Seven Bridges Road

XLVI. Are You There, God? It's Us, Dean and Johanna Winchester

A woman was asleep on the couch. The TV and lights began to flicker. The woman sat up, looking alarmed, and when she exhaled, her breath was visible. She walked to a cupboard and started pulling out weapons as the phone rang.

A voice on the answering machine said, "Hey, it's Olivia. I'm not in. Leave a message."

Olivia took out an EMF reader, which started beeping and flashing.

"Olivia, it's Bobby. Call me back, would you? I got something big. I could use your help."

Olivia loaded a gun and walked around the apartment. She heard a noise and a thin, tall man appeared beside her. He was bruised and battered. She looked shocked.

"You!" Olivia cried.

Olivia fired at the ghost and he disappeared. She pulled out a bag of salt and covered a doorway entrance with it. The ghost appeared in front of her on the other side of the salt line.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Olivia said.

She backed up and turned around. A blonde, beaten woman grabbed Olivia around the throat, strangling her. Olivia screamed.

BOBBY'S HOUSE

Bobby was sitting at his desk with a pile of books in front of him. Sam and Johanna were sitting in chairs in the opposite corner talking to Dean, who was standing.

"Well, then tell us what else it could be," Sam said.

"Look, all we know is we were not groped by an angel," Dean replied.

"Okay, look, Dean. Why do you think this Castiel and Raziel would lie to you and Josie about it?"

"Maybe they're some kind of demon. Demons lie."

Bobby looked up from the books at the siblings.

Sam frowned at his brother. "Two demon who's immune to salt rounds and Devil's Traps... and Ruby's knife? Dean, Lilith is scared of those things!"

"Don't you think that if angels were real, that some hunter somewhere would have seen one... at some point... ever?" Dean shot back.

"Yeah. You and Josie just did, Dean."

"I'm trying to come up with a theory here. Okay? Work with me."

"Dean, we have a theory," Johanna replied.

"Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please."

"Okay, look. Josie and I aren't saying we know for sure. We're just saying that I think we-" Sam was interrupted.

Johanna frowned. "Sam, I do know for sure. They are angels. They-"

Dean cut her off. "Okay, okay. That's the point. We don't know for sure, so I'm not gonna believe that these things are freaking Angels of the Lord because they say so!"

"You three Chuckleheads want to keep arguing religion, or do you want to come take a look at this?" Bobby asked.

Sam, Dean and Johanna walked over to Bobby's desk.

Bobby continued. "I got stacks of lore -- Biblical, pre-Biblical. Some of it's in damn cuneiform. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the Pit or from where they reside in Heaven."

"What else?" Dean pressed.

"What else, what?"

"What else could do it?"

"Airlift your ass out of the hot box? As far as I can tell, nothing."

"Dean, this is good news," Sam said.