Chapter 17: Fight or Flight

The sympathetic nervous system functions like a gas pedal in a car. It triggers the fight-or-flight response, providing the body with a burst of energy so that it can respond to perceived dangers. – Harvard Health

As luck would have it, Castiel had in fact tracked down an angel that was healing people. It was one that was already on Heaven's radar though, so it was kind of disappointing. Apparently, the angel went by Sister Jo, and she'd had a thing with Lucifer.

Riley that that was a bit freaky. But then, she had to remind herself that Jack was in fact Lucifer's son, so maybe not that freaky.

Jo had not been happy to see Cas and had tried to tear him a new one. But neither had come out of the fight with any serious wounds, and Castiel had decided to leave the other angel in relative peace.

Of course this was all going on while the rest of the team was ingredient gathering. Which was why he wasn't in the Impala at the moment. The rest of their little rag tag bunch were heading toward California. Well, not all the way. Sam, Dean, Jack, and Riley were going to rendezvous with Claire and Patience who'd gotten the wood from the redwood trees.

Gabriel hadn't been answering prayers for a few days. Probably caught up in Heaven. Riley hoped he wasn't avoiding her… She hadn't seen him since the movie night. Hadn't yet had a chance to talk. But at least he wasn't just not answering her prayers, he hadn't come for Sam or Dean either.

So Dean, Sam, Jack, and Riley had piled into the Impala and taken off. Riley had offered to fly them, or at least herself to meet the girls, but Dean had nixed that idea. "No solo missions. Things have been too quiet lately. I don't like it."

Unfortunately he was right.

It was the second morning of their trip. The motel they were at was the generic kind the boys seemed to like. Riley was getting used to them, though she didn't love them. She'd crashed on the couch, much to the chagrin of the boys. But she'd insisted, due to be being the shortest.

Jack was on a rollout, passed out in only the way teenagers could do. He still didn't need much sleep, but when he did sleep it was deep. Sam and Dean were still asleep too, but Riley had woken super early and couldn't get back to sleep.

She'd tried reading for a while, until she found herself feeling hungry. She tried to remind herself she didn't need to eat, but after so many years eating, she wasn't going to train her body not to want food overnight. Sighing, she got up and dressed. Glancing at the boys who were completely out, she jotted down a note, grabbed the keys and headed out of the room.

She knew Dean had said no solo missions, but this was a food run. She did those all the time alone.

Standing in front of the glorious vehicle, Riley grinned. "Dean is going to kill me." Sliding into the driver seat, Riley put Baby into drive and headed out. "Totally worth it." Hitting play on one of the cassettes, music came pouring out of the speakers as she drove down the road. She started to sing along, hair flipping in the wind from the open windows.

"He's going to kill you." Gabriel said from the passenger seat.

Riley nearly had a heart attack, as his entrance had been muffled by the music. At least she was used to the angels popping up randomly, so she was able to keep the vehicle in her lane. "Damn it, Gabe." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Don't do that."

"Nope. I'm gonna do what I want." He winked.

"Mm. Asshole."

"Ooh. She wounds me." He threw a hand to his heart.

"What's up?" She asked, ignoring his teasing.

"I heard the prayers but couldn't get away sooner. So, I came to check in and found my favorite angel stealing the Impala. How could I resist such a sexy act." He waggled his eyebrow. Though what he didn't say was that he'd been avoiding the little team of hunters intentionally, hoping that time spend away would dull his desire for her. It hadn't.

He'd only come because he'd heard Riley trepidation when she'd left the motel. But here she was, perfectly fine. And she'd presented a great opportunity for pranking.

"Only you would find theft sexy." She huffed a laugh.

"Hello…. Trickster." He snarked back. "Plus it's the best prank ever. Stealing Dean's precious baby? He's going have a hissy fit. It will be glorious!"

"Not really a prank. I left a note. And I'll probably be back before he even wakes up."

"Mmmaybe." His lips turned up.

"What are you plotting?"

But the archangel was gone when she glanced at the passenger seat.

Riley didn't put too much thought into what Gabriel had planned. It's not like she could stop him. Maybe distract him, but never stop. Dean would probably end up being madder at Gabriel by the end, so it would probably work out for her.

She was surprised he'd shown up, but she was glad he had. It seemed like things were back to normal. He was his same old flirty trickster self. Her friend, sort of teacher, and sometimes annoyance, was exactly the same.

Still, Riley wondered if something was wrong. They'd gotten pretty close over the past couple weeks. And there was definitely some things that had happened that they really out to talk about. But anytime it seemed like they were moving toward something….. well, it was like that saying, one step forward and two steps back.

She didn't have long to consider, as her destination was only about ten minutes from the motel. She parked at the McDonalds and entered the building to order breakfast for herself and the boys. It was fairly empty, as it was still fairly early. One couple at a table in the back, and an older gentleman over toward the bathroom. There was a young man behind the counter who looked sleepy and bored. But he had her order ready pretty quickly and packaged into to-go bags.

As she was turning to leave, the door opened, admitted two people. A woman in her 60s, dressed way too nicely for McDonalds at 6 am, and a 14 year old boy. They could be family, but they looked super out of place. Riley didn't give them much thought, other than an odd look or two, and headed toward the door.

But her path was blocked by the kid.

"Hi sweetie, can I help you?" She decided playing nice was probably her best course of action.

"Where are the Winchesters?" He was staring at her.

"What?" She was incredulous.

"You have their car." The women stood near the door still, blocking her exit.

"Listen, I don't know what you think….."

The kid grabbed her arm, drawing her attention back to him. "Where are the Winchesters?" He asked again. This time, when Riley looked at him she saw his eyes turn full black. And she realized his face was not normal - it was skull like.

Riley did the sensible thing had she been human, and screamed, trying to pull away. The kid pushed her, and instead of stumbling, she flew back into the counter, hitting it hard. The kid was stronger than he looked by a long shot.

The rest of the occupants in the restaurant started to freak out. But the creatures weren't focused on them. Riley lay on the floor, dazed. She watched, terrified, as the kid approached her again. "I will ask you again, girl, where are the Winchesters?"

"I….I…." She pulled herself to her feet, watching as the kid ate up the distance between them quickly. "I don't….. I stole the car!" She answered, surprised at herself. While it was technically true….

The demon paused, "You stole the Winchester's car?"

"Yes?" It was a half question. Riley tried to think, tried to figure out what to do. "What are you?" she was afraid she knew the answer.

"Oh you poor child, I will make your death quick." The kid cackled. "I am a demon."

As he approached again, Riley felt her fear drain away. This was exactly the sort of situation everyone had been trying to train her for. And so far she'd been failing spectacularly. 'Not anymore.' She thought.

When the kid got close enough and went to grab her, she dodged and kicked out, connecting with his stomach, throwing him back. He recovered quickly and the other one started toward her.

"The mouse wants to play." The woman grinned. "I like playing with my food."

Riley reached down and grabbed the holstered weapon from her ankle, aimed, and fired at the demons. She actually hit the women. Though it didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. "Shit." She muttered and turned tail and ran toward the other side of restaurant where there was as second set of doors. If a gun wouldn't take them out, then she needed to draw them away from the civilians and give herself some time to regroup.

The demons followed her out, not at all bothered by her attempt to flee. In fact, they had a fairly lazy pace.

When she got to the Impala, Riley turned and faced them. She dropped the gun, still within reach, and she slid into a defense position, hoping she'd learned enough to at least put up a fight. Luckily, when the kid came at her this time she was able to block and counter. But it was clear he was the better fighter. Though he wasn't able to throw her again. They tussled, with the kid finally pulling back to study to her.

Riley wiped at her face, finding blood on her hand from a split lip. Her side hurt, where the kid had landed a solid punch, and her back was already aching from where she hit the counter. But none of her injuries were serious. Considering the fact the kid was fighting pretty serious, Riley was kind of impressed with herself. Though she knew she probably wouldn't be able to keep up much longer.

The woman watched her, eyebrow raised. "She is not dying?" She…it… asked of the child demon.

They both considered her. "She has more strength than a human should."

"Is she a human?"

"We have not asked."

Riley wiped at the trail of blood that was leaking from a cut on her arm. "I'm right here."

"We need to end this and find the Winchesters. They will be close."

"Where did you steal the car?" The child asked.

Riley pressed her lips together. She would definitely not be telling them that.

"Have it your way." The woman grinned. "Human or no, she will still die." She pulled a blade from her sleeve and started to advance.

Riley was not prepared for a knife fight, especially since her gun seemed to be useless. Riley wondered if she should fly away. But then it would leave civilians at risk. And the car. Dean would actually kill her if she left the car for the demons.

"Damn it." Riley sighed, and realized that holding her own was not going to be cutting it anymore. "Gabriel." She said softly, "A little help."

The demons stared at her in confusion, but then the woman screamed as a knife appeared through her chest. The kid turned just in time for the knife to slide into his side. Both demons fell, black smoke erupting from their mouths. Gabriel stood behind them, brow raised. "I leave you alone for ten minutes…."

Riley sagged back against the car in relief. "I'm really glad to see you."

Gabriel's blade disappeared back to wherever it had come from, and he approached her, pulling her to him. "You okay, Rye?"

"Yeah. Surprised. Scared. Probably black and blue. But I'll survive." She pressed her face against his chest. "So…. That happened."

It was a good thing she couldn't see his face, because if looks could kills, the world would likely burn. "We're gonna work on your angelic abilities more. Got to figure out the angel blade situation." His voice didn't betray the anger he felt. He was pissed at the demons for ambushing Riley, pissed the Winchesters for not preparing her better….. and pissed at himself, for leaving her alone. If he'd stayed in the car with her, had hung out then this never would have happened.

"Yeah, that would be good." Riley was fairly sure she was shaking, the adrenaline no longer pushing her. For a first fight, she hadn't been bad. But she'd still be afraid. Their faces had been horrifying.

"Come on sweetheart, let's get out of here."

"The food…." She trailed off as Gabriel snapped his fingers and they appeared back at the bunker, food now sitting on the table.

Dean had been pacing, but stopped at their sudden appearance, anger on his face. Jack and Sam looked up, concerned, from where they stood. Gabriel gave the three a tight smile, before pushing Riley at Sam. Sam's arms came around her automatically in surprise.

"What?" Sam asked at the same time Dean started with "The Hell Gabriel."

Gabriel didn't answer, just grabbed Dean's arm. "Son of bitch." Dean said, just before he and Gabriel disappeared.

Sam stared down at Riley, noticing bruises starting to form and a couple cuts, including the one on her lip. "What happened?"