Five Seconds Later

Chapter Twelve: The Time

"Was that it?" Cas stood there in the silence, trying to keep himself still as Dean remained slumped against him.

"Seems like it." Sam narrowed his eyes and took a long, hard look at the ceiling, watching for any cracks. There appeared to be none, and he glanced back at Cas. "Did they say if it was nuclear?"

"No." Cas shuddered. "But I wouldn't put it past them."

 
***
 

It was several hours later that the first person ventured outside, though he was hardly doing it in bravery. It was Kevin, who had pulled himself away from everyone after talking to Ellen and Lacey, resorting to eating alone in the dungeon with the animals. Charlie had heard him muttering some nonsense about finding his mother and reportedly tried, much to her credit, to console the anxious teen, but he had only withdrawn more. 

It was about seven in the evening when he left.

Dean was passed out in his room and Cas was watching over him with nervous anticipation. Sam and Charlie had gone downstairs with Ellen and Lacey to discuss what was going to happen next, while Bobby and Mandy talked about their time as hunters, a subject in which both of them shared common ground. Ron and Katharine had retired to their sleeping quarters while Meg, Garth, and Jo were instructed to guard the entrances and keep the bunker safe from anyone who might stumble across it.

For anyone who might have been listening – namely Cas, who was down the hall in Dean's room – the muffled voices of this trio as they tried to convince Kevin to stay inside echoed loud enough to hear.

"Kevin, you can't go out there." It was Garth, his voice soft and defensive. "We can't let you. It's too dangerous."

"I'm going, whether or not you guys like it." Kevin's voice was trembling, breaking in its high pitch. "I need to find my mom. She could have been in the city."

"There's no way she was." Jo bristled, her footsteps echoing down the hall as she paced back and forth in front of the door. "She'd be dead if she were."

"I need to know. I can't live this way." Kevin began panicking slightly, his breath quickening and emotions further escalating.

"Sometimes we don't get to know." Meg retorted in a crass sort of way, her demeanor rough and sour. "Step back or I'll make you."

Cas cracked open his door so he could hear better, immediately failing at being surreptitious as it creaked loudly through the echoing hallway. Dean had only just fallen asleep, and Cas was both trying to keep it that way and not alert his friends to his presence. There was silence by the bunker entrance for a moment, and he froze in fear. Had they heard him?

"What was that?" Garth whispered, his voice carrying past Cas and down the hall. 

Clearly, they had.

"Let's go make sure everything's okay." Jo muttered, moving away into the main part of the hall. Cas stepped back from the opening he had made, his trench coat whipping ungainfully around his ankles as he shut the door in front of himself as quietly as he could. Jo and Garth walked past quickly, leaving Meg and Kevin still over by the entrance. Hardly a minute later, their footsteps faded and the talking resumed by the door.

"Kevin, you can't leave. Stop it!"

The keys jingled in midair and fell against the floor, scraping on the cement as someone grabbed them. Cas opened the door again, turning the handle slowly to avoid the harsh creaking noise of before.

"I'm sorry, I have to do this. My mom needs me."

"She doesn't – she never has, and she never will." Meg scoffed sarcastically. "She's the one always saving your ass. What makes you think she needs you to save hers?"