Searching Purgatory [COMPLETED]

Chapter Sixteen

It took longer that Dean would have liked to reach the river. When he finally broke through the line of trees and found himself on the banks, he only had seven hours left to to find Zoe and get back to Cassandra. He looked left, then right, hoping he would see Zoe--if she was at the river at all.

Dean was about to give up hope and find his way to a smaller stream he knew wasn't too far away, when he saw a flicker of light on the opposite bank to his left.

Dean's heart almost jumped out of his chest in excitement. He turned and began heading down river towards the light. He obviously didn't know if it was Zoe or not, but when he had spent time in Purgatory before, no other monsters had gone around lighting fire on the banks of the river. So he hoped that it was her using whatever survival skills she had.

A few feet before he reached the light, he came to a spot in the river that wasn't as deep as the rest--Dean could see the pebbles sitting just under the water. He made his way across, the water sloshing against his calves, and then crept along the line of trees until he reached the flickering fire.

In the small light, Dean could make out a strange scene:

Zoe was curled up a the base of a tree with a too big jacket draped over her. Somebody else, a well-built figure that seemed vaguely familiar to Dean, crouched with his back to Dean next to the fire and poked the flames with a stick.

Dean pulled his angel blade from the back band of his jeans and jumped at the man. Just before Dean reached him, however, the man stood and swung his arm, smacking Dean sideways and into a tree, knocking the wind out of him.

Dean gasped, stumbling to his feet as the world spun around him. He kept his blade raised for defensive measures. But nothing came.

When the world stood still again, Dean's eyes focused on...

"Benny?"

Benny's face split into a large grin. "Dean Winchester," he held out his hand, "it's been a while, brother."

Dean took his hand, still shocked that he'd run into Benny. After hugging and back-slapping the way that men do, Benny stepped back and looked Dean up and down.

"How'd you get down here, Dean?" Benny asked. "I know there aren't anymore of those Leviathans crawling around up there."

"Rogue reaper," Dean explained.

Benny got a puzzled look on his face. "And why would you wanna come back down here on purpose? Don't tell me you missed me."

Although Benny looked like he was happy to see Dean, his eyes said something different.

"I actually lost someone I was hoping to find down here." Dean pointed over Benny's shoulder to where Zoe--by some miracle--was still sleeping. "Her, actually. Funny you should run into her."

Benny raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Dean Winchester made his way down here just for a shifter?"

Dean smirked. "Come on, Benny, you know me: loyal to the end."

Benny returned the smirk. "That you are, brother." He turned his back to Dean and crouched back down to continue poking the flames with his stick. "You're welcome to wake her."

Dean thought for a minute. He'd never purposefully woken Zoe up. The more he though about her sleeping, however, he decided that to wake her would be like waking a sleeping dragon. Or, in simpler terms, it would be bad. So Dean leaned against a tree, tucking his blade away, and folding his arms. "I'll just wait for her to wake up."

After a few minutes of silence, the quiet grew uncomfortable.

"Why didn't you come back with Sam when you had the chance?" Dean kept  his eyes trained on the dirt at his feet, intensely interested in the leaves and twigs there.

Benny sighed. "I was no good up there, brother."

Dean looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

Benny got to his feet, brushing dirt off his knees, giving Dean a sad smile. "I'm a vampire, Dean. I got my revenge and, well after that, I had a hard time being good."

Dean's expression hardened.

Benny raised his hands. "I didn't kill anybody, Dean, but it was hard. I'm better down here: killing monsters and picking strays," he waved a hand at Zoe.

Dean couldn't think of anything to say. He wanted to argue but Benny was being absolutely reasonable. So Dean was glad when Zoe yawned, shifting at the base of the tree and arching her back to stretch. She rubbed her eyes and then quickly shot up into a sitting position. She blinked, looking around until her eyes fell on Dean. She blinked again, as if she still thought she was dreaming.

"D...Dean?" Zoe stammered.

Dean managed a smile. "Hey Zoe."

Before Dean could say anything else, Zoe closed the distance between the two of them, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Dean was surprised to say the least but relaxed and hugged her back, squeezing her tightly too him. This was the closest they'd ever been and Dean regretted never hugging her before. He didn't realize how much he'd missed her until this moment. He still didn't understand how she'd been Crowley exactly--what kind of weird mojo had gone into that little parlor trick--but he was glad to finally have her back.

Zoe suddenly stiffened and abruptly stepped back from him, clearing her throat and looking at the ground, tucking her hair behind her ears. "How are you here, Dean?"

Dean looked between her and Benny. Something was going on between them. Dean wasn't stupid. But he ignored it for the time being. Besides, it wasn't like he had any claim on her.

He cleared his throat. "Rogue reaper," he told her.

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "What does that even mean?"

Dean shrugged. "Some reapers are willing to help people out, get them in and out of Hell and Purgatory."

"Who would wanna go to Hell and Purgatory on purpose?" Zoe asked.

Dean grinned. "Me and my brother, actually."

Zoe smirked. "Of course." She realized that Benny was standing there and nodded in his direction. "You saw Benny?"

Dean nodded. "It's interesting you guys ran into each other."

Zoe laughed awkwardly, itching the back of her head uncomfortably.

That was when Dean remembered that he was on a time limit. He glanced at his watch to see that he had five and a half hours to get himself and Zoe back to where Cassandra would pull them back through to the real world. "Zoe, we've gotta go. We only have a few hours until the reaper will leave us in here forever."

Zoe glanced, just barely, at Benny and he nodded ever so slightly at her. She smiled at Dean and took his hand, walking back down the banks of the river.