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The Supernatural characters belong to Kripke Enterprises and the CW, not me. No money is being made from this story. It is for entertainment only.
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A Wandering Boy
Chapter 18
A New Day in the Life
From Chapter 17
She wants the roosters but she'll take a hen or chick if she has to."
Castiel had no idea what Bobby was talking about. This habit humans had of throwing animals into the conversation was something he really did not yet understand. Sam muttered to himself and took another bite of pancake before responding.
"Thanks Bobby. Did she leave a number? We better deal with her before she starts trailing us all over town. Dean, if she approaches you make sure you keep your mouth shut and your head down. No talking about Angels."
Dean tried to lick the sticky off his fork and hand. "I know. I won't talk to her without you.'
Bobby got up and went for a wet towel for the 10 year old. "Here, get the syrup off you and get it off my table too. You guys should hit the road and watch out for News Vans. Have a good day, Dean."
As Bobby started picking up the kitchen Sam stood up to help. "By the way. Sam," Bobby murmured "when you get back I have a new hunt I want to talk to you about. You and Castiel might want to look into it." Bobby glanced over at the Angel sitting at his kitchen table like an everyday human being. "It's right up your partner's alley. It's a haunted church."
Chapter 18
By the time they got the sticky off Dean's face, hands and, somehow, his hair, they were getting pretty late for school and had to rush. Sam grabbed Dean's still slightly sticky hand, Cas shoved the kid's book bag at the big brother and they ran. Sam gunned the Impala and Dean cheered. The little boy leaned against the passenger window to wave at Cas and Bobby on the porch. As the Impala shot down the driveway Dean's family waved back.
"Come on, Angel," Bobby said to Castiel. "I'll show you how humans clean a kitchen. "
Sam dropped Dean at school and watched in the rear view mirror as the boy joined up with his friends, Kerman and Jerry. Sam was pleased that Dean seemed to make friends fairly easily. Sam had always been alone in his multitude of schools; always the new kid, always the freak. The loneliness had made of Sam what he was today, a quiet, withdrawn loner, slow to make friends and even slower to trust.
Dean walked to Mr. Martinez' English class with his friends and was relieved to notice that he didn't seem to be the center of attention this morning. Whatever was sending a buzz through the elementary school this morning it wasn't Dean's family. Unfortunately on his way to his second period English class he ran into Al Michaels again.
Al stood on the other side of the hallway and shouted at Dean. "Hey Winchester, my Dad says I have to stay away from you because the Principal says so but my Dad said that's because the homo is catching so I have to stay away or I'd come over there and punch you right in the mouth."
Dean shouted right back. "If that's what your Dad says and you believe it just means that stupid is catching too."
A crowd began to form and it was followed by teachers who broke up the shouting match sending Dean on to Phys Ed and Al Michaels on to where they kept the idiots, Dean thought. Another fun filled day at Discovery Elementary.
Principal Angelus stood outside his office hallway door and decided that his brief talk with Al and Mr. Michaels that morning perhaps had not really made a difference. Little Al Michaels had already been sent part way down a very dark path, following his father. Hopefully little Dean Winchester would follow his father as well. Gabriel turned back to his desk to tackle the day's demands.
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When Sam returned to the yard after dropping Dean off he found Castiel and Bobby sitting at the kitchen table, discussing matters of faith and the expected haunting at the Sunnydale Church in Sisseton.
"Sisseton is a city on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation in Roberts County. It has a population of around 2,500 people," Bobby said in what Sam thought of as his lecture voice, "and is the county seat for Roberts County. It's home to a number of attractions and is near the "Song to the Great Spirit" building on the campus of Sisseton Wahpeton College. Named for the Sisseton division of the Native American Sioux, the city is located a few miles north of the tribal seat of the tribe at Agency Village."
Sam went for a cup of coffee then pulled out a chair at the table. Bobby went on," If you guys take this hunt you step lightly,"
The Hunter peered at Castiel over the rim of his coffee cup. "Especially you, Feathers. Don't go scaring the natives. Something about that church is getting people killed. There are all kinds of rumors about an avenging angel killing sinners and a lot of those sinners are turning out to be the tribe's religious leaders; shamans, healers and people with strong religious convictions."
"This cannot be right." Castiel said. "No matter what the form any belief in God makes us all worshippers. No matter the form all are acceptable to my Father. Angels may only smite those who have given themselves over to demonic evil not those who number among the faithful."
Bobby stared at Castiel and Sam laughed at the look on the older Hunter's face. "Right. All faiths are acceptable; according to our friend here none are excluded. Not only that, you should hear the sex lecture. Evidently the world's religions have got it all wrong. God doesn't care."
With that Bobby stood up and went for more coffee. "Nothing like getting it straight from the horse's mouth, is there?"
"Do you have any more details about the hunt, Bobby?" Sam asked.
"It seems to be the same story each time," Bobby went on. "Strangers murdering strangers then they hang around waiting for the cops to show up. They don't even try to get away. They just wait and then tell the cops that an Angel told them to kill their victim. Not a lot to go on from the outside but I figure you guys can figure that out when you get there. I got the call for help from the Pastor of the Church that seems to be the center of these killings. All of the murderers seem to be associated with Sunnydale Christian in one way or another and Pastor Gregg is panicking."
"He feels that since all of the victims are non-Christian that people are going to look at this as a religious crime and are going to blame his church. He preached a sermon last week appealing to his flock to provide any help they could to aid in the investigation. There was a Hunter in the church, Eddie Masters, and he's the one that told the Pastor to send out the call for help. You guys interested?"
Castiel exchanged glances with Sam. "I believe that this is an important matter," the angel said. "This is a complete perversion of the will of my Father. Murder is one of the great errors that can lead to a soul's fall to demonic forces. This is a form of dedication of the soul to true evil and we must pull the religious mantle off of this delusion."
"Wow," Sam said. "That's as close to pissed off as I have ever seen you, Castiel."
The Angel stood. "We should leave immediately, before even more damage is done to the Lamb of God. In the first appearance of the Lamb in Revelations it is said that only the Lamb is worthy to take the judgment scroll from God and break the seals. This reference to the Lamb relates it to the Seven Spirits of God which appear in Revelations and are associated with Jesus who holds them along with seven stars. No one on Earth has holds the right of the judgment of souls. This activity you describe is a sure sign of demonic interference. It must be stopped."
"Hold on there for a minute, Feathers," Bobby interceded. "I may not understand everything you just said but I agree it is important. Take a deep breath..…: realizing what he just said Bobby stopped.
"I know it's not something you normally do but just wait a moment for the mere humans to catch up."
"Sorry, Bobby," Castiel said. "I am very concerned however about this sacrilege. It damages Heaven and all its works. It must be dealt with immediately."
Bobby glanced at Sam. "The ball's in your court Winchester. What do you need?"
"Would you watch over Dean tonight? He's coming home on the bus to demonstrate that we feel that it is safe for the children to use the bus again. I'd like that to remain unchanged but Castiel wants to leave right now for Sunnydale. Can you take care of our boy?"
"That's never a problem, Sam." Bobby answered. 'That kid is a close to a grandchild as I'm ever likely to get. Don't you worry about him. I was planning on making gingerbread cookies tonight anyway. This way I'll have a partner for the sloppier parts."
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Half an hour later Sam and Castiel were on the road, driving north to Sisseton. The college town was just over one hundred a fifty miles north of Sioux Falls, an easy three hour drive or two and a half if you pushed it. They expected to hit town midafternoon and have plenty of time to visit with Pastor Gregg of the Sunnydale Christian Church.
It was almost exactly three o'clock when they pulled up outside the neat, well-kept white church and got out of the car. Pastor Gregg had received a call when they were a mile out and was waiting on the church steps for them to arrive. He greeted them as saviors and Castiel was made uncomfortable once again. Sam simply shook the Pastor's hand and offered their support.
Once inside the church office the Pastor laid out all the materials he had gathered on the murders. Over and over his church had come under intense police scrutiny and his parishioners questioned and suspected of being members of some kind of conspiracy. Sam offered solace and hope to the sincere middle aged man. By sunset Pastor Gregg was able to go off home to dinner buoyed by the hope that these two strangers might be able to bring peace to his flock.
Gregg had lived in Sisseton all his life. His parents were buried in the church yard and he had married late in life to a sister of one of his oldest friends. The Pastor's life had flowed smoothly until this storm of events focused the spotlight of media frenzy upon his congregation. The rumors were wide spread and fantastic. Even his Sunday school was under attack.
He made arrangements for Sam and Castiel to be able to visit the self-confessed murderers in the various places they were being held, either in cells awaiting trial or in mental wards awaiting decisions on their fitness to be prosecuted. The police in Sisseton were pretty evenly divided between Christians and Native Americans with a sprinkling of other faiths mixed in. Gregg claimed that Sam and Castiel were church counselors.
As they worked through the files and completed visits to a few captives Sam and Castiel came to realize a pattern to the deaths. The victims were all known to Pastor Gregg in one way or another while the attackers had previously not indicated any profession of faith at all. The murderers all told the same story. They had been visited by an Angel of the Lord who promised them peace and a place in Heaven if they would help eradicate evil from the Earth in the form of the devils' disciples who the Angel named to them. Castiel was horrified.
This false Angel had appeared to his recruits all over the town and Sam decided the only way to stop this rash of murderous assaults was to try and summon the spirit to them. Since the only thing they could find that tied all these incidents together was the church Sam decided to do the summoning on the church grounds. Castiel agreed and Sam went out to the Impala to gather his materials.
On the way back the spirit appeared to the young Hunter and tried to bend him its crusade by dangling a most appropriate victim in front of Sam's face. A child predator living only a few blocks away was stalking the Pastor's Sunday school class. Sam was filled with the spirit of vengeance but still went on back to Castiel.
Handing the supplies over to the Angel Sam spoke of the vision he had just encountered. Castiel was made even angrier at this deluded spirit that now threatened to ruin Sam Winchester's life. A true Angel had to work to learn human emotions but anger was something all Angels knew. Righteous anger led the host in battle and Castiel had to bring it under control to clear Sam's mind of the fog of vengeance.
There occurred a tense moment when they were interrupted by the reappearance of Pastor Gregg who had been summoned, he believed, by the remembrance of his old colleague, Pastor Wake. The man stood staring at Sam Winchester on his knees in front of his partner and the herbs, candles and other materials scattered on the ground around Castiel's feet. Pastor Gregg wonder just who he had let into his church yard.
When the spirit of Pastor Wake appeared, surrounded by a glowing light the vignette seemed complete and the good man Gregg was horrified at his friend's belief that he had become an angel charged with carrying out the will of God.
"No John," Pastor Gregg said to the spirit. "You are not an angel. You are a man. No man can become an Angel. Let me give you last rites to sooth your soul and send you onward. You deserve peace. "
The spirit became confused and combative. "You are wrong. I am an Angel."
Castiel stepped forward at last. "You are no Angel. You are the spirit of a man. You may have been a good man when you were alive but you have become confused. Let your friend bless your path onward."
The spirit raised its hands as if shielding it from the light. "What are you? Who will tell me the truth? I heard the voices and I gave the instructions to those who were to carryout God's vengeance."
Castiel stood straight and seemed to grow larger. Impressions of his wings flickered over the walls behind him. "I am Castiel and I am an Angel of the Lord. I tell you that you have been deceived and you passed false promises on to those people who thought they were killing in the name of God. Only God can exact his vengeance. No man or Angel can become imbued with the power of God. That power is God's alone."
Pastor Gregg fell to his knees and indicated that his friend should do the same. As the humble priest gave the blessing over the dead Castiel sheltered them all under his wings. The dead Pastor Wake passed on with a cry and Pastor Gregg rose to his feet and, purposely avoided looking at Castiel.
Sam Winchester rose also and put a hand on the Pastor's arm. "Be at peace. Your friend has gone on. It is now left to you to try and mend what was broken. These people that were caught in the web of deceit will need whatever comfort you can give them. There should be no further murders."
Pastor Gregg finally turned to Castiel. "Is it true? Are you an Angel?"
"Yes," Castiel replied. "I am an Angel of the Lord buffeted here to a world that is not mine. Tell me, do you want to remember or would your life be better if I wiped away your memories?"
"No," the Pastor replied. "Please, I want to remember. I want to remember an Angel in my church and the shadows of wings on the walls. It will be a comfort to me in the days to come. Pastor Wake cannot atone for the damage he caused and I will do what I can to make the way ahead easier for the damaged souls he left behind. The memories will be precocious to me when my path grows dark."
The Pastor turned again to Sam and took the young man's hand. "Thank you and your friend for coming to our aide. I have no way to reward you except with my thanks."
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It was now late in the evening and the partners stopped and rented a room at a local motel. Once inside Sam called Bobby and told him that the Sisseton problem had been solved. Bobby was pleased that the hunt had gone so quickly. He told Sam that he and Dean were doing just fine and he would expect the partners back the next day.
Bobby related to Sam that he had walked down the driveway that afternoon to meet Dean's bus and found a News van camped out along the road. When Dean stepped down from the bus the lady from the News station was on him immediately, shoving a microphone in the little boy's face while cameras recorded the ambush.
Bobby had rescued Dean from the woman's assault and told her what he thought of her. When Bobby pitched his rant the cameras were shut off immediately. An obviously infuriated Grandfather was not the image that Ms. Powers wanted broadcast to her audience. Bobby had picked Dean up and tromped off, the woman trailing behind trying to smooth things over and gain access to the house. Bobby was too old and wily a fox to do any such thing and ordered them off his property.
"I warned you, Sam." Bobby grumbled. "You're going to have to do something about her. I don't want her popping out of the bushes every time I go down my driveway. I'm driving Dean to school tomorrow and picking him up too, I think. "
Sam promised to think of a way to defuse the situation and agreed that he and Castiel would be back by dinner at the latest tomorrow. He really thought it would be much earlier than that but left some wiggle room in his schedule.
As he finished the conversation with Bobby and closed his phone Sam looked around for Castiel. The angel wasn't in the room and Sam decided to get ready for bed. From inside the bathroom Sam heard the door of the room open and close and sticking his head out found that Castiel had brought in to go cartons of food and was placing them on the tale. Sam slipped into his soft sleep pants and came out from behind the door.
"Hey Sam, "Castiel said softly. "I thought you might be hungry. I hope chicken salad and coffee might be welcome."
"Thanks, Cas," Sam said, using the nickname for the first time that he could remember. "You're so right. I could eat a whole chicken." He sat down at the table.
"Do you want me to go back and get the entire chicken?" Castiel asked, a worry line wrinkling his forehead. "I had not thought to do that."
Sam laughed. "No, sorry; it was just a figure of speech. This will be fine. Did you get yourself something?" He motioned at the other container.
Castiel looked down. "It was there and it reminded me of something I lost." The angel opened the other container, exposing a large slice of what looked like apple pie. "Someone I knew a long time ago was never happy unless he could have pie with his meal." Castiel sat down and stared at the pastry.
After a few minutes Castiel stood up and went over to the bed. He undressed and climbed under the covers. Sam thought that the Angel looked lonely.
In good time Sam finished his meal. He picked up the trash and threw it out then went over to the bed.
Slowly he lowered himself down and tried not to flinch away when Castiel reached over and tugged him on his side. Now face to face Sam tried to relax; he truly did try but this closeness was still something strange to him. Castiel ran his fingers soothingly through Sam's soft hair and rested his forehead against Sam's. They were so close that their breath mingled. Sam closed his eyes and felt a soft kiss tickle over his lips. Then each eyelid was kissed in turn and Castiel ran his hands up and down the long muscles of the Hunter's back, soothing and smoothing the tension away.
Again Sam was listening to Castiel's soft murmuring and the Angel wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Sam felt protected and safe. Slowly his tension slipped away, his muscles loosened and he fell asleep rocked in the arms of his Angel.