I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies. I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Take Me To Church // Extended Summary Inside
Supernatural Fic
Take Me To Church Late Night Talking (Chpt. 21) ———
Laying on the Impala, staring at the stars that twinkled over head, Salem smiled to herself. She rested her arms under her head, taking in a deep breath of the peaceful air. With a beer laying on the hood beside her, she couldn't be happier.
This was one perk of being a hunter- of traveling all the time. It made for peaceful nights when the Winchesters would travel to a new area, watching the sky during a quiet night.
It was nice. Peaceful.
But as Salem looked at her brothers, she knew this particular night wouldn't be so peaceful. Dean sat on the hood beside her, beer in his hand as he stared off into to the horizon, while Sam leaned on the back of the impala, sighing as his eyes scanned the stars.
"Forty years." Dean says softly, earning both of his siblings' gazes. Salem sits up, grabbing her beer and furrowing her brows at her brother.
"What?" She asked softly.
"That's how long I was in hell." Dean responded.
Sam's eyes widen as he comes up to the hood, sitting down between his siblings.
"But- Dean- you were only gone for four months." Salem says.
Her brother shrugs, quickly taking a drink of his beer. "Time runs differently in hell." He explains.
"My god..." Sam says solemnly.
"For thirty of those years Alistair tortured me. He slashed and cut until I was bloody and bruised, hardly able to talk, and then would heal me so he could play with me again the next day."
Salem drops her gaze, running a hand down her face. She understood it was hell but she didn't have a clue things were that bad.
"For thirty years," Dean continues. "After every day, Alistair would give me an option." When Sam returns his gaze, his eyes falls. "To be on the other end of it."
Salem looks up, eyes wide, but Dean doesn't look back, his eyes remain on the ground, glazed over with tears. "And for thirty years I told him to shove that offer up his ass..." he pauses, choking on his words and running a hand down his face. "But the last ten... I took the offer. And I tortured like no other."
"Dean," Sam says. "You did what anyone would do."
"You don't have to feel guilty," Salem adds. "You made it thirty years."
"That's not the point, Salem." Dean says. "The point is that I enjoyed it."
Salem almost gasped, but stops herself at the last second. Sam looks her direction, confused and concerned, then drops his gaze at the same time Salem does.
"After thirty years of being beaten, it felt so nice to get it all out. My anger- my fear- everything." Dean takes another drink, looking up at the sky and blinking back tears. "The deal was that I'd get off the rack if I put souls on. And my god did I hold up my end of the offer."
Dean wipes away a stray tear just as Salem does. He laughs to himself as if he was ashamed of the fact he was letting out his emotions. "After what I did, I-" the man bites his lip, pausing. "I do remember everything in hell. But I wish I didn't." He swallows the lump in his throat. "After what I've done I just have this hole in me. A hole that can't be filled." He gestures to his heart.
"I wish I didn't feel a damn thing."
As Salem lays sound asleep in the back of the impala, she dreams of sitting beside Castiel. But rather than at the usual cliff, overlooking a city, they sat on a small hill, over looking a lake. The sun was setting, reflecting off the water and giving the lake a beautiful color.
"Cas?" Salem says softly, holding her legs to her chest. The angel looked over to her, titling his head slightly and waiting for the woman to continue. "I want to thank you."
"For what?" Cas asks, confused.
"For retrieving my brother out of hell." She says. She bites her lips, tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she recalls her conversation with her brother. "I- I didn't realized things were so bad. Yeah it's hell- but I didn't realize four months up here is forty year down there." She wipes a stray tear, turning to face the angel beside her. She offers him a soft smile. "So thank you for getting me my brother back."
"You're welcome, Salem." Cas responds. He puts his hands by his sides, setting his gaze in the lake.
"Cas?" Salem asks again. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Salem, if this is about you needing answers I-"
"No, Cas, it's not. I trust your judgment. I know I shouldn't, but I do." She says. "After you betrayed me I've tried to hate you, but I just can't. There's just something about you I can't bare to forget about."
"Then go ahead, Salem. Ask your question." He says. He doesn't turn to face the woman, but the sound of his voice saying her name was enough to make her heart skip a beat.
Salem put her legs down, putting her hands by side and brushing them against the angel's hand that had already been resting there. She paused her hand glancing down at it for a moment, then placing her hand on top of his.
Cas stiffens, but relaxes, his lips curving into a slight smile. His eyes remain on the lake, scanning the same scenery that Salem's were.
"Why do you care so much?" She asks. "You know- about me?"
Cas looks over to Salem, locking eyes with her and then looks away quickly, a pink tint forming on his cheeks. "I don't know." He says. And the truth was that he didn't. "I just feel this... responsibility for you. There's this feeling that tells me to look out for you- and that it's wrong if I don't." He pauses, smiling to himself. "I don't know why I care for you, Salem, but I do."
Salem smiles to herself too, butterflies filling her stomach. It was nice to know someone cared. Her brother did, and she knew that, but not like this. Cas was different.
"God was right when he said you had the brightest eyes and purest heart."
"God?" Salem asked. "Cas, What are you talking about."
"Goodbye, Salem."
And then she woke up.
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