The Dream I Dreamed (A Dean Winchester Love Story)

Chapter 17: As They Tear You Hope Apart

Chapter 17 As They Tear Your Hope Apart

Hope wasn't speaking to Sam. She understood that he was angry, and she agreed that Dean had made a mistake by not telling Sam about Gadreel, but that was no reason to let your brother go off on his own, especially when he thought that he was poison to the people he loved.

She really wasn't even happy with Cas, but she responded to him when he asked her a question, which was more than Sam could say. Dean had been gone for more than two weeks and she spent most of her time reading off by herself somewhere after her first few attempts to find Dean and bring him home failed. He simply didn't want to be found, which made Hope even angrier at the ones who let him go.

Which is why neither of them noticed right away that she was missing. Not until Castiel heard the Horn of Gabriel.

He was finishing up a healing session with Sam when he froze, his muscles going rigid. "Cas?" Sam asked, concerned. The angel didn't respond. "Cas?" Sam asked again. Castiel didn't even look at him, just walked out of the room.

Sam climbed out of his chair and chased after the angel. By the time he got to the main room of the bunker, Cas was out the door. "What the hell?" Sam muttered to himself. "Hope?" he called. No reply came, which wasn't unusual. Nevertheless, he tried again. "Hope?"

He searched the entire bunker. Most of the time he could at least find Hope--normally in the library or Dean's room--but now she was nowhere. A pang of unexpected loneliness washed over Sam as he realized that the bunker was empty except for himself. Where did they go?

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Castiel found himself driving up to an abandoned warehouse in a stolen car. He wasn't sure exactly why he came; there was some pull, some voice calling him that he couldn't resist. He stopped the car and walked inside.

The sight that met him was enough to shock him out of the trance that he had been in; the ground was littered with bodies. Castiel would've said they were angels but they lacked the ashen wings that marked the death of a celestial being.

A muted sound drew his attention to the corner where two demons stood holding...Hope?

Before Cas could react, the demons began chanting. A bright light emitted from a sigil painted on the wall. The Horn of Gabriel. Castiel could see Hope's wings emerging, huge and shadowy.

One of the demons holding Hope grabbed her wings and pulled them sharply away from her body. She screamed as they were ripped from her shoulders and suddenly Cas understood. White light erupted from Hope, glinting off of the angel blade on its way to her chest. Cas lunged forward and knocked the blade to the ground. He shoved the demon against the wall but was dragged off of him by his companion, who had dropped Hope to grab Castiel. The first demon walked toward him, black eyes glinting cruelly.

"Cas!" Hope called from the floor. He looked to the sound as she tossed him the angel blade that she had retrieved from where the demon had dropped it. He caught it and plunged its point into his attacker's chest, then turned and stabbed his captor. Both demons erupted in a flash of white light.

Castiel dropped the angel blade and ran to Hope. She was slumped on the floor, clutching her abdomen, eyes squeezed shut. "Hope?" Cas asked. "Hope, are you alright?"

She nodded tightly. "Fine." She breathed.

Cas looked around nervously. "We need to get out of here before more of Bartholomew's people show up." Hope nodded again. "Can you stand?"

"I think so--ah!!" Hope cried, her legs buckling as she tried to get to her feet.

Castiel caught her. "I've got you." He said, scooping her into his arms and carrying her out of the warehouse to his car. He sat her gently in the passenger seat and she leaned her head back against the headrest, her eyes still closed. As Cas climbed into the car he remembered how he had left the bunker, left Sam, abrupt, with no explanation. He reached into his pocket to call Sam but realized he had left his phone at the bunker. "Damn it!" he muttered. With one more glance at Hope, he started the engine and began driving to the bunker.