Heaven's Child ≫ SPN

19.1

Eliza || Shipping Warehouse

I let the GPS on Sam's phone lead me into the driveway of a huge building marked with tens of warning signs saying things like 'DO NOT ENTER' and 'KEEP OUT'.

I parked the car and when I tried to exit the GPS app, a notification asked me: 'Relaunch GPS in: 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, never.'

I quickly decided: fifteen minutes was enough to find Kevin and make sure he's safe before Sam and Dean could come in here guns blazing.

I stuffed the phone in my pocket before I slammed the door and surveyed the warehouse. It had two floors and what looked like four exits. I nodded to myself and distractedly wiped my nose with my sleeve but then made a double take when I found blood stains on my suit.

I rolled my eyes. "Not a good time."

Inside, the place was dimly lit and had about fifty rows of steel shelves that lined up one after the other, until what seemed like the end of the room. They were packed with boxes and reached all the way up to the ceiling. I immediately started in a jog, looking left and right into the aisles. My heart squeezed painfully every time Kevin wasn't there.

"God I'm going to kill you," I mumbled to myself. How could he be so stupid? Sam told him to stay in the bunker! He told him that the crocotta could track him down by the sound of his voice! Dread was slowly growing in my chest like a dull, heavy cloud, as I got closer to the other end of the warehouse without seeing any signs of Kevin.

When I did reach the end, I considered a thought that I prayed to be true: Maybe this was a trap. Maybe Kevin was huddled over his notes and a cup of coffee at the bunker right now. Maybe no one tortured him today.

But then a strangled voice of alarm that sounded startlingly like Kevin filled the warehouse. I sprinted towards the sound, my heart crashing against my ribcage, but the sound was cut off too soon. I couldn't follow it. It was short an abrupt, like he was suffocating. I huffed out a breath of frustration and then screamed.

"Kevin!" I stood alert, waiting to catch even the smallest intake of breath but there was only silence. I ran to the middle of the floor, searching for him frantically. "Kevin!" He screamed again, and I realized he was on the second floor. I sprinted for the steps, taking two at a time until I found myself in a vast, empty room. I couldn't find Kevin anywhere.

"Kevin?"

I was ridiculous. I was so caught up worrying that someone could be torturing Kevin that I overlooked the fact that corcottas can imitate sound. This was a trap. And I fell for it blindly.

I started in a jog towards the stairs, but I heard someone behind me. He was holding a lighter and then he flicked it in my direction, and suddenly, I was trapped in a ring of fire.

"Not so fast," he was smiling.

I straightened up and surveyed him from head to toe. "Nice costume."

It was holy fire, I realized with a jolt. Which meant I couldn't touch it or else it would hurt a lot more than regular fire. But I can control it, Cas taught me how. A little. I just needed to get the warding symbol off me.

The warding symbol that was drawn in permanent marker. Again. I sighed internally.

"Oh, this?" He tugged at his white coat. "No, I am Doctor Mason. I assimilated centuries ago. This time, I went to high school and college and then medical school. And now I'm head of the pediatrics department."

I gave him a sarcastic smile. "A monster and a nerd. Great." The stupid. marker. wasn't. getting. off.

"Watch your tone with me, Child. I am much older than I look."