A moment before the end
His chest was on fire. He felt like each breath he took was like breathing in razor blades. He wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. He risked a look behind him but nothing had changed. The police were having no problem keeping up with him.
He groaned as he made a quick left down an alley way. He had an idea. Probably not a smart one but one that could get him away from this chase. He pushed himself to run faster and get some more distance between them. He jumped over a silver metal trash can and knocked it into the way of the police as he did so.
He could hear by the way their footsteps resided momentarily that he succeeded in slowing them down for only a moment. But that was all he needed. The end of the building had a ladder that he could reach if he jumped high enough.
He ran faster to it then lunged himself forward barely gripping the first step. He swung his legs up to the building to help support him better. He stretched his body out to grab onto the second step then the third. He was eventually able to bring his feet to the first step.
Cas climbed quickly up the ladder, not stopping to look down until he reached the top of the brick two story building. He pulled himself up with aching muscles and allowed himself to catch his breath once more.
His entire face was glowing with heat while exhaustion coursed wildly throughout him. He must've ran over two miles without stopping but the police were always sure to keep up with him.
He swallowed grimly as he looked down the building and watched in horror as one officer managed to lift himself up onto the ladder. He looked around him quickly for a way out.
His heart rate increased as he realized the only option left. He walked over to the edge of the building and watched the man slowly but surely climb his way to Cas. One officer cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Don't do it, kid! You have no way out. Just come surrender."
Cas furrowed his brow thoughtfully. On one hand, prison wasn't looking so bad right now but on the other hand he still had more work to do. He couldn't let it end just like this. He walked backwards while breathing heavily. He could do this.
He took off running with full energy and adrenaline filling his veins. He reached the edge of the building and used one foot to push himself off of it while extending his other leg. The neighboring building was in his reach as he came closer and closer to it.
Everything felt as if it was happening in slow motion. For this one moment, the world stopped spinning. There was only the sound of his quickening breaths and his body gliding through the air.
His world came back to life as soon as he hit the top of the new building with a harsh thud. Cas picked himself up quickly and checked himself over with disbelief. He just did that. And he came out untouched. He was feeling incredible.
Cas slowly walked over to the new buildings edge and checked the side for any ladders. He was thrilled to see that this one didn't have any. The group of police were staring up at him in shock. It made him feel unstoppable.
He offered a quick wave to them before turning around and running at full speed to the next building. He did the same as before but landed almost perfectly on his feet. Cas laughed out loud, incredulously. Then he jumped again onto the fourth building now.
He crouched lowly so he couldn't be seen by anyone from the ground level that passed by. He listened closely to any sounds of footsteps and smiled to himself when he heard none. He rolled onto his back and laid flat out on the roof in his moment of bliss.
The stars were bright in the night sky and the wind was blowing softly on his face. He counted the stars in the sky until he felt his phone vibrating wildly in his pocket.
Cas rolled his eyes but pulled his phone out anyway. The lit up screen displayed a funny picture of Dean that Cas had secretly captured of him. He caught him mid laugh at something Cas had said. His head was thrown back and small little crinkles surrounded his eyes as he squinted them. He loved that he could see a hint of green shining through the slits. Also, his perfect pearl white teeth showed how carefree he was in that moment.
Cas shook his head to himself for gushing silently over Dean while swiping to answer his call. He put the phone up to his hear and whispered, "Hello?"
"Cas! What the hell, dude. I've been calling you for five minutes now," Dean immediately started to scold him.
Cas furrowed his brow and sighed. "I haven't been gone very long," he defended himself. Or has he? It is possible that he may have lost track of time while finding time for peace.
"Yes, you have. You sent Gabe to the hospital," he said with disbelief.
"I sent him a message, Dean. He needs to back off and that was the only way to teach him," Cas explained calmly.
"What are you doing, man? You can't handle this anymore. This needs to stop," Dean begged through the phone. Cas could only imagine how he must be pacing around or chewing on his bottom lip like he usually does when he's worried.
Cas laughed as he sat up. "Stop? You want me to stop helping people? Stop exposing the truth that this campus is trying so hard to hide? I will not. And you haven't seen nothing yet."
"When is it going to stop? When you're dead? In jail? You're hurting your friends now, Cas. Please, end this," he continued to beg.
"I don't have friends. People like me don't have friends. I don't need Gabe and I sure as hell don't need you," Cas said numbly. It felt like he had no control anymore. His mouth was saying things before he had time to think them through but he couldn't stop.
"You may not need me but I know I need you. Please just-," Dean said as Cas ended the call mid-sentence. He couldn't believe what Dean was asking him to do. He never forced him to join him. What he did to Benny was his own doing.
His phone vibrated quickly in his hand indicating a new text message. He swiped to reveal a new message from the campus police. "After a lengthy encounter with the threat to KSU, we are disappointed to announce that the suspect has not been caught. Keep a look out for the marks on the neck and call the anonymous tip hotline if you believe you have spotted him. Classes will return to normal," Cas read softly to himself. He smiled victoriously to himself before shoving his phone back into his pocket.
Cas spotted a ledge at the end of the building's rooftop like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. He strutted over to it before climbing onto it and stepping back down to the ground level. The streets were empty with not even a whisper to keep him company.
But he didn't need anybody. He was fine alone. It's the way things needed to be. He jogged down the street then took all the back roads back to his frat house. He arrived at the quiet house a few moments later.
Cas pushed the ladder, that they kept on the side of the house, to rest in front of his bathroom's window. He climbed up the metal, creaking ladder then slipped into the open window. The shower was still running and hot fog filled the small room. He must've been gone for about an hour now but he was known to take extremely long showers.
He tore off the dark outfit before shoving his head under the running water and soaking his hair. Then, he turned off the water and slipped into a pair of sweatpants he had made sure to bring in earlier. Cas folded a clean towel and wrapped it around his shoulders while making sure to hide his marks.
Cas bent over and piled his alter self's outfit into the backpack he left inside the bathroom. He tossed it over his shoulder then walked out of the bathroom and across the hall to his bedroom. He placed the incriminating bag in front of his door before heading downstairs to see the aftermath of this eventful night.
A few of his brothers were crowded around the dining room table and talking animatedly to one another. Cas smiled widely at Aaron and Garth before sitting down between them casually.
"Are you just now getting out of the shower?" Aaron questioned him with a raised eyebrow.
Cas nodded. "Yeah. I just lost track of time is all," he said shyly.
"Dude, that means you missed what happened," Garth said with excitement. He was practically jumping out of his seat to tell Cas the story.
"What happened? What are you talking about?" Cas feigned innocence as he questioned them.
"Gabe is in the emergency room. That masked guy hit him right in the leg with Raphael's baseball bat. Can you believe that?" Aaron asked incredulously.
Cas' eyebrows shot up when he replayed the events. "What? Is he okay?" he asked them. This time he wasn't acting. He was just really hoping that he didn't do any serious damage to Gabe. Only enough to get him away.
Aaron nodded grimly. "Yeah. I think he said he shattered his tibia. He'll be home tomorrow," he answered.
Cas frowned to himself. He didn't mean to hit Gabe that hard. He only wanted him to go down or to leave him alone. The three of them sat in silence as the information hovered above them like a dark storm cloud.
"Hey, guys. Have you seen Dean? Did he leave?" Cas asked after a few minutes.
Garth shrugged as Aaron nodded. "Yeah but he didn't say much. He did seem pretty upset though."
Cas swallowed down the thick lump forming in his throat. "Oh. Okay. Well, I'm going to get some sleep," he informed them before getting up and walking back upstairs when they muttered their good nights to him.
Cas collapsed on his bed with utter exhaustion. His mind was racing with all things Dean but he couldn't bring himself to hurt his pride. He thought about how he succeeded in his plan of getting Gabe to stop being suspicious of Dean. He didn't expect anything to go this far. But now it was too late.
His phone vibrated on his pillow next to him while his eyes became heavier and heavier by the second. He picked his phone up in his hand but exhaustion took over his body before he could see the text message.
It was a message that was going to change him. An invitation to a house party from none other than Balthazar.