CHAPTER 11
Caught in the undertow
When the Impala pulled up to the house, Bobby was down the front stairs before the car was even in park. Sam let out a sigh as he took a glance over to Gabriel in the seat next to him. "What are we going to tell him?" He asked as he pulled the keys from the ignition.
"Uh, how about the truth?" Gabriel abruptly replied. "It's kind of hard to lie about getting your ass kicked when it looks like you literally got your ass kicked." There was a moment of silence as Sam shook his head. "Hey, you asked." The archangel replied, stepping out of the car and walking around to open the back door.
Bobby made his way over as he watched Sam crawl out from behind the wheel, his arm tucked tight against his body. "Couple demons showed up." The veteran hunter started, instantly noticing the dark red stain that had soaked through the other man's shirt. "Told me they'd be keeping a close eye on the place in case the angels pull another stunt like the one they did in Scythe earlier this morning..." He paused for only a moment as Gabriel pulled Castiel from the back seat of the car and Sam reached over to open the rear door for Bela. "You all look in pretty rough shape, someone mind telling me what the Hell actually happened in Scythe?"
"We had our ass handed to us on a silver platter by a dozen or so Archangel's who no longer seem to be letting the angels do the dirty work for them." Bela was quick to reply as she caught Bobby's curious eyes.
"Wait, you went up against Archangels?" Bobby asked, raising an eyebrow as he watched the young woman put a hand against the car to steady her steps. "Those sons of bitches are worse than the angels under their command." He paused for a moment as his eyes caught Gabriel's. "Uh present company excluded of course..."
"I haven't been an Archangel in years." Gabriel muttered, propping Castiel up against him as he shut the Impala's door.
"This don't make any sense..." Bobby said, pausing for only a moment as thunder growled overhead. "Why would the Archangels get their hands dirty when they have armies of angels at their disposal?"
"Michael's done screwing around." Bela started, her tone of voice dry. "So he brought in the big guns to get the job done. In case you haven't noticed yet, Sam & Dean have a high price on their heads... They're Heaven's biggest threat and Michael will stop at nothing to see them dead."
"But I thought the demons had the stronghold." Sam said, reaching out to help Bela make her way around to the other side of the Impala "I thought Lucifer was winning this..."
When Bela let out a chuckle, Sam instantly silenced. "You really have no perspective on this whole Heaven & Hell war do you?" She asked, sucking in a breath as they carefully made their way back towards the house. "Even if Heaven is loosing, Michael isn't going to call his angels back. They're going to die before they give in because this isn't about winning or loosing anymore, it's about pride... vanity."
Bobby swallowed hard as he took a quick glance around, though he could see no one there, he knew the place was crawling with demons sent out to keep a watchful eye. "Alright, let's get you guys inside..." He started, his gaze drifting from Sam & Bela to Gabriel & Castiel. "You can reassess this mess once you're all cleaned up." He continued, walking up the front steps and pulling the door open for his injured crew. Though he desperately wanted to ask about Dean's whereabouts, he knew now wasn't the time, Sam already had more than enough on his mind. "Can I get a little help down here?" He called out, his gaze drifting up the stairs towards the second floor as he shut the door behind them.
"Who are you talking to?" Sam asked, watching as Gabriel dragged Castiel to the living room and let him fall hard on the sofa.
"Myself." Bobby grumbled, making his way towards the bottom of the stairs. "LADIES! A little help?" He called out again.
When footsteps above made the old floor boards creak, Sam couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "You have company?" He asked, his gaze drifting over to the veteran hunter at his side.
"You make it sound like the man doesn't have a life beyond you and your brother..." Bela muttered, passing Sam in the doorway as she joined the renegade angels in the living room. "You'd be surprised by what you don't know."
Sam was about to comment but when Ellen and Jo turned the corner at the top of the stairs, his words just disappeared. "What the Hell happened to you?" Ellen started, catching his eyes as she made her way down the stairs in a hurry.
"Got into a little scuffle..." Bobby explained, pointing the women towards the trio in the living room. "Ellen, Jo, that's Gabriel & Bela... Some old friends of the boys." He continued, his tone of voice low as he caught Sam's eyes.
"Sam, we need to have a look at that right away." Ellen said as she studied the dark red stain that covered his shirt. "Jo, honey go get some towels upstairs, Bobby get a first aid kit out will ya?"
"I've got to admit." Sam started, wincing as the woman helped him out of his jacket. "I'm surprised to see you two here."
"Why's that?" Ellen was quick to reply, her gaze drifting into the living room as Gabriel pulled a chair out for Bela to take a seat. "The entire area is a hot spot, there's omens surfacing all over the county... Isn't that what brought you out here? The whole Apocalypse thing?" She paused for only a moment as Sam swore under his breath, his eyes instantly closing as he brought a hand up to the large slash. "Jo and I were on our way to Scythe but knew we'd better stop here to check in on Bobby... Boy were we surprised to see him up and walking again." She said, smiling as the veteran hunter made his way back towards them, first aid kit in hand. "Glad that doctor was wrong..."
"I strongly suggest you stay away from Scythe." Bela said from the living room without looking over. "It's much more than just a hot spot now."
"So I've heard." Ellen replied, her gaze momentarily drifting over to the other woman before focusing on the young hunter standing in front of her. "C'mon, we need to get you out of that shirt." She continued, pointing him towards the living room as Jo made her way back down the stairs.
Sam sucked in a breath as he started to unbutton his shirt, every time he moved, a new wave of pain traveled down his arm; bringing him right back to that moment where the archangel's blade had pierced his skin. By the time he had his shirt off, he was almost in tears.
"Now let's have a look at this." Ellen started, grabbing a towel from her daughter's hands to wipe off the blood. "I'm not going to lie, this is probably going to hurt like a bitch."
"It already does." Sam muttered, forcing a smile as he caught Jo's eyes.
There was a moment of silence as Ellen pulled the towel away. "Well I hate to tell ya this kid." She started, swearing to herself as she examined the wound. "It's a clean cut, but it's pretty bad..."
"There's something you should know." Sam started, sucking in another breath as she pressed the towel back down to the gash. "Dean & I ran into a bit of..."
"I know all about it Sam." She was quick to interrupt, instantly silencing him as she caught his eyes. "Bobby filled us in on this plan of yours, we know about the angels trying to kill us off and the deal Dean made with Lucifer."
"You don't know half of it." Gabriel cut in, casually making his way over. "And it's probably better that way." He went on, reaching out to place a hand over Ellen's and the towel she was holding against Sam's wound.
When a sudden pain ripped through his shoulder, Sam couldn't help but swear under his breath. Had it lasted more than a fraction of a second, it would have brought him to his knees. When Gabriel pulled away and the sharp pain instantly subsided, his mind quickly made the connection. "Gabe, you alright?" He asked, watching as the archangel struggled to catch his breath. "Gabe..." He continued reaching out to help him keep his balance as Ellen took a step back.
"What the Hell just happened?" Ellen asked, watching as Gabriel fell into Sam's arms and Bobby moved in to help drag the other man over to the sofa. "He's an angel too, isn't he?" She started, watching as the pair lay him down next to Castiel.
"A burnt out Archangel actually." Bela replied frankly. "And if he keeps pulling stunts like this, he'll be on his way out in no time."
"Stunts like what?" Jo asked, her voice filling the void as Sam turned to face them.
When Ellen watched the young hunter pass a hand down the side of his neck and over his shoulder, she couldn't help but swear to herself. The deep cut in his shoulder was gone. "Did he just..." She trailed off as Sam gave her a nod.
"He's the one that gave Bobby back his legs too." Sam started, his eyes catching Ellen's as she made her way over. "Takes a lot out of him these days so he's probably going to be out for a little while." He explained as he pointed to the pair of renegade angels unconscious on the sofa. "Bobby and I are going to go over these two to make sure there's no serious injuries, why don't you take Bela upstairs and look after her."
"I can look after myself." Bela was quick to reply, her eyes narrowing as Sam turned to face her.
"Just let them stitch you up." Sam continued, holding her hard gaze for only a moment before turning his attention back to Gabriel and Castiel. "If those archangels were quick enough to get a few good cuts into one of their own, I know for a fact that they were quick enough to get a few into you too... You're tough but without your demon's you're just as vulnerable as the rest of us."
"Demons?" Ellen asked, raising an eyebrow as she turned to face the other woman.
"Get use to 'em." Bela started as she got up from her chair and started casually making her way towards the stairs. "Cause you're walking among the damned now."
Sam let out a sigh as he watched Ellen, Jo and Bela make their way up the stairs. "Bobby, I don't know what to do." He started, turning to face the older man.
"Yeah well that makes two of us." Bobby replied frankly.
"You should have seen those Archangels..." Sam started, his gaze drifting down to Castiel and Gabriel." Dozens of them just kept coming at us." He paused for a moment as the roll of thunder made the house shake. "It's almost as if they had nothing left to loose... I mean Gabriel's a renegade but he's still pretty high up in the ranks, Bela's one of Hell's most fierce & feared warriors and today Heaven went after both..."
"Well, like she said... They're going to die before they give in." Bobby offered, looking over as Sam pulled the car keys from his pocket. "Where are you going?"
"Just to get my duffle bag out of the car." The young hunter replied. "And reload my gun..."
Bobby passed a hand over his face as he watched Sam make his way out the door and down the front steps. It was the same tone of voice John use to use when he was desperately trying to keep himself together; the same tone he would use on his boys to show them nothing would stop him. When he turned his attention back to the angels, he was surprised to see that Castiel was sitting up. "Are you alright?" He asked, making his way back over as the angel's gaze fell down to Gabriel by his side. "You were out for a while..." He continued, studying the small cut on his cheek and the dry blood to the corner of his lip.
"Yeah, I think so." Castiel replied, wincing slightly as he put a hand up to his chest. "What about the others? Where are they?"
"They're both fine." Bobby replied, pulling a chair over to the middle of the living room. "Sam went out to the car and Bela's upstairs." He explained, grabbing a towel from his desk nearby. "Gabriel's out because he used his energy to close up a gash in Sam's shoulder... how about you, did any of them get a blade into you?"
There was a moment of silence as Castiel pulled his trench coat off to reveal a dark red stain near the collar of his shirt and signs of cuts up and down both arms. "I tried to keep them off of me, but there were too many of them..." He started, tossing his coat off to the side. "We just couldn't kill them off fast enough..." He paused as the door slammed shut and Sam turned the corner, smiling slightly as he caught the other man's eyes. "I'm just glad we got out of there..." He continued, loosening his tie. "It could have been worse, much worse."
"Yeah well, we have Bela to thank for getting us out of there." Sam started, making his way over towards the unconscious archangel spread out on the sofa. "That woman really gets to me sometimes, but she is true to her word." He said, turning Gabriel's hand over to examine the cut in his palm. "And she really seems to have control over the demons... They do whatever she tells them to and Lucifer trusts that she'll do a good job."
"It's just like the angels do with Michael." Castiel remarked, putting an arm out as Bobby pulled a chair up in front of him and took a seat. "The demons fear Bela to the point that they would rather follow than question her." There was a moment of silence as he watched Bobby clean one of the many cuts in his arms, carefully wiping away the streak of blood that was seeping from the wound. A slash from any other knife wouldn't have even broken his vessels skin, but the edge of an angel's blade could cut into just about anything. "I don't know what the angels are doing anymore." He started, turning his attention back to Sam who was cleaning the gash in Gabriel's hand. "Before it got bad, I could listen in on them, hear what the next orders were... But now it's like a dead signal, I can't pick up on anything..."
"Yeah well, maybe Dean's having better luck with the sons of bitches." Sam muttered, his mind racing with thoughts of what his brother might be doing down in Hell.
"I want you to know that I tried to talk him out of it." Castiel suddenly started, waiting for the younger man to look over and catch his eyes. "He told me that he was only doing it to help Lucifer along..." He said, his tone of voice low. "But there's a part of him that wanted to be there in Hell..."
"I get that feeling too." Sam hissed, grabbing a roll of bandage from the first aid kit nearby and getting back to work. "If he had only just let me die, he wouldn't have gotten a taste of Hell in the first place."
"Don't give me that crap." Bobby was quick to reply, glancing over his shoulder as he watched the other man wrap the bandage around the Archangel's injured hand. "This isn't your fault and you know it."
"Look, I'm not saying it's right." Castiel went on, wincing as Bobby passed the towel over one of the cuts. "But you need to put yourself in his place; Dean's angry and hurt, part of him is seeking revenge for all the hard times he's had... and Hell was the one place he felt in control of..."
"Cas, there's nothing you can say that's going to justify what's he's doing in Hell." Sam interrupted, silencing the angel as he finished dressing Gabriel's wound. "The brother I knew; before the Apocalypse started and before he realized he was a Guardian Angel led astray... He would have never, NEVER turned his back on what he believed in and what he stands for. No matter how angry or hurt, how broken, lost or far gone his soul really was... He would have NEVER gone back to torture others in Hell." Sam paused for a moment as he got up from Gabriel's side. "I'm going to go check on Bela." He announced as he made his way towards the stairs.
"You need to keep in mind that when you were drinking demon blood, you had yourself convinced that what you were doing was for all the right reasons..." Castiel suddenly started, his words stopping the other man dead in his tracks.
"And what exactly does that have to do with Dean torturing souls in Hell?" Sam snapped, turning slightly to catch the angel's eyes.
"The demon blood was your addiction, you did it because it made you feel in control." Castiel continued without missing a beat. "Well this is his addiction, and it makes him feel the same way."
Sam held the angel's blue eyes for a moment before he turned to make his way up the stairs, Castiel's chilling comparison now the only thing circling in his head. By revealing Dean's ties to Heaven and the angels true intentions, Zachariah had provided that one last push needed to send him over the edge and back into a darkness he had kept to himself. Sam didn't want to believe it but deep down inside he knew that it was true; Dean, he thought, had been far too eager and willing to join the ranks of Hell. When he reached the top of the stairs, he noticed one of the bedroom doors left ajar at the end of the hall and made his way towards it, his mind now swarming with thoughts of his older brother's lust for control over the forces that had pushed and pulled him through life. As he reached the door he paused in his steps to peer inside, his eyes instantly focusing on the large silver blade leaning up against a dresser nearby. Much longer than the angels weapon of choice and far more intimidating than an archangel's blade, he'd been intrigued by it ever since Gabriel had asked Bela if it belonged to a Guardian Angel; a sect he didn't know existed until Zachariah's shocking revelation.
In the middle of the room, Bela sat on a chair with her back to him; her right arm cradled in Ellen's hands while her left hand clutched the towel she was using to cover herself up. Jo sat on the floor to her left, busy stitching shut a slice in her side while Ellen cleaned the cuts that covered her free hand. Watching Jo work made his mind race back to the motel room where night after night he'd be doing the same, stitching shut the gash in his brother's side. The moment Zachariah's blade had sliced into Dean's flesh was the moment their plans had all gone to Hell. Literally. Though Jo's steady hands were covered in blood, it was the cuts that weren't bleeding that made his breath catch in the back of his throat. From across the room, he couldn't help but notice the marks that riddled Bela's back; some of them stretching from her shoulders right down to her waist. Every inch of flesh visible was scared in one way or another, leaving him to wonder what she'd been through during her years of service in Hell.
"Sam." Ellen called out, her voice pulling his eyes away from the woman in front of her. "Can you give us a little privacy here?"
"It's alright, he can come in." Bela interrupted, looking over her shoulder for a moment as the young hunter slowly wandered into the room.
Sam took a few steps forward before coming to a stop, his eyes still glued to the scars that crisscrossed her flesh. "How are you doing?" He asked, his words barely coming together as he thought of the Hellish map scrawled across her backside. "Those archangels didn't slice you up too bad, did they?"
"Just a few cuts, nothing I can't handle." Bela replied, wincing slightly as Jo made another pass. "Too bad this isn't a vessel I can just heal up like those sons of bitches do."
There was a moment of silence as Sam wrestled with the questions he wanted to ask, the thunder grumbling overhead filling the void for only a moment as he collected his thoughts and worked up the nerve. "Bela, where are all those scars from?" He asked quietly, his tone of voice forcing the woman to look back at him as both Ellen and Jo paused from what they were doing.
"Where do you think, Sam?" Bela replied bluntly, holding his eyes just long enough to watch the expression on his face change from curiosity to disgust. "Your brother knew how to leave his mark."
Her words made his blood run cold and sent a shiver down his spine. He stood frozen in his steps, his eyes transfixed on the marks and his mind numb with the thought that his older brother really was responsible for such damage. Dean had given up his life to save him, but judging by the aftermath of such a deal, Sam was starting to wonder if his older brother's selfless act had been worth the price they would all have pay in the end. Had he died in Dean's arms that cold rainy night, none of this would have happened. Dean wouldn't have broken that first seal in Hell and he wouldn't have broken the last one that set Lucifer free.
"Sam." Ellen started softly, her voice pulling the young hunter's troubled eyes off the floor. "Could you give us a minute? We're almost done..."
Sam offered a nod as he turned and made his way back out into the hall, shutting the door behind him before leaning up against the wall. He closed his eyes for a moment, unable to clear his head of the dire circumstances they were in. When the floor boards near the stairs creaked under someone's feet, he couldn't help but look over, his eyes catching Gabriel's as the archangel made his way over. "Bela's going to be fine. How about you, are you alright?" He asked quietly, passing a hand over his face as he tried to regain his composure.
"I'm fine." Gabriel replied simply. "Closing that gap in your shoulder just sucked the life out of me for a moment."
"Thank you for doing it..." Sam started, offering what he could of a smile as his gaze momentarily drifted to Bobby and Castiel as they made their way up the stairs. As he turned his attention to the closed bedroom door, his mind once again started to race. "Gabriel, I need to know how Bela could have gotten her hands on a Guardian Angel's blade." He said, watching as the archangel's eyes dropped to the floor. "The look of surprise on your face when you saw it in her hands tells me that there's more to it than..."
"I was surprised because they're rare, I don't know where she got it." Gabriel was quick to reply, sucking in a breath as he looked back up to catch the young hunter's eyes. "There's only a couple dozen Guardian Angel's out there and only one of them with a blade like that... I'm talking custom made here." He paused for only a moment as the crack of lightning echoed through the house. "Sam, the last time I saw that blade was the night I placed it in your mother's hands... it belongs to your brother."