The door creaked open slowly, along with the floorboards and just about everything else in the old motel room. Quiet footsteps lead into the room after the door was shut. There was no one else in sight, and that was no surprise. Her companion and his friends most likely had gone out to work on their case. Without bickering brothers the room was lacking the much needed background noise.
She was tempted to turn on the television, but she could not find the remote control by just scanning the room. Searching for it seemed like a waste of energy when she could just read one of the magazine's Cas got her, at least those were within her sights, peeking out from underneath the boys research.
As she made her way across the room, Kim extended her hand out to brush aside the articles of newspaper. She paused to look down at her hand, momentarily remembering the shining light that had emitted from it back at the bookstore. It was uncontrolled, dangerous. The angel still needed practice. Without Cas though, she was probably more likely to worsen her abilities than progress. The thought of her companion made her wonder where he was at, and what he was doing. It was innocent curiosity, and a bit of worry once she realized how dark it had been outside.
Kim turned her head to look at the clock, counting fives on her fingers because she was still learning how to tell time on an analog clock. "Eleven fifteen." She muttered to herself, pursing her lips in hopes that her friend was not in danger. The articles under her hand caught her attention when she realized that if she actually looked over the articles, she could tell if whatever they were hunting was a major threat to them or not.
A sudden interruption kept her from reading the articles, the sound of her name being called out. Her fingers twitched, and she looked up and out of the window in search for where the voice had come from.
There was no one outside, at least none that she could see. The only voice she could ever hear in her head before was Cas', and the voice she had heard was much different from his modulated vocals. It was female, which was eminent. She tried to replay the voice in her head, but no matter how hard she tried she could not hear it a second time, as if it was not her mind that had made up the voice.
Whatever it was, it had left as quickly as it came. She stopped worrying about it for a short moment until she looked back down at the articles and noticed a picture of the man who had caused all the trouble at the bookstore, the one with the poorly done tattoo. With that sudden connection, the short mystery of the voice she heard became clear. The girl she saved was calling out to her, Katie was in trouble. Kim's swift movements almost knocked over the table and chair as she bound for the door.
Her hands jiggled the doorknob furiously; she finally got it to open after she remembered that she had to turn it to get it to open. In her haste, forgetting to do simple tasks was easy. She opened the door so quickly that it almost slammed against the wall when she swung it back. She caught it and pulled it behind her to shut the door with a loud slam. As she stepped forward, she slammed into a taller body, one covered in a tan overcoat. Both of them moved in opposite directions, but the man in the overcoat caught his balance and was just able to catch hers as well.
"Kim, what's wrong?" The husky voice asked, leaning down slightly to try and get to her level. Kim was hyperventilating, or beginning to. She was holding onto Cas' arms as support to keep her own body up. Her head was spinning; she could feel her blood pumping. It was adrenaline, and that was her first time ever feeling such a sensation. The brothers standing behind Cas both gave each other looks of concern, in their own ways.
"Did you find the demon? Is it dead?" Kim spoke hastily, completely ignoring the question that was given to her. Cas shook his head, and then the shorter but older brother, Dean, spoke, "We looked all over town. Wherever he is, he's hiding pretty well." Kim turned to Cas, almost instinctively in her stressful moment, pleading for help with her gaze. The matured angel pursed his lips and was beginning to put together what was going on, however most of his theory was assumptions. He removed his hands from Kim's arms, allowing them to fall to his sides as he spoke, "I need you to focus on your stress, almost control it. Do not ask why, just do it."
The taller, younger brother, Sam, tapped his older brothers' shoulder and told him that he thinks that the two should go get into the car. Dean gave him a questioning look, and was about to argue as to why he would do that, but Sam was already on his way. A confused Dean followed right behind.
Cas and Kim watched the brothers enter the car until their attentions was brought back to each other. Kim was scared, she felt like they were losing time the longer they stood there. Dark irises stared into the stern light blue optics of the other, and suddenly what she was doing became clear. Cas knew best, and that was what she always believed. She forgot that simple theory in her fit of concern.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused on the thought of Katie. There was silence between the two angels because no words needed to be shared. Cas was linking his thoughts with hers, and as long as he had no distractions this task was not difficult. He saw what she saw, and what she was seeing was a fenced line of storage buildings. Cas' voice broke her concentration, pulling her out of the vision, "I know where that is. We passed it earlier."
Cas took Kim's arm and pulled her over to the 1967, Chevy impala, and she went without hesitation. Cas opened the door for her and let her inside, sitting down once she had scooted far enough over for him. As soon as the door shut, Dean put his foot on the gas pedal and the car was out of the parking lot within seconds. Cas told Dean about the storage buildings, and Dean knew just where to go. He sped well over the speed limit, the car jerking at any sudden turn.
A prominent pounding beat against Kim's head, as if she had been struck with something hard. A muffled scream filled her ears that made her cringe. It was not the loudness of the noise, but the clarity of it, almost like she was standing right next to the source of the sound. Cas touched Kim's shoulder, he had ceased the sound and the pounding with a simple gesture.
The Chevy came to a forced halt, all of the bodies in the car leaning forward and bouncing back due to the force. Dean was the first out of the car due to the sheer fact that he was the one who initiated the stop, Kim came out right after, and then Sam and Cas were close behind her after Sam pulled two shot guns and canteens from the trunk of the car.
Dean's hands grasped the gate, shaking it back and forth before he realized that the gate was, in fact, locked. He cursed under his breath and began to climb the fence, previously wishing that for once the gate would have just opened. Once Dean was over the fence, Sam called for him and tossed the shot guns and canteens over the gate. As soon as Dean caught them, Sam was on the gate and climbed quickly.
Kim was hopping in place, waiting for Sam to offer a hand to her to help her get over the fence, but instead Cas took her hand and in that same instant they were through the fence and inside the property. Cas immediately released to follow after Dean who had already began to throw up the doors of the storage cells.
There were a little over a dozen small buildings in the lot, and the more doors that were opened it seemed the louder they became. Kim stood where she was, trying to focus again. She was not sure she was capable of locating Katie in this manner, but she had to try. She did not like the thought of the demon hearing the chaos outside and leaving before they could find it, or what it could do to her friend. The small angel took a deep breath and scanned the area, and after one sweep she felt like she knew just which one her target was in. Sam ran right passed her to help Dean open up the blocks as quickly as possible.
It was faith, absolutely pure faith that she was relying on. That was all she needed at that point, a hope that she was right. She ran to the block just before the last, struggling to get the door open herself. Dean rushed over and pulled up the door with her, and as the door zoomed up it almost carried the smaller body with it. She released it quickly enough to land on the ground safely. The loud clicking of the door and dim light from the moon inside the dark storage cell caught the demon's attention, and then the sight of a shot gun pointed at him forced him to stop his fun and vanish just as the first fire was sounded.
Kim looked around the small building, hoping to find the creature herself so she could be the one to rid of it, but even after she turned around to look at the lot it did not seem to be anywhere nearby. Sam and Cas came running over, and Dean entered the building as soon as he was sure the demon had vanished.
Muffled groans came from inside the barely lit building, and those muffled groans turned into a loud gasp of much needed air. Kim ran inside, noticing that the whole thing was completely empty aside from the frightened and tied up girl. She searched for a light, and once she found one she turned it on without warning. This caused both Katie and Dean to shut their eyes and cringe while they adjusted to the white light.
Shining the light in the building did not make the scene look any better. It only revealed how desperate Katie looked. Dean was untying all of the knots around her limbs and torso and telling her that it was alright, that they were going to get her out of this. It almost sounded like a lie, as if she was not truly ever going to get out of the situation after the day that she had. Kim noticed a hole in the shorts of the battered girl, but it was not torn. The fabric around the hole was dark, burned, and as she stepped closer she could see the red hot skin still sizzling.
The sight sent a chill down her spine, one that forced her to kneel down next to the injury. It looked so painful, and it seemed like the air around it only worsened such a torturous wound. Kim tried to focus like Cas taught her, tried to speed up the healing process to the point where the wound would no longer exist. As the angel went to touch the wound, the burning hot temperature forced her to pull back immediately along with the hissing of the poor victim. Not even the slightest sign of it beginning to heal. After Katie grunted at the pain, Dean noticed it and muttered a quiet, "Oh, God," before he helped Katie to her feet. Kim tried to help alongside him, but Katie could not walk at all. The slightest tightening of her skin or muscles made the pain unbearable.
Dean looked up at Sam, who nodded and then ran ahead to try and open the gate for everyone. The hunter then ordered his angel to pick up his shot gun and take it back to the car, and Cas did just as he was told. "Help me get her up." He asked Kim, who nodded immediately and assisted him in getting Katie off of her feet and into Dean's arms. Dean asked Katie to put an arm around his neck to help support herself, and she did just as she was told.
Wired fence clanging noises were heard outside, and that meant that Sam had gotten the gate open. Cas gestured with a wave of his hand that the gate was open and that it was safe to go. Dean walked with a more noticeable bow-legged strut because of the extra weight he was carrying. The feeling of the air pressing against Katie's wound was enough to make her have to fight back tears. Kim walked right beside Dean, she wanted to comfort her friend but she did not have the slightest clue on how to do so.
Everyone made it into the car without any interruption, and that was disturbing to the two brothers. Not once have they ever run into a demon that just simply let them free. The look of concern that they shared with each other in the front of the car showed their anxiety. Kim sat in the middle of her angel companion and the wounded, apologizing under her breath for touching the wound earlier. Katie did not hear the apology, but even so she had rested her head against the angel's shoulder as both a sign of how grateful she was and her relief.
Katie was rushed to the hospital, and Kim followed her as far as she was allowed. The glass that separated the two let Kim still watch over her; however she felt that she needed to be by her side rather than just watching her. She looked down at her hand that lay at her side, the useless integers tapping against her thigh. If only she knew more. Maybe if she had spent more time practicing rather than lazing about then the human in the other room would not have had to make her second visit to the healing vicinity.
The doctor and nurses all removed themselves from the room, the physically fit, elderly doctor giving a curt nod as a sign that the patient would be alright and that the group was allowed in the room. Kim debated with herself on whether she wanted to go inside the room or not, solidly standing in her place without the slightest bit of movement. For a moment she was ready to walk inside, but just as she took her first step the younger brother who was sitting in a plastic chair across the hall spoke, "So Kim, how'd you know this would happen?"
Kim turned to face Sam, an elongated gesture that hinted towards a sense of hesitation from the angel. She opened her mouth to speak, however her mentor and closest thing she had to a friend stepped forward, away from Sam, and touched Kim's shoulder to stop her. Cas turned to Sam, "I need to speak with her for a moment." With that, Cas pulled Kim gently down the hallway until they were far enough away from the room. Sam stayed where he sat, confused as to why the two were being secretive.
"What happened in the motel before we arrived?" Cas immediately asked, not spending anytime trying to ease his apprentice's worries. His methods were effective, always finding the root of the problem before even attempting to fix them. Kim paused for a moment, a little taken by surprise at how forward the question was. She took a deep breath and lowered her gaze, "I was going to look at the Winchester's research, but then I heard someone say my name. I was confused because there was no one around." The smaller angel would have gone on to explain more, but Cas brought his hand up to touch her arm. "Now I am sure I know what has happened."
People walking passed them were obviously very confused when Cas explained the next part to his close friend. "A connection has been made between you and the girl, one similar to Dean and my own." This time Cas was not as forward because he knew how it would affect his companion. She took it negatively, almost started to believe that it was completely her fault that the previously normal college graduate has been going through all of this pain. Her head lifted up to look at her teacher, although she was not hoping for a lesson or advice. All she wanted to hear was reassurance that her friend would be alright, that she was not to blame for this. That is exactly what she was told right after that.
Cas spoke in a sympathetic tone, hushing her concerns by talking her back down until she was calm again. Once he was sure she was not going to breakdown, he went on explaining what was going to happen. "Katie will continue to be targeted, and you have to protect her. I do not doubt that you are very capable of doing this, for you would have had to do it once for something like this to happen. However, to successfully keep her from harm you must tell her the kind of trouble she is in, and ask her if she is willing to accept that. It will be hard; she will most likely not take it well. But you must inform her."
Everything that her mentor had said sunk in slowly, this was not normal for the quick-learning angel. Normally she could hear an explanation once without any questions and easily do as she was told, however this time there was a sense of defiance in doing what Cas was saying. Dark optics removed themselves from the floor, and looked straight up into the other angel's eyes. "I don't want this for her." She simply put, initially wanting to keep it at just that before she continued talking, "There has to be a way we can undo this, right?"
The taller man in the overcoat raised an eyebrow at Kim, questioning her defiance. She had always listened, and seeing this new attitude come from her was both troublesome and exciting. Cas wanted what was best for her, and he of all angel's should know that the ideals of their species are not always what is best. If she would not be defiant against the Archangels, then he would allow her to be defiant against him. At least then she would not be bottling up that rebellion and unleashing it at an inappropriate time. What was troublesome about this was how he had no other solution to the problem, "We can't change fate, Kim. You know that."
"Then can't we break the bond?" Kim inquired.
"That would result in an even worse outcome if it was even possible."
This caused Kim to bite her tongue. There was no going back from here, and in the back of her head she knew that. The confidence she had felt a few moments ago was gone, and she reverted back to staring at the ground in submissive defeat. Cas reached an arm forward, gently placing it on Kim's shoulder and giving a reassuring squeeze. He said a simple statement without a real explanation, but Kim did not question it, "You saved her life today, twice. I think this is going to be a fine connection."
After his statement, Cas pulled away from Kim and lead her towards the hospital room again. Dean was walking towards Sam, two cups of a warm beverage in his hands. He handed one of them to his younger brother, taking a long drink from his own and releasing a content sigh. Kim noticed the two beverages and was reminded of the book store where Katie had a cup similar to the ones that Dean and Sam were holding. She asked where Dean had gotten the drinks, and Dean did not give her an answer, just stared at her with a puzzled expression.
"Katie had that drink earlier, and it gave her a positive feeling." Kim explained, and Dean lost his puzzled look as he nodded and pointed behind him with his thumb. "There's a lobby on the ground floor where they have a coffee maker." He briefly stated with no intention of assisting the angel in the small journey. Sam looked up at Dean, his eyebrows scrunched together to question why Dean was not going to help her get it. The younger brother sighed and stood up from his seat to lead Kim downstairs.
As the two were in the elevator, Sam brought up his question from earlier in hopes that this time there would be no interruptions. Kim paused again; she had to rethink her previous answer. She used Dean and Cas as an example that Sam could relate to just so that she could shorten her explanation. Sam understood the comparison, however his lips did not calmly loosen and his eyebrows were still scrunched nervously. His large hands began to tap at the outside of his thigh, anxiously waiting for the elevator to stop. Kim believed it was just a small anxiety over elevators that some people had, and so she did not ask about it.
Sam led the way to the coffee maker, picking the pot up from its machine and realizing that there was only a swallow or two left. He had hoped that he would not have to go through the process of actually preparing the coffee, but then it seemed inevitable. As he prepared the coffee he explained each step carefully to the curious angel while she watched attentively. The machine took a few minutes to process the beverage, so the both of them waited patiently.
The tapping of four digits broke Kim's concentration on the machine, eyeing the others hand as he bumped away on the counter. She glanced up at Sam's face, unable to keep herself from questioning his nervousness any longer. When she had asked him if he was okay, Sam tried to play it off as if he was just fidgety from the caffeine; however that just made Kim curious as to why the beverage would make him anxious.
"Okay," He began to confess, "There is something bothering me." Sam bowed his head, listening to the gurgle of the brewing beverage as he spoke. "I had a vision, again. This time it was her." He pursed his lips, having previously believed that his visions had stopped. Kim leaned her head to the side to show that she was all the more interested in what he had to say. "But that's not what is bothering me now." He went on, "I had another vision last night, and it was of someone who looked like someone who could be related to Katie. And she…" He stopped, the ding of the coffee maker notifying them that it was done forcing him to stop his story.
Kim put the idea of getting Katie her coffee aside for a moment to focus on Sam's new vision. Sam poured some of the pot into one of the cups and set it down in front of Kim, pointing at the sugar and creamer while explaining that some people like additives in their coffee while others do not. The angel was not listening. Once Sam had finished speaking, Kim immediately began, "You, Dean, and Cas need to go find where the girl from your vision is and make sure she's alright." The stern tone in Kim's voice made Sam uneasy, and therefore he did not question her and ran back upstairs to get Dean and Cas.
Steam from the coffee rose from the cup in fewer amounts as it was cooling down. Kim stared at the counter and finally remembered that she was getting Katie coffee, staring at the sugar and creamer that Sam had pulled away from the rest of the items. She did not take into account how much she was putting into the beverage of both the cream and sugar, pouring it carelessly.
While Kim was making her way back upstairs to the room she was contemplating on how to tell Katie about her situation. She believed that if she was able to convince the other that once this demon was sent back to hell she could return to a normal life and Kim would no longer have to worry. That seemed like the most logical explanation, so she went with it, slowly opening the door to the hospital room and peaking in to see Katie watching a late night talk show host.
Katie sat up in the bed, carefully moving her body and leaning over to the end table to grab the remote to the television and turn it off. Kim smiles at her, glad to see she did not seem too emotionally affected by previous events. The angel pulled up a seat next to the bed, holding out the coffee for Katie to take. The joy on the wounded face shined at the sight of her favorite beverage as she took the cup and fiddled with the lid. A happy thank you was issued to the angel, along with a brief remark about how grateful she was that she had gone to the trouble to get her a coffee without her having to ask.
Her first sip of the drink made her nose wrinkle at the overpowering sweetness, swallowing the beverage reluctantly while trying to force a smile to show the angel that she had liked it. Kim noticed the sour expression, frowning when she realized that getting her the drink caused her the exact opposite reaction from earlier. "You don't like it."
The brunette set down the coffee cup and put up her hands defensively before she shook her head. She tried to convince her savior that she did enjoy the coffee, however there attempts were futile; the two did not spend much time talking about the matter.
There was a short silence between the two. The clicking of the second hand on the analog clock annoyed Katie, so she thought up a question to ask her companion however she was unable to get the question in before the angel began to speak. "What exactly happened to you?" Kim was just curious, and was not aware the kind of effect the question would have on the girl in the bed. Katie adjusted her position against the pillows in hopes that it would give her a moment to think about how to answer the question; obviously there was no way to get around it or change the subject without the angel getting suspicious. The patient released a small sigh and began to describe the event with the best of her abilities.
"I was walking home," She hesitantly started, "And suddenly I was grabbed and knocked out. Then I woke up in the storage block and it was dark, so I really could not see anything, which was probably better." She stopped to imagine the idea of being able to see what was happening to her, and that made her shiver. "I tried to stand up but I was so tied up that I barely even budged from that spot. And then that stupid, snarky son of a-…" She bit her tongue just before the derogatory term was able to pass her lips, a deep breath was inhaled and then slowly exhaled to try and calm herself down. "That thing started talking to me. He said how it was a shame that I was left alone, and some other stuff I don't want to repeat." Her head cringed into her shoulders as she remembered the demon's suggestive whispers.
"And of course, I was not just going to take the comments without some kind of retort, so I guess I called him something that made him mad and he put that stupid cloth in my mouth to muffle my scream. His hand lit on fire, and then he placed it against my thigh and it was probably the worst pain I've ever felt." She explained loosely, it was the worst pain she had ever felt before. Katie knew that telling her concerned companion something like that so forwardly would have been a disaster, therefore she added the doubtful 'probably' into the statement.
As Kim was listening, the frown that tugged down the corners of her lips got heavier and heavier. Her hands balled up into tiny fists, tightening the more she thought about the situation. By the time Katie was finished with her narrative, Kim's knuckles had turned white. Katie noticed both of these features and tried to change the subject, "Who was the guy that carried me out?"
The angel's response was quick and immediate, her voice cutting through the air and tying Katie's throat in a small knot to discontinue any further questions, "That's not important." No more words were shared between the two for a solid five minutes. Neither of them wanted to say anything else; however there were a million words they could have said. Instead, Katie turned to sit upright on the bed. Kim watched while she attempted to stand, only to sit back down because putting the weight on her recovering leg was too much for her to handle. The patient quietly hissed through her teeth.
To cover up the pained drone, Katie let out a chuckle that echoed in the quiet of the white room. Kim raised an eyebrow at the sense of amusement that had suddenly appeared after the moment of searing pain. She did not have to ask about it however, because Katie ceased her curiosities when she spoke. "To think that before all of this my worst injuries were paper cuts and small scrapes." It was genuinely hilarious to her, how bland her life was starting to look the more she thought about it.
No laughter or any sign of entertainment came from the angel despite Katie's attempt at a joke. It was growing increasingly tense in the room again, but this time the quiet did not last for long. Kim was the one to break the pause, "I could…" She hesitated, having caught Katie's attention and realizing it was too late to take back her words, "I could try and speed up the healing process of your burn; however I am afraid it might hurt more than the infliction of the wound." The look in her eyes did not show the concern that her voice had given off. It was as if Katie was looking at an anxious scientist who was ready to try an experiment that they had been waiting to do for so long. Katie could not bring herself to deny such an inquisitive little scientist its chance to find success. The injured tried her best to shove any doubts out of the angels head, "Anything to get this heal quickly."
Kim scooted her chair closer to the bed, after she was close enough she put a tear in the bandage and began to unravel it. The process of healing the wound would go terribly wrong if the bandage were still around it, for the skin cells would most likely attach themselves to the fabric. Peeling the gauze away from the wound looked disgusting to the human, while the angel seemed unfazed. With the fabric piled on the bed next to Katie and the wound completely exposed to the air around it, the patient was feeling a bit squeamish. Not once had Katie ever seen such a terrible looking burn that was physically in front of her, anything as gory as that had only ever been on a screen or in a magazine.
Once Katie and Kim both took a deep breath, Kim hesitantly put her index and middle finger just below the wound. The healer closed her eyes, obviously focusing all of her energy into the two digits. Katie carefully watched the face of the angel until she felt the stretching of her own muscles and skin underneath the other's fingertips. Her head bowed and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming at the rapid formation of skin cells. A minute passed of this unbearable pain, and then Kim removed her fingers from their spot on the girls' knee. "Done." She spoke almost proudly. Katie breathed rapidly because she had been holding her breath for that whole minute. The scar looked perfect, absolutely no flaw other than the discoloration from the rest of Katie's skin. Kim was right to be proud, however at the time Katie was not too willing to commend her for her job well done. For that moment she was more likely to mutter angry choice words than proper praise.
Guitar strums rung through the room, causing both of the glasses-wearing females to look up and turn their heads towards a pile of clothes on a chair across the room. It was a distinctive guitar solo that anyone who knew anything about rock music of the 1970's could pick out within the first few cords. "That's my phone." Katie clarified as she brought herself up to her feet again, this time able to keep herself up with ease. All of the pain she felt just a few moments before was gone. She was about to walk over to her clothes to retrieve her phone, however Kim had beaten her to it. The angel handed over the device.
Katie's small smile at the lack of pain and polite gesture was almost immediately wiped away when she looked at the caller ID on the screen. It was a name, the name of a woman from what Kim could tell about names. "What could she possibly want?" Katie hissed. The annoyance in the girl's voice was so venomous that Kim had to lean back ever so slightly in fear that she would accidently offend Katie.
"What?" The brunette angrily spoke into the phone. Her head was slightly tilted forward and her eyes shifted slightly back and forth almost as if she were reading the words that she was listening to. Suddenly, her head shot up and she stared in horror at the wall in front of her. The iris' of her eyes were shaking, and the tight grip she had around her phone just a moment ago had loosened. Her once proud and calm stance tensed and became very fidgety. "What is it?" Kim whispered, unable to wait until Katie was going to hang up the phone. The urgency of her emotional state made Kim very worried; fore it was the first time the angel had seen Katie's entire being shatter.