Adam stumbled to the door, doing his best to follow Dean through the ringing in his head and the agony piercing him from the inside out, but it felt as though he was moving through heavy oil. Each step took twice as much effort and brought him half as far. Whatever Zachariah had done to him, it was bad.
Dean crashed through the door, bringing Sam with him, and Adam ran to follow him, to escape the blinding, scorching light filling the room. There was no sound, only this low hum starting at the base of his skull and moving through his whole body. He could see Dean’s mouth moving, but that was it. There was no shout, no final goodbye as the door slammed in Adam’s face.
He threw himself forward in desperation, twisting the handle and praying to God that something would give. Michael was coming. Michael was coming and Adam had been wrong, this wasn’t good at all, he was going to die again and there would be no coming back this time-
“Adam.” A voice cuts through the hum, muting it and bringing everything to a standstill. Adam turned around slowly, heart pounding so hard he thought he might die before Michael ever even got to touch him.
And there he was. Michael.
Seeing Michael for the first time, Adam felt… whole in a way he couldn’t possibly describe. Michael was, without a doubt, the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen, unlike anything like what they’d prepared him for. Oh, sure, there was the fire and the power and the holy righteousness and everything Adam had seen in his dreams since he was a child, but there was also an incredible stillness, and when Michael reached out and touched his forehead, it was so unspeakably gentle that Adam forgot every fear he’d ever had. All he could do was wonder why he’d been lied to yet again, why everyone would portray something so beautiful as being monstrous.
Then, Michael spoke again and the words rang through Adam’s being in a way strangely reminiscent of the tuning fork he’d always used for his guitar. “Don’t be afraid. I am not here to hurt you, only to ask a question.”
“Yes.” The word tumbled out before Adam could think twice. Even if he could, it wouldn’t matter.
Michael blinked, if you could call it that, a ripple of surprise in a wave of light and thought and possibility. “Are you sure?” There came then the feeling of being taken apart piece by piece, of being observed on such a small level that all the microscopes in the world couldn’t hope to do it justice. The world at stake, the universe at his beck and call, and Michael was peering into Adam’s soul, curious and blunt and overly cautious. “This is not a light matter, Adam. You will likely never be the same.”
“I’m sure.” Adam had never been more sure of anything in his life. He wanted this. He wanted this like he needed to breathe, he wanted this like it was the Scripture and he was a dying sinner, and Michael wanted it, too. What had Dean been thinking when he told him to say no? How could he possibly have thought this would be a bad thing? “Yes, I’m sure, Michael.”
Michael took him by the hand.