The second chapter! Let's see some feedback guys and gals. A writer with reviews is a happy writer. The name of the book Cas reads from is a self-insert of sorts. I won a poetry contest with an original poem, the tittle similar to that of the book.
In Heaven…
Bobby and Karen make their way through heaven. The path was long, and was difficult as the road was not physical. But they got to where they needed to be. They stumble into a large bar. It reeks of beer and old sweat, but Bobby gives it a grin. His wife looks around confused.
" This is the Harvelle Roadhouse bar." she states skeptically. Bobby nods.
"yep." She takes another tentative whiff.
"This is someone's idea of heaven?" she asks confused, taking in the Bar.
"Yep, mine!" replies a voice happily. In walks Ash, mullet and all from a side door. He and Bobby embrace with a large, wordless hug. Nothing needs to be said. When they finally separate, Ash nods to Karen.
"And you would be Missus Singer?" he ask her. She nods. He offers his hand and they shake. "Welcome to my little bit of Heaven! Beer?" he asks them, jumping over the bar and pulling out three cans of beer. "it's always cold, and no hangovers." He said with a grin as he popped all three tabs at once. Bobby and his wife settled at the bar, both taking a stool and a beer. They all took a swig.
"Ellen and Jo around here?" Bobby asks. Ash shakes his head. "They stop by occasionally, but this isn't their heaven, is mine. They're both off with Jo's dad. He takes another gulp of beer.
"So, what brings you to my humble abode?" he asks. "Surely you didn't just miss my fabulous hair?" he teased, tossing said mullet. Karen smiled at the joke.
"The boys told me they visited you a while ago." Bobby answered. Ash nodded.
"More than once, but they would only remember the last time." He chuckled.
"They told me that you were the man to go to upstairs for info." Bobby continues.
Ash nods again. "Mister Information, how can I help you?" he sing-sang. Bobby swallowed the knot in his throat. Even though he knew he was a spectral form, it sure felt real as did everything else.
"I want to see the boys. Visit them, if possible. Can you help me?" his wife took his free hand on the bar and gave it a loving squeeze and a smile. Ash tilted his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Visiting? I dunno Bobby, let me see what I can do." From under the bar he pulled out a monstrous computer and began furiously typing away. Bobby and Karen stay quiet for ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour while Ash mumbles and talks to the computer.
Finally he looks up. "Bobby boy, it seems that there are two options for what you want."
"Spit it out boy!" Bobby encourages. Ash rubs the back of his neck again and rolls his neck.
"One: you can suck up to an angel and ask them where to find Castiel, but I doubt any angel knows, or will tell you that, since my angel radar tells me that he hasn't been upstairs in a while." Angels were occasionally seen in places, not for long though. They just looked around to make sure everything was in order and then walked off without a word.
"The second option?" Karen asks.
"Reincarnation." He states simply. Both Singers are giving ash the same look, it said "is he crazy or a genius?" They were trying to figure it out.
"There are people who do choose to be reincarnated, and others who don't choose but it happens anyway because they didn't fulfill their mission on earth." He continues on.
"From what I've learned, there are several ways you can go back in different forms. Some choose the plant life, living for a season, on earth as a flower or grass and when the plant dies, you come back up here. The same as you were before. Another option is the tree, same deal, but longer, and only one shot at it. But you come back a changed soul. Option numero tres, is the small animal option. Most people tend not to go that way because it matters on who you were as a person on earth as what animal you go back as." He chuckled. "I heard one guy, an investor who made money off of the poor, chose that option and didn't read the fine print, he was reborn as a leech!" Bobby cracked a smile at that as his wife laughed along with Ash. "Option quarto is human reincarnation. You get a soul scrub and get reborn as a human. No memories of your past life and new slot in heaven, or downstairs depending on what you do, but I don't think you want to take that path, right?" he asks. Both Bobby and his wife shake their heads. "Thought not." He cleared his throat and continued.
"Most people tend to choose the first two options, they get placed near their loved ones, if they so choose, but whatever form they are in, they can't signal to their loved ones that they are there. But the third option is different, while you are a human soul in an animal body, you ARE the animal, from birth till death. Your soul can nude you in the right direction to loved ones, but there is very little chance that they will get close to you because you aren't human. When that vessel finally passes on, you come back to heaven, a little changed, but still the same person, same place in heaven as before. The only problem with option three , is how good a life you lead." He looked back to the computer, nodded at what he saw and turned back to the hunter.
"Bobby, you hunted things to save people. Nobody deserves this more than you. You can't get a nobler cause! You'll have your pick of what you want to go back as!" he exclaimed.
"How do I do it?" Ash clicked a few keys and from the other end of the bar, a printer started to whirr. "Whatcha gotta do is you go to Meredith. She's the angel in charge of reincarnation." He walked to the printer and pulled out a fresh printed sheet.
"She's actually a good…angel. She really cares for our souls and doesn't think of us as "mud monkeys". He had heard that phrase several times on angel radio. "Just stick to the truth and she'll send you to the boys."
"I don't know how I can thank you-"began Bobby, but Ash cut him off with a shake of his head.
"Just make sure those two blockheads don't die. It puts a serious cramp in my style to keep saving their asses over and over again." He replied with a grin. He hands bobby the freshly printed paper. "This will lead you to her." He says. The couple look at the paper to see a glowing arrow. It points to the door. Bobby gives him a nod. Ash salutes him with his beer. As the hunter and his wife walk through the doorway. "Godspeed man, Godspeed."
BACK ON TERRA FIRMA…
The boys look over the medical file that Castiel brought.
"Feale, mid-thirties, out for a jog, found in the nearby forest a few days later, her chest cavity ripped open, her vital organs gone and the thing that killed her was a snake bite to the neck?" he looked up from the papers. "How do we know that this is our kind of case? Snakes don't do that to people, but crazy people might." Sam looks at his papers and holds one up to his brother who is pacing with the paper.
"Check out the venom." From what the notes said, the venom was from a cobra.
"A cobra? In Tennessee?" Dean looks up from the paper.
"Maybe it's a zoo or pet escapee?" Sam questioned aloud. The angel shook his head.
"Look at the pictures from where the body was found." Cas hands the brothers the pictures. The both turn the pictures sideways to make sure they are seeing what they think they see.
"Is that…" begins Sam,
"A freakin Nest?!" finishes Dean, incredulously. From the pictures it resembles something akin to what Big Bird slept in. it was undoubtedly, a nest. A big one. Looked like four feet in diameter. They note clothes and scarves lining the inside of the nest .Sam quickly types away on his computer and types in "cobra". He leans that cobras are one of the few snakes that make nests. He shares the information with the other two.
"That must be one big snake!" Dean says, once again, incredulously. He checked back with the police reports. They thought it was some tree huggers with spare time who made the nest.
"But the bite marks don't match up to a snake that big!" Castiel pointed out. Both brothers nod grimly. Sam's eyes get glassy as he thinks. "Giant snake….a cobra…. I think I know what it is!" he picked himself up from his chair and ran his finger along the bookcases in the main room. He found the tome he was looking for on the third shelf. With a grunt, he schlepped the enormous book to the table. Dean caught a glimpse of the cover before his brother wrenched it open.
"Rare Beasts Nowe Known" the tittle read. Sam checked the index in the front and found the page he was looking for. "HA!" he exclaimed, finding the desired section. He spun the book on the table to Dean and Cas, who looked in with curiosity. "A Naga?" Cas read the given description aloud.
"A snake monster of Asian origin, this creature feasts on the innards of humans, though not often. It can last for weeks on a single meal, making the creature hard to trace. Supposedly sent from Brahma to keep destroy those who are evil or would already die prematurely. This theory could be true but still doubtful .This normally solitary creatures create nests to rest in, but will immediately make a new one once it has been found by humans. They like to line their nests with soft items, such as silk or cotton. The Naga has several forms, including: a half-snake half-human which is their true form, a small snake, ( two feet in length and thin,) or a human guise, neither of which can be held for long. The Naga in her snake form has brown and black bands, making her well made for disguise." The brothers grimaced. Castiel continued.
"Most Naga are female, and in their true form are as beautiful as geishas, but will kill without a second thought to save themselves. They lure their victims to their nest to feast on their innards by seducing them with beauty and false words and strike to kill with their poisonous bite. The venom is like that of the cobra. Take same cure for cobra poison if bitten. To destroy the foul beaste, take off her head, and bury it in the banks of a great river. Burn the body to ashes, the most recent nest as well, as it may contain eggs of young." He looked up from the book.
"So we find this creature, cut its head off, and bury its head in the nearest great river. The Mississippi is nearby. Would that work?"
"Sounds like a plan Cas." Said Dean as he put his arm around his boyfriend's waist and hugged him to his side. "Sammy, check and see if this place has any cobra anti-venom, or whatever cure they used for snake bites. I'm gonna load up the car." He walked away fast, making sure that he didn't break out into a run while the others could still see him. Sam walked over to the file boxes and looked in C for cure to see where and if they had anti-venom, or anything like it.
"Sam?" Sam turned around to find the angel with a troubled face.
"What's wrong, Cas?" Asked Sam, worried for his friend.
"I'm a little worried about this particular hunt." He admitted. "Why?" Sam queried, taking a seat next to him.
"The Naga, with its beauty like a geisha, uses its beauty to trap its victims."
"Yeah, so?" asked Sam not getting the punch line. The angel gave him a look, and spelled it out for him.
"The pornographic magazines that Dean favors….." Sam blinked.
"OH! You think- Dean….Cas! Why would you think that?!" the angel squirmed uncomfortably.
"Dean hasn't had eyes for anyone else but you for a while! Sure he gives them a once over and grins like before, but he will not cheat on you, no matter how busty or pretty that snake-bitch is!" Cas gives the hunter a grateful smile.
"He loves you, Cas. He would never cheat on you. You know that."
"I do." He confirmed, nodding his head, his smile growing by the second.
"Then stop worrying!" Sam insists. In Walks Dean, ready to go. "Get off your lazy butt and go find the anti-venom! I want to be out of here in half an hour! Chop chop!" Sam shakes his head with a smile and a sigh and turns back to the file cabinet to find Castiel already there.
"I'll look for the cure, while you go pack up." He tells the younger Winchester.
"Thanks Cas." Said Sam as he heads off to his room to grab his clothes.