Chapter 16
Potholes

See if you can figure out why I named this chapter "potholes".

FUNFACT: I wrote most of this chapter on my front porch, because it was sunny outside, though I could barley see my screen because of the sun.

Castiel's POV

Finding and killing the goblins didn't exactly how we'd planned. The alpha was at their nest, which Ran found by using some Goddess magic that included green light and chanting in another language, it was an old barn, half fallen down in the middle of nowhere. We arrived with all the guns we had, Garth, Audumbla and I. I had the ambers, which, because of the blessings, would never be extinguished until the dead was done.

Not to our surprise the nest had hundreds of goblins inside, all were piled together and seem to be sleeping. Ran had explained how goblins need sleep but they can go days on end without it, they usually just stumble into the nest and fall into slumber. We crept in and within seconds found the alpha. It was much bigger than the others. Huge biceps and what must have been an eight pack. If he wasn't about eight feet tall and his skin tinged blue green and hair growing from parts I didn't even know hair could grow from. He would have looked a lot like Henry from high school; he had the same sort of face shape, at least.

I snapped back into reality as Garth slid past me and around a goblin, walking towards the alpha. I followed close behind, Audumbla bringing up the rear. The alpha wasn't pilled up with the large group, he was leaning up on what looked like several potato bags, when I approached I realized they were corpses. Two people, - which I recognized as two of the five that had gone missing, - and three goblins. The goblins were definitely dead; I wondered absently what they had done to receive death from their clan mates. I also wondered what could possible be so messed up in ones brain to make them sleep on dead bodies.

I held the ambers up near me face, unsure on how to kill the alpha. Truthfully, I did know, all you needed to do was press the ambers against his skin and he would burn on the spot, along with all the other goblins. Still, I was nervous.

Audumbla glided up beside me and nodded her head, I understood she was motioning for me to go ahead.

I took three steps forward, I was close enough to smell the Alpha goblin's breath, it smells of rotting corps and feet.

Maybe that was just the actually rotting corps. But there was a definite feet smell.

I lowered the ambers, and just as I was about to plunge them forward, the goblins eyes flicked open, he roared and in one swift moment stood up and swatted the ambers out of my hands. The other goblins untangled themselves and tumbled onto the ground, they roared in reply and quickly surrounded us, awaiting the alphas command.

I froze, Audumbla's breath was hot on my neck, I didn't know where Garth was. I glanced around, he was completely gone, I realized with a jolt. Also gone, was the ambers. I cursed, the alpha titled its head, he seemed to recognize us, he must have ordered the other goblins to attack us on the dirt road two days ago. And he must have assumed we'd died, or he was just confused at what we were doing here. I didn't know how big a goblins brain was.

The alpha made a grumbling noise in its throat, maybe it was his stomach, neither was a good sign. My mind raced for any way to get the ambers back and stab him before the other hundred or so goblins killed us all.

The alpha took one step forward and suddenly stopped, his eyes wide, after about two seconds, which, at the time, seemed like an eternity. His eyes rolled up and literally fell out of his head, they rolled across the ground, gathering dirt as they went. I glanced around, all the other goblins seemed just as terrified, and Audumbla was just as confused as I was. Then, without warning the eyeless Alpha burst into flames, they licked up his hairy body and he fell to his knees then onto his face. In the three seconds in between the moment he hit the ground and the rest of the goblins started roaring in pain as they too, erupted in flames, I saw the surprised face of Garth, holding the ambers in front of him right behind where the alpha once stood.

The pack, now entirely engulfed in flames raced around smashing into one another, roaring and howling. One my one, they fell on their faces and as soon as they hit the ground, the enchanted fire went out. Audumbla and I ducked down, trying to avoid the flames, I was sure they wouldn't hurt me, because of the blessing and all, but it was no different from being in a house as it burned. When the last goblins fell to the ground I stood up, the bodies were everywhere, charred to unrecognizable shapes. Garth walked up beside me.

"Wow," he said.

I swallowed, "Thank you, you really saved our lives there," I muttered.

"Yeah." Was all he said in return.

"What the hell are you saying?" I asked, bewildered by the suddenness of Garth's proposal.

"I'm just saying that I worked better on my own," he replied.

It had been three months since we'd left Irvine and I did have suspicions that Garth was thinking about something. I didn't want to bring it up, though. In case it was something personal. Now I wished I'd said something sooner, before I'd spent twenty dollars on a Christmas present for him. We now stood in our motel, having just arrived our stuff was thrown onto one of the beds.

"So you just realized this?"

Garth shook his head, "No, it was in Irvine, with Audumbla, I just… I could have done that quickly, easier, without you guys… When we were in the alpha's lair I got washed away in the crowd of goblins and you and Audumbla didn't worry or stall or anything, I did everything… It just reminded me of when I hunted on my own, I had my own ways of doing things and usually I got the job done quickly with barely any casualties."

"So I'm not a good enough hunter for you?" I asked, realizing then, that I sounded like a desperate high school aged girl whose boyfriend was saying how "he just didn't love her anymore."

"Its not that," Garth paused, "I don't know just… I'm gonna hunt on my own now."

We stared at each other for a while.

Then Garth picked up his duffel bag, a gun that was sitting on his bed and his jacket, he walked to the door and paused.

I was so confused that I stood there, awkwardly. He turned and said, "See you later, alligator," and with that, he turned and left.

I stayed standing there, wondering if I'd die while hunting on my own.

After a while of contemplating I decided to go and figure that out.

I drove down the highway wondering how I would manage hunting by myself. I knew I would miss Garth, he had some funny quirks. And some weird ones.

I thought about how he gets drunk on one drink, how he interviews children with a sock puppet and a silly voice. Garth was an odd guy.

I'd never hunted alone before, I'd always had at least some comfort for Garth having my back, even if it was Garth. Recently, I'd found some possible cases, but none of them had actually turned out to be hunts, just crazy people or teenagers. Now, I was doing the one thing I never though I would.

Considering that I might die soon, I was going to visit Samandriel.

I know that was really short but I had to end it there. Please please please review I really need to know what you thought, even if its four words just give me some feedback please and thank you.