Song Remains the Same

Chapter 104: Corporate Takedown

"How far should a person go in the name of true love?"
- Nicholas Sparks

Purgatory

He could feel the darkness before he even opened his eyes. It permeated in a way all his senses were aware of, it crushed him downward and turned his stomach.

And then somewhere above him, a dark, deep voice spoke.

"Wake up."

Dean's eyes snapped open at the familiar voice and the sudden realization that he wasn't sleeping or dreaming. Above him spidery silhouettes of tree branches crisscrossed jaggedly against an unpleasantly dark purple night sky. Dean stirred then sat up, his danger senses beginning to spark to life. He could just make out dead leaves scattered across the cold ground he'd been laying on, and all around there were bare, skeletal trees spreading as far as he could see in the darkness. The air was cold and cloying, ominous and weighty in his lungs and against his skin. Dean turned while sitting to look at the source of the voice. It was Castiel. The angel was standing up nearby and his eyes had a certain sharpness and focus to them that Dean hadn't seen there since... well, not for what seemed a long, long time. As Dean got to his feet warily, Cas spoke quietly and urgently, his eyes casting around the wooded darkness furtively. "We need to get out of here," he said, and from his tone, he was deadly serious.

Here? Where was 'here'? Dean looked around but didn't recognize anything and it made zero sense to him. "Where are we?" he asked cautiously. A minute ago they'd been in a shiny man-made lab with artificial lighting, chrome steel tables, and shelves full of chemical mixtures. Now they were in something that looked like the wilderness in the dead of winter. But it was spring, right? Eyes darting around the surroundings as his heart rate picked up, Dean realized something was very wrong with this picture. "Last I remember, we ganked Dick..."

"And where would he go in death?" Cas prompted intently. Again, Dean noticed how the long-lost authority and grimness carried in Cas's voice and demeanor.

Okay, where would Dick go when he died. Dean blinked twice when he realized what Cas was implying. His stomach dropped as the horror started. "Wait." Oh no. "Are you telling me...?"

"Yes, Dean," Cas confirmed, glancing around with watchful, suspicious eyes. "Every soul here is a monster." Terrifyingly close, there was the sudden sound of rustling in the trees. Cas's voice lowered and he inched closer to Dean. But not like he was afraid. Like he was protecting. Getting freaked, Dean edged closer to the angel, because he could feel it now. There were eyes everywhere, and monsters beyond number in close proximity. "This is where they come to prey upon each other for all eternity," Cas told him in the softest voice. "If I were you, I'd get out your machete."

Dean did no such thing. "W-we're in Purgatory?" he asked, alarm skyrocketing. No. No! He couldn't be here, he had to get back to his brother and his sister and Jamie! Panic set in. "How do we get out?!" he demanded in a frenzied whisper.

"Out?" Cas asked, seeming to find the question regrettable. "Dean... I don't think that's a possibility. I'm afraid we're much more likely to be ripped to shreds."

As if on cue, there was a hissing sound and a rustling behind them and Dean whirled, his heart racing. In the trees, obscured by night, he could make out two hulking shadows of huge beasts. These beasts had glowing blood red eyes that were watching him. Dean immediately began to back up, alarm bells screaming in his mind. "Cas, I think we better—" he started in a whisper, then stopped short. Cas was no longer at his side. Dean looked around for him with wide eyes. "Cas?" he hissed.