Escaping Hell

The Devil's Plan

I wake up covered by a sheet. The room is pitch black.

I push the sheet off of me, and I sit up, lifting my shirt. I am surprised to see my cut only mostly healed; I have no idea as to why Cas wouldn't try to heal me all the way. Realizing that I am on a table, I get off and feel around the room for a light switch. I find one, and the light above me flickers before turning on fully.

There is one question on my mind: Where is everyone?

"Hello?" I ask, my voice echoing throughout the building that I'm in. Nobody answers.

Where the hell is everyone?

I find a phone, but the line isn't working. I slam the phone back on the wall in frustration. Well, shit. Looking out the window, I see a few evergreen trees, tire tracks in the mud, and a road to the left.

Walking outside, I feel a slight sprinkling of rain on my body. The mud sticks to my boots, and it hurts to walk because of my cut. I'm insanely thirsty and my head is throbbing. After I examine the tire tracks, I can only assume that they're from the Impala. Not much rain has pooled in them yet, so they have to be fresh.

"Hello!?" I holler. Again, no answer. I then decide to pray to Cas, as he could definitely help me, right? "Hey buddy. Where did everybody go? Are you and the boys okay? I really need you to come find me, I don't know where anybody is."

I am hoping to hear a flutter of wings, but I only hear the crunch of a few leaves. I whip around, and I never thought I'd be this glad to see Ruby in my life. She just gives me a big hug, which is strange, especially for a demon. I know she's unconventional when it comes to demonic standards, but she never for one second seemed like the kind of person to just give out random hugs.

After she lets me go, she gasps, "How the fuck are you alive?"

"What?" I sputter out of pure confusion.

"Cas tried to heal you but you lost too much blood. We lost your pulse so we tried to revive you, but nobody could. Your heart stopped, Lydia. We wanted to get you to a hospital but then we ended up putting you here because you literally weren't alive," Ruby explains.

"What?! I swear, it was like I had just fainted. Here, look at my cut," I say, lifting up my shirt, "it's not healed all the way but it is healed enough. Were you guys sure that I had no pulse?"

"Lydia, you may not have been dead, I suppose, but your heart was not beating at all. This may be hard for you to believe, but you were in that house over there for about a week," Ruby informs me.

"So...Sam and Dean think I'm dead?" I ask, tears in my eyes.

"And Cas, too. That's probably why he didn't answer your prayer. After we couldn't save you, he took your journal and he left. He won't return anybody's calls. Dean has been taking this the hardest. I've gone to check on Sam a few times - come on, he's my favorite - and every time Dean's either been drunk, crying, or praying for Cas to come back," Ruby says, sadness evident in her gaze.

"Well, can you take me to them? I mean, I'm okay!" I say, holding my arms out.

Ruby nods, "Okay. But I have to warn you, kid, you need to take it slow. You don't want them getting the wrong idea and shooting you in the face."

"I know. I've been through this before. That's how we met, remember?" I roll my eyes, laughing. Ruby grabs my arm, and the next thing I know, we're in a house. It's not Bobby's house, but it's somewhat akin to it. Ruby and I stand in the kitchen, where nobody else is at the moment.

"Sam! Dean!" Ruby yells out, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Ruby?" I hear Sam call, running down some stairs. There is the sound of breaking glass upstairs, and Dean is hollering nonsense.