1. I'm No Angel (1)

"Is that a...?"
"Human?"

_______________

2013. October 22.

It was somewhere between late morning and noon. The bunker was quiet, the only noise that could be heard was Dean's footsteps, as he walked down the halls in his favorite robe and slippers. With a freshly made cup of coffee in his hand, he trudged from the kitchen to the library, where he planned on drinking the beverage.

When he reached the room, he noticed something: the silence was way too big. He glanced around with tired eyes, looking for his brother, or any sign that indicated his whereabouts. When he didn't find anything, he just simply shouted:

„Sam! You here?”

As if waiting for this, the main entrance door opened with a loud, metallic creak, and in through walked the younger Winchester, white takeout container in hand.

„Hey! Morning,” he said happily, then started down the stairs.

Dean watched his every movement, only then glancing to his watch when he reached the bottom.

„You’ve been outside already?” he asked amazed.

Sam nodded.

„Yeah. Woke up, went for a run, beautiful sunrise. Anyways, cleaned up, went and got breakfast,” he lifted the box as proof. „Grabbed you real bacon and eggs, extra grease, not even gonna argue.”

He put the box down on the map table, then they both pulled out a chair to sit down.

„Mm, perfect,” Dean pulled the container closer, but suddenly froze, only then realizing what he'd heard. „Wait. You went running?”

„What?” Sam looked at him confused. „Why do you look so worried?”

„Let’s see. There’s Cas, who I told to haul ass here. That was days ago. He’s still out there. Um, there’s you.”

„Me? I feel great.”

„I’m sure you do, but, Sam, you went through the trials. Okay, that put a big strain on you. I just think it’s better if you took it easy, you know, and didn’t act like you were-”

Sam's face became emotionless. He straightened his back, and his eyes glowed blue for just a second. This happened so fast, Dean didn't even notice it.

„Possessed by an angel,” Ezekiel finished for him. „And he does feel better. A work in progress, of course, but I am slowly healing him.”

Dean jumped at the sudden change, then hesitantly looked him up and down.

„That’s great,” he uttered. „Um, but, Sam-”

„I have news,” he cut him off. „I’ve picked up chatter among the angels. Not all are wandering around in confusion.

Dean nodded, showing that he already knew this.

„Yeah, some of ’em are after Cas.”

„There is a faction that is rapidly organizing and finding human vessels to contain them,” Ezekiel continued.

„Led by Naomi?”

„I have not heard that name, no,” he shook his head. „But it is this faction’s leadership who want Castiel found. You see, Dean, I can be useful.”

„So can my brother. So, why don’t you go check your e-mail, and if I need your help, I’ll let you know.”

„Dean.”

„I said I’ll let you know,” he repeated more sternly.

Ezekiel did as he was told.

Sam got the control back in the next second, and continued talking like nothing ever happened.

„I mean, you know, Cas is human now,” he said, sitting back and scratching his head. „It’s gonna take him a lot longer to travel.”

„I’m gonna get whiplash.” Dean muttered under his breath while massaging his temples.

Sam turned his head to him.

„What?”

„Nothing,” he waved his hand then changed topics. „Um, all right, so, I was thinking that if the angels are organizing, then that makes them a lot more dangerous than we thought.”

Sam frowned. „Why do you think they’re organizing?”

Shit. He shouldn't have done that. Sam doesn't know anything about this yet.

I'm gonna lose my mind, Dean thought to himself, while trying to come up with an explanation.

„It makes sense. My point is, is that the more of them that are after Cas, the worse it is, so… we gotta find him.”

♤

Before long, the brothers had started their search. Sam was browsing on his laptop, while Dean was looking at a map in front of him. Three circles were drawn on it, all of them a different radius, with Colorado in the center of them. That was their starting point.

„All right, so this is where Cas called from on Tuesday. Longmont, Colorado,” he pointed to the city. „Each circle is how far he might have gotten in one, two, and three days out.”

Sam cleared his throat before reading from the screen. „The same day he called from Longmont, weird murder, same town. Cops said it was like the girl was blasted from the inside out.”

His brother instantly pieced it together.

„Angel kill. They might have just missed Cas. Unless they got him.”

Sam opened another news article.

„You got an Emory Park, Iowa?”

Dean stared at the map, looking for that specific town.

„Emory Park, Emory Park. I just saw that.” he muttered. He found it a few seconds later. „Yeah, a couple days outside of Longmont.”

„Okay, because two priests were murdered there Thursday.” he stated. „Eyes blown out, evidence of torture. They were impaled on posts.”

„Torture?”

„Yeah.”

„Angels are looking for info. Man, if they get to him before we do…”

A sigh left the younger's lips, the troubled expression on his face matched the one on his brother's.

„Yeah.”

They need to hurry. Or they might not see Cas anymore.

♤

They arrived at the St. Anne cathedral after a few hours of driving, where the murder happened. Both of the brothers were dressed in their suits, true to their lie of being FBI agents. Dean parked the Impala, got out, then fixed his tie. Sam stayed in the car, continuing to search for any cases like this one.

The older brother walked through the entrance, and thankfully he quickly stumbled upon the person he wanted to question.

„Yeah. Yeah, I think I know this guy you’re talking about,” the man, who was one of the volunteer workers of the church nodded. He spoke to Castiel (or, if we want to use his alias, Clarence) the other night, just before the murder. „Sounds like Clarence.”

Dean was surprised upon hearing this name.

„Clarence?”

Meg used to call him this. Maybe that's where he got the idea from.

„The church runs a shelter in town, and we work here. We earn our keep. Clarence spent a couple nights, and then had to move on.”

„And he left the day the bodies were found?”

„Matter of fact. Oh, man, those poor guys were a mess,” he shook his head. „They must have suffered bad. But at least now they’re with the angels.”

„I sure as hell hope not.” It slipped from Dean, and earned a wide look from the guy. He brushed it off though, jumping on the next question. „Clarence happen to mention where he was headed?”

„No. He just said he always had to keep going.”

Dean nodded, said goodbye, then walked back to the car.

„All right,” he said, plopping down on the driver's seat. „Well, he’s definitely been here. Good news is he’s getting cagey. He’s using a fake name. Clarence.”

„That’s what Meg used to call him.” Sam voiced what Dean previously thought. „Of course, he doesn’t get that’s the name of a pretty famous angel.”

„What?” Dean turned to him, confused.

„”It’s A Wonderful Life”.” Sam quoted the name of the movie, but it didn’t help his brother at all. „Dude, seriously?”

„What’d you come up with?” he asked defensively.

Sam turned his attention back to the screen.

„Another angel kill, outside a town called Lafayette about a day’s travel east of here.”

„What is that, Indiana?” Dean turned on the engine.

„Yeah. Body was found in a homeless camp. Insides barbecued, the whole nine.”

„Homeless guy?”

„No, a pharmacist from Dayton.”

Dean hummed while backing out of the parking lot, and onto the road.

Well, let's head east then.

♤

Next stop was the police station, where the "agents" talked to the police chief.

„Damnedest thing I ever saw. Vic had a stab wound, but it’s not what killed him. It’s like his insides were-”

„Vaporized?” Dean finished the sentence for him. „It’s been going around.”

„So, this guy was a pharmacist from Ohio?” Sam began the questioning.

The chief nodded.

„Apparently. Total family man, religious. One day, just hops in the SUV, takes off, dies under a bridge here from God knows what.” He handed them two plastic evidence bags. „This is his stuff. Help yourselves.”

And with that, he went back to working.

In the bags were the typical personal belongings waiting for them: wallet, keys, watch, a pen, etc. Sam picked up a miniature Bible, while Dean looked through the victim's phone.

„Anything?”

„Nothing weird. Crappy music, a lot of podcasts, all the same one. Reverend Buddy Boyle’s „Goin’ for Glory Hour”.”

Sam shrugged.

„Cop said he was religious.”

Dean pressed play on one of the podcasts.

„Join me in a heapin’ helpin’ of glory, friends,” Came his voice from the device. „When you’re in the presence of the divine, you’ll know it. And if you let yourself, you’ll hear it.”

The oldest rolled his eyes, then skipped ahead.

„So, remember, when angels come a-knocking, let ’em on in.”

This was more than enough for them to understand, and the brothers looked at each other knowingly.

„Angels can’t possess a human without permission, right?”

„Yep.”

„So, what, they’re using this guy to find vessels?”

„It’s a willing audience. They’re all religious types like our pharmacist here. Buddy Boyle was telling them to let the angels take them over.”

„Like body snatchers.” Sam nodded.

„How big a reach does this Boyle guy have?” Dean thought aloud.

Sam began researching, and soon they discovered that he had a pretty wide reach. Big cities all across America were fans of him. More than that, all across the world.

„Pretty much the entire planet.” Sam grimaced, answering the question.

So the problem is even bigger than they'd thought. It's only gonna get nastier. Are the two of them really enough for this?

The Winchesters left in a hurry, therefore they didn't even notice the reaper, who's been chasing them for a while now, sitting at a nearby table and looking at them.

If they continue like this, they'll be the ones leading the angels to Castiel. The situation would turn especially dangerous then.

♤

Ditching their suits, the brothers drove to the homeless camp, where they hoped to gain some information from the people there. Unfortunately it wasn't their lucky day.

„Look, for the billionth time, we’re just looking for some information, okay? We’re not cops.” Dean kept on repeating it, getting tired of the whole thing. „I mean, do we look like cops?”

A silent nod from everyone was his answer.

Dean let out a long sigh and tried again. „Well, we’re not cops. We just need to find a friend who’s in it deep.”

„Look, he might have been here the night that guy was killed.” Sam continued. „Were any of you here then?”

A few seconds had passed, then someone walked out of the crowd.

„Maybe.”

The hunters looked at each other first, then Dean started to give him a description of their friend.

„Oh, okay. Uh, he’s- he’s got dark hair, blue eyes, a little out of it.”

„He maybe called himself Clarence?” Sam helped him out.

The man nodded at that.

„Clarence, yeah.”

„You two talk?” The younger inquired.

He shook his head. „Not much.”

„And, uh…?” The older waited for him to continue.

„I think he was on the run.”

„You see him with the vic- uh, victim?”

„No. He went off to sleep in another part of the resort.”

„Where?” Dean immediately asked.

„He’s not there now.” He said, but started to walk that way nonetheless.

All the while the reaper had appeared in the distance, and was watching them from the bridge nearby.

„Where’d he go?” Sam followed him.

„I saw him running from under the bridge to the highway.”

„You gonna pay us for all this teeth pulling?” Dean was growing impatient. „Where was he headed?”

„He flagged a truck heading north. Detroit, probably.”

„Why Detroit?”

„Truck was marked „Motor City Meats”.”

♤

Nighttime had arrived, but the brothers were still on the road. They were in between two cities, and didn't want to stop 'til they reached a motel, so they just went on.

Sam's gaze was fixed on his laptop screen, which he kept on checking, in case there was another angel kill. Dean took a hand off the wheel to turn the volume of the music up, hoping that it would help him to avoid the messy thoughts circling around in his head.

Well, a few minutes had passed, and he had to realize that his efforts were for nothing. He didn't even remember the name of the last heard singer, nor how many songs had been played so far. That's how little attention he paid to it. With each passing minute he was more and more worried about Castiel, and it wasn't long, before images of his friend getting hurt had started to appear before his eyes. The mere thought of this was enough for him to grip the steering wheel tighter, and for his muscles to tense.

Of course, Sam was quick to notice this. He shut off his computer and put it down on the seat beside himself. He then reached forward to turn off the radio, because neither of them were listening to it anyway, and they didn't need a background noise for now.

„Why did you do that? I was listening to that.” Dean complained.

Sam raised his eyebrows.

„Oh, really? Then which band and song was it?”

He really walked into this one. He's not gonna get himself out of it. If he wants good for himself, then maybe he should stop lying and make this easier for the both of them.

„I don’t know.” He admitted after a brief silence. „I have no idea, okay? I thought this would help to get me distracted, but it obviously didn't work.”

Sam sighed tiredly, leaning back in his seat and rubbing his eyes.

„Trust me, I know how you feel. It's driving me crazy too. The thought of Cas possibly getting hurt somewhere right now-”

„You’re not helping.” Hissed the other through his clenched teeth. His little brother just made everything worse with this. Now he was beginning to think that they won't be able to save their friend, and he didn't like this at all.

„Sorry.” He muttered instantly. „I didn't mean to make you even more anxious.”

„But you did it.” He snapped, his voice barely lower than a yell.

A tense silence fell over them. It could be cut with a knife. Neither of them dared to break it, mostly because they didn't know how. Right then and there, there wasn't any easy topic they could've talked about. Even if it was, they probably would've ended up going back to arguing within seconds, which they didn't want. So they just stayed silent.

After a while though, Dean began to feel guilty for taking his frustration out on his brother. He had no intentions of doing this, yet somehow he still did it. And now it was eating him up inside.

He averted his gaze from the road to apologize. The younger one was staring straight ahead, while the older one took a deep breath to prepare himself. He let out a sigh, which earned him his brother's attention.

Come on, Dean. If you started it, you might as well finish it.

„Look, Sam, I didn’t-”

It was only a fragment of a second. The youngest's eyes briefly flickered over to the road, and maybe he wouldn't have even noticed it, if not for the Impala's headlights. But thank God he did it, otherwise they'd have to add another problem to their long list.

„Dean, look out!” Sam yelled, pointing to something ahead of the car.

Dean turned his head that way, noticed the same thing he did, then slammed his foot down on the brake. The tires had stopped rolling and came to a screeching halt. Sam held onto the door, and Dean did the same with the wheel, both of them wide eyed and panting. After their heartbeat had became normal again along with their breathing, the two leaned back in sync, and relaxed their tense muscles.

The minute the calmness washed over them, they realized what happened and turned to each other with shocked expressions.

„You okay?” Dean asked.

„Yeah.” Sam nodded. „You?”

„Yeah.” He said, then looked out the windshield. „Did we just…?”

„I hope not.” The other cut him off.

They waited for a second, then made a silent agreement and got out of the car. Still in sync, they pulled their guns from the waistband of their jeans, and with slow, cautious steps moved towards that particiular dark, unmoving thing in the middle of the road. But the closer they got, the clearer it became to them.

„Is that a…?”

„Human?” finished the question Dean, eyeing the silhouette laid out on the concrete.

Only a few more steps, and the boys were standing right beside the body. Thanks to the light coming from the car's lamps they got a perfect view on the unconscious girl. Her clothes were simple; just a plain t-shirt, jeans, boots and a denim jacket. Her auburn hair reached the middle of her back. This was her normal description.

But there were things that were far from normal about her. Like the blood. A lot of blood. Big, dark patches stained her clothes, face, and coated her hair. The source was found quickly: many-many cuts on her body, some were bigger, some smaller. Some were deeper, than the others. She looked like a survivor out of a horror movie.

„Oh my God.” said Sam flabbergasted. He put away his gun, then crouched down, to take a better look at her. „What could've happened to her?”

„I have no idea, I'm not a coroner.” said Dean mockingly.

Sam only rolled his eyes at his brother's comment, then reached toward the stranger's neck to check her pulse.

„What are you doing?” Dean stopped him. „Keep your hands away from her. What if she wakes up and jumps on you?”

„Why would she do that, Dean?” asked the younger confused, though his hand froze in the air.

There could be some truth in his brother's words. Maybe this is a trap, and they're about to walk right into it. Maybe the girl is a monster, who uses this sick tactic, to hunt down her prey. Maybe they should get back in the car and leave her.

Yeah, and let her capture someone else? Absolutely not. Anyway, monster or not, it's not like them to just drive past something like this. No matter how much in a hurry they are, they have to help her. Plus what if she's really just a human, that they could save?

The younger Winchester shook off his fears, put two of his fingers on the girl's neck, and concentrated. He even closed his eyes, hoping that it would help. He prayed to feel

something, a little pulse under her skin, and of course he prayed that she doesn't wake up and bites his hand off too. Though he found the worrying about the latter funny rather fast.

„So?” asked Dean impatiently, his gun ready in his hand, just in case.

„Could you wait a little longer?” shushed him the other one.

Minutes were passing, but Sam didn't feel a thing. He almost gave up and was about to pull his hand back, when something moved under his finger. A heartbeat. He felt it. He definitely felt it. But for a long while, there was nothing after it. There wasn't another one. Did he imagine it? Is it possible?

More minutes passed, then Sam sighed, opened his eyes, and pulled his hand away.

„She maybe has a pulse.” He announced.

„Maybe? What do you mean maybe? It’s either yes or no, Sam.”

„I think I felt her pulse.” He corrected himself.

„You think?” Dean raised his eyebrows.

He was obviously starting to freak out. They should be looking for Cas right now, and not staring at maybe dead girls in the middle of the road. He didn't care about what happened to her, he would've left her there without a second thought. Human or not, he'd seen enough horror movies to know, that picking her up was a bad idea.

„What should we do with her? Should we take her back to the bunker?” Sam asked.

Dean just looked at him wide eyed.

„Take her to the bunker? Are you crazy? She's not a dog that got hit by a car. And look at her, what she needs now is a hospital.”

„What if a monster did this to her?” murmured Sam, searching her body for injuries that could've been caused by a monster.

„Then that son of a bitch could still be near, and I don't want to run into it, so let's just get back in the car, and leave.” He suggested. He was starting to run out of patience.

But Sam didn’t even budge.

„Come on, Dean. You can't seriously think this.” He shook his head, but then suddenly something caught his attention. He noticed something in her jacket inside pocket. He reached for it, and then revealed…

„Oh, trust me, I mean it.”

„Dean, look at this.”

„What?” He asked tiredly, crouching next to him.

Sam wrapped his fingers around it, and pulled it out, lifting it up before them. Their mouths fell open, as they ran their eyes along the at least 30 centimeters long, if not longer blade. The handle was relatively short, with a black base and silver patterns. The blade itself was made of pure silver, and they could already tell, just by looking at it how sharp it was. But the most interesting thing about it were the engravings, that ran along the middle of the blade. They weren't able to read out much of it because of the blood that covered it, but they knew, that it wasn't on their language.

„Maybe it’s Enochian,” said Sam deep in thought. „Cas would be able to tell.”

„Why does she even have this? And where is it from?” asked Dean totally confused.

This night cannot get any weirder.

„Maybe she’s a hunter,” shrugged a shoulder Sam.

Dean laughed out of anxiousness.

„We have too much „maybe”-s, don’t you think?”

„Dean, we have to take her with us,” He kept persuading him. „We could take care of her, and when she wakes up, we ask her a few questions then she can go wherever she wants to.”

„Sam, Cas is more important now…”

„Dean…”

„We should put finding him first…”

„Dean.”

„We don’t have time for…”

„Dean!”

When his little brother raised his voice, Dean instantly shut up. He just looked at him with his lips pressed in a thin line. Sam watched him pleadingly with his puppy-dog eyes, which Dean wasn't able to resist much longer. Eventually he gave in with a tired sigh, put his gun away, then nodded toward the Impala.

„Open the back door.”

Sam immediately ran to do as he was told.

„I'm gonna make you clean out the seat if you smear blood all over it, got it?” Dean asked the girl, even though he knew she can't hear him. Then he took her into his arms, lifted her up, and carried her to the car.

He gently laid her down onto the backseat and put the seatbelt on, just in case.

After they got into the front seat, both brothers took one last glance at the seemingly peaceful stranger; then Dean turned on the engine and drove off.

Now they'll really need that motel room, 'cause there's no way they're going to drive around with her unconscious body.

_______________

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So this is chapter 1. I hope you liked it :)

Feel free to leave a vote or a comment if you'd like :)