Shadow of the Wind - Chapter Seven: Two for Sympathy
Title: Shadow of the Wind
Subtitle: Two for Sympathy
Author: dracox-serdriel
There was a fire burning on earth.
People gathered, though more slowly than the angels. Most came alone, but a few came in pairs. Though no human eye could perceive it, their minds could sense it, the purification. The sacred. Even humans, the most desperately curious of all God's creations, saw this fire and voiced none of their questions.
'How long will it burn?'
Defiance, Ohio. March 3, 2007.
Cas approached the Milton Residence and knocked on the door. A young woman answered.
"Hello," she said. "Listen, my parents aren't home, so -"
Cas interrupted, "Anna, I'm here to see you."
"About what?"
"Don't you recognize me?"
"No, should I?"
Cas paused. "I know you might not believe me, but I know you, and you know me. I've come because something in your past puts you and your family in danger."
"I don't have a past," Anna said. "You should leave."
Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.
Sam had books spread out across the war room. Cas wasn't sure if he was reading or sleeping in the book he had out.
"Sam?"
"What? Yeah," Sam replied.
"You all right?"
"Yeah, I was just looking for anything that could help us with tomorrow."
"Sleep would be a better use of your time," Cas said.
"It occurred to me that we haven't had a chance to talk."
"We speak frequently."
"No, I mean..." Sam began. "Listen, every decision you've made for the past year has been about getting the job done. I appreciate that, but you ever think about what's next?"
"No."
"Cas, you're human. You've got human emotions. It's all right to want something for yourself."
"There is one thing I learned by being mortal."
"What?"
"You have to let people make their own decisions."
"You mean like Crowley?"
"Actually, I was speaking of Anna."
Defiance, Ohio. March 3, 2007.
"I don't have a past," Anna said. "You should leave."
"When you were two, you started saying your father was not your father," Cas said. "You began ranting that your real father was angry with you."
"How do you know that?"
"I can't explain," he replied. "But in less than two years, if you do nothing, your parents will be killed."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. I wouldn't hurt you, but you are in danger now because you don't know who you are, not really," Cas said. "I only came to warn you."
"Warn me of what?" she asked.
"I know you don't want to, but if you don't, your family will die."
"Do what?"
"Take this back," he said. He handed her a small vial of beautiful, translucent liquid, her Grace.
"What is this?" she asked as she took the vial. "It seems... familiar."
"That's because it's yours. It belongs to you."
"What does that mean?"
He shook his head and handed her a scrap of paper with an address and phone number.
"If you ever need to talk, you can call me," he said before he turned away.
"Wait," Anna said. "Who are you?"
"An old friend," he replied over his shoulder.
Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.
Cas continued, "Anyway, what Crowley said is true. We should get help."
"I thought Anna already agreed," Sam said.
"I mean, demonic help," Cas explained. "What if you have to do the trials in order? You'd have to do the third trial again."
"That would suck."
"We could capture a demon, but a better option would be someone who would fight with us, be on our side," Cas said. "Dean mentioned that you had a friendly demon around this time, didn't you?"
"She was a traitorous bitch."
Cas asked, "But before she showed her true colors, didn't she help you?"
"Yeah, Ruby," Sam replied. "So what? She knows Sam from this era, not me."
"She would be the best choice. She trusts the current version of you, and part of her role in things is to keep you alive."
"I might kill her on sight."
Cas's phone rang. "Hello?"
"Cas?" someone asked on the other end of the line.
"What is it, Ash?"
"There is a hellova lot of demonic activity," Ash replied. "Just wanted to give you a heads up!"
"Yes, thank you," Cas said as he hung up.
"I guess you're right," Sam commented.
"About what?"
"People making their own choices. I mean, somehow, you managed to save Ash."
The Roadhouse. March 3, 2007.
Cas sat at the bar for a long time. Ellen threw him a few sideways glances, but she seemed to accept him sometime after his third beer.
"Hey there," Ash said as he plopped in the seat next to him. "You're new."
"I suppose," Cas replied.
"Jo said you wanted to talk to me."
"Uh, yes," Cas said. "John Winchester and I worked a case a while back. I heard you were in contact with him."
"Uh, big no on that one," Ash said.
"What about his sons?"
"What's it to you?"
Cas turned to Ash. "Listen, the stuff John did didn't just get him killed. He was hunted. At war, you could say. I've been trying to reach out to his old contacts to warn them, so far, all of them are dead."
"Yeah, well, that's the game, isn't it?"
"Whatever the Winchesters have asked you to do, it's dangerous. It will get you killed."
"Don't I know it."
"No, not hypothetical. It will kill you."
"Huh," Ash said. "What do you recommend, then?"
"Play dead," Cas replied.
"I'm not a dog, though others might tell you otherwise."
"Then be careful who you speak to," Cas said.
"Aw, shucks," Ash said. "I don't know you. So why do you think I'm gonna listen?"
Cas shrugged. "Can I get another beer, please?" he asked Ellen.
Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.
Cas shrugged. He wasn't sure what Sam wanted, but he didn't like where this conversation was headed.
"I didn't," Cas said.
"You didn't?"
"I didn't save Ash. He saved himself."
The Roadhouse. May 10, 2007.
"Listen, Dean. I did find something," Ash said into the phone.
"Well, what?" Dean asked.
"I can't talk over this line, Dean."
"Come on, I don't have time for this!"
"Make time, okay? Because this," he stopped as a customer walked by. He made eye contact and said, "What's up? What's going on?" Once the passerby was out of an earshot, he continued. "Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother, this is, uhhhh, it's huge. So get here. Now."
He hung up.
"Oh, it's you," Ash remarked as Cas dropped into the next seat.
"Can I get a bowl of pretzels?" Cas asked Ellen.
"A bowl?" she asked.
"Yes, the largest bowl you have."
"All right," she said. "Weird SOB," she muttered as she left.
"You owe me your watch," Cas said to Ash.
"Is that right?"
"I've got the solution to your geographic puzzle."
"Hey, uh, Cas," Ellen said. "Sorry, we're outta pretzels. I'm gonna run right out and get'em. Ash, you mind keeping an eye on the place?"
"Sure thing," Ash said to Ellen. Then he turned to Cas, "You got a solution? Then lay it on me."
"You factored in barometric pressure incorrectly and also failed to include magnetic forces in the system," Cas said. "This algorithm can predict the weather with much higher accuracy."
Cas dropped a thick packet on the bar.
"Boy howdy, you're right," Ash said as he flipped through the pages. "This diagram here, where did it come from?"
"Years of observation."
"By the way, who's your friend?" Ash asked, pointing to the young woman who had been staring at Cas.
"Huh, she must've followed me here," Cas replied. "She's an old friend who can't remember me."
Ash laughed. "You're the weirdest hunter I've ever met. Rightfully yours," he said as he passed off his watch. "Use it wisely."
Cas put his prize on the counter. He turned to the young woman and asked, "Anna, would you like to join us?"
She hesitated. "I don't want to interrupt."
"Don't worry 'bout it," Ash said. "We're just talking about the weather."
Just as Anna joined them at the bar, the windows shattered inward. Fire erupted at every door, and black smoke filled the room.
"Get down!" Cas yelled.
Ash, Anna, and Cas hit the floor, and they half-crawled, half-rolled behind the bar. Ellen maintained salt lines around the serving area, but the attack had already scattered drinks and busted bottles, leaving an ever-growing puddle ready to dissolve their one line of defense.
"What's happening?" Anna asked.
"Damn demon attack," Ash replied. "Basically, we're screwed!"
"Demons?" Anna repeated.
"I'm so sorry, Anna," Cas said.
"What it this?" she asked, holding out the vial he had given her two months ago. "I mean, what happens when I use it? How do I use it?"
"Just smash it open!" Cas yelled over the sounds of slaughter.
There was a moment of indecision when Anna stared into Castiel's eyes, desperately afraid. Suddenly, she steeled herself, and in the next instant, she leapt over the bar and threw the vial to the ground.
"Ash, close your eyes!" Cas shouted.
Suddenly, a blinding light filled the Roadhouse as Anna became Anael, the angel. Her body exploded, and her essence evaporated the demons in a quarter-mile radius. Ash and Cas were thrown, hard, into the back of the bar. Glass was everywhere.
Then everything stopped.
"Cas, you all right?" Ash asked as he got to his feet. "We might be the only ones. What was that?"
"Sorry," Cas said weakly. His hands slipped in his own blood as he grabbed at the long piece of wood that impaled him.
"Holy hell, man," Ash said. "You hang on in there. I'll get help, all right?"
A high-pitched sound cascaded around them, shaking what remained of The Roadhouse. Ash fell on his knees, grabbing his ears in pain.
"Yes, Anna!" Cas yelled at the sky. "I accept you!"
Mercifully, the sound ceased, and Cas stood. He touched Ash and all his injuries disappeared. Then he pulled the plank of wood from his own body, and his flesh restored.
"What's going on?" Ask asked. "How did you - "
Before he could finish the question, Cas collapsed.
"Cas? Man, come on! Wake up! Too much freaky shit just went down for you to leave me here alone."
Ash shook him until Cas opened his eyes.
"That was Anna," Cas explained as he got to his feet.
"Was?"
"She wanted to help, but it's better if she goes into hiding. It's... what is it that people say? A long story."
"Right, sure. We should leave before something else blows up."
"My car is down the road, it might've survived," Cas suggested. "Give me a minute."
Ash stumbled out of the Roadhouse wreckage. Cas considered the watch he won moments before nearly dying. It was singed. Perhaps time was not the best thing for him. He took it off, but he felt throwing it away would be a waste. He spotted a man's arm reaching out from under debris. With as much reverence as possible, he wrapped watch around the man's wrist before leaving.
Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.
Sam shook his head. "Cas, you did plenty of saving."
"He chose to trust me," Cas replied.
"Yeah, and you saved him."
"Anna saved him. And me. And Ash saved Anna. I was just the middleman."
Sam began, "Cas - "
He interrupted, "Go to bed, Sam. You need sleep."
"No arguments here," Sam said. "What about you?"
"I require water," Cas replied. "I'll be back in bed once hydrated."
Next Chapter: >>>
Chapter Eight: A Half Truth
<<< Previous Chapter:
Chapter Six: Death and Pain and Sin
Subtitle: Two for Sympathy
Author: dracox-serdriel
There was a fire burning on earth.
People gathered, though more slowly than the angels. Most came alone, but a few came in pairs. Though no human eye could perceive it, their minds could sense it, the purification. The sacred. Even humans, the most desperately curious of all God's creations, saw this fire and voiced none of their questions.
'How long will it burn?'
Defiance, Ohio. March 3, 2007.
Cas approached the Milton Residence and knocked on the door. A young woman answered.
"Hello," she said. "Listen, my parents aren't home, so -"
Cas interrupted, "Anna, I'm here to see you."
"About what?"
"Don't you recognize me?"
"No, should I?"
Cas paused. "I know you might not believe me, but I know you, and you know me. I've come because something in your past puts you and your family in danger."
"I don't have a past," Anna said. "You should leave."
Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.
Sam had books spread out across the war room. Cas wasn't sure if he was reading or sleeping in the book he had out.
"Sam?"
"What? Yeah," Sam replied.
"You all right?"
"Yeah, I was just looking for anything that could help us with tomorrow."
"Sleep would be a better use of your time," Cas said.
"It occurred to me that we haven't had a chance to talk."
"We speak frequently."
"No, I mean..." Sam began. "Listen, every decision you've made for the past year has been about getting the job done. I appreciate that, but you ever think about what's next?"
"No."
"Cas, you're human. You've got human emotions. It's all right to want something for yourself."
"There is one thing I learned by being mortal."
"What?"
"You have to let people make their own decisions."
"You mean like Crowley?"
"Actually, I was speaking of Anna."
Defiance, Ohio. March 3, 2007.
"I don't have a past," Anna said. "You should leave."
"When you were two, you started saying your father was not your father," Cas said. "You began ranting that your real father was angry with you."
"How do you know that?"
"I can't explain," he replied. "But in less than two years, if you do nothing, your parents will be killed."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. I wouldn't hurt you, but you are in danger now because you don't know who you are, not really," Cas said. "I only came to warn you."
"Warn me of what?" she asked.
"I know you don't want to, but if you don't, your family will die."
"Do what?"
"Take this back," he said. He handed her a small vial of beautiful, translucent liquid, her Grace.
"What is this?" she asked as she took the vial. "It seems... familiar."
"That's because it's yours. It belongs to you."
"What does that mean?"
He shook his head and handed her a scrap of paper with an address and phone number.
"If you ever need to talk, you can call me," he said before he turned away.
"Wait," Anna said. "Who are you?"
"An old friend," he replied over his shoulder.
Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.
Cas continued, "Anyway, what Crowley said is true. We should get help."
"I thought Anna already agreed," Sam said.
"I mean, demonic help," Cas explained. "What if you have to do the trials in order? You'd have to do the third trial again."
"That would suck."
"We could capture a demon, but a better option would be someone who would fight with us, be on our side," Cas said. "Dean mentioned that you had a friendly demon around this time, didn't you?"
"She was a traitorous bitch."
Cas asked, "But before she showed her true colors, didn't she help you?"
"Yeah, Ruby," Sam replied. "So what? She knows Sam from this era, not me."
"She would be the best choice. She trusts the current version of you, and part of her role in things is to keep you alive."
"I might kill her on sight."
Cas's phone rang. "Hello?"
"Cas?" someone asked on the other end of the line.
"What is it, Ash?"
"There is a hellova lot of demonic activity," Ash replied. "Just wanted to give you a heads up!"
"Yes, thank you," Cas said as he hung up.
"I guess you're right," Sam commented.
"About what?"
"People making their own choices. I mean, somehow, you managed to save Ash."
The Roadhouse. March 3, 2007.
Cas sat at the bar for a long time. Ellen threw him a few sideways glances, but she seemed to accept him sometime after his third beer.
"Hey there," Ash said as he plopped in the seat next to him. "You're new."
"I suppose," Cas replied.
"Jo said you wanted to talk to me."
"Uh, yes," Cas said. "John Winchester and I worked a case a while back. I heard you were in contact with him."
"Uh, big no on that one," Ash said.
"What about his sons?"
"What's it to you?"
Cas turned to Ash. "Listen, the stuff John did didn't just get him killed. He was hunted. At war, you could say. I've been trying to reach out to his old contacts to warn them, so far, all of them are dead."
"Yeah, well, that's the game, isn't it?"
"Whatever the Winchesters have asked you to do, it's dangerous. It will get you killed."
"Don't I know it."
"No, not hypothetical. It will kill you."
"Huh," Ash said. "What do you recommend, then?"
"Play dead," Cas replied.
"I'm not a dog, though others might tell you otherwise."
"Then be careful who you speak to," Cas said.
"Aw, shucks," Ash said. "I don't know you. So why do you think I'm gonna listen?"
Cas shrugged. "Can I get another beer, please?" he asked Ellen.
Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.
Cas shrugged. He wasn't sure what Sam wanted, but he didn't like where this conversation was headed.
"I didn't," Cas said.
"You didn't?"
"I didn't save Ash. He saved himself."
The Roadhouse. May 10, 2007.
"Listen, Dean. I did find something," Ash said into the phone.
"Well, what?" Dean asked.
"I can't talk over this line, Dean."
"Come on, I don't have time for this!"
"Make time, okay? Because this," he stopped as a customer walked by. He made eye contact and said, "What's up? What's going on?" Once the passerby was out of an earshot, he continued. "Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother, this is, uhhhh, it's huge. So get here. Now."
He hung up.
"Oh, it's you," Ash remarked as Cas dropped into the next seat.
"Can I get a bowl of pretzels?" Cas asked Ellen.
"A bowl?" she asked.
"Yes, the largest bowl you have."
"All right," she said. "Weird SOB," she muttered as she left.
"You owe me your watch," Cas said to Ash.
"Is that right?"
"I've got the solution to your geographic puzzle."
"Hey, uh, Cas," Ellen said. "Sorry, we're outta pretzels. I'm gonna run right out and get'em. Ash, you mind keeping an eye on the place?"
"Sure thing," Ash said to Ellen. Then he turned to Cas, "You got a solution? Then lay it on me."
"You factored in barometric pressure incorrectly and also failed to include magnetic forces in the system," Cas said. "This algorithm can predict the weather with much higher accuracy."
Cas dropped a thick packet on the bar.
"Boy howdy, you're right," Ash said as he flipped through the pages. "This diagram here, where did it come from?"
"Years of observation."
"By the way, who's your friend?" Ash asked, pointing to the young woman who had been staring at Cas.
"Huh, she must've followed me here," Cas replied. "She's an old friend who can't remember me."
Ash laughed. "You're the weirdest hunter I've ever met. Rightfully yours," he said as he passed off his watch. "Use it wisely."
Cas put his prize on the counter. He turned to the young woman and asked, "Anna, would you like to join us?"
She hesitated. "I don't want to interrupt."
"Don't worry 'bout it," Ash said. "We're just talking about the weather."
Just as Anna joined them at the bar, the windows shattered inward. Fire erupted at every door, and black smoke filled the room.
"Get down!" Cas yelled.
Ash, Anna, and Cas hit the floor, and they half-crawled, half-rolled behind the bar. Ellen maintained salt lines around the serving area, but the attack had already scattered drinks and busted bottles, leaving an ever-growing puddle ready to dissolve their one line of defense.
"What's happening?" Anna asked.
"Damn demon attack," Ash replied. "Basically, we're screwed!"
"Demons?" Anna repeated.
"I'm so sorry, Anna," Cas said.
"What it this?" she asked, holding out the vial he had given her two months ago. "I mean, what happens when I use it? How do I use it?"
"Just smash it open!" Cas yelled over the sounds of slaughter.
There was a moment of indecision when Anna stared into Castiel's eyes, desperately afraid. Suddenly, she steeled herself, and in the next instant, she leapt over the bar and threw the vial to the ground.
"Ash, close your eyes!" Cas shouted.
Suddenly, a blinding light filled the Roadhouse as Anna became Anael, the angel. Her body exploded, and her essence evaporated the demons in a quarter-mile radius. Ash and Cas were thrown, hard, into the back of the bar. Glass was everywhere.
Then everything stopped.
"Cas, you all right?" Ash asked as he got to his feet. "We might be the only ones. What was that?"
"Sorry," Cas said weakly. His hands slipped in his own blood as he grabbed at the long piece of wood that impaled him.
"Holy hell, man," Ash said. "You hang on in there. I'll get help, all right?"
A high-pitched sound cascaded around them, shaking what remained of The Roadhouse. Ash fell on his knees, grabbing his ears in pain.
"Yes, Anna!" Cas yelled at the sky. "I accept you!"
Mercifully, the sound ceased, and Cas stood. He touched Ash and all his injuries disappeared. Then he pulled the plank of wood from his own body, and his flesh restored.
"What's going on?" Ask asked. "How did you - "
Before he could finish the question, Cas collapsed.
"Cas? Man, come on! Wake up! Too much freaky shit just went down for you to leave me here alone."
Ash shook him until Cas opened his eyes.
"That was Anna," Cas explained as he got to his feet.
"Was?"
"She wanted to help, but it's better if she goes into hiding. It's... what is it that people say? A long story."
"Right, sure. We should leave before something else blows up."
"My car is down the road, it might've survived," Cas suggested. "Give me a minute."
Ash stumbled out of the Roadhouse wreckage. Cas considered the watch he won moments before nearly dying. It was singed. Perhaps time was not the best thing for him. He took it off, but he felt throwing it away would be a waste. He spotted a man's arm reaching out from under debris. With as much reverence as possible, he wrapped watch around the man's wrist before leaving.
Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.
Sam shook his head. "Cas, you did plenty of saving."
"He chose to trust me," Cas replied.
"Yeah, and you saved him."
"Anna saved him. And me. And Ash saved Anna. I was just the middleman."
Sam began, "Cas - "
He interrupted, "Go to bed, Sam. You need sleep."
"No arguments here," Sam said. "What about you?"
"I require water," Cas replied. "I'll be back in bed once hydrated."
Next Chapter: >>>
Chapter Eight: A Half Truth
<<< Previous Chapter:
Chapter Six: Death and Pain and Sin