"Hey! Clarence, get up!"
Castiel bats the hands on his shoulders away and rolls over.
"Come on, man! We gotta go!" The hands are persistent and pull his blankets off, rolling Cas back over. "Someone's been killed, man, we gotta go!"
That grabs Cas' attention.
He sits up, ignoring the muddled thoughts circling his heads from his reoccurring dream. "What? Robert, who was killed?"
Robert looks different than usual. Or well… different from his usual oddities. While normally his hair sticks up at odd angles, today it seems his hair was trying to jump from his head. His eyes are bloodshot and wild, and his whole body shaking like a leaf.
Castiel grabs Roberts hands, holding them steady, and attempts to calm him down. After what seems like hours but was only a mere three or four minutes, Robert takes a deep breath.
"Rose. It was Rose. Something killed Rose."
Cas stares ahead, no longer looking in Robert's direction. "Wha- How? When?"
Robert pulled his hands away, running them through his hair and pacing. "I-I- I don't know, man! I went to help her clean, it's my turn tonight, and there she was! Dead! Th-there was blood… like everywhere! And-and… there was a big hole in her chest like- like something ate her. I-I called the police but… We can't be here. Do you know how many drugs I've got stashed up here!? If they search this place, I'm screwed!"
Castiel stands up and squats to pull a duffle bag out from underneath his bed. He immediately begins pulling out weapons. His demon knife, his crossbow, an iron poker, a gun that dean had given him, and a canister of rock salt. Robert is staring.
"What the hell are you doing, man!? We gotta leave! Where'd you even get that stuff? Is that a gun!? Is that a fricken crossbow!?"
Castiel rolls his eyes and loads his pockets up with the stuff, holding the crossbow against his shoulder. "A friend. Now, you said her chest was eaten? Did you see what exactly was missing? This is important."
"Dude! What the hell? Are you some kind of psychopath? What kind of-"
"ROBERT. Just tell me where the body is. I'll look myself, I'd like to figure out what I'm hunting before the police arrive."
Robert stares at Castiel like he's crazy. "She's in the hall was near the kitchen. Hunting? What do you mean. Like the animal that killed her?"
Cas nods and begins walking down the hall towards the stairs. "Yes. There are more things in this world than you know, and I try and stop them when I can."
"Man you're crazy. I'm outta here."
Castiel bids him a halfhearted goodbye and runs down the stairs and heads towards the kitchen. There's people crowded around the hallway, but he ignores them, pushing through. At the footsteps running behind him, Cas rolls his eyes.
He squats down near the body of Rose, ignoring all the questions around him. It doesn't take long for Robert to squat down near him.
"Yes Robert? I thought you were leaving."
"Yeah well, I am. But if you really are crazy, I want to make sure you don't get hurt."
"Thanks…," he mumbles and peers over Rose's ripped open chest. Ah, just as he thought. The heart was missing. She was defiantly attacked, but that was the only organ that he could spot in the surrounding area. Standing back up, Castiel pushes his way through the crowd. He hears the sirens and ducks out the back of the building.
"Hey, where are you going!"
Cas rolls his eyes again. He has a feeling he's going to get used to doing that a lot more often.
"I'm going to hunt down the monster that killed her before anyone else gets hurt."
"Monster? You just said it was an animal. What the hell are you talking about, monsters…"
Cas turns around and grabs Robert by the shoulders. "Look. I fight monsters. The thing that killed Rose? I'm assuming it's a werewolf. I'm going to find it, and kill it. Now you can either leave or you can shut up and come with. I don't care. But please. Be quiet. And if you see it, Tell me and hide. Okay?"
Robert swallows and nods.
"So what's it going to be, Robert?"
"… Well you're the one with a fricken crossbow. I don't believe you but something's out there killing people so I guess I'll stay with you."
Castiel sighs and rolls his eyes again. He turns back around and Looks around at the forest behind the shelter. There's an obvious parting in the brush. Something made its way through there.
"Come on. Through there," Cas says, pointing his crossbow in that direction.
He pulls the poker out of his belt loop and hands it to Robert. "It won't do much against a werewolf, but it's something to defend yourself with. I don't quite trust you with a gun yet."
Robert nods his thanks and holds it up like a sword, standing close behind Cas.
It doesn't take long for the two to find the wolf. It's not even that far into the forest. Cas pushes Robert behind a tree and mouths for him to be quiet. Robert doesn't have a problem with that as he stares unbelieving at the beast.
It's staffing it's face into a rabbit currently, ripping it's innards apart, searching for the heart. Cas pulls out his gun and takes a calming breath as he aims. He suddenly remembers the time Dean was teaching him how to shoot a gun. His hands on Cas' hips and chest to his back. Cas shakes the thought from his head and takes a step closer.
Crack!
Cas gasps as the beast suddenly freezes. It swings its ugly face in their direction. Cas looks down at the stick that broke in horror and then to Robert. Just as the wolf starts charging them, Cas screams "RUN!" And shoots blindly, while running deeper into the forest. He loses sight of Robert and is grateful. At least the werewolf isn't chasing him. Cas shoots another shot as it gains on him. It whines in pain but keeps running.
Cas curses as his gun clicks empty. He fumbles with the bag on his back to get another round out but miscalculates his steps and trips. It's like he's falling again. Like in the dream. Yet instead of it lasting forever, his face crashes harshly into the ground. He yells out in pain and starts to get up, but the beast jumps on him, tearing a big gash into his back.
There's a loud shout from beside him and the werewolf is thrown off of him. Cas quickly scrambles for his crossbow and flips over onto his back, ignoring the searing pain and aims for the wolf, shooting it directly in the head. It doesn't kill it, but it gives him enough time to grab his duffle again and reload his gun, getting to his knees as the beast gets up again and shooting it in the heart with the silver bullet. It lets out a shriek and collapses onto its side.
It's over.
Castiel looks up from the beast to see Robert panting, holding the poker in a death grip. He looks as white as a ghost. Figuratively of course.
Cas pushes up from the ground slowly, gasping at the burn his back is causing. It's too real. His breathing gets quicker as his dream is being played before his eyes.
Wings burning.
Everything hurting.
Falling.
Cas is falling again.
He drops to his knees again and hunches over on himself. It burns. Everything burns. He's vaguely aware of him shaking and Robert trying to get his attention. Castiel stares blankly and grabs at his wrist. The world goes in and out of focus for a few seconds until Cas is pushing his sleeve up and digging his nails into the cuts he made the day before, breaking them open. The world becomes clearer. It's grounding him. He digs in a bit more until the burning in his back is being covered by the burning in his arm. Better. Enough.
Castiel takes a deep shuddering breath and cuts off whatever it is that Robert was saying.
"Duffle bag. Get the vodka and fishing line," He says in a gruff voice, barely above a whisper.
Robert stares dumbfounded at the man in front of him. "Wha- what? Clarence, no. You need to go to a hos-"
"Robert! DO as I say!"
Robert jumps at the volume and does as he's told.
Keeping the pressure on his wrist, Cas shimmies his jacket and shirt off, hissing, barely staying in reality. " Do you know how to sew?"
Robert looks confused as he brings the items requested. "Uhh yeah? What does th-"
"I need you to pour the vodka on my back and sew it up."
"What!? I-I ca-"
"ROBERT. JUST DO IT."
Robert gulps and gets behind Cas. He's hesitant and looks up at Cas' hair. "Do I really have to-"
"Robert, please," Cas half shouts. He can feel the pain trying to overwhelm him. He grips his wrist tighter, the blood now seeping into his jeans. "I- I can't do it myself."
Robert nods and gulps again, lifting the bottle with shaking fingers. He begins to pour it on Cas' back, but stops at the sudden sob that comes from him.
"No! Keep going!" Cas cries. Robert does and Castiel shoves his hand into his mouth to keep from shouting again.
Using the needle already attached to the line, Robert makes short work of Cas' back, sewing him up quickly with his shaking hands. Castiel bites through the skin of his hand, trying not to cry but failing miserably. When it's finally done, he sits there, shaking. Robert rubs a gentle hand on Cas' shoulder and wordlessly offers what little vodka is left inside the bottle.
Castiel immediately takes it, ignoring the blood running down his shaking arm. He takes a big swallow, downing its contents and shivers. He stays like that for a few minutes until he feels ready to move. Cas all but crawls over to his duffle, grabbing a sweater that was kept at the bottom with his clothes. Very gently he pulls it over his head , hissing as it scraps against his back and stands up on wobbly legs.
Robert stands with him, eyes wide. "Clarence! Don't try to move yet!"
Cas shakes his head, eyes squeezed shut and gestures the empty vodka bottle towards the dead werewolf next to them.
"We- we have to… to bury that.. Someone- someone might find it," He says in a stuttering voice.
"Clarence-"
"Please, Ro-Robert. We- We gotta- gotta bury it. I'm fine. Had-had worse."
Robert stares at him in disbelief but nods and goes over to the body. "We don't have a shovel."
Cas looks towards the barely noticeable lights of the shelter. "There?"
"Hmm maybe. I'll run over and look. Stay here."
Cas nods and collapses against a tree. He keeps the gun and crossbow near his side as Robert runs off in the direction of the house.
He rolls his sleeve back up to inspect the damage. Blood is coagulating into a scab on the now torn cuts, but other than them being wider than he remembered, they're not that bad. Cas reaches in his bag and pulls out a cloth and water bottle, holding his arm out to clean it. It stings but that's good. Anything to keep his mind off his back.
His hand isn't so bad either. Just a few odd spots here and there along the teeth indention that broke open. He rips off the sleeve of the ruined jacket and wraps it tightly around his arm, just in case. Then he sits sideways against the tree, leaving his back to the air around him and waits. It doesn't take long for Castiel to fall asleep.