WOTR | Book 3 Part III

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War Of The Regions:
Book 3 Part III
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The next day seems to pass painfully slow. It feels like more than just a few hours before they’re ready to get the plan into action, and Dean feels nervous and antsy at the idea of really trying to do this. Cas looks prepared, has been on edge all morning and Dean has been pacing, trying to let out nervous energy.

Ten minutes after they’re sent back to Room 10 after exercising, Dean and Cas go up to the boy Dean met when he first arrived, and they pull him aside to chat.

“Listen, Luke, you’ve gotta do us a huge favor,” Dean says, trying to sound as earnest as possible. “We’re just trying to get everyone out of here, and we need your help.”

Luke looks between them and says, “Are you two, like... dating?”

Dean pulls back. “What? Yes - no, I mean - yes, but that’s not the point, dude. You need to start a fight with Aaron.”

“We need a diversion,” Cas says. “You need to be that diversion.”

Luke is looking between them with a dubious expression on his face. “You’re kidding, right? I’ve never fought in my life. I used to work in a mill, I don’t... I’m not good at that kind of stuff!”

Something about this kid reminds Dean of Andy and he smiles a little. “Please,” he says, softly. “I need to save my brother. I want to get us all out of here, but we can’t do it without you.”

Luke looks between them a few times before shaking his head and smiling slightly. “I must be crazy, but okay. Why the Hell not, I guess.”

Dean pats him once on the back. “Thank you, man, honestly. Do it in about five minutes, okay?”

Dean and Cas walk back to their bunk beds and go over their plan again in hushed voices, Dean fiddling with the matchbox in his pocket.

Dean shares a look with Luke and nods, just slightly, once the five minutes is up. Luke takes a deep breath and walks over to Aaron, who’s sitting on his bunk.

“Hey, jerk,” he says, standing front of him. He falters for a moment before blurting out, “You’re a dick.”

Aaron narrows his eyes and stands up. “What did you say?”

“You’re... a dick?” Luke says, looking unsure.

Dean shakes his head and quietly groans. Cas leans over to him and says, “It isn’t working, Dean.”

Aaron narrows his eyes at Luke and says, “What are you even talking about, you idiot?”

Dean walks over to Oliver, leans down next to him and says, “Do whatever you can to piss Aaron off. We need a fight, and make it look real.”

Oliver looks up at him in confusion but after a moment of reading Dean’s expression he nods. Dean takes a step back and waits by the side of the door with Cas, and watches as the scene plays out.

“Hey, fuck off,” Oliver says, pulling to full height and nearing on Aaron. Aaron immediately turns to him and narrows his eyes. Dean smiles and shares a look with Cas.

“Who the fuck invited you?” Aaron spits out.

“I think you need to stay over there,” Oliver says cocking his head towards the other side of the room. “Away from me.”

“Louder,” Dean says into a cough.

“Have you got a problem?” Aaron says, staring him down.

“Screw you!” Oliver shouts, and gives him a little push. Aaron stumbles a few steps backwards before nearing towards him again, and rolls his sleeves up.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Aaron yells.

There’s a shout from outside the door and the sound of a beep and the door unlocking, before an Official walks in, expression furious.

Oliver doesn’t even falter though, just keeps on yelling, and Aaron yells back until they’re pushing at one another, and the Official is running forwards to split them up.

Dean slips out, Cas behind him, and they walk hastily down the steps. Dean fingers the box of matches in his pocket and keeps his eye out for something - anything - to burn.

“Dean,” Cas says quietly, as they walk along the corridor. “What if--”

“Ssh,” Dean whispers, holding his arm out to keep Cas back. Two Officials are shouting, their footsteps heavy on the ground, but they get quieter as they ascend the steps.

“Sounds like Oliver is doing well,” Dean mumbles, taking a deep breath to calm himself. They edge along the wall and Dean looks around the corner to see the assembly hall. There are sounds coming from it, but a thick curtain is drawn so nothing can be seen through the windows.

“Okay, shit. I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Dean says, opening the box and taking out a match.

“What are you lighting?” Cas asks, frowning at him.

“That curtain,” Dean says, walking towards the door.

“Dean, I don’t think that’s--”

Dean slowly opens the door and Cas snaps his mouth shut. Dean swipes the match along the side of the box, wincing at the sound it makes and chucks it at the bottom of the curtain before slowly shutting the door again.

“We need to leave,” Cas says seriously. “Now, Dean.”

Dean pulls Cas towards the kitchen doors and peers through the small windows, before pulling them open and sliding inside, letting it shut gently behind them. They’re in a bright room, with some fridges and rows of cabinets on the walls, and sacks of potatoes on the ground.

“We can’t stay in here,” Cas hisses, before he pulls Dean towards the end of the room, yanking a door open, and shoving Dean and himself into a small storage room.

It smells of spices, and it’s completely dark, and they’re pressed up against one another with food piled high around them. There’s the sound of muffled yelling through the door, and Dean holds his breath.

Suddenly there’s a loud siren filling the air, and Dean grins, kissing Cas quickly on the side of his neck. They stay still until the sounds of footsteps running out of the kitchen have stopped, and Cas opens the door, pulling Dean out with him.

Cas runs straight into a thin, weedy looking man who’s staring at them with wide eyes, frozen to the spot. The sprinklers have come on and everything is dripping wet, and Dean feels it as it chills him through his clothes.

“Sorry, man,” Dean says over the sound of the siren, pulling Cas back and then landing a punch right in the middle of the man’s forehead, using all his body weight. The man stumbles backwards with a yelp and Dean knees him between the legs, wincing as he does, not really wanting to hurt the man, but knowing he has to. He falls to the ground and Dean punches him once more in the side of the head before he loses all tension and he’s unconscious.

“Sorry, shit,” Dean says, grabbing hold of him beneath his armpits. He drags him towards the storage room they were hiding in, and Cas opens the door, allowing Dean to roll him in there. They shut the door, and Cas pulls over a bag of potatoes, and rests it against the front.

“We need to move,” Cas says, and Dean follows him out of the kitchen doors. There’s smoke in the hallway, and Dean coughs as soon as they enter it, instinctively crouching down.

“Dean, I don’t think we’ll need to even rescue your brother,” Cas says. “The fire worked too well. Look--”

Through the smoke two Officials are walking, shouting back behind them, and there are a cluster of children behind him, one of which is Sam. Sam.

Dean pulls Cas back into the kitchens and counts ten seconds before walking back out again and joining the back of the line as they move through the smoke. Officials are at the door of the assembly hall with fire extinguishers, and Dean leans past the boy in front of him to grab Sam’s arm, yanking him backwards. Sam struggles, until he looks over his shoulder and his mouth parts and grabs Dean, pulling him forward.

“Come on,” Dean says, pulling him along. They burst out into the sunlight and the front of the building is crowded with people, and Officials barking orders. The three of them slip away and through the children, keeping their heads down.

“We need a distraction, Dean,” Cas says over the sound of the chatter and the siren, which is still wailing through the air.

“Fuck, I know,” he says, looking around, keeping a firm grip on Sam’s forearm.

“Hey,” Ruby says, pushing past people towards them, and Dean lets out a breath of relief. Her hair is wet and sticking to the sides of her face, but she looks determined and ready to do whatever it takes. “Tell me what to do, and make it quick.”

“We need to keep the Officials occupied. Just - something away from the gates.”

Ruby nods, and looks quickly around the crowds before moving away. Dean pulls Sam towards the gates, quickly looking him over as they walk past. He looks tired but he doesn’t look hurt, and Dean loosens his grip a little.

Cas is walking beside Dean, looking through the gates with his eyes narrowed.

“Dean,” he says, voice edged with panic, “it’s not working. It’s not going to work.”

“What isn’t?”

Suddenly there’s a loud scream and Dean looks over to see Ruby pointing into the crowd. “He’s got a knife!” she yells, and the Officials run towards her, pushing apart the crowd.

“Dean,” Cas hisses, pulling him close, and Dean tears his eyes away from Ruby’s distraction. “They’re not coming. The fire engines. The gate isn’t going to open.”

The words hit him like a gunshot. “You - what?”

“They’d be here by now. The gate has to be opened. In there,” he says, pointing towards a small office with just a panel of switches behind. An Official sits there, and there’s an Official just outside the door, looking like he’s itching to move but can’t desert his station.

“Fuck,” Dean says, running a hand over his face. “We can’t - I need to...”

Ruby is still causing a fuss, insisting she saw someone with a knife, the story sounding like she’s decided he had matches now too, but she’s not going to be able to keep it up much longer. The sirens suddenly stop and Cas eyes widen, gaze flicking to Dean.

“We need a distraction to get the guards to move from the control box. So I can open the gate,” Dean says finally, trying to formulate a new plan. Sam is watching him with a panicked expression. He looks to Cas and their gaze meets and then Cas nods. He nods and something dies and hope grows at the same time, because Dean understands what this means.

“I’ll do it,” Cas says, running a hand through his hair, watching the guards as they try and gather the children, lining them up to get them back inside. He turns to Dean with wide eyes. “Go, Dean.”

This is it. He has to make a choice.

“Cas,” Dean starts, reaching his hand out. He doesn’t want it to be like this, but really, there wasn’t a choice in the first place. Not after everything. Not after all this.

“Go, Dean. We don’t have much time.”

Cas knows, they all know. This is it.

“I can’t--”

Cas takes a step forward and shakes his head. “Let me go, Dean. Forget.”

Dean wants to laugh at that. Forget? He couldn’t let this go if he spent his entire life trying. They stare at each other a moment longer, before Sam is pulling him along by his sleeve, and he turns to follow him. He turns back to watch Cas and Cas is smiling weakly at him. He raises a hand up, a goodbye, and then Sam is pulling him harder and he has to turn away.

They’re running through the crowds of people, and Dean stops Sam, faces him and says, “Go to the exit.”

Sam turns around and slips past people, keeping low and out of sight. From behind him he can already hear as Cas begins to shout at the guards, throwing insults at them, trying to lure them away. Dean starts to run towards the small hut with the gate control in, and Cas is in front of the Officials that are standing there, trying to antagonize them.

Finally, one of them moves for him, and Cas dodges out of the way, still luring him further. The Official takes the bate, calling after the one behind the desk, who’s been watching, itching to leave his seat. The two Officials chase after Cas as he makes his way to the opposite side of the fenced in area they’re standing in, and Dean doesn’t waste any time in diving inside through the open door and pressing the buttons and levers until the gate is opening.

All they have is enough time for a few people to escape before the Officials notice and come for them, and Dean runs out of the hut and scans the crowd for Sam. People have already started darting out through the parting gates, and all Sam would need to do is run forward and he’d be out.

Instead he’s waiting there, eyes on Dean and Dean points to the exit, trying to make him go.

He can’t see Cas anywhere now, and Officials are noticing, and everything is too much. He knows what he has to do, and knows it’s going to tear him up inside to do it.

“Go!” Dean yells over the shouting, waving at Sam. “What the hell are you waiting for, Sam? Go!”

But Sam stands defiant, holds his ground, and shakes his head. And then there’s a yell, and the guards are running towards him through the crowds of children as they notice them escape, and there’s no more time for thinking.

He can see it happening in slow motion, and before he even contemplates the decision, he’s running towards Sam. He reaches him, pulls him away and they’re running, pushing past people. There’s a hand pulling him back, grabbing the back of his shirt, and he spins back, elbows the guard in the face, and spins back around, Sam pulling him along.

They keep running, they run towards the gate, and there are screams and crying and sirens and the sound of guns. Other children are leaving with them, running in all different directions, and the guards are frantic, trying to keep everyone penned in. Dean looks over his shoulder and he meets one gaze. Cas is standing there, a guard running towards him, but he isn’t moving, he doesn’t have a chance of escape. He doesn’t even try to run, because it’s over. It’s over for him.

The sound of shooting makes Dean spin back around and pull Sam towards the woods. They break through the clearing and don’t stop running. He absently realizes that Ruby is one of free ones and is running away from them towards the village. Dean feels a stabbing pain at every step, and he’s crying and he’s yelling, and he’s falling down on his knees, and Sam is trying to pull him up, pull him along.

Dean is shaking his head and digging his hands into the dirt and Sam is pulling him harder, and he’s on his feet, and they’re running again, and all he can see Cas. He can’t stop seeing Cas.

The trees are flying past them and it feels like a wound which is tearing apart, and Sam is crying, and Dean is brought back to the present. He tries to speed them up, pulls Sam through the thick bushes and rows and rows of trees.

It feels like hours. They’re collapsing behind a fallen log and clutching at their sides, slumping into the earth and wiping their eyes and cheeks with dirty hands. Sam looks towards him, gasping for breath, and there’s such sorrow there Dean has to turn away.

Sam tugs on his arm to get him to look back. “Dean,” he says. “Dean.”

Dean looks at him and shakes his head. Sam pulls him closer. “We’ll get him. We’ll go back.”

The admittance that they’ve done that, that Dean has really left Cas, given up on him, hits him hard and he’s crying and he’s choking and he’s turning his head away because Sam can’t see him like this.

He can’t go back. They can’t turn back, not after this. He’s been trying for too long to keep Sam safe. A memory comes flooding back, of Cas telling him the only thing he was afraid of was losing Dean, and that he would rather be trapped inside with him, than alone on the outside. Dean can’t even process that, can’t fathom the pain he’s caused.

“He’ll be okay,” Sam says, shaking Dean’s shoulders. He’s sobbing beside him, and he grabs Dean’s shoulder to try and turn him. “Dean. Dean?”

He finally turns to look at him and tears are running down Sam’s face, and Dean can’t say anything again. There’s nothing he can say that could possibly change the mistakes he has made.

“I sacrificed him,” he chokes out, but the voice doesn’t sound like his own. He knows it is, he knows it’s him speaking, but the words feel weightless and tasteless on his tongue. They don’t feel like they really exist.

“I sacrificed him and I can’t regret it.” He’s not even sure if Sam understands what he’s saying but the words are spilling through his lips before he even realizes he’s thought them. “I can’t regret it because he saved you. But I want to regret it, but I can’t.”

Sam pulls him closer and he buries his face in his hands. “I can’t,” he chokes out.

The guilt feels like hot acid. He left Cas. Cas isn’t going to make it. Cas saved Sam, and fuck, there’s only one way to repay that, and that’s by saving Cas, but it’s too late, it’s got to be too late.

One boy shouldn’t mean this much to him. “You shouldn’t leave the people you love. I have,” he sobs out. “I’ve made so many mistakes.”

If he hadn’t let Sam get taken in the first place. If he’d turned Cas and Gabriel away when they’d met. If he hadn’t let Andy take a bullet for him. If he hadn’t let Jo go into the woods to find a mother that was already dead. All he’s been doing is running. He shouldn’t have let Cas come with him. Cas should never have met him.

He can’t keep running. He can’t lose somebody else he loves.

He can’t do this. He’s made so many bad choices and he can’t make another.  He’s fucked it up, screwed Cas over, and there’s only one way he can try and fix it.

“I have to go back,” Dean says, shaking Sam’s arm frantically, trying to pull him up. “Sam, I can’t leave him. We can’t leave him. He didn’t leave us.”

Sam just nods at him, swallowing hard against his tears.

Are we going back? he asks with shaky fingers.

Dean just nods and pulls Sam forward, kissing him on the top of his head. He pulls back and the tears are running down Sam’s cheeks.

“Sam? Dean!”

Dean turns around and he’s momentarily frozen to the spot. He feels Sam tense beside him.

There’s a figure jogging through the trees, and Dean starts walking towards it, Sam beside him.

“Dad?” he shouts, and then John is turning towards him, running in their direction.

“Dad,” he gets out, feeling the last thread snap, and then John’s arms are around them and he’s crying again and he feels lost and broken but something else has been put back together. Sam is quietly sobbing next to him, and John steps back to look over them both. Dean looks up at him and sees his beard has grown out, and there are cuts and grazes over his cheeks. He looks tired but he’s alive.

“My boys,” he says, and runs a hand through Sam’s hair. “I found you. You’re okay.”

“Dad, I can’t stay,” Dean says abruptly. “I’ve got to go back.”

John looks at Dean and shakes his head at him. “Dean, you can’t just go back. Rufus saw you two leaving through the gates and I followed you here. You made it out, boys.”

Dean takes a step back and runs a hand over his eyes. “I have to, dad. I have to.”

His voice cracks and he turns away and takes a deep breath to steady himself.

“Who?” John asks, and Dean looks towards him. “Who is it?”

Dean can’t put into words how much this boy means to him. “He saved us, dad. He saved Sammy.”

John takes a long look at Sam, and Dean can see when he makes his decision. “I’ll get Bobby.”

“Bobby’s here?” Dean asks, disbelieving. “I thought he died. I thought you all had died.”

John looks at him, eyes wet. “It’s not that easy to get us, son.”

Sam looks to Dean, and shakes his head. What’s happening?

Dean takes a step towards him. We have to go back.

Sam nods like he’s already accepted that. What are we waiting for?

“John!” a voice calls, and John turns his head, a tall man running towards them. He’s got a gun in one hand and he nods at the boys in turn when he sees them.

“We’re going to operate the search and retrieve mission on Roman’s child camp.”

“Good,” John says. “Let me just... get my son to safety,” he says, pulling Sam close, “and I’ll be there.”

“Yes, sir,” he says, turning away.

“Henrickson,” John calls after him. The man stops and turns around, eyebrows raised. “Take Dean.”

Dean nods at him, gives Sam a quick smile, before he’s running after Henrickson back through the woods. The trees blur past him and Henrickson tells him what they’ve been doing, shouting instructions at him as they run, and Dean takes a deep breath and follows him into the line of fire.



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