The Soul Burns Brighter Than The Sun

Chapter 4: Here We Go Again

They get back to the bunker the next day, and Cas isn't there. Sam asks him if anything happened between them, and Dean lies and says no. Sam asks where Cas went, and Dean tells the truth and says he doesn't know.

Days pass, they scour the internet looking for Lucifer, or Michael, or any of the escapees from The Empty, and get virtually nothing. There's people disappearing in Nebraska, which is on brand for any of the monsters they have back in play, so they decide to drive there and check it out.

Dean doesn't say anything when Sam and Eileen pile into her car, but Sam talks to him anyway.

"You call Cas? Is he gonna meet us there?" Sam asks, pulling his overgrown hair behind his ears.

Dean shrugs. He hasn't seen Cas since he... you know... did the bad thing.

"You should call him." Sam says. It comes out soft, like he's leading a horse to water. "We might need the back up."

"I'll call him if we need him." Dean says. It's a compromise, and a shitty one at that, but it appeases Sam, and Dean follows them the whole drive, not even tailing them once.

Scottsbluff is one of those small towns in Nebraska with a church on every corner and a McDonald's on every other. It's filled with more farmers, rednecks, and god-fearing folk than any town Dean's been to in the past few years. With a population of less than fifteen thousand, Scottsbluff has launched itself to the thirteenth largest city in Nebraska, with mostly flat, manure-smelling grassland. Except, of course, for the high peaks surrounding the town, which give the place a bowl-like effect. There's only one cemetery, which at least will make their job easy if it's a simple salt and burn.

The local paper has the face of a middle aged Youth Group leader on it. It's a candid shot of the woman, her smile wide and open as she laughs at something, blonde hair pulled out of her face and turquoise earrings dangling from her ears. She's average looking, and the cross necklace at her chest is the most prominent part of the picture. She died falling down one of the sister peaks at Scottsbluff National Monument. The paper lists four other names of those who have disappeared in the area.

They decide to start with the Youth Group. It's too bad that Jack isn't around, since he would've been the perfect age to infiltrate. The kid can look sixteen or twenty three at the drop of a hat.

Eileen and Sam pose as a couple new to the area looking for a place of worship. The clergyman of St. Augustine Church asks if they have any children, and going along, Sam says yes. They find out that St. Augustine Church partners with an organization helping troubled teens. The Youth Group leader who passed, Cassandra, would make monthly trips down to the Church to gather supplies and occasionally, new recruits for her program. The clergyman tears up at the mention of her name and gives Sam and Eileen the brochure for the Teens for Christ program.

"There's no case here." Dean says around a mouthful of a burger as he scans the brochure. "These kids are just runaways, and the leader is just a freak accident. Hell, maybe she got pushed. These kids have gotta be fed up with her enough. Besides, we're supposed to be looking for Michael or Lucifer, or literally anyone else."

Although Sam and Eileen acknowledge that they need to be looking for Michael or Lucifer, they're already here, so they might as well save some people. They also have no idea where to look for Lucifer or anybody yet, so they might as well do what they can where they can. So Dean's outnumbered and gets dragged on the rest of the case.

Eileen thinks Wendigo, Sam's got money on a ghost, and Dean just really wants to go home.

They don't hear from Cas, and Dean doesn't text him or pray to him either.