Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story so far! There's only one chapter after this one, and I promise there is some much needed TLC coming ;)
Chapter Seven
Dean hated driving down dark highways at night in a car that was not the Impala. Not only was the old Honda he had lifted cramped, but it drove terribly and had no power to it. He hated being on the run in a vehicle he couldn't even trust. Who knew what the hell was going on under the hood of this piece of crap?
They had gotten the hell out of Dodge as quickly as possible after the angel attacked them. Dean wasn't sure how much longer they would be able to keep this up. They had warded the car, but the warding obviously hadn't stopped the angels from finding them at the motel for long, and they were without most of their weapons, and Dean only had a fevered younger brother and a wounded angel for backup. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't slept for going on forty-eight hours now so he wasn't exactly in top shape himself.
Of course, he had suspected the angels would try something overt. Not something like nails in the road.
He knew they were screwed as soon as he heard the telltale explosion of the rear tire blowing.
"Son of a bitch," he growled, moving to pull off to the side of the road. He didn't even think this piece of crap had a spare tire…
"Dean!" Sam cried suddenly and Dean glanced up, gasping and jerking the wheel instinctively to one side as a familiar figure appeared in the middle of the road. If he'd had more of a head right now, he would have just slammed into him, but instinct took over.
Zachariah stood there, and Dean saw his smirk the instant before the angel raised his hand in a nonchalant flicking motion.
The car spun out on the slick road and Dean tried to overcorrect, but hit something on slightly dipped shoulder and before he could attempt to stop the inevitable, the night sky was replaced with the ground as the car flipped over with a horrible crunch.
That was the last sound that echoed in Dean's ears before he blacked out.
Dean came to after being dropped roughly onto a hard surface. He coughed air into his lungs and winced as his ribs protested. He pried his eyes open and saw he was lying on asphalt in the middle of the road among shattered glass and random car parts. He groaned and craned his head to see the wreck, the car upside down, with two figures still inside.
"Sammy," Dean choked out, trying to roll to his feet, or at least his hands and knees. "Cas."
But a foot came down and settled firmly against his chest, keeping him from moving.
"Ah-ah, stay there, Dean. You took quite a hit. You wouldn't want to accidently make anything worse, would you?"
Dean stared up with hatred at Zachariah, who stood over him with a smirk on his face. He could see other angels reaching into the car to drag Sam and Cas out as well.
"You son of a bitch, I'm gonna kill you!" Dean snarled, trying to reach into his coat for the angel blade he'd been carrying, but Zachariah shifted his foot to Dean's wrist and bent to pull the blade from his coat. Dean winced and slammed his aching head back on the asphalt in defeat.
The two other angels dragged Sam out of the car finally and dropped him with an unceremonious thump next to Dean. The kid was still unconscious and had blood matting his hair to the side of his head.
"Sammy," Dean called. Zachariah finally took his foot off of Dean and he rolled over and reached out to grip Sam's sleeve, pulling him toward him.
The sounds of struggling came from behind them, and Dean turned to see the last angel hauling Cas out of the backseat. Cas was conscious, and doing his best to fight, but in his condition, it was kind of a pathetic attempt.
"Ah, our prodigal brother," Zachariah said, turning his attention away from Sam and Dean for the moment. "What do you have to say for yourself this time, Castiel? You know, I think it's time we go back to Heaven. I didn't have time for that previously, but now that I have what I need right here, I think it's time you are properly reeducated."
Dean shuddered slightly. He didn't like the sound of that.
"Then take me," Cas growled. "But leave Sam and Dean alone."
Zachariah chuckled. "You know very well that I cannot do that. We're down to the wire, Castiel. Either way, we need them to stop what's coming."
"And to start it," Castiel snapped, glancing at the other angels to see if it was news to them. Unfortunately, their expressions didn't change and Cas slumped slightly. "Either way, Zachariah, these boys are under my charge and I will not let you hurt them. I did not save Dean from perdition to have him be a prisoner of Heaven."
Zachariah sneered and stepped forward to backhand Cas across the face. Dean jolted with anger, but stayed back, knowing fighting now would probably do more harm than good. Man he really must have hit his head.
"Still so defiant after everything I did to you." Zachariah shook his head. "Okay then, if these maggots are your weak spot, I'm not above using that against you."
He turned to Sam and Dean and clenched a hand. Sam, who had been stirring finally, suddenly cried out and curled in on himself, chocking up a mouthful of blood.
"Sam!" Dean cried, gripping his brother's shoulder and pulling him into his arms to brace him so he wouldn't smash his head against the ground again.
"Stop!" Castiel shouted, looking like he would surge to his feet, but one of the angels forced him back down, and pressed a knee into his injured back, making Cas gasp in pain.
"See, Dean, I'm not above playing dirty," Zachariah said, his voice cold now. "One way or another I'm going to get the results I want and you're either going to cooperate, or I'm going to take turns pulling you both apart until you're feeling more inclined to do your duty. You think Hell was bad, Dean? I can be worse."
Dean glowered up at him, hoping he was able to keep the fear that was surging up inside of him at bay. "Go screw yourself. I'm not doing crap for you."
Zachariah cocked an eyebrow. "No? Well, you did get off the rack, so I'm thinking you definitely have a limit as to how much torture you can take. Now, I'm no demon, but trust me, I can get very creative."
He waved a hand at Dean and the hunter suddenly felt like a knife, no, ten knives, had been driven through his gut. He choked, having to let go of Sam who was still curled around himself vomiting blood. Dean could feel it bubbling up in his own throat now as he braced himself on the ground with his hands and retched up some blood after another twist of agony in his stomach.
"Zachariah stop this!" Cas demanded.
"Why? I've just started to have fun," Zachariah sneered as he strode over to Dean and grabbed a handful of his hair, wrenching his head up. Dean groaned as blood dripped down his chin. "I find it interesting that you care so much for these pathetic human fleshsacks. That you would side with them over your own brothers. What are they to you, Castiel?"
Cas met Dean's eyes before traveling to Sam's agonized form. "They're my friends."
Zachariah rolled his eyes. "Ugh, how insufferably sickening."
He pointed casually at Dean and the hunter felt his arm snap. Agony tore through him as he screamed at the sudden pain. Zachariah tossed him aside to lay against the wrecked car a few feet from Cas. Dean cradled his broken arm as he fought the urge to throw up from that too.
"Dean!" Cas shouted, but Zachariah was already heading toward Sam now, he picked up the injured young man and Dean tried to lever himself upright.
"And now the boy with the demon blood," Zachariah sneered, dragging Sam up to the young man's weak protests. "It disgusts me that I have to use you and your abominable addiction, but when you need to get results…" He shrugged and waved a hand. There was an audible snap and one of Sam's legs buckled. He screamed and Zachariah threw him toward Dean to collapse in a heap beside his brother.
"Sammy," Dean grunted, reaching out with his good hand as Sam curled up in agony, tears slipping from his eyes. Dean snarled up at the angel.
"You think this is going to make us do what you want? You're wrong, you dick! Anyone who hurts my brother can go to hell, so bite me!"
"Oh, we'll bite," Zachariah said with an eager look on his face. He turned to the other angels and nodded to the two wounded hunters and Cas. "What do you say we move this conversation to a place more private. We don't want any civilians to wander in.
At just that moment, the sound of a car engine revving to the max could be heard in the distance and Dean's ears pricked up because…no, it couldn't be, but yet, it was so familiar…
"Sir!" One of the angels cried, but it was too late.
The Impala came barreling over a hill in the road and, as Zachariah turned to look, she slammed into him before skidding to a stop with a screech of brakes.
The passenger door flew open and Anna leapt out, fury on her face and an angel blade in her hand.
"Let them go," she said firmly, and when the other angels sneered and rushed forward she met them head on.
Released from his guard, Cas made his way to the Winchesters, crawling to close the few feet between them.
"Cas, you okay?" Dean gritted from between clenched teeth.
"Better than you at the moment," Cas said and reached out to touch Dean's forehead. Dean gasped as he felt his arm knit back together and the pain in his abdomen cease. Cas then did the same for Sam before he slumped on his hands and knees, arms trembling.
"That…took more out of me than expected," Cas panted. "I don't think that will be so easy now…"
"Cas, dammit, don't overtax yourself," Dean snapped, but reached out for Sam as the younger man sat up, grasping his leg. "Sammy?"
"I-I'm okay," he murmured.
A burst of light told them that Anna had gotten one of the angels.
The driver's door to the Impala opened and Bobby leaned out. "What are you waiting for, ya idjits? Get in!"
Sam and Dean scrambled to their feet and reached down to haul Cas up between them before they rushed for the car. Dean piled Sam and Cas into the backseat and then glanced toward the spot where Zachariah lay on the ground behind the Impala. He was groaning and Dean quickly snatched up the angel blade—Cas'—that Zachariah had taken from Dean.
"Anna!" he cried, as she took out the other angel and then hurried to the car, leaping into the backseat as Dean climbed into the passenger seat up font and slammed the door shut.
Bobby put the car in drive and squealed the tires. There was a thump as the hunter backed over Zachariah and then turned completely around before tearing off down the highway.
Dean spun around to watch Zachariah's prone body disappear into the distance, holding his breath, but the angel didn't get up.
"You think he's dead?" he asked.
"Unlikely," Anna said, glancing back as well. "But it might take him a while to recover from that."
Dean swallowed hard. "Well, you got there just in time. How'd you find us?"
"Chuck," Bobby said. "He called me after he got some vision. And after Anna showed up at my door, we went to grab the car and come find you."
"How'd you drive here so fast?" Sam asked, looking around as if he had missed something.
"We didn't, Anna mojo'd us here with the car."
Dean spun around to look at the female angel, eyes wide. "You can do that?"
"Not usually, no," Anna replied, a furrow in her brow. "Perhaps it was an adrenaline thing."
Cas glanced at her with a frown as well, but didn't say anything. Anna shook herself and continued.
"I was able to track you, which meant the other angels would be able to as well," Anna said. "I knew it wouldn't be long before they found you again even with warding. I took Zach on a merry chase but it was only a matter of time before he went after you three again."
"They have to be warded," Cas said wearily and leaned forward to a tsk from Anna to grip the back of the seat. Dean turned to ask him what he was doing when Cas reached over to press a hand to Dean's chest and a sharp, grinding pain radiated across his diaphragm.
Dean choked back a yelp. "Cas, what the hell?"
Cas did the same to Sam who gasped with a wince, before he slumped back against the seat, looking exhausted, eyes barely open. "Enochian sigils, carved into your ribs," Cas said. "They will keep you hidden."
"You carved it into our ribs?" Dean asked, pressing a hand to his chest, unsure whether to feel grateful or violated.
"It had to be done," Cas said simply.
"Yes, and now you need to rest," Anna chided gently. "You are badly wounded, Cas."
"I'm fine, I just need to recharge," he said.
"No, you're not, your wing…" Anna bit her lip.
Cas turned his head to one side. "I know. But I will survive."
Anna's jaw clenched in anger. "What he did to you, that was not punishment, that was just cruelty."
"Did you expect any different?" Cas asked wryly.
Anna shook her head, and the haunted look in her eyes returned. "No. Zachariah is a monster."
Cas nodded. "He is. But, Anna… Thank you. All of you. You did not have to come to my aid."
"Of course we did, Cas," Sam told him sincerely. "You're our friend. You came for me when I was in danger. You…you got Dean out of Hell."
"Exactly," Dean said over his shoulder.
"And this is not the first time I've had to pull you out of a sticky situation, is it, brother?" Anna added with some fond amusement.
"As I recall, I'm not the only one," Cas retorted.
Anna smiled then and reached out to gently take Cas' hand in hers, squeezing it. "Enough of your stubbornness, Cas. You need to rest. I will help you heal what wounds I can."
Cas sighed deeply, but his eyes were already sliding shut and Anna guided his head against her shoulder as he slumped more heavily against her, obviously still exhausted and in pain. Dean watched them in the rearview mirror for a few moments, then looked out the window, afraid that more angels might pop up at any minute. At least Cas had some siblings he could trust. That was one thing to be thankful for.
They decided to drive straight through to Sioux Falls, and Dean finally snatched a couple hours of sleep, leaning against the window of the Impala. It was a comforting, familiar position, and the sound of his Baby's engine lulled him to sleep. When he woke, feeling mildly refreshed, he spelled Bobby for a couple hours. Sam and Cas were still passed out in the back, and Anna was keeping a lookout for any incoming angels. Dean just wanted to get back to Bobby's where they would be safe, and could work on getting everyone back on their feet.
And work on figuring out what the hell they were going to do about the coming apocalypse and how to stop it for good.
They got back to Sioux Falls at long last and Sam and Cas woke long enough to be led inside and bundled into Bobby's guest rooms. Dean wanted nothing more than to go to sleep himself, but he couldn't sleep until everyone was taken care of. He gathered up Bobby's first aid kit and then headed to the room they had put Cas in.
"Can I…do anything to help you?" Dean asked Anna as he caught her standing by the other angel's bed, watching Cas sleep.
"I just need to work on healing him right now. Do what I can," she said tiredly. "I…the burns I won't be able to heal since they were made with holy fire, but I can at least heal his back." She snorted slightly in disgust. "Back in heaven when we were lashed for punishment no one was allowed to help the angel in question heal. We had to do it naturally."
Dean felt anger boil up inside of him. "No offense, but I don't think Heaven sounds like all that good of a place."
"It was…once; a long time ago," Anna said, and got a faraway look in her eye as she sat on the edge of the bed, and began to search thought the first aid kit, pulling out a pair of medical scissors. She carefully started to cut through the bandages Dean and Sam had wrapped around Cas' chest earlier. "Before Lucifer rebelled, before our Father stopped taking an interest…it was good." Her face darkened as she began to reveal Cas' wounds. "But power hungry angels began to climb the ranks, and do anything they had to to get there and hold their positions. We were originally supposed to be the shepherds of humanity. I don't understand how any angels can now condone the want to destroy the earth. It is no better than what Lucifer tried to do all those millennia ago."
Dean nodded silently. He didn't really know what to say about that, after all, he hadn't even really believed in angels until Cas showed up.
Anna finally revealed Cas' wounds and she bit her lip as she inspected his back. "Zachariah always went farther than he had to. It was never just a punishment for him, it was…he enjoyed it."
Dean felt her disgust like a bad taste in his mouth. He watched as Anna gently placed her hand in the middle of Cas' back. The unconscious angel flinched and moaned softly, then stiffened as Anna's hand began to glow. Dean watched as the terrible lashmarks that covered Cas' back began to disappear. When his back was simply smooth skin again, Anna took her hand away and slumped, taking several deep breaths.
"You good?" Dean asked, concerned.
She nodded. "Yes, I just…expended a lot of energy."
"You should rest," Dean told her firmly.
She glanced up at him with a small wry smile. "So should you."
Dean sighed as he stood up and pulled a chair from the corner of the room, moving it to the side of the bed. "I'm guessing you're not gonna leave him. But stay here, recharge or whatever."
Anna smiled and gratefully took a seat in the chair. "Thank you. I will have to wait for him to wake up to start healing his wing. Though that will be a longer process."
Dean swallowed hard, remembering the pile of blood soaked feathers they had left back in the abandoned train station. "Cas said he was 'cut off'. What exactly does that mean?"
Anna sighed and slumped further in the chair. "Like me, he fell, so we aren't able to use all the powers Heaven has to offer us. Even now, I can barely heal other angels, but I can't heal humans, nor will Cas now, I assume, at least not for much longer. And eventually…" She looked sadly down at the wounded angel, still unconscious. "Eventually, we'll keep falling until we are, for all intents and purposes, human."
Dean's stomach flipped, as he stared at the red-headed angel. "What?"
She smiled sadly. "That's what falling is, Dean. You fall for humanity, that's what you become."
Dean swallowed sickly, horrified that he had been partly—no, probably mostly—responsible for this happening to Cas. How could he stand to watch this powerful being slowly becoming more and more human because he had chosen to side with the Winchesters in their rebellion?
He quickly turned to the side, running a hand over his face. "I, um, I think I'm going to go check on Sammy."
Anna nodded, then reached out to pull Cas' blankets over his shoulders, smoothing some hair from his forehead. Dean turned for the door swiftly, and marched across the hall to the other room where Sam was sleeping.
When he got there, he found his younger brother twisting in his sheets, in the throws of a fevered nightmare.
"No," he whispered, face twisted in pain. "No, Dean, please. I'm sorry! Don't…don't leave."
Dean's heart ached in his chest as he hurried to Sam's bed and leaned over, gripping his flailing arms comfortingly. "Sammy, shh, it's me. I'm here."
"Not really you," Sam muttered, deliriously. "Dean should have left me by now. Too much…too much blood. Too many mistakes."
Dean felt his throat tighten with emotion and turned to grab a chair from the small desk in the room and drag it over to the side of the bed. He then sat down and leaned over the mattress, reaching out to grip one of Sam's hands in his, trying to loosen his grip on the sheets.
"Sammy, listen to me; I'm never gonna leave you," he said earnestly. "I don't care what happened before, you know this wasn't your fault, and you know we're not just gonna cut you out."
He watched as a tear slid from under Sam's closed eyelid and Dean gently reached out and swiped it away with his thumb before he brushed the unruly hair from Sam's forehead. The younger man seemed to relax a little then, the fevered dream releasing him. His fingers twisted around Dean's instead of the sheet, and he turned on his side toward his brother. Dean watched Sam sleep, knowing that they still had a long journey ahead of them, but if they stuck together, he also thought they might just have a chance of getting out of it all alive.
Right now, though, they just needed to concentrate on getting back on their feet.