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

Chapter 7: O Brother Where Art Thou?

-- Gabriel --

He was so weak and starving, but he somehow managed to get away from his adopted brother Balthazar, and the hunter who called himself Sam, who had pretty hazel eyes. Gabriel's neck still throbbed with pain, and his body was still laced with agony from the shot of dead man's blood, but he was now out of the cabin, and running as fast as he could through the woods, not caring where he went, but as long as he was away from all other humans, so he couldn't hurt them.

The reassuring words Sam gave him, for a moment had him under the illusion that Sam was right- that everything would be okay, that he could be cured of his newly inflicted disease. But even if Sam's brother had been cured of vampirism, how many others had? Gabriel was sure whatever ingredients were needed to cure him would be difficult and potentially perilous, and what was the success rate? Could he die if it went wrong? Gabriel wasn't sure whether he'd rather stay a vampire for eternity, or die.

Even though most of his mind was raging at himself that he was a fool to even hope that he could be cured, there was still a part of him that wanted to believe the hazel-eyed boy.

-- Castiel --

The hunter who introduced himself as Dean Winchester left a note to Castiel's siblings Michael, Raphael and Hannah who'd pursued the vampires who escaped, on the driver seat of Michael's truck, that he was taking Castiel straight back to the Shurleys' house, to get him out of danger.

Castiel was worried about Gabriel.

"Hey Ca- do you mind if I call you Cas?" Dean began, as he revved the engine of his black '67 Chevy Impala, a vintage car that Castiel had always thought was truly beautiful, even if he knew nothing about cars.

"Sure." Castiel shrugged, looking out of the window in the shotgun seat.

"Cas. Don't worry about your brother Gabriel. He'll be fine, I'm sure. Sammy's a great hunter. He'll look after your brother. And he won't kill Gabriel, I promise you. You'll be fine, kiddo."

"How can you be so sure? I've heard so much about you Winchesters, you're like a legend. I've heard of all the crap you've been through in your lives. How do you get through every day?"

Dean paused for a long moment in pulling the car around, and looked away from Castiel, out of his own window. He sighed, and finally replied,

"Some days- many days- I almost don't. The amount of crap me and Sam have gone through...we lost our mother when Sam was six months old, we lost our father a few years ago. We've made friends with many people through cases, who have become hunters, and every one of them was killed- and I couldn't save them. Kevin, Charlie... And I went to Hell, too. We both did."

Castiel stared at Dean, unsure if he'd heard him correctly. "You went to Hell? Metaphorically?"

"No." Dean turned back around from staring out of his window, and faced Castiel. "Me and Sam, we've both been to Hell. Literal, capital H Hell. Sam never talks about his experience there, he almost went insane. I went there after making a deal with a crossroads demon to bring Sammy back after he was killed, once. I spent four months there- but down in there, it was like forty years. I spent thirty of those years being tortured, and then I couldn't take it anymore- I gave in, and began doing the torturing myself."

Castiel couldn't even reply, he was at a loss for words.

"So it's a miracle and a mystery to me that I still get through every day. I don't know why I even told you that." Dean didn't speak another word as the Impala pulled away from the cabin and sped back on the way to the Shurleys' house.

-- Sam --

Sam's head throbbed savagely, and his back hurt from where he'd hit the floor after Gabriel knocked him down.
Balthazar had been thrown to the floor, and now he was picking himself up, groaning. He offered a hand to Sam, who took it in thanks as Balthazar pulled him up.