Careless (Cas X Reader)

Chapter 4

Cursing the fact that you had left your flashlight back in the Impala, you slowed your running down to a walk, so you didn't trip and crack your head open. Making your way carefully around the marble headstones, you followed the sound of Sam and Dean's voices.

Footsteps crushed the dead grass behind you, making you speed up, moaning in pain when your toe connected with the edge of a stone.

"God Damn it." You muttered under your breath, limping as you moved along. Looking toward the sky, you unconsciously shivered as your old fear of cemeteries hit you with full force. You knew it was stupid, you were a hunter for crying out loud, but there was something about creepy old cemeteries that put you on edge. Especially when you were in them at night, and the trees and headstones casted shadows against the ground, the wind moving the branches like long willowy arms.

Moving past a particularly creepy dead tree, you finally spotted Sam and Dean. Dean was halfway through digging up the grave, while Sam stood watch, waiting for the vengeful spirit to try and stop them.

Knowing they were still too far away to hear you, you kept moving, keeping them in your sight at all times, a sort of a way to calm you down. You could feel the hair on your neck stand up, and the beat of your heart pounding against your ribs. Wishing you had waited for Cas, you turned to see him almost on top of you. He must have caught up while you were watching Sam and Dean.

"Y/N, what were you thinking, taking off like that?" Cas asked. He didn't seem mad, merely curious.

"I'm sorry." You whispered, feeling a little bit ashamed of your childish behavior. "I just knew you were going to want to talk and lay some ground rules about this hunt, and I couldn't handle it. I hate it that you guys are treating me differently."

Cas stayed silent, you could almost see the wheels in his brain turning, and you would have loved to know what was going on in that Angelic brain of his.

When you had given up hope that he would answer, Cas surprised you. He gently touched your face, the touch out of place in the cemetery, making it all the more special. "Y/N, I'm sorry we've been treating you different, watching you closely. But you mean too much to us, to me, and we don't want anything to happen to you. I know you're in a difficult time right now, and I want to help you get through it. Please, let me help." Cas begged, his words raw with emotion.

Tears pricked your eyes, and you hastily wiped them away, not wanting to seem too soft. "Thanks Cas, you'll never know how much that means to me. But right now, I'm pretty sure Sam and Dean need our help."

As soon as the words left your lips, the spirit materialized behind Sam. You were now close enough that Sam heard your scream, turning to look at you in confusion.

"Behind you!" You screamed again, but it was already too late. Watching in fear as the spirit threw Sam, wincing as he landed on the ground with a thud, his head connecting with a tombstone. 

Dean, you could see, was almost done digging up the grave, and without Sam conscious, you knew the job of distracting the spirit fell to you.

"Cas, go get the salt and lighter fluid!" You ordered, before grabbing Sam's discarded shotgun.

"But what are you..." Cas started to say, but you held your hand up, stopping him.

"Cas, please. I need to make sure no one else gets hurt." With that, you turned your back on Cas, running over to check on Sam. Kneeling down, you placed two fingers on his neck, breathing a sigh of relief when you felt a pulse. You checked him over, wincing at the giant knot forming on the back of his head.

Knowing the only thing you could do, you stood back up, keeping your eyes peeled for any sight of the spirit. You spotted him next to Dean, a sad figure, one that broke your heart. What used to be a young teenage boy, was now a monster intent on revenge, his face pale with dark circles under his eyes. His clothes were in tatters, his eyes cold and empty, not caring who got in his way.

 Raising the shotgun, you aimed it directly at the boy, pulling  the trigger, the salt round flying directly into his chest, causing him to vanish in a cloud of smoke. Knowing you had given every one at least thirty seconds of relief, you turned to check on Sam again. His color seemed to be improving, and you knew he would be waking back up any minute.

Moving to stand up, you froze when the hairs on your neck stood, the feeling of being watched making your hand shake slightly. A pair of blood shot brown eyes stared down at you, filled with so much hatred it made your heart hurt. Unsure what to do, you slowly lifted the gun, hoping he wouldn't notice the movement. Of course your luck ran dry, and he looked down at the gun, before sending it flying across the clearing, smashing it into bits against a headstone.

Not knowing what else to do, you tried to reason with the spirit. "You don't have to do this. It's not going to make you feel any better." You searched his face, but his expression hadn't changed, so you tried harder. "We can help. Help you move on, to a better place. You don't deserve this, please let us help."

His face seemed to soften, but only for a second, before his hand was around your neck, squeezing tight enough black spots filled your vision. "But I have to. They teased me, and bullied me. They need to be taught a lesson."

You were grasping his arm, trying to get it off of you. Your chest hurt, and you knew you only had seconds left before unconsciousness consumed you.

As your vision turned black, you saw an iron bar swinging by, and the ghost vanished, dropping you to your knees. Taking in deep, painful breaths, you felt Castiel's arms supporting you.

"Y/N, are you alright?" Cas asked, worry for you evident in his voice. Standing, you nodded, not wanting to test your bruised throat. Turning, you noticed Dean was done digging the grave, and was making his way toward where Cas had dropped the salt in his hurry to get to you.

"Hey Cas, where did the lighter go?" Dean asked, and Cas moved away from you, going to help Dean. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed movement, and watched in horror as the spirit moved towards Cas. Opening your mouth, you tried to scream in warning, but your throat was too battered, and only a little squeak come out.

Giving yourself no time to think, you charged forward. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion, the spirit's arm slowly moving towards Cas, while you felt like you were moving in quick sand.

You watched as Cas noticed the spirit, standing frozen as it glided towards him. Before it could wrap it's hand around Castiel's heart, you were there, diving forward, arriving just as the spirit shot it's hand forward.

Looking down in horror, you watched as the spirits hand disappeared in you, all the way up to its wrist, before an agony unlike anything you had ever felt crippled your body. The only thing holding you up was the hand wrapped around your heart. Wondering if this is what a heart attack would feel like, you could only stand there, tears streaming down your face. Behind you, you could hear voices, their words garbled.

Once again, black dots clouded your vision, and the pain slowly faded away, leaving behind an empty numbness. Exhausted beyond belief, your eyes slowly drifted shut, and in the back of your mind, you knew that you weren't ready to die. All those times you had been so reckless, so careless with your life, you had never considered the fact that you really didn't want to leave. Because of Cas, you felt like you had something to live for, but now it was too late.

Wishing you had had an opportunity to tell Cas before, you tried to fight the darkness, but it was too strong. As your body succumbed to the pain, you saw a glimpse of flames, before you knew no more.