Haunted houses and unexpected friends

Aliza had started to recognize every spot on the wall. Every crack, every line. She was sure she would notice if one of them disappeared. The lines in the wood of her bedframe, the stains on the floor. Her room in the bunker was the only place she had seen in a week.

After the night in the warehouse, they had taken her back to the bunker. Aliza had fallen asleep from exhaustion in the back of the car, but she could still hear Dean and Sam muttering about her. At that moment she had been too sleepy to care, but afterwards she wished she knew what they thought about her. Once at the bunker, she dragged her ass to her room. Only Sam had come in once, checking whether she was still alive. Aliza had locked the door, not needing anything. Sam would leave behind trays of food, but also those remained untouched. Another pro to her being was that she could live weeks without food or water, as long as she wasn't active. And the little bathroom provided her with at least some water.

The worst part about that week hadn't been boredom or isolation: it was the constant pressure of knowing something is coming for you. Castiel hadn't showed his face yet, and every minute he stayed away was like a new needle in her skin. At one point she wouldn't be able to hold herself together. What would happen, was only a guess to her.

But a week had passed, and she was still alive. That was the weirdest part to all of this. If Castiel wasn't capable of killing her himself – what she figured was the reason he left – why hadn't another angel shown up? She remembered the boys mentioning something about the bunker being warded from basically everything, but Castiel knew the place. Surely he could get another angel in.

After another way too long hour, she decided this wasn't solving anything. She got up and left her room.

'How about the old mossy one, over there?' Dean said while pointing at an old book on a shelf. He and his brother were in the library, surrounded by tons of books.

'I already checked that one,' Sam said while opening a new book.

'And?' Dean asked.

'Nothing,' Sam sighed.

Ever since Aliza had told them what she was, they had tried to dig up information about Nephilim. However, they discovered the same thing Aliza discovered some time ago: there wasn't much in those books. The brothers started to grow desperate. They knew little to nothing, yet they knew it was a big deal. The part angel, part human thing, they got.

'Why isn't there any more information about Nephilim in these books?' Dean exclaimed in irritation.

'You know, you could just ask me.'

Dean and Sam looked up from their books. On the other side of the room in the threshold of the door, Aliza stood, leaning against the frame. She looked like crap. Her skin had paled and formed dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was beyond messy. All she wore was a black legging and an oversized sweatshirt. Her eyes nearly drooped closed as she watched them.

'You're out again,' Sam said. The relief it gave him was clear in his voice.

Aliza dared to take slow steps further into the room, by pushing herself away from the frame. Her walk was just as lazy and sloppy like the rest of her appearance. She looked bad, but not as bad as a human would look after not eating for a week. If a human could even survive that.

'Figured it became time,' she mumbled. She pushed some books to the side and placed her butt on the table. She faced the boys over a pile of books. She looked down at the books and started stroking the title of the big volume on top: celestial beings from the Bible.

'I tried the same thing. Seems like my kind is so rare that hardly any hunter ever wrote something down about us. But I still caught up on some things,' she told them while eying the book. Then she looked up from the one pair of eyes to the other. 'If you're interested.'

Dean clapped the book he was reading shut and placed it away. 'I'm dying to stop reading after all these hours.'

'It's only been an hour and a half,' Sam said while rolling his eyes. But even he put the books away to listen.

Aliza fiddled with a loose thread on her sweater.

'As you know, Nephilim are the offspring of an angel and a human. Of course this is highly forbidden in Heaven, which is why there aren't a lot of my kind. When an angel finds a Nephilim, it is supposed to torture and kill it without doubt.' She stopped for a moment to look them both in the eyes. 'Which is why I was so afraid of Cas. But it ain't just angels. Demons have a gut feeling with us, telling them we are even worse than them.'

'That's not true,' Sam interrupted. Aliza stared at him for a moment before fiddling again.

'That's sweet Sam, but it is simple. Angels would rather kill me than a demon. Even humans are supposed to 'follow Gods will' and kill me, if they would know what I am,' she continued.

'Yeah, well, God and us two had more than one disagreement,' Dean told her.

Aliza smiled. She missed the joking Dean. Was he beginning to forgive her? She was careful anyway.

'Anyway, I am not that impressive. I am stronger than a human, but I'm not even close to an angel. I can endure longer without food or water, I can bear more pain. I can shield myself better from emotions. Although I must say, with all the things going on lately, I have gone quite soft. As a kid, I was known for scaring people with my reactions. I didn't even cry when that vamp chased me down, or when I told Bobby my mother tried to kill me. I can shield myself, but I'm not so sure I want it.'

'Seems like a good decision. It's better to feel something than nothing,' Sam said. His mind was way further back. Aliza wondered what he was thinking off, but it wasn't his time of explaining. She would – when they would trust her again – ask them about all the adventures they had. Must be good enough to make a show about.

'But there is one big downside to being me. I know something about my future, that I can't run away from. And it scares the shit outta me. But hey, how do you stop what you are?' she told with a thick

layer of hurt in her voice.

Dean leaned forward to grab her hand in his. She looked down at the kind gesture, and decided she liked the feeling. Like he was her big brother, protecting her.

'What is it?' he asked.

Aliza sighed and closed her eyes for a long moment.

'You see, I have all this…anger inside of me. I can shield off pain, happiness and all that, but not anger. When I get really upset, I am capable of anything. My anger will take over from my mind, and I will go too far. I already did once…but in the end I could stop. For years I have trained to control my anger, and I think I am in better control. But with all these things happening lately…I am still so angry. Hurt, humiliated, and lost…but also so angry,' she ended with a voice barely above a whisper. She tried not to let the anger overflow her thoughts. She used some of the techniques she had learned, and Dean gave her a friendly squeeze in her hand. It helped.

'But, it is said that all Nephilim will, at one point, kill a human,' she finally managed to tell.

That left the room quiet. Dean slowly retracted his hand from hers. She understood, but it didn't feel nice.

'Why? Why would you do that?' Sam asked, completely lost of ways to react.

'Because I will lose control,' she said softly.

Dean raised from his chair, so he was a little above her eye-level.

'I bet those other Nephi…Nepha….angel kids didn't take anger management classes. For that matter, maybe they don't even have people to help them,' Dean started.

Then he moved around the table to stand next to her. He took both of her hands in his, looking down at them for a moment before continuing.

'But you have us. We will get you through this,' Dean promised her. Sam joined them, and gave an approving nod. Aliza looked star struck from the one Winchester to the other.

'You do understand that I'm not human, right? I am basically a…monster.'

'You're not,' Sam told her.

She cocked her head to the side as she watched him with confusion. A habit she might or might not have picked up from someone else.

'Why not? What makes me different?'

'You don't kill humans. You only kill for the right reasons,' Sam told her.

Aliza looked over her shoulder at the round room. Her memories brought her back to another night, with another guy who told her the same thing.

'You're right,' she whispered, more to herself. She started to see what they saw. She understood now, why they forgave her. Even why Cas trusted her. Well, up until a certain point...

'Come here,' Dean said and pulled her in his arms. Now that she was standing again, she was reminded that she was a bit shorter than Dean. It felt great to lay in his strong, warm arms.

'Sammy was right,' he told her on a low tone, 'you are family.'

Aliza pressed her face in his chest, trying to hide her tears of pure joy.

'And after your brother went missing, did something else happen?' Aliza asked while writing notes down on her notepad.

The girl she was questioning hugged herself uneasily. Her mascara was smeared all over her cheeks, because of the tears she was crying.

'What do you mean?'

Dean stepped in, trying to sooth the girl with a friendly smile. 'Anything. Sounds, smells, temperature drops…'

The girl lowered her face to wipe a fresh tear away. 'Well, it was really cold that night. Seemed to drop even further when we noticed he went missing.'

Aliza and Sam shared a look. She continued to write the notes down. They were for the show. If she would really write down what she thought, she would write "ghost" and circle it a couple of times.

Dean took a step back to let a car pass. They were standing in the middle of a street in a suburb. It was the kind of community you would expect in Edward Scissorhands, with all the dressed-up house women and rebellious teenagers. They were investigating the death of a seventeen-year old boy, who was violated till death. He, his older sister, and a couple of friends were throwing a party. Later on they found him in the attic, where he was strapped to a chair and beaten to death. His sister found him that way.

Apart from her talking about cold spots, there was no real evidence this was a vengeful spirit, or anything supernatural for that matter. They had to investigate about any violent deaths in this neighborhood, but Aliza had a feeling that wasn't going to be easy. If she looked around at the people in the street, they all looked like they had dark secrets. The 'too happy to be real' kind of smiles on their faces, the overdone clothing. If the neighbor would come knocking with a body slung over his shoulder, they would probably help hide the body.

It gave her the chills.

Sam came over to their table in a coffee room with three damping cups. Aliza took the cup to warm her hands. Not because it was cold, but because the sensation she got from this place was cold.

'I don't trust any of those smiling faces out here,' she whispered.

Dean and Sam shared a look before they looked back at her. 'So it's not just me,' Sam said back.

'Barbie dolls or not, we have to find out what killed that boy,' Dean said, looking around for potential eavesdroppers.

'Vengeful spirit?' Aliza spoke her mind.

'Could be, but it's rare that they beat people to death. It's hard for a ghost to keep touching objects for a long time. So why not pick up a weapon and be done with it?' Sam replied.

'Revenge? Wanting the boy to suffer?' Aliza said while shrugging her shoulders.

'Could be. We would need to find information about any deaths in this place. Hope the library could be of some help,' Sam said while taking a sip.

Aliza nodded slowly. She stared down at her coffee. Without noticing, the world around her faded away, and she was swallowed by her thoughts. Or actually, one thought. One person, upsetting her, scaring her, frustrating her…he ruled her mind.

'So anyway, how are you doing?' Dean said through her thoughts. She shook her head and came back in the world she was living in.

She flashed a smile. 'I'm fine.'

Dean kept staring at her intensely. 'You're playing our game now? Saying you're fine when you clearly aren't?'

Aliza chuckled. 'If you can, so can I.'

Sam gave a deep sigh. 'It is good to talk about it. We know what is bothering you.'

Launching back in the seat, she pouted: 'Yes, you know. No need to talk.'

They were both silent for a moment. Aliza glared at Dean, who was thinking about a fitting reply.

'I've been praying,' he then said.

Aliza's eyes grew as she sat back up. 'You did what?'

Dean gave her a hopeless look. 'I tried to reach him, so he would get his ass over here and talk this out. This isn't working-,'

Aliza raised from her seat. 'Get him over here? You know what will happen when he comes back?!'

Sam shushed her and pushed her shoulders to sit back down. He looked around frantically. A lot of people were staring. Aliza didn't care, though.

'He comes back, and I die,' she continued on a lower tone. However, the anger was still vibrating in her words.

Dean kept giving her this hopeless look. 'Cas is not like that. I don't know why he ran, but he isn't going to kill you.'

Aliza leaned in closer to the older Winchester. 'I do know why he ran. He started to get fond of me, and he couldn't kill me himself. That's all. He is a softie, you know that. But that doesn't mean he isn't in Heaven right now, commanding some other angels to kill me.'

She took a little more distance, so she could finish her drink. 'And the reason it is taking so long, is because the angels are afraid of the two of you. Cas knows you are protecting me. It is only a matter of time. I'm already in a slaughterhouse, awaiting my turn.'

A couple of days ago, she would have cried while saying this, but she didn't. Emotions weren't going to get to her anymore.

There were no more comments from that moment on. Aliza just hoped she could focus on the case, to distract herself.

That night, Aliza, Dean and Sam broke in the house where the boy had died. They had done some research, what didn't provide them with anything useful. However, they went in well prepared, with all kind of weapons. Aliza still bet on vengeful spirit, and she really hoped she was right.

'I get that it's efficient, but it looks really stupid,' Dean whispered to her while they searched the main floor. The house was quite large, so they had some ground to cover.

Aliza looked down at the pistol she was holding. In contrast with the boys' their real guns, she was carrying a water pistol, filled with holy water. It wouldn't do any good against a ghost, but it would against a demon. And lately, she was extra afraid of the creatures from Hell.

'When we run into a demon and you shoot it with these useless bullets, you'll squeak differently,' she snapped back over her shoulder. Dean smiled. At least she had some of her wit back.

They had searched the hall, living room, study and kitchen. There were stairs going both up and down. There were two stories, plus a cellar and attic.

'I'll go down, you guys go up,' Aliza replied.

'You sure? Maybe we should go together,' Sam proposed.

Aliza turned to him, a little annoyed. 'I can take care of myself. By the way: this family is coming home sooner than later, and I'd like to be out by then. Unless you want to explain you're hunting a ghost.'

There were no more complains. Cautiously, Aliza took the stairs leading down. She expected there to be a small cellar, but was surprised to find three doors. The first one was a small laundry room, the second a storage room and the third a workplace. She circled the third room – which was slightly bigger than the other two – and found nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly, she felt really stupid: walking in someone's cellar armed with a water pistol. She disposed of the thing and picked an iron rod up. Her chances of demons were too small; they should have shown themselves by now. If it was something supernatural in here, it was probably a ghost.

She scanned the floor, and found a handle in the floor. On her knees, she searched the wooden floor with her hands for the rest of the trapdoor. She found it, and with difficulty managed to get it open. A layer of sand and dust descended on the first step of the stairs leading down. Out of habit she looked over her shoulder, kind of suspecting someone to be standing there. She was so used to someone appearing and disappearing from her life in a second.

The stairs led to a dark, small room. There were no windows, so the place was completely covered in darkness. She tried a light switch near the stairs, and a small lightbulb sprung to life. It wasn't a lot of light, but enough to make out the room. There was next to nothing to find. Only a chair stood lonely in the middle of the room.

Seeing that the room was empty, she turned to leave. But suddenly there was someone standing only inches away from her. Before she could scream from surprise, the figure grabbed her throat and started squeezing hard. She felt her feet leave the ground. Then he threw her back, into the chair. The chair doubled over, with Aliza laying half over it. Her arm had scratched along a nail that protruded from the chair. As she looked up, with the lightbulb on the other side of the man, she could see he was translucent.

Ghost it was.

She searched around for the iron rod she had dropped, but it was impossible in the dim light. The ghost appeared in front of her again, and hailed her to her knees by her hair. She looked up at the diseased young man. He couldn't have been older than twenty-five. He had thin, dark hair, which hung around his face. His eyes were a dark brown color, swallowing the pupil to one, dark spot. He had bruises, cuts and flesh wounds all over his skin. Before she could look any longer, he hit her in the face. For someone that wasn't solid, it sure came in hard. Then he hit her again, and again. Anger started to boil inside her. She struggled to fight back, but it was hard with his firm grip on her head. Before he could hit her again, she took hold of his half-existing fist, and shoved his hand away. Taken by surprise, the ghost let go of her hair for just a moment. She kicked out with her leg, but her limp went right through him. Anger caused him to be solid, surprise took it away.

Jumping to her feet took only a second, the next she was aiming for the stairs. Unfortunately, the ghost was fast enough, and appeared in front of her again. He was furious. With one steady knock to the head Aliza felt down unconsciousness.

A throbbing feeling to her head was the first thing Aliza noticed when she came to. Her eyes opened, seeing only darkness and some contours. She was still in the basement. She started to wake a little more, and wanted to reach for her head. That's when she noticed she was strapped down to the chair. A moment of panic settled in, and she struggled to get free. However, the ropes wouldn't give in. The spirit was nowhere within sight.

Now that she wasn't in the heat of battle, she started to think clearly again. She had recognized the face of the spirit. It was a cousin of the boy who died here, and the girl they spoke to earlier. He had died in this house, only three months ago. Sam had found that piece of information, but the article also said he was a peaceful person, who was too stressed in live, so he killed himself.

Aliza started to doubt that, seeing he died of violation.

Then the spirit appeared again. He looked down at her in the chair. Her heartbeat quickened, but she couldn't afford to be scared.

'Billy?' she said with a soft, kind voice.

The spirit of Billy looked surprised.

'Billy, I understand. Someone beat you till death. But that is no reason to do it back. You are no more than those people who did this to you,' she tried. There was a big change it had been the murdered boy who killed him. But if it was just him, the spirit would have passed on. So Aliza guessed the sister also had her part in the death of her cousin.

At first it looked like Aliza had said the right thing. Billy looked lost, not understanding what he was doing. But then he looked back up at her, and the rage returned to his eyes. He plunged himself forward and started releasing his frustrations on Aliza, using her as a punching bag.

'Sammie, I'm not leaving this house without her!' Dean shouted angrily at his brother.

It had been twenty minutes since they split ways. Dean and Sam had turned up with a big steaming pile of nothing. But even when they went down to the basement, there was no sign of Aliza, apart from the water pistol that lay abandoned on the desk. They had searched the walls for secret doorways, and the perimeter of the house for any track that she would have left.

But there was nothing. The owners and their daughter would be home soon, and Sam wanted to get out and walk back in as FBI agents, making their story more believable. But Dean refused to leave.

'I get it Dean, but this is simply thinking straight. Come on, we've searched everywhere!' Sam tried to reason.

Dean leaned in closer to his brother, his stand tense. 'But we still haven't found her, so we're not looking hard enough!'

Sam sighed and took a step away from the unreasonable man. 'Seriously Dean! The one moment you want to dump her along the side of the street, and the next you would die for her! What is it between you and her?'

Dean looked down. He had to admit, he didn't really know the answer. All this time he had felt protective over Aliza. But when she held back those secrets, saying she didn't trust them enough to tell them…that came in hard. Dean wished he didn't take it so personally, like Sam did, but he couldn't help but see the girl as family. Even when he hated her.

But you don't leave family behind.

Then Dean heard a sound he hadn't heard in a long time. At the same time, it sounded alien and familiar to him. He turned around to see Castiel standing there.

Cas was still Cas. Trench coat and all. But his face looked tired and lost. Yet, his eyes showed determination.

'Cas?' Sam asked in disbelief. Castiel ripped his eyes away from Dean to look at Sam.

'I know where she is. I will take care of her. But you need to destroy the spirit,' he spoke all business.

Dean was too paralyzed to reply, but Sam was sharp on point. 'You happen to know how?'

Castiel nodded. 'Burn the house down.'

Dean shook himself from his thoughts. 'No offence, but I don't really trust you enough.'

Castiel turned around to face Dean. His face was all serious and determined.

'There is no time for this, Dean! Aliza is hanging on, but she is nearly fading out! Do it now, or the spirit will get to me too!'

Then the angel disappeared again. The brothers looked at each other.

'Come on, let's torch this son of a bitch,' Sam said.

A line of red blood dripped down to the floor from her lip. It was a mixture of blood from her nose, mouth and forehead. More lines like that one dripped all around the chair. Multiple bones had cracked within her. She was stronger than a normal human, but the spirit simply kept on going without taking a rest. For Aliza, it felt like she had been sitting there for days. There was no way to keep track on time. She even lost count of the times he hit her. Somewhere in the low hundreds.

Her eyes kept drooping. She forced herself to remain conscious, but it was a hard task. Billy was admiring his work for a moment. Then he stepped back in front of her, ready for the next blow. Aliza closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.

However, there was a swooshing sound and a short cry of agony. Aliza opened her eyes, but everything was blurry to her. There was someone else in the room. Someone who had chased Billy away with the iron rod she had dropped. He knelt down in front of her.

'Hold on,' the man spoke, worry clear in his voice. Aliza tried to keep her eyes open, but they wouldn't focus. There was a little part of her mind telling her she knew the voice, but she was simply too tired to listen. In the next moment, she wasn't tied down anymore. Without the support, she toppled over to the front. She was caught in the arms of her rescuer, resting her face against his chest.

Another sense started tingling in the back of her head. She smelled smoke. Something stood on fire. With all her willpower, she focused her eyes on the man, who was now cradling her in his arms.

'C-cas?' she whispered. At this moment, she was really glad he was here. She didn't care about the danger he would bring, and simply leaned into his chest. As weak as her muscles were, she tried to hold onto his clothing with her hands.

Sam tried to get a hold on his frantic brother.

'Dean! Calm down! She will be fine!'

Dean struggled against Sam's hands on his shoulders. 'You think? We know Cas wants her dead, and yet we trust him! Why are we so stupid?! She is burning up in there! I'm going in!'

Dean took a step in the direction of the burning house, when suddenly a huge blast came from the house. An enormous fireball shot up in the night sky.

'No!' they both cried out. There was no possibility Aliza could survive something like that.

'She is fine,' someone suddenly said behind them. They twirled around to see Castiel putting Aliza down on the street. She was half conscious, somehow still clutching onto the angel.

'Don't let me go,' she whispered when she noticed Cas was no longer holding her.

Castiel placed his fingers against her temples and started healing her. The wounds were pretty bad, and it took him a moment. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead while he healed her. Then she was back. She took a big gulp of air. The movement threw her off balance, and she nearly felt back down on her head. However, Cas was in time to place a hand on her back and hold her sitting up.

'You okay, buddy?' Dean asked with a little smile on his lips. Aliza looked up, becoming aware of her surroundings.

'Yeah, I think so,' she breathed. Then she looked up at the angel hovering over her. She tried to read his face, but he put up a wall. Flickers of relief and pain flashed in his eyes, but those were milliseconds.

All the anger and fear she should feel with the angel here washed away. She was really grateful to be alive. And wasn't that the whole point? He didn't kill her. He saved her. For some damn reason.

She found her footing and got up. Sam already called the firemen. They had seen the spirit of Billy catch on fire and move on to the afterlife. Despite her feelings, Aliza took a step away from the angel. She found Dean's warm arms, embracing her.

'Sorry we left you behind. Don't know why I trusted Cas,' he told her, mild guilt in his voice.

'Me neither,' she replied.

Then she looked back at the angel, a Winchester on both her sides.

'Cas, why did you save me?' she asked while tilting her head to the side.

The angel looked lost. He could only face the ground as he spoke. 'I never intended to harm you.'

Aliza snorted. Castiel looked up, surprised at her reaction.

'Sure thing, flyboy. Then why did you run?'

Castiel looked upon three confused and slightly angry faces. The faces of his closest friends. And he had left them behind, without answers. He understood their emotions, but still hated to be in this position. He sighed as he replied.

'I didn't run because you told me you are a Nephilim,' Cas started. Aliza felt her body going cold at the knowledge he knew her biggest secret. He looked her in the eye as he confessed the truth.

'I ran because I was afraid of you.'

Aliza and the Winchesters leaned in, looks of surprise on their faces.

'Me?' Aliza said, 'I was afraid of you! That you would come back with your angel buddies and make an end to me!'

Castiel held his hands up, trying to calm her. 'I never intended to do any of that. Yes, I was taught Nephilim are bad and should be destroyed, but I haven't been following Heaven's rules lately. The reason I left…was because I was ashamed.'

The feeling Aliza got was a mixture of relief and dread. He wasn't going to kill her. But what was so bad that he couldn't tell her? She moved away from her mortal friends to step closer to the angel. Basically, he just said he wasn't going to hurt her. Not physically, anyway. She placed her hand softly on his cheek. He closed his eyes, clearly enjoying the warmth.

'Tell me,' she commanded.

Castiel opened his eyes again to look down at her. His blue eyes reflected the deepest part of his soul. Aliza had the feeling she could get through the membrane and enter the world called Castiel. She moved her hand away, ready to take on the story.

'A little while ago, there were problems in Heaven. Naomi had taken control, and she was terrible. The scribe of God, Metatron, told me there was a way to shut the gates of Heaven. I thought it was a good idea: get all the angels together to talk. However, Metatron betrayed me. He locked all the angels out of Heaven. Now, thousands of angels walk this earth, and most of them have no idea how humanity works. It is a big mess,' he said.

Aliza listened intensely. She found the story horrible, and wished she could punch this Metatron in the face.

'That really sucks. But you didn't know, so you can't be blamed. Although, I still do not understand what this has to do with me.'

Castiel looked down, but forced himself to look her in the eyes when he told her the most crucial part.

'For the spell to shut the gates, sacrifices were made. I lost my grace, but I have regained it. There was a cupid that had to hand over her bow. Little in comparison, if you think about it.'

'Get to the point,' Aliza warned.

Castiel looked into her soul, and she stared back in his.

'I killed the only other Nephilim on this earth.'

Seconds passed, minutes later. Aliza could only stare. Before her eyes the only angel she trusted became a monster. She started to imagine him ripping her heart out, eyes cold without emotion. A gasp was the first sound she made, while her vision blurred with tears. She started to shake her head as disbelief settled in.

'No, no, no,' she murmured. She lost his gaze and stared at the street, trying to stop the panic attack that would settle in. Disbelief, pain, lost, betrayal…and anger. Her body heated up, her veins on fire. She breathed through her nose, almost expecting steam to come out.

'I am mostly sorry about her death. Although, she was nothing like you. In the time I was away, I have done some research. The girl-,'

'I don't care!' Aliza shouted back.

Castiel's eyes grew large. He was truly terrified.

'You killed her! Not because someone told you, but because you decided it was the righteous thing! Isn't that exactly why you aren't Heaven's mail boy anymore?'

In all her rage, she took a step closer to punch Castiel square in the face. His skin was like stone: hard and cold. His face only tilted a little to the side, allowing her that satisfaction. Then he looked back at her, still scared. Aliza pushed herself up on her toes, trying to be as intimidating as possible.

'You are no better than those other douchebags! Now listen closely, you misshapen chicken. I don't ever want to see your face again! Show yourself to me, and I will find a way to kill you,' she promised.

Aliza spun on her heels and headed down the street. In the corner of her eye she could see Sam moving in her direction, ready to follow. Before he could, she turned to him, pointing an accusing finger.

'Don't even think about it,' she growled between her teeth. Her voice sounded misshapen, like there was an effect placed over it. It made her voice sound dark and threatening. Sam was shocked, seeing her completely white, illuminating eyes.

Then she turned and ran.

Direction didn't matter. Destination didn't matter. But she needed to do something to get that angel of her mind. A small part of her brain was smart enough to lead her out of town, walking somewhere on a lonely road with fields stretched on both sides.

She could feel it, the transformation. Her whole body was boiling with anger. It changed everything: her voice, her eyes…even her mind. She felt as if there was no sense in calming down, ever. Why aren't people angry all the time? The heat felt good to her. In this moment, she could do anything. She fastened her pace and took a big leap. She crashed down on the path, leaving a small crater behind. The ground shook for a moment from the impact. Aliza smiled. She was invincible.

A nearby tree would be her next victim. She pulled the enormous log out of the ground with little difficulty, and threw it away. It hit another tree, who cracked under the weight and force. This time she didn't smile. This playing around wasn't enough to make her forget everything. She thought back of these blue eyes, and how they would look when he stabbed her to death. She imagined Cas looking down at her lifeless form and smiling at his good work. She knew she was making things up now, but she blamed that on the anger.

All the frustration made her exclaim a loud, terrifying roaring sound. It didn't even sound human anymore. It was more like a terrible monster. But that was what she was. A monster.

'Well, someone needs to cool down,' a voice suddenly said in the silence.

Aliza twisted her upper body to see behind her. A little further down the path, from the direction she came from, stood a girl. She was a little younger than Aliza, with red hair and a confident smile on her face.

'Go away,' Aliza growled. She couldn't see it herself, but her eyes glowed monstrously white.

The girl didn't seem intimidated. 'Neh. Figured you needed some help.'

Aliza couldn't believe the casual tone the girl spoke in. There was an actual monster in front of her, and she talked like she was a girl throwing up outside the club. The girl got her hands out of her pockets and came closer.

'Stay back,' Aliza warned, her hand held up.

The girl didn't stop.

'Stop!' she yelled. The sound was the least human sound she had made all evening.

Only now, the girl stopped. She blinked a couple of times, and looked like she was insulted. Aliza turned her face away from the redhead.

'I don't want to hurt you,' she said a lot friendlier.

There was a silence for a moment. Then the girl spoke again. 'You wouldn't. You can fight this. Be honest; you don't want to be like this. You are a disgrace to yourself. Man up! Or…uhm…woman up!'

At the same time, it angered her more, and calmed her more. She knew the girl was right. A part of her mind screamed that she needed to stop, while the other was still too heated up.

'You don't know what they did to me! I am alone, I have always been alone. But when I hear that there is someone else, my friend killed her! It's not fair!'

Her rage was so strong that she smashed her fist in the ground and caused some cracks. The girl took a step back when she was thrown off balance.

'Yes, yes. Life isn't fair. But guess what? Everyone deals with crap. You just have to deal with it, like anybody else,' the girl said. Her tone became more firm: she was done with this conversation.

Aliza became interested in the girl. Who would risk her life to talk to a hot-head like herself, and be totally used to seeing white eyes and supernatural powers? As she wondered about the girl, her anger subsided. She knew the girl was right: there was no sense in becoming angry.

Her eyes slowly faded back to their strange, non-mixing colors. The girl gave a chuckle. 'Damn! Your eyes are really cool!'

Aliza's heartbeat slowed down, her breathing becoming regular. She smiled a little. 'I hate my eyes.'

The girl took some steps closer, clearly not afraid anymore. 'Are you kidding? They're fabulous.'

She looked Aliza over, seeing that she had cooled down.

'How did you do that?' Aliza asked, barely a whisper. 'How did you calm me down?'

She shrugged. 'Dunno. Just talked to you, really. How about we grab a drink and talk this out? I'll pay,' she offered.

Aliza raised an eyebrow. 'Are you asking me out?'

The girl looked her over once more, without shame. 'No. Wouldn't dare.'

Aliza didn't buy it, but she really needed an listening ear. One that wasn't angelic.

'Right, 'cause I don't swing that way. I'm Aliza, by the way.'

The girl took her hand in a firm grip. 'Pleasure, Aliza. I'm Charlie Bradbury.'

The two girls walked over to a pub in town. It was somewhere between one and two O'clock in the morning, so the place wasn't very full. The bartender cleaned some glasses, a man with a beer in hand watched the news on the TV, and two other man had a quiet conversation in the corner. They decided to take a place away from all the others. Aliza ordered drinks. She already felt a lot better. Even when the man at the bar gave her a suggestive wink, she managed to ignore it and not get worked up.

'Thanks,' Charlie said cheerfully as she brought the drinks over. Aliza sat down opposite the new girl.

'So,' Charlie started, 'wanna talk about your feelings?'

Aliza snorted and toasted before taking a sip. 'Shut up.'

'Okay, now serious. I'm dying to know what you are. The way you couldn't control your anger…are you some kind of Hulk?' Charlie started. Her eyes were big with fascination.

Aliza leaned back. 'Wooh, calm down kid. I ain't no superhero. But, you seem to know stuff. I mean, you didn't freak out. What are you, a collector? Such a 'I live in my mom's basement and believe in aliens' kind of chick?'

Charlie looked insulted. 'No. I'm a hunter.'

Aliza stared her dead in the eye for a long moment, not buying it. Charlie sighed and started telling.

'Some other hunters dragged me in a supernatural issue, and I needed to help them. And you know, you don't really forget those things. They tend to keep clinging to you.'

Aliza nodded, agreeing with Charlie. She would never forget her first encounter.

'So, I am a hunter now. I have read all the books. I know about monsters and stuff. So, tell me. What are you?'

Aliza raised an eyebrow. 'You're a hunter. You're supposed to kill me, not help me.'

Charlie looked beaten, like she didn't know the answer to a hard question. 'I don't know why, but I kind of trusted you. Like, I had a feeling you were a good person.'

Aliza snorted again. 'You can talk about a special connection all you want, I'm not swinging that way.'

Charlie rolled her eyes. 'I know. I dropped that already. Not here to flirt, just to help. So come on, tell me!'

Aliza looked down in her glass. 'I'm also a hunter.'

Charlie didn't give a response, so Aliza looked up in her eyes. She was paralyzed for a moment.

'Seriously?'

'Yep.'

'But what else?'

Aliza smiled and leaned over the table, so she could talk on a lower tone.

'I'm half angel,' she told Charlie.

The girl her eyes grew huge. Two big orbs were staring at her. Aliza laughed.

'No idea why I'm telling you this. Guess I ran out of fucks to give. I have been walking around with that secret for some years now, and I just want to tell someone.'

Charlie didn't move as she spoke. 'You can tell me.'

Aliza looked the girl over. She looked like the right kind of person. A person freshly dragged into a hunter life, still exploring the details of it. She seemed innocent, and yet she was willing to believe the girl carried big secrets.

And so Aliza told her everything. About the death of her parents, about her life in the foster system, her time in college, her hunter life and figuring out what she was. She told her that she recently started hunting with two old friends, but she left the angel out. It was all a bit too painful, and she was afraid she would lose her temper again. But apparently, Charlie noticed she left something out.

'So what was it that got you so worked up?' Charlie asked at the end. She had listened with big interest and wasn't afraid to ask questions.

Aliza absently scratched her nails over the tabletop. 'Not sure I can talk about that.'

Charlie searched her mind for a solution. 'Okay, who got you so worked up? Who's the guy?'

In an instant, Aliza sat back up. It was her time to stare with big eyes. 'How'd you know?'

Charlie smiled. 'Oh come on, it's obvious. So, is he human…or like you?'

Aliza dropped her astonishment. This girl was really smart. She gave a nervous chuckle. 'None of the above.'

'An…angel?' Charlie whispered, seeing how deep in trouble her new friend was. Aliza just nodded without looking at her. Charlie didn't know how to respond. After an awkward silence Aliza broke it.

'He keeps confusing me. At first, he liked me without knowing who I was. Then he figured it out and ran away. I thought he was getting his angel friends to kill me. But he ran for something even worse.'

Charlie raised an eyebrow. 'Worse than your death?'

Aliza stared back at the girl. Now that the anger was gone, she felt sad. Really, really sad. Her eyes watered and her vision blurred. 'He killed the only other Nephilim alive. I'm all alone.'

Charlie swallowed loudly. She sat back in her chair, looking tired and defeated. 'Wow, that's some serious shit.'

As Charlie had a moment to think, Aliza tried to push the tears back.

'But,' Charlie started, a little hesitant, 'do you love him?'

Aliza was taken aback from that question. So far she hadn't allowed herself to think about that. It was wrong to even consider. He was an angel, and he was supposed to hate her. But he didn't. He already confessed he had feelings for her. And after that he was afraid to tell her the truth. Afraid to hurt her, lose her. In fact, Castiel hadn't done one thing that would prove he hated her or would kill her. He only showed he cared.

So what was the answer? Did she love the angel? She immediately thought of all the problems it would bring. All the crap they would receive. Castiel would be in as much danger as she was.

But wasn't he already? Did that matter? Do those things weight up to these feelings she had?

'Yes,' Aliza said, surprised by her the conviction. 'Yes I love him.'

Charlie broke down in an 'awhh' sound. Aliza ignored how annoying it was. She was too lost in her own head to think. Now that she said it out loud, she started to see how badly she had fallen for Castiel. How much she needed him. She wanted him to be at her side in an instant. She could pray for him. But here, with Charlie, was really not the right time and place.

'Gosh, they're gonna laugh at me,' Aliza chuckled breathlessly.

Charlie looked confused. 'Who?'

Aliza waved the concern away with her hand. 'My hunting buddies. There are going to be some bad puns there. Especially Dean. He can't let that go.'

Charlie suddenly stiffened. 'Hold up. Dean? As in: Dean Winchester?'

Aliza looked up. It wasn't so strange that hunters knew about the Winchesters. 'Yeah. You know them?'

Charlie's mouth curled up in a big, wicked smile. 'Oh. My. God! We have been talking about the same hunters all this time! Sam and Dean were the ones who dragged me into this world!'

Aliza blinked a couple of times. Then she laughed half-hearted. 'Wow. I feel stupid now.'

'You and me both sister,' Charlie said cheerfully. As she looked away, a realization hit her. Her eyes grew big and she took a big gulp of air.

'Wait! I know! I know who you are talking about!' She leaned in closer, since she started to draw attention from the two men at the other side of the café.

'It's Castiel!' she whispered.

Aliza's cheeks burned red. She wasn't one to be ashamed easily, but this was a turnout of events she hadn't predicted. She gaped like a fish, trying to form words, but failing miserably. Charlie giggled like a little girl.

'Don't worry, your secret is safe with me,' she said. 'Although, I think you should tell him.'

Aliza swallowed. She should do that. She wanted to do that. But she was scared.

'I'd be alright,' Charlie cheered her up, seeing her mood drop. 'I never met anyone more capable of being with that guy. I bet you two make a cute couple.'

Aliza laughed softly at this dorky girl. She had to admit she grew really fond of Charlie.

'Alright. Let's go.'

My longest chapter so far! So much information, and feels...

Okay, so I need to pull something straight. Some things don't add up in the timeline of Season 8/9. Cas did shut the gates of heaven by killing a Nephilim, but he is an angel now. I kind of needed both of these things to make the story work. From now on, this story will be set in S9, where they try to stop Metatron. Sorry for the confusion!

What do you guys think of putting our favorite red-head in the story? I simply love Charlie, and Aliza needed some girltalk.

Once again I want to thank all my lovely reviewers/followers/favorites. I squee every time I get a new response, so thank you!