Reckless [Dean Winchester]

29. Purgatory (Part 1)

"I'm not gonna miss." Sam opens his jacket to reveal Dean's demon-killing knife. "I'll bring him back."

"Look, if you won't let Dean go with you-" I try.

"No way, Max," Dean cuts me off. "I'm not letting you go."

"So you'd rather him go alone? You said it yourself, we can't miss. Just let me do this, okay?" I look at both of them pleadingly.

"You don't need to throw yourself in that."

"What if I want to, huh? I'll defend Sam if he needs help, and he'll defend me if I need it. You guys have to stop treating me like I'm a child." I look straight into Dean's eyes. "I don't think Sam is opposing this as much as you. Please, Dean. Let me do this."

"Do you have a death wish?" he jokes feebly.

"I guess I do."

"Take this." I feel a familiar weapon press into my palm. I look down. My old friend. I look up, astounded. "You haven't had it on you a lot lately. I keep it just in case for emergencies like this."

I should feel touched, and I do. I shift upwards to kiss Dean. "Thank you." I step away. "We'll come back, Dean."

I follow Sam back to Ajay, who looks a bit surprised that I'm coming along. "We're in," I say proudly.

"Follow me."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Dean comes back to us. "How does this...work?"

"Not to fret. They'll be back in exactly twenty-four hours' time. Return for them then." Ajay leads Sam and me away. I take a lasting look at Dean. The worry is so prominent on his face that I almost feel guilt for persuading him to let me go.

Ajay leads Sam and me down a graffiti-plagued alley. A door is painted on one of the walls. Ajay stops.

"Take my hand," he orders.

"And it gets creepier," Sam mutters.

Reluctantly, the two of us take Ajay's hands. There's a blur of color, violent shaking, and bright white light, and I feel like I'm being pulled ahead by a hook around my middle.

We're no longer in a graffiti alleyway. We're in a dismal, dreary-looking forest. The sky above us is cloudy and gray. There's thick atmosphere here. We're definitely not on Earth anymore. I look around warily. Is this what Hell really looks like?

"So, this is Hell?" I ask, a bit disappointed. I'm expecting the lava rivers, all the fire, and the extreme heat. This forest is a bit calm in a very disturbing way. It's only because of the silence.

"Not at all," Ajay tells me. "This is Purgatory."

Purgatory? Son of a bitch. I hear Dean's painful recollection of his vague story about Purgatory. Monster Hell, he deemed it. We're in Monster Hell. Did we just get ripped off?

"What do you mean this is Purgatory?" Sam asks heatedly. "This isn't what we paid for. We booked the Hell tour."

"Whoa, whoa, Winchester, detach. This is Hell-adjacent. Been down this highway many times before. Follow the stream to where three trees meet as one. Where they meet, there are rocks. Between the rocks is the portal."

"A portal?"

"A back door to Hell. Trust me-it'll work."

"Wait," I interrupt. "You're not coming with us?"