Anxiety was already beginning to twist Sam's stomach into knots the moment his brother disappeared into the field of wheat. The moment he was alone, it seemed as though every shadow was a ghoul and every crunch was some creature of the night stalking him. Sam had to keep reminding himself that it was day time, and even though it was still dark, some creatures were, in fact, inactive at the time.

Finally, the boy sat down in the grass, clutching his knife in his hand. He began to count the minutes.

Eight…

Ten…

Thirteen…

Fourteen…

He decided that if Dean took much longer, he'd go in looking for him-even though it would be all too easy to get lost in there. They might never find each other…it'd probably be better if he stayed put, in case Dean returned when he was gone and thought Sam had gotten attacked…

But his brother could be in danger. Whatever had caused that golden light could easily have been some new, dangerous type of monster. It could be maiming his brother right now.

Sam clambered to his feet, steeling his resolve. He was just about to plunge into the field, when he heard rustling coming from a few feet to his left.

Freezing, he watched the stalks of wheat twitching. Sam raised his knife, ready to attack the second a monster showed its face.

But the only face that appeared was that of his brother. Sam breathed a sigh of relief, and felt tears stinging his eyes. "Never do that ag-"

He broke off, staring. Leaning on his brother was a boy. A human boy. Sam couldn't remember the last time he had seen a living human. He knew that had to be some out there somewhere, that they couldn't be the only ones left. But as far as he could remember, he hadn't encountered one since the sun went away.

The boy returned his cautious gaze, and his blue eyes seemed to penetrate Sam's being. He shifted uncomfortably in place, still gripping his knife. In turn, he saw the boy's hand move to the pocket of his long tan coat.

"It's okay," Dean said, but Sam wasn't sure which of them he was reassuring. "This is my little brother, Sammy."

"Sam," he corrected sharply. "Dean, what the hell? Who is this?"

"This is Castiel. He caused the glowing light."

"How? Where did he come from?"

"I came from the sky," Castiel said wearily, running a hand through his messy dark hair. "The light was all around me. It's mostly faded now…" He held the back of his hand up to his face for examination. Sure enough, if Sam looked closely enough, he could see a faint golden glow around the boy's skin.

"What do you mean, you came from the sky?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I came from up there," he said softly, gesturing to the clouds. "I woke up in the middle of that field, surrounded by light. And then your brother found me." The boy began to sway on his feet, and leaned more heavily on Dean.

Sam's brother looked at him in concern. "I think you need to rest. Let's find some shelter."

Fortunately, they didn't have to walk terribly far, but by the time they found the door to what looked like an underground bunker, Dean was carrying Castiel on his back. The boy was scrawny and fairly light, but after a few minutes Dean's neck began to get sore.

"Do you think it's safe?" Sam asked cautiously, eyeing the padlocked metal door.

"Dunno. Worth a try though. I mean, I don't know of many monsters that know how to pick a lock."

"Mmm."

Sam reached out a hand to Dean. "Do you have your lock picker on you?"

Dean dug in his pocket, careful to maintain a hold on the boy. "Here."

It took Sam a good five minutes of fiddling with the lock before he had managed to get the door open. Castiel was already half asleep, his brown head resting on one of Dean's shoulders.

Sam tried turning on the flashlight, but it merely flickered and went out. "Damn. That was our last battery…we'll have to find a town soon. Batteries are a tough find but we might be able to scavenge some." He flicked open his lighter, which only cast a small light onto the steep steps before him. "Careful," he advised Dean, pulling out his knife again.

"Sammy, maybe I should go first."

"Don't be an idiot. You have Castiel on your back."

"Just don't let anything get you."

"Trust me. Most monsters aren't sneaky. Besides, if there's anything down here, it's probably asleep."

"Put me down, Dean," Castiel said suddenly, in a voice heavy with exhaustion.

Dean looked dubious. "You sure?"

"Yes."

He carefully placed the boy on his feet, and allowed him to lean against his shoulder for support. Slowly, he raised a hand from his side and pointed his palm at the bunker entrance. A faint blue light emanated from his palm, and Dean saw with shock that his blue eyes now seemed to be glowing. As soon as it came, the light faded, and Castiel leaned even more heavily on Dean.

"There's nothing down there. Nothing evil, at least."

Sam looked apprehensive, but Dean simply shrugged. "Let's go for it, then."

"Your call," Sam said, and vanished into the darkness in front of his brother. Dean slung Castiel's arm over his shoulder and followed.

"This place is amazing," Sam exclaimed, looking around them in delight. The space was a bit on the small side, no bigger than about half of a classroom, but it seemed to contain all the necessities-there were non-perishable foods, piles of books, a supply of candles and matches, blankets and pillows, and a chest of drawers full of clothes and weapons. In one of the cabinets, behind the cans of food, Sam found a large container of salt. "It's like a hideout made for hunters!"

"We should be careful then," Dean said, helping Castiel into a rickety chair. "They might be back, and hunters have a nasty tendency to shoot first, and ask questions later-give me that." He took the salt from sam, and poured a line across the bottom of the stairs.

"We need to add some sigils," Sam observed, looking around. "There's a devil trap under the rug, but that's it."

"I can do that," Castiel volunteered wearily, attempting to clamber to his feet.

"Hey. Worry about that after. For now, you need to rest. You're no good to us in that state." Castiel collapsed back into the chair without a complaint.

"Is there any paper in here?" He asked softly. "I can write down the sigils for you, and you can copy them. Some of them need to be done in blood, though," Castiel added.

"Not a problem," said Dean, reaching into one of the desk drawers and grabbing a notepad and pen. "Just tell me which ones."

"Are you sure about this?" Sam asked quietly, glancing over at Castiel's sleeping form as Dean began scrawling the sigils on the door.

He didn't look up from his work. "What d'ya mean?"

"I mean, do you really think we can trust him? This whole situation is really sketchy. For all we know, he could be a demon."

"I don't think so," Dean said, also glancing at Castiel. "I know this is probably gonna sound crazy, but when I saw him I just had this feeling that he good be trusted. Like he was something good. Actually, there's an idea I have. It might sound just as crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You know how we think if we kill enough monsters, the sun will come back, little by little? What if he's the result of that?"

"You think he's the sun?"

"No, no. Just…maybe he's part of it. He was glowing golden when I found him. It was the closest thing to sunshine I've seen in years. Maybe…maybe all this work we've been doing hasn't been for nothing. Maybe there's still hope."

Once Dean finished painting the sigils, he sat down on the floor across from Cas's chair, where the boy was still sound asleep. And although he was no longer emanating light, he still seemed to Dean the brightest thing in the room.

A/N: Sorry this was so short, but I've really been meaning to update this story so I just wanted to add something. There should be more action next chapter. Thanks for the support, and feedback would be absolutely wonderful.