Please Don't Hunt Me Down, Brother (Sabriel/Destiel)

Chapter 3: The Oldest Rule.

And find Gabriel. He had to find his brother. He couldn't leave here without him. Chuck would never forgive him.

Garth helped Gwen stand up, and lead her towards the door, and Castiel took that as a cue to follow, carefully picked up Johnny's body in his arms, and carried him out. The literal dead weight in his arms was another reminder to him of his failures.

I did this. I killed Johnny.

When they emerged from the barn, the sun was on its way down the sky, turning into late afternoon, and- there were two figures up ahead that weren't vampires. Upon hearing the door shut behind Castiel, they turned around- Rufus and Jo.

Rufus limped towards them, carrying Jo in his arms, whose shirt was covered with blood.

"Jo?" Castiel's heart became a leaden weight in his chest.

"She's alive." Rufus assured them. "But she's severely injured. She needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible. I called Ellen, and she'll come to pick Jo up at the Shurley house in about half an hour- or as soon as she can get there. We had to run, leave the other vampires. We only managed to kill three."

"So there's still twelve vampires left." Castiel sighed, shifting Johnny's body in his arms. Rufus stared at Johnny, and Castiel, following his gaze, said in monotone, "He's dead. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have brought you guys into this."

"Hey kid, stop that. That's just how it is- the oldest rule of hunting- you can't save everyone. And these vampires aren't just your business. They refuse to step down, so we have to end them. That's a responsibility of all hunters."

With that, he turned his back and walked on, back to Chuck's truck, taking care not to jostle Jo. Johnny was heavy in Castiel's arms, and he tried not to show his discomfort as they slowly made their way back to where the truck was parked. It took them twice as long to walk back, and as they walked, the shadows of the trees around them bent and twisted, and either Castiel was hallucinating- or they seemed to reach out for him. Their thin, pointy fingers, and gnarled arms seemed to grab at him as he walked past, trying to drag him into their depths, to consume him, to punish him. Oh, he wanted to let them take him. He wanted to fade away into the shadows, and never have to face anyone again. He wanted to be nothingness.

---

Throughout the whole journey back, Castiel kept thinking of the body that was covered in a white canvas sheet in the back of the truck. The image was stuck in his mind with superglue and no matter how much he scrubbed at it, it wouldn't go away.

Did Heaven exist? Castiel wasn't sure he'd belong there anymore.

Castiel's chest heaved in a sob he tried to supress. Garth reached his hand out to lay it reassuringly on his shoulder, but Castiel shrugged it away, and turned to look out of the window so that nobody could see the tears running down his face.

Gabriel had driven the truck on the way there, but since he hadn't returned yet, Rufus had volunteered to drive. And when the Shurley home finally came back into view, it was too soon. Castiel wasn't ready to face his family again.

When the truck ground to a halt in the driveway, Garth got out from his side and helped Gwen down, bringing her inside the house, and Rufus went around the back of the truck to carry Johnny's body inside. Castiel stayed in the car for a few moments more- and then, mustering what shreds of strength he had left, he opened his door and stepped out. The front door was open, and somebody was walking towards him- but he couldn't see who it was through the tears blurring his vision. When Chuck wrapped his arms around his adopted son, and led him inside, Castiel couldn't stop himself as he began to properly cry.