Daughter of the Legend: Soul on Fire (#Wattys2018)

Chapter Twenty-Three: In My Father's Eyes

I collapsed into the sharp gravel of the scrap yard's driveway. I was screaming before I even realized the noise was coming from my throat. The blood was still slick on my arms despite the fact that the gouges had almost sealed completely. Clutching my stomach, my cries tore through the silence of the yard like wildfire in grass. My breath was labored and broken, but I couldn't stop crying.

The screen door slammed open and the sound of feet running on the gravel. My ears were ringing, a deafening tone that punctuated every other sound around me. It was angel radio, and Heaven was going crazy. Explosion. Old Gods. Child. I could only make out a few words. AntiChrist.

"Jesse." I coughed, blinking away the tears that blurred my vision. "Jesse! Where's?"

"He isn't here kid," Bobby said, as Sam and Dean helped me to my feet. My head lulled, and the sudden movement made my world spin on its end.

"I'm gonna hurl!" I yelped, before doing exactly what I said. Dean tensed at the action, but put a reassuring hand on my back. "Sorry," I slurred. The guys helped me into the house, where Cassidy was waiting in the den, first aid kit in one hand, a towel in the other. They put me on the couch, I leaned back into the cushions trying to calm down my racing heart beat.

"Guys, I'm okay." I coughed through a sob, looking at their concerned faces, it was obvious that they didn't believe me. That's fair.

"Where were you?" Dean got down next to me, "Tiger, what happened?" I shook my head, taking the towel from Cassidy, wiping the blood off my arms.

"I've never...Dad I don't know." I clambered to my feet and got into the kitchen, turning on the sink, I ran my arms under the warm water. I felt them all watching me. My clothes were burned, I was covered in soot and blood and all I could tell them was that I didn't know. I felt their eyes on me, watching my every move. I braced myself against the sink and tried to regulate my breathing. There were no words being said but their questions were bursting at the seams.

"How long was I gone?"

"Five days," Dad said, "We thought..."

"That I ran?"

"No, that," Cassidy started, "That she had you."

"Did she?" Bobby's voice was soft.

"No." I breathed, turning to face them. "No, Lily was nowhere near this." My eyes began to blur with tears, "It was gods, they- they took us both and it was the same people...things that had been chasing Jesse since the start. There were these other kids, and we were in this place, and I don't know what happened, or how they got us, but it was like all the times before." I forced myself to speak calmly, "They wanted to own us. Break the two of us so that we would submit. They wanted to use us. Kek, he, he trace the letter on Jesse and put nails through his palms. I've never seen anything like that."

"How did you-" Sam asked coming into the room, taking a seat from the table. The others followed after him.

"We made a plan, the two of us and these other kids. But it backfired so bad, that's why Kek attacked Jesse. Then we made a new plan, I'd take the blame, take the beating and then bust us out. It was stupid," I sobbed putting a hand to my mouth, "He used an angel blade and he sliced my arms open and I couldn't stop bleeding." I looked down at the long white scars that now covered my arms. "Then there was nothing. It was like I was underwater. Everything was distant and cold, but that it got hot. I was burning, and everything came back into focus..." I shook my head, freaked out by the flash images that spammed my memory.

"Then I was up above the table, and I was glowing, this awful blue-white light. My arms were still bleeding but in my hand, I had Kek's heart...I lost control. Completely. Jesse, he was going to protect that other kids, but there was this look on his face..." I looked up at Castiel, who had remained standing in the doorway, "It felt like when you sent me to the other place. Then I was here." My heart rate was finally calming down.