The giant stair well, lit only by torches placed sparingly along the wall, was the worst obstacle for speed. Dean nearly broke his ankle after a step crumbled beneath him. Luckily, it was just a sprain. Cas caught up and healed him anyway.
They turned a corner and stopped short, looking up and around the entire space, the damp, muddy floor that went on forever, the endless dark, angry clouds and winds storming above them. Dean squinted as he gazed skyward, wondering if, far beyond, the meat hook suspensions were somewhere up there.
He shivered off the thought and turned to Cas. Following the angel's line of sight, he saw a dilapidated wooden stage... gallows. How fitting.
Without a word, Castiel strode forward and Dean followed cautiously.
As they passed the gallows' staircase, they saw the cage beyond.
Dean jogged past Castiel to get there - to glimpse inside.
A brief flash of lightning overhead illuminated the interior.
"It's empty!" Dean yelled, turning back to Cas who had quietly stepped up next to him. "Cas!" Dean whispered heatedly, breathing hard, nearly panicked. "What-"
"It is not empty," Castiel interrupted, eyes sharp and focused, staring into the cage.
"What?" Dean swiveled back. He saw nothing. He looked to Cas and realized the angel's eyes were darting all around, searching the cage's interior.
Suddenly Castiel's eyes widened and he gasped, putting a hand to his mouth in horror as he backed away from the cage.
"Cas? Cas?!"
Lightning streaked across the sky and Dean saw the angel's gaunt expression.
"C'mon, Cas, c'mon," Dean murmured, pulling Cas against his side and leaving an arm over the angel's heaving back.
"I," Cas started before swallowing, "I found Sam," he said. Dean froze with fear.
"We can get to him," Cas said, straightening.
Dean looked into the angel's eyes, terrified.
"You gotta tell me what you saw, Cas," he said, his voice weak and crackling, "You..." Dean swallowed his emotions down, "you gotta tell me what I'm working with when I see him. We don't know how much time we have."
Cas took a second, looking down at the swampy ground, then nodded.