Emily found herself being backed into a corner. Demons seemed to pour out of nowhere, like rain water from a clear blue sky. Sam lay on the ground unconscious a few feet away. Why the demons had yet to kill him, Emily did not know. She was completely surrounded now. The black-eyed vessels reached and clawed at her, grinning from ear to ear as they did. One of them managed to grasp her blade and pull it from her hands.

"This is it." Emily thought to herself. "I'm going to die."

Having accepted her fate, Emily let herself sink to the ground and placed her hands around her knees. Grimy hands groped and pulled at her. She couldn't stand it. Fear took hold and she began to feel something well up inside her. A sort of raging fire, just waiting to be unleashed on an unsuspecting forest. Emily panicked, she had felt this once before. This same burning sensation that threatened to consume her entire being.

"No!" She cried out, not realizing she had spoken aloud.

She couldn't let happen again. She wouldn't. She gritted her teeth and hugged her knees tighter. Not even a single breath was allowed to escape her lips, for fear that whatever burned inside her would escape with it. Still the blazing heat crept up her throat, edging to the tip of her tongue and threatening to burst from her lips. Emily clenched her teeth tighter, she would not allow it to happen, not again. Memories, grotesque images from her last encounter still haunted her mind.

Back in Germany, she had been clearing a nest of vamps with her two closest friends, Karl and Julie. Unfortunately, the three hunters had severely underestimated the number of vampires in the nest, and as a result, had been overpowered. The bloodthirsty monsters had them surrounded. One of them managed to get ahold of Julie and that's when Emily went into full panic mode; watching your best friend be sucked dry by a mass of vampires had a tendency to do that to a person. That was when she first felt it, that bubbling heat rising up inside her, coursing through her veins. It burned inside her body until she could contain it no more. She remembered dropping to the ground, screaming as she went. And then, nothing.

When Emily awoke, there was a faint ringing in her ears. She attempted to stand, but her dizzy head would not permit the action. She quickly dropped to the ground again, closed her eyes and gave herself a moment to clear her spinning mind. When she was finally able to open her eyes again, she was met with a site that made her wish she had kept them shut. The bodies of the vampires lay strewn all around. Their heads were gone, but the hadn't been cut off. No. They looked as if they had exploded, popped open like a juicy cherry under the weight of crushing jaws. Blood and innards painted the once green grass a stomach-turning shade of red. But that wasn't the worst part. Karl lay beside her, his body limp and unmoving. Where his eyes once resided were two, dark holes, as if they had been burned from the sockets. Julie's corpse was the same. Emily panicked. Who could have done this? What manner of creature had that kind of power? Or even worse... What if she herself had been the one to perform this barbaric act? After all, there was no was else here. Just her. And that would imply that... No. She couldn't have. Could she? But what if... What if she involuntarily murdered her two best friends? It was a possibility that could not be ignored. Faced with the frightening reality, Emily did the only thing she could do. She ran.

And now here she was, that same cursed fire welling up inside her, taking control of her entire being. She wouldn't let it. Not this time. She bit down on her tongue until it bleed and then bit harder. She had to stop it. But the harder she tried to keep it in, the harder it tried to escape.

"Emily!" A voice sounded inside her head.

That voice... She knew that voice. So familiar, yet so distant. A hand was placed on her shoulder, and she knew that it belonged to no demon. The heat seemed to be drawn from her body and into the hand, like poison being sucked from a wound. She grimaced at the feeling, but felt relief when the act was done.

"Keep your eyes closed." The voice commanded.

Emily did as she was told. She felt the air around her grow suddenly hot. A ringing sounded, along with the flapping of feathered wings. She was tempted to open her eyes, to sneak a peak at what was happening, but then she remembered her instructions and kept them shut tight. The air grew cool again and she wondered if it was over. As if it could read her mind, the voice spoke again, this time not in her head.

"It's alright. You can open your eyes now. They're gone."

Emily opened her eyes and squinted at the bright light. The demons, they had vanished. She turned to see who had been her savior and was little more than disappointed with who it was she saw. Castiel stood above her, his face emotionless as ever.

"What the hell did you do?" She demanded, as though the entire situation had been his fault to begin with.

"I did what needed to be done."

"No. Don't you give me any of that bullshit!" Emily fumed. "I want answers. Real answers!"

"All in good time." Castiel assured her. "Right now we have a bigger problem to concern ourselves with."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Crowley." Was the angel's answer. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Castiel then hoisted Sam's unconscious form onto his shoulders and headed towards Emily's car. He lay the younger Winchester across the back seat, propping up his legs in a fashion that would enable him to fit inside the vehicle with the door shut. Once this was done, Cas climbed in the passenger side and signaled for Emily to get in the car.

"We can't just leave!" She shouted from outside. "What about Dean and Madison?"

Castiel exited the car and walked over to her. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders and refused to let her move.

"Listen to me, Emily. Dean and Madison are perfectly capable of looking after themselves."

"Maybe they are," Emily snapped, "but they're my friends, and I'm not leaving them behind."

"You can't help them." Castiel snarled back. "If you go back you'll only make things worse for all of us and I am not about to let that happen."

"I don't care what you say, I'm going after them."

"Emily, please..." His tone was more gentle now. "Just this once I ask that you trust me."

"...Ok." She finally said after a moment's hesitation.

Castiel got back into the Nova and Emily followed. She pulled her keys from her pocket and started up the engine. As they drove away, Emily could only hope and pray that she had made the right decision.

Dean and Madison couldn't deny that they were beginning to lose hope of ever finding a way out of this wretched place. For hours they had picked their way through dark halls and dank rooms, and still, nothing. This place was a labyrinth, an endless maze of death and destruction. The further in they went, the more lost they became. And when they tried to retrace their steps, the way they had come could not be found. It had vanished, as though some sort of cruel magicians trick. One thing was for certain, there was no escaping this madhouse. Not ever.

"Dean!" Madison whispered urgently. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Someone's coming!"

The pair slid into an alcove in the wall. The space was fairly small so fitting both of them inside meant being uncomfortably close. Madison's head rested against Dean's chest, with his arms wrapped around her waist. Had they not been in a life threatening situation, Madison would have been sure to chide him for holding her as though she were a small child. They remained still for several minutes, keeping as quite as they could.

"I don't hear anything." Dean finally said. "Be right back, I'm gonna go take a look."

"Dean, no!" Protested Madison.

But it was too late. Dean had already stepped from their hiding place. And for a moment, all appeared to be well. But then a thick, heavy object came seemingly out of nowhere and hit him on the back of the head. Dean's fell to the ground with a smack. A pained moan escaped his lips jut before he slipped into unconsciousness. Madison panicked, attempting to stay silent as best she could. But it was to no avail. A hand reached out and pulled her roughly from her hiding place. She glared up at her captor, a tall, pale-skinned woman with long, dark hair that fell down her back in snake-like curls.

"My my, would you look what we have here." The woman said, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Let go of me, you bitch!" Madison growled.

"Well, since you asked so nicely."

The woman thrust Madison to the ground and kicked her head with enough force to knock her out for at least an hour or two. She then turned to the two men who stood behind her.

"Tell Crowley that I've found his prize."

"Yes, ma'm." They both said simultaneously.

She watched them as they fled into the darkness. Once they were gone she leaned over the two bodied that lay side by side at her feet.

"Not long now." She smiled and then vanished into the black abyss.