Forest of the Angels

Revelations and more monsters

After a dripping wet Rachel exited the bathroom, they huddled together to go over their plan once again.

"Right, we're looking for what the angels might be planning-" Dean recapped.

"Blah blah blah insert more shit we already know, try not to die and don't fall for the locals - this isn't a Hollywood love story. Yes, we know. Can we get on with it?" Ellie interrupted, casually swinging a machete that she just happened to own. Dean glared at her, and then at Sam, who was trying to contain his laughter, unlike Rachel who was giggling as though she was high.

"Could you take this seriously Ellie?" Dean snapped at her. In response, Ellie merely raised her eyebrow, and flung the machete inches away from his face. Sam yelled and Dean leapt back in shock.

"My little sister is dead, I caused that to happen. I had a choice, she said she saw something in those woods and I left her out there. Alone. Her parents aren't going to forgive me for that. Who would ever forgive an adopted freak for abandoning their true daughter to die? I have no family now, so what makes you think I'm not taking this seriously?" She spat, silencing the room. Only the metallic quiver of the machete, deeply embedded in the wall, broke the quiet. Cas gently pushed her arm down with his hand, using his other hand to wipe away her furious tears. Rachel watched, wide eyed and shaken.

"El-"

"Can we just go?" Ellie strode over and yanked the machete out of the wall, interrupting Rachel and ignoring her look of what she thought to be pity. Rachel cared, but Ellie's anger at herself mistook her sorrowful face for one that you'd give a helpless puppy.

"Well...um" Cas tried to draw the focus back to the case. Everyone began to gather their things, whilst throwing nervous glances at Ellie. Ellie repeatedly shoved past Rachel as she attempted to talk to her, even ignoring Cas. They all huddled to Cas as he gathered his energy to transport them.

Rachel gripped his sleeve tightly, already feeling regretful that she'd agreed to the plan, before being taken over by the odd sensation of being jerked backwards by an elastic rope. Then everything went black.

~~~~~

The house was monotone. The floral wallpaper appeared dull and drab; the splattered leaves appeared more grey than green and the roses were almost a chalky white. Large suspicious stains were speared across the walls and floorboards and damp seeped across the ceiling. The threadbare furniture was faded. Each sofa had spewed plumes of weathered feathers from its ratty cushions. There was a light patter of sleet on the windows, which had a layer of algae spreading across the crooked panes. Small padding steps could be heard as an exhausted dog hauled itself across the room. Each wheeze was accompanied by a small stumble as the ancient creature's nail snagged on the thin cream carpet.

The shivering animal had finally shuffled its way across to a girl huddled of a frail wooden chair. Her large dark eyes were raking over a newspaper. As she blinked, her chestnut curls bounced on her long lashes. Whimpering, the dog started to nuzzle her leg, craving attention. Instinctively, the petite teen leaned down and cradled the skeletal terrier. She huffed out a sigh, scribbling random song lyrics on the yellowed pages, the wet ink smearing on her hand. She breathed heavily, the exhalation turning to a light chuckle as the dog scrambled up to lick the remains of her biscuits off her face.

She watched the grand clock hanging above the white stone mantelpiece. It was early evening, and the clock was illuminated by an orange glow from the sunset which was muted by the heavy, dark storm clouds. She tapped restlessly on the table, her foot bouncing on the floor as she watched each second tick past. Her eyelids began to droop, heavy from the dreariness of the day. She became blissfully unaware of her surroundings, losing her grasp on consciousness.

Wind began to roar like a caged beast, the trees quaked and groaned. Sleet hammered relentlessly on the glass and the dog began to yelp, scratching restlessly on her leg. The house door slowly creaked open. Heavy footsteps began to boom through the corridor. They sped up, each echo reverberating louder and louder. Every thud was accompanied by a piercing screech, as though someone was scraping their fingers down a chalkboard. The floor shook as the door slammed open.

Still the girl slept. A monster crawled in. Each of its jerky movements was accompanied with a heavy, grating breath.

The dog whimpered pitifully, frozen with fear in the corner. The man that wasn't a man reached towards her, his fingers tracing over her throat. The dark figure drew out a blade.

A thunderous clatter rang from the basement.

The girl jumped awake. The figure lunged and she leapt backwards to the kitchen door. It was faster, it grabbed her with invisible hands and flung her to the wall, the doors slammed shut. Every muscle in her body seized; she writhed in pain, her ears ringing. It laughed, and a shocking agony ripped through her stomach, she felt as though her insides were being shredded with a thousand knives. She tried to scream, only for her mouth to dry, silencing her shriek to a mere whimper. In her panic, she though she heard steps racing towards the room. Her hope dropped when she watched, petrified, as he drew out a glinting silver blade. A pit cracked open in her stomach, as deep and as dark as his empty black eyes.

He crept towards her, taking his sweet time, revelling in her distress. As he drew the knife closer to her neck, she began to weep. He wrenched her trembling head back, leering at her through his emotionless eyes. He leaned in closer; she could feel the icy tip of his blade nip at her skin, smell the sulphur on his hot, stale breath. Gradually, he pressed down on the blade.

The door flung open and he vanished. She dropped down off the wall and her ankle collapsed beneath her. Through her blurry vision, she could make out figures rushing toward her. One scooped her off the floor and she gripped them tight. Her tears soaked through their shirt and she grabbed a handful of their long dark hair. With each hacking sob she gripped tighter, as she could feel their warm, gentle hands run soothingly through her short curls.

When she let go, she merely curled up on the floor, cuddling her dog and snivelling into its matted grey fur. She uttered thank you again and again, not knowing what else to say. After wiping her eyes, she looked up at them.

They looked as shocked as she did.

"Jess?"