Here we go- Chapter Six! Enjoy :)

Chapter Six

"Cas, I found her."

Castiel nearly dropped the phone as he tried to make a right-hand turn. Sam kept talking.

"Her name is Candice Lockwood, but she goes by Candi. Honestly…. I can't really see her taming the big bad wolf that is now Dean Winchester."

"Looks can be deceiving, Sam."

"Yeah, but… she's only 23."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Castiel spotted his destination, and pulled into the parking lot. The presence of several police cars and ambulances confirmed he was in the right place.

"It's… just… young… never mind."

Castiel frowned. "Sam, I'm thousands of years old. You are all children."

There was silence on the other end, and Castiel could almost guarantee what kind of face Sam was making. "Okay, yeah," he finally said. "So what about you? Find anything?"

Castiel saw one of the cops looking suspiciously at him, and start making his way over. "I'm in Lawrence. It appears Dean was on a killing spree. I've got to go. I'll call you back." Before he could let Sam make a reply, he hung up, exiting his car to meet the officer.

"Who are you?" the cop demanded. Castiel glanced at the shiny badge he wore on his uniform. Sheriff.

"I'm… uh… the feds sent me." Castiel clumsily pulled his fake badge out of his pocket, flipping it open.

The sheriff peered at the badge for a moment before nodding and extending his hand. "Sheriff McDuff. Come on in. But I've got to warn you… it's not a pretty scene."

Castiel nodded and followed the sheriff into the bar.

The moment the door opened, he was hit with the sickening metallic scent of blood. There were bodies sprawled grotesquely all over the floor, and slumped against booths.

They were all demons, Castiel knew that for a fact. So at least Dean wasn't mindlessly killing innocent people.

"Looks like we have some kind of terrorist group at work here," Sheriff McDuff said, surveying the gruesome scene in front of them.

"Was there any footage?" Castiel asked, glancing up at the camera in the corner of the ceiling.

"Not much. It looked like a brawl started up, and then the camera went nuts. When it finally started working properly again…" He shook his head. "We couldn't actually see anything."

Castiel cocked his head to the side. "Why not?"

"Blood was spattered all over the lens."

Castiel nodded, looking around at the brutally murdered demons. He could tell by the wounds that this was definitely Dean's work. The first blade always left quite the mess.

"We'll let forensics finish up, then pack up the bodies. Feel free to look around." Sheriff McDuff tipped his head at Castiel, then left the scene.

Castiel carefully stepped around the bodies and avoided stepping in the puddles of blood that were still sticky. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. Some hint as to where Dean had gone would be nice, but he knew he wouldn't be so lucky as to have a ghost tell him again.

There were twenty-one bodies in all. Castiel wondered what Dean's purpose had been in coming here and killing them all.

Castiel paused his search, finding he was suddenly unable to stand the stench. He had never once in his life been queasy, so he doubted that was why he was suddenly feeling sick. He fought it off, trying to focus on looking for clues. His stomach lurched. He began to shake.

The doors banged open as Castiel rushed outside and around the back. Alone, he collapsed on the ground, trying to prop himself up on his hands and knees. A sudden coughing fit overtook him, racking his body, setting fire to his lungs. He couldn't breathe.

In a violent heave, he spat out a spray of blood.

The sudden cough attack faded away.

When it was over, he wiped his mouth, then wiped the blood on his hand on the grass. He was still quivering, but the wave of nausea was lessening. He could feel his grace. It was spurting like a car running on the last of its gas.

With a prick of fear, Castiel realized he might not live long enough to find Dean.

Candi arrived home at 10:15, worn out and wanting nothing more than a hot bath before bed.

Aunt Maggie was in the kitchen, sorting out bills. The circles under her eyes looked darker tonight. She looked up when Candi came in. "Hey, honey. How was work?"

"The usual." She paused. Well, except for that one guy who had her name in his notebook. That was weird. But in the end, she figured it was no big deal. Maybe he was just writing something about Camden.

She gave her aunt a hug. She hated to bring this up now, but she really wanted to go to bed, and they had to get this discussion over with. She cleared her throat. "I put half a tank of gas in the car."

"Oh! Sweetheart, I'm so sorry- I was going to do that. I didn't think you had work tonight."

"I got called in."

"Well, I'll pay you back."

Maggie always said that. It hardly ever happened though, because she simply didn't have the money. It didn't make Candi upset. She understood.

Candi sat down at the table next to her aunt, trying to figure out how to best start the conversation they needed to have about the empty money tin. Instead, she said, "You have the night off?"

Maggie nodded. "I needed a break."

They were silent for a while, Maggie still sorting through bills, Candi examining an old grape juice stain on the table. The clock switched from 10:17 to 10:18.

Finally, Candi stood. "I'm going to take a shower. Need the bathroom?"

Maggie shook her head. "All yours."

They'd have their talk in the morning.

After Candi's hot shower, she ducked into her room, throwing her uniform on the ground. Someday she'd put her clothes away. She put what was left of her tips in a jar. She'd used most of it to pay for the gas.

She collapsed on the bed, closing her eyes and feeling her damp hair slowly soak the pillows. Her dad used to wonder if she ever got cold going to bed with her hair wet. He would gather it up in his hands and twirl it, giving her a kiss on the forehead before saying goodnight.

She could remember his voice as he said it, the way he glanced behind him at her before backing out of the room and closing the door. They had been a team. Just him and her. Against the world.

Now that he was gone, Candi couldn't help feeling that the world was trying to suffocate her. It closed around on all sides, making her feel hopeless.

Because without her dad, she wasn't strong enough to push through.

Something sharp and terrifying flitted inside Candi's middle, but it was gone as soon as it came. Sometimes that happened when she thought of her dad. She wondered if it was just the echoes of that first pain of realizing she'd lost the one person she had left reverberating through her system.

Candi willed herself not to think about her dad. She didn't feel like crying herself to sleep tonight. She needed a good night's rest. Tomorrow she'd be able to sleep in, but then she was working the lunch shift at the Hickory.

Her phone vibrated, and Candi reached for it. Jen had texted. "You work too hard," it read. Candi chuckled to herself, and considered what to text back, when her phone vibrated again. "When are you free? You. Me. Girl date."

A girl date with Jen was long overdue. She quickly texted back. "Tomorrow. I get off at three."

She set her phone down, and curled up under her covers. There was the faint scent of a jolly rancher on her pillow. She mildly wondered where it'd come from before she fell asleep.

She walked out of the restaurant at exactly 3:04. Sam watched her make her way to her car and get in. He waited until she pulled out of the parking lot before he started the Impala and took off after her.

They needed to talk.

She led them to one of the many docks jutting into the harbor. Someone was waiting for her. The dirty blonde gave Candi a hug, Candi locked her car, and they began to stroll along the sidewalk. Sam went farther down the road, parked, and followed on foot, always keeping his distance.

Tourists crushed in around him, some of them wearing far less than needed. It looked like Candi was on a window shopping spree with her friend. She seemed happy. Content with life.

There had to be something wrong.

Upon doing more research, he'd learned that Candi's grandfather had also drowned, along with her grandfather's sister. So, there was something fishy going on with her family. And it included both the males and the females.

He'd also read up more on Candi's story. She had seen her father drown. But that wasn't all. She had claimed that something had attacked him. Pulled him under. So ensued a hunt for any sharks or giant fish by the locals, but nothing turned up but Dave's body, full and intact, hours later.

Sam knew that Candi knew more about what had happened that day. And he needed her to tell him.

He wasn't about to lose Dean's last hope to some underwater monster. Sam dodged inside a small shop when Candi and her friend turned around, trying to decide where to go next. After he was certain they wouldn't see him, he stepped back out.

Maybe he was overreacting. But he and Dean had seen this type of thing countless times. There's a pattern. A mysterious death. There had to be something unnatural going on.

Or, her family had bad luck with water, and Dave really had just drowned or was pulled down by fishing line or something.

But it was better safe than sorry, especially with this precious cargo.

Sam's phone began ringing. He quickly pulled it out and inhaled sharply when he saw who was calling. About time. Sam was beginning to worry Cas had fallen off the face of the earth. He'd tried multiple times to call him since last night, but to no avail.

He answered. "Cas, where the hell have you been?"

"Sorry, I…" He was cut off by a fit of coughing.

Sam pressed his phone closer to his ear. "Cas?" He could only listen as Castiel rasped, trying to catch his breath.

"Sam," he finally gasped, "My grace. I fear I don't have long."

Panic flickered inside of Sam. No. No, Cas couldn't check out yet. They still had to find Dean. "Cas," Sam said firmly, "You need to go to Metatron. You need to see if there's a way to fix this."

"No, Sam. I will not make deals with him."

Sam gritted his teeth, completely forgetting that he needed to follow Candi. "Cas, listen to me. You're no help to Dean dead."

There was silence on the other side of the line. "I'd have to stop looking for Dean."

"Know what? I'll take over from here. You do what you have to do, man. We don't want to lose you."

Another pause. "We?"

Sam realized his mistake. But then again—maybe it wasn't. "Yes. Me… and Dean. No matter how bad Dean is now, we'll fix him. And there would be hell to pay if he learned you had died while he was out."

There was another long silence. Then, "I'll go to Metatron."

Sam nodded, even though he knew Castiel couldn't see him. "Take care of yourself, Cas."

"You too, Sam. Oh, and Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I couldn't find anything on Dean. He had been in Lawrence, Kansas. He killed an entire bar-full of demons."

"Huh." Sam frowned. "I guess as long as he hasn't killed any humans yet. But why in Lawrence?"

"I don't know."

Neither of them spoke for a few seconds. Sam thought he saw a glimpse of Candi and her friend somewhere in the crowd up ahead. They were making their way back.

"Alright, Cas, I've got to go. Call if you need anything."

"I will."

Sam hung up, and quickly picked up a brochure from a rack, pretending to look through it. When she passed by, he was going to ask her a few questions.

And then he'd hit the road.