TW: suggestion of sexual cohesion, grooming and prostitution.
Chapter 19- "Sweet girl."
Meg lay on her side, dry eyed, silent.
Naomi had come back to remove the IV, and she hadn't even had the will to say something nasty to her.
Her mind couldn't cope, so it shut her body down.
She felt heavy, lethargic, like she was lying at the bottom on the ocean, the weight of the water crushing her.
He was alive.
He had betrayed her.
What did you expect?
She didn't know. She'd spent a long time lying to herself about Lucy.
The first time she'd met him she was still at school.
One of those nice little Catholic girls schools you had to pay to attend.
Poor Mommy and Daddy had no idea.
He was outside the gates talking to her friend and when his eyes had met hers, her stomach had flipped.
It had been fear.
She could see that now, with the clarity of age, but at the time she had mistaken it for desire, and when he'd smiled and talked to her, she'd melted.
Stupid girl.
She'd felt powerful, thought she had control over this man nearly twice her age, deluded herself that she was calling the shots.
- You are the most delightful little creature.
Soft kisses to her mouth and throat, his hands running slowly up her thighs, pushing at her school skirt. - Leave it on.
He smiled with his mouth, and she'd mistaken it for kindness, never noticing that the smile never reached his eyes.
- Don't tell. Not your friends, not your family. They'd never understand what we have precious. They'd twist it into something wicked when in fact it's pure and beautiful. You see that don't you?
- Yes.
- They wouldn't realise that I'm protecting you. I'd never let anyone hurt you. You're my girl.
Stupid, stupid little fool.
How long before he was asking favours?
Tiny things at first.
Take this envelope into that café and hand it to the guy in the red beanie.
Post this package through that door on your way home.
So insidious that she didn't even notice when the asks became orders, and the favours became darker.
- Richard thinks you're so pretty.
- Do you think I'm pretty?
- Of course.
Stroking her hair lovingly. - ….. But Richard, he wants to get to know you better. He's a very, very important friend of mine precious. It's vital that we make him happy. Do you understand?
- I'm not sure….
- You love me don't you?
- Yes.
- You trust me?
- Yes.
- Then you'll do this one little thing for me.
She'd bit her lip and nodded.
- That's my girl. That's my good girl. One more thing. When he asks, I want you to tell him you're fourteen.
- What? Why?
- Because I've asked you to.
And his eyes had been cold and his smile slipped into something more sinister, like his mask had been knocked askew and for a second she had seen his real face.
- Ok. I will.
- Sweet girl.
He'd murmured to her, kissing her, caressing her, making her forget the enormity of what he'd asked of her, until such time as it became so common place that he'd no need to cajole and whisper softly in her ear, but only tell her where to go and who with.
… And she had.
Without question.
And it was only now, all these years later, that she realised what he'd done.
How he'd taken her, as a child, how he'd groomed her till she sparkled, then lent her out like a hired hack to keep his partners happy.
How many other girls had she seen him smile at, flatter, make them blush? But every time he'd told her she was his girl, his precious girl, she'd thought she was the only one.
He made her fit the mould he chose, and now she had no idea who she was anymore.
Cas was sat silently in the Impala.
This time he rode next to Dean. Sam had sat in the back, perhaps sensing that his brother wasn't in the mood for the troubled looks he'd not be able to help giving him.
Dean reached forwards and pushed a tape into the deck, the swell of Led Zeppelin filling the void their silence was leaving.
He liked this tape.
Dean played it a lot and whenever a certain track came on, Cas could transport himself back to a moment in time, one of the many small trips they had made in the beginning of their friendship. A trip to the store or one of Deans friends, then later, further away. The road trip to that crappy bar owners convention. The one where Dean had gone AWOL and Sam and Cas had found him twelve hours later asleep behind a bar, missing his pants, two women stumbling and giggling away as they got there.
Wait.
He didn't have time to reminisce.
Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and bowed his head, as though in prayer.
But it wasn't God he was talking to.
- Elijah wants you.
Fifteen year old Castiel, roused from sleep by an older Brother, groggily dressing and stealing across the compound in the dead of night.
Just the strangeness of the situation was enough to make his stomach clench in fear.
But you didn't refuse an audience with Elijah.
When he entered the room, Elijah took Castiels hands in his and examined them.
- You've done well Castiel. You took your punishment for hitting the boy and you learned from it.
- Thank you Brother Elijah.
- Your skills are many Castiel, even though you have not had the advantage of being born into the Brotherhood…. But maybe that is a help rather than a hindrance in your case.
Castiel watched him carefully, not sure where this talk was going.
- Perhaps it is time you were initiated.
Elijah frowned and nodded at him.
- Initiated into the Swords of Enochia. To become a protector of the pure language.
- The sword of Michael.
Castiel whispered this to himself and Elijah smiled fleetingly.
- A Brother has left us Castiel. A Brother in the outer world is a danger to themselves….. And to us.
He knew who Elijah was talking of.
Anna had run. She had climbed the fence after stealing her husbands clothes, and had fled into the desert.
They didn't talk about those who left.
You merely noticed the empty spot at dinner or at prayers, and then, quietly, without fuss, that space was filled and the person not talked of again.
- You'll come with us. Tonight. We know where she is, and we mean to bring her home.
Breathing deeply, Cas kept his eyes shut. Let the music wash over him, the sway of the car under him, the hum of rubber on asphalt.
Anna.
How brave he'd felt.
This boy, clutching the handgun he'd been given.
His heart swelled at the thought of the honour Elijah had bestowed on him, he was no longer the bastard child of a whore, he was a Sword of Enochia, or soon would be.
When they'd pulled up at the motel, they had paused to pray.
- We pray for Anna to return with us. We pray for the strength to met out her punishment. We pray for the steady hand and the steely heart needed to guide our Brothers home.
Castiel had prayed extra hard.
He prayed for acceptance.
Redemption.
A place to belong.
As Elijah motioned to the other two Brothers to open the door, he lay a heavy hand on Castiels shoulder and looked at him sternly.
- Make us proud.
Anna screamed as they forced the door. Jumped out of the narrow bed and gathered the sheets about her.
- Will you return with us?
Elijah held out his hand and she shook her head.
- I won't. I can't. Just let me go. Please. I never hurt anyone!
She was crying, her eyes huge and bright with fear.
Castiel swallowed hard.
- We will not force you to return with us. But neither can we let you live in the outer world.
Anna looked from Elijah to Castiel, focusing on the boy, only a year or two younger than herself.
- Please, please….
- Return with us.
Its Elijah talking to her, but Castiel she fixes on.
- He hurts me Brother…..
- Return to your family.
- He hurts me so bad….
Elijah sighed and pushed Castiel forwards.
- Shoot her.
They both looked at him in shock.
- Brother please! This is not Gods way!
- Shoot her.
He looks fearfully from one to the other, his body wracked with tremors.
Anna's sobbing as the other two Brothers take her arms and hold her up like a target.
- The heart of sin boy. Mark it well.
He hesitates, but only for a second.
The noise of the gunshot reverberates around the room.
Castiel dropped the gun, a tiny moan escaping his lips.
Hands grasp at his shoulders, pull him outside and back into the car, the gun placed back in his grasp.
- We never speak of this.
Elijah said gravely as they swung out onto the road.
- Never.
"Cas?"
Sam lent forwards in his seat and shook his shoulder lightly. "I think this is it."
Dean inched the car forwards quietly, so they were still unseen from the cabin at the end of the drive.
The car was there.
The one with the registration Meg had scratched into the wall.
"You think she's inside?" Muttered Bobby, peering through from the back seat.
Cas gritted his teeth as Dean reversed back down the track.
If she wasn't there, if she was dead…. It didn't matter.
He'd just turn a rescue into revenge.
Either way he was going inside that cabin and Crowley would not be coming out.
Naomi picked up the tray and frowned at it.
"You haven't eaten anything."
"Not hungry."
"Oh but you must eat! How about just a little?"
"How about you fucking off and leaving me alone." Growled Meg.
Naomi pursed her lips and snatched up the tray before stalking out.
As she locked the door behind her, Meg pulled out the knife she'd stolen from the tray.
No way she was killing anyone with this, but she might be able to jimmy the door or the window.
Maybe then she could find a bigger knife.
This ends now.
No more running.