Escaping Hell

Key to the Cage

DEAN POV

"You got Lucifer back in his cage, right?" I ask Cas.

"Yes, Hannah and I locked him in there," Cas says, "But it's obvious that a part of Lucifer remains in Lucy's mind."

"Is she still asleep?" I ask.

"Yes. She should wake up in a few minutes," Cas answers, "We should probably be there when she regains consciousness."

Sam is already in her room, asleep in a chair. Being the kind brother that I am, I tip it over a little bit, jolting him awake. He gives me a look that says, "You're my brother and I love you, but you're a dick." (Otherwise known as the "bitchface".)

I don't think I've ever seen Lucy wear this much black; the only colorful thing that she's wearing is her earrings. She hasn't moved an inch since Cas put her on the bed after making her go unconscious. There are visible bags under her eyes, no matter how much the makeup tries to cover them. Her hair is straight, which is really unusual, it's cut different, she has some bruises on her face...

We should have gotten her out sooner.

Cas walks over to her and places two fingers on her arm, presumably to wake her up. He steps back and glances at Sam and I. Lucy takes a deep breath in as she finally wakes up.

"Hey, kiddo," I say as she starts to lift her head so she can see. When she hears me, she bolts up in the bed. Her eyes widen when she sees Sam and I.

"It's okay, you're safe now," Sam reassures her. She still remains fixated on both Sam and I, not even looking over to Cas.

"You liars!" she screams as she jumps off of the end of the bed at us. Cas holds her back as tears fill her eyes. "I was in there for five fucking months and you guys never came! You didn't even look for me! You hunters don't care about anybody but yourselves, and I was just too blind to see it before. I wish I never even met you two!"

"You should leave for now," Cas grunts, trying to keep Lucy from breaking free of his grip.

Sam and I exit without another word.

LUCY POV

"Cas! Let me go!" I demand. Why is he defending them? They did this! They never cared about me! They could have gotten me out on day one but they decided to wait five damn months!

"Not until you calm down," Cas replies. I stop resisting, and he lets go.

"How could you just betray me like that?" I ask, filled with rage.

"They didn't do anything wrong, Lucy. Lucifer fear conditioned you into thinking that they did," Cas tells me.

"No he didn't. He treated me like I was the only thing that mattered in this world," I reply. Cas has no idea how wrong he is.

He steps toward me, doing that little head-tilt thing that he does when he's confused. "Lucy...what did they do to you?"

I pause. "They drugged me and tortured me for four months, and then some. But that was only because I was acting like a hunter - like a Winchester - and that was extremely stupid of me. I began to realize that hunters are a big part of what's wrong with this world."

"No. Hunters would never torture you," Cas tries to counter.

"They do if you have no choice but to be a monster!" I yell.

"You're right, Lucy. However, that's only if the creatures begin to hurt others. You, of all people, should know that," Cas says.

"What is that supposed to mean? Did my powers make me a monster?" I ask.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry it came out that way," Cas stutters.

"If monsters hurt people, then I guess I am a monster," I say, raising my hand to flick Cas across the room with my powers so that I can escape.

Nothing happens.

"Your powers no longer work because Lucifer was put back in his cage," Cas informs me.

"Really?" I ask, confused but surprised.

"Yes, we contained him and a few of his head demons. Without your powers, you're safe now," Cas half-smiles.

"Yeah, right," I breathe out, looking down.

"You said they tortured you," Cas starts.

"I would rather not talk about it right now," I wave it off. I just got out of it, I'd rather not get back into it...well, mentally, that is.

"Are you sure?" Cas asks, concerned.

"Yes, I'm sure," I sigh.

"Would you like for me to tell the boys to come back in here?"

"No thanks."

"Why not?"

"I don't trust myself."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know if I'll be able to keep myself from hurting them. I'm afraid, Cas."

"You shouldn't be afraid. I'll be here to hold you back if you can't control youself."

"I'd rather not risk it. They're my brothers."

I don't go to sleep that night. I stay locked in my room, and I can hear Cas relay everything I told him to the boys. I know they're worried...I know they care. Still, I just can't believe they would just abandon me like that. I was gone for nearly half a year and it seems like nobody cared. Maybe they have some sort of reason, but it still doesn't make sense. I was in the grip of Satan and Sam didn't even try to talk to me with his head. We've done that before, right? Well, now that I think about it, Lucifer probably had the place charmed to where I wouldn't be able to hear Sam.

I keep the door locked and the lights on. I really can't trust the dark anymore, to be honest...hell, I can't even trust myself. If you told me a year ago that all of this shit would happen to me, I'd either laugh in your face or I would jump off of a bridge.

There is a long, dark road ahead of me - I can tell.