Dean and Castiel Go on a Hunt

Chapter One

"Ok, Cas, you remember the plan?" Dean said looking up from his gun, in mid-reloading. "Yes, Dean. How many times must we go ove-" "I'm sorry, Cas. This is just your first time hunting something this big... I just don't want to see you get hurt." Dean interrupted. Cas furrowed his brow then sighed. "It's nice that you're so concerned for me Dean, but really, I'll be fine." Dean stared hard into his eyes for a moment and shrugged. "Ok. If you say you'll be ok then... I believe you." "Thank you. If you're this scared for me then I don't understand why Sam couldn't have come along." Cas stared out to the large abandoned warehouse and continued his gaze to the rest of the empty field, his coat billowing in the night wind. "You know why he couldn't join, Cas. He's still pretty beaten up from our last hunt and-" " I could've healed him, Dean." Cas' eyes grew dark towards Dean's soft gaze. "I know Cas but... you're Grace is burnin' out and I don't want you to waste it when Sammy can heal on his own. In time." Cas continued to stare hard at the warehouse as the noise and clatter from within it became louder. "Are we going finish this hunt any time soon Dean?" Dean snapped out of the trance caused by their conversation to the task at hand, "Oh, yeah... but remember Cas we can't just barge into a nest, especially one like this. Now follow the plan and follow me." Cas, now heavily packed with syringes of dead man's blood and a machete, copied Dean and crouched and started to crawl closer to the warehouse.

Dean shuffled toward the wall of the warehouse and leaned against it, still crouching. Castiel copied and leaned against the wall next to him. The noise in the warehouse was now in direct earshot, the sounds of the vampires toying with their next meal, while at the same time sounding like a college fraternity party layered with the occasional cry or gasp from their victim. Cas' face hardened, sickened by the sadistic creature he and Dean were about to face. Dean turned towards Cas, "Ready?" He whispered. Cas nodded with masked anxiety. Dean turned back to the warehouse and shuffled to it's side door. He slowly unlocked it and as it creaked open they both couldn't help but flinch. Even though the vampires were making endless racket, the door still seemed to echo off of every surface with a dull roar. Cas allowed the machete to fall out of his sleeve and into his hand as he slowly stood to follow Dean, his machete was already equipped. When Dean and Cas entered, they were slightly relieved to see that they were in a large backroom of the warehouse that was lined up with countless, towering shelves of... paint cans? Dean continued to tiptoe through the maze of shelves in the decaying building as Cas closely followed. Paint cans and a few other art supplies were thrown and fallen astray everywhere as Dean and Cas tried to wind their way past all of it. Cas' heartbeat thudded loudly in his ears as he tried to catch up with Dean. His race to get to him caused Cas to overlook a puddle of magenta paint that followed a paint brush.

Castiel slipped and in his panic to regain balance, he grabbed the support of a small shelf and brought it down with him. CRASH! CLATTER! The noise from the center of the warehouse stopped. There was dead silence. All Dean and Cas could do was lay in wait, with every one of their muscles clenched, for the vampires. They could still hear the faint cry of the victim as the overlapping footsteps grew louder and faster. Cas finally came to his senses and scrambled for his machete, now half-dipped in white paint. Dean continued to stand in his place like a statue, only taking one fleeting moment to look at Cas with wide, determined eyes. The double doors leading to the rest of the warehouse, which were still about 40 feet away, flew open to reveal five snarling vampires. Cas leaped to his feet, prepared to slaughter each and every one of them. The vampires continued to stand clustered in the doorway as they stared Dean and Cas down. Besides the occasional growl, there was dead silence again.

Cas looked at Dean, unsure if they should charge first or not. Dean gave him a single glance. (Wait.) The vampires raced towards them, splitting in to two groups: three of them going left, to Dean, and two going right, to Castiel. Cas stared as the monsters came closer and closer, becoming louder and louder. (Wait.) Cas started to take a charging step but stopped. (Wait.) The vampires now about 20 feet away. (Wait.) 17... 16... 15... 14...13... 12... 11... "NOW!" Dean yelled. They charged at the vampires and Cas swung with all his might at the the closest one. SLICE. He swung too low but managed to chop off its right arm. The vampire screamed and she dropped to her knees. Cas was about to make the killing blow but was suddenly tackled by the second vampire. His machete was knocked out of his hands and ricocheted off a paint can, clattering to the floor. The vampire hissed with a smirk, "Oh, looks like I finally got a hold on Dean's pretty little angel." Cas slowly reached for his coat pocket. "I'm going to take great pleasure in turning you into a monster. Just like me," the vampire whispered to Cas, his breath reeking of blood. Cas fiddled around his pocket looking for the hard shape of his last chance, just hoping the vampire will stay distracted, unable to resist toying with its victim. Until finally, Cas' hand closed around the syringe. He whipped it out of his pocket and jabbed it into the monster's neck, pushing down its plunger. It hissed and writhed until it finally laid there, motionless. Cas leaned over and gasped, waiting for the ringing to stop in his ears.

But he quickly remembered (Dean) the other vampires and looked around for his machete. When he turned around he was greeted by a white-hot burning sting in his stomach followed by a SLICE. Cas looked down at his stomach to see a large, and most likely, deep cut that followed the width of his abdomen and as blood leaked out of it and bled through his shirt, he looked up to see a vampire, with a missing right arm. In her left hand, his machete. As Cas' vision began to blur, he could still make out the devilish smile she made. Soon, the pain became unbearable, searing through his abdomen in excruciating pulses. "CAS!" A muffled Dean screamed. He lost control of his legs and fell to the ground on his knees, his senses continuing to dilute. The ringing in his ears intensified along with his pain. In the few seconds he had left of consciousness, he watched as the one-armed vampire also fell, her head falling and rolling to the floor by her feet.

Dean threw down his machete and ran to Castiel. "Cas!" He dropped to the floor and lifted Cas' head on to his lap. "Cas! Hey, Cas. Come on, buddy, wake up!" Dean's voice cracked. "Dammit, Cas, you are not dead!" He put his ear near Cas' mouth. Faintly, he heard a rasping breath. Dean smiled, tears welling in his eyes, "You're gonna be fine, Cas... You always are." Dean gently placed Cas' head back on the ground and picked up Castiel, surprised by his weight (dead weight).