The four of us stared dumbfounded in Sam's direction. Nothing happened. Not a single vampire stirred. My heart was in my throat and adrenaline rushed through my veins. Sam had the cell door barely opened, his body froze in position. Uncertain looks flashed between the five of us.
Dean's cuffs were half off at this point and Cassidy was nearly free as well. She grimaced with each jolt to her injured wrist. Alex and I quickly turned back to our task of freeing Dean and Cassidy. I prayed over and over again that this would be over soon.
Something was wrong with this picture. I had this gut feeling that time was running out and no matter how hard we tried we would not escape unscathed. As I worked, I noticed Dean's eyes kept flickering in the direction of an old wood door. I didn't want to find out what was behind it, not right now, not ever.
Suddenly, Dean's muscles flexed and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Please let me be wrong. Please let me be wrong. I turned round slowly, I wasn't wrong.
Amber eyes pierced through every layer of confidence I had, and for a split second I swore they were violet. A wicked smile grew on his face, whiskey breath blowing into my face.
"Hello Angel," he grabbed my throat and instantly my breath was cut short. "You're even better close up."
"Get away from me, vam-pervert," I hissed as black spots were spiraling into my vision. Keep it together. Pathetically, I was clawing at his hands in an attempt to get free, each motion leaving me with one ounce less of energy. Smirking, the vampire let go of me and I hit the ground practically limp.
Greedily, my lungs forced the air in and out of my body as if I had been deprived of it for an eternity. I saw Alex knocked out beside Cassidy , who looked distressed and numb all at the same time. Sam was being forced to the ground near the cage. I was lifted up and dragged out of the room without a fight. My mind was to fogged up to think clearly or fight back
I was roughly pushed onto the floor somewhere else, it looked like a metal bathing stall or storage room. I heard the thick metal door shut. Amber eye's knelt down and smiled at me, letting his fangs come out.
"Only douche bags show a girl their fangs on the first date," I fired in a smart ass tone. His face darkened at the insult, if I my lungs weren't on fire I would have laughed, instead it came out ragged and brutal, followed by a series of coughs.
"You should be far from joking Winchester. You should be afraid."
"God, do you know how damn tired I am of being told I should be afraid? You all seriously need to rethink your threatening catchphrases." This vampire was getting tired of my crap. "Ya' know on that same note I'm sick of all this shit. Kidnapping after kidnapping. Worrying about whether I'm going to be okay. Whether my family is going to be okay." Whether or not I will ever actually be free... The vampire looked irritated.
"Shut up would you?" He was still kneeling down in front of me. By now my lungs had started working normally and I was think clearly.
"Why? Am I bothering you?" I raised an eyebrow.
"You're just freaking annoying."
"Sorry not sorry ,Sparkles."
"What did you just call me?"
"Sparkles, cause vampires are sparkly fairies."
"How dare you."
"Not my fault the Stephanie Myer captured your true selves." That must have hit the last nerve because the vamp went to hit me. Instead, however, I caught his arm. My fingers latched down with an iron grip, surprising both of us.
"That's another thing," I hissed climbing to my feet, putting more pressure on the arm of the vampire. He actually yelped in pain. The other two vampires went to run forward but stopped when I reached out and grabbed their leader by the throat with my other hand. Faintly, I heard a bolt slide into place. One of the two ran to the door and attempted to open it.
"I can't get it! Hey, open the door!" She yelled, pounding on the door.
I saw fear flash through those Amber eyes as my grip tightened.
"I'm done being beat around by low life monsters who are out for the reward. You don't own me. None of you do. This shit, it's gonna end, and its going to end bloody. Then I'm going to be on top. I'm gonna be free and you are going be cower in fear of me. Because I didn't chose this life, but you can sure as hell guarantee that I will do what I have to." I looked into his eyes, the sounds of the vampires trying open the door from both sides were background noise. I saw something then, just this minor flash.
It was a boy in college, it looked liked he was in the 50's. He was smiling and talking to a girl with light strawberry blonde hair. They were walking together and she was wearing his letterman jacket. A shadow steps out into their path. At first they greeted it politely and tried to move forward, but the shadow didn't let them.
It advanced on the couple and the boy pushed the girl behind him, trying to protect her. The figure launched itself onto the boy. I heard him scream," Run, Kelly!" The girl took off down the sidewalk. The boy was pinned to the ground by the figure, trying his best to break free. The figure dragged its wrist across its teeth and crimson blood oozed out of the wound. He screamed for help but there was no one around to hear it, his desperate screams were only met with silence. The blood fell onto his mouth and I could feel the sinister grin of the figure. Just as it had appeared, the figure moved back into the shadows of the night and was gone. The boy remained lying very still on the pavement.
The scene changed to a bedroom. It was dim and the only light was filtering in through the window from out on the street. A figure pushed open the door, their face was shadowed by the night. I noticed a person was asleep in the bed. It was the girl from the street. The figure moved towards her sleeping form and stood by the bedside silently, before it reached its hand out and gently touched her face. She stirred slightly at the touch.
Her eyes opened lazily, a gasp escaped her as recognition dawned on her face. Then she screamed in terror, trying to escape the covers of the bed. The figure stumbled to stop her, repeating something I couldn't fully hear. It grabbed her wrist just as she jerked back and I heard a clean snap. The girl only screamed louder at this point.
I watched the figure look down at the wrist then at the girl. I saw amber eyes that looked nearly human but then something switched inside them, and I felt the terror that gripped him. Light gleamed off the next row of teeth as if fell into place. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the screams as the savage animal instinct took over the man that was now a monster. When I looked back, I saw him cradling the now silent girl. The fangs were gone and he only wept as he held her close.
"I'm sorry Kelly...Im so sorry...." He whimpered over and over again.
I snapped back into reality and stared into the amber eyes. Empathy washed over me. There was pain and scars cut deep into his soul, if he still has one that is. I felt this overbearing heat coming from inside me. The vampire stared at me with wide terrified eyes.
"Please," he begged, "Please have mercy." In his eyes I saw a bright light being reflected. When I spoke, my voice was not my own.
"You should have begged for mercy when you had the chance." The rage and built up emotions inside of me took control and I began to shake. Heat pulsed through my veins and a scream exploded from my chest. Light exploded inside the cell and invisible fire scorched over my skin. My lungs felt like they would give out any second now and over my own thoughts, I heard the bloody terrified screams of agony of three other voices.
Chills jolted through me and every hair on my body stood on end. I was freezing and on fire all at once. Then silence fell cold and hard. The fire ceased to exist and the light that should have blinded me was gone. I stared terrified and dumbfounded at the scene around me.
The room was charred and the bodies of the three vampires were black piles of bones. I felt sick and dizzy. Doing a three-sixty look around the room I felt my soul scream in terror. When I looked behind me, I wanted to cry.
An outline of grey stood out boldly, stained against the black walls. The lines of wings with uneven and distorted feathers appeared as a strange remnant of something that could not be seen. I walked to the mark and touched the permanent shadow in the wall. My knees buckled in disbelief.
"No..." I whispered, tears fogging up my vision. They were mine.
----------------
Banging and yelling were still coming from the other side of the door. I must have still been running on cursed up adrenaline because I yanked open the door that had been welded shut in my incineration episode. Five vampires stood outside. My machete had been lying near the door unharmed inside the cell when I could finally think clearly. It was gripped tightly in my hand now as I came out. The five of them stared at me for a moment, seeing only little bits of the room behind me.
It was like one of those unrealistic action scenes you see in movies. They all charged at once but I was ready. The blade cut and slit without a false move. Blood splattered me and my clothes. I cut each of them down and starred coldly ahead as one of them begged for their life, just like their leader had. Their begging didn't save them either.
Cold sweat ran down my body. I wiped my face so that the vampire blood wouldn't run into my eyes or mouth. I had enough blood poisoning from monsters as it was. The world seemed to be passing by me in a blur, I believe this was called shock but there was no time for me to linger in it. I had people to save.
Two more vampires came after me as I went. I took them out quickly, without making a noise. Buffy would be proud of me. I wasn't sure how many vampires there were in this nest but at this point I didn't care. In the horrible reality of it, I'm not even sure how I fought my way out the vampire hoard. My mind and body were simply numb.
This barn was bigger than I had thought it was. When I finally emerged into the main room, where this whole thing had began, I was met with surprised expressions and confusion. Not that I could blame them. I was drenched in the blood of 7 vampires. My clothes were covered with soot. The machete in my hand was caked in flesh and blood and my hair lay tangled and soaked with sweat and blood. A gash throbbed on my left thigh, just above my knee where a vampire had hooked me with a rake. I felt no pain and I think everything thing about me showed that to them.
There was only one vampire left in the room that I could see. She was young and stared at me like I was her worst nightmare, and maybe at this point I was. She dropped the blade in her hand and ran for the door. My eyes stayed locked into her until she was gone. I could feel the eyes of Dean, Sam, Cassidy and Alexander on me. Watching my every move. As soon as the door shut I turned back to my family.
Silently, I freed Dean from his cuffs. His eyes watched me as I worked without saying anything. The same stare followed me as I finished freeing the others. Waiting for a sign from me. I gave them none. How could I? There was no way I could even form a fully functioning conversation right now.
Dean and Sam broke the cage door open and the other victims stumbled out. They were skinny and sickly looking. We saved they just in time, by the looks of it. They watched me with fear as they went outside in a fearful pack. Monster, savior, victim, each of their eyes said something different, but each of them said fear.
The longer the stares lasted the more anxiety I began to feel. The armor the shock had given me was fading and all I wanted to do was get out. When I thought no one was looking I slipped away and headed for higher ground. I couldn't think with the pressure of their eyes on me.
It didn't take me long to find a place. It was the middle of the day. Hunting did that sometimes. You would lose track of time, forgetting about the stock market, the job losses, the issues that would have once played in the back of your mind as a real concern if you lived a normal life. At least it did that for me. I wanted to cry but I couldn't. My eyes would only get a little foggy. I needed to cry. As much as I hated crying, I knew it would do me good.
My eyes closed and I breathed deeply.
"Rachel?" I looked up to see Dean standing by me. My soul ached with effort to want to cry. Dean sat down beside me and put an arm around me. The blood had dried and now my clothes made this gross crunching noise. "I'm sorry." he said quietly.
"I am too." I whispered, "I'm scared Dean. The blood...its changing me. I-I don't know how to control it...I healed Cassidy back in Louisiana and I just deep fried 3 whole vampires back there." And I have wings growing out of me. I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud. Dean listens as I went on. "There is something wrong with me. I am so angry and I exploded. What if I hurt one of you guys? I could never-"
"Rachel, you aren't going to hurt us."
"But I'm a m-"
He cut me off, "Don't you ever say that. You are not what they cursed you with. You are human and you are as good as they can be. Don't for one damn second think that you are anything less. That bitch is the monster. Not you," His voice was strong and sure. My father's words touched something deep inside me. Something that had been buried for a long time. He raised real hope inside me. I may not be perfect and I may have the blood of an angel poisoning my veins but I wasn't going to let that stop me.
"Dean?"
"Yeah?"
"Are Cassidy and Alex okay?" He smiled.
"Yeah, they are doing good. Sam just reset Cassidy's wrist before I came up and Alex is actually doing great. Turned out his mom was being held captive here." I smiled. I'm glad that he didn't lose her. My eyes traced my dad's face. I noticed a bruise forming and a few scratches and cuts.
"Are those from the kidnapping?"
"No," Dean said slowly, "The vampires were doing their own version of the hunger games with their victims. Who ever won got to live to see the next day...I fought this morning..." I looked away from my dad. It was my fault that he and Cass were there in the first place.
"Dean?" I asked taking a deep breath.
"Yeah?"
"There is something you need to know."
"That is?"
"Well, my freak powers are developing and..."
"And?" He questioned further. I stared down at my hand, like I was ashamed.
"I'm growing wings..." Every single word was like slitting open my wrists.
Dean stared at me for a long moment.
"Rachel, I..." But what could he say? Nothing would change the fact that I was changing and this might not be the only thing that is changing in me. I looked out into the trees. I wish I could have dealt with this on my own. It would have limited the casualties by a massive number.
"Dean, can we please just go?"
Once we made sure the small amount of victims were okay we decided to meet up at the apartment. Alex and his mom were sitting at the table when I came out of the bathroom. Stitches in my leg were throbbing but the pain let me know I was still human, and losing that humanity was now one of my biggest fears. I french braided my hair as I walked into the room.
As I sat in a chair I asked," So where are you guys headed next?"
"We are thinking about Utah, there maybe a wendigo in the Uinta Mountains." Alex says with a smile.
"That's cool, just make sure you have flare guns or flame throwers." I tell him as my eyes wander around the room. Jamie was over talking to Sam and Dean about all that had happened and Cassidy was asleep on the couch, her wrist wrapped heavily to keep it on place. A sharp pang of guilt went through my heart. I stood up and head for the door.
"Where are you going?" Dean asked me as I reach for the door knob.
"The roof, I just need some fresh air." He hesitates but nods with permission.
The stairwell was at the end of the hall, and even though I kept checking my surroundings I was tired of caring. I pushed open the door to the roof and was greeted by evening air. My watch read, 7:00 pm and the sun was setting. It's dying light signing the sky with pastel oranges, pinks and golds. Fearlessly, I draped my legs over the side of the building and closed my eyes.
"Just shut it out..." I told myself in a whispered tone.
"It's not your fault, you know that right?" Alex's words caught me off guard. My eye snapped open and he sat down beside me. I noticed him take a deep breath of anxiety as he placed his legs over the edge.
"Afraid of heights?" I ask with a smile. He nodded in response before continuing.
"I mean it ,Rachel. None of it is your fault. Any of this." he says looking me in the eye seriously. His eyes reminded me of Castiel's. I looked away and out over the city.
"You don't understand Alex..." I felt my eyes glaze over with tears. I wouldn't cry though. "I'm a target. A big red "X marks the spot" and that makes me a liability to those that I care about..." My mind flashed back to Christmas Eve in the warehouse and then to the Christmas Eve at the Ward. I had cried myself to sleep that night. I wouldn't speak or eat at all that day. Trapped, screaming to be understood, inside myself.
"They don't care." I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Rachel, it doesn't matter to them. They would die for you-"
"That's the problem Alex! I'm done with people dying for ME! I want to die for them for once!" I felt my breath hitch in my throat and I wanted to scream with frustration. Instead it come out as a sob.
I wasn't the brave soldier I had made myself believe I was. I was this scared little girl who was defenseless against the monster in the closet and Mom was gone and Dad was in the other room. Trapped alone with my worst enemy but surrounded by oblivious onlookers. Life isnt always the easiest enemy to face on the battlefield. Often it is the friend you thought had your back, instead it is the one who stabs you there. Not that I don't know this the hard way. My life isnt the perfect teenage dream. I dont know what my life is.
I look at the boy beside me, "This war is too big for me to fight alone, but I can't let anyone help me fight. I have to save them..." My voice was hushed with effort and pain. He didnt speak for a long moment. Like everything else in this freak show of a life, there were no words. Only the oblivion of silence that seemed to be the soundtrack of my world.
"What else?"
"What?"
"What else do you need to get off of your chest?" His stare was serious and concered, "Go on. Rant it off."
"People. People are stupid and ungratful. They need to knock that off. I'm starving and could really use a bacon cheese burger. That sounds freaking amazing right now. English chips and pie would be nice too. I miss my Mom. She was my best friend. Anxiety is giving me anxiety and I'm either perfectly fine or .5 seconds from having a mental break down and there is not a damn place in between. I miss having friends and I wish my family were safe and okay." The rant went on for a good 5 minutes and with each word I felt the weight of the world ease off of my shoulders. When I finally finished talking Alex smiled.
"Feel better?" smiling slightly I nod. "Sometimes you just need to clear out the vault where we pin up all of our emotions. Keeping those things in slowly kills you. Make sure to talk to people. I get that that isnt really your style, but that "hero complex", yeah thats what we'll call it, is not healthy. Promise that you'll vent to someone when you start feeling that way. Deal?" He sticks ou his pinkie finger.
"What are you five?" I sarcastically laugh, but link pinkies anyways, "I promise."
"Good." I smiled, genuinely, this was it. I felt like the beginning was now. If I could find a driving force now, there would be no stopping me.
"Thanks Alex."
"Welcome, hey I think my mom went to get food and Dean highly insisted on pie." he tells me with a smile.
"That would be-" I pause as my phone vibrates, "I'll be down in just a bit."
He nods and headers back down stairs. I pull out my phone as soon as he's gone. The number is unfamiliar and I hesitate before curiosity over takes me.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Princess." Comes a sickining sweet voice from the other end of the line. My knees go weak and I nearly drop the phone.
"How did you-"
"It doesn't matter," Lily replies from cutting me off. "You and I have somethings to address." Her words are cold, edged with a fury that I was all to familiar with.
"I'm guessing you didn't get a promotion after our last encounter?" I smugly inquire. Lily's shrill laughter echos across the line.
"Haven't changed, I see. Do tell me ,Rachel, how was the other side? Meet anyone facinating?" Something about the questions sets my nerves on end.
"Like it would matter to you."
"Oh but it does. It matters a great deal to me." Lily doesnt speak for a while, adding suspense to the moment, "Keep your friends close, Rachel. But your enemys closer." The line goes dead. Stunned, I stare at the flashing number. What did she mean? Better yet, how the hell did she get my phone number? A shiver overtook my body, questions envoloped my mind. I need to tell Sam and Dean, granted, they would probably want to kick my ass for answering the phone and for even talking to Lily, but this was important.
Making my way back to the apartment I could hear laughter coming from down the hallway. Opening up the door I was greeted with warm smiles and the sweet smell of pie. A smile couldnt be contained at the scene before my eyes. With a broad grin, I went straight for the pie. The demonic phone call could wait for tomorrow.
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Authors note:
Hey my awesome fellow hunters/Salt gunners/ wayward sons and daughters!!!!
How is everyone? I hope your doing good! Happy 4th of July weekend my Fellow American followers and happy another July day to everyone else!
What do you guys think? Any ideas? Predictions? Random news you wish to share? Also I'm considering doing a Q&A story on here as well as a book of short stories and poetry. What do you guys think? Should I?
Once again thank you for reading!!! Let me know if you see anything that needs editing! I really appreciate the help! Thanks everyone!
Remember! You're awesome! Okie Dokie? ;) I hope to hear from you All soon!
Till next time!
~Rachel
UPDATE 7/22/14 : I have added onto this chapter so please reread the end!!! Tell everyone!!!