Chapter Text
Dean's eyes finally opened. The pressure was gone, his head finally slowed its spinning. And though his eyes were open, the world around him was pitch black. The air was thin; he gasped for breath.
Dean quickly realized he was laid down on a hard surface. His mind immediately understood where he was. He quickly pounded at the door to his wooden coffin. He felt the wood crack and splinter at the pressure before it finally caved. After just a few moments, he pushed against the soil, and his head reached sunlight. He took a gasp for air and nearly collapsed. He could've been buried alive. Any deeper of a grave could've killed him.
Dean pulled himself quickly from the soil and stood to view his surroundings. He recognized the area, a small clearing, the trees surrounding him had collapsed due to Castiel's power. Dean was freshly pulled from hell. He felt like it. His throat burned, his eyes ached.
Dean closed his eyes as he took deep breaths. What comes next? What comes next?
Dean rubbed his head and sighed, "Fuck. What would I do?"
Dean finally decided to look for shelter. Everything hurt in his body. Every bone, every muscle, they all ached.
After around an hour, Dean stumbled on a small gas station. There was a rusty car parked out front.
As he approached the entrance, he saw the sign was flipped to show it was closed. He cursed and knocked on the door. His voice was low and sore, he could barely speak.
"Hello? Hello?"
When he received no answer, Dean grimaced and realized he'd have to break it. It wasn't convenient, but he needed water, bad. He curled his hand into his jacket and punched a hole into the door window.
Moments after Dean forced the door open, he headed straight to the cooler. He wanted to drink a gallon of water, at least.
When he finally felt better, he let out a huge sigh and leaned against the wall. Though, he grimaced when he felt pain spike up his shoulder. Dean nodded as he realized it was Cas's hand mark. He gently lifted his shirt and rubbed his shoulder, trying to get rid of some of the pain.
He sighed and quickly began to gather food. Dean didn't particularly like stealing anymore, so he skipped anything that wasn't essential. He finally took a glance at the cash register. He could steal the money, but he decided not to. That was, before the TV behind the counter suddenly clicked on. It ran pure static for a moment.
Dean stood perplexed before the radio turned on as well, playing an old western tune. But, it began to fizz in and out of the station, the buttons spinning on their own accord.
Dean's entire body bristled as he realized what was about to happen.
He quickly ducked behind the counter before the ringing started. The whole shop shook with the mere sound.
Dean covered his ears, expecting to be buried in glass.
Dean was caught with surprise when that didn't happen. He heard a voice.
Dean felt all the hair on his body stand on its edge.
"Dean."
It was almost a whisper. The building had stopped shaking, in fact it had barely started. The extra noises had clicked off. He could hear someone speaking.
"Can you hear me, Dean Winchester?"
Dean was suddenly caught in his place. This wasn't what happened in the past. In the past, the whole store had exploded in glass. Castiel's voice had previously destroyed the windows.
Dean decided not to answer. Though, it sounded so much like Castiel that Dean was perplexed. Cas didn't have a vessel at this point. He was trying to talk to Dean with his true voice, Dean shouldn't have been able to hear him.
"Dean Winchester, you can hear me?"
Dean swallowed as he realized Cas could tell.
Dean closed his eyes and tried to remain calm, "Yeah… Yeah, I can hear you."
This isn't what's supposed to happen, this isn't what's supposed to happen.
"I am Castiel, angel of the lord. I raised you from hell."
Dean bit back the urge to say he knew. Dean had lived this part of his life, he wasn't sure how well he could fake it. Should he even fake it?
"I… yeah, okay. What do you want?" Dean nearly grimaced as his unrealistic reply. He was undoubtedly a terrible actor.
Thankfully, Cas wasn't incredibly good at social cues, and did not immediately call him out.
Dean could not see Cas, but Dean could feel his presence. Dean could tell he was near. In fact, he was everywhere. Dean could feel the energy between them. The air was tense. He absolutely had never experienced the feeling before.
"God needed you alive, you are important in the eyes of heaven."
Dean let out a bitter laugh, "Oh yeah, and that's it huh?" Be knew it wasn't god. He knew better now.
Castiel seemed to pause, "Yes. We'll be keeping a close eye on you, Dean. Be aware. I'll reach out again soon."
With that final statement, Cas was gone. All the energy had slowly curled away until Dean was the only presence in the room.
Dean slowly tried to stand on his feet, but nearly fell. His whole body was shaking. What was supposed to happen now? How was he able to hear Cas then, but not before? Has something already changed?
Dean clenched his fist and shook his head, "Damnit! How is this already going so wrong?"
Dean cursed and climbed to his feet. There must have been something so different that it could change the fact he could hear, Castiel. Though, Dean didn't have the slightest clue as to what it was.
Dean already missed the old Cas. In fact, he couldn't stand the new Cas. He was ridgid, cold, a rule follower.
Dean pushed open the door and paced to the only car in the lot. He knew where he was going next.