Desolation Comes Upon the Sky

#thinman

August 3rd, 2014
Lebanon, Kansas

Alex opened up her eyes to find herself surrounded by cold, damp darkness. She shivered, and as her mind awoke and her eyes adjusted, she realized that she was lying in her bed. Her hair and clothes were damp, and she rolled over with a groan of confusion and pain. The clock read 4:58 p.m.

Alex pulled herself up on shaky legs and stumbled out into the hall. "Sam?" she called. "Dean?" She passed the Winchesters' rooms and made her way into the library. "Sam."

Sam Winchester was seated at the tables, his head bowed as he stared at his laptop. At the sound of his name, he looked up in surprise, and his eyes widened. "Alex? You're, uh, you're up. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a train." Alex sank down into the chair across from him, her head falling into her hands. "What the hell happened? All I remember is that everything was felt like it was on fire."

"You passed out, and yeah, you were burning up. We had to put you in an ice bath just to bring your temperature down." Sam closed his laptop so he could look her in the eyes. "You had us scared. What happened?"

Alex reached down inside of her, searching for anything, but there was nothing that she could feel. "I think ... I think the last of my grace burned up. I can't feel it anymore." She looked down at her hands as her fingers tingled at the memory. "I used it all up protecting Kevin." She looked back up, gaze sweeping the room. "Is he gone?"

"Yeah. They left this morning. They send their thanks, by the way."

"They didn't need to." Alex pushed herself to her feet, wincing as a sharp twinge ran up her leg; a quick look down showed bruising on her calf from where she had fallen. "Where's, uh, where's Dean?"

"No idea. He might be in his room."

"Thanks." Alex got to her feet and walked away, following the hall down to Dean's room. She found the hunter beside his bed, throwing his clothes into his duffle bag. "Going somewhere?"

The Winchester looked up at the sound of her voice. "Hey, champ. How are you feeling?" When Alex only shrugged, he dropped his gun on top of his things. "I caught wind of a case. You want in?"

Alex scoffed, surprised that he had bothered to ask. "Of course. I don't think I ever unpacked from our last trip." She stepped out of her room but stumbled, barely catching herself against the far wall.

"You okay?" Dean leaned out with a frown, and Alex took a moment to straighten her shirt as she nursed her pride. "If you're not well enough, you should probably —"

"I'm fine. I'm coming with." Alex brushed back her hair with a loud scoff, annoyed at the Winchester's words. "Just give me a few minutes to get my sea legs back, okay, captain?" She watched doubt flicker across Dean's gaze before he shrugged and stepped back into his room.

Alex returned to hers to find her bag sitting, still mostly full, in the corner of the room. The only thing out of place was her angel blade, which now lay on the ground, and Alex bent over to pick it up. There was no rush of grace at the touch, and the metal remained cool in her hands. Alex tossed it back onto her things; if there was any grace left within her, it was too weak to even make its presence known.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Alex returned to the hallway to find Dean closing his door behind him. "You sure you're feeling good enough to come along?" he asked again, and Alex rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. I've been in worse conditions than this as of late. I'll be fine." Alex followed him down the hall, adjusting her bag as they crossed through the library where Sam still sat.