"It sure is good to see you boys alive." Bobby sighed, the noise of the diner bustling around them. He looked better than he ever has and felt just as good, but one question lingered in the air.
"You too Bobby, but... How are you even here?" Sam stared at Bobby with an edge of confusion even though before they got to the diner the brothers ran every test they had and each result came out clean, it really was him. "Heaven is locked up tight, even reapers can't get in or out without permission." Bobby was too busy eating a burger to answer right away.
Once he finished the mouthful of food and took a sip of his soda, Bobby spoke. "Well I was relaxing in Heaven, reliving that one night when your daddy dropped you two off and we built forts out of the furniture. Anyways, in the middle of this particular memory a door opened up that lead to the halls. There were a bunch of us, souls, and at the end of the hallway was this light. It was bright and sorta callin' to me." He took another sip of coke. "Of course we went through. The next think I know it's pourin' rain and I'm in the road, that's about when you nearly hit me."
Dean and Sam shared a look. "How many souls got out?" Dean asked, curiosity playing with his thoughts.
"A whole bunch did. Ellen, Ash, and Jo included. Even Pamela and Rufus got out. But not every soul did, some decided to stay in Heaven." Dean almost choked on his meal.
"Jo's alive?" Dean stuttered as if Bobby hadn't even said anything.
"As far as I know, yeah. All I know for sure is she ditched angel playground with the rest of us."
"Then we have to go find them." Dean declared, quick to hop up and pay the bill. His stomach twisted with guilt as memories flooded back. Dean was given a chance to make it right, and that's exactly what he'll do.
"Hold on, Dean. Where are we even going to start? We've got absolutely nothing to go on." Sammy spoke loud enough to grab his brothers attention but not the attention of the whole diner.
"We've got Cas. And if anyone knows what's going on, it has to be him." The older Winchester clutched his jacket in one hand and reached for his keys with the other as he stormed out, hardly waiting for Sam or Bobby.
The highway seemed to stretch onward forever. Heat pounded down on Joan's tattooed shoulders while she hummed the tune of Back In Black. Sweat caused her tank top to cling to her small body while patchy cargo pants contained sweat that ran down her legs and into her boots. The spell book rested in a plastic grocery bag she found on the side of the road that was now slung over her shoulder. There was no shade and no good place to stop but all along her stomach and left side was killing her. Joan carefully rolled up her tank top to reveal the huge peeling scar. Barely visible were some markings under the tissue. She hadn't had anything like this since her death, the last one she had was before she was murdered. With a quick breath Joan began to peel off the skin that covered the markings. It hurt like a bitch but this wasn't her first. When Joan was born, there were two large birth marks; one in the center of her neck and one that covered her right arm, but as she got older it started to peel. Once she turned 18 the last remaining skin fell off, displaying the most beautifully done tattoos she'd ever seen. In the center of her neck was a design she recognized as an anti-possession mark from her cousin Nori's hunting lessons. On her arm was a masterpiece that showed demons escaping from the gates of Hell. Years later that's exactly what happen and she learned these tattoos were predicting the future or useful in some way, and with that, Joan used them to her advantage. The most recent scar tattoo was placed on her calf, and was of a skeleton with a knife in its back, burning in hellfire.
The ex-hunter pulled the last of the irritated flesh off, and there was a dark illustration of a dead oak tree, three bodies hung from the branches. On the highest branch was a woman, who Joan feared was herself. The second was of an angel with broken wings and what seemed to be a torn trench coat. The last was a man, who bore horns of the devil and a tail to match. At the base of the tree, among the roots were bodies and graves. All highlighted with red and white.
