A/N: College has taken up a lot of my time, but my muse decided to not betray me today and it let me update for you guys. I apologize for the wait. Hopefully it won't be too long again, but then again I don't know. I won't quit on this story or any of my unfinished ones still up on the site. I promise.
Chapter 19
Night had fallen in the mill and various Alphas and Omegas paced their cages, some were asleep, some were crying out for various mates or to God for mercy. Dean was a different story though, he waited patiently in his cage, and he waited for the clock strike midnight. Gadreel had told him to wait for him to rig open their cages so they could go practice fighting. It was the last thing Dean wanted to do at midnight, much less the last thing he wanted to do in general, but as Gadreel had informed him this was his life now and he needed to make every effort to survive in order to expose this place.
So Dean sat and waited.
He waited for what seemed like an eternity before he heard a door open and a jingling of keys. Gadreel appeared at the front of Dean's cage and started to unlock it with a ring of keys he'd somehow acquired. Dean stepped back at his request and the cage door swung open quietly.
"Well c'mon then," Gadreel stepped back so Dean could exit. "Benny already disconnected the cameras in our path and I have to return the keys to him before the boss man notices in the morning."
"You know Benny?" Dean asked.
"Of course I know Benny," Gadreel looked back at Dean as if he was a moron. "Everyone here does."
"No I mean you know what he—"Dean was cut off.
"Don't," Gadreel spun around and got in Dean's face, Dean swallowed hard. "Make any mention of anything Benny is here. Not now. Not ever. Do you want to get him exposed? He's the only hope some of these angels have right now, including us, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you."
Gadreel had proven to be an aggressive Alpha. Dean assumed most of the Alphas here were. They had to be to survive. He figured there was some kind of hierarchy that existed deep within these Alpha cages and that Gadreel somehow had crawled his way up near the top. Dean also knew that he was somewhere along the tendrils of the bottom.
"Now," Gadreel instructed him. "Follow me."
Dean nodded, keeping his movements as slow and steady as Gadreel's and following close behind him. He was forced to walk through lines of Omega cages and forced to ignore their cries of pain and anguish. He wondered if this was some kind of Alpha initiation like:
"Hey if you can learn to ignore these Omegas and see them for the pathetic lowlife breeding machines that they are, if you can somehow defy all authority here, oh and also learn to snap a neck here and there then you're in buddy!"
Dean could've puked at the thought of that being the rest of his life. He looked over for a split second into the wide brown eyes of a female Omega and quickly followed Gadreel's example and looked forward a split second later. Step one down; now what kind of monster would he become if he did the others?
"We're here." Gadreel said, pushing open the doors leading to the outside hallway. He pushed through another door and motioned for Dean to follow him. The room Gadreel pulled Dean into was the size of a small basketball court and was like a stadium. Bleacher seating surrounded the dirt in the center. There were two large cages on either end that were on wheels. There was a wall around the dirt circle. Various scuff marks were on the wall and dents. There was a recognizable stench of stale air in the arena and there were footprints and there was dried blood and vomit in the dirt. Dean tried hard not to breathe.
"Here we are," Gadreel said. "This is what you have to look forward to. What you have to survive. We're not saying you'll die, we're just saying you have to be willing to fight to win, even if it means fighting dirty."
"Wait so this is a…" Dean gulped.
"Angel fighting ring," Gadreel finished his sentence for him. "Yes."
Dean had heard of angel fighting rings before. They were usually held at midnight on Fridays in the city and various other cities, states, and countries even. The rings were usually held in mills, although some small ones were held in alleyways or junk yards. But those were between pet Alphas. The rings at mills were usually soundproof to prevent suspicion from police. They were filled with rich executives in the black market wanting to make cheap money, bastards in need of cheap entertainment and ring leaders who bet money on Alphas who won. This world was foreign to Dean. This world was something he never wanted to ever be involved in.
"If you're noticed by a ring leader," Gadreel piped up, pacing the dirt. "You're more likely to be kept alive. Weak Alphas who lose at least five fights are drugged and sent into the ring and the other Alpha is usually given the order to kill. You don't want to be the drugged one. You want to be the victorious one."
Gadreel motioned to the cages.
"Each Alpha is placed in a cage. On the signal their cages are lifted and they are to run at one another and fight until one is victorious. Usually that is when one Alpha is no longer able to get up and fight…or to breathe."
Dean swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat. He certainly didn't want to be that Alpha, but kill another of his kind? He didn't know if he could do that either.
"Each Alpha is given a shot before they're sent out," Gadreel explained. "It contains hormones similar to those when an Alpha is in heat, the ones that trigger putting up a fight with other Alphas over Omegas. But they're upped. They're to make the Alphas violent. They wear off two hours into the fight, some fights last that long, some don't."
Dean took in all of the information. He nodded in response. Gadreel motioned to the doors and three other Alphas walked through them. They all were on the skinnier side, but muscular. They all looked capable of winning a fight. The one to the far right was a bit paler than the other two. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes, his wings were brown as well. The one to the far left had black hair a bit longer than the one on the far right and mousy brown eyes as well, his wings were maroon. The one in the middle, however; walked with the most confidence. He had black hair about the length of Dean's. His eyes were sky blue and his wings were pure white.
"Dean," Gadreel motioned to the Alphas on the left and right of the one in the middle. "The one on the left is Anorath. The one on the left, Cathalsis. The one in the middle is Michael. All respected Alphas who've won many a fight here."
"It's good to meet you," Dean stuck his hand out to Michael, who looked at him as if he were shark bait. "I guess…"
"Oh come off it Michael," Cathalsis spoke up and shook Dean's hand instead. "Stop being such a prude. Have a little respect for the newcomer."
"You do realize now that he's here," Michael said to Gadreel. "He brings our rankings down. We'll have to fight twice as hard to stay up there. I'll have to fight twice as hard to be on top, as will you Gadreel."
Michael walked off, wondering why he agreed to this and Anorath reluctantly followed him. Cathalsis stayed behind and Gadreel strode over to the sound booth, he started fiddling with the microphone.
"Don't mind Michael," Cathalsis said to Dean. "He's second in rankings, Gadreel's number one."
"Gadreel's number one?" Dean was shocked as he looked over to the angel, who returned his gaze for a split second.
"That's right," Cathalsis replied. "I'm number ten. Anorath's number twelve. We're ranked up to twenty and right now you're below that pal. Dead last. Emphasis on the dead if you stay there for too long. Top twenty always survive. Any lower than that and you're history."
"That's comforting." Dean replied sarcastically as he watched as each ring light came on over top of them.
"Just hazing the newbies," Cathalsis said. "It's my job. Crowley wants nothing, but the best. Unfortunately we're all stuck here."
Dean contemplated telling Cathalsis why he was in there, but decided against it. He'd rather gain the trust first of the ten out of twenty ranked angel than give him information that could lead to Dean's downfall and the corruption of their entire plan. He simply nodded in response.
"Alright," Gadreel said through the loud speaker. "First up, Dean and Anorath. We'll start slow for you rookie."
Anorath walked over to the cage next to him and Cathalsis motioned for Dean to take the cage across the way. Dean reluctantly walked over to it and followed Anorath's example by getting down on his hands and knees in the cage. He waited for the signal Gadreel had told him about, which unfortunately turned out to be a really loud whistle within their cages. Dean jumped and covered his ears, but Anorath remained perfectly still as if it hadn't happened at all.
"Rule number one," Gadreel announced. "If you jump at the whistle they tend to rank you lower or worse. So don't."
Dean tried, hard not to cover his ears which felt they were bleeding from the inside out. Gadreel pressed a button that lifted their cages and Anorath sprang free, getting upright and running towards Dean who was still awestruck and in his cage. Gadreel rolled his eyes and pressed another button. Dean felt a shock to his ass and he cried out before sprinting forward out of the cage and looking back into his cage. Dean turned back just in time to see Anorath tackling him down to the ground and he let out a loud grunt.
"We've got a long way to go…" Gadreel rolled his eyes.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-
At Harvelle's Pet Shop Sam, Castiel, Gabriel, and the Harvelles kept close watch over the cameras. It was way past midnight and so far there had been no activity. Castiel was a bit worried that the camera where Dean was supposed to be was out, but he figured it had something to do with Benny and the plan. Sam's eyes were burning from looking at computer screens so long. Gabriel's eyelids drooped and Sam took notice.
"Get some sleep Gabe." Sam spoke up to the smaller angel.
"No way," Gabriel said. "Sleep is for the weak. If you all are staying up then I am too. No sleep till Brooklyn."
Sam rolled his eyes and took Gabriel by the arm.
"I'm taking him to bed." He said to Jo, who simply nodded. Sam led Gabriel upstairs to where the bedrooms were. There were two that were currently unoccupied and he poked his head into one to make sure then sat Gabriel down on the bed. Gabriel rolled his eyes this time.
"I'm not a fledgling sasquatch," Gabriel complained as he pulled the covers back. "I can take myself to bed."
"From the looks of the fight you put up downstairs," Sam commented. "I'd say not."
Gabriel gave him a look as he started to strip off his clothes. Sam swallowed hard and turned away, blush filling his cheeks and affecting parts of his lower body. Gabriel tossed his jacket, shirt, and pants aside in the corner of the room and sat in nothing but his red boxers. Sam turned back to him.
"What?" Gabriel asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Nothing," Sam whined and stood, staring.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Gabriel asked, he didn't mean to sound so mean, but he was getting frustrated at Sam's lack of interest in him then sudden interest.
"Actually I'm going to bed too," Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "But the other rooms are taken so I uh…this is kinda my room too."
Gabriel disregarded what Sam had said and tucked himself into bed as Sam changed. Sam gulped and reluctantly stripped down to nothing, but black boxer shorts. He tossed his clothes aside to the floor and got into the bed as well. At first neither of them moved or spoke, but then Sam felt a warm back against his and realize Gabriel had cuddled up to him from behind.
"You know," Sam broke the silence, he chuckled. "I told Jo I was taking you to bed…"
"Go to sleep Sammy." Gabriel said and Sam closed his eyes after a minute or two. It was the first time Gabriel had called him 'Sammy' in years.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Dean fell down and was defeated every time he fought. He had fought Cathalsis twice and Anorath three times in three hours. He'd lost every fight. Anorath stood over him now, laughing and placing one foot on his back in triumph. Cathalsis sighed and Michael rolled his eyes at Dean. Dean let out a breath he'd been holding in because of the pain in his ribs due to bruises he'd sustained over the last three hours. Gadreel walked from the shut down sound booth over to Dean. Dean looked up at him, blood leaking from his split lip and down his chin into the dirt.
"You're going to need a lot of practice there soldier," Gadreel looked down at him, his brooding figure made Dean cringe. "You don't wanna end up last. I thought I could fix you tonight, but it looks like you'll be going into your first fight unprepared. Don't say I didn't try to train you. Good luck, you're going to need it."
Michael scoffed and walked away towards the doors. Anorath followed him. Cathalsis paused and looked at Dean before heading off as well. They all had to get back to their cages before daybreak. Crowley came in at five am every day. Gadreel watched Dean squirm a bit before walking off himself and shutting off all of the lights on his way out of the doors. Dean groaned and pushed himself up from the dirt. He brushed off and touched his bruised ribs.
Wincing in pain, he looked up at the rankings board, still lit up and the names in red. Twenty through one. Gadreel's name was lit up bright in red after number one. Dean grimaced, but then glared at the rankings board. He would get better, he would make it. Hell, if things went right…
He'd be number one.
He limped out all the way to his cage, determined.
Reviews are always appreciated!
So? Dean's training went less than well…
Sam and Gabe? Are things getting better or worse?
And will Dean's new found determination be for better or worse?
More to come soon!