Take Me To Church, Supernatural

32| Dead or Gone

Take Me To Church
Dead or Gone (Chpt. 32)
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"Chuck?" Dean hollered. His voice echoed through the room as he yelled. With his siblings on either side of him, they pushed through the door. The house was a mess. Books and papers of all sorts were scattered about. Everything on his desk was now on the floor as if someone had been thrown across it. Salem furrowed her brows and lets out a sigh.

"Chuck?" She yelled too, pausing as she waited to hear back from the man. She walked through doorways, searching the house for him.

Silence responds for just a moment then the man turns the corner. He clutches a book in his hand above his head, holding it like a weapon. As he notices the girl before him, his shoulders relax and he sighs in relief, lowering his book. "Salem." He says.

The girl's siblings join them in the room they stood, relief flooding them as they saw the man was alive. "You're alive." Chuck adds.

The three in front of him all nod slowly. "I thought you would've seen us coming, prophet." Dean says, narrowing his eyes.

"I mean- I was hoping you were!" He says. "But in my last vision you went all... demon. Your eyes were black... a-and you-" he trails off as if finishing a sentence was difficult for the current state of his scattered mind. "That was the last vision I had. I haven't had another so I wasn't... I wasn't sure if you were okay."

"Chuck, we're fine." Salem says, reassuring him. She walks over, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. She smiled lightly, trying to calm down the man in front of her. "But I need you to tell me what happened. Where is Cas?"

The man swallows the lump in his throat, dropping his gaze. He gently takes Salem's hand off of his shoulder and backs up as if scared of her reaction. He lets out a shaky sigh and runs a hand through his hair. He quickly glances back to her brothers, then lands his gaze back on Salem.

"I- I don't- I don't know. He's gone." He shakes his head. "Dead." He cringes at the word and panics, his voice growing louder. "Dead or gone. I don't know which one. I haven't seen him and-"

"Which one is it?!" Salem suddenly yells. Her sudden raise in tone causes the man to jump. His eyes dart around the room in a panic. His heart beat picks up and his breathing grows unsteady. "Chuck!"

"I don't know..!" He says. His voice sounds desperate and broken as he responds. Salem, taken aback by the sudden raise in his voice, furrows her brows. Chuck starts to back up as Salem's expression changes to anger. He slowly continues to backs away until he runs into the table behind him.

"What do you mean you don't know?" She pushes, creeping forward. "He was here, wasn't he!?"

"Yes- but-"

"There is no but!"

"Salem." Dean says, gaining her attention. He grabs ahold of her wrist and keeps her from going any further. He offers her a sympathetic look. "It's not his fault."

The girl lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding and her gaze softens. She then spins around and faces Chuck, her face now filled with sorrow. "What happened?" She asks quietly. Her voice cracks as she speak. She tries to blink back tears, wanting to keep her brothers from seeing just how much she cared about the angel. Biting her lip, she waits patiently for the man to respond.

"An archangel smited- smote?" He shakes his head, realizing he's getting sidetracked. "An archangel smote the crap out of him... I'm sorry."

"So he is... dead? Isn't he?" She asks. She drops her hand out of Dean's grasp and bites her lip to stop from crying. The words dead or gone played on repeat. Her heart ached and she shook her head, letting out a broken laugh. "He can't be."