"No, look, if we can just get to my friends, they can help us. I know it."
"Okay, you don't know if they're your friends, okay, you don't know anything about anything! Just turn around."
"No. Look, you're safer with me." I say.
"How do you know that? You're scaring me." Suddenly I'm blinded by a bright light. I slam on the brakes and get out of the car. It's day time... what the hell?
"What? No way" I say. Robin get out of the car too.
"What was that?"
"What do you mean? It's daylight." I say.
"Yeah."
"It was night, and now it's day."
"It was always day."
"No. no, no, no. No, it wasn't. It... what the hell is going on here?" I hear something in the woods surrounding us.
"Okay, so I am all filled up on crazy for today. You know what, Ash? I'll see ya." She starts to walk away.
"Wait, wait. Hey, hey, hey. Get in the car." I say as I gesture to the woods with my head. She does so, probably sensing that I think something's there. I go and open the trunk of the car, there's a freakin' arsenal in here. "Wow." I grab a pistol and cock it, then put it back and take a shotgun. I cock that then close the car and walk into the woods with the gun aimed. Further in the woods, I feel something because pushed against my head. I freeze and quickly turn around. It's... me. The person, which looks like me, grabs my gun from me, hits me in the head with it and then empties the shells from it.
"My god. Am I really that gawky?" The other me says. It throws my gun to the ground. "Howdy."
"This is impossible." I say.
"Cold. Try again."
"I'm uh, I'm hallucinating."
"Warmer. But see, normally, you're awake when you're tripping balls."
"I'm dreaming?" I ask.
"And someone just won a copy of the home game. We're inside your grapefruit, Ash. Sister, you've been juiced."
"I don't remember anything."
"Well, your BFF, or should I say BF, Cas brought the hell-wall tumbling down and you, pathetic infant that you are, shattered to pieces." The thing points to me. "Piece." Then points to herself. "Piece."
"I have no idea what you're talking about what."
"Why would you? You're jello, pal. Unlike me."
"What are you?" I ask.
"I'm not handicapped. I'm not saddled with a soul. In fact, I used to skipper this meat boat for a while. It was smooth sailing. I was sharp, strong. That is, 'til they crammed your soul back in. Now look at you. Same misty-eyed milksop you always were. That's because souls are weak. They're a liability. Now, nothing personal, but run the numbers. Someone's got to take charge around here, before it's too late." She cocks her gun. I get up and start running and I get shot at but luckily the bullet misses. I keep running. I hear the footsteps coming after me. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."
I hide behind a giant rock that's at the base of a big tree. I take off my jacket and leave it there, trying to use it as a decoy and find a pistol on the other side of the tree. I hear the footsteps walking towards my jacket. That was a good idea. I move out of the way so I'm not behind the thing. From behind, I shoot the soulless version of me. It falls to the ground and groans.
"You think I'm bad. Wait till you meet the other one." A bright white light comes out of the soulless version of me and comes into the real me. I remember it. I walk back to the road. Robin is standing by the car.
DEAN'S POV
I shined a light in one of her eyes to see if I could get any response. Actually it was Alex who suggested it. So far, I trust her. I haven't left Ashlee's side since she's been like this.
She starts violently convulsing
"Ashlee! Ash!"
ASH POV
"I remember who I am. Everything I did this past year. And I remember you." I say to Robin.
A demon was holding Robin hostage in his arms by holding a knife to her neck. I approached the demon with a gun, Sam and Samuel were on their way there.
"Walk away or the girl dies." The demon said. I shot Robin in the stomach. Killing her. The demon looked at me shocked.
"There goes your leverage." I said then shot the demon.
Blood seeps through Robin's shirt, right where I shot her last time.
"Didn't I tell you to turn back, that you wouldn't like what you found?" Robin says to me.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Not as sorry as you're gonna be." She says then disappears. I guess I have to keep going.
DEAN POV
Sam brings me a glass of whiskey. He knows I'm not leaving Ashlee's side.
"Look what the cat dragged in." Alex says from the doorway of the panic room. Balthazar is with her.
"Well, at least you mudfish finally got the angel-proofing right. How's sleeping beauty? You stole a few kisses, I trust?"
"What the hell took you so long?" I ask as I walk up to Balthazar.
"Honestly? I was having seconds thought."
"About?"
"About whether to help. I was thinking maybe... maybe I should rip out your sticky bits instead."
"And what did you decide?" Alex asks.
"Well..." He pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to me. "Cas and Crowley are there. That's where the show gets started." I open the paper and show Alex. It says Bootback, Kansas.
"Alright, well give us a minute to pack up and then zap us there." I say.
"Oh, no, no, no, no. I don't think so."
"Balthazar." Alex says.
"I'm betraying a friend here. A very powerful friend. We all are. And although Alex and I have a history, this is not something I'd be willing to do. So, I think I've stuck my neck out far enough already. Good luck." He says then disappears.
ASH POV
I get to Bobby's house. All the furniture is covered in white sheets. There's candles everywhere, but other than that there's no light source. I go through the rooms with my gun ready. I go into Bobby's study, someone is sitting at the desk.
"Hey. Hey!" I yell.
"Oh. Hi, Ash." That's my voice. It sounds weak.
"So, which one are you?" I ask.
"Don't you know?" The other version of me stands up. The face is bruised really badly. "I'm the one that remembers hell."
DEAN POV
"Time's up, Dean." Bobby says. Him, Alex and Sam were packing a bag for this hunt.
"Yeah, just a second." I say. "Alright, this is where we're gonna be, Ash. You get your ass out of bed and come and meet us. Ashlee, please." I place a note with a gun on the bed beside her. Give her one last kiss then walk out.
ASH POV
I put a hand to my lips. I could've sworn I felt something touch them.
"I wish you hadn't come, Ash." The other me says.
"I had to. I'm here, right? Out there in the real world, I'm at Bobby's, aren't I?"
"How do you know?"
"This whole time, I've smelt nothing but Old Spice and whiskey. Figured if I could get back here, back to my body, I could... I don't know, I could snap out of it somehow."
"But first you have to go through me."
"Why?" I ask.
"Humpty Dumpty has to put himself back together again, before he can wake up. And I'm the last piece."
"Which means," I lower my gun, "I have to know what you know. What happened in the cage?"
"Trust me, you don't wanna know it."
"You're right. But I still have to."
"Ash, you can't imagine. Stay here, go back, find that bartender, go find Adam, but don't do this. I know you. You're not strong enough."
"We'll just have to see." I say.
"Why is this so important to you?"
"You know me. You know why. I'm not leaving Dean and Sam alone out there." She walks towards me. Picks up a knife, making me raise my gun again.
"I'm not gonna fight you. But this is your last chance." She holds out the knife to me, handle first. I put my gun down and take it. "Good luck. You're gonna need it."
I stab the hell version of me in the stomach. She falls to the ground and dies. Another bright light comes out of her and into me.
I wake up in a cold sweat, on a cot in the panic room. That was trippy. I notice a paper and a gun beside me. I check the paper. It's an address. Must be where Sam, Dean and Bobby are. Oh, and Alex.
DEAN POV
We get out of the car that got overturned by the freakin' demons and run into the building. Crowley is in the process of reciting something. I throw an angel blade at Raphael who has his back to us but he turns around and catches it. Him and Crowley stare at the four of us. Crowley throws us down the stairs that we're at the top of with his telekinetic powers.
"Bit busy gentlemen and lady... Alex. Be with you in a moment." Crowley says then continues the incantation. Nothing happens when he's done. "Mm-hmm, maybe I said it wrong."
"You said it perfectly. All you needed was this." Cas says as he appears behind us holding an empty jar of blood. The four of us finally stand up.
"I see." Crowley says, he walks over to a wall where there's blood. "And we've been working with..." He tastes it. "Dog blood. Naturally." Ew!
"Enough of these games, Castiel. Give us the blood." Raphael says.
"You. Game's over. His jar's empty. So, Castiel, how'd your ritual go? Better than ours, I'll bet." Crowley says. Cas closes his and a bright white light starts to emanate from him, filling the room, all of us close our eyes. As the light fades we open are eyes again.
"You can't imagine what it's like. They're all inside me. Millions upon millions of souls." Cas says.
"Sounds sexy. Exit stage Crowley." Crowley says then disappears. Alex and Raphael look scared.
"Now, what the matter, Raphael? Somebody clip your wings?"
"Castiel, please. You let the demon go, but not your own brother?"
"The demon I have plans for. You on the other hand." Cas snaps his fingers making Raphael explode. His angel-killing sword falls to the ground. "So, you see, I saved you."
"Sure thing, Cas. Thank you." I say. Please don't explode me!
"You doubted me, fought against me, but I was right all along. Except you, Alex. I haven't seen you since your fall."
"Well, that's a long story for another time. But you need to be defused right now." She says.
"What do you mean?"
"You're full of nuke. It's not safe, for anyone. So, before the eclipse ends, let's get those souls back to where they belong, okay?"
"Oh no, you were once my superior and much more than that, but no, these souls belong with me."
"No, Cas, it's scrambling your brain." I say.
"No, I'm not finished yet. Raphael had many followers, and I must punish them all severely."
"Listen to us, Cas. We know there's a lot of bad water under the bridge, but we were family once. I'd have died for you. I almost did a few times. So if that means anything to you... Please. Dean's lost Lisa and Ben, I lost Jess, and we're losing Ash. Don't make us lose you too. You don't need this kind of juice anymore. Get rid of it before it kills us all." Sam says.
"You're just saying that because I won. Because you're afraid." Ash comes up behind him, after grabbing the fallen angel-blade and stabs Cas in the back. Nothing happens. Cas just pulls the sword out. There's not even any blood on it. "I'm glad you made it Ash. But the angel blade won't work, because I'm not an angel anymore. I'm your new God. A better one. So you will bow down and profess you love unto me, your Lord. Or I shall destroy you."
*****This is the last chapter in this book! New book coming soon !!
Chapter 21: The Man Who Knew Too Much
Start from the beginning
