Alexandria (Chapter 12 of 13)

[tikific]

Please see the masterpost for warnings, summary, and previous chapters.



“All aboard!” hollered Benny. “The S.S. Minerva. This ship of the desert ain’t waiting on nobody.”

He stood just outside the ruins of the Sapphire fort amidst a splendid chaos of loading provisions and bodies. Hanging above him was a rope ladder which happened to be tied, somewhere up there, to the carapace of the giant crawly-bug. They had managed to fashion a sort of sling on top of both her and her sister, Circe, anchoring pieces of canvas to their hard outer shells. They had communicated their intentions through Samandriel, who fondly remembered the passage over aboard Benny’s real ship.

“Permission to come aboard, Captain?” said Inias, who actually threw in a salute. Kevin and Jo crowded behind him. The boys were both still dusty from their journey back through the tunnel from the Red Fort.

“You kids sure about this?” asked Benny. “I don’t wanna get in no trouble with your brother, Inias.”

“I have a lot of experience with swords, sir,” said Inias. “And both Kevin and Jo are expert in using knives.”

Benny cast an eye up at his “army,” which consisted of the few members of his real crew who remained and a whole bunch of erstwhile sous-chefs and busboys armed with cleavers. “You keep to the back of the action, you hear? That’s a direct order. From your captain.”

The three teens nodded excitedly and clambered up the rope ladder. “Should call this the S.S. Kitchen Police,” Benny muttered.

“What’s that about my kitchen?” barked Crowley, who was approaching along with Jess and Pamela.

“We don’t have need of no cranky chefs,” Benny told him.

“I shall ready a victory feast for when you return, triumphant!” said Crowley, giving him a bow.

“I don’t feel good about letting you go alone, Jess,” said Pamela.

“I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ll probably need to rescue my fiancé again.”

“Fiancé?” said Pamela.

“Fiancé?” said Benny. “Well, congratulations, young lady!”

“Oh, goody,” said Crowley. “I do love baking wedding cakes. Come along, love,” he told Pamela. “We must get started on the seating arrangements!”

Benny grinned and watched them walk off. He nodded to Jess, who scrambled up the rope ladder, and then climbed after her, pulling the rope up after him. “Helmsman!” he barked.

“Is that me?” asked Samandriel.

“Yeah, kid, that’s you.”

Samandriel was near the front of the canvas, lying on his belly, with one of Minerva’s thin tentilla wraped around a wrist. Cecelia, who they also hauled up on board, sat beside him, excitedly wriggling her tentacles.

“All ahead, full speed, for the Red Fort!” said Benny, standing up and dramatically pointing his sword - the one Cas had forged for him - in the appropriate direction. Samandriel closed his eyes and communicated with Minerva, and suddenly, the crawly-bug was in motion.

And Benny was thrown from his feet. “Oops,” he said apologetically as Kevin and Inias caught him.

All of the soldiers of the Red Fort garrison - the ones left alive, that is - had been confined to one dormitory, so it was crowded inside the room.

“We’re worried about Bobby,” said Victor, leading Cas and Ellen over to a cot where Bobby lay. He was pale, and his breathing was shallow.

“He’s been hit on the head,” said Ash, as the other soldiers gathered around. “I mean, he’ll be okay, he’s got a hard head.” Several folks laughed, but it was a nervous laughter. They were clearly uneasy with the well-loved commander injured like this.

Ellen sat down on the bed next to Bobby, a worried look on her face. “He’s probably got a concussion. We need to get him out of here. Has anyone seen Doc Cottle?”

“There were some folks that escaped,” said Victor. “Mostly civilians and Captain Lafitte’s people. The doc may have been with them.”

“Damn,” said Ellen, looking around at the many wounded men. Even Victor was clutching at his ribs, though he was trying to be subtle about it.

“These men are not going to fight Lucifer’s contingent,” said Castiel.

“We’re fine, Cas,” said Victor.

“Yeah, we wanna kick their asses! Payback!” added Ash.

“It’s too dangerous,” said Cas. “I’ve just gotten word from one of his men that Lucifer has a plan to destroy the fort, with all of us inside.”

“How the hell would he do that?” But despite his brave words, Victor looked edgy.

“Dean and I noticed that the outpost had been damaged by one of the Enemy. We wondered why this had happened. One of Lucifer’s men told me how they’ve been doing it: they kidnap one of the young Enemy creatures and injure it. Somehow, this signals the parent to come and attempt a rescue.”

There was a stunned silence in the room. “And they’ll knock down an entire fort?” Victor finally asked.

“They destroyed the Emerald Fort that way.”

“But this is our home,” said Victor.

“I know. It’s mine too.”

Victor nodded to Cas. “Lucy’s always been a little crazy,” said Ash.

“Yeah, well he’s gone from a little to a whole lot,” grumbled Ellen.

“He may be under the influence of some great magic,” said Cas.

“Or he could just be a giant asshole,” muttered Bobby.

“Bobby!” said Ellen.

No one had noticed Bobby rousing. He painfully propped himself up on one elbow.

“Be careful, you old fool,” Ellen told him, but there was affection in her voice.

“The kid’s right. You boys look like I feel. If Lucy’s sprung the Enemy on us, we need to clear out and take this up later.”

“Bobby,” said Cas. “Do you know anything about the Enemy Lucifer captured?”

“No, I sure don’t.”

“Virgil claimed that Lucifer had captured one of their young. He told me it might have been housed in John Winchester’s quarters.”

Bobby rubbed his head. “John? That’s funny, that’s the last thing I remember, trying to roust John.”

“So you don’t know if the creature was there?” Bobby shook his head. “It’s possible if we locate the young creature and let it escape, we could possibly still save the fort.”

“You wanna try looking up in John’s room?”

“I’ll go with you, Cas,” said Victor.

“I think it would be better if you assist with the evacuation,” Cas told him. “I could elude Lucifer’s men more easily if I’m alone.”

“You sure, kid?” asked Bobby.

“John’s quarters are near to Dean’s. I know that area … quite well.”

Bobby chuckled. “I suppose you do.”

Abaddon pointed out across the battlements.

Lucifer picked up the binoculars and scanned the horizon. “How long has it been there?”

“I’m not completely sure. It came up in my last scrying.”

“Interesting, isn’t it? We have its calf, but it’s not attacking. I wonder why?”

“Maybe not now, but soon,” said Abaddon. “This joint is gonna crumble.”

Lucifer was silent.

“Lucifer. We need to get everybody outta here,” said Abaddon. “Fast.”

“You knew what was coming, Abaddon.”

“Look, Lucifer, what about the hostages? There's civilians in there. Cooks and blacksmiths and the like. Some of them are just kids.”

“An unfortunate circumstance, perhaps. After all, this is war.”

It was Abaddon's turn to be silent. “Is it?” she finally said.

Lucifer pulled himself up. “I was fairly certain I had located my traitor. Don't make me doubt myself.”
He smiled courteously at Abaddon and gave her back the binoculars. Then he turned to the sentry on duty. “Tell no one about the Enemy. If word gets out, I will kill you both. Personally.” And then he departed.

Abaddon glared after Lucifer, and then arched an inquisitive eyebrow at the sentry.

Dean crept up another back staircase to another darkened passageway. He had lived here since birth, so he knew every nook and cranny. But even so, he had already had a couple of close calls with Lucifer’s men. He peeked around another corner and was greatly annoyed to see a sentry barred his way through what he thought was a little-known back corridor. Crouching down behind the wall, he was thinking through alternative routes when, to his surprise, he spied his father coming from the other direction. John strolled right up to the guard, whistling as he walked.

“Identify yourself!” demanded the sentry, as Dean held his breath.

“I’m John Winchester. Good to meet you,” said John, sticking out his hand.

The sentry held up his sword. “Stay right there.”

“That’s not too friendly,” said John, moving to walk around the guy.

“I said, halt!” But John ignored him.

“Dad!” Dean burst out just as the guard struck his father, who was unarmed, right in the gut with his sword. Brandishing his weapon, Dean fell on the guy. There was a brief fight, and Dean ended up knocking away the guy’s sword and then running him through. The sentry collapsed in a pool of blood, and Dean turned to tend to his father.

But there was no John Winchester, no blood, and no sign of a struggle.

Dean gasped as he was suddenly tackled and pushed up against the wall, a hand over his mouth. He struggled, but then stopped when he saw who it was.

“Dad? Wait! I just saw the guy kill you.”

“That wasn’t me,” said John. “That was a doppelganger. Missouri gave me a spell.”

“Wow. That was impressive.” He stared at his father. “But I thought you didn’t like magic.”

John sighed. “As a general principle, no, I don’t. But let’s say I’ve been warming up to it. Now, tell me what the hell you’re doing here, Dean. Is your brother safe?”

“Sam’s fine. He’s out talking to a crawly-bug.”

John was speechless for a time. Dean was amused by this, but didn’t have time to savor the moment. “Dad, we gotta get out of here. We called the King of the Bugs and told him Lucy is the one who’s been kidnapping the little bugs.”

“He’s been doing … what?”

“That’s how the Emerald Fort was destroyed. And we think it’s what destroyed the Sapphire Fort: a bug.”

“And you’re … talking to these things.”

“It’s a long story, Dad. But we need to get everybody out of here. Everybody but Lucifer, that is!”

“I saw where they were holding our men,” said John. Let's go.”

Victor was nervous, to say the least. He knew the layout of the Red Fort like the back of his hand, but he had a large group of people to move, some of them badly wounded. Bobby had refused a stretcher, but he was clinging closely to Ellen. And just the fact that he had let Victor take point meant the old man must be hurting.

He came to another blind passageway and signaled everybody to halt. It looked clear, but something was wrong. Victor couldn’t explain it: it was like a tickling on the back of his neck.

“What is it?” whispered Bobby.

“Not sure,” Victor told him. He motioned for Ash, and, swords drawn, the both of them rounded the corner and proceeded cautiously down the hallway. Both clung to the side of the corridor, creeping along until they came to the next corner. Victor nodded to Ash and, at the same moment, they leapt out into the hallway, weapons at the ready.

And came face to face with several of Lucifer’s men. There was a tall redhead leading them.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said, lowering her sword. “Does this place have a back door or not?”

Victor and Ash looked at one another. “Uh. What?” asked Victor, who was still holding his sword.

“I’m Abaddon,” said the woman. “I’m presently Lucifer’s second in command, which, given our leader’s current state of mind, is not a great career choice. So, we’re deserting. But we wanna avoid being bug feed.”

“Bug feed? Is there a crawly-bug here?” asked Ash.

“You hadn't spotted him?” asked Abaddon.

“We've been otherwise occupied,” grunted Victor.

“He’s out front. Biggest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Then it’s just like Cas said. We’ve gotta evacuate,” Victor told Ash. “Let me get my men. We’ll lead the way.” He nodded to Ash, and they walked back down the hall.

“Wait, we’re gonna trust ‘em?” Ash whispered.

“Not on your life. But I don’t see as we have any choice.” He rounded the corner. “All right. I have some bad news, and some worse news.”

“What the hell is it now?” asked Bobby.

“We’re teaming up with Lucifer.”

Cas crept along the hallway. He hadn’t run into too many sentries along the way, he thought was odd. Was something distracting Lucifer’s men?

He reached the hallway where the Winchesters had their residences. John’s suite was just down the corridor from Dean’s, though Cas hadn’t been in there much, as John was usually away somewhere.

Looking carefully up and down the hallway, he crept over to John’s door. He had expected to spend a little time breaking the locking spell, but to his surprise, the door was open and slightly ajar.

Holding his breath and drawing his sword, he carefully pushed the door open. It was completely dark inside. He stepped across the threshold and scanned around the room, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dimness. The room John used as an office was in great disarray. Like Cas’s smithy it had been ransacked by Lucifer’s troops.

He froze. There was a soft noise coming from the hallway, where Cas guessed John’s bedroom was located. Gripping his sword, he edged down the hallway, towards the door. It was unlocked, but he definitely heard a scuffling sound from within. There was a light underneath the door.

“Mr. Winchester?” he whispered.

There was no reply.

Screwing up his courage, Castiel gripped the doorknob, and, with a quick twist, leapt into the room, his sword at the ready. But the room was deserted. It was lighter in here, as there was an open window that let in the sunlight. A breeze was blowing through the window, creating the noise of the curtains flapping in the wind.

Castiel sighed and lowered his weapon. He looked around the room, was also a mess. Regretfully, he sheathed his sword and began to make his way out of John’s suite. He walked back down the hallway, and into the office.

Cas froze. There was a man standing there.

“Hello again, Castiel,” said Lucifer.

“They’ve been captured,” said John.

Dean peered over the railing at the room on the floor below. A group of soldiers was paused, quite near the very back entrance of the fort. There were several injured men, and they were having their wounds tended.

What struck Dean - and obviously his father had noticed as well - was that the group was a mixture of soldiers from the Red Fort garrison as well as the Onyx fort: Lucifer’s men.

Dean withdrew from the railing and crouched down next to his father against the wall. “But nobody’s holding a sword to anybody, Dad. I’m not sure what’s happening.”

“What’s happening is we’re gonna get down there and kick their asses.”

“Dad-“

“Now, soldier!”

Dean nodded and reluctantly headed downstairs, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Two of Lucifer’s men were standing at the edge of the crowd, their backs to the stairs. John had decided if they took out a couple of them, the disruption would allow their own men to overthrow their (presumed) captors. But Dean didn’t think it looked anything like a hostage situation, especially as he saw Victor and Bobby up there talking quietly with a redhead he took for one of Lucifer’s group.

Dean searched the faces but didn’t see Cas, which also worried him. He hoped the bladesmith was all right.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and gestured up to his father, who he couldn’t see, but knew was watching. He crept up in back of Lucifer’s men.

“Hey, Dean! Dude!” hailed Ash, who had evidently spotted them.

Dean froze, his sword raised. “Uhhhhh, hey, Ash.”

With a cry, John leapt down from the stairs and landed in their midst.

“John, what in seven hells do you think you’re doing?” barked Bobby.

“This is John Winchester?” asked the redhead, who was giving him an appraising look.

“What am I doing?” asked John. “What are you doing? These are Lucifer’s troops. Did you get knocked in the head?”

“As a matter of fact, yeah,” said Bobby, feeling his bandages. “This is Abaddon, John. They’re deserting.”

“Lucifer’s nuts. Almost as nuts as you, it looks like,” Abaddon told John, a wry smile on her face.

“And apparently there’s a crawly-bug out there looking to take down the fort,” said Bobby.

“Yeah, it’s … a friend,” said Dean.

“What?”

“It’s a long story,” said Dean. “But we got a firm deadline. Maybe twenty minutes.”

“Okay, ya idjits,” said Bobby. “You heard the man. Get moving.”

“Uh, I think I may have sprained my ankle,” John admitted.

“Get to his ankle, and then get moving,” laughed Bobby.

Dean searched the faces. “Has anybody seen Cas?”

Ellen stepped forward with a roll of bandages for John. “We just left him, honey. One of Lucifer’s men told him where they were keeping an Enemy creature captive.”

“Where?”

“Your dad’s quarters.”

“Dammit, I don’t want bug spit all over my room!” groused John.

“Yes, and he was supposed to come right back,” Bobby told him.

“I got this,” said Dean. “You guys get out of here, I’ll be right back.” And, before they could reply, he was off running.

Sam sat in Iskander’s shade, sweating his ass off, and compulsively checking his watch. Dean had been gone a long time. Surely, Demeter was drawing near.

And then he heard the rumbling.

“No! It’s too early.”

Iskander began to move, all his legs flailing at once. Sam scrambled away as the huge animal turned itself about. It was like watching a sailing ship maneuvering for warfare. He ran up the closest dune and stood at the very top, watching the show from above.

And then Demeter broke the surface, all twitching legs and writhing tentacles. To Sam’s surprise, she breached fully, turning around to face Iskander. The two beasts faced off for a while, flaring their tentacles. And then, in a dominance display, Demeter raised the full front third of her body off the ground. Iskander did the same, and they paused for a moment, poised, facing each other.

Sam held his breath.

And then both of them slammed back down. The earth trembled, and Sam was knocked off his feet. He tumbled, rolling down the back of the dune. He paused a moment at the very bottom, the wind knocked out of him. And then he scrambled back up to see what was happening.

Both of the creatures were rearing again. And a huge chunk had fallen off the Red Fort’s front façade.

“How fortunate to run into you,” said Lucifer, leaning against the door jamb, casually swinging his sword.

Cas stood silent, breathing hard.

Lucifer canted his head to the side. “It’s not here, you know.”

“What’s not here?”

“Don’t play dumb! We put the creature down in the kitchen.”

“Then get out of my way! I need to find it.”

Lucifer raised a hand. “Castiel, aren’t you wondering by now why it’s so quiet around here? You know, your friends are in for a surprise. I’m allowing them to escape. Along with some filthy traitors. They’ll think they’ve sneaked out the back, but I’ve sent all my troops out to meet them.”

“It will be a slaughter,” said Cas.

“Yes.”

“I’ve got to warn them!”

“Or did you need to free that wretched bug? Either way, you won’t have time.” And Lucifer smiled his serpent smile.

Cas pulled the gun out of his belt. “I have one bullet in this gun, Lucifer. It’s for you.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Your enchanted bullets have no effect on me. I’m warded against your magic.”

“So were Virgil and Alastair.”

“Come on. Give it a try. And waste a bullet.”

Castiel stood, gun pointed, for a long moment.

The entire building groaned and shook. Lucifer was thrown against the door frame. Seizing the opportunity, Cas ducked past him and, pausing only to elbow Lucifer in the gut as he passed, fled down the corridor.

“You little fucker!” said Lucifer. He rubbed his stomach. “You hit me!” Cursing, he took off after Castiel.

Cas ran down the hallway and ducked into Dean’s room, where he made straight for the bathroom.

“A bathroom break?” chuckled Lucifer. “Isn’t this an inconvenient time?” He smirked and sauntered through Dean's chambers and into the bathroom.

Lucifer stalked slowly into the room, listening to the sound of dripping water. “Where the hell did you go. Oh, I see.” He padded over to the hot springs pool. He raised his sword, but was unable to see below the surface into the darkened pool. He edged over to the side.

A hand shot up, gripping his ankle, and pulling him down into the pool.

Lucifer screamed, and got a mouthful of water. And then someone was up on his shoulders, forcing him down, under the water. He hadn’t gotten a full breath before he was pulled in, so he wrestled desperately for the surface. Flailing, he reached back, desperately trying to unseat his unseen tormenter.

And then he struggled less.

And then less.

And then his body went limp.

After a while, Cas surfaced, gasping for breath. He felt hands under his armpits, yanking him out of the pool.

“Dean!”

“What are you doing?” said Dean, as Cas sputtered and spat water.

“Drowning Lucifer.”

Dean looked over the pool. “Cool! Dude, we gotta get outta here. Now!”

As if in answer the entire building rocked again.

“Dammit! I told Iskander to wait!”

“Who?”

“He’s King of the Crawly-bugs. Evidently.”

The building rocked again, and part of the ceiling fell, almost clobbering them.

Dean spat ceiling dust. “All right, we gotta go yesterday. Come on!”

“Dean! We need to rescue the creature.”

“We don’t know where it is.”

“I do! Come on.”

And they took off down the hall.

Victor was still feeling nervous. His motley band of soldiers had made it out the (they hoped) secret back entrance and onto the desert. They were now all assembled in a box canyon all the way over on the opposite side of the hill from the main entrance to the fort. But while the rest of the men were breathing a sigh of relief that they hadn't engaged Lucifer's men in their retreat, he remained wary.

“We should stop here and tend to the wounded,” said Bobby.

“Bobby, we should get out of here.”

“We said we'd wait a spell for Dean. What's gotten into you, Victor?”

“In case you've forgotten. Lucifer's men nearly killed me and Ash, just to prove a point. I don't see him just letting us walk out of here.”

“That's what we just done,” said Bobby.

Abaddon, who had been listening to the conversation, nodded. “I agree with Victor. You can't trust Lucifer. Believe me.”

Bobby sighed. “You can't be too careful I guess. Let's set out scouts.”

“Bobby!” shouted Ellen.

Pouring into the canyon was a swarm of men. Lucifer's men.

“We can't hold off that many!” said Victor. “We need to retreat. Everybody, get back inside!”

There was a rumbling. “Oh for fuck’s sake, now what!” said Bobby.

“I know that sound,” said Victor. “Everybody! Stay back!”

The Red Fort trembled, and then a large piece came crashing off, landing on the ground not too far from the small party of men.

“We can’t go back inside. We’ll be killed.”

“Balls!” said Bobby. “We're trapped like rats.”

“This way,” said Dean when, yet again, the building shook and he and Cas confronted a dead end. He led Cas down a dark, narrow stairway. Cas now had utterly no idea where he was. Not until Dean zigged and zagged and they suddenly emerged in a courtyard.

“There she is!” said Dean. Huddled in the corner, curled up like a giant, hippo-sized sowbug, was the creature they were looking for.

They rushed over. “She’s been injured,” said Cas, observing the green blood on the soft carapace.

“Dammit, now I wish we’d brought Sammy. He’s the one who speaks bug.”

Cas pulled at a chain that had been strung around the animal. “We need to break her free.”

The building shook, and Cas and Dean struggled to remain standing. Ignoring the ruckus, Cas pulled a tool out of his belt and began working at the lock on the chain. After a few moments, the lock sprung open, and the chain fell away.

The creature uncurled, and then bolted away, knocking down Dean and Cas. They lay there, stunned, for a long moment.

“You’re fucking welcome!” Dean shouted after it.

“Come on!” said Cas, beginning the chase.

“We’ll never catch it! It’s got more legs than the whole garrison combined.” But then he reluctantly came running after Cas. They followed it across the hall and then down a staircase.

The building trembled again, and they had to stop. “Lost her!” said Cas, standing at a corner, frantically looking left and right.

“I think I know what she’s doing.” He led Cas down a very rough hallway and into a storage room. It was large and crammed full of odds and ends. The back wall was rough and unfinished. They both entered and looked around.

There was a rustling sound, and both ran towards the back wall. They arrived just in time to see the creature burrow into the wall and disappear.

“We’re right up against the mountain back here,” said Dean. He squatted down and peered into the tunnel. “She was running to a place where she could burrow out.”

There was a great crack, and part of the ceiling came crashing down. Dean leapt on top of Cas and they both huddled at the wall as the room shook, the walls cracking.

Victor had his weapon raised. He glanced behind him once again. There were so few of them healthy enough to fight, but nearly everyone, even the guys who could barely stand, had grabbed some sort of weapon, even if it was only a crow bar.

“Our last stand. Great,” muttered Victor. They would probably tell heroic stories about this day. Thing was, Victor didn’t especially want to star in a heroic story.

Bobby was standing next to him, peering under the bandages on his head. He must have been thinking the same thing. “Just in case I don’t get to tell you later, Victor. It’s been an honor.”

Victor tried to think of something appropriately heroic to say. “Oh, fuck me,” was all that came out.

Bobby burst out laughing.

Up above them the hill trembled. A great crack appeared in the side of the Red Fort.

“What the hell is that?” asked Victor, pointing into the distance.

A huge shape appeared behind Lucifer’s army. It was a large crawly-bug, scurrying along the desert.

“It’s come for us!” said Abaddon.

“Wait, I don’t think so,” said Victor, peering into the distance.

It had some maniac up top, riding it. The bug halted, and there were people leaping down the sides.

There was a lot of shouting. Lucifer’s men had halted their advance, unsure what to do.

A cry went up, and to Victor’s utter astonishment, the people who had evidently ridden up on a big goddam crawly-bug charged Lucifer’s army.

“Everybody,” said Abaddon. “Forward!” Weapon raised, she began to rush towards the fight, her men hastening after her.

Victor gaped at Bobby.

“Well, what are you waitin’ for?” asked Bobby. “I need to get me a piece of Lucifer!”

Victor grinned and they both ran towards the melee.

Over on the other side of the hill, Sam watched as his beloved Red Fort began to tremble. He stood for a moment, praying that Dean and all the others had gotten out in time.

And then he looked around, remembering that without Dean, he was now all alone.

He began to walk around the mountain, hoping to meet the rest of the guys by the back entrance. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he wished he had thought to bring along a bottle of water.

He had been walking for a decent amount of time when he spotted the lone horseman hurrying his way. He waved, and the rider made a bee-line for him.

“Jess!”

“Need a lift?”

“Do I ever!”

“Seems I'm always pulling you out of danger,” said Jess, giving him a hand up to sit behind her.

“My hero,” sighed Sam, hugging her tight. “The others: did they make it out okay?”

Jess was quiet for a moment. “We don’t know. There’s a big dustup over on the other side of the mountain. I think we got the better of Lucifer’s men: that’s why I said I’d come over and get you.”

“My dad?”

“Your dad is fine. But….”

“Dean?”

Jess bit her lip. “No one’s seen Dean. Or Cas.”

Sam’s heart sunk.

Dean rose, coughing, and pulled Cas to his feet.

“Dammit, why couldn't Iskander wait another damn five minutes,” Dean cursed.

There was a shot, and Dean ducked again.

“Son of a bitch!” He peered up.

A man was standing at the door, pointing a shotgun at them.

“Dean,” whispered Cas. He eyed the tunnel the young creature had just made.

“Oh, shit no,” sighed Dean. He nodded. And then as one, they leapt into the tunnel and ran off, as fast as they could, keeping half-crouched and ducking around the many wild corners.

“Dean! Come on! It’s the only way!” shouted Cas. Dean let Cas yank him by the hand. “Faster.”

“I’m going as fast as I can!” Dean told him as he ducked down to avoid hitting the low ceiling. “We need taller bugs!”

They went through a turn and ducked as something ricocheted off the wall beside them. “Oh, no! Not him!” said Dean, peering back along the dark tunnel.

“Lucifer,” whispered Cas.

“I thought you drowned him!”

“I did! I nearly drowned myself!”

“God damn that guy,” grumbled Dean. They both cringed as another shot rang out. Dean watched as part of the wall crumbled. “He must have picked up one of Sam’s salt shotguns.”

The ground quaked and the top of the tunnel began to collapse. “We’re not gonna make it.”

“We will make it!” Cas gripped Dean’s arm, tight enough to bruise, and hurried him along.

“We’re not gonna make it.”

“We will make it.”

“We-“ Dean cried out as he felt a sharp pain in his side.

“Dean!”

Dean put a hand to his ribs and saw the blood. “Damn! That stings like hell.” Cas grabbed Dean’s arm and threw it over his shoulders and then half dragged him along.

Another shot rang out. Cas halted as the tunnel ahead collapsed, scattering dust and dirt. Dean sank to his knees, grasping at his wound. Lucifer ran into view, wielding the shotgun. He grinned and pointed it at Cas, who stood staring at him.

Cas moved in front of Dean. He held up his hand towards Lucifer, and began reciting a spell.

Lucifer dropped the shotgun and, as Dean looked on in terror, grinned and unsheathed his sword.

“Cas, no!”

Cas continued speaking.

Lucifer raised his sword and lunged at Cas.

Cas grabbed the pistol from his belt and shot Lucifer through the heart, using the last bullet.

Lucifer gasped and fell to his knees.

“I guess you are not warded after all,” Cas told him.

Lucifer collapsed in a pool of blood.

“Is he all dead this time?” whispered Dean. Cas toed Lucifer with his boot, and went back to grab Dean and help him to his feet.

“I think he is all dead. But we must get out of here. I’m concerned about the stability of this tunnel.”

As if in answer, suddenly there was a great rumbling. Part of the ceiling collapsed, now blocking their way back.

“Oh shit, what now?” moaned Dean.



NEXT