I wake up in a cot. I look at my surroundings. This is Bobby's panic room. Bobby...Last I remember Sam... Actually Lucifer, snapped his neck. Sam is lying on a cot beside me just waking up too.
"Where are we?" He asks.
"Looks like Bobby's panic room." I say. We both slowly get up and walk upstairs to Bobby's living room. Dean is just setting down an empty glass, which was probably full of whiskey, as we walk into the room. He turns around to face us.
"Sam?" Dean goes to hug his brother then turns to me. "Ash." I get enveloped in his arms. The best feeling ever. I notice Bobby standing there. I go to give him a hug after Dean.
"Good to see you two." Bobby say. I return to Dean's side right after.
"Wait. I saw you... I felt Lucifer snap your neck." Sam says.
"Well, Cas kind of-"
"Cas is alive?" I ask. Why was I so excited about that?
"Yeah, Cas is... Cas is fine. Are you okay?" Dean asks.
"Actually, I'm starving." I say. Sam nods his head in agreement. Dean goes to make sandwiches for the two of us and gets us some beers.
"So, what is the last thing you remember?" Dean asks.
"The field. And then we fell." Sam says.
"Okay. And then?"
"And then we woke up in the panic room." I say.
"That's it? You really don't remember-"
"Let's be glad. Who wants to remember all that hell?" Dean interrupts Bobby.
"Well, how long were we gone?" I ask.
"About a year and a half."
"What? We were downstairs fo- I don't remember anything. So, how'd we get back? Was it Cas?" Sam asks.
"Not exactly."
"Dean, what did you do?" I ask.
"Me and Death-"
"Death?! The horseman?" Sam asks.
"I had leverage. It's done."
"You sure?" I ask.
"It's over. Slate's wiped."
"Well, isn't this just neat and clean?" Bobby says.
"Yes, it is. For once."
"Is there anything else we should know?" Sam asks.
"No. Another beer?" Dean says after a pause...or was that a hesitation?
"Uh, yeah."
"Well, I'll be outside working on a car." Bobby says then walks out the door.
"I'm going to go take a nap." I say as I get up and walk upstairs.
After a while Sam wakes me up and tells me that we're going on a hunt in Oregon. It's night time by the time we leave. I get shotgun in the impala, Sam is in the back and Dean is driving. Sam is making a phone call.
"Uh, you got it, officer. Thank you. You too." Sam hangs up his phone.
"So, get this, besides the crash, there were two other disappearances in town this week."
"Really?" I say.
"Yeah, last weekend, a college girl vanished from her apartment. On the seventeenth floor. Then three, days ago, another girl didn't make it home from school."
"They know each other?" Dean asks.
"No. No connection. Just young and female, like plane-crash girl."
"What would disappear a girl out of the sky, anyways?" I ask.
"Good question." Sam says. "So you never even tried, huh?"
"Tried?" Dean asks.
"To go live a life...after. You do remember you promised that, right?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"So, why didn't you try?"
"What make you think I didn't?" Dean asks.
"Because look at you. Look at this. You're exactly the same." I say.
"Yeah, you're probably right. I was with them for a year, Lisa and Ben."
"A year?" I ask. Dean just nods his head.
"So then what?" Sam asks.
"Didn't work out." Dean says then turns up the music.
By the time we get to Oregon it's daytime and we pay a visit to the latest victim's, Penny Dessertine, family. Well...we talk to her sister.
"You're uh... Penny Dessertine's sister, right?" Dean asks the girl after we've introduced ourselves, still standing in the doorway.
"Mm-hmm." She says.
"Uh, we'd just like to ask you a few questions." Sam says.
"Look, the cops already came by. I'm tired. So, if you don't mind-"
"I understand. Really, I do. I know how hard this must be. We'd just like to figure out what happened. This will be quick. I promise." I say.
"Okay, fine. Come in." She motions for us to go inside. "Penny was very shy. To herself. Not at all what'd you call adventurous."
"What, like flying through a lightning storm in a two-seater?" Dean asks.
"She was terrified of that thing. She just did it for Stan."
"Stan?" I ask.
"They were just starting to get serious. She didn't want to seem, you know... Not interested. I just wish I'd told her to stay home. We don't even have a body to bury."
"Do you mind if I take a look at her room?" Dean says.
"Go ahead." Dean takes a walk upstairs to Penny's room and comes back down 10 minutes later.
"Well, thank you for your time." Sam says then we leave to a motel.
Once we get settled, Sam hops on his laptop right away and starts doing research on the girls and tries to find any connection. Me and Dean are in the books.
"Hey." Sam says.
"What do you got?" I ask.
"Uh... Well, looks like those other two girls both bake cookies for the lord."
"What is that? Code?" Dean asks.
"Church choir, bake sales, promise-ring clubs... the works. They were good girls. But Penny wasn't even a Christian, so-"
"I have another theory. Penny's diary." Dean says.
"Did you steal that from her room?" I ask.
"I love that you even asked me that."
"And why wouldn't I?"
"No reason. So girl-nappings. What if it's not about religion, what if it's about purity?"
"You mean you think they're all-"
"Virgins, Sam. Virgins." Dean interrupts his brother.
"Penny was twenty-two." I say.
"Yeah, with a pink room."
"So?" I ask.
"And stuffed teddy bears."
"Fine, but do you really think-"
"'I've decided I'm going to give my Stan my most precious gift'." Dean reads from Penny's diary.
"Wow. That sounded creepy coming out of your mouth." Sam says.
"I think I delivered it."
"You know, you could have led with 'the diary'. You know? Anyways, let's say you're right. Fine. Who would want virgins?" I ask.
"You got me. I prefer ladies with experience."
The next day we get word of another attack. Somehow this girl made it out alive. This victim's name is Melissa. And she's at the hospital so we go pay a visit to her.
"It all happened to fast." She says explaining the events.
"It's alright Melissa. What came at you? You can tell us?" I say.
"It looks...like a giant...bat. You think I'm making it up, right? That's what the other man said."
"Well, I'm not the other man." Sam says.
"It came right at me. It was huge. I swear. That's how I got this." She shows us large gashes on her back.
"So, it attacked. And then what happened?"
"I don't know. I passed out. And when I woke up. It was gone."
"Is there anything else you can think of? Anything you can tell us, even if it doesn't seem important?" Sam asks.
"Well, my ring got lost. Or else that thing stole it, if that makes any sense."
"What kind of ring?" Dean asks.
"Gold. Promise ring." Melissa says.
"Promise ring. So, uh...from, like, a church? Like a purity ring?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I gotta ask. Uh, Melissa... Look, nobody is, uh, judging anybody here, okay? Believe me. But... Should you really be wearing that ring?"
"Well, I-I mean, I-I am..."
"Really?" Dean asks.
"Matt Barne didn't count!" Well that explains why she's alive.
"So, what, you think Batman tried to rape her?" Sam asks, once we're in the parking lot.
"Well, he does carry a lot of rage. But he rejected her because she was already dehymenated, huh?" I say.
"You think?"
"I think it just goes to show that being easy's pretty much all upside." Dean says.
"So, what kind of thing likes virgins and gold?" I ask.
"P. Diddy?"
"You know, it's comforting." Sam says.
"What's that?"
"We died for a year, came back, and you're still not funny." Sam says making me laugh.
"Shut up. I'm hilarious." And back to the motel we go... I get settled on the laptop and Sam and Dean are in the books.
"This can't be possible." I say. I've been researching for almost an hour.
"Try me." Dean says.
"Um, I googled 'fire', 'claws', 'flying', 'stealing virgins', and 'gold' and it all takes me to the same place."
"Where?" Sam asks.
"World of Warcraft fansites."
"I don't know what that means."
"Dragons, dude. See? Told you. Not possible."
"Actually, it might be." Dean says.
"How? In what reality?" Sam asks.
"It's been a strange year. We should get a second opinion." Dean grabs his phone and calls Bobby. "What do you know about dragons?...Seriously... Could you make a few calls? ... Humor me.... You're a gentleman and a scholar... Everything's fine. Sam and Ash say hey." Dean hangs up.
"You okay?" Sam asks Dean.
"Yeah."
"Bobby say anything?" I ask.
"Nope." Sam is going through John's journal. "Dad never wrote anything about dragons. I promise. I'd remember if I read The Neverending Story in there." Dean says.
"Hey, did we hunt a skin walker lately?" Sam asks.
"Doesn't ring a bell. Why?"
"I don't know. Just... déjà vu or something. Are you sure? I could have sworn-"
"You got to remember, your eggs are still a little scrambled, right? But yeah, I'm sure."
"Alright. Yeah. Never mind. "
Dean's phone rings.
"Hey, Bobby. What do you got? ... Dr. Visyak, S.F.U. Got it. Thanks." Dean hangs up. "Alright. I'm going to San Francisco, figure out how to kill these things. You figure out where they are."
"Wait. Did Bobby say where they like to park?" Sam asks.
"No."
"Great. Back to the lore."
"Which says what? That they live in Middle-Earth?"
"No. Caves."
"You're such a nerd." Dean says. "Ash, you coming?"
"Um, nah, I think I'll stay here with Sam." Dean walks out the door.
About half an hour later, Sam decides to give Bobby a call on speakerphone.
"Sam. Where's Dean?" Bobby asks.
"Hey, um...He went to go see your friend. So, look, I'm trying to figure out where this thing lairs up. Uh, little help, maybe?" Sam asks.
"What are the parameters?"
"Caves, basically. But there's nothing around for miles." I say.
"So, less literal then. What else you got local that's cold, dark and wet?"
"Huh. Well, um... There's no subway lines. Sewers. That could be it. Thanks." Sam says.
"Alright."
"Wait, Bobby. Wait. Um... You okay?" I ask.
"Yeah of course. Why? What's wrong?"
"Besides the way you been acting and talking? Nothing. Is there something we should know?"
"No. all you need to know is where Godzilla's holed up."
"Well, Bobby. What happened last year?" Sam asks.
"It had its moments. No more than usual. It's got nothing to do with you guys. How could it?"
"Right. Of course."
"Call me if you need anything." Bobby says then hangs up right away.
"That seemed like he was in rush." I say.
"Plan B?" Sam asks. I shrug my shoulders. I watch as Sam closes his eyes. "Castiel, um... We're back. So, if you've got a minute..."
"Sam, Ash. It's so good to see you alive." Cas appears.
"Yeah, you too." I say. Something is almost telling me to go up and hug him.
"Um... look, I-I would hug you, but-"
"That would be awkward." Cas says interrupting Sam.
"Maybe for you, but not me." I say as I get up and walk towards Cas and hug him. He wraps his arms around me. This feels right. Like weirdly right. Like more right than when I hug Dean. I pull away from him.
"Um... was a crazy year, huh? I-I-We just talked to Bobby. He told us everything that happened." I say.
"Frankly, I'm surprised that you survived. I was begging Dean not to do it."
"Yeah. No, I-I-I can understand that." Sam says.
"You know, it's a miracle it didn't kill you." Cas says.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's a miracle, alright." I say.
"So, how does it feel?"
"What?"
"Well, to have your soul back, of course."
"Right. You mean because we were walking around with no soul. Uh... really good, Cas. We're real good. You know what? We're just hazy on a few of the details, though. Um.. you think you could... walk us through it?" Sam asks.
*****
"Wait, we slept together?" I ask Cas.
"Yes." I slept with him... at least 30 times. That would explain the pull towards him.... Dean must've hated both of us.
"Was it at least good?"
"Very." Well that's good at least.
******
Cas leaves long before Dean gets back. Me and Sam decide that we need to eventually have a talk with Dean.
When Dean shows up, he has half a sword.
"What are we supposed to do with this, Dean? Give it a booster shot?" I ask, looking at the sword.
"It's what we got. Alright? We're just gonna have to get a little closer. That's all. Where are we on the caves?" Dean asks.
"Nowhere. Sewers on the other hand... Here. Check this out." Sam is showing Dean on a map. "So, two of the disappearances happened within a mile of here. So I think we start there and work our way around."
"Awesome. Who doesn't love sewers? Let's go." Me and Sam share a look, should we tell him now? "What?"
"Nothing. Uh, yeah, let's go."
"Ugh! God. Just when I get used to a smell. I hit a new flavor. Guys, we've been here for hours. There is nothing. I think the lore is off. Hey, what if, uh... what if dragons like nice hotels?" Dean says.
"What is that?" I ask. I shine my flashlight ahead of Dean.
"What?" Dean shines his light over there too. There's a pile of gold. "Holy crap." We walk over there. Dean picks up a gold watch from the pile. "Okay, maybe there's dragons here." Dean starts to take the gold and stuff his pockets.
'Wait. Dean... Not now. Check this out." Sam walks towards an altar he found. There's a leather bound book on it. "A little arts-and-crafty for a giant bat, right?"
"Hello? Is someone there? Hello?" We hear a girl saying. We follow the voice a bit farther through the sewer. The kidnapped girls are under some sewer grates.
"Hey. We're gonna get you out." I say.
"Quick. He's coming back." One of the girl's say. I get pulled backwards by something. Once I'm on the ground and let go of I see that it's the dragon that did it, but it looks nothing like what you'd think a dragon would look like. It looks more human with scales and wings.
"Where do you think you're gonna stick that?" The thing asks Dean, he's pulled out the sword. I hear a gasp. "Where did you get that?"
"Comic-Con." Dean says. I watch as the dragon knocks the sword out of Dean's hand, making it fall between the grates. The dragon walks towards Dean, his hand is starts glowing. I get up and distract him. Sam grabs the sword. I'm grabbed by another dragon. Sam stabs the one Dean is fighting and the other one runs away and escapes. That was a rush. We let the girl's out and help them up and out of the sewers and then we're off and back to Bobby's.
Dean's playing with one of the gold watches.
"Hey, Ash. Ask me what time it is." Dean says.
"Why don't you cut to the chase and just roll in it?" I ask.
"I rarely have wealth."
"Dean..." Sam says.
"Yeah?"
"I am so....so sorry. I can't even begin to say."
"For what?" Dean asks.
"You know what." I say.
"Did Bobby..."
"Cas."
"Cas. Friggin' child."
"You should have told us, Dean." I say.
"You weren't supposed to know."
"What we did? To Bobby? To you? Of course we should know." Sam says.
"Guys. Death didn't just shove your souls back in, okay? He put up the great wall between yourselves and the things you don't remember. And trust me when I say that things you don't know could kill you. That's not a joke."
"Alright. But we have to set things right. Or what we can, anyways." I say.
"It wasn't you."
"You know, I kind of feel like I got slipped the worst mickey of all time...and I woke up to find out that I had burnt the whole city down. And you can say it wasn't us, but...we're the ones with the zippo in our pockets, you know? So I'm not sure it's that cut and dry. And, look, I a-appreciate you trying to protect us. I really do. But we got to fix... What we got to fix. So we need to know what we did." Sam says.
"But you don't know how dangerous that could be."
"What would you do? Right. Same thing." I say.
"Sam, Ash..."
"Guys, something I think you ought to see." Bobby says calling us into the house. "Now, as near as I can figure it, this dates back around the 14th century." Bobby says. There's a piece of paper with writing on it, but it's clearly not English.
"What language is it?" Sam asks.
"Da Vinci code. Real obscure Latinate. Gonna take me all my golden years to translate it all. Oh, and, uh, FYI, that ain't paper."
"What is it?" Dean asks.
"It's human skin. Okay. I'm fairly clear on this bit. It basically describes this place. It's like the backside of your worst nightmares. It's all blood and bone and darkness. Filled with the bodies and souls of all things hungry, sharp and nasty."
"Monsters?" I ask.
"It's monsterland. According to this, it goes by many names, most of which I can't pronounce, but I'm thinking you know Purgatory."
"Purgatory? Awesome. Well, that is good to know. So you're saying that these, uh, dragon freaks were squatting in the sewers and reading tone poems about purgatory?" Dean asks.
"Oh, no, no, no. They're reading an instruction manual."
"What?" I ask.
"Yeah, if you're nuts enough to want to access to a place that gnarly, this book will show you how to open a door."
"Door to purgatory. Well, I know a demon who would have loved to have known about that. So, how do you open the door?" Dean asks.
"Ask Cloverfield. I'm pretty sure he's got that page." Bobby says. "It gets worse.
"Worse?" Sam asks.
"This ain't talking about how to take a vacation over there. This is all about opening a door to let something in."
"Bring something here. What?" I ask.
"I'm working on it."
"Could you give us something?" Dean asks.
"I got a name."
"Okay."
"Mother."
"Mother? Mother of what? Mother of dragons?" Sam asks.
"I wish. It says it a few times here. Mother of all." Bobby says.
"What the hell does 'mother of all' mean?" I ask.
"I don't know."
**** GUYS!! I'M ON A ROLL!!! AND I'VE DECIDED THAT I NEED TO END THE SERIES SOON... THERE'LL BE ANOTHER 10 CHAPTERS IN THIS BOOK AND THEN ABOUT 15 (GIVE OR TAKE A FEW) IN THE NEXT ONE!! SO MAYBE THAT'S NOT TOO SOON... ANYWAYS. KEEP ON READING, VOTE, LIKE, FOLLOW AND COMMENT!!
