Rebirth \\A Supernatural Spinoff// [2018 Watty Award Winner]

One - The Common Cause

One – The Common Cause

This is where Castiel said to meet up, Jessica thought as she walked in the hot Sioux Falls summer night. She couldn't believe how humid it was even after the sun had long gone to sleep. She couldn't believe a lot of things: how Sam and Dean Winchester (Dean, who she had only met once) had gotten themselves into serious enough trouble that required her to help find them; how Castiel and her had walked out of Heaven (or rather, snuck out) without someone ringing alarm bells; and the fact of how Castiel was able to restore Jessica's body to what it had been before she had died.

She still couldn't believe it, looking at her hands as though they were modern marvels. She felt like she was on some sort of acid trip, with how she'd gotten herself back to Earth. This didn't feel real to her. She was waiting for Castiel to appear and tell her that this was all in her head, that she hadn't left Heaven.

Shortly before landing herself back on Earth, Castiel had given Jessica clear instruction to meet at the Sioux Falls lumber mill. She had questioned why, he had failed to provide an answer. Jessica wasn't one for paranoia, but she couldn't help but wonder if Castiel was leading her into some kind of sick trap. She was risking some trust in him by following his words and believing them.

But he mentioned Sam. Sam, not the Sam I made in Heaven, Jessica reminded herself. She still couldn't understand what serious trouble Sam had gotten himself into that required her to be here. Castiel could give her those answers, she supposed.

The lumber mill gave off an eerie vibe. It looked abandoned, but judging by the fresh tire marks in the dirt and the equipment that Jessica saw, she knew that it was just closed up for the night. She looked around in the dark, given that Castiel hadn't given her anything to help her see.

Her fear was at an all-time high as she searched for the angel in the lumber mill. She flinched and refrained from squealing when she thought she saw things scurrying on the ground near her or into piles of logs. Did he have to pick the creepiest place in Sioux Falls?

The deeper Jessica walked into the lumber mill, the more her mind began to run with panicked thoughts. Was if Castiel set her up for something? Was if this was a dream? What if she was losing her mind?

She halted when she heard feet crunching in the dirt. She licked her lips. Castiel? Please be you, Castiel. She wasn't looking to fight off an attacker, she felt stressed enough right now.

After a long minute of silence (with the exception of Jessica's heartbeat), she moved on.

She had Castiel's name bubbling in her throat, but she refused to be the idiot who called out someone's name in the dark. She knew better contrary to what most people assumed her to believe.

It wasn't until she saw a figure in the shadows that she stopped. Crap. That doesn't look like Castiel. The height was too short to be him. The build looked off too, more...feminine.

"You're not Cas," Jessica said once the woman came into view. The moonlight provided the two women with a spotlight. Jessica cocked her head slightly. The woman before her looked more like a young girl, with how innocent her face looked. Her hair was short, in tight red ringlets. She looked as confused as Jessica did.

"You know Cas?" the redhead asked.

Jessica nodded. "He said for me to come here."

"He told me the same thing." The redhead blinked her eyes, her face scrunching up.

"Well, something screwy has gone on here," said a third voice, another female. Jessica and the redhead turned to see a blonde emerging from the shadows. She was more along the redhead's height, Jessica was the tallest of the three. Like Jessica, this woman's hair was blonde, but it was thin. "I got visited by the same person and got told the same thing."