REVIVE ▸ d. winchester [2] ✔

Chapter 4

6 HOURS

The trickle of rushing water fills my ears as I continue to walk. I had found a stream not too long after I first started through the dead forest, and I decided to follow the flow of the water. I had no hopes for what I would find at the end of it, nor did the idea to follow it come to me through any logic. I was simply following the stream.

The dark and foggy air that I had been surrounded by when I first woke here was gone. The darkness had been replaced with a lighter gray, brightened by feint light from the sky. But when I look up, I see no evidence of a sun or moon. The sky is just a lighter shade of darkness. And the place was just as empty and dead as before.

With each step, the quiver of arrows strung across my back lightly hits my shoulder blades. And each step leads to the crunch of dead leaves and branches and other debris underneath my boots. My fingers are wrapped tightly around the shaft of my bow, not once letting down my guard. I had no idea where I was, and the only thing that I knew for a fact was that there was supposedly twenty of Azrael's Chimeras here for me to kill. So, understandably, I found it difficult to let myself lose focus of my surroundings.

But as I walk for what had to have been several hours already, I can't help but let my mind drift. I have no idea how far I've come or how much longer I have to go. I have no idea whether I'm even alive or dead. But I don't let those thoughts bother me. Instead, the idea that Azrael is somewhere out there, getting exactly what he wanted, overpowers my thoughts.

His prophecy was coming true: He had his Chimeras, I was the last Kaiser, and he had killed me.

But if I was killed, then what is this? This place?

I don't linger on that question for long, since I have absolutely no idea what the answer to it would be. So I find myself wondering what was happening right now with the boys, wherever they were.

Were Sam and Dean still in Chicago? Am I actually dead? Are they mourning over my body, with Bobby at their sides?

Or am I in some weird comatose state, alive and lying in a hospital, leaving the boys to wonder what the hell they were supposed to do?

And Azrael, he must be busy. He has a prophecy to fulfill, after all. Who knows if he's close to finishing it or not. 

Everybody must be so busy, I think to myself.

My heart stops. It doesn't stop because of the horrible thoughts about what all Azrael has accomplished, or because of the overwhelming self pity slowly growing inside of me. No, it stops when I hear a very low, distinct growl.

I stop walking, freezing in my spot to keep myself from moving any leaves underneath my feet. In the silence, I listen, but the growl doesn't sound again.

I look around. My eyes scan every nook and cranny between the surrounding dead trees and brush. There's no rustling of leaves from the wind or any animals running through the brush that I could see. I find nothing.

With my fingers fidgeting around my bow, I wait another long moment before continuing along the stream in silence, ever so cautiously.

However, once a loud and menacing growl sounds out behind me before I take my first step, I know better than to blindly walk away. I quickly spin around, and by the time I'm facing the opposite direction, I have an arrow knocked and ready to fire. My arm stays bent back, unwavering as the taut string rests against my chin. Nothing in my line of view moves as I stand motionless, scanning the area.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounds out behind me. I barely have time to register the noise of the large branch falling from a tall, dead tree before I see a much more startling sight. Atop the newly fallen branch, a giant, dark shape sits hunched over. Without thought, I find myself aiming an arrow right for its chest, then I let it loose.