Song Remains the Same

Chapter 81: All Comes Crashing Down

"Life is not a movie. Good guys lose. Everybody lies.
And love does not conquer all."
- Buddy Ackerman

"Son of a bitch, son of a bitch—!"

Dean dragged his hand down across his mouth as he paced back and forth hard and fast and worried. His mind was spinning out of control as he kept picturing Cas disappearing out of thin air with Alex over and over again. He had never felt so powerless in all his life.

Underneath a stark, buzzing light in the hospital parking lot, Sam had his phone to his ear and was ramrod straight as he waited anxiously for the other end of the line to ring. Then his mouth flattened into a line and he yanked the phone away from his ear. "Her phone's off," he reported in a tight voice.

Dean stopped pacing right in front of his brother, his stomach turning again in the sickest dread he'd ever felt. "What is he doing, Sam?" he demanded anxiously. "What the hell is he doing?" Dean was past the point of anger and his chin was trembling as he imagined his sister trying to get away from Cas and having no one there to help her. What was the angel gonna do with her? He jammed a hand through his hair as he stood there unable to think about anything but the look on Alex's face right as Cas had grabbed her. She had been scared. "Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed softly, about to have a mental breakdown. What if they never saw or heard from her again, what if they never got her back?

Sam was freaking out too, but somehow managed to keep himself together. He grabbed Dean by both upper arms and made his brother look him in the eye. "Calm down, just... we gotta think, Dean."

"Think?" Dean repeated, at the point of a full freakout. "Think about what?! We got nothing Sam! We're five hundred miles from our stuff, the car, our weapons! And Cas could have taken her anywhere, fucking anywhere!" He began to feel lightheaded and woozy and he sounded like a lost, scared, stupid kid to himself. "I shouldn't have let her leave the house, Sam, this is all my fault, I should have gotten my head out of my ass, this is all my fault—"

"Hey, hey," Sam gave Dean a severe, pointed look and his fingers tightened on Dean's arms. "Stay focused." He wet his lips and in typical Sam fashion he tried to keep an open mind. "Maybe—maybe this isn't what it looks like." That was a nice thought but—

"This is exactly what it looks like, Sam!" Dean protested. His heart was beating so damn hard and fast that he thought he was in danger of a conniption. Brain almost short-circuiting because he was trying to figure out a way to get to his sister now, Dean pulled out of his brother's hands and started shouting like a maniac at the sky. "Balthazar! Get down here you bastard, we need your help now!" No one appeared and Dean shouted even louder, getting a couple of concerned and weirded out looks from people nearby. "Cas took our sister, you hear me?!" A too-silent few seconds passed. "Balthazar!" No one came. Dean's voice caught in despair. "I am gonna strangle him...!"

Sam suddenly got a deeply thoughtful look on his face like he was trying to remember something. "Wait, what was the name of that other one?" he asked urgently, and Dean had no idea what he was talking about. "The, the one Cas had watching the house!" Sam prompted, straining to recall specifics. "Samhand-something?"

Oh, shit. That's right. "Samandriel," Dean breathed. Alex had told them about him but they'd never met the guy. It was worth a shot, right? At this point, Dean would try anything. Dean looked upward and said the name louder. "Samandriel?" He had no idea if this angel was friend or foe, he just needed a way to find Cas and Alex now.

In front of them, a surprisingly young looking guy appeared. He was wearing a striped red-and-white shirt and a cap that said Wiener Hut on it. "Hello..." he greeted, seeming a little dubious about why he'd just been summoned.