The only thing I could think about was the pain. It coursed through my whole body like fire that was creating a vacuum from the center of my torso. Movement became impossible due to the pressure beating on my skin leaving me stationary clutching my head on the floor. I let out an inhuman guteral scream finally grasping the thought scratching the back of my skull.
The higher I went the more it hurt. So why not go back down?
"GO DOWN!" I screamed holding my head only vaguely aware of how worried Sam was and his hands steadying my body.
I felt the building pressure in my head stop increasing as the elevator stopped and the pain lessened more and more as we traveled back down.
As the pain faded I became aware of the tears staining my face and how sore my voice was after only a few moments of screaming.
By the time we reached floor ten (about halfway up), I felt fine again. Beyond shaken up, but physically fine.
Sam was clutching me tight to his chest, lips nearly glued to the top of my head gently rocking me back and forth.
"Sammy I'm fine now." I reassured him with a smile.
"That was not fine." He muttered with a strained voice that was somehow chocked full of relief and desperation at the same time.
"It's gone now Samson." I whispered, making sure to hold his gaze for as long as I could.
It took him a moment to accept this, whatever it was, and that he couldn't do anything to fight it but he eventually stood and helped me up.
"Shall we resume?" Dean asked, finger hovering above the button.
"NO!" I screeched lunging in front of the control pad. "No, it got worse as I went up. I'll stay down here and guard the elevator or something." I said breathlessly as I opened the doors.
"Whoa whoa whoa, I'm not leaving you here." Sam said with his panicked look still stuck on his face.
"No, you need to go with Dean." I argued giving him a quick kiss and pushing him back into the elevator. "Go kick some angel ass Samson." I encouraged.
"Alright I'm turning the elevator off once we get up there so go ahead and guard the stair case." Dean instructed with a salute before closing the doors.
I saluted back and walked quietly over to the door to the stairs like I had just gotten done with the first day of varsity basketball practice. My head was throbbing a little, not with pain just a blood rush, and my limbs felt like they were going to be amazingly sore tomorrow but not so bad that I couldn't kick ass if I needed to. I sat down on the stairs angel blade in hand and let my head rest in my hands as I listened for footsteps.
I heard a crash from the floors above followed by a good amount of yelling.
That better not be the boys.
Of course I knew it probably was the boys but I liked to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not long after the crash I heard someone running up the stairs. I quickly stood up and acted like I was having a smoke hoping that if they were a normal person they would just keep walking. I didn't bother hiding my angel blade because I figured I could tell them it was a lighter if I really needed to. Then I remembered I don't smoke meaning I have no cigaret so I started digging in my pockets like I was looking for one.
A middle aged woman came darting up the stairs and her eyes immediately widened. "Your kind aren't supposed to be up this high! How are you even alive?" She asked tugging me by my elbow down the stairs like she was legitamately concerned.
"My kind?" I asked only letting her lead me down to the platform.
"The angels! You are an angel aren't you? I mean you have the knife." She asked gesturing to my angel blade still looking at me with wide eyes.
"Uh... Yes." I changed my tone to be more like the angels Dean and I encountered in the barn that one day, "I was stationed here to assure those who pass are simply temporary residents at this establishment."
Please lord let her be stupid!
"Oh! How are you standing with those symbols affecting you? All the other angels can't get past the fourth floor!" She exclaimed.
Well fuck me sideways I forgot about warding sigils.
"I have proven my strength to be greater than that of the average angels in Metatron's ranks." I answered watching her nod.
"Alrighty sweet heart, they told me to go check on him after that banging sound so excuse me." She said trying to brush past me.
"I believe there is no reason to do that. I already looked into it and it was simply a resident dropping a large travel bag from a great height." I said stepping in her path.
"Well. Okay then. I guess I can go back downstairs! I didn't catch your name sweetie!" The woman sang looking back up at me with a smile.
Shit! Just say a random name! One that you know is an angel name!
"Anna." I said abruptly, immediately kicking myself for saying the one name every angel would know no matter what side they were on.
The lady smiled and complimented me for having a pretty fake name before leaving down the stairs.
I let out a sigh and barely sat down before I heard two sets of feet running up the stairs. When they reached me one (the man) pinned me to the staircase while the woman sprinted up past me.
"Anna is dead. Who are you?" He growled.
"Who are you? Angels can't come up this high!" I sassed back rolling and kicking him off making sure his head hit the railing. I flipped him on his front and pinned his arms behind his back with my knee in his lower back.
"I am a servant of God!" He declared with pride bursting out of the seams of his voice.
"They're using humans now?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes and you just let one pass." The man answered with a grin. "She will void some of the sigils and soon the angels will be able to reach this floor. Then where will you be?"
I didn't have time for his shit so I tapped two fingers to his head and knocked him out.
Whoa.... When did I start doing that?
I didn't have time to wonder because there were numerous angel footsteps running up the stairs.
The first one that came around the corner I just reached out and stabled in the chest kicking him out of the way and off my blade after he died. The second was smart and went in a wide arch staying out of my reach and attacking with his blade. I blocked his stabs and dogged his swipes but I could hear another angel aproaching and I knew I needed to finish this one off quick. Trying not to think about the vessel he had inhabited I stabbed him in the side as he finished a slashing stroke watching as his eyes shine from his sockets.
The next angel was a woman and she fought dirty. I knocked her blade out of her hand but instead of reaching for it she tackled me to the ground wrestling for mine. She grabbed my hair trying to pull my body to her so I thrust myself at her with all my might head-butting her and sending her flying back into the wall. I held my hand out and concentrated as hard as possible on her being dead and her eyes and mouth began to glow with the tell tale sign of an angel dying.
I heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs but before I could give that much thought three angels showed up at once. I immediately attacked the largest one on the assumption that the weakest angel would overcompensate with a large vessel. He didn't dodge quick enough and I caught him on the side enough to make a nice sized gash but not enough to finish him. The other two angels began to tag team me and I was barely keeping myslef alive when I heard Sam yell my name from a floor or two above.
"STILL ALIVE!" I yelled back roundhouse kicking one of the angels into the other. Out of pure instinct I raised my hand and smote them from where I stood just as Sam and Dean rounded the corner.
"How the hell did you do that?" Sam asked in an awe filled tone as he placed a hand on the small of my back and hurried me down one more flight of stairs with Dean following us closely.
"No idea." I admitted breathlessly.
"Well it was damn cool." Dean added as he shoved the door to the level below all the bodies open.
We sprinted to the fire escape and did our best not to fall down the thin iron contraption. We were letting the bottom ladder down when seven or eight angels sprinted out to surround where we would land were we to finish our descent.
"Shit!" Dean groaned pulling out his gun and firing two rounds into the angel's thick skulls. The leader of the pack flicked his wrist and all of our weapons flew to the ground splintering into shards of metal on contact.
"Double shit." I breathed. Then I got an idea.
I closed my eyes and tried focusing on the things I did on the stairs but on a larger scale. When I opened my eyes I saw five Angels looking up in horror as the back of their throats began to glow. I snapped my fingers and made a last mental push causing the light to burn through their eyes.
Dean jumped on the oprotunities to lower the ladder as I swayed a little bit clutching Sam's arm so I wouldn't fall.
"Hey now, remember what I said at the diner? No passing out okay? You still good on that?" Sam asked taking the lead going down the ladder and motioning for me to follow.
"Yeah. I'm working on it." I breathed trying to only think about the ladder I was climbing on and not all the crazy shit I just did or the fact that I felt beyond drained.
When I was about ten rungs from the bottom my hand failed to grasp it's hold and my legs simply stopped working.
"SAM!" I screamed as I realized I was falling.
There was a sudden pressure on my wrist and a moment later I felt the tuggs at my shoulder and elbow meaning I was now dangling by my arm. Dean had grabbed me before I had the chance to see how fast Sam's reflexes were.
"Gotcha Gingy." Dean grunted swinging me so Sam was able to help me the rest of the way down.
We started jogging to the car but I kept stumbling and lagging behind.
"Guys! I can't-" I huffed trying desperately to keep up with their long legs in my state of exaustion.
Sam stopped and without skipping a beat scooped me up and caught up to his brother. My eyes were crossing in exaustion as I clung to Sam's neck and shoulders trying to be as little of a burden as possible. An angel tried pursuing us but I quickly smote him with a snap of my fingers using what was left of my energy. My eyes shut involuntarily as Sam swung both me and himself into the backseat and I fell completely asleep to the noise of Dean skidding out of the parking lot.
Hopefully it all went to plan.....