Sam came back the next day early in the morning. He didn't say anything about it. In fact, for the next week, he didn't say anything to me unless it was absolutely necessary. I felt awful and I wanted to talk to him about it, but I couldn't. The guilt was eating me alive. My chest hurt constantly and I couldn't tell if I was having panic attacks again or if it was just temporary bone-crushing sadness.
The boys were out looking for information on the war I had told them about, although I wasn't able to get too specific because I didn't even know much about it, besides the fact that there was a war. They were at libraries (or so they said) and I was left (once again) at the mercy of Cas.
"I'm so bored," I told him in a dead-pan voice. Cas just sighed and nodded his head in agreement. "Maybe," I suggested, "we can do some research on our own, huh?"
He looked at me with the most annoyed expression. "You know we can't do that, Jules. For the third time tonight, you need to stay here."
I smiled sweetly. "I didn't say that I had to be the one to go and do research. I won't leave again. I promise. I'm just... I'm so bored. Could you at least go out into the world and get something for us to talk about?"
"Fine." Castiel disappeared from my eyesight for approximately .02 seconds before he showed up a foot closer to me."The birds are extra loud right now."
"Cas, I'm serious."
"I know. I was too." He smiled but then disappeared again for an even longer time. He opened his hands and a butterfly flew out. "You see this, Jules? Do you want to know the butterfly means?" He asked, his voice filled with quiet wonder that wasn't there before. The only times I heard him talk like this was when he was marveling at "god's creations".
I wasn't even particularily interested, but I didn't want to make him feel bad, so I pretended I cared. "No, I don't. What does it mean?"
"Butterflies," he said, "are primarily associated with change. transformation, and beauty..." He stared in awe as the blue and black polkadot wings of the small butterfly fluttered around the room. "If you touch a butterfly's wings, it won't die, like many people think. But it will not fly. It will not... be able to show how beautiful it can be..."
Cas stopped talking and his face scrunched up. "Sorry, I know you probably don't care. Anyways... I have to go. The boys are outside." And just like usual, he left without letting me say goodbye to the person I would consider my best friend.
Not that I had many friends to begin with.
Sam walked through the door first, and Dean followed quickly behind. Dean was basically bouncing with excitement. "I think we have something," he sang.
As Dean spread some papers across the other smooth, clean bed, I shot out of the position I was currently it and danced to where Dean was. Sam didn't say anything and my heart dropped again but I tried to not let it get to me because I could tell they had some really good news.
"What is it?" I asked out loud.
"Okay," said Dean, "We think it's a war. I mean obviously there's a war, but we think it's a war between the demons, like who is going to take over hell as ruler. I'm not sure about that, but I've heard things and talked to people that have told me this. This isn't quite as good news, but the gun? It changes whoever gets shot with it. We aren't sure how exactly it changes them, but it makes them stronger in every way, and there have been some angels that have died. Only angels can kill angels, so this thing must make them stronger than anglels." He looked up at me to see my reaction.
All I said was, "Where's the gun?"
His smile faltered a bit. "I don't know."
"I do." I turned around and Castiel was back.
"Cas, it's only been like 5 minutes. Where did you go?" I asked.
With finger quotes, he said, "To 'do some research'."
I laughed. "What did you find?"
"Where the gun is." He looked grim. I would have expected him to smile a little more if he knew where the thing was, but he didn't look happy at all. "It's in an abandonded hospital. Not sure why it's there, but it is, and I have a feeling it's not a good thing." His frown turned into a grimace. "It's warded from angels."
Oh.
"That's fine, Cas, where is it?"
Cas looked conflicted. "It's at the Village hospital in New York... Where Jules was born."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The drive took no time at all. Actually getting in the car, however, took a lot longer than one would imagine. Dean immediately shut down just as Sam came from the bathroom, his hair still dripping from the shower he just took. I had to update him on what Cas had said because Dean refused to tell him anything, which was quite an awkward feat, but when Sam heard, he shut down, too.
I didn't understand why they shut down so hard. Yeah, they could still walk around and stuff, but they both sat down and their faces were empty, as if their spirits just up and left their bodies. They didn't talk for maybe thirty or forty minutes as me and Cas stood right next to eachother, wondering what we should do next.
"Maybe I should punch them?" I offered.
Cas gave me a look. I laughed. "Oh, lighten up." I went over to Dean and, a foot from his face, I said, "Dean. Deanie Weenie. Deanna Weanna. Dean. Dead. Dan. Wind. Winchester. Sinchester. Dude. Wake up." I shook his shoulders.
He still didn't look at me like I was a person. I looked at Cas and he shrugged. "Just give them time."
"It's not even a big deal," I said. Honestly. Then I tried for Sam.
"Sam. Sammy Wammy. Saaaaaaaammmmyyyyyyyyyy. Sad." I laughed. "Ha-ha I'm so funny. Sam. Sammy. SaAaAaAm. Dude. Get up!" I shook his shoulders, too.
Nothing.
I tried everything with the boys. I sat on their laps, I jumped on the beds, I pushed them - or at least, I tried. They wouldn't move.
Finally I just gave up, and laid down on my bed, frustrated. Cas chuckled and sat down right next to me. My body moved into his as his weight brought the bed down. "Why won't they get up," I said, my voice muffled through the matress.
"I don't know," Cas said softly.
I laid there for a while longer until Dean suddenly shot up. It scared me, so I jumped up, too. He said, "Let's go," then looked at Sam, who was sitting across from him, mirroring the way he had acted just a few minutes ago. "What's wrong with him?" he asked.
Sam suddenly shot up, too. "I'm fine. Let's go."
So we did. And through the long car ride, I told them a plan that could keep us alive if push comes to shove.
The building we arrived at (a day later, I might add) creeped me out. It was definitely as advertised - an abandoned hospital. I didn't even know I was born here, nor did I know how Cas knew I was born here. I mean, I knew I was adopted from an orphanage as a baby, but I felt so fulfilled in my family that I never felt like I needed to figure out about my "real parents". Because, to me, my mom and dad were my real parents, and no one could take that away from me.
"I don't like the feel of this place," said Sam.
As I strapped a gun over my shoulders and slammed the car's trunk, I said, "It's abandoned. No one likes lonely things."
~~~~~~~~
My heart pounded against my chest. Sam, Dean, and I had been wandering around the building for hours and nothing attacked us and we hadn't found anything except for some cobwebs, broken glass, and darkness.
And yet, even though we hadn't been attacked, there was something strangely off, something unnatural, and it was it the air. I could almost feel it on the edge of reality, and I started to wonder whether or not it was just my imagination trying to scare me, or something that was too real.
The three of us were sitting in one of the old patients rooms. Well, I was sitting on the bed, straight as a stick, throwing my knife up in the air and catching it when it came down out of boredom, while Sam and Dean were by the door and arguing. A little too loud, in my opinion, but I already asked them several times to quiet their voices, but all they did was yell at me to be quiet.
Sam wanted to leave. We had already been there several hours and we couldn't find a thing. Dean wanted to keep looking, because he was sure somewhere they were hiding. They both had valid points.
"Dean, the only thing I have found today is disappointment. I don't know why Cas told us to come here, but obviously he was mistaken by the place we were supposed to go."
"No, he wasn't. I can feel it. There's something here and what they, whoever they are, want is for us to get bored to leave. There is something here, I can feel it."
"There is nothing here! Stop holding onto this. We can look somewhere else a different day, and we'll find it. Your boyfriend is wrong, Dean. Accept it."
"Okay, one: He's not my boyfriend. And two: that has nothing to do with what's here-"
He continued, but a voice entered into my own head in the middle of his sentence. It was the one that talked to me when we were at the shooting range and took over my body.
Hello, Jules. My beautiful, beautiful girl. It's sowonderful to see you again. Although, I can't see you quite yet. But if you come downstairs, we can. I miss you. I need you. We. Belong. Together. Her voice was slimy and I shivered.
"I'm going downstairs," I told the boys. "I think something's down there." Sam and Dean looked at me, fire still blazing in their eyes but with a new found curiosity on their faces.
Ah, yes. Using your dearest brothers as protection. The only problem with that is, they aren't going to leave no matter what. Unless they leave now, without you.
"Actually," I said just as quickly, "Y-We should go. Like now. I think it's time to go.
No, Jules. You aren't going. They can.
I'm going to make them leave, I responded back to the voice. I'll come to you, just let them go.
Of course, dear girl.
"Jules, we aren't going anywhere," Sam said, suddenly changing his mind. "What's wrong?"
Repeat after me. Nothing is wrong. "Nothing is wrong." Your angel friend just told me telepathically that he was wrong and there's nothing there. I decided to be as convincing as possible. "Nothing is wrong, which is the problem. You guys are fighting over whether or not we are going to go leave or not when, in reality, Cas just told me that he was wrong. It isn't this hospital. It was a different one. The hospital I was adopted at, which is also closed down."
Perfect.
It took some coaxing and lying, but the next thing I knew, we were going down the stairs to the first floor. The boys walked out the front door first, thinking I was following behind them. I tried, but the doors slammed shut behind them. They immediately started pounding on the door and didn't stop even when it was completely unnecessary. I didn't know how to respond, so I just stood there and waited.
I didn't have to wait long. A woman I had never seen before walked into the light. She had short black hair and skin as pale as a dove, and a strong, feminine body. She looked, to me, like Snow White from my childhood fairy tales. She was flanked by two men more than twice her size, one with dark skin and purple eyes, and the other man had brown hair and I couldn't quite see his face in the dim lighting, but there was something familiar about him. He stepped a little closer into the light-
Bane.
Luckily I knew how to keep an impassive face under extreme pressure. His eyes didn't widen, but I could almost hear him saying to me, "Don't tell her what you know. Pretend you don't know me." He was almost begging. I complied.
I looked headfirst into the woman's eyes but my stomach almost heaved as I could see her better. She walked closer to where I was and stood a mere few feet from where I was. Her skin was peeling and there were red, painful looking boils covering her face. She crossed her arms. I mirrored her, in everything that she did. The high eyebrow. The small tilt of the head. The way she leaned more on her left leg than her right. Her lifless eyes....
Finally, she spoke, her head titing up in a way that even though I was taller than her by several inches, she was looking down on me, and I felt intimidated. I didn't let it show, though.
"Well, Jules I'm so glad you could finally make it." Her mouth widened into a genuine smile, and my eyes narrowed. There was nothing genuine about this woman. Or whatever she was.
"I still don't know why you want me," I said, snark lacing my tone. "You want to tell me why? Or am I just going to keep having to say 'No, no, no.' Kind of like that one band."
The lady's smile didn't falter. "I like you, Jules. Don't piss me off."
"The only thing I could do to piss you off is to say 'no'? Then it would be my pleasure in pissing you off."
She laughed. I stared.
The door was still being pounded on. I heard Sam and Dean yelling, "Jules! Jules! Are you okay? Jules!"
The woman rolled her eyes. She said to Bane, "Shut them up."
I looked at him and didn't change my expression, but I think he knew what I said to him. Don't hurt them. Whatever comes from this, it won't be good. Please. Be gentle.
I almost saw him nod.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Comment, if you'd like. I love hearing things from everyone. I like to know what you guys think of the story. If you have any questions, just ask.
Iloveyouguysandifyoureadthisyoureallyreallymakemylife20000000%better<3