Winchester or Angel?

12. Erin

Erin is back.

I rush off the stage, and run to the spot where I saw Gabriel.

I look around for where he went, and see Dean headed to where I’m standing, carrying my jacket and purse.

Thank you Dean.

I keep looking, and finally spot Gabriel by the door.  As soon as he sees he’s caught my attention, he heads out.

I continue after him, ensuring Dean is still following close behind.

Once outside, a black car pulls up in front of me.

How the heck did Gabriel get the Impala to start?  Did he hotwire it?

Dean will be furious if Gabriel hotwired it.

Gabriel leans over and rolls down the window before calling “Get in, loser.  We’re going shopping.”

Without hesitation, I get in the front passenger seat.  After I close the door, I hear Dean calling for me.

“Dean!  Come on, let’s go get Erin!” I shout through the still open window.

Dean’s eyes go wide when he realizes I’m not the one driving Baby.

“Come on, we don’t have time for this.  Just get in the back seat!”  After shouting at him, Dean reluctantly climbs into the back seat.

Once inside, Gabriel tears out of the parking lot.

Dean finally gets a good look at who’s driving, then freezes.

Well, he got as still as one can get in a moving vehicle.

 “Gabriel?  You’re alive?!”  Dean freaks out, probably upset he wasn’t informed of this before today.

“Yes, dufus.  Now call your brother and tell ‘em to get to the site ASAP.” Gabriel snaps at Dean.

As Dean gets his phone out, I begin praying to God to tell Castiel what’s going on.

Evidently that was not a good thing, because Gabe starts getting upset.  “Woah, woah, woah!  What in God’s name are you doing?”

“Praying?” I reply.

“Well, stop!  We don’t need Cas knowin’ where we are.  He’s still running on borrowed grace.”

“Actually,” Dean interrupts.  “Cas got some of his own mojo.  It’s not what he had before, but it’s not borrowed.  We did this spell-“

This time, Gabriel interrupts.  “Alright, no time for stories now.  If he’s back, go ahead and pray to him, tell him where we’re going.”

“I’m not going to pray to anyone except God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.”  I tell Gabriel, slightly taken aback that an angel of the Lord would ask me to commit such an act.

“But you just said you were praying!” Dean is getting frustrated.

“Yea, but not to Castiel.  I was praying to God, asking Him to get Cas to the spot.”

Now, Dean is really getting upset.  “Newsflash Alex: God is gone.  He left.  But since you insist upon not praying to Cas, I will.”

I lock my gaze out the window, on the road.  God would never leave.

Why would Dean say something like that?  What happened to him?

A couple minutes later, Castiel appears in the back seat of the Impala, sitting just a little too close to Dean.

“Woah, Cas!  What have I said about personal space?” Dean raises his voice.

“Sorry, Dean.”  Castiel reluctantly scoots away from Dean.

“Dean, that was a little rude.” Gabriel points out.  “Besides, we’re here.”

As soon as the car is put into park, I scramble out, looking around for Erin.

For a minute, as I am only looking for Erin, I don’t notice how strange my surroundings are.  Only when Dean gasps do I finally let myself take in the situation.

“It looks like a nuke went off.” I state.

“Apparently that’s what happens when someone is ‘raised from perdition’.” Dean answers my unasked question; what caused this?

I tread carefully towards the center, where I come to find a freshly dug grave.

“Why is this dirt so fresh?”  I ask.  “And why does it look like a grave?  I buried her in Nashville.”

Gabriel strolls toward the center as if walking into a supermarket.  “We moved her.”

“Without permission?” Castiel asks, considerably angered by Gabriel’s unethical actions.

“We had permission from a higher power.” Gabe replies.

“What higher power?  God?  It couldn’t be Him, because our father left us.”  What is with everybody’s adherence to the belief that God left?  It seems as though even Castiel believes it to be true.

Gabriel opens his mouth to speak, but I disrupt the conversation before he can even get a word out.  “Guys, look!  The dirt is moving!”  I run to the grave from where we had paused to argue, fall to my knees, then claw away dirt as fast as I can to help Erin out.  “Guys!  Help me – help her!”

Dean drops to his knees and begins to dig, but Cas just reaches in the dirt, grabbing onto what is seen to be her hand when he pulls up.

Gabriel and Dean both pitch in to help Castiel pull her out.

My heart skips what seems like ten beats when I hear Erin gasp for air.

“Erin!” I call out, setting myself off into a blubbering mess.

My best friend is back.

Part of me had died with her, and I feel like it’s being resurrected with her as well.

Right after the boys manage to get her out, she bursts into a fit of coughing.  Her throat is probably dry.

Just when I start toward the Impala to get a bottle of water, Sam runs up carrying three.

“Sorry I’m late, I had to find a ride.”  Sam hands me one of the bottles before I walk back over to where Erin is sitting.

I open the bottle previous to handing it to her, sitting down next to Erin as she chugs the water.

“Hey Erin.”  I speak in a soft tone.  “I missed you.”

She finishes the bottle and tosses it aside, clearing her throat before opening her mouth to speak.

“Alex.  I missed you too.”

~*~*~

A friend of mine (@merryhappyness) sent me a very funny video.

It's of Richard Speight Jr., and he's telling a story about his and Jared Padalecki's train adventure in Germany,

You have to watch it.  I can't even.  The video is attached.

~CheyAJB ;)