From the prompt: "A companion in death..."
"Transition"
"It hurts," Sam panted. He gasped, desperate for air. "It hurts, Death, it hurts!"
The Angel of Death leaned over him, offering a grim smile. "Ride it out, Sam. You have to go with it."
Sam shut his eyes, body wracked with spasms of agony.
Angel bit his lip, glancing up around his living room. He'd lift Sam off the carpet if he knew he wouldn't hurt the boy, but he couldn't approach the jerking figure without being struck by the lashing limbs.
The waves of pain receded, and Sam lay still. The burning inside him was eating him up, hollowing him out until nothing would be left but an empty shell.
"Am I going to die?" he whispered, gazing up at Angel with only half-focused eyes. The pain would be coming back soon.
"No," the elder assured him. "If sleep comes, let it."
Sam cried out as pain blossomed afresh in his body. His body was out of his control as he arched up off the floor, cries tearing free from his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut. But the agony exploded in too-bright colors behind his eyelids, chasing him as he tried to retreat into his own mind.
"Girl!" Sam heard Angel yell as the world began to fall away.
Something deep in him tugged when he heard the words replied, words that he hated to hear.
"Yes, Master?"
Angel hoisted Gabriel up over one shoulder like he was a book-bag instead of 160 pounds of solid muscle. He carried him down to the basement, into the circular room surrounded by one-way mirrors, and laid him carefully on the floor. In shadows, unseen, his nameless assistant scurried to make the preparations for the Awakening ceremony.
He was free...light...floating, but in darkness. There was no light rushing towards him. He wasn't dying. How do you know? his mind demanded.
It wasn't like this before, a strange but familiar voice answered.
Before? This isn't the first time? his mind queried, curious yet not wanting to know.
Of course not, Gabriel, the voice replied, gently chiding.
Gabriel? He was scared, now, terrified.
Must you echo everything I say? teased the voice.
My name is Sam! he cried.
It was Gabriel before, though, the voice pointed out. Don't you remember?
Sam scurried deeper into the recesses of his mind, trying to find comfort in warm, safe memories. Amy, he thought happily. Pretty Amy. She could almost give him a run for his money on that battered acoustic guitar of hers. Amy was dead, now. Maybe he would see her on the other side. They would be together even in death. He missed Amy - she'd fed him bit by bit
when he was starving, had encouraged him to get away from The House when he'd had the chance. Amy, with her pretty dark curls and bright golden eyes...
He dreamed that she was holding him close, whispering soft things in his ear.
"Does he know who I am?" she asked as she cradled the boy's head in her lap, whispering the chant in her mind.
Angel cast her a dark look. "He thinks you're dead, Asia."
"Well, Amy is dead, isn't she?" Asia answered dryly. She eased Sam's head down onto the floor and stepped out of the circle. "Well, he's dead. Let's finish it, then."
She faded back into the shadows to stand beside Christian, who was watching the ceremony with cold eyes.
Angel finished the rites and stood back when Sam opened his yes.
"Sam?" he asked carefully.
He blinked a few times, gray eyes sharp and clear. He sat up, the movement liquid and graceful. He ran a hand over his curls, looking up at Angel.
"Did you just call me Sam? My name is Gabriel." He frowned. "I...I was Sam, though, wasn't I? In my last life?" He sighed. "I'm not dead, am I? I won't see Amy again." He bit his lip. "She was here just now, I think." He cast a glance around the Awakening chamber. "She'll be with me, though, when I do die." He dusted himself off. "Thanks, Death, so much. I'm not hungry anymore."
Christian glared at Asia through the darkness. She looked away.
Amy would never be Gabriel's companion, because Gabriel would never die.
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