West Coast

Chapter One

There were just voices at first, disembodied and whispering. They swirled quietly around Cas, coming and going at will. They came closer and closer, sounding more sinister and threatening the closer they came. Cas tried to run away, but he couldn't move at all. They came ever closer, and louder, until they surrounded him, yelling in his ears. His eyes snapped open, and the voices were still all around him, frantically shouting. He couldn't identify any words being said, and machines wailed and bleeped. A bright, white light blinded him. He tried to take a breath, but found himself gagging on a large something in his throat. Panic bloomed in his chest when it wouldn't come out on its own. He reached up to his face and felt it covered in dressings that were holding the tube in place. He cried out, the sound muffled by the tube, and scrabbled at the dressings with both hands. Someone grabbed his arms and pulled them away, but it was still too bright to see who it was. Then, for the first time, he heard clear words.

'Cas, it's okay, we're right here, just relax.'

Cas shook his head and yanked one of his arms back, but more hands grabbed him and pinned his arms to his sides.

'We're gonna get this thing out of you, just hold still a minute,' someone else said.

He shook his head even harder and thrashed furiously. He had to get away; he had to get the tube out. He pushed the hands away and again went for the dressings, but he couldn't get them them off. He began to choke, and screamed.

'We need to sedate him,' someone said.

'Is that safe?'

'We need to get this ventilator disconnected.'

'Okay, do it.'

Moments later, Cas's arms felt like lead, and they dropped onto the bed. The bright light faded again, along with all the voices. When he woke up again, the tube was gone, and he was a lot more comfortable as a result. Someone had dimmed the lights, so he could see a little better.

He appeared to be in a hospital, with IVs attached to one arm, and a heart rate monitor to the other. He turned his head slowly. It felt immensely heavy, and he groaned quietly.

Next to his bed were two men sitting in chairs, asleep. They were both wearing blue scrubs and, though sleeping, looked totally exhausted.

One had short, spiky hair, and was wearing a large, heavy-looking boot on his right leg. The other man had long hair, and his eyes fluttered open at Cas's groan. He saw that Cas was awake, and elbowed the other man.

'Dean,' he murmured.

The other man jerked awake. 'Wha-?' Then he saw Cas and inhaled sharply.

'Are you awake?' he asked warily.

'I think so,' Cas said. His voice was barely more than a whisper, and his throat was raw.

Both men sighed in relief, and a smile spread across the face of the spiky-haired one.

'That's good,' he said. 'That's really good.'

'How did I get here?' Cas croaked. 'What happened?

The man's smile faltered. 'You- you were in an accident. It was pretty gnarly, actually. You came out of it with a broken arm and collarbone, four broken ribs, a punctured lung, and some skull fractures. You've, uh-' he stopped and glanced at the long-haired man briefly before continuing. 'You've been in a coma for a while.'

'What? For how long?'

'Nearly nine weeks now.'

Cas's head swam, and he out a shaky hand over his eyes. 'Nine weeks?' he repeated.