of it you stupid slu-" River fired her shotgun at his head obliterating him for the moment. A blast echoed from the kitchen and a moment later Sam and Dean threw the kitchen doors open , staggered into the library and handed Bobby the hex box and the ingredients from the kitchen. "You two ok?" River asked glancing at the Winchesters.
"Yeah," Sam answered positioning himself in front of the hall entrance.
"No," Dean said as he loaded more shells into his shotgun.
River glanced at him, "Quit whining…Hey curly." Ronald the tubby spirit from earlier was back watching Dean load his gun.
"Ronald, hey man. I thought we were friends," Dean shoved another shell into his gun.
Ronald smiled, "Yeah, when I was breathing. Now I'm gonna eat you alive." River's gun blasted the chubby spirit away. Bobby began muttering the spell behind them.
A small boy appeared in the room a few feet from River. "Oh, Lucas. Buddy…" River groaned.
"River, you promised! You promised I would be safe!" the little boy raged, "Where were you! You promised." River shook her head back and forth, shotgun shaking but she couldn't fire it the spirit of the child. Dean fired his weapon and the boy blew apart in a cloud of smoke. Bobby's chanting continued. The windows in the library blew open and the spirits of Meg, Victor and Corey reappeared. River, Sam and Dean each chose a target and began firing. The spirits blew apart when his with the rock salt but reappeared a few seconds later. Appearing in different areas and closer the hunters. Sara and the spirit of her son, Lucas appears behind River.
"Behind you!" Dean yelled as Meg appeared at his side.
Meg sneered at Dean, "Some hero you are! Look at us! Look what happened to us. This is your fault!" River spun around and quickly fired into the mother and son. Her gun now empty she tossed it to the ground and picked up the fireplace poker she had laid on the couch. River swung the poker at Meg causing her to break apart. Victor sent Sam's gun flying out of his hands and Dean fired his last shot into the spirit. Before any of them could regroup the spirits materialized again, sending a heavy desk sliding across the room and pinning Sam to the wall. Dean moved towards his brother but Corey shoved him across the room. River swung the iron rod at the spirit and turned back towards Dean helping pull him to his feet. Bobby finished the spell and turned towards the fireplace but grunted in pain as Meg appeared behind him, shoving her spectral hand into his back. Bobby lost his grip on the copper bowl holding the spell ingredients and it slipped from his fingers towards the floor. Dean dove towards the bowl catching it before it spilled. He tossed the mixture into the fire burning in the fireplace causing it to flare a bright blue. A blinding light filled the room and the spirits disintegrated as the light burned out. Bobby fell to his knees behind the desk with another moan.
"Bobby!" River yelled running towards him. She grabbed him under his arm and helped him stand as Sam shoved the heavy desk away from him. "You ok?" she asked the older man as Dean grabbed him under the other arm. He nodded weakly. The hunters did an EMF sweep of the house to double check that the spirits had indeed been banished. Satisfied that they wouldn't be ripped to shreds by angry spirits while they slept they bedded for the night.
Bobby collapsed in his bed, snores echoing on the upper floor the moment his head hit his pillow. Sam curled up on Bobby's couch. While River and Dean bunked in Sam's old room, she hadn't stepped foot into Dean's old room in months. Bobby had long since taken down the cribs and nursery furniture but the memories still burned. River woke a few hours after she and Dean had fallen asleep. Dean was gone, his part of the small bed cold. She walked down the quiet hallway, back down the stairs and past Sam's sleeping form on the sagging couch. Dean sat in the dark kitchen, eye closed and a half empty whiskey bottle in front of him. "Can't sleep?" River asked quietly, sitting in a chair next to him.
Dean opened his eyes, "Just thinkin'" He told her grabbing for the whiskey bottle. Her fingers wrapped around it first and she brought the cold bottle to her lips.
She grit her teeth against the burn of the alcohol and then shivered as it reached her stomach. The thin shirt and shorts she had worn to bed did nothing to help ebb the chill in the kitchen. " 'bout what? The spirits? What'd they'd say to you?" River rubbed her hands over her arms, watching as Dean pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You first, little miss chatty," he grabbed the bottle and took a swig.
River sighed, "Well which one? Corey told me it was my fault he was dead. Which I guess in some way it is. It was my decision to go after the shifter in the first place. Told me I deserved everything it did to me. I deserved to die like he did…and then Sara told me I'm fucking useless, never helped anyone and deserved to die…and you saw Lucas." She took the bottle of amber liquid Dean held out to her and took another swig, "I failed them. I'm a fuck up. And I uh apparently deserve to die horribly."
Dean shook his head sagely and sniffed, "Meg…she was innocent. We-I didn't even consider what would happen to her when we exorcised that demon. She's right, I'm no hero. Why would God save me? I don't deserve another chance."
"Bullshit, Dean," River pushed the bottle away from him, "You never deserved to go to Hell. You sold your soul to save your brother…and you are a hero." She stood up and moved to sit on his lap, legs straddling his and cupped his face in her hands. "You're my hero. You saved my life in that parking lot," she peppered lite kisses on his cheeks, "You saved me in that motel room in Philly…you killed my nightmare." She leaned forward and gently kissed his chapped lips, "My hero." She kissed him again, needy this time, sucking his bottom lip and running her tongue along it tasting whiskey. He returned the kiss, moving his hands under her thin shirt and running them up and down her sides causing her to shiver under his touch. River carded her fingers through his short auburn hair and rolled her hips in his lap eliciting a low growl from him. She reached her hand between them and pawed his semi-hard erection through his jeans.
"Fuck, babe." Dean moaned when she ground herself against him again. Sam snored loudly from the library after Dean's outburst.
River smiled against his lips, "Shhh…You're gonna wake up Sam." Dean moved his lips to her neck licking and sucking at the sensitive skin. She unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down, both adjusting their positions to move the clothing out of the way. His cock sprang up between them and River wrapped her warm hand around it, running it up and down his length causing Dean to flex his hips with each upward stroke. She pulled her hand away causing him to moan in frustration and she smiled again before bringing her hand to her mouth. She spit into her palm and then rubbed it along Dean's cock.
"You're fucking filthy… I love you," Dean said as he sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, watching when she pushed up on the balls of her feet and shoved her shorts out of the way before lining up his prick with her wet center.
"I know," she moaned and slowly lowered herself back down, eyes fluttering closed as he filled her completely. She sat still for a moment when she bottomed herself out on his cock and drew an unsteady breath. Dean grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head, dropping it somewhere on the dark kitchen floor. River rolled her hips and ground down, Dean catching her lips with his and drowning out the moan she let escape. "Shhh," he repeated back to her. She pushed upwards again, Dean grabbed her ass and helped lift her hips with each thrust. The chair creaked loudly after a few more moments of this and Sam muttered again in sleep. "Fuck this. Get up and take your shorts off," Dean growled in her ear. River pulled herself off of him and stood on unsteady legs to pull her shorts down. A flutter of wings caused her to jerk her head up suddenly and she took a sharp breath in. Her eyes widened in surprise, staring at a dark corner of the kitchen behind Dean. Dean shot out of the chair, pulling his pants up quickly as he went.
The trench coated angel, Castiel stood watching them with a bemused half smile, "I apologize for interrupting." The hunters stood for a moment staring at the intruder before exchanging a glance at each other and sighing. River pulled her discarded shirt back on as Dean walked towards the angel.
"Yeah we're gonna have to work on your timing," Dean muttered.
"I came to tell you that you did an excellent job with with witnesses," the angel told them.
River stood next to Dean crossing her arms over her chest, "You were hip to what was going down here?"
Castiel nodded, "I was made aware of the situation."
"Well, thanks for the angelic backup. I almost got my heart ripped outta my chest," Dean said in an angry whisper.
"Well, you didn't."Castiel countered.
"I thought angels were supposed to be guardians you know, fluffy wings, halos. Angels in the Outfield types, not dicks," Dean continued.
River let out a low laugh and Dean turned towards her, "Book club, Dean. The Bible's first on the list of required reading. Angels are not teddy bears."
Castiel smiled at her, "Angels are warriors, Dean. I am a soldier of heaven and we had bigger concerns."
"Nice, well while you and yours had bigger concerns people here were getting torn to shreds," River hissed. Castiel said nothing for a moment.
"Where is your boss, huh? God, if there is a god, where is he? What's he waiting for? Mass genocide? Monsters taking over the Earth? The fucking Apocalypse?" Dean said his voice rising.
"There is a God," Castiel interrupted, "The lord-"
"If you fucking say 'works in mysterious ways' I will turn your wings into a feather duster." River told him lowly. Castiel smirked at her empty threat.
Dean laid his hand gently on her arm, "Was Bobby right? Was the rising of the witnesses a sign of the Apocalypse?"
Castiel cocked his head and looked between the two humans. "That's why we're here. There are big things coming. The rising of the Witnesses is one of the 66 seals."
"I'm guessing those seals aren't like the ones that perform at SeaWorld," Dean said smiling cockily at River. She rolled her eyes and Castiel tilted his head, obviously confused.
"These seals are being broken by Lilith," Castiel said.
River stiffened next to Dean at the mention of the demon's name, "She did the spell. She rose the witnesses."
The angel nodded, "Yes and not just here. Twenty other hunters are dead."
"She picked victims we couldn't save," River said quietly, "People that would come right after us."
"Lilith has a certain sense of humor," Castiel replied.
Dean rubbed his hand along his jaw, "Yeah she's a real barrel of laughs." He glanced at River as she stared out the window behind Castiel, "…we put those spirits back to rest."
"It doesn't matter. The seal is broken."
"Why break the seals? What's the point, Castiel?" River asked him.
He leaned back against the sink and took a deep breath, "Think of the seals as locks on a door. Break the locks…"
"What's on the other side of the door?" Dean asked.
"Lucifer. He will walk free if the 66 seals are broken," the angel answered.
Dean scoffed, "There's no such thing. Lucifer? That's just some story they tell baby demons when they misbehave."
"A few weeks ago you thought there was no such thing as me, Dean," Castiel said quietly. "Why do you think we are here, walking among you now? For the first time in 2000 years."
"To stop the Morningstar from rising," River said quietly. Castiel nodded.
"Well, bang up job so far! Real great work on the Witnesses," Dean goaded. The air shifted around them, seeming to buzz with electricity. River felt the hairs on her arms and neck stand up and she looked worriedly at the angel. He had moved within inches of Dean's face his blue eyes blazing with anger. Dean stood stock still and cast his green eyes sideways at the angel.
"Six of my brothers and sisters died this week in the field, fighting to stop Lilith and her work," Castiel said quietly, "You think the armies of heaven should follow you around? You should show me more respect, Dean Winchester. I dragged you out of hell. I can throw you back in." Then with another flap of his invisible wings he was gone leaving River and Dean alone in the cold, silent kitchen.