A/N: Two chapter in one month?! I'm on a roll! This chapter things start to pick up, I'm nervous about it. Not sure how I feel with how it came out, but I hope you guys will enjoy it anyway. Thanks so much for those who reviewed – I appreciate it. Like you have no idea. Enjoy and please, please review =)
Chapter Five:
Angels and Demons
I had a nightmare.
I think I almost died in my dream, which was a first. I'd never really died in any of my nightmares; they usually just consisted of fear, pain and torture. In this one Dr Carmichael had attacked me outside of work while I was throwing out the trash, picked me up by my neck without any real effort. He'd been so strong, and his eyes… they were white, and so eerily familiar now that I thought about it, but the thing that scared me the most was his face. He had looked so amused by the fact that he was choking the life out of me, no trace of conflicting remorse and if it hadn't been for Castiel showing up when he did, I would have. Even though it had only been a dream it had still felt incredibly real.
I shuddered.
Despite the wildly vivid nightmare, I woke up feeling ridiculously relaxed. I smiled a little, sleepily pulling the blanket closer, snuggling against my pillow. It smelled a little funny - like cologne. And come to think of it… my bed didn't feel right. It was too firm.
"You're awake."
Startled, my eyes snapped open and a slight gasp escaped me at the sound of the male voice. I sat up quickly and let out a small squeak when I found Castiel sitting on the edge of my bed, his blue eyes a little wider than usual. He looked a little concern, maybe curious. "W-what are you doing in my-" I cut myself off, looking around for the first time, and realized, "…this isn't my room." I looked back at the strange man, an unsettling feeling growing in the pit of my belly. "Where am I?"
"A motel," another voice answered for Castiel. I turned my attention to a man with shaggy brown hair, sitting in a chair across the room with a cell phone pressed to his ear. "Just outside of town."
I blinked. This man looked familiar, but I couldn't place a name to his face. "Who are you?"
He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. "I'm Sam." He then put up an index finger, and stared down at the floor. "Hey, call me as soon as you get this. We've got a," he paused, giving me a look before shifting his eyes away, "situation." He shut his phone, and looked to Castiel, who, I realized, was still staring at me. "That's the third time I've called him – he's not picking up."
Castiel closed his eyes, tilting his head to the side. "He's coming," he informed us, opening his eyes.
I looked between the two men, that uneasy feeling growing even more. "Will someone please tell me what's happening? How did I get here?"
"I brought you here," Castiel told me, eyes scanning my face. "How do you feel?"
"Confused," and scared, but I didn't say that out loud. "What happened –" I cut myself off, suddenly remembering my dream. Those eyes. That face. "Dr. Carmichael – he tried to kill me. His eyes. What was wrong with his eyes?" I asked, panic lacing my words.
"That wasn't Dr. Carmichael."
I stared at Castiel, gave him a hard, long look. Of course it was Dr. Carmichael. I wasn't stupid. Or blind. I think I would know the face of the man, who was treating me, but I humored him, "Then who was it?"
"A demon," Sam answered. He was leaning forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees, fingers laced together.
"Dr. Carmichael is a demon?" I repeated, deadpanned. He couldn't be serious.
"Yeah, well, he's been possessed by a demon," he clarified. He was completely serious.
Crazy. "Right, I'm going to go," I said, throwing the blanket off of me, and getting out of bed in a hurry, and from the corner of my eye I could see both men stand up in unison.
"Damaris Rodriguez –"
I froze, and turned to look at the man in the trench coat, confused. "How – how do you know my last name? I don't remember telling you my last name…" it was then that a thought occurred to me. When I had asked him if he had been stalking me when he came into the diner that time after Odis had saved him, I had been joking. Now I wasn't so sure,"… you really are stalking me, aren't you? That's why… you're always showing up…" I trailed off, feeling nauseous.
"I only mean to protect you," was all he said, confirming that he was, in fact, stalking me.
My knees felt weak. I wasn't sure if it was because I felt flattered or terrified. "Protect me?" I repeated. "Protect me from what?"
His face darkened a little. I took a step back, unintentionally. "The demon, Alastair."
"Who?"
"Dr. Carmichael," Sam explained, speaking up. I had almost forgotten he was in the room.
I felt my body tense at the name, my heart growing heavy. The man I'd learn to trust over the past few weeks had tried to kill me. There was a ridiculous sense of loss because I knew that I'd have to call the police to have him arrested for assaulting me. I thought about how distraught his family would be, but … what if he was violent with them as well? Damnit, this was not something I wanted to be dealing with.
"I have to go," I finally said when I realized I'd been staring into space.
"Damaris, please. Don't go," Sam pleaded, giving me these puppy dog eyes that I was sure could persuade anyone into doing anything. "We're not going to hurt you, we just want to help."
"Help?" I asked, incredulously. "Help me, how? This is crazy," I told them, hands gesturing wildly. My heart was beating faster, and I could feel myself shaking. "You're telling me that Dr. Carmichael is possessed by a demon – a demon - who the hell are you people?"
Castiel took a step forward and I had to will myself not to move. "I am an angel of the Lord."
"An angel?"
"It's true," Sam said, looking a little nervous.
I let out sharp laugh. "You're crazy – both of you. And I'm leaving."
"Damaris."
"I'm leaving," I repeated, turning away from both men. This was ridiculous. There was no such thing as demons, or angels for that matter. I didn't even believe in God. How could I possibly believe in anything else? I grabbed the door handle, yanking it open and let out a startled scream when I locked eyes with Castiel's blue ones. "How did you – " I turned around to look into the room. Sam was the only one standing there, watching the scene unfold. "What the F-? How… did you do that?" I turned back around to face Castiel, but he was no longer standing in front of me.
"I told you – I'm an angel of the Lord."
The voice came from behind me. I turned, shutting the door. "So…" I began, my voice shaking. "Angels and demons are real?"
"Other things too," Sam answered, looking at me uncertainly and with good reason. I could feel myself shaking. There was a part of me that felt I would faint.
"Are you an angel too?" I asked, hesitantly, eyeing him.
He shook his head, pushing his hair out of his face. "I'm a hunter. My brother and I, we hunt the supernatural."
I nodded, feeling lightheaded. "This is too much," I told them, and Sam walked towards me, leading me to the bed so I could sit. I thanked him, and stared at the floor. There was a long silence as I tried to process all this new information.
Monsters were real. So were angels. Did that mean God was real too?
"I know this is a lot to deal with," Sam said, sitting beside me. "I'm sorry."
I looked at him, "Why… why does Dr. Carmichael – the demon," I corrected myself, closing my eyes for a moment, "want from me?"
"That's what we're trying to find out," Sam said.
I suddenly remembered what Dr – the demon said to me. "You shine so brightly…" I muttered under my breath.
"What?"
"That's what he said to me – he said he missed my screams… he thought that it would be hard to find me topside, but I shined so brightly… he was drawn to me." I looked at Castiel. "What did he mean by that? I-I've never met this demon before in my life."
Castiel frowned. "No. Not in life," he said cryptically.
"Damaris, did you make some kind of deal?" Sam asked, looking at me as though everything suddenly made sense.
I shook my head, confused. "What kind of deal?"
"A deal with a crossroads demon."
I shook my head, "before tonight, I didn't even know demon's existed."
"You died," Castiel announced, and if I hadn't been sitting I would have fallen to the floor in a heap. Only a handful of people knew about that. It wasn't something I liked to announce. "Recently."
I could feel Sam's eyes on me. "H-how did you know that?" I asked him, but then realized of course he knew. He had always known. "Right. Angel."
"You died?" Sam repeated, eyes wide. "How long?"
I opened my mouth to answer his question, a feeling of dread overtaking me. This wasn't a discussion I wanted to have, but if it helped with whatever was happening I would, but before I could answer, the front door opened and a man stepped into the room.
"You," I said, eyes wide, recognizing the man. It was the guy from the Diner, the one who spilled his coffee on me.
His own eyes went wide, eyes shifting between the three of us. "What the hell is going on?"