" play with fire "
Eyes that stare at a colorless ceiling. A heart that won't stop its constant beating, killing the silence every passing second. A wish, to drift away from the hell that is reality; a wish, to simply sleep. Sleep, which almost as an anonymous dark individual, stood there, looming over the girl and mocking her.
"Goddamnit."
With a huff, Aurora pulled the poorly knitted blanket all the way up to her chin and rolled towards the darker side of the room, forgetting all about the heavy book that she had left open on top of her legs, which, soon after, fell to the ground with a thud, startling her.
Another huff, as she officially decided she was not going to get even a splinter of sleep. Getting up from the bed, her eyes stuck on the open yellowing pages with loathing; the myth of Pandora, told in black, bold letters looked back at her, and the mere thought of it caused her heart to drop right into the pit of her stomach.
"You, dear, are evil."
The words echoed, vibrated, and boomed inside her head at full volume; and they were dripping with poison - slow, burning poison that ran through her veins, making them boil with anger and confusion. And it reached her trembling fingertips, and as she glanced at the dirty mirror in front of her she cowered at what she saw - or, rather, didn't - sheer emptiness. She couldn't see herself, or anything of the girl she had grown to be; and she stared in fear, pondering for too long on her doubts; was this who she really was now?
"Pure, utter, evil."
Then, of course, came to mind everything Castiel had revealed to her; and just as quickly as it reached her knowledge, she found herself surrounded by hostility, and she couldn't but look at the situation with hatred - a feeling she usually preferred to stay away from. With things being as they were, though, ignoring her feelings was no longer a choice.
"You what?"
She soon focused her attention on the muffled voices coming from the other room; she could perfectly recognize them, and she knew for a fact they were talking about her. Obviously, with the truth out in the open for only hours, she was still a delicate subject. What could happen, anytime, was on everyone's mind, even though no one would talk about it - not in the girl's presence.
Human fragility has its own way - it creeps up on you slowly, when least expected; to Aurora it felt like being stuck between four walls, all eyes on her, judging and pitiful. Sadly, no one was there to assure her someone would stay by her side; she could see no reason anyone would, not when she could turn out to be this unknown, frightening thing, at any time. And the thought scared her, for she didn't really want to go through any of this alone, and, frankly, she didn't know if she could.
When everything had quieted down, she decided to join her friends and get through the day, just like always. After all, what had really changed? She was still herself, and no matter how much she doubted it, it was true. Sam and Dean were very much determined to do what they always did, and they didn't for one second think to give up on the girl. They were always going to be there for her.
"Mornin' kid." Dean greeted, sending a half worried glance her way.
"Is it?" she muttered with a discreet yawn, pouring herself an all too essential cup of coffee and making her way where the two brothers were sat. Castiel was there, too, but he kept his distance.
"Didn't get much sleep, huh?" Sam sympathized, knowing a thing or two about sleepless nights.
"Nope. I've been reading all night. And," she sighed, tiredness evident in her voice, as well as distress, "I think I might be onto something."
"Something?"
"About...you know." she checked whether or not the two were following her, before continuing, "Are you familiar with the myth of Pandora?"
"Yeah."
"Nerd." Dean mumbled, referring to his brother, who, unlike him, was aware of what the girl was talking about.
Aurora smirked, "Basically...it says the gods created this perfect woman, Pandora, gave her this box, and told her not to open it, no matter what."
"Ah, let me guess, she opened it."
The girl nodded, "After Prometheus stole fire and gave it to humans, Zeus was pissed. Wanting revenge, he placed all evils in that box, knowing that the woman's curiosity would lead her to open it, and unleash them upon the world."
"And only hope remained inside." Sam finished, as soon as everything started to make sense.
"So— what are you saying?"
"I was thinking— Cas said that thing is in me, right? So...what if I'm, sort of, like the box?"
"You might be right." Castiel intervened, for the first time that morning as he walked up to them, causing Aurora to look up in surprise - though her gaze diverged quickly. "It...would be the reason angels were told to keep you safe. You are our hope to keep this world safe."
"Right." Aurora shuddered at his words, intimidated to say the least. What was she even supposed to keep in? What were they even up against? None of this could be characterized as normal; it wasn't just one of their usual hunts, searching for the bad guys and taking them out. They weren't dealing with demons, or angels - which, was already strange as it was. This was different, and it terrified her.
"But, uh, that demon friend of yours mentioned that witch we killed weeks ago."
"Yeah, the one who hexed you." Dean said, giving the girl his typical accusing glance.
"Yes, that one." she rolled her eyes, "Well, whatever she did to me, she said something in Latin. And if I'm not wrong about this, it meant 'reveal yourself'."
"Meaning?"
"I'm thinking she wanted this thing out, so what if she...unlocked a hatch, for it to come out, but it's actually still closed?"
"Because you're keeping it closed." Sam added, with a small smile of relief.
"Yeah." Aurora airily laughed, immediately relaxing, suddenly getting the urge to get up and squeeze the two brothers close to her in gratitude just for how much calmness they were able to give her. They were scared too, undoubtedly, but they knew better than to let it show. And in that moment, even just for a brief instant, all troubles were gone.
"So we're good, right? I mean, it's not like I'm gonna let it out." she spoke sure of herself.
"Well, that's good enough for me." Dean said reassuringly. Things always seemed to go sideways for them; so if he could, just this once, have some peace of mind, he was going to take it. "Now, how about we kill some sons of bitches?" he then piped up, flashing a newspaper in front of Aurora's eyes, who began scanning it intently.
"Vampires?"
"Bingo."
"Well, get me some food and I'm in." Aurora agreed, honestly eager to get back to her old hunting habits. As odd as it might've sounded, she did miss the old times.
Seeing that the idea of consuming some not so healthy food before hitting the road appealed to the Winchesters just as much as it did to the girl, Sam and Dean complied and made their way to the closest diner, leaving behind an optimistic Aurora and a very much uncomfortable Castiel.
The angel stood stiffly right in the middle of the room, looking around him, trying to distract himself from the fact that the one other person who was there quite possibly found it intolerable to be anywhere near him. Regardless of what anyone would say of a being like him, and in spite of the rule, expecting angels to be spineless and as unemotional as it gets, that was never Castiel.
He felt, and he did so strongly - a capacity he had perhaps acquired over all the years spent with the Winchesters. So it came easy to him, the moment he looked into Aurora's broken eyes, to feel what she felt, thoroughly.
"You know you are allowed to sit down, right?" Aurora spoke up, having had her eyes on the angel for quite a while. The girl herself was lost in her thoughts, trying to find the best way to talk to Castiel - now, to her, the one person who was there the night she lost her entire family.
"Yes, yes of course." he stammered after a second and walked over to the sofa, his awkwardness even more noticeable than before - something Aurora had always found quite amusing.
She joined him not long after, pulling her knees up to her chest as she sat down - a way to comfort herself. She began meddling with the pillow next to her as a mean of distraction as she tried to unravel the sounds coming from the TV, which seemed to have Castiel's full attention. In truth, though, he couldn't care less - or understand, for that matter - about what the damned thing was displaying. He was deep in thought, wondering whether he should speak, maybe attempt an apology. The silence that surrounded them, however, was becoming way too ear-piercing for the girl's liking.
"I don't...hate you, Cas."
He heard, and he listened, sincerely interested in what she had to say.
"It doesn't feel any better, knowing what really happened. I though it would— I thought it would bring me some peace and quiet...but it didn't. And I hate this, all of this, but I can't hate you for it. You thought you were doing the right thing, and...you saved my life. Maybe you shouldn't have," she admitted, "but you did, and, uh...I'm here because of you."
Castiel narrowed his eyes, genuinely unsure of how to respond to what she was telling him. Of course, he was euphoric to have received the girl's forgiveness, for he couldn't stand the guilt he felt because of how much wrong he had brought into her life. But the way her voice trembled, and the way she couldn't look anywhere but at her hands, held him back; he couldn't reach full contentment, because he knew - she blamed herself.
"So, I guess...I'm trying to thank you here." she finished with a small laugh.
"You don't have to."
Still, she didn't look up.
"Aurora." he reached out to the girl, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder. Her eyes finally dared to change their position, and her heart instantly filled with warmth at the sight of her friend's pleading eyes, "None of this is your fault."
"Yeah, yeah, right. I know." she dismissed him quickly. The burden wasn't lifted, and it probably never would be - they were both aware of that. But the angel felt responsible, and there was nothing else he could do, but try his best.
"Nothing I will ever say, or do, is going to make up for what I've done. I know that. But I need you to know," he declared, voicing everything that was on his mind, "I was bound to protect you, and that is what I still intend to do."
She nodded, grateful, keeping his words at heart; perhaps, after all, she didn't have to go through anything alone.
"Do you...uh, do you think anything bad is going to happen?"
Castiel sighed, wishing he could give her a definite answer so as to calm her, but unfortunately he didn't have one, "Whatever will happen...we'll face it."
━━━━━━━━━
Does anything ever go according to plan, though?
Surely, not for the Winchesters and their dearest friend. Not this once, at least.
It was supposed to be a clean, easy hunt. A couple of victims drained of their blood, a couple of vampires, a couple of chopped-off heads - child's play, compared to all the things they had seen in the past.
But, the worst always comes unexpectedly. It hits as hard as a brick wall, even to great fighters like the three of them. And just like that, something they assumed to be nothing much, turned out to be a very heavy mistake.
What came across as hundreds of fanged creatures came upon them as if a huge dam had collapsed; improbable, one could say, but it was indeed happening, and it was bad.
They were, as Dean would put it, screwed.
Surprise turned into panic, which then turned into helplessness. They all did their best, watching each other's backs, but second by second the creatures seemed to be multiplying, and the possible ways to get out of the situation were diminishing, fast.
Wanting to be realistic, there was no way out; not one that they would like, anyhow. They had no real leverage - Sam and Dean were currently pinned to the ground, their weapons nowhere in sight. And though Aurora was still managing to cut off a head or two, one spiteful vampire would soon knock her to the floor causing sharp pains to course all through her. It was quite clear by then: they were done for.
The thoughts that arose were inevitable - all it took was one side glance over to her friends, the ones who had sacrificed so much, the ones she looked up to so damn much, the ones she couldn't lose - and she knew, it couldn't be the end; they didn't deserve this. If there was even a shred of hope that she could save them, she would, no matter the cost. All else could be dealt with later. They were going to walk out, alive.
All it took, was one single thought.
Help me.
And it had taken over. And she embraced it - because maybe, all along, she didn't have any other choice; because in that moment, it didn't come as an enemy, as something to be feared. It came as strong, protective arms, as a promise of salvation.
A snap of fingers - and all vampires suddenly turned into smoke - the threat was gone, making place for a new one. Sam and Dean stood with their hands up in defense, puzzled. They looked at each other, then focused their eyesight on the person walking towards them.
"Always hated the nasty things."
"...Rory?"
"Oh, right, of course. I'm afraid...your friend is momentarily gone."
"No." Sam whispered, almost petrified. But he was completely ignored.
"It feels so good, to be finally out here. You can't even begin to understand, how uncomfortable it was to be trapped in there, all this time."
"W-what are you?"
"Oh, Dean, I thought you knew all about me. Your friend, I must admit, did a fair job keeping me in. But let's just say, I can't really be resisted."
"You...you let her go."
"Now, why would you say that?"
Aurora was gone, that much they could tell, and it was, frankly, what they were worrying most about. On the other hand, whoever - whatever - they were talking to, did not seem too friendly. And for a minute, they questioned the possibility of getting out of there, living and breathing.
"Don't worry too much. I'll be nice, just to show our dearest Aurora my gratitude. You'll live."
"Thanks for that." Dean addressed boldly, as Sam sent him a glare.
"However, I can't really have you dragging behind me, can I? The two of you must be a thorn in the side, wouldn't you say?"
"Ah, I don't know, I'd say we're a joy to have around. Right Sammy?"
Next thing they knew, they were violently flung against the nearest wall.
"Really, Dean?" Sam scolded, not really enjoying the circumstances.
A laugh followed, "I like you. But for your own sake, you better hope you never see me again."
Slowly, icy fingertips traced Dean's jawline, jerking him into a state of pure fright as a detestable smile looked back at him; next to him, his brother experienced the exact same, right before falling cold to the ground, all while everything gradually went dark.
"Sleep." was the last thing they heard; words spoken in a familiar voice, though nothing about what brought them was familiar.
━━━━━━━━━
— a/n
Yes yes, I am still alive. It's been more than a month since my last update, my apologies, but I couldn't get this done for the life of me. Soo shit's about to go down - next chapter will be the last of part one and I'm actually kinda proud of myself for making it this far. If you're reading this I love you and thank you so much for being patient with me! Hope you have the best day <3