Fic-Crossover-Supernatural:Aliens-Dean,Cas,Sam - (6/?)
Yeah! Livejournal started working for me long enough to post this; hopefully you guys enjoy this one :)
Title: Supernatural: Aliens
Author: nicole9514
Chapter: 6/?
Rating: R
Genre: AU/horror/action/crossover - Dean/Castiel pre-slash or friendship depending on preference
Characters: Dean Winchester,Castiel, Sam Winchester, and OC's
Warnings: Violence,language, gore, scary imagery, blood, death
Disclaimer: Only written for fun. I own nothing but the errors and OC's.
A/N: Goes AU after episode 5 X 18 - Team free will fic, but with a heavy focus on Dean/Cas friendship/strong bond, so if you don't like their dynamic you probably won't enjoy this fic.
Special Thanks: To my beta skylar_matthews. To jedakin for reading this fic and encouraging/motivating me to keep writing it.
Summary:Takes place after the events of Season five's Point of No return - Dean, Cas, and Sam investigate a case different than anything they've ever seen before in Gunnison, Colorado.
Wordcount: 4,447 (total so far 40,000)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Castiel felt like the floor had dropped out from under him, his own fear and emotions were amplified by Dean’s coursing through him through their bond.
“Dean,” he gripped his friends shoulders, trying to reach him, but Dean wasn’t listening. “We’ll get him - Dean - we’ll find him.” He could see the hunter’s pulse jumping in his throat, could see beads of sweat on his brow.
Cas heard the dial tone. Each second of dead air felt as if it was sucking the oxygen from the room.
That spine chilling noise he’d heard right before Sam’s scream - it was foreign, animalistic, and predatory. It had sounded like death, and he prayed they hadn’t just heard Sam’s last moments. He prayed Dean did not have to carry that burden on top of the many others he bore - he prayed they would somehow find Sam in time.
He dug his fingers into Dean’s biceps and shook him. Dean blinked, his hand still locked around the phone, his bottom lip quivered slightly before his face hardened.
“We’re leaving now. Grab everything.”
Cas wondered briefly how Dean planned to get there, it was at least thirty minutes away on foot; his brain raced over this even while he was already moving. He had to be strong; he had to be Dean’s partner now, Sam needed them.
Sam who cared so much about the both of them that he’d left them alone, giving them a kick when they needed it most - he hadn’t realized this until after he and Dean and finished ‘clearing the air.” It took him longer to grasp human behaviors and motivations, but usually, when it was important he did eventually get it.
He wanted the chance to thank him.
He could handle this, and he wouldn’t let either of them down.
Cas grabbed a duffel, slipped into his stolen black jacket, turned, and Dean was already at the door, his own bag in tow.
Dean jogged over to a gray, Honda civic that was parked a few spaces from their room. He dropped his bag on ground, and using his elbow smashed the window. Dean unlocked the door, slid inside, and immediately leaned over to unlock the passenger seat door. Cas didn’t need any further cue’s; he opened it, flung his pack in the back seat, and sat down while Dean got to work hot wiring the car.
Cas watched as his friends fingers worked the wiring, made a twisting motion, then the car flared to life.
Dean put it in reverse, floored it, the tires screeched on the pavement, then he changed gears and they were flying from the parking lot.
Once again Cas wished for his abilities - he could have had them at Sam’s location in seconds. Being human and living by human rules was hard, especially when someone you cared about had their life hanging in the balance.
He glanced at Dean’s face in the dim light cast from the dashboard and street lights, his jaw was tight, his chest rising and falling rapidly, shoulders stiff.
Internally he was riding a roller coaster of guilt, fear, desperation, anger, and helplessness and Cas had to distance himself, put up a metaphorical wall of sorts to keep himself from being swept up in the ride.
His own emotions were bad enough; he couldn’t handle Dean’s as well.
The drive was over in less than ten minutes, but it felt like days. Every second his muscles seemed to coil more tightly, each breath his lungs felt tighter. By the time Dean pulled up alongside the Impala Cas was ready to explode from all the nervous energy buzzing inside of him.
There were only a few other cars in the lot Cas noted, less chance someone saw something that might help them find Sam.
They had barely passed any other cars on the road, this town was scared. He got the feeling not much normally happened here. The missing hunters, and the dead body in the hospital had the people afraid.
Dean thrust a flashlight at him, and a handgun, his eyes locking with Cas. “Cover me.”
Cas nodded as Dean checked his weapon, one he’d been told was called a shotgun.
They both exited, Cas immediately followed Dean, his light shining all around as they scouted the area. Dean moved slowly and cautiously despite an edge to each movement that told Cas he was itching to run around screaming Sam’s name.
They stayed close to each other, a dry rough sound had them both jerking their guns to the right. Cas watched the wind blow through some trees, their branches brushing against each other.
Dean grumbled something, then they moved on checking the entire square lot. It could probably hold about thirty cars, in front was a hardware store, and the rear was more forest. Cas hated how silent it was - only the wind and their footsteps broke the eerie quiet.
They’d checked the entire perimeter of the lot, arriving back at the Impala. No sign of Sam, no sign of a struggle, no anything.
It looked normal.
Cas found that to be terrifying. If whatever this was could swoop in, grab Sam, and leave no sign how would they find him?
Dean’s eyes found his again as they paused at the car, he could see the same horrible realization cascading through those green orbs as Dean struggled to keep his outward tough personae.
“Give me a moment,” Cas whispered, his voice sounding harsh in the still night as he held out the light to Dean. “I’m going to try and see if I can pick something up.”
Dean gave a stiff nod, taking the offered flashlight, a sliver of hope appeared on his features, and Cas prayed it wasn’t for nothing.
****
Dean kept his senses open and aware, still searching their surroundings while he watched Cas do his thing.
Eyes closed, his fingers reaching for the unseen, digging into what little he had left of his mojo for Sam, for him. Cas was one of them, had been for awhile, too bad it had taken Dean almost losing him for the millionth time to realize that.
Cas sucked in a breath, bit his bottom lip, then stepped forward, his hand coming to rest on the hood of the Impala, then he cringed and Dean was there in seconds hovering.
“You okay, what’s wrong?”
Cas opened his eyes, and gestured downward, lifting his hand that had been splayed across the hood. Thick, gooey, stringy, gunk dangled connecting Cas’s palm and the car.
“That’s just wrong.”
Cas pulled hard freeing his hand. “It’s the same Dean.”
Dean knew what he meant, the same shit Cas had found on that bag near a dead body in the woods. As if there had been any doubt that this was all connected.
Dean snarled, needing to hit something, anything. “This fucker is dead. First it takes Sam, then it drools all over my baby.” He needed to scream.
Sam, what if he was…
Dean had to fight the urge to break another window on the civic as he yanked out his phone, hating that he hadn’t thought of this sooner. He had to keep his head on straight; Sam’s life depended on it.
He tossed the light back to Cas, then called Sam, within moments he heard it. Soft, coming from near the road.
Cas’s eye’s widened in surprise and they raced towards it. The ringing got louder, then cut off. Dean redialed, they hit the sidewalk.
“There.” Cas pointed several feet away, his light illuminating Sam’s phone laying on the ground.
Dean snatched it up, and almost dropped it when he felt the cold, nasty drool all over it.
Cas made a small sound in his throat, Dean looked up. Cas was standing over a sewer grate several feet away.
Cas knelt down, waving Dean over.
Dean was there in seconds, his heart jumping.
“You see something?”
“No, I feel it.” Cas ran his finger tips over the metal, blinking rapidly. “It’s hard to explain, but this creature, it leaves a sense of coldness. A darkness that I’m getting more in tune with. It’s weak, but it went this way.”
If anybody else had said something hokey like that Dean would have laughed in their faces. There weren’t many real psychics or seers in the world. He thought most of them were full of shit and out to make a quick buck off the desperate.
Cas was different - he was one in a million and if he said Sam was down in that dark, creepy, shit hole Dean believed him.
“Then I guess I’m going down there.”
Cas grabbed his arm. “We’re going down there.”
Dean swallowed, a sense of gratitude washed over him, then guilt at his selfishness for wanting to drag Cas into this with him. Cas wasn’t ready for this, fuck he couldn’t even do his own hair. He hadn’t even had time to train him with firearms let alone hand to hand when you weren’t endowed with superhuman strength.
Dean could not handle the thought of Cas getting killed down in some dank sewer.
He was the closest thing he’d ever had to a best friend. Their lives didn’t allow for luxuries like friendship, even when they’d been in school. Constantly moving, never getting attached.
Cas was staring through his skin again, his eyes burning with determination and loyalty. Cas was coming; nothing Dean could say would stop him, and to be honest, it might have been selfish, but he wanted him there.
Fuck, Sam was right. They did have a bromance. Castiel, the odd former angel who was still figuring out how to tie his shoelaces was his freaking best friend and he wasn’t ashamed of it. That didn’t mean he was going to go shouting it from rooftops or spouting sonnets, but he could admit it to himself at least.
And he could take this offer of help without giving Cas shit for it.
“Thanks, Cas,” he managed.
He saw relief in those blue eyes; Cas had been braced for a fight.
“First let’s stock up on the necessities.”
They darted back to the civic, grabbing ammo, flares, and a secondary weapon for each. Dean would have taken a sword, or some machete’s but considering these fucks bled acid, getting that close wasn’t going to be an option.
Besides the weapon would be destroyed, eaten away by the toxic blood.
Dean gave Cas a five minute lesson on how to load, and fire a sawed off shotgun. He knew he could handle the 9mm, but a shotgun was different, more kick for one. Cas caught on fast, repeating, and demonstrating everything back without error after only being shown once.
Dean kept his shotgun, and took another handgun for himself. Tossing Cas an extra clip of ammo, and pocketing one for himself.
They headed back to the entrance of the sewer system. Together they hefted up the cover, and Dean realized this thing was apparently smart enough to close the door behind itself.
The hairs on the back of his neck rose up, and his spine tingled. A nagging itch that something or someone was watching them. Dean glanced around, but saw nothing but darkness and forest.
He really hated this case.
Dean lit a flare and tossed it down the hole, it landed with a clank. Red light erupted flooding the tunnel below with its glow.
“You ready?” He asked Cas who’s pale skin had flickers of reddish streaks passing across it. His gaze was focused, his hands steady over the shotgun he cradled.
“Yes.”
“Alright. Let’s get this parted started.”
*****
Cas covered Dean while he climbed down the rungs of the ladder. He reached the bottom and immediately panned his light around, his head turned in the direction of the tunnel that waited for them ahead. Cas reminded himself to keep breathing as he waited for the all clear signal.
Several seconds later Dean waved him down. Cas holstered his shotgun, placing it in the strap that lined his back Dean had given to him. He took one last breath of the cool night air before descending.
It seemed to get cooler with each step down, his hands were sweaty and he almost lost his footing halfway down, thankfully Dean didn’t notice.
As his sneakers touched the firm ground, he kept his steps as light as possible, but Cas could still hear the quiet slosh of water as he shifted his feet.
He retrieved his weapon, and took his turn taking in the scenery.
Behind them was a passage going one way and in front another. He could only see several feet in either direction even with the flare and his flashlight. Cas turned his beam to the sides. Small streams of dirty, chunky water flowed underneath their feet, Cas could hear it and see portions of it that lined the slightly elevated path they were standing on. Cas knew between the claustrophobic feel, the pitch darkness ahead, the blind spots, and the smell of feces and rotting garbage he’d just found something he hated more than forests.
Sewers were worse.
He jumped as something skittered by - a huge rat dashed past them - both he and Dean had their shotguns pointed at the thing as it vanished into the black.
A lot worse.
Dean flashed a relived smile, then leaned close, stepping into Cas’s light and mouthed. “Which way?”
Cas nodded, first moving backwards a few steps reaching out with what ever grace he had left, praying it was enough.
Nothing.
Cas moved forward - he took six steps before he felt it. A cold - hostile presence. Foreign. Alien.
He met Dean’s gaze and no words or gestures were needed.
Dean bent down and picked up the flare he’d dropped that was still burning and tossed it further down the tunnel ahead.
There was barely enough room for two people to walk side-by- side. They were going to have to take it single file if they wanted to have room to maneuver and didn’t want to trip over each other.
Dean realized this as well and frowned, signaling for Cas to follow close behind.
They moved slowly, their steps light, their movements in sync.
When Dean stepped forward, Cas mirrored it, they were never more than a few steps apart.
He felt a rat brush up against his shoe and it took all that he had to keep silent. Dean cursed as a few others crossed in front of them.
Five minutes in, both their lights struggling to penetrate the black, a loud clanking echoed down the corridor.
They both looked behind them, then in front, then behind again.
Nothing.
“Where the fuck did that come from?” Dean managed to snarl even at a whisper.
“I can’t tell.”
“You getting anything wonky?”
“No,” he breathed, “Just the same as before, but it is getting stronger.”
A muscle on Dean’s jaw twitched. “I hate that we don’t even know if that‘s a good or bad thing.” Dean squinted into the dark, angling his light upward, then downward, then ahead again. “And I really hate that we don’t know what this thing even looks like now.”
Cas touched Dean’s shoulder, and let it linger for a moment, hoping to communicate what he didn’t know how to put into words. Hoping to comfort.
Dean inhaled, gave him a weak grin, and started moving forward again.
They’d walked for another few minutes when Cas noticed he was getting hot, the damp, coolness that had enveloped them was vanishing.
It felt hot, dry, and the rats had all vanished.
He knew some animals avoided predators - the thought was not comforting.
His feet connected with something uneven, and unexpected after the constant firm, stable metal they’d been walking across.
Dean paused, lighting another flare, it lit up the area.
Cas didn’t understand what he was seeing - he just knew it wasn’t natural.
An unknown material coated everything starting from a few inches behind him and extending forward as far as the light could reach.
It crisscrossed across the ceiling, the floor, and the walls, forming bizarre patterns. He could see some of the actual underlying structure of pipes and fragments of the wall, but most of it was covered in the same dark gray substance. In some places the groves and dips formed the illusion of a skeletal structure.
He reached out, letting his palm rest against it. It was hard - resin like. He inched closer, his nose almost brushing the substance, in some places where it was thinner it was very similar to the color of the secretions he’d found on the bag, and on top of Dean’s car.
Cas swallowed, jumping when Dean’s arm clamped over his wrist and yanked him backwards.
“Are you trying to get killed?”
Cas blinked.
“Don’t touch anything!” He whispered, his tone harsh.
Cas nodded, gripping the shotgun tightly his eyes darting every which way.
Dean sighed. “Fuck this fucking town and this fucking insane case,” he growled.
Cas raised an eyebrow. “At least this probably means we are on the right track.”
Dean glared at him, then chuckled quietly. “Yeah.”
“Let’s just find Sam,” Cas urged, anxious to get out of these things domain.
“Yep. Be careful, and keep those angel senses on high alert.”
“I will.”
They kept moving forward, the tunnel branched off to the right and left several meters up ahead. Cas could feel each uneven step, his sneaker stuck to the ground in spots but he yanked it free and pressed on.
How long had these creatures been here? It couldn’t have been longer than two weeks and they’d done all of this. How many of them were there? It had to be more than one. Cas only knew one thing; they had to stop them, if these monsters could build an entire nest for themselves in days what could they do in a month, a year?
Two were already confirmed missing, two dead that they knew of but who knew how many homeless might have been snatched away and dragged down here without anyone noticing.
They reached the intersection. Dean’s expression quietly asked, “Which way?”
Cas had no idea. It all felt the same here. The strange energy was everywhere, all around them and he couldn’t feel Sam. If it had been Dean, Cas had no doubt he could have found him - their bond linked them - made him more sensitive to Dean.
He didn’t have that with Sam.
“I don’t know,” he whispered, his tone haunted.
“It’s okay.” Dean looked back and forth, then went left.
Cas didn’t question his logic, simply followed.
Water dripped, and splattered onto Cas’s shoulder and the ground. He looked up, his light reflecting off the alien substance.
Probably a leaky pipe.
Two more steps.
Movement to the right.
Cas spun, gun pointed at the wall.
At first he only saw more of that substance, then he raised his eyes and gasped.
Very scared, very wide, brown eyes stared back at him.
“Dean,” Cas rasped.
Dean spun, noticed the person hanging suspended from the wall, arms outstretched in a style that human’s would associate with the crucifixion, messy hair entangled with the secretions dripping down the man’s face, mixing with his tears as his mouth opened and closed soundlessly.
It was the missing hunter; it had to be.
“Hang on there man,” Dean soothed stepping closer, holstering his shotgun, and pulling a knife from his boot. “We’ll get you down from there.”
Cas felt a hatred so intense for whatever had strung this man up like this and left him alone in the dark that his vision tinged with red.
Dean’s voice calmed him slightly and he shined his light all over, protecting them both as Dean worked to free man.
That’s when Cas noticed another body hanging from the opposite wall. Head slumped forward, short dark hair, and a chest that had been destroyed - Cas knew he was staring at the missing child. The boy’s father had had to hang there, helpless and watch while his son had screamed for help - been forced to witness a monster burst from inside of his son.
His gaze drifted downward, not wanting to stare at the boys mutilated body any longer, and he was aiming his shotgun before he was aware of it. Directly underneath the boys feet lay a dead, dried, husk of one of the creatures that had attacked him. Its legs curled inward towards its body, Cas poked at it with the barrel of the gun; it didn’t react.
It must have fallen off the child after infecting him.
Hatred at these things surged again, then horror overshadowed it and he turned just as the man started coughing.
Oh God. No.
He saw the realization of what was about to happen hit Dean; he watched the million emotions pass over his face.
“Please…kill me,” the man, who couldn’t have been more than late forties pleaded, his voice weak, his eyes dead.
Cas’s mouth felt like sandpaper.
Time seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. Cas had seen the fallout, but never actually witnessed this nightmare. The blood that pooled on the front of the man’s chest, the sound of him heaving, and sobbing.
Dean, who always tried to act so tough had a single tear running from the corner of his eye as he pulled his handgun out, whispered an apology, and pulled the trigger ending the man’s suffering in an act of mercy that would haunt the hunter forever.
What if this was how they found Sam? Cas felt his heart ache, his knees turned to jello, but he didn’t waver. If that’s what it came down to, he would not let Dean take that weight on himself. If it came down to ending Sam’s suffering, he would do it.
Dean stood there, his weapon still aimed, his hand trembling so slightly if Cas hadn’t been looking for it, he never would have noticed.
Cas had just barely started breathing again when the wormlike monster burst out screeching and wailing, tiny arms, covered in the man’s blood clawing, reaching.
Dean fired again, hitting the thing in what appeared to be its head, it sunk down, dead. Its still body dangling from the man’s chest, hanging limp.
Acid dripped to the floor, landing in small drops, burning a small portion of exposed metal on the floor, but he noticed it didn’t even tarnish the area covered in that resin.
Cas turned towards Dean, words of comfort ready to spill from his lips when he saw the ceiling shift. He focused his beam upward, and his skin crawled.
What had once been more strange architecture became a living, breathing creature that slowly unraveled itself. First the tail dropped, long, black and serrated, the tip a pointed triangle. Then the entire, eight foot thing dropped down only meters behind Dean, barely making a sound. Its head was oblong, and its mouth was filled with dozens of long, dangerous teeth, while drool constantly dripped from its jaw in long, thick strands.
It was all black, a mixture of curves and sharp edges that walked on four legs. Each limb ended in vaguely human like appendages with long claws. The movement was predatory - cat like.
The word serpent or dragon flitted through his mind even as he grabbed Dean who was still staring at the man he’d had to gun down, and yanked him forward, shoving him behind him.
Cas heard Dean hiss, then shout something but he wasn’t listening, he was aiming.
The thing made that same awful noise that they’d heard on the phone, and it started to leap.
Cas fired, hitting it squarely in the chest, blowing it backwards. Acid sprayed, just missing them by inches, it hit the ground but its tail whipped around and it was up in seconds. Bleeding, really pissed off, and way too close for comfort.
He heard a sharp snarl as Dean lit another flare, and threw it at the thing. He’d probably intended to make it easier to see, instead the creature screeched and backed away from it. Like the heat scared it - it gave them a bit of breathing room.
Cas took advantage of it.
He lowered his aim, reacting on a hunch, and fired at its front limb. Less acid sprayed, and the serpent screeched, but even hobbled it still tried to move towards them.
Another shot went off as Dean took out its other front limb, it fell forward.
Cas watched in astonishment as the creature still tried to use its tail and back legs to push towards them - it had to be in agony but all it cared about was reaching them.
Dean moved closer, aiming at the things head, he fired. It finally went still.
They stood there panting, Dean met his gaze, eyes wild. “Assuming that’s what those little fuckers grow into there’s at least two more of them that we know of,” he gasped, lighting another flare and tossing it ahead of them.
Cas nodded. The man in the woods, the man in the hospital, and the boy had all had those creatures grow within them. And those were the ones they knew about. If Sam had been right and this had started two weeks ago because of whatever that plane had been carrying these things had had plenty of time to build up their numbers. They grew into those serpents within hours. This was not good, they had to find Sam, and then find a way to wipe this entire nest out.
They were breathing hard, and Cas couldn’t stop the slight trembling in his hands, and his heart was working on overtime.
The narrowness of the tunnel would actually benefit them, it would make it harder for them to be overwhelmed. Cas clung to that thought as they moved ahead, both flinching at every sound, shotguns ready, senses straining to make out anything in the sea of darkness all around them.
“Dean, it blended in with the wall perfectly.”
“I know. Stay alert, and we might just make it out of this deathtrap alive.”
Each step was taking them further from the only exit they were aware of, if there were any other hatches above them, these things had covered it with their secretions.
A scream of rage and defiance filled Cas’s ear drums.
Sam.
It was coming from up ahead.
He and Dean both raced forward; Cas hoped they weren’t too late.
Next Chapter
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Title: Supernatural: Aliens
Author: nicole9514
Chapter: 6/?
Rating: R
Genre: AU/horror/action/crossover - Dean/Castiel pre-slash or friendship depending on preference
Characters: Dean Winchester,Castiel, Sam Winchester, and OC's
Warnings: Violence,language, gore, scary imagery, blood, death
Disclaimer: Only written for fun. I own nothing but the errors and OC's.
A/N: Goes AU after episode 5 X 18 - Team free will fic, but with a heavy focus on Dean/Cas friendship/strong bond, so if you don't like their dynamic you probably won't enjoy this fic.
Special Thanks: To my beta skylar_matthews. To jedakin for reading this fic and encouraging/motivating me to keep writing it.
Summary:Takes place after the events of Season five's Point of No return - Dean, Cas, and Sam investigate a case different than anything they've ever seen before in Gunnison, Colorado.
Wordcount: 4,447 (total so far 40,000)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5
Castiel felt like the floor had dropped out from under him, his own fear and emotions were amplified by Dean’s coursing through him through their bond.
“Dean,” he gripped his friends shoulders, trying to reach him, but Dean wasn’t listening. “We’ll get him - Dean - we’ll find him.” He could see the hunter’s pulse jumping in his throat, could see beads of sweat on his brow.
Cas heard the dial tone. Each second of dead air felt as if it was sucking the oxygen from the room.
That spine chilling noise he’d heard right before Sam’s scream - it was foreign, animalistic, and predatory. It had sounded like death, and he prayed they hadn’t just heard Sam’s last moments. He prayed Dean did not have to carry that burden on top of the many others he bore - he prayed they would somehow find Sam in time.
He dug his fingers into Dean’s biceps and shook him. Dean blinked, his hand still locked around the phone, his bottom lip quivered slightly before his face hardened.
“We’re leaving now. Grab everything.”
Cas wondered briefly how Dean planned to get there, it was at least thirty minutes away on foot; his brain raced over this even while he was already moving. He had to be strong; he had to be Dean’s partner now, Sam needed them.
Sam who cared so much about the both of them that he’d left them alone, giving them a kick when they needed it most - he hadn’t realized this until after he and Dean and finished ‘clearing the air.” It took him longer to grasp human behaviors and motivations, but usually, when it was important he did eventually get it.
He wanted the chance to thank him.
He could handle this, and he wouldn’t let either of them down.
Cas grabbed a duffel, slipped into his stolen black jacket, turned, and Dean was already at the door, his own bag in tow.
Dean jogged over to a gray, Honda civic that was parked a few spaces from their room. He dropped his bag on ground, and using his elbow smashed the window. Dean unlocked the door, slid inside, and immediately leaned over to unlock the passenger seat door. Cas didn’t need any further cue’s; he opened it, flung his pack in the back seat, and sat down while Dean got to work hot wiring the car.
Cas watched as his friends fingers worked the wiring, made a twisting motion, then the car flared to life.
Dean put it in reverse, floored it, the tires screeched on the pavement, then he changed gears and they were flying from the parking lot.
Once again Cas wished for his abilities - he could have had them at Sam’s location in seconds. Being human and living by human rules was hard, especially when someone you cared about had their life hanging in the balance.
He glanced at Dean’s face in the dim light cast from the dashboard and street lights, his jaw was tight, his chest rising and falling rapidly, shoulders stiff.
Internally he was riding a roller coaster of guilt, fear, desperation, anger, and helplessness and Cas had to distance himself, put up a metaphorical wall of sorts to keep himself from being swept up in the ride.
His own emotions were bad enough; he couldn’t handle Dean’s as well.
The drive was over in less than ten minutes, but it felt like days. Every second his muscles seemed to coil more tightly, each breath his lungs felt tighter. By the time Dean pulled up alongside the Impala Cas was ready to explode from all the nervous energy buzzing inside of him.
There were only a few other cars in the lot Cas noted, less chance someone saw something that might help them find Sam.
They had barely passed any other cars on the road, this town was scared. He got the feeling not much normally happened here. The missing hunters, and the dead body in the hospital had the people afraid.
Dean thrust a flashlight at him, and a handgun, his eyes locking with Cas. “Cover me.”
Cas nodded as Dean checked his weapon, one he’d been told was called a shotgun.
They both exited, Cas immediately followed Dean, his light shining all around as they scouted the area. Dean moved slowly and cautiously despite an edge to each movement that told Cas he was itching to run around screaming Sam’s name.
They stayed close to each other, a dry rough sound had them both jerking their guns to the right. Cas watched the wind blow through some trees, their branches brushing against each other.
Dean grumbled something, then they moved on checking the entire square lot. It could probably hold about thirty cars, in front was a hardware store, and the rear was more forest. Cas hated how silent it was - only the wind and their footsteps broke the eerie quiet.
They’d checked the entire perimeter of the lot, arriving back at the Impala. No sign of Sam, no sign of a struggle, no anything.
It looked normal.
Cas found that to be terrifying. If whatever this was could swoop in, grab Sam, and leave no sign how would they find him?
Dean’s eyes found his again as they paused at the car, he could see the same horrible realization cascading through those green orbs as Dean struggled to keep his outward tough personae.
“Give me a moment,” Cas whispered, his voice sounding harsh in the still night as he held out the light to Dean. “I’m going to try and see if I can pick something up.”
Dean gave a stiff nod, taking the offered flashlight, a sliver of hope appeared on his features, and Cas prayed it wasn’t for nothing.
****
Dean kept his senses open and aware, still searching their surroundings while he watched Cas do his thing.
Eyes closed, his fingers reaching for the unseen, digging into what little he had left of his mojo for Sam, for him. Cas was one of them, had been for awhile, too bad it had taken Dean almost losing him for the millionth time to realize that.
Cas sucked in a breath, bit his bottom lip, then stepped forward, his hand coming to rest on the hood of the Impala, then he cringed and Dean was there in seconds hovering.
“You okay, what’s wrong?”
Cas opened his eyes, and gestured downward, lifting his hand that had been splayed across the hood. Thick, gooey, stringy, gunk dangled connecting Cas’s palm and the car.
“That’s just wrong.”
Cas pulled hard freeing his hand. “It’s the same Dean.”
Dean knew what he meant, the same shit Cas had found on that bag near a dead body in the woods. As if there had been any doubt that this was all connected.
Dean snarled, needing to hit something, anything. “This fucker is dead. First it takes Sam, then it drools all over my baby.” He needed to scream.
Sam, what if he was…
Dean had to fight the urge to break another window on the civic as he yanked out his phone, hating that he hadn’t thought of this sooner. He had to keep his head on straight; Sam’s life depended on it.
He tossed the light back to Cas, then called Sam, within moments he heard it. Soft, coming from near the road.
Cas’s eye’s widened in surprise and they raced towards it. The ringing got louder, then cut off. Dean redialed, they hit the sidewalk.
“There.” Cas pointed several feet away, his light illuminating Sam’s phone laying on the ground.
Dean snatched it up, and almost dropped it when he felt the cold, nasty drool all over it.
Cas made a small sound in his throat, Dean looked up. Cas was standing over a sewer grate several feet away.
Cas knelt down, waving Dean over.
Dean was there in seconds, his heart jumping.
“You see something?”
“No, I feel it.” Cas ran his finger tips over the metal, blinking rapidly. “It’s hard to explain, but this creature, it leaves a sense of coldness. A darkness that I’m getting more in tune with. It’s weak, but it went this way.”
If anybody else had said something hokey like that Dean would have laughed in their faces. There weren’t many real psychics or seers in the world. He thought most of them were full of shit and out to make a quick buck off the desperate.
Cas was different - he was one in a million and if he said Sam was down in that dark, creepy, shit hole Dean believed him.
“Then I guess I’m going down there.”
Cas grabbed his arm. “We’re going down there.”
Dean swallowed, a sense of gratitude washed over him, then guilt at his selfishness for wanting to drag Cas into this with him. Cas wasn’t ready for this, fuck he couldn’t even do his own hair. He hadn’t even had time to train him with firearms let alone hand to hand when you weren’t endowed with superhuman strength.
Dean could not handle the thought of Cas getting killed down in some dank sewer.
He was the closest thing he’d ever had to a best friend. Their lives didn’t allow for luxuries like friendship, even when they’d been in school. Constantly moving, never getting attached.
Cas was staring through his skin again, his eyes burning with determination and loyalty. Cas was coming; nothing Dean could say would stop him, and to be honest, it might have been selfish, but he wanted him there.
Fuck, Sam was right. They did have a bromance. Castiel, the odd former angel who was still figuring out how to tie his shoelaces was his freaking best friend and he wasn’t ashamed of it. That didn’t mean he was going to go shouting it from rooftops or spouting sonnets, but he could admit it to himself at least.
And he could take this offer of help without giving Cas shit for it.
“Thanks, Cas,” he managed.
He saw relief in those blue eyes; Cas had been braced for a fight.
“First let’s stock up on the necessities.”
They darted back to the civic, grabbing ammo, flares, and a secondary weapon for each. Dean would have taken a sword, or some machete’s but considering these fucks bled acid, getting that close wasn’t going to be an option.
Besides the weapon would be destroyed, eaten away by the toxic blood.
Dean gave Cas a five minute lesson on how to load, and fire a sawed off shotgun. He knew he could handle the 9mm, but a shotgun was different, more kick for one. Cas caught on fast, repeating, and demonstrating everything back without error after only being shown once.
Dean kept his shotgun, and took another handgun for himself. Tossing Cas an extra clip of ammo, and pocketing one for himself.
They headed back to the entrance of the sewer system. Together they hefted up the cover, and Dean realized this thing was apparently smart enough to close the door behind itself.
The hairs on the back of his neck rose up, and his spine tingled. A nagging itch that something or someone was watching them. Dean glanced around, but saw nothing but darkness and forest.
He really hated this case.
Dean lit a flare and tossed it down the hole, it landed with a clank. Red light erupted flooding the tunnel below with its glow.
“You ready?” He asked Cas who’s pale skin had flickers of reddish streaks passing across it. His gaze was focused, his hands steady over the shotgun he cradled.
“Yes.”
“Alright. Let’s get this parted started.”
*****
Cas covered Dean while he climbed down the rungs of the ladder. He reached the bottom and immediately panned his light around, his head turned in the direction of the tunnel that waited for them ahead. Cas reminded himself to keep breathing as he waited for the all clear signal.
Several seconds later Dean waved him down. Cas holstered his shotgun, placing it in the strap that lined his back Dean had given to him. He took one last breath of the cool night air before descending.
It seemed to get cooler with each step down, his hands were sweaty and he almost lost his footing halfway down, thankfully Dean didn’t notice.
As his sneakers touched the firm ground, he kept his steps as light as possible, but Cas could still hear the quiet slosh of water as he shifted his feet.
He retrieved his weapon, and took his turn taking in the scenery.
Behind them was a passage going one way and in front another. He could only see several feet in either direction even with the flare and his flashlight. Cas turned his beam to the sides. Small streams of dirty, chunky water flowed underneath their feet, Cas could hear it and see portions of it that lined the slightly elevated path they were standing on. Cas knew between the claustrophobic feel, the pitch darkness ahead, the blind spots, and the smell of feces and rotting garbage he’d just found something he hated more than forests.
Sewers were worse.
He jumped as something skittered by - a huge rat dashed past them - both he and Dean had their shotguns pointed at the thing as it vanished into the black.
A lot worse.
Dean flashed a relived smile, then leaned close, stepping into Cas’s light and mouthed. “Which way?”
Cas nodded, first moving backwards a few steps reaching out with what ever grace he had left, praying it was enough.
Nothing.
Cas moved forward - he took six steps before he felt it. A cold - hostile presence. Foreign. Alien.
He met Dean’s gaze and no words or gestures were needed.
Dean bent down and picked up the flare he’d dropped that was still burning and tossed it further down the tunnel ahead.
There was barely enough room for two people to walk side-by- side. They were going to have to take it single file if they wanted to have room to maneuver and didn’t want to trip over each other.
Dean realized this as well and frowned, signaling for Cas to follow close behind.
They moved slowly, their steps light, their movements in sync.
When Dean stepped forward, Cas mirrored it, they were never more than a few steps apart.
He felt a rat brush up against his shoe and it took all that he had to keep silent. Dean cursed as a few others crossed in front of them.
Five minutes in, both their lights struggling to penetrate the black, a loud clanking echoed down the corridor.
They both looked behind them, then in front, then behind again.
Nothing.
“Where the fuck did that come from?” Dean managed to snarl even at a whisper.
“I can’t tell.”
“You getting anything wonky?”
“No,” he breathed, “Just the same as before, but it is getting stronger.”
A muscle on Dean’s jaw twitched. “I hate that we don’t even know if that‘s a good or bad thing.” Dean squinted into the dark, angling his light upward, then downward, then ahead again. “And I really hate that we don’t know what this thing even looks like now.”
Cas touched Dean’s shoulder, and let it linger for a moment, hoping to communicate what he didn’t know how to put into words. Hoping to comfort.
Dean inhaled, gave him a weak grin, and started moving forward again.
They’d walked for another few minutes when Cas noticed he was getting hot, the damp, coolness that had enveloped them was vanishing.
It felt hot, dry, and the rats had all vanished.
He knew some animals avoided predators - the thought was not comforting.
His feet connected with something uneven, and unexpected after the constant firm, stable metal they’d been walking across.
Dean paused, lighting another flare, it lit up the area.
Cas didn’t understand what he was seeing - he just knew it wasn’t natural.
An unknown material coated everything starting from a few inches behind him and extending forward as far as the light could reach.
It crisscrossed across the ceiling, the floor, and the walls, forming bizarre patterns. He could see some of the actual underlying structure of pipes and fragments of the wall, but most of it was covered in the same dark gray substance. In some places the groves and dips formed the illusion of a skeletal structure.
He reached out, letting his palm rest against it. It was hard - resin like. He inched closer, his nose almost brushing the substance, in some places where it was thinner it was very similar to the color of the secretions he’d found on the bag, and on top of Dean’s car.
Cas swallowed, jumping when Dean’s arm clamped over his wrist and yanked him backwards.
“Are you trying to get killed?”
Cas blinked.
“Don’t touch anything!” He whispered, his tone harsh.
Cas nodded, gripping the shotgun tightly his eyes darting every which way.
Dean sighed. “Fuck this fucking town and this fucking insane case,” he growled.
Cas raised an eyebrow. “At least this probably means we are on the right track.”
Dean glared at him, then chuckled quietly. “Yeah.”
“Let’s just find Sam,” Cas urged, anxious to get out of these things domain.
“Yep. Be careful, and keep those angel senses on high alert.”
“I will.”
They kept moving forward, the tunnel branched off to the right and left several meters up ahead. Cas could feel each uneven step, his sneaker stuck to the ground in spots but he yanked it free and pressed on.
How long had these creatures been here? It couldn’t have been longer than two weeks and they’d done all of this. How many of them were there? It had to be more than one. Cas only knew one thing; they had to stop them, if these monsters could build an entire nest for themselves in days what could they do in a month, a year?
Two were already confirmed missing, two dead that they knew of but who knew how many homeless might have been snatched away and dragged down here without anyone noticing.
They reached the intersection. Dean’s expression quietly asked, “Which way?”
Cas had no idea. It all felt the same here. The strange energy was everywhere, all around them and he couldn’t feel Sam. If it had been Dean, Cas had no doubt he could have found him - their bond linked them - made him more sensitive to Dean.
He didn’t have that with Sam.
“I don’t know,” he whispered, his tone haunted.
“It’s okay.” Dean looked back and forth, then went left.
Cas didn’t question his logic, simply followed.
Water dripped, and splattered onto Cas’s shoulder and the ground. He looked up, his light reflecting off the alien substance.
Probably a leaky pipe.
Two more steps.
Movement to the right.
Cas spun, gun pointed at the wall.
At first he only saw more of that substance, then he raised his eyes and gasped.
Very scared, very wide, brown eyes stared back at him.
“Dean,” Cas rasped.
Dean spun, noticed the person hanging suspended from the wall, arms outstretched in a style that human’s would associate with the crucifixion, messy hair entangled with the secretions dripping down the man’s face, mixing with his tears as his mouth opened and closed soundlessly.
It was the missing hunter; it had to be.
“Hang on there man,” Dean soothed stepping closer, holstering his shotgun, and pulling a knife from his boot. “We’ll get you down from there.”
Cas felt a hatred so intense for whatever had strung this man up like this and left him alone in the dark that his vision tinged with red.
Dean’s voice calmed him slightly and he shined his light all over, protecting them both as Dean worked to free man.
That’s when Cas noticed another body hanging from the opposite wall. Head slumped forward, short dark hair, and a chest that had been destroyed - Cas knew he was staring at the missing child. The boy’s father had had to hang there, helpless and watch while his son had screamed for help - been forced to witness a monster burst from inside of his son.
His gaze drifted downward, not wanting to stare at the boys mutilated body any longer, and he was aiming his shotgun before he was aware of it. Directly underneath the boys feet lay a dead, dried, husk of one of the creatures that had attacked him. Its legs curled inward towards its body, Cas poked at it with the barrel of the gun; it didn’t react.
It must have fallen off the child after infecting him.
Hatred at these things surged again, then horror overshadowed it and he turned just as the man started coughing.
Oh God. No.
He saw the realization of what was about to happen hit Dean; he watched the million emotions pass over his face.
“Please…kill me,” the man, who couldn’t have been more than late forties pleaded, his voice weak, his eyes dead.
Cas’s mouth felt like sandpaper.
Time seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. Cas had seen the fallout, but never actually witnessed this nightmare. The blood that pooled on the front of the man’s chest, the sound of him heaving, and sobbing.
Dean, who always tried to act so tough had a single tear running from the corner of his eye as he pulled his handgun out, whispered an apology, and pulled the trigger ending the man’s suffering in an act of mercy that would haunt the hunter forever.
What if this was how they found Sam? Cas felt his heart ache, his knees turned to jello, but he didn’t waver. If that’s what it came down to, he would not let Dean take that weight on himself. If it came down to ending Sam’s suffering, he would do it.
Dean stood there, his weapon still aimed, his hand trembling so slightly if Cas hadn’t been looking for it, he never would have noticed.
Cas had just barely started breathing again when the wormlike monster burst out screeching and wailing, tiny arms, covered in the man’s blood clawing, reaching.
Dean fired again, hitting the thing in what appeared to be its head, it sunk down, dead. Its still body dangling from the man’s chest, hanging limp.
Acid dripped to the floor, landing in small drops, burning a small portion of exposed metal on the floor, but he noticed it didn’t even tarnish the area covered in that resin.
Cas turned towards Dean, words of comfort ready to spill from his lips when he saw the ceiling shift. He focused his beam upward, and his skin crawled.
What had once been more strange architecture became a living, breathing creature that slowly unraveled itself. First the tail dropped, long, black and serrated, the tip a pointed triangle. Then the entire, eight foot thing dropped down only meters behind Dean, barely making a sound. Its head was oblong, and its mouth was filled with dozens of long, dangerous teeth, while drool constantly dripped from its jaw in long, thick strands.
It was all black, a mixture of curves and sharp edges that walked on four legs. Each limb ended in vaguely human like appendages with long claws. The movement was predatory - cat like.
The word serpent or dragon flitted through his mind even as he grabbed Dean who was still staring at the man he’d had to gun down, and yanked him forward, shoving him behind him.
Cas heard Dean hiss, then shout something but he wasn’t listening, he was aiming.
The thing made that same awful noise that they’d heard on the phone, and it started to leap.
Cas fired, hitting it squarely in the chest, blowing it backwards. Acid sprayed, just missing them by inches, it hit the ground but its tail whipped around and it was up in seconds. Bleeding, really pissed off, and way too close for comfort.
He heard a sharp snarl as Dean lit another flare, and threw it at the thing. He’d probably intended to make it easier to see, instead the creature screeched and backed away from it. Like the heat scared it - it gave them a bit of breathing room.
Cas took advantage of it.
He lowered his aim, reacting on a hunch, and fired at its front limb. Less acid sprayed, and the serpent screeched, but even hobbled it still tried to move towards them.
Another shot went off as Dean took out its other front limb, it fell forward.
Cas watched in astonishment as the creature still tried to use its tail and back legs to push towards them - it had to be in agony but all it cared about was reaching them.
Dean moved closer, aiming at the things head, he fired. It finally went still.
They stood there panting, Dean met his gaze, eyes wild. “Assuming that’s what those little fuckers grow into there’s at least two more of them that we know of,” he gasped, lighting another flare and tossing it ahead of them.
Cas nodded. The man in the woods, the man in the hospital, and the boy had all had those creatures grow within them. And those were the ones they knew about. If Sam had been right and this had started two weeks ago because of whatever that plane had been carrying these things had had plenty of time to build up their numbers. They grew into those serpents within hours. This was not good, they had to find Sam, and then find a way to wipe this entire nest out.
They were breathing hard, and Cas couldn’t stop the slight trembling in his hands, and his heart was working on overtime.
The narrowness of the tunnel would actually benefit them, it would make it harder for them to be overwhelmed. Cas clung to that thought as they moved ahead, both flinching at every sound, shotguns ready, senses straining to make out anything in the sea of darkness all around them.
“Dean, it blended in with the wall perfectly.”
“I know. Stay alert, and we might just make it out of this deathtrap alive.”
Each step was taking them further from the only exit they were aware of, if there were any other hatches above them, these things had covered it with their secretions.
A scream of rage and defiance filled Cas’s ear drums.
Sam.
It was coming from up ahead.
He and Dean both raced forward; Cas hoped they weren’t too late.
Next Chapter
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