The Winchesters and the Teenage Dilemma

Chapter 7 ~ The Bunker

Everyone was up and early that next morning! They skipped breakfast at the diner next to the hotel, and hit the road once more, barely before the sun had even started to rise. Ellie was squashed in the backseat with her suitcase and Castiel beside her, and Jack next to him. Soon enough, they only had three hours left to drive. They would shortly reached what Sam and Dean called "the Bunker."

"The Men of Letters Bunker contains a large collection of lore books and research." Castiel explained, shifting his tan trench coat to face her. "Mary Winchester, Sam and Dean's mother, has been staying there ever since her detachments with the British Men of Letters."

Ellie nodded, not really understanding what he was talking about. She stared at Castiel's surly facial expression. Before she could contain herself, she blurted out, "Are you really an angel? Like, an actual angel?"

Castiel paused for a moment. "Yes," he said slowly. "I am an angel. There aren't many of us left."

"Where are your wings?"

"Our real appearances and voices tend to be overwhelming to the human eye. This body is a vessel, but the person I had taken over has died. All angels had to take a vessel after the fall, however, I had taken this vessel before that."

"The fall?"

"Us angels were banished from heaven by Metatron, the scribe of God."

"Does that mean God is real?" Ellie asked curiously.

Castiel nodded. "It's fairly complicated." He replied, his blue eyes looking down at his feet.

"I always thought that angels and God were all metaphors. My parents were different, they were very religious. I would always pray when we went to church but I never thought that people heard them, I thought it was just an outlook on life." Ellie said all this very fast.

"Well," Dean proposed from the front seat. "Cheers to wake up calls."

Ellie thought about this for a moment. Her stunned look was apparent on her face as her jaw lowered slightly in awe. She looked over at Castiel. "How many other angels are there?"

Castiel looked uncomfortable, and he stiffened. "Very few." He said sadly. "The angels keep trying to take Jack away from us, merely for the purpose of creating more angels."

"And since he's a nephilim," she began. "He can make more of them?"

Jack leaned over Castiel to see Ellie. "The angels tried to kill us, so I'm staying here."

"I thoughts angels were supposed to be guardians." She said confusedly, subtly tilting her head.

"We aren't guardians," Castiel said, almost with a hint of bitterness. "We're warriors of God."

Ellie looked at Castiel, studying the way his blue eyes looked down away from her. Was this shame? He furrowed his brow and fell silent. She felt sorry for him, for whatever had happened to his race. She looked out the window, quietness also falling upon her. She turned her head to face the window, understanding his hush meant it was the end of the conversation. Soon enough big, thick clouds had begun to take over the bright blue sky, blocking the sun. It had started raining. Giant drops fell onto the small windshield of the boxy car, and Dean groaned as the windshield wipers kept getting stuck.

Some time on the journey, Sam had pulled out his sleek phone, and dialed a number. Ellie, curious, sat up slightly in her leather seat, keen to hear what was going on. The person he was calling picked up, and Sam brushed his hair away from his ear so he could put the phone up to it.

"Heya, Mom!" He said. "We're about ten minutes out, but I have something important that I need to tell you." He paused, and Ellie heard a muffled voice on the other end. "No, no one's hurt." He chuckled. "No, uh, something happened on our hunt, and someone's coming to stay with us." He paused once more. "Her name is Ellie Crickett. She's almost fifteen, I believe. Her parents were killed, we'll explain everything when we get there."