Things That Should Never Be Counted

Chapter Two

Castiel Novak was born Wednesday, January 1st, 1908, only two minutes after the clocks chimed in the start of a new year. His parents, Rebecca and Charles Novak, had been overjoyed by the healthy birth of their first and only child. It wasn't very long after when the Novak's luck seemed to have run out. In the winter of 1912, Rebecca fell sick and died from Tuberculosis leaving her young son and grieving husband behind.

For a while, life seemed to even itself out. However, like all good things, it didn't last. Four years later, Charles Novak was drafted off to fight alongside other American's in Europe. Castiel was still fairly young at the time and was confused by the sudden change in his life. He had been moved to live with his aunt Anna until Charles returned home from war.

Charles, as fate would have it, never did come home. He was instead one of the many casualties the allies faced during the Battle of Amiens which is also known as the Third Battle of Picardy and if you want to get really fancy the French call it 3ème Bataille de Picardie. Yet no matter how fancy the battle sounded it still ripped Castiel's father from him on August 12th only hours before the battle was one. Eleven year old Castiel cried himself to sleep for a month after the telegram arrived on Anna's doorstep.

From then on Castiel Novak became a silent boy. There were only a handful of people he held close to his heart, all of which were part of his family. Financially, the Novak's had nothing to worry about. Anna lived in New York City which hadn't been much at the time but it was always enough and still constantly growing and changing.

Things took a turn on December 23rd, 1925, when Balthazar and Gabriel Novak dragged their cousin, Castiel, too one of the many Christmas parties that New York City had to offer its elite youth. It was no surprises that parties were without a doubt not Castiel's forte but he had learned fairly quickly how to grin and bear it. It was, however, that snowy winter night that nearly eighteen year old Castiel Novak fell in love.

Hael Shurley had been sweet but her wit was sharp and that's what Castiel liked about her. It was easy to talk to her. He adored her with everything he had in him and the feeling seemed to be mutual. The two lovebirds were married on January 6th, 1926 in a small chapel. Nine months later, Hael gave birth to Hannah Novak; the couple's first and only child as fate would so harshly have it. On March 3rd, 1929, Hael Novak died from what doctors assumed to have Pneumonia. She left behind a grieving husband that was only 21 years old and her two year old daughter.

Things were tough for the Castiel and Hannah. Once the stock market crashed on October 24th, 1929, money seemed to be getting tighter. More often than not Castiel had to leave his young daughter with Anna while he worked harder and harder in the city. Eventually, it did pay off and money was once again something that the family worried less about.

Castiel knew hardships, he had faced them throughout his entire life but nothing prepared him for the events that took place July 3rd, 1937.

He had been driving to the town of Beacon where ten year old Hannah sat up waiting for her father to arrive at Anna's. The night had been clear and yet so quickly that fact seemed to change. Castiel leaned forward in an attempt to get a better view of the small flakes that were falling from the sky. For the first time, it was snowing a few miles away from the town of Woodbury in the middle of the summer.

Disaster struck. Castiel's visibility went from 100% to 0% in what seemed like a blink of an eye. The old car drifted on the wet spots on the road and Castiel fought to regain control of the vehicle but ended up failing. A pained cry escaped his lips as he found himself lurching left as the car spun through a fence on the road. Time seemed to slow down. The world was spinning. All Castiel could remember was the rush of water as the car plunged into a river below the edge of the small cliff he had spun off of.

The emergent in the frigid river caused Castiel's body to go into an anoxic reflex instantly stopping his breathing then slowing his heart beat. Within two minutes. Castiel Novak's core temperature had dropped to eighty-seven degrees. His heart stopped beating. By any definition, Castiel Novak was dead.

Miracles are a touchy subject. Some people believe in them while other's think they are a load of horseshit. But what happened after Castiel Novak died was either some miracle or sheer luck because at exactly 8:55pm a bolt of lightning struck the car discharging half a billion volts of electricity and producing sixty-thousand amps in current. Its effect was threefold.

First: The charge defibrillated Castiel's heart.

Second: He was jolted out of his anoxic state causing him to draw his first breath in two minutes. With life seeping back into his body, Castiel had managed to pull himself from the sinking car and make it to land before he collapsed.

And lastly: Based on Barlin's Principle of Electron Compression and Dechloric Acid (which won't be discovered until the year 2035) Castiel Novak would henceforth be immune to the ravages of time. He would never age another day.

Naturally, life after that caused new and strange complications. As Hannah aged, Castiel did not. He had narrowly escaped being sent off to fight in the Second World War. It was in 1943 when he is almost thirty-six and Hannah is seventeen that he is forced to run off. They get two one way tickets to France and remain in the quiet town of Amiens until the fall of 1947 when the war had ended and returning to New York is safe once more.

The peace of being back home lasted until one warm summer night in 1955 when Castiel is forty-seven but still looks twenty-nine. He is stopped by two male police officers while he is leaving his job as a book keeper in a small hospital.

"Castiel Novak?" his name is called. Fear surges through his body.

"I'm sorry, I think you've got me mistaken for someone else," he lies but he knows they don't believe him.

"This will be a lot easier if you don't fight us, Mr.Novak," one officer says. The fear is what causes Castiel to remain frozen in spot.

"We've just got a few question's for you is all. There is something not quite right about your residential documentation and we merely want to work it out," the other officer says. Castiel's brain is working a mile a minute. There is a hand on his shoulder and before he knows it he is being forced into a car. The doors are locked preventing his escape.

'They think I'm a communist,' the realization dawns on him as the car begins to drive. He had seen the trials all over the news recently. The whole country of America was drowning in its own fear of communism that had sparked after the end of the Second World War. He had been careless and now he was going to be sent off to stand trial in a vain attempt to prove that he wasn't some spy. He had to escape.

Fifteen minutes later the vehicle stopped. One officer looks back at Castiel.

"This will only take a minute," one of the men smiled and Castiel could see maggots in his teeth. He had to escape, that much he knew. How? Well that was a completely new problem. He had to be quick. Castiel glanced around trying to find a way out. A minute passed and he was getting more panicked every second. Then, it dawned on him. If he could get over the back seat and through the trunk he should be able to make a quick and quiet escape. So, with all the energy he could muster, Castiel Novak manages to pull off part of the back of the car that connects into the trunk. He pushes open the door and slips out onto the rain soaked ground and he runs. He runs and he doesn't stop until he is banging on Hannah's front door. She answers a few minutes later, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

It is that night that Castiel Novak realizes that he can't stay.

"I'll always be your father," he looks over to Hannah who is looking back at him from the passenger seat of her car. She seems worried and confused. "It's just that the next time you see me I'll be known as someone else. Do you understand?" The girl nods.

"Yes," her voice is weak. It breaks Castiel's heart. He pulls his only daughter into a tight hug before kissing her on the forehead. When he leaves the car Castiel Novak is declared dead.