Chapter 29

"Ooooh." The red-haired witch cooed after we'd all gathered in the server room and she'd seen the ring. "Aren't you a lucky little thing?" Rowena smiled as she gazed at the blood-red ruby, "Never imagined you as the type to settle down. With all the monsters and whatnot. But look at your glow. Beautiful." Her bottle-green eyes took in Elly as she stood silently next to us. "And who might you be darling? I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

"I'm Elly." The young blond answered, sticking her hand out to shake Rowena's.

"Well, aren't you just adorable. Almost makes me wish I'd had a daughter instead." Rowena's smile was gentle, and her thick accent pleasant. I had always liked the witch. She was classy yet strong and mischievous. Everything she did was for her gain. She took what she wanted as if it was hers all along and never looked back. "Bless your heart."

"Right, here's all the ingredients." Dean came into the server room, arms full of the ritual components. "Can we stop messing around and get this over with?"

"Don't be impatient with me, boy," Rowena warned, her hand snaking out and plucking a piece of Dean's hair before he could react. He scowled at her. "Something from that world," she smiled at him, a laugh in her eyes.

Rowena turned to the rest of the collection on the glass table, rummaging through it until she had everything ordered like she wanted it. I could see Elly watching intently out of the corner of my eye. She seemed all too excited to see real magic. She had been bouncing with excitement about it all morning. 

"Just the grace then?" Rowena asked as she began adding things to the ornate bowl. She looked around until her eyes settled on Gabe.

"I'm afraid I'm fresh out," The angel rolled his eyes.

Dean sighed and motioned to Ketch to follow him. "We'll get him," Dean called as they walked towards Lucifer's confinement.

I watched Elly's smile fade and fall. She snaked her hand into mine and squeezed it gently. "I have to warn you. Don't force him to do this. It will only end badly. And I am not leaving him there."

I wasn't sure what she was talking about. She had mentioned before Rowena arrived that the show had ended its season in a weird twist, but she'd refused to go into detail. She was afraid if she told me too much, things wouldn't happen the way they were supposed to. So I'd left it alone. 

"It'll be fine Elly." I assured her, "You don't know what'll happen. Not everything on that show has been correct."

"Can you see the future dear?" Rowena asked, taking a seat now as we waited for the boys to return.

"In a way?" Elly explained, "I know one path, but it's not always right because things can change." She sighed, looking between us with clear blue eyes, "Can't Cael do this?"

"I'm not an archangel," Cael said cooly from where he stood, mid-conversation with Cas and Gabe.

"Can you tell us what happens, Elly?" Sam questioned her from the other side of the table.

Elly looked over him, searching his face for several seconds like she wanted to tell him, then shook her head. I knew she didn't want to tell him. The little that she had told me had been that Sam was the one who messed things up. I squeezed her hand as Ketch and Dean returned, dragging an arguing Lucifer into the room.

Lucifer laughed as they pushed him towards the table and his blue eyes landed on Rowena. The red witch stiffed, pushing a small curl behind her ear. "Pretty sure I killed you little red."

Elly squeaked softly as Lucifer was shoved to his knees, the handcuffs Rowena had made jingling at his wrists. I watched the archangel as they positioned the bowl in front of him, his snide smile never fading.

"What a great surprise party." He continued to laugh, his eyes dancing around the faces in the room, "All of the people I like to torture in one room. It's gotta be my birthday."

"Stop with the taunting," I huffed, letting go of Elly and walking around him to watch Rowena work.

I saw his eyes roll as he realized what was in the bowl before him. We'd already told him the plan. Why he was acting so hostile all of a sudden was beyond me. But a piece of me also understood why. We were going to take his grace. No one would like that forced upon them. But there was no turning back now.

Cas stepped up behind Lucifer now, and took a handful of his hair, pulling his head back. Then Cas carefully ran an angel blade across his throat. There was a few seconds of pause before the thin blue glow of an angel's grace began to drip from the wound. It cascaded down into the bowl, making it glow and smoke in the way dry ice did in water.

"I would've given you some if you'd asked, doll," Lucifer grumbled. His eyes wandered to Elly, who avoided his gaze with a pink blush on her cheeks, "What is this about anyway? Revenge? Some sort of humiliation kink?"

"Revenge is just a bonus," Sam said, crossing his arms over his chest. "We have a lot we need to take care of, and not a lot of time to do it. So we need your grace on tap to keep the door open for us. 

With those words, Rowena stepped back from Lucifer and completed the spell, "Koth Munto Notox."

I watched Elly jump as the golden light shot from the bowl and a scar of time and space opened up mid-air. The scar ripped through the air until it was taller than Sam, weaving and shifting as if wind blew on it. Elly came up beside me again, head tilted in interest.

"She's not going with you, is she?" Lucifer asked above the growing noise as everyone prepared to go.

"I'm going," Elly told him, picking up her pack and slinging it over a shoulder. She took a small pistol from Dean as he passed, checking its ammo before holstering it on her hip, "I know that world better than they do. I'll be fine."

"You going to be ok on your own?" Dean asked Rowena. 

The witch stood with her hips cocked and her arms crossed over her chest, "Aye." Her eyes were locked on Lucifer, "Someone needs to keep an eye on the devil. Go. Save your mum and the boy."

I walked over to Cael, meeting his bright blue eyes. "You ready?" I asked the brooding angel.

He did little more than nod at me and returned his gaze to the rift. I sighed, I'd have to take that as a yes.

With that, I turned around to watch Dean be the first through the rift, soon followed by Sam. Then Gabe and Cas stepped through. Ketch turned to me before he stepped through, giving me a soft smile and a nod. I returned the smile. I nodded for Cael to go next, watching him slip through the gold tear before turning to Elly.

"Ready?" I asked her now. 

She nodded and reached for my hand again. I smiled, taking it. We stepped towards the rift, and I turned to face her one last time before stepping backward into the golden glow. I held onto her hand as I stepped back onto the soft forest floor now beneath my feet. I steadied her when she came through, her legs unstable at first.

"Got it?" I waited until she nodded before letting her go. Then I watched with a smile as she spun in a small circle, taking in the deep green foliage that surrounded us. "What are we working with?" I asked her softly.

"Dean should mention something about an outpost," She replied softly, "And then Sam will ask Cas where we are."

"Right, except Dean's never really been here before either." I told her, "Crowley never died to save them, he made a decoy and saved them all. And he and Ketch aren't exactly the buddy cop duo who saved each other in the snow. He's been here for all of five minutes, tops." I thought for a second, "You should say something. You know the way."

Elly was silent for a second, several thoughts racing behind her eyes before she took a deep breath and stepped up to the rest of the group. "Jack and Mary have an outpost in Dayton, Ohio," Elly explained.

"How does she know that?" Dean asked while Elly took a moment to look around us more.

"Too long of a story. But she knows, and I trust her." I said, putting my brother's worries at ease. "We need to follow her judgment here since none of us know anything about this place."

"Well, let's get our bearings and head out." Sam suggested, breaking the momentary tension, "Where are we, Cas?"

Cas closed his eyes, and I took a moment to look at Elly while he thought. "That was a little creepy, Elly." I whispered to her, "How do you remember all this?"

"It wasn't a happy episode, Alex." Elly exhaled deeply, her hands running over her backpack straps. "And I need you to know something. There's going to be something terrible that happens, and you need to let it happen. It is going to crush you and Dean, but you need to be strong because he is not going to want to leave."

This new statement took me aback, but before I could comment on it further, Cas spoke. "Northeast Kentucky. Or what seems to be left of it."

"We need to head this way," Elly said, calling the group's attention to her as she pointed through the forest. "This is north. Maybe about a two-day walk."

"I was gonna say that…" Dean muttered, slightly dejected.

I laughed at my brother's confusion. It was why I had never bothered explaining Elly's "ability to see the future" before. It would have been too much for them on top of everything else we dealt with, especially in recent years. With everything from getting mom back, to yet another potential apocalypse, it was hard to know just where the edge of our balance was.

Now I could see, that deciding to bring Elly along had been the best idea we'd had. Who knows how long we would've stumbled around if we hadn't? Two days. That's what she'd said, and I hoped she was right. I was sure that Lucifer had regenerated most of his grace on his little outing, but who knew how long it would hold out. We were a long way from Dayton, it would be a miracle if we all made it out of this in one piece.

We seemed to walk for hours, at least until the sky started to grow dark and the winds grew strong and cold with a coming storm. The sound of thunder rumbling in the distance gave static to the way our breath now hung like low clouds in the air. But we continued. I watched Gabe and Cas continue to talk in hushed voices in front of me, and I found my pace slowing to match Elly's.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" I asked.

Elly took a deep breath, trudging along at almost the rear of the group now. She wasn't used to the amount of walking we were doing. But she was doing her best to keep the fast pace Dean had set.

"Something about how Gabe slept with Rowena," She was out of breath, and stretched her arms high over her head, "But That was the show, this time I'm assuming they're talking about how he slept with Sam finally."

I nearly stumbled over a rock, "He did what?"

Elly nodded. "I don't know what it is about your family not being quiet about it but they weren't." She shuffled the pack on her shoulders, "Do you have any water?"

I dug around the edge of my pack, feeling with my fingers until I found the pocket that held my water bottle. I pulled it free and passed it to her. She took a small swig, gargled it, then spit it onto the ground before taking another drink.

"Gets rid of the cramps." She answered my questioning look. "I don't know. Sounded like Gabe was tired of holding in his feelings."

"That can't be it. Cas wouldn't care about that." I took the bottle back when she was finished, took a drink for myself, and slipped it back into its pocket.

"Cas wants Gabe to come back to Heaven. It's dying and the grace of an archangel could help it regrow. The only 'high-class' angel left is that bitch Naomi." Elly clenched her teeth and sucked in a deep breath, "I swear this bag is getting heavier."

"Heaven's dying?" I asked, slowing to get behind her before gently pulling her pack from her shoulders.

"I can carry it, Alex." She sighed.

"I know you can, but we all need a break sometimes," I assured, easily adding the weight to what I was already carrying. "Besides, this is a lot for your first long hunt."

"Thank you," She sighed again, stretching her shoulders and arms more, "Yes, Heaven is dying. There's not enough angels left in your world to keep it running."

"And what about Sam and Dean?" I nodded back to where my brothers were shoulder to shoulder.

Elly looked back at them too, smiling softly, "I'm just your new gossip machine, aren't I?" I shrugged, returning her small smile, "Dean's concerned with Sam's recent mood." I looked back, studying my younger brother as she spoke. He had seemed more energetic since we'd gotten through the rift, "He's just excited to find your mom."

I opened my mouth to comment on it, but a scream tore through the cold air and cut off any conversations in the group. It was a scream that almost made the cold sprinkle that had started to fall stand still around us. It had been a woman. And it was soon followed by a man's. I heard Elly's pistol cock as she pulled it from its holster. I slowly followed her example, turning in the direction the sounds had come from, trying to peer through the thick dark that was enveloping the trees. I took a few careful steps towards the trees.

"Vampire," Elly muttered.

"Not our world, not our problem," Cael said, taking my shoulder in his hands as I passed him.

Another scream sounded, and with it a clear order. "Run, Maggie!" The man's voice cut through the still air around us.

"They need help. I'm not about to let other humans die." I shook Cael's hand from my shoulder, dropped both packs I carried at his feet, and took off towards the sound. Dean and Sam were on my heels.

"Alex! Don't interfere!" Elly called after me.

But there was someone in trouble. And she had said vampire. We could handle a vampire or two. We had before and this would be nothing new.

I ran through the trees into a small clearing just as a pale, skinny young woman with braids jumped onto the back of a disgusting pale white creature with pointed ears. It was covered in mud and rusty, dried blood where the bright red fresh stuff wasn't. It looked humanoid but at the same time wasn't even close. This wasn't a vampire, or at least not the ones we were used to.

The creature ripped her from its back and threw her to the ground. Dean was there next to it first and pulled the thing away from her as it hissed and growled. I raised my pistol and fired a quick shot into its stomach, knocking it off balance before Sam's knife sliced through its neck, finishing it. The thing dropped to its knees and slumped to the forest floor, a toothy grin on its face as its head rolled.

Dean helped the girl to her feet as the man came from the tree line, bat in his hand. "What the hell was that thing?" Dean demanded.

"What do you mean?" The girl, who I assumed was Maggie, asked in a shaky voice. "It was a vampire."

The boy's eyes found mine and I could tell we all had the same thoughts running through our heads. I knew Elly would be right, but this thing, it was so deformed and hideous that I would be lying if I hadn't been skeptical. What was wrong with it?

"Doesn't look like any vamp we've ever seen," I said, staring at the milky-white face again. Its eyes were large and dark, and although they had already clouded over, they still stared with intense hunger.

"Who are you?" Maggie asked, picking up her fallen gear.

"I'm Dean," Dean said, gesturing to himself and then the two of us, "This is Sam, and that's Alex. We have a group of a few others not far off."

"We're not from around here," I added on as I holstered my gun again. I could feel their curious eyes on us.

"Why does it look like that?" Sam asked, stepping around the body.

"It was starving, there aren't enough of us to eat anymore." The man replied as he turned to check over Maggie. "When the angels started killing everyone, they didn't think about how it would affect the monsters. Some became so hungry they lost all reason. They're like a bunch of wild animals now."

"Which way are you heading?" Maggie asked, her nervous eyes glancing between all of us.

"North." I answered, "We need to get back to the rest of our group." I turned my back to them, ready to head back through the trees.

"To Dayton?" Maggie continued, "We're going there too. The rebels, Mary and Jack, have a base set up there."

"We figured it would be safer there than on our own." The man continued as I walked away.

I paused in my steps. Rebels? That was new, but all too surprising. Mary had always proved that she would never stop hunting until it killed her. She had been the hunter all along. Not my dad, not John. She was the one who started it all. She taught my dad the basics after I was born. And in return, he taught me when we started searching for John and the boys.

"We were trying to go through the Morehead Tunnel, it's the fastest way there. Cuts several hours off the trip." The man continued, "But there's a whole nest of those things in there."

"Is the tunnel the only way north?" Dean questioned as I turned back to the group.

"No. There's a mountain pass that leads around it. But it adds another day or two to the travel." Maggie said.

I could feel what was coming next in the shiver that ran up my back. I had to stop it, even if in my bones I knew I couldn't. "If the safe way is the long way…"

"We're already two days out," Dean interrupted, arguing like I knew he was going to.

I knew he was desperate to find Mary. I understood why. I wanted to find her too, I had missed her after all. Not in the same way he had, but I still knew there was no point in being dangerous with as large a group as we had. If it had been a struggle to even get two people through that tunnel, I wasn't sure I wanted to know how hard it was going to be for eight. Cas and Ketch would be able to handle themselves, but Cael had just recovered, Gabe was low on grace, and Elly was new to all of this.

"We've dealt with worse," Sam added, nodding in agreement. Was this what Elly had been trying to warn me about? "We can get you through the tunnel if you'd like to come with us."

I rolled my eyes and headed back through the trees. I should have listened to her and left these two to fend for themselves. But I hadn't and now we were going to add two more lives to our count. This was going to be bad.

I came out of the trees to find everyone stopped in their huddles. The angels were talking amongst themselves, seemingly about a safe space to stop for the night. And Elly and Ketch were talking quietly. She got to her feet when she saw me, ending their conversation and walking towards me.

"They want to go through the tunnel, don't they?" She asked softly, keeping the words between us. I nodded. "There's no way to convince them otherwise?"

"No," I shook my head, "What happens in there Elly?"

"We shouldn't go," She said, avoiding the question. I knew she didn't want to answer it but I needed the answer, "You don't have anymore…"

"Don't," I ordered, pulling her closer to me.

"Who knows what's going to happen in that tunnel." Elly ran a hand through her long blonde hair, "We have twice as many people here as the show did. I have no idea what's going to happen."

"Then we have the potential to be fine," I said, trying to sound hopeful. Though with the dread in her eyes and the deep ache in my bones, I knew there was a minuscule chance of that. Some things seemed to end up the same in both worlds regardless of the differences I caused. "What do we do?"

"I could try talking to Dean, but I'm not sure he'll listen." Elly took a step back, inhaling deeply before releasing a slow, steady breath. "Ok," She turned from me, took a few steps back towards Ketch, grabbed his arm, and pulled him over, "We are going to get swarmed in that tunnel."

"You're positive?" Ketch asked.

"Unfortunately. I cried during this episode, I think I know what I'm talking about." She hissed in frustration, "We are going to be swarmed and we are going to lose someone, maybe two. I don't know." Elly sighed again. "But we need to get through it. And I get the feeling something else fucked up is going to happen now that I've told you both this."

"Alex, it's time to go!" Cas called as Dean, Sam, and the two stragglers joined the group again. 

"What do we need to do, Elly?" I asked.

"Right," Sam announced as we reached a large set of rusted metal doors bolted into the side of the rock several hours later. "Stay close, keep walking, and if anything moves, kill it." Sam pried one of the doors open. It screeched and whined as the unwilling metal bent and succumbed to its age.

"Let's do this," Dean said, taking the charge into the dark hole, shotgun ready with his flashlight to guide his aim.

The two we had rescued followed after him, followed by the angels. I pushed Elly after them, gave Ketch a look that said watch her back as he walked after her, and I followed him. Elly had suggested staying towards the back of the pack and said it could be what changed the outcome if anything. I waited for Sam as he dropped the door back into place, sending us into the inky, unforgiving darkness. It felt like even our flashlights barely made a dent in the bitter black.

The walls of the tunnel were carved stone, held up with old wooden beams that were now laced with rot and cobwebs. It must have been a mining shaft at some point. And then someone had come along and hallowed it out to make travel over the mountain easier. I imagined that was when the monsters started to outnumber the people, and now it was overrun with vampires.

The thunder from the storm that had begun to war outside echoed down the rocky hall, ringing through my ribs as my heart beat faster. A scream echoed through the cavernous dark in front of me, and my feet were carrying me forward faster than I could think, only to find Maggie had tripped and fallen.

"Sorry…" She whispered.

I rolled my eyes and tried to steady my breathing. What a stupid fucking girl. The vampires had probably heard that. I was ready to keep moving when Elly's hand struck out and grabbed my sleeve, trembling. I didn't blame her. This must have been like living in her worst nightmare, forced to live out something she had only ever witnessed through a screen.

I took her hand from my sleeve and held it in mine, squeezing it gently. "It's ok, Elly." I said softly, "I promise."

"Look," She breathed, her sapphire eyes following the beam of her flashlight as it fell on a torn-apart backpack. Next ot it sat a bloody pair of shoes. I felt my heart drop in my chest. "I don't want to be here, Alex." Her voice trembled as much as her body did. I did my best to soothe her as we continued with the group down the tunnel. "One's going to be around this corner."

I opened my mouth to acknowledge her, but closed it again as we rounded the corner and the lost beams of many flashlights illuminated snow-white skin. The things crouched on the ground, snarling and gnashing as it ate its latest catch. I watched Dean take a step towards it and freeze. I knew he was second-guessing things now, knew he wanted ot turn back. But I also knew him well enough to know we both knew we couldn't.

"Let me," Sam said softly, stepping around me and making his way carefully over to the creature. 

The creature jumped when it realized the bright light of his light was getting closer to it. It turned towards Sam, teeth dripping with blood as it hissed. I barely saw Sam's arm move in the darkness before the thing's head rolled across the floor.

"Watch behind us, Ketch. Don't let them corner us." Elly whispered nothing but terror in her shaking voice.

I held onto her hand tighter as the point of his light left my back and pointed behind us. Nothing yet, but that didn't mean they weren't watching us already. I trusted her judgment, I knew she would do everything she could to get us all out in one piece. 

We continued down the mine shaft, water dripping down the walls and echoing in the silence. I looked behind us every so often to make sure Ketch was still there, still protecting us. A new, dull light came from the tunnel in front of us. As we got closer to it, the sound of the rain grew louder. Before long, we came across the source of the noise, a hole at the end of the tunnel was blocked with large fallen rocks, and the light and rain from outside dribbled through the small cracks enough to dimly light the area around it. Somewhere in my bones, I knew there wasn't another way forward.

"The passage is blocked," Dean knew it too, I could hear it in his voice. "We'll need to remove the rocks."

The angels took no time in getting to work clearing the way. They moved the stones as if they were made of styrofoam. Between to sound of the rain, and the new sound of rocks clacking together, I heard a rustling behind us. I turned and shined my light around us, but found nothing. I turned to Elly, who was poised with her gun in hand, staring dead back the way we had come, ready for whatever she knew was coming. But what scared me the most, was her shaking flashlight beam aimed at Sam, who was walking towards another opening in the side of the tunnel.

I jumped as a loud hiss came from the darkness. I looked around the darkness again but still found nothing. Then there was a loud growl, and I was knocked to the cold stone floor. My hands shot out in front of me, catching the jaw of one of the vampires as it tried to bite me. It snarled, its teeth gnashing as it pushed hard against my hands, growing closer and closer to me. I struggled, trying to get a better hold on its face, but the saliva it drooled was coating my hands and making it difficult to keep my hold on it.

There was a sickening crack as something hard collided with the thing's head and knocked it into a puddle that was much deeper than it had appeared to be. I looked up at Elly, who was breathing heavily with a baseball bat in her hand. She must have grabbed it from the man who had tumbled somewhere out of sight now. I scrambled to my feet, seizing my gun, but reholstering it as the thought of loud sounds drawing more attention to us crossed my mind. 

Elly tossed the bat to me as I locked eyes with her, I caught it as I turned to find another vampire rushing at me. I didn't hesitate to put my weight behind the bat, connecting with the side of the vampire's head. It crumbled to the ground and I tossed the bat back to Elly. 

The tunnel was a buzz of activity, flashlights turning to a concert of light as I turned to the commotion. I was quick to pull the blade from my boot as another pale-skinned creature found its way into one of the closer beams of light. It had gone for Ketch, who socked the striking creature like it was a boxing competitor. I severed its head from its neck as it stumbled close to me.

"Thanks, Love," Ketch said, cool grey eyes studying his surroundings.

"A knife works better," I commented, suddenly back to back with him.

"Sammy!" Dean's voice was a crisp panic bouncing amongst the sounds of gnashing teeth and singing blades.

I searched for him, barely making out his form, shoved up against a wall by another vampire. I frantically searched for my younger brother next, only able to find him when his call came.

"Dean!" It was enough to drown out all other sounds as blood rushed into my ears. I watched as slick yellow fangs sunk into Sam's neck and ripped it open.

"Sam!" I screamed, trying to race for him, but Ketch' arms caught my waist. I fought against his grip. He was dying, my brother was dying. I had to save him. I had to. "Sam!"

"Alex, stop!" Elly ordered, her voice dull and washed away by my panic. "Hold her still, Ketch!"

I could feel his grip tighten around me, his other arm joining the first as he pulled me back against him. I could only stare on as Dean shoved abc against the vampire that held him and Sam collapsed to the floor of this fucking tunnel before being dragged away by several of the starving creatures.

"Let me go!" I yelled, ripping my nails into Ketch' arms. I ripped myself free enough to pull my gun and point it at him, his arms instantly relaxing enough to set me free. "Sam!" I sprinted forward, vaulting over another vampire corpse.

"Alex! Get back here!"

It didn't matter whose voice it was. I didn't care. This was my brother. The only family who had cared for me from the beginning. My blood. And I wasn't about to let him die without doing everything I could to save him first. I reached the edge of the tunnel he had been dragged down when a new set of arms snaked themselves around my waist and wrenched me from my feet.

"I did not save you for you to die in another world." Cael's low voice said as he held me tight.

"Sam!" Cas took my place, running down the side tunnel, his coat the last thing to disappear into the darkness.

A gunshot rang through the tunnel, pulling my attention back to my older brother. He'd let the first shot fly through the last vampire that threatened us here. The things sick blood splattered across the cavern wall before it dropped to the ground in front of Maggie. He turned then, staring with me back into the black tunnel.

"Sammy!" Dean's voice echoed through the void. 

I could see his hands trembling on the shotgun, a look of hopelessness staining his green eyes. The tunnel around us fell silent, only the darkness of the sick tunnel growling now.

I pushed against Cael's arms, my feet frozen to the ground now. My chest felt tight as anxiety shot through me with each passing second. It only grew as a small dancing light began to bounce and grow in the dark shadows. 

Dean's flashlight moved to the hall, his gun ready for the possibility that it wasn't friendly. His aim dropped to the ground when the light illuminated Cas. Dean didn't move until he was within Cas' reach, and then he fell into him.

"You need to stop, Dean. He's gone." Cas said, holding my brother up.

I felt the anxiety in my chest move to my legs as they became filled with uneasy energy beneath me. They wanted to push forward, wanted to carry me forward into that tunnel and see for myself. But Cael caught me again.

"No!" Dean yelled now, pushing against Cas. He tried to shove past him, an attempt made feeble as Cas grabbed his shoulder, "Let me go Cas!"

I struggled in Cael's hold once more. I kicked and tore at his hold, doing anything to try and win the losing battle against him. But he held me strong.

"Alex," Elly said, suddenly beside me. "I tried to warn you. We need to leave. Please."

"We don't have time," Cas hissed softly to Dean, still holding him tightly.

I watched Dean shove at Cas' hands, trying to move towards the tunnel again. I knew Elly was right. I knew we needed to get out, and I knew to do that, I needed to be the strong one here. I had to be the one to save Dean. To save us all in this moment. I knew he wouldn't listen to anyone else.

"Let me go, please," I said softly, stopping my fight against Cael.

I paused for a second before putting me back on my feet and releasing me. I took a deep shaky breath and steadied myself, holding back the tears I couldn't spill right now. I stepped slowly to where Dean was still fighting against Cas and rested a hand on his arm. His cold green eyes snapped to me, filled with rage, anxiety, and fear.

"We need to go." I muttered softly, "Dean we need to keep everyone else safe. If we don't leave they'll all die and we'll never find Mom."

Dean stilled, his gaze holding mine and his breathing erratic.

"We can't save him, Dean," Cas muttered, his blue eyes fierce.

"It's going to kill us all," I continued, choking on the tears that were fighting ot make themselves known.

"How the fuck would you know?" Dean demanded, his voice trembling along the sharp words. I knew he would regret those words later and chose to ignore them now like the tears that brimmed his desperate eyes.

"We need to go, Dean." I said as more snarls and footsteps came from the path we'd followed, "They know we're here now. They'll come for us."

He slowly released his grip on Cas and took a deep breath.

"Keep moving those rocks," Dean instructed, clearing his throat and moving back towards our exit, resolve now across his face.