An Arranged Marriage

Chapter 42

The hair on the back of your neck stood on end as a heavy breeze blew through the windowless room. It was pitch black, all of the candles blown out at the same time. It was creepy, all the rustling movement around you. Worried that souls had somehow escaped, you kept turning around, but nothing was there.

Dean had talked of Hell. Not of his time down there, he was quiet about that horrid time. But he told you stories, giving you information if you had ever found yourself down there. You had never imagined you would be standing there, with the King of Hell by your side, performing a spell. It scared you, and you placed a comforting hand on your stomach, hoping this was not upsetting your unborn daughter.

"Shh, it's okay," you whispered, more to yourself than her. "Crowley?"

"I'm here," he mumbled. "I'm not sure it worked."

You had been afraid of those words. Afraid that whatever he had been trying to accomplish wouldn't happen, and Dean would still be stuck deep in the cage.

Sinking down in the deep leather chair, you ignored the stinging in your hand. The pain it felt was nothing compared to the pain in your heart. You had come so close.

Crowley began pacing around the room, mumbling to himself, lighting the candles once again. Closing your eyes, you tilted your head back, trying to keep the tears at bay, you heard rustling coming from outside the door. Moaning and screams filled the air as fingernails clawed at the heavy wooden door. "Crowley!" You exclaimed, your eyes wide with fright.

"What?" He growled before the sounds filled his ears and he stilled. "No, it wasn't supposed to happen this way!"

Fear making your heart beat fast, you stood up, cowering behind the chair as the heavy wooden door rattled against the onslaught of whoever was on the other side. "What? What wasn't supposed to happen this way?"

Crowley picked up the spell once again, scanning it quickly while you hastily searched the room for some type of weapon. The wood creaked, whatever was on the other side not giving in. "My army! The spell was supposed to bring me the greatest undead army the world has ever seen, but not like this. I don't know what's going to happen."

Crowley's stolen Angel blade lay on the desk, and you picked it up, just as part of the door splintered. "Will they harm us?"

"Me? I don't know. You, more than likely. We need to get you out of here!"

"How? Is there a secret passage?" You asked as an ugly, rotting face tried to bite its way through the wood. Its cheek was hollow, it's eye dropping from its socket. Your stomach grumbled, threatening to hurl once again.

Looking as if he was going to ignore you, he began searching the walls as another zombie warrior peered through the door, it screams almost guttural. You couldn't look away, amazed that something as disgusting as that would be a great army.

"Y/N!" Crowley called out, standing at the far end of the wall. With the angel blade in your hand, you moved as fast as your swollen belly would allow. "This passage leads deeper into Hell. The spell should have weakened Dean's cage. Find him, save him and get out of here!"

Taking the light he handed you, you peered nervously down the dark passage. "But what about...," you started to argue just as the door finally gave away. The zombie-like creatures began crawling over each other, not even noticing when they lost a limb or an eye, and you knew you had no choice. "Are you coming?" You asked, but Crowley pushed you into the passage, winking your way before shutting the door behind you.

You could hear sounds of struggles, even through the thick stone walls. Fearing that the worst would happen to Crowley, you began the long trek down the dark passage. Your light was barely enough to light your way. Spiderwebs lined the walls, skeletons of creatures you had never seen crunching underneath your foot. The tunnel wasn't very big, maybe five feet wide by six feet tall. It was freezing cold, your breath showing in front of you.

Screams could be heard on both sides of the walls, torturous screams that made you wonder if you would ever find Dean. If you would ever find your way out of this passage. Shivering, you continued on, the screams slowly fading away before the tunnel finally came to an end. Stone surrounded you on three sides, no clear exit. Setting the light on the stone floor underneath you, you began running your hands along with the stone, searching for a hidden lever. Minutes ticked by, and you listened to see if the zombies had followed you down here. Almost giving up, your elbow brushed against a small, circular stone. The wall started moving, dust billowing around you as the rocks slowly began moving to the side. Picking up the light, you stepped to the side, hoping that a fate worse than the zombies wouldn't be in front of you.

It took almost a full minute for the dust to settle. Covering your mouth with your shirt, you took shallow breaths, not wanting a cough to give you away. It was almost a full five minutes before you had enough courage to peer around the corner. The room in front of you was quiet, barely lit with a fire in the corner of the large chamber. Four stone walls were at least ten feet high, covered in every sigil you had ever seen, along with some you hadn't. The floor was stone, stained a deep, dark red. But none of that caught your attention. It was the large cage, front, and center in the middle of the room that had you slowly stepping into the room, searching for a familiar face.

With the light of the fire, you could barely see ten feet in front of you, and you took another step closer when the voice you had been dreaming of spoke up. "Y/N? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Dean!" You exclaimed, racing forward, but he stopped you.

"Don't come any closer! I don't know what the wards will do to you," he insisted, and you could finally see him. He was leaning against the bars in the corner, only a silhouette in the darkened room.

You wanted so badly to trust Crowley, to step over the wards that the spell should have taken down. But you were scared that it hadn't worked. You had no idea what it would do to you or your baby girl. It was the worst sort of torture, only feet apart from Dean, with no clear move forward.