Supernatural
"Family Ties" – Ep 6
The Impala's tires screamed to life as Sam peeled off. Hannah cradled her arm close to her chest, and Castiel kept his eye on Crowley as they sped away. Sam caught a glimpse of Crowley as they drove off, and a smile was stretched across his evil face.
"Why's he just standing there? I want to wipe that grin off of his face," Sam grunted as he stared at the rear view mirror.
"My arm is killing me," Hannah hissed through her teeth. She looked back over her shoulder and glared at Crowley, "Who is that?"
"Alastair Crowley," a voice in front of her replied.
Everybody's head shot toward the passenger seat where Dean sat, grinning ear to ear. Sam gasped in shock and swung the car wheel to the left out of reflex.
"Dean!" Sam yelped.
"Hi again, Sam," Dean smiled. He turned toward the back of the Impala, "Cas…who's your friend here? She smells delicious." He stared at Hannah intently, and his grin vanished, "I know you."
Sam slammed on the breaks, and the car came to a screeching halt. Castiel wrapped his arm around Hannah, and they vanished in a poof. Sam swung his arm at Dean, hoping to catch him in the throat. With ease, Dean blocked it and sucker punched Sam. His head snapped back, and pain radiated down his face. Sam was sure his nose was broken, as he felt blood gush from his nostrils. Before he could retaliate, Dean was gone. Why hadn't he killed him? He wondered if his brother was still in that demon body somewhere.
He turned, holding his nose, and discovered Castiel and Hannah weren't in the car.
"Cas! Hannah!" His head darted from side to side trying to find them, but no one responded. People in the street walked up to the car and peered in nosily. Some asked if he was okay when they saw the blood gushing from his nose.
Ignoring them, he put the car in drive and sped off. He'd not anticipated this happening, so he and Castiel didn't plan out a meeting place if they got separated. With Dean this close, he doubted Castiel would respond to prayers. For a split second, he also wondered if Castiel would ever return with Hannah. Sam feared he would take her back to Heaven to do his bidding, but he quickly shook the notion out of his head. Castiel wasn't that guy anymore…he hoped anyway.
Sam drove till he got out of town and stopped at a hotel on the outskirts. After checking in, he plopped face down on one of the beds and tried to think of where Castiel might have taken her. His eyelids weighed heavy as he ran through location after location in his head. Before he could get past five locations, he succumbed to the bed's embrace and fell into a deep slumber.
He felt like he'd been asleep for fifteen minutes when he was awakened by someone shaking him.
"Sam. Sam, get up," the voice spoke.
Sam sat up, feeling drugged, and wiped the sleep from his eyes. As his vision cleared, he saw what looked like Castiel staring blankly at him.
"Cas?" Sam asked warily.
"Sam. She's gone. I can't find her," Castiel sighed.
"Gone? What do you mean gone? She was just with you, Cas."
Castiel sat down on the bed next to Sam and stared at the floor. Sam stood up and stretched, trying desperately to wake up.
"What happened?" Sam coaxed.
"We traveled a few streets over so we could keep an eye on you, but seconds after we left the Impala, Dean appeared right beside me. He just grabbed her and took her…right out of my hands. He just took her," Castiel said.
Worry and defeat were etched across Castiel's face as he told his story. Sam wasn't sure whether he needed to console or cajole his friend. His only living family members were off gallivanting around doing only god knows what. He wanted to be mad at Castiel, but he was angrier with himself. Hannah had done a great job at protecting herself, and they screwed it up. Now, she was out there with the two worst entities in the world with nothing to protect her.
"Where do you think they've taken her? Think we should risk summoning Crowley?" Sam asked.
"I have no idea, Sam. I'm at a loss. Demon Dean is a new deal. He doesn't think like a human anymore, so there's no telling what he would do. Summoning Crowley is a bad idea."
Sam could feel the panic starting to bubble up from his stomach. Not having someone to lean on for advice or knowledge became increasingly frustrating. He appreciated Castiel, but he was no Bobby…or Garth for that matter. In moments like this, he missed Kevin Tran. Kevin could access stuff Sam had no clue where to find. If anything, he just missed him in general. The guilt of having killed him clung to his conscience. Dean tried to take the blame for it, but in the end, it was still by his hand. He'd never forgive himself.
Now, there was Hannah. She'd been the first immediate family member he'd seen since his father. He wasn't sure if he could get used to the idea of having a sister, much less letting her tag along. Sister or not, she was a complete stranger. He'd known her for just two days…and now she was gone. What Dean and Crowley could and would do to her was something he didn't want to think about. Sam didn't see his brother anymore when he looked into those empty black eyes.
"Cas, what are we going to do? I don't even know where to start," Sam said.
"I can ask around again. Get the angels here to keep an eye and ear out for anything suspicious. You don't think Dean will hurt her, do you?" Castiel asked.
"I don't know anymore. That's not Dean."
Hannah opened her eyes to find herself in darkness. Something was covering her eyes so she couldn't see. When she went to move the blindfold, she discovered her hands were tied behind her. Then she felt the pain. The smell of burnt flesh tickled her nose, and she guessed it must have come from the spot where Dean touched her arm when he grabbed her. She took in a deep breath as she winced from the fiery throb. A voice came from the shadows.
"Hello…Hannah," it said.
She immediately recognized the British accent from the coffee shop.
"You must be Crowley," she said, hissing with anger.
Footsteps approached her from the right. They slowly slid across the floor, like someone intentionally taking their time. She pulled tighter against her bindings, but they were still has tight as before.
"Yes, yes. It's your fun and loving King of Hell. I hope you're comfortable. Are you not?" he said. Hannah could hear him grin as he spoke. She wanted to rip his face off.
"Let me go. I don't have anything you need," Hannah declared.
"Oh, but you do," another voice echoed through room. She sensed it to her left, and it wasn't rocket science to figure out that it was Dean. He was at her ear the next second. "Oh, yes, you do."
Chills ran up Hannah's spine as she could feel Dean hovering next to her. Brother or not, he creeped her out. He was a different level of evil than anything she'd ever encountered. She felt his hand grip her arm in the same place he touched it last, and the pain radiated through her body. Her screams shrilled across the walls, and she tried her best to pull herself away from him. His grasp only tightened more.
"Listen up, Kitten. You'll do what we ask…or he'll start grabbing other places. Got it?" Crowley snarled.
Dean grabbed her neck with his other hand. The agony choked her, and gasps of air were the only things able to escape from her lips. Sounds of her burning flesh sizzled in her ear, and she feared anymore pain would make her pass out.
Hannah tried to avoid a situation like this for her entire life, yet here she was with no idea how to get out of it. Aware that her powers were useful in the enemy's hands, she would never allow them to make her use them. She'd rather die first, but she hoped no more of the burning pain would precede it. She cursed and spat blindly, hoping to nail anyone in close range.
"Kiss my –," she tried to yell but a hand smacked her across the face. The force of it almost knocked her over onto the floor. Her tongue danced at the corner of her mouth and sensed the metallic taste of blood. Her lip was cut, and her neck and arm were burnt. How much more would she have to endure, and would she be able to endure it.
Dean's voice whispered into her ear, "I like the smell and taste of burnt flesh. It reminds me of home."
She felt his slimy tongue slide across her cheek, and she held in every urge to vomit. His breath wreaked of death and destruction.
"Forget it," she grunted.
The blindfold was ripped from her head, and a light overhead pierced her vision. She blinked a few times to get a better view, but she was spun around in her chair before she was able to get her bearings. Across from her, sat a man tied up like her, except he was in far worse condition than her. His flesh has fileted open and his clothes were soaked in blood. Hannah could see his chest rise and fall, but his eyes were not open. A grimace flashed across his face as Dean slapped his hand on the man's shoulder and squeezed.
"Hannah, meet Rahmiel. Rahmiel, meet Hannah. See, Hannah, Rahmiel has a problem that you can help him with. He's…stuck. Trapped, in fact. He can't go home, but only you can help him with that," Dean said.
Hannah only glared at Dean. She wasn't going to give him anything to use.
"Go ahead, Hannah. Help him," Dean coaxed. He waved his hand from her to Rahmiel. "Go on. Don't make him suffer."
She had no clue what Dean wanted, but she knew she couldn't give it to him. Crowley walked up and knelt next to her.
"Look, Kitten. Two things are gonna happen here, and you get to pick. We're nice host that way. You send him home, or Dean…well, Dean plays with his toy some more," Crowley said.
"I'm not doing crap for you," she snapped.
"Well, I guess she made her decision, Dean. Play away," Crowley waved Dean on.
Dean reached inside his black leather jacket and pulled out what looked like a jawbone with a handle fashioned at the end. Blood stained teeth lined the side of the weapon, and Hannah only guessed whose blood it belonged to. Dean took the blade and slowly ran it across Rahmiel's chest. The man screamed out in agony as his flesh parted to reveal muscle, fat, and sinew.
Hannah could taste a hint of bile rising in the back of her throat. She turned her head so she wouldn't have to watch, but Crowley grabbed her skull and swung it forward.
"Oh no, Deary. You chose his fate, so you have to watch. Besides, I think Dean likes an audience."
Rahmiel's screams labored more as Dean dug in. She couldn't drown him out, and the cackles of insanity were plucking at her brain stem. Anymore of this, and she'd simply go mad. Pity brought her to tears, and she'd had enough.
"Stop," she mumbled. Dean sliced through the man's neck but not hard enough to sever an artery.
"Stop it! I'll do it!" she relented.
"That's a good girl," Crowley patted her on the back.
He stepped in front of her, reached down, and pulled her chair to within breathing distance of Rahmiel. Hannah could smell the wet blood as it oozed from his wounds. She guessed he'd been sitting here for a while, as blood wasn't the only thing she smelled. The stench of body odor and human waste overcame her senses, and she gagged. Dean reached behind her and cut one hand free.
She flexed her hand, desperate to retrieve the feeling in her fingers. Now that she had her hand free, she was one step closer to banishing these idiots if she could get a hold of one. Alas, Crowley had moved too far away while Dean took his place behind Rahmiel.
"All right, what do want me to do?" she asked.
"Cast him out," Dean barked.
Hannah placed her numb hand on the bloodied knee of Rahmiel, but she was surprised when she touched him. No burning sensation…no pain, but she could feel a slight vibration. It was soothing, and she'd felt that one time before…when Castiel touched her.
"He's not a demon?" she asked.
"Nope. Full-blooded angel we got here," Dean answered.
"You're kidding right? I can't cast out an angel," she smirked.
"But we think you can," Crowley cooed from the other side of the room.
Dean jerked back the neck of Rahmiel and proceeded to slice another cut into his flesh. Again, Rahmiel bellowed in anguish.
"Ok, ok!" she screamed. "I'll do it." She wasn't sure how she would, but nonetheless she'd try. If anything, it would at least silence the guy. His screams were tearing her nerves apart.
She leaned over as far as she could and touched Rahmiel's knee again. Closing her eyes, because she could not look at him, she whispered her chant.
"I rebuke you, angel."
Rahmiel's body seized, and a flood of light shot forth from his mouth and eyes. It nearly blinded her, and she threw her free hand up to block the light. In seconds, all was quiet and his body limped to the floor.
"Well, well," Crowley grinned with victory. He took a few steps toward her, and Hannah reached out to grab him. She felt the blow from her right, but she couldn't hang on to consciousness. Her face met the cold concrete of the floor as Dean's punch knocked her to the ground.
She succumbed to the cold surface, and darkness took her once again.