Apocalypse
Chapter One – Demons' Rule
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Also, the plot of this story belongs to me
Summary: Despite all of the warnings, all of the signs, humans were unprepared for the apocalypse. The demons came in great numbers to kill and enslave humans, until only a few remain free and grouped together – including Dean Winchester. Now, the last free humans have a quest – to find those few individuals that are angels incarnate; the few that have the ability to battle and destroy the demons on the plane of souls.
But Dean's own personal quest is much more simple, and born of protecting the most important thing in his life.
To rescue his brother Sam from the demons' grasp…
Warning(s): Violence; spoilers; some swearing; mild descriptions of torture/death; possibly some 'icky' moments; AU
Dean sat on the ground, staring blankly into space – or, well, as much as he could in the darkness. He was aware of the quiet talking going on around him, but he had no interest in making any contributions.
I failed him. I failed Sam. My brother's gone now, and it's all my fault. I should have been better at protecting him, and now he's gone. Dean felt his way up his chest, and closed his hand around the necklace that still hung against his shirt. Aside from the clothes on his back, it was his only possession that was worth anything. Even his guns had been rendered useless against the demons that had leaked into the human world.
And there was something wet and cold dripping down his back, causing some discomfort. I should probably move, he mused. I don't really want to catch a cold or something. If that's even possible here.
"Are you all right, mister?"
"Huh?" Dean glanced to the side, and squinted, trying to make out the features of the person who had just spoken to him. All he could really make out was long dark hair, and a tiny build – either someone who was very small, or a child. Since Dean couldn't recall seeing any really short people in the group who had fled into the cave, he assumed that it was a child.
And there was really only one child among the twenty-or-so people who had survived and been able to flee the attack. Teenagers didn't really count.
Her calm reaction to everything had been a little disconcerting – especially since, as far as Dean could tell, her parents had been killed. Or maybe captured – he wasn't sure which. To be honest, he was more concerned with what had happened to Sam rather than other people's families.
"I'm fine," Dean said shortly, turning away and staring at where he thought the nearest wall was once more. He hoped that the girl would get the hint and leave him alone.
She didn't.
"What do you think we should do?"
Dean gritted his teeth, and was about to tell the girl to stop bothering him, when he realised that she wasn't the only one waiting for an answer. He could feel the eyes of at least twenty people on him. As his own eyes got used to the dimness, he could see that some people looked scared, and others angry. A few just seemed to be completely hopeless – a feeling that Dean could certainly identify with. But he didn't want the people to be looking to him to make a decision.
Not after what had happened.
"What can he know?" a tall, red-haired man demanded, almost as though he could tell what Dean was thinking. His face – which was smudged with dirt – was harsh and cold. "All he's been doing is sitting there staring into space!"
Dean scowled. "I'm sure I'd know a lot more than you would," he replied, his tone sharper than he had intended. But one thing he really hated was a person who just assumed that he didn't know anything. "In fact, I probably know way more than any of you do about these… creatures, since I was one of the people hunting them…!" So much for just staying out of the whole situation.
"But then why didn't most of us know about this? Why didn't you hunters tell us what was going on?" The speaker this time was a middle-aged woman with dark hair pulled into what was probably supposed to be a severe-looking bun. Since strands of hair were escaping to give her an untidy appearance, the effect was kind of lost.
Dean raised his eyebrows. "Come on… Can you honestly tell me that you – any of you – would have believed someone who told you that demons existed? Even when there's the evidence in front of your eyes, humans generally refuse to believe that the supernatural might just be real."
"Maybe we're really all insane…" a blonde-haired teenager commented, gulping slightly. Her eyes seemed a little too wide and appeared rather wild – but at least she was talking. It was more worrying if someone stayed quiet and kept in the background.
Yeah… Wouldn't that be good? Dean thought. To wake up in a padded room with a nice doctor telling you yet again that demons, vamps, ghosts, and so on don't exist; could never exist. "You wish," he said out loud. "That would be the easy option. And if you start believing that, then you're going to end up losing your mind." He looked around, making sure to meet the eyes of every person even in the gloom.
Not one could hold his gaze.
"So what do you suggest we do? Fight?"
Dean considered that for a moment, and then slowly shook his head. "I see hardly anyone who would be able to stand up against even a weak demon," he said bluntly. Harsh it might be – but it was the truth. And that was more important.
"But we can't just sit around here doing nothing," a young man said, whimpering slightly. "They'll kill us – just like all of those others…"
"A defeatist attitude is not going to help matters any." As he said it, Dean realised that he was beginning to take responsibility for these people. They were looking to him for guidance… and he was responding automatically. It wasn't that he wanted to – just that there seemed to be no one else willing to.
"So what will help?" the red-haired man demanded.
He's gonna cause problems, Dean thought. But maybe he'll be the only one… Most of the others looked scared or angry – but Dean felt that they would probably follow his direction. "Well, first of all, we're not gonna do anything to draw attention to ourselves. Maybe we're the only humans free, maybe not – either way, if we're fighting amongst ourselves, all it's gonna do is enable the demons to find us quicker. Now… We're all going to play nice together, starting with introducing ourselves. I'm Dean Winchester."
"My name's Iona," the little girl – who was staying a little too close to Dean – said.
"Jake," the belligerent red-haired man said shortly.
"I'm Abby," the blonde-haired teenager said timidly, looking at Dean with eyes that still seemed too wide.
"Isabelle," the severe-looking woman said, glancing around as if daring anyone to contest that.
"I'm called Malcolm." The man who had mentioned about the demons killing everyone spoke up.
The other people all said their names as well – some murmuring them quietly; others speaking them as if their name was the only thing left to them. Dean knew that he wouldn't remember everyone's name – at least not to begin with – but the important thing was that he had got most of the people talking, even if saying just one thing. He figured that that was probably the best thing.
"Good," Dean said. "Now… The demons haven't found this intersection of caves yet, but we really need to assume that they may eventually. So I'm going to ask this – is there anyone here with the ability to use magic? Even the most minor spells might help."
"What, so witches exist as well?!" Jake demanded.
Dean stared him down, knowing that he was going to have to deal with the man's apparent hostility sooner or later. That attitude was going to cause some serious problems. He almost brought it up then and there – but was stopped by a movement out of the corner of his eye.
Abby had one pale hand raised.
"You're a witch?" He shouldn't have been surprised – really, he shouldn't have been. Dean knew – probably better than almost anyone – that the supernatural came in any shape or form.
But still…
Abby blushed. "I'm a Wiccan, actually," she admitted. "I can't do much, though… Protection spells are about my limit, and not particularly strong ones, either." As she spoke, the people closest to her were beginning to edge away slightly, looking almost fearful.
Dean couldn't blame them. The idea of witches still made his flesh crawl – even if it was a Wiccan rather than a witch. But one was needed right now… "A protection spell would be fine," he replied. "In fact, that's what I'm looking for. Can you shield off these caves?" We need a base, somewhere safe to stay… If that's even possible.
Abby glanced around, biting her lip slightly. "Well… I would really need quite a bit of energy, and also a lot of concentration, to be able to shield an area this size."
"Don't Wiccans draw power from the Earth or something similar?" Isabelle asked, watching Abby with something that looked like scared fascination. "How hard can it be?"
"Wicca isn't like witchcraft," Abby answered. "There are… rituals that need to be observed. I don't know if I can remember all of them."
"Could you try?" Dean requested. "I'm sure that no one here particularly wants the demons to come. I imagine being captured or killed won't be fun." Again, he was being harsh – but this was reality, and he wasn't about to sugar-coat it. "Oh, and take someone with you if you need to go off a little way," he continued. "That's one rule that we should all follow here – no one should wander off on their own. If you're leaving this main cave, take at least one other person with you."
Abby nodded, and glanced around. She was quickly joined by a white-haired, delicate-looking woman who had introduced herself as Lyra.
Dean frowned. Ok, maybe I should change that order to include someone who actually looks as though they can defend themselves, he thought. Before he could say that, though, Malcolm joined the two women. Huh… That's surprising. I would have thought that he'd want to stay where the majority of people are, from what he said.
"Any other rules?" Jake raised his eyebrows, his arms crossed over his chest.
"You mean besides the obvious?" Dean considered that a moment. "We're gonna need to leave the caves in order to get food… Anyone here with experience in hunting or foraging for edible plants?" Hunting won't be much use without weapons; unless a slingshot or something is used. I can't remember what kind of creatures and plants can survive in caves…
"I know about most plants, and something about caves," Isabelle said. "I can probably find some things that are harmless to eat." She glanced around. "We're going to need to ration food, though. With the demons having taken over, it's going to be hard to continually leave in order to forage." She looked around. "I can go now, if you like…"
"It's probably a good idea," Dean agreed. "If possible, we also need to find a water source – as close to the caves as possible. If there's an underground stream, that'll be even better." It really was amazing how people automatically shut up and listened to the one person who seemed to know what was going on. "Don't take any chances," Dean continued. "If you hear anything approaching, come back to this main cave immediately. If you see something that looks anything like a demon, run like hell – you won't get a chance to do anything else." Even running may not help… But he had the sense not to say that out loud.
"I'll go with you," one of the other men said gruffly to Isabelle. He was tall and large – more muscular than fat, though – with the appearance of a marine. His name was Adam, if Dean recalled right.
The two headed off, pausing for just a moment as Dean called after them, "Make sure that at least one of you pays attention to the way you're going." Really, he'd prefer it if no one left the group at all – but they weren't going to survive long without food or water.
Iona sat quietly on the ground at Dean's feet, not saying anything. Dean was relieved to have her eyes off him, since the child was making him feel uncomfortable. And just what happened to her parents, huh? How come she was able to come here? She can't be more than ten years old, after all. Plus, Iona was the one who had drawn attention to him and pretty much set him up as some kind of leader.
Really, Dean was merely someone who knew slightly more about what was going on than the average person – and even that wasn't a whole lot.
Jake frowned slightly at Dean, not looking too happy with the way he was taking charge. "Are there any other orders you wish to give us?"
Whoa, easy on the sarcasm there. "Not right now," Dean answered. "Aside from the obvious ones involving common sense – which you should already know. But just while we're talking – does anyone else have any specific skills? You know, like anything that might possibly be useful, even if seems silly."
"I'm a doctor," Jake said with obvious reluctance.
Dean bit his lip against speaking the response that immediately sprung to his mind. Arguing among ourselves is just gonna cause problems, which is one of the last things we need. I don't care if Jake wants to take charge or whatever. Fact is, I'm sure he doesn't know half of the stuff I do. "Any surgical experience, or just… you know?"
"Some," Jake answered. "If I have a needle and a thread and a way of sterilisation, I could probably stitch up most wounds."
Dean gave a single nod. That could be really useful, he thought. He took a glance around. "Anyone else got anything?"
There was silence. Dean couldn't tell whether it was because no one else felt that they could be useful, or they were too scared to speak up. "Well, never mind…" he said. "If anyone comes up with anything, let me know." He glanced down at Iona, who just looked up at him, her expression no less disconcerting. "Anyone have any experience with taking care of children?" He didn't really want to have to be a babysitter.
"I can look after her." An older woman moved forward, and crouched down in front of Iona. She held her arms out to the little girl. "Why don't you come over here with me, sweetie?"
Iona hesitated, watching the woman. Then, she moved – barely perceptibly – back towards Dean. "I wanna stay here."
Dean put a hand up to rub at the back of his neck, and sighed. Great… I want my brother. Where the hell is he?!
Dean couldn't very well go looking for Sam, though. Not right then, anyway. But he was certainly going to find his brother before those demons did anything to him. Dean didn't care what it took.
"This is really gross," Lyra commented as she, Abby, and Malcolm left the main cave. "I mean… I wouldn't want to have to stay here for any length of time. How would we even survive?"
"I guess we don't have a choice," Abby answered, running a hand along the wall of the cave passage. There was something soft that almost clung to her fingers – a type of moss, probably. With a shudder, she pulled her hand away. "We could probably survive…" But what kind of life would it be?
"What do you think happened to all of those people?" Malcolm asked, interrupting the two girls. "I mean… Surely they can't all have died?"
"What else do you think would have happened to them?" Lyra inquired. "Demons aren't like people, I guess. Maybe they've taken some prisoners; but likely just for feeding." As Abby stared at her, she shrugged. "Sorry… But it's the truth. There's no point in sugar-coating it."
"Who'd have thought there were so many demons in existence?" Abby mumbled. After a few minutes, she paused, and placed a hand against the wall of the cave. Then, she gasped and pulled her hand back, feeling like she'd been burned.
"What's wrong?" Malcolm demanded.
Abby stared at her hand for a moment. "I… I don't know," she replied. "My hand… There's something wrong here."
"What do you mean?" Lyra – in stark contrast to Malcolm – looked surprised and curious. "Can you sense past events that happened here or something?"
Abby held up a hand, her head tilted to one side. Something was whispering inside her mind, and she strained to hear; to understand.
Find the angels incarnate…
What? Abby shook her head slightly. This is… weird.
Lyra and Malcolm were staring at Abby, both looking rather worried. Their expressions were not unlike those of a person who's just found out they've met someone mentally insane.
Abby shook her head to clear it, and pushed away the thoughts of shielding the caves from view. There were a whole myriad of images swirling around inside her mind, and it was difficult to make sense out of any of them.
But there was one thought that was at the front of Abby's mind, and she gave voice to it:
"We have to talk to Dean."
Sam opened his eyes, and winced at the pain that knifed through his head. He tried to lift his hand to rub at his forehead, but his arms wouldn't move further than a certain point.
Where am I…? Sam glanced around, but couldn't make out much because of the dim lighting. He could smell fried food, though. His head felt musty, and he wanted his brother – just like a kid who'd had a nightmare. "Dean?" It was whispered. Given just how dry his mouth was, Sam couldn't speak any louder.
If Dean were here, he'd come when I called him…
Sam touched his lips with his tongue, trying to moisten them. What happened? What's the last thing that I remember? Even as he thought, he heard the sound of someone sobbing quietly. He squinted. "Who's there?"
The sobbing continued, but Sam heard words mixed in with the noise: "Please… Don't hurt me…"
As Sam's eyes got used to the dark, he became aware of a young woman curled up on the floor not far from him. He also had the iron taste of blood in his mouth. What happened? Someone's hurt? "Are you all right…?"
"Stay away from me!" Sam heard the sound of the woman scrabbling away. There was obvious fear in her voice.
"Hey, it's all right…" Sam said softly. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Come here." He kept his voice soft, as though he were talking to a small child. At the same time, he was working at getting his hands free of the bonds.
There was a long silence. Then, the woman whispered, "Is he gone…?"
Is who gone? Sam wondered. "There's no one else here," he answered. "Please come over here. We need to work on a way to get out of here."
The woman hesitated for a long moment. Then, she slowly started crawling towards Sam, seemingly dragging one of her legs behind her. She paused as she got right in front of him. "What… do we do?" she whispered, staring at Sam with eyes that were unusually bright.
"Well… We need to figure out who has us here…" Sam replied, even as he dropped the ropes to the ground and raised his hands, reaching out to lightly touch the bleeding gash on the woman's cheek.
And then, he snapped her neck.