WARNING: Major character death in this scene so grab your box of tissues is you're a crier. Otherwise, enjoy.
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN: BREAKING NUMBER SIXTY-FIVE
Castiel appeared on the motel step before Dean. "Dean, you must control yourself."
"Um,...why?" Dean asked, confused.
"Because Dean," Castiel started, "you forget, I am an angel. I can hear what you think at times, especially when it involves the seals. You may not engage in intercourse with a seal. You will damage it."
Dean mumbled something Castiel could not hear, then looked at him. "Fine, fine, I won't do anything."
Castiel sighed, feeling sorry for Dean. "Well, if it is a problem, I'm sure you could cater to your own...desires."
Dean frowned and shook his head. "See you later, Cas," he said before walking into the motel room.
Castiel allowed himself to smile at Dean's reaction. It was like they were buddies exchanging verbal blows. Suddenly, he found himself worrying that Uriel would find out about his and Dean's friendship and do something to sabotage it. He couldn't let that happen. No way.
Sam began to walk out of the warehouse, knowing that he had upset Flare and feeling terrible inside. And to top it off, he still felt the burning need for Ruby's blood. Flare linked arms with Sam. "What did Ruby say to you?" She asked quietly.
"When?" Sam asked, confused. Ruby had said a lot to him.
"When she whispered to you. You looked like she reminded you of something."
"Oh, no, she just...told me that this was the only way I could kill Lilith."
"Please don't lie."
"I'm not," Sam promised, a lie in itself.
Flare nodded, lightly squeezing his hand to let him know she forgave him. "Did you really belive what Ruby was telling you? That I was the bad guy?"
Sam shook his head. "I knew you weren't the bad guy." He gave her a weak smile. She returned his smile.
Once they reached the motel, Flare hung back. "Go on in. I'll be there soon."
Sam smiled at her, then walked inside. "Hey, Dean," he said, seeing his brother sitting at the table. "Where's Abbey?"
"Shower," Dean answered.
Abbey's whole body hurt, so she stayed in the shower much longer than necessary, just letting the hot water run over her aching body. She needed a massage. And a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, she knew she was going to neither. She was haunted by dreams at night; scary dreams, even for her.
Finally, after forty five minutes, Abbey stepped out of the shower. She wrapped the large blue towel around her slender body, tying a tight knot at the top so it wouldn't fall down while she was around Sam and Dean. She and Flare had grown up togther, so she saw her naked all of the time, but the Winchester boys hadn't; and they weren't about to, either. Slowly, she walked out of the bathroom. Once out in the room with Sam and Dean, she rummaged through her clothing, looking for something to wear. Finally, she looked up, noticing Flare wasn't in the house. "Where's Flare?"
"She's outside," Sam informed. "She'll be in soon."
Dean looked at Sam. "Why is she outside?"
Sam shook his head. "I don't know. She said she'd be in soon."
"Oh, okay," Dean replied.
"Yeah,"Sam answered, avoiding Dean's gaze. He hated lying to him, but he couldn't tell him what he was doing. No. Dean wouldn't understand. He would hate him forever.
Flare sat down on the ground. "How am I going to help Sam?" she asked herself. Unable to think of an answer, she looked at the sky, wanting to talk to Castiel. She wanted to know what to do to help Sam. When he didn't appear before her, she sighed, standing up and walking into the motel, plopping herself down on the bed.
Dean smiled at Sam, seeing Flare on the bed. "You look tired," he told him with a wink.
"I am tired," Sam answered. "I'm going to sleep." He walked over to the couch, not thinking he had the right to sleep in the same bed as Flare. He lay on the hard couch, pulling one of the throw pillows up under his head. He closed his eyes, feeling the need to call Ruby, but fighting it. He didn't know how long he would be able to fight it, though.
Abbey walked over to the door. "Well, I want food. Anyone want to come?"
Dean rolled his eyes at how stupid Sam was before standing. "I'll come." They walked out, leaving Sam and Flare alone.
Flare looked at Sam laying on the couch. "Come here, you big moron," she ordered, patting the bed beside her.
Sheepishly, Sam stood, walking over to the bed and sitting at the corner of it, as far away from Flare as the bed would allow. He didn't want to press his luck, and truthfully, he felt sick. Dirty. Like he didn't deserve to be with Flare. He was tainted. He was poisoned with Ruby's blood, and he knew it. He just couldn't stop. Addiction; that's what he had, and he knew it. But he was powerless against it. He needed Ruby. Her blood. Needed it to make him stronger. Needed it to help him kill Lilith. No matter how wrong it was.
Flare sat up, looking at Sam. "Sammy, lay down. You need to get some sleep."
Sam shook his head. "I-I can't sleep," he whispered. He was shaking, cold sweat forming on his forehead. "I need it." He closed his eyes, trying to fight his body's needs.
Flare hugged Sam. "I won't let you go there. Now go to sleep. You're going to make yourself sick."
Sam shivered, continuing to fight himself. His breaths were coming out in gasps, now. He was losing the raging war within himself. "Flare, please," he begged. "Let me go. Just one more time. I didn't get enough."
"Sammy, look at me." Sam did as he was told, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears. He hated himself right now. "You have to stop this, Sam. You have to." She placed her hand over his. "The blood may make you stronger, but at a cost. It's turning you against the people you love."
Sam looked into her eyes. "It isn't turning me against anyone. I still love the people that I always loved. I just...I need the blood. I need to stop Lilith. If she breaks the seals, it's Hell on Earth. I can't let that happen. Flare, please, let me go."
"How about this," Flare started. "Why don't I go with you? And this is the last time," she suggested.
"No," Sam protested. "No, no, no, no, no. Ruby wouldn't like that." He looked into Flare's eyes. "I need to go alone. Or else she won't give it to me. She doesn't like you." A tear fell from Sam's eye. "Please?"
"Fine," Flare mumbled ."But this is the last time." She lay back down on the bed turning away from Sam as tears started to stream down her face.
Sam knew Flare was mad, but he couldn't help it. Slowly, taking a deep breath, he lay down beside her, turning her back to face him, wrapping her arms around him. "Hold me," he begged. "Help me. Don't let me go. I want to stop." Tears streamed from his eyes, mixing with sweat, making his hair wet.
Flare looked at him, holding him like he asked her to. "All you had to do was ask," she whispered, lightly kissing him on the lips. Sam closed his eyes, feeling safe in Flare's arms.
Abbey walked into the diner, holding the door open for Dean. "What do you think? Cheeseburger, fries, and pie?" She smiled, shaking her head. "God, I love pie."
"You're the best," Dean said, shaking his head and smiling.
Abbey smiled. "Thank you." She looked away, confused. "Why?"
"Someone else who likes pie just as much as I do. And she's a chick."
Abbey laughed. "Oh please, I love pie way more than you do."
"Wanna bet?"
"Hmmm...I'd love to. I'm always up for a challenge."
Suddenly, the doors burst open and huge gusts of wind blew through. Two men walked in, followed by a blonde woman. Abbey froze. Her breath caught in her throat. "Demons," she whispered to Dean.
"Abbey, run, get Flare and Sam, now," Dean whispered.
Abbey was frozen. She couldn't move. She knew what they wanted; her. And there was no way she was getting away from them. "I can't move," Abbey whispered, trying with all her might.
One of the demons walked closer to Dean, but was sure to keep his distance so Dean couldn't hit him. Or kill him. "We want the girl."
"Over my dead body," Dean growled.
"That could be arranged," the demon snarled, whipping his hand out, causing Dean to fly into the wall. The second demon came over to help the first as they grabbed Abbey's arms, dragging her towards Lilith.
"No!" Abbey screamed. "Let me go!" But they were too strong, and they drug her out of the diner. Suddenly, she felt a pinch in her arm. She looked down at the pain, seeing a needle. They had just drugged her. They threw her into the back seat of the car and began to drive off, just as everything went black.
"No, Abbey!" Dean yelled, struggling to get away from the wall.
Abbey woke up in what looked like an old abandoned church. She was tied to a table, and there were satanic symbols all over the walls. She looked around the room, searching for any sign that she wasn't alone. Suddenly, the doors burst open, and a familiar figure walked through. "Carrie?" she asked, as her sister walked closer. "Carrie, what are you doing?"
"Lilith is sorry she couldn't make it," Carrie answered. "But she said I could complete the ritual. And bring us one step closer to Armageddon." Carrie climbed on top of her sister, straddling her hips. Slowly, she leaned down so she could whisper in her ear. "You're the sixty-fifth seal, Abbey." Abbey struggled, whimpering when she couldn't get away. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm about to break it. But in order for that to happen. I'm going to have to kill you." Abbey whimpered again, tears forming in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick."
"Carrie," Abbey pleaded, "please, don't do this. I'm your sister. You don't want to kill me."
"Sorry," Carrie answered. "But I have to." She brought the knife she had been holding down, thrusting it into Abbey's stomach.
Abbey gasped as the blade went into her flesh. The tears fell from her eyes, and she screamed as Carrie thrust the knife upward, cutting deeper, farther. Slowly, Abbey began to drift asleep, knowing she was dying. She remembered the feeling, back when Ava had done it. The last thing she saw was the malicious look on Carrie's face.
Dean kicked the door down and saw Carrie with a bloody knife in her hand. Memories of when Sam died came flashing back into his mind. "No!" he yelled, ramming into Carrie.
Carrie flew into the wall, caught off guard. "Dean! That's a bad boy!" She threw a punch, hitting him in the jaw. Then, she grabbed his collar, ramming him into the wall, pinning him there, her knife held close to his neck. "What's the matter, Dean? Did I kill your girlfriend? Aw, poor baby."
Dean kicked her legs out from under her, causing her to fall to the ground. He grabbed the knife away from her and plunged it into her heart. "How's that feel, you little bitch?" he spat before running over to Abbey. "Hey, Abbey, your going to be okay. You're going to be okay. It's just a scratch."
Abbey chuckled, "Just a scratch," she moaned. "No, Dean, I'm going to die. I can feel it. The same feeling as last time." She gasped, finding it harder to fight to stay awake. "Dean, I want you to take care of Flare. She's not as strong as she thinks she is." She cried out in pain as it became harder to breathe. "I love you," she whispered, just as her body gave. She lay lifeless on the table, a final tear falling from her eye, staining her cold, dead cheek.
"No, Abbey, wake up. Please!" Dean said as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Wake up!"
Suddenly, Castiel appeared. He placed his hand on Dean's shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Dean, it's over, she has passed."
Dean pushed Castiel's hand off of him. "Why didn't you help?! Why didn't you save her?!"
Castiel ignored him. "Dean do you know what this means? She was sixty five. There is only one seal left to break before Lucifer rises. You cannot let that happen!"
"Dammit, Cas!" Dean yelled.
"Mind your tongue, Dean," Castiel warned. "Now, go to Sam and stop Lilith before she unleashes Hell on Earth." With that, Castiel disappeared.
Flare felt odd, like something bad may have happened. "Sammy," she said quietly, "I have a bad feeling." When he didn't answer, she looked over at him seeing that he was sleeping. She smiled, glad that he was finally able to rest.
Suddenly, Sam's eyes shot open, and he sat straight up. He pointed to his cell phone sitting on the table. "Call Dean," he ordered. "I need to talk to him."
Flare quickly grabbed the phone and called Dean. "Here," she said, handing him the phone.
Dean cut the ropes that were tying Abbey to the table before he picked her up. "I'm so sorry, Abbey," he whispered as he looked down at the body. "I'm so sorry," he repeated. Suddenly, his phone began to ring. He answered it.
"Dean?" Sam said when he heard him answer. He noticed his voice was sad. "It's true, isn't it? I had another nightmare. For the first time since Azazel died I had a nightmare. Is she dead?" He was about to cry.
Dean was silent for a long moment. "I couldn't save her, Sammy," he finally answered, tears falling down his cheeks.
"Is who dead?" Flare asked.
Sam's eyes widened. "So, that's what? How many seals are gone, now?" His heart raced as he realized they were nearing the apocalypse. They were so close, now it was like they had one foot in Hell.
"One," Dean mumbled.
"Sam, is Abbey okay?" Flare asked, lightly touching his arm.
"One?" Sam repeated. "Dean get over here, now. We have to think this through." Sam hung up the phone, looking into Flare's eyes. "I'm sorry. Abbey's dead. Carrie killed her. And there's only one seal left to break before Lucifer walks free."
Flare shook her head, tears threatening the corners of her eyes. "A-A-Abbey is d-dead? No, no, no, no, no! Don't lie to me! Just don't!" she cried.
"I'm not lying," Sam promised. "I'm sorry, but she's gone."
Dean placed Abbey's body in the back seat of the Impala, driving to bury her before he went back to the motel. He pulled into the parking lot and just sat there, staring at the stairs he and Abbey had shared their first kiss on. Tears fell relentlessly.
"No!" Flare sobbed, falling to her knees.
Sam bit his bottom lip. He knew what he had to do. He needed to get back to Ruby. He needed to drink her blood and become stronger. Slowly, he stood up, walking out of the house without a word. He pulled out his cell phone, instantly dialing Ruby's number. "I need to see you. Now!" he ordered, slamming the phone shut. He was so intent on reaching Ruby, he didn't even notice Dean sitting in the parking lot.
