Chapter 3

#Seven Years Ago#

"Hurry!" Benny shouted at them glancing behind only once to make sure they were keeping up.

Cas screamed. Dean turned around to see a claw sticking out of Cas' leg. A leviathan in its true form stood before them, over Cas, mouth open and growling.

It had no eyes. And its large mouth was smiling evilly, tongue lolling out and drool wetting its chin. It had large webbed feet, but its arms were sharpened into two large scythe like claws, not unlike a praying mantis.

"Dean!"

Dean jumped at them, but Benny cut him off and pulled him away. "No! Let me go!"

"We have to go or it will get us to!"

"Cas!"

"Dean! DEAN!"

#Present Day#

Dean bolted up in bed, breathing heavily. His shoulder, the old burn mark, ached. He grabbed it with his other hand, massaging it as best he could.

The bathroom door opened and Sam stepped out.

"Hey," Dean greeted.

"Good morning. Hungry?"

"Always," Dean said, smiling.

"All right," Sam said, fixing his hat on his head. "I'm going to go ask Claire if she'd like to join us."

"Why? The girl's probably gonna try breaking your nose again."

"And yesterday you were all about trying to hook me up with her," Sam muttered, loud enough for Dean to hear. The door closed behind him. Dean leaned back on the bed.

"I should have gone back for him," he mumbled to himself.

#

Sam knocked on Claire's door. She opened, fully dressed and her hair pulled back into a tight bun in the back.

"Yes?"

"We're going to breakfast in a few minutes. Would you like to come?"

"No thanks," she said, holding up a granola bar. "I'm set."

"I'm kind of surprised you'd call a snack bar breakfast."

"I rarely eat out," she said, taking a bite of the bar. "Besides, I like to save my money for my ride."

Sam nodded and turned to leave. He stopped. "Claire, can I ask about why you're looking for your dad?"

Claire stared at Sam, debating whether to open up. She opened her door a little wider and Sam entered, removing his hat. He sat at the table and she at the end of the bed. The door was left open.

"For ten or so years," she began, "I had to live without my dad because he felt called to participate in a holy war. And he was a good dad. Still was, as far as I could tell, even though my mom thought he was crazy that whole first year. I knew he wasn't. I could hear Castiel too.

"I thought it was brave of my dad to agree to be his vessel. That's why when Castiel asked me if I would be willing to lend my body to him, I said yes. I knew my dad was serving a good God and a higher purpose.

"But I missed him. I knew he was with you guys, so, as soon as I graduated High School, I started hunting. I just up and left. I believed that if I found you and Dean, I'd find my dad. And since I knew that you guys were hunters, I knew eventually we'd run into each other.

"But it was taking too long for my liking, so I thought I'd track you guys down."

She walked to the trash and tossed the wrapper in the garbage.

"So, I guess I just want to find my dad because I want to see him. See how he's doing." She leaned against the wall. "Why isn't my dad with you guys?"

"Dean knows better than I do."

"Well, he's not telling me anything."

"He feels guilty."

"Then he should tell me."

"He doesn't think telling you would help the situation."

"Why not? Do you know what happened?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, I'll take vague right now and I'll beat the details out of him later. Tell me what happened to my Dad, Sam."

Sam looked at Claire. She deserved to know what happened.

Someone knocked on the door. They looked at Dean.

"Who's up for breakfast?"

"Right," Sam said, standing.

"I just ate," Claire said, crossing her arms.

"Well, then, Claire," Dean said, smiling. "I'm sorry your trip to find your dad didn't have the outcome you wanted. Maybe next time, you can show us what you learned since we last met."

Claire grinned. "Oh, I'm not leaving. I know you're lying to me, Dean."

Dean's smile faltered. "Why would you think that?"

"Either you don't know what happened to my dad or you really think he's dead. Either way, you're either wrong or lying to me." She stood. "But I suppose you're leaving as soon as you've eaten, so I'll join you anyway, if just for coffee."

"I thought you liked to save money for gas," Sam stated.

"I usually do," she said, "But today, I think I could use a little caffeine," she said, striding past them, her helmet under her arm.

#

The unconscious man lay on the ground, covered in blood and muck. His hair and beard had grown long and full from years of isolation.

"Tie his hand and feet," Crowley commanded the demons he brought with him. They obeyed and hoisted the man off the ground. Leaner than he used to be, the man was easy to pick up. They vanished with him to a place where the man could be kept safe.

#

"Sam," Dean mumbled. "Why's she staring at me?"

Claire had not stopped staring at Dean since they ordered their food. It was a disconcerting and angry stare.

"Maybe because you won't tell her the truth about her dad," Sam suggested. "Just tell her all ready."

"No."

"Dean…"

"Can't you get her off my back?"

"Not going to happen," Sam said finishing his own breakfast. He didn't think it'd be good to tell Dean that he was going to give her an idea of what happened to her dad. He still intended to.

"So, where are we headed?"

"Well, we need to get that spell working again. It's the only way to do get rid of the demons again."

"Really? Get rid of them?"

"Hey—"

"I'm sorry. Killing monsters is second nature now. I want a challenge."

"Those demons will rip you to shreds. You've never fought them before. Let the veterans take care of them."

"You mean you two old men?"

"We're not old!" Dean snapped.

"Right. And I'm a baby."

"You are a baby, Claire."

"And how old were you two when you got into hunting? Didn't Sam grow up a hunter?"

They stared at her, bewildered. "I did my research. It was quite entertaining and honoring to find myself in the Supernatural comic books."

"You read those damn books?"

"It was cute," Claire said in her defense. "Besides, the series ends after Sam sacrifices himself and goes in the cage."

They exchange looks with each other and shrug. At least the series didn't extend that much further than there.

"But you know, I think it's more important to find out who opened the devil's gate and find out how, in the meantime, hunting down as many demon bastards as we can. Especially the pervert ones."

"You really don't like Crowley, do you?" Sam asked, smirking a little.

"The way he looks at me and talks to me makes my skin crawl."

"That's understandable," Dean said, picking up his coffee cup and downing it. "Crowley's a master at making people feel uncomfortable. Especially homophobes."

Claire stared at him.

"What?"

"We should start with the devil's gate in particular. It came from eastward as far as I can tell. Maybe we can pinpoint it. I mean, a large fast moving storm cloud isn't exactly common. It's probably all over the news."

"Well, that will be easy," Sam said, pointing at the television, announcing that there were odd storms in Columbus, Ohio that moved rapidly from there to Seattle, Washington.

#

The man groaned and sat up.

"How are you doing?" Crowley asked. The man focused and looked at him. He tried to stand, but his hand and feet were bound. "No need to be startled, Castiel."

"Where am I?"

"Welcome home, Angel. This is America. And thank you for letting us out."

"I didn't let anyone out," Castiel shouted. "Just myself."

"You let out much more than just yourself," Crowley said, sitting on the couch's arm. "You let us out in your escape."