I stare around the town of Lebanon as I pass through it. It's somewhat of a nice town. A good place for hunters to hide out.

I follow the map's direction and find the path that takes me to the Men of Letters bunker. It takes me about ten minutes to reach. I climb out of the junker car that I stole from an old lot and look around for the door.

I find the door, which is quite literally a hole in the wall. Or, ground. But there's no Men of Letters symbol on it. I can feel the warding radiating from the other side though — this is it. I try the handle, and surprisingly, the door opens, only to reveal a small space with another door. That's where I find the symbol, and all of the locks to go with it. I take a breath to muster my courage, and pound on the metal door.

I knock for only a few minutes before Sam Winchester opens the door, gun in hand, ready to shoot me down. I hold my hands up. "I'm friendly, I promise."

"Who the hell are you?" He asks. "How'd you find this place?"

"My name is Sigrid. I'm a reaper. I'm here on Mallory's behalf."

Sam frowns. He seems surprised. Without another word, he lets me in and leads the way down the steps, into the heart of the bunker.

"Sam, who was — what the hell? Who is this?"

Dean Winchester immediately pulls his gun, the same way Sam did before.

"Poughkeepsie!" I yell in desperation to keep my life.

Sam and Dean both stare, their eyes turning to those of worry.

"Who are you and what's going on?" Dean asks.

"Dean Winchester, my name is Sigrid," I introduce myself. "I'm here on Mallory's behalf. I'm a reaper. I've known her for a while now. I'm sure you know, but she's in trouble."

Dean becomes even more visibly upset. He retracts his gun, but doesn't ease up. "Where is she?"

"That's why I'm here -"

"I don't need you to do anything except tell me where the hell she is!" Dean yells. The man's fury fills the whole room.

"Dean," Sam warns. "Let's just hear her out."

"Damnit, Sam! I've had enough of all these sons of bitches. First we can't find the djinn, then Cas goes M.I.A., and now we're getting help from some bottom-rung reaper?"

I take offense to Dean's insult, and speak up. "If you want Mallory back here alive, I suggest you listen to me, Dean."

This gets through to him. He approaches Sam and I. "Fine. Let's hear it."

"Mallory is basically in prison. Your case? It was a trap. Death has connections, you know. He got a djinn to poison her, kidnapped her while she was hallucinating, then broke her out of the trance once he had her in a cell. She's already been through hell and back." I shudder, remembering her procedure.

"But she's alive. I can't tell you where your angel friend is, but I know she's been praying to him like crazy. It won't work anymore, though. She's been what we call "branded". Basically, sigils burnt into the skin. She won't be able to contact anyone via her supernatural connections."

Dean stares at the floor. His silence is loud enough for me to know that he's ready to take revenge on every reaper in the veil, myself probably included.

"So what are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I'm a guard in the cell block she's being held in. Your best bet at breaking her out is through me. Castiel won't be able to get through the gate, neither will you two. Authorized personnel only. There's a portal that connects the two planes, Earth and the Veil, in Southern California. Anaheim, to be exact. I know a way to get her to that portal, but you three have to be on the other side. And it won't be pretty."

"What do you mean?"

"The only way I can justify getting Mallory close enough to that portal to get her through is by her having some type of life-threatening injury. There's an infirmary close to that portal. I would have to act like I was escorting her there, and take her through the portal at the last minute. Castiel would need to be able to heal her, and we would need to make a fast run for it."

"For the record," Dean pipes up, "I hate it. It's a terrible plan."

"Dean." Sam glares at him.

"What's your price for all of this?" Dean asks. "I doubt you're doing this out of the good of your nonexistent heart."

"Listen, I look up to Mallory. No one else in the veil has the guts to do what she's done. Many of us look up to her. I also envy her. I want the freedom she had. I know your angel can place warding on me so the reapers can't find me if I run off. He should've done it for Mallory in the first place." Sam nods in agreement. "But that's what I want. The warding."

"That seems fair enough," Sam says. "Dean?"

"I can get on board with this, but I just have to ask. What kind of injury are we talking here?" He asks.

I shrug. "Probably a moderate gash from an angel blade. That's the quickest and most efficient way to get it done."

Dean runs his hands down his face and turns his eyes to the ceiling with a huff. "We gotta find Cas before we can make another move."

"I'll come back in a few days," I respond. "Try to be ready. I'm not sure what the road ahead holds for her."

I walk up the stairs, but Sam talks one more time.

"Sigrid, thank you. We'll do our best to be ready when you come back."

I nod, then leave, hopeful and ready to return Mallory to where she belongs.