[Tombstone]
DODGE CITY, KANSAS
An owl hooted as Dean, Holly, and a man in a white cowboy hat, Sarge, searched the graveyard with flashlights. A train whistle blew in the distance as something rustled nearby. Dean, Holly, and Sarge aimed rifles in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing.
"What the hell?" Sarge asked.
"Come on." Dean said.
An owl hooted again as they proceeded cautiously, guns raised.
"Where'd he go?" Dean wondered.
They heard the rustling sound on the other side of the graveyard and turned to head back that way.
"He's messin' with us." Holly told them.
"He's too damn fast." Sarge replied.
"Not faster than bullets." Dean answered.
Dean and Holly headed off in one direction, and Dean gave Sarge a hand signal to head the other around a crypt. They met up at the opposite side of the building.
"All right, you wait here. We'll-a flush him out." Dean said.
Sarge covered Dean and Holly while they headed out into the graveyard. As soon as Dean and Holly's backs were turned, a hand reached up through the ground below Sarge, grabbed his ankle, and pulled him underground. "Aah!"
Dean and Holly turned around to see a hole in the ground and Sarge's hat, rifle, and flashlight lying on the ground, and ran back to investigate.
They looked down into the tunnel. "Sarge? Aw, hell."
48 HOURS EARLIER
In the alleyway from the end of 13.05, Sam, Holly, Nate, and Dean beside the Impala, and Cas was waiting for them by the phone booth.
"Cas, is that really you?" Dean asked.
"No. You're – you're dead." Sam said.
"Yeah, I was. But then I... annoyed an ancient cosmic being so much that he sent me back." Cas told them.
Holly giggled and smiled widely, for the first time in awhile.
"I don't even know what to say."
"I do. Welcome home, pal." Dean embraced Cas, and then Sam hugged Cas, as did Holly and Nate.
"How long was I gone?" Cas wondered.
"Too damn long." Holly replied.
"Where were you? In Heaven?" Nate asked.
"No. No, I was in the Empty." Cas answered.
"Really?" Dean questioned.
"Apparently, it's where angels and demons go when they die."
"What was it like?" Sam wondered.
"Well, it's dark and... nothing. It's like... nothing. I was sleeping, and then I heard a voice that said my name, and I woke up. I thought you... had done something."
"No, we... we didn't even think we could bring you back." Dean told Cas.
"So who was it? Chuck – uh, God?" Sam guessed.
"No. No, he has no power in the Empty." Cas said.
"Well, then, who does?" Holly asked.
"Jack." Nate realized.
BUNKER LIBRARY
Jack was typing away at his laptop when Dean, Nate, Holly, and Sam entered. "How'd it go?"
YOU ARE READING
Pretty, Reckless, Winchester
Mystery / ThrillerShe's survived demons, death, and all sorts of creatures that haunt the night. She's pretty sure she's seen it all... or has she? She found love. She protects those who can't protect themselves. She saves people, hunts things, the family business...
