Disclaimer- I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters.

This was one creepy episode…..

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Not my best work, I'm afraid. Sleep deprivation does not elicit much good.

Garideth- Thanks! Yeah, I agree with you there, it reminded me of just how cruel we humans can be…

AngelicScream- Thank you! Hopefully, I'll put up a chapter tomorrow, if not, then definitely Sunday!

XKaterinaNightingaleX- Thank you! Oh, this is nothing compared to what I have in store for Odette…

The name of this chapter is from William Blake.

Cruelty has a human heart,

And jealousy a human face;

Terror the human form divine,

And secrecy the human dress

The human dress is forged iron,

The human form a fiery forge,

The human face a furnace sealed,

The human heart its hungry gorge

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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE- CRUELTY HAS A HUMAN HEART

My back thudded against the wall of the cage, and I shuddered, Jenkins' scream still resounding in my ears.

A deep, throaty howl akin to that of a wounded animal echoed through the room

I curled into a ball, trying to block out the sound.

"HELP ME, PLEASE!"

I covered my ears, wanting to help him, but I was trapped.

Useless.

Hadn't I warned him?

All at once, it cut off with a choked gurgle.

I knew what that meant.

Jenkins was dead.

I stuffed a hand in my mouth to keep from crying out.

I froze, as the cage unlocked of its own accord, creaking open.

Another trap?

On my hands and knees, I crawled forward, peering out the cage.

I blinked in amazement.

"Castiel?"

~Supernatural~

I stared at him, vaguely thinking of rubbing my eyes to see if I were dreaming.

Warm relief rushed through me. He was really here.

He met my gaze steadily.

"Dean and Sam are looking for you. They should be here shortly."

Realizing I was still in the cage, I scrambled out as fast as I could.

"Sam is worried," Castiel added.

I walked up to him.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He inclined his head as acknowledgment.

"We should leave," I muttered.

Castiel turned on his heel and pressed his finger to my forehead.

I swayed, the pain in my head increasing, as I found myself outside the building I'd been trapped in.

"I shall leave you now," Castiel looked ahead at the dirt path and I followed his eyes, making out the faint shape of a car trundling towards us.

"Wait!" I called out, but he was already gone.

Sighing, I waited as the car jerked to a stop.

Confusion spiked my headache.

It wasn't the Impala.

This was a police car.

I stepped back warily, relaxing only when Sam and Dean climbed out of the car.

"You're all right," Sam gave a relieved smile, squeezing my shoulder for a brief second.

I leant into the contact, surprised and pleased.

I would never be able to forget Jenkins' screams, his plea for help.

Help I could not give to him.

Dean scowled darkly.

"Kid, I will personally chain you to my car if you do that again."

There might've been a hint of relief in there somewhere, but I was almost sure it was my imagination.

Sam, perceptive as always, glanced at me worriedly.

Uneasy, I fixed my attention on the cop standing next to Dean.

She smiled warmly at me.

"Hi, Odette. I'm Kathleen. Your brothers," I started slightly. "Asked me to help find you."

"What did they look like?" Dean stared pointedly at me, and I took the hint.

"People," I answered. "Just people."

His eyes narrowed, and Sam's widened.

I steadied myself with a hand on the car, and Dean caught the movement.

He looked at me properly, then, and groaned.

"Please tell me you ain't got a concussion,"

Sam instantly stuffed me inside the car, and I could not even summon up the energy to be indignant about it.

"I don't have a concussion?" It came out as more of a question.

Sam stared at me.

"Headache?"

"Yeah."

"Nausea?"

I nodded.

"Dizziness?"

"Yes," I exhaled heavily.

Dean and Sam fought for shotgun, and Dean ended up in the backseat, grumbling audibly.

I rested my head on the windowpane, closing my eyes.

"Did you find out anything about Jenkins?"

My breath hitched painfully, and I turned my head away from Dean.

"Odette?" Sam's concerned voice invaded my silence, and I opened my eyes.

"He's dead."

Kathleen swore, turning the car around.

"How do you know that?" Dean persisted.

I gulped, my fingers unconsciously wringing themselves together.

"He was in the other cage with me. His unlocked. I told him it was a trap, but he didn't listen."

"I think it's a game for them," I kept my voice low, subdued. "They hunt the people they capture, I guess. For fun."

I could not keep my voice from trembling.

"I heard Jenkins screaming."

I screwed my eyes shut.

"Alright, kid," Dean's voice was gentler than before. "We'll leave you at the hotel, then we catch these guys."

"Absolutely not," Kathleen snapped. "You are civilians, and felons, too, I might add, so you will stay with your sister and let me do my job."

I distantly wondered what the Winchesters had done now.

"Kathleen, you might need our help," Sam objected, but she ignored him.

"Thank you, but no."

She dropped us off at our hotel, and I had to be half-dragged to my room.

I promptly collapsed on my bed, hugging a pillow to my face, and was asleep in minutes.

~Supernatural~

"Odette. Wake up."

I moaned, covering my face with the pillow.

The voice persisted.

"Odette. Dean and Sam are in trouble."

That got to me.

I rolled off the bed at once, wincing as the pain my head returned.

I looked up at Castiel.

"Where are they?" I said, blinking the sleep out of my eyes.

"Where you were trapped," Castiel extended an arm, and I hastily stepped forward.

The world spun, and I found myself in front of the same building I'd been in before.

"Dean is being held captive, and Sam is trying to find the human woman."

Kathleen.

"I think they might've got her, too, Castiel."

I looked at the ramshackle place, and made up my mind.

"You get Dean out. I know how to open the cage, I think."

I entered.

~Supernatural~

The lanky, unwashed man kicked open Kathleen's cage, and I moved forward cautiously.

"You're going to die, little bitch," he growled, gun cocked at Kathleen's dark head.

I braced myself for what I was about to do.

This would give her enough time to run, I hoped.

If I couldn't help Jenkins, at least I could save her.

I sucked in a giant breath.

"Hey!" I yelled.

The man turned the gun on me with an anticipatory smirk.

"Well, well, well, it's our pretty little birdie come home to roost."

He pulled the trigger.

~Supernatural~

Out of nowhere, Sam knocked me to the ground, and I gasped for breath.

The bullet sailed by harmlessly.

"You shouldn't have come," he hissed.

He aimed another shot at Sam, but Kathleen wrestled him to the ground, pulling the gun out of his grasp.

He rolled away from Kathleen, getting up with a snarl, until Sam punched him in the stomach.

He fell limply to the floor.

Almost instantly, a loud baritone drifted through to the room.

"Lee? Where are ya? Lee?"

Sam pressed a finger to his lips.

~Supernatural~

"Lee?" I heard the voices clearly, hiding behind the bale of hay with Sam.

He kept a hand on my shoulder.

There was a low curse.

They must've found Lee unconscious in the cage.

"Damn it, Jared," I flinched, "Get the lights!"

The man named Jared presumably flipped the lights, but the barn remained dark.

"They must've blown the fuses," I heard him mutter.

Sam pressed my hand lightly.

The signal.

We moved forward stealthily, and out of the corner of my eyes I saw Kathleen move towards a dirty white cabinet.

The men moved into another room.

Sam pulled me along as the larger man climbed a ladder leading to the balcony.

Jared paused in front of the cabinet. He fired several times at the door, but Kathleen did not come out.

He opened the cabinet door, finding nothing but tools, when Kathleen fell on top of his back.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, struggling with him, until she dropped to the ground.

The other man chased us through the barn, firing off shots every minute.

Sam dragged me behind another bale of hay, and we ran through to the room where Kathleen was.

"You stupid bitch," I heard Jared say, firing off a shot which we ducked, and which caught the other man instead.

They both hit the ground with a thud.

Grunting, Sam hauled Jared into the spare cage, setting the control panel.

We returned to see Kathleen standing over the prone man's form.

"I'll watch this one," she said, eyes steely. "You go ahead, find Dean."

We did not move.

"Go ahead," she snapped, and I understood why she wanted to stay.

Kathleen needed the closure.

I pulled on Sam's hand, and we left.

~Supernatural~

We walked down the porch steps, and met up with Kathleen walking out of the barn.

"Where's the girl?" She asked Dean.

I looked at him curiously.

"Locked her in a closet," he answered, evidently in a foul mood about something.

He glanced at me, then. "I suppose Castiel brought you here?"

I nodded mutely. "Did he bust you out?"

Dean glared at me, and I took that as confirmation.

What about the dad?"

Kathleen paused. "Shot. Trying to escape."

My eyes flashed up to meet hers.

We both knew she was lying.

~Supernatural~

"So, state police and the FBI are gonna be here within the hour. They're gonna wanna talk to you. I suggest that you're long gone by then."

"Thanks," Dean grinned. "Hey, listen, I don't mean to press our luck, but we're kind of in the middle of nowhere. Think we could catch a ride?"

Kathleen stared at him blankly. "Start walking. Duck if you see a squad car."

"Sounds great to me," Sam cleared his throat noisily. "Thanks."

I lingered for a second, looking back at Kathleen.

"I'm sorry about your brother," I told her, and I knew it would never be enough.

"Not as sorry as I am," she smiled bitterly.

Kathleen watched us leave, close to tears.

.