Dean's Daughter (Supernatural) // Completed

Chapter 25: Return to the Hellish Domain

Alice – Two Weeks Later

"No." God please no, anything but this. The thought of returning to such a place was horrific.

Dean ran a hand down his face, his expression weary. "Alice, please."

"Why do I need to do this? Isn't the Death Symbol more important?" I demanded. Dean wanted to send me back to school while there was a supernatural weapon of mass destruction idly waiting to annihilate us all.

"You need to take a break from this, you're working yourself to death," Dean said, worry drawing his eyebrows together. "This will be good training and a chance to prove you can take on jobs by yourself."

"What's the deal with this school anyway?" I asked, my curiosity sparked.

"There's probably a case," Dean said, not offering any further explanation. "Why don't you ask what's-his-face to come with you?"

"Oliver? He's researching," I lied. In all honesty, I had no clue where Oliver was. He left suddenly during the night with only a vague text left in his wake. I was a little hurt but I figured I'd give him his distance.

"Alex?"

"Do you not pay attention? He left with his dad. We're not exactly on the best of terms anyway," I muttered.

"Well, I guess you're on your own," Dean said, shrugging nonchalantly. Abruptly, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. "I'm proud of you. You know that, right?"

"Sure, old man," I teased.

"Watch it," he threatened, lightly smacking the back of my head.

Although the past year of my life had been hell on earth, I remained grateful that I hadn't suffered on my own. Without my family I would've been dead ten times over. Without my family I'd be broken. By family I didn't just mean Sam and Dean, I meant Bobby and Oliver and Alex – even if we weren't all speaking – because family doesn't end in blood.

***

"Name," the office secretary asked.

"Grace Austin," I said, nervously wiping my hands on my jeans. My anxiety wasn't unreasonable; this was the first time I'd been left to my own devices while on a job. However, to the secretary it must have appeared as if I had new-school jitters as she offered me a warm smile.

"Okay, Miss Austin, here's your schedule." The woman behind the desk handed me a sheet of paper and gave brief directions to my first class.

Deciding that it would be best to investigate a little first, I traversed the corridors of the school. Dean hadn't elaborated on what exactly I was supposed to be hunting meaning I didn't know what to look for. Expect the unexpected was the theme my life was going for at the moment, so I decided to roll with it and keep an eye out for anything unusual.

As I was walking past a maintenance cupboard, a foul smell invaded my nose. Screwing up my face in disgust, I realised what the stench was. Sulphur. Sulphur indicated a demonic presence, and I pulled out my flask of holy water as I nudged the door open. The room was small and lined with shelves crammed with cleaning equipment. There appeared to be a devil's trap etched into the ceiling, although there was a break in it. That could mean that there was a pissed demon running riot in the school!

"Shit!" I exclaimed, my mind racing with possibilities of where the demon could be and how I was going to find it. It was possible that the demon was no longer in the school but that was a risk I couldn't afford to take. Turning on my heel and closing the door behind me, I frantically paced the corridors.