The river spread in front of them like a raging beast, the flowing water catching a bit of white as it foamed against the rocks that stood in its way and bubbles from the fish rose near the bank. Dean held a bit tighter to Castiel, glancing at the other prisoners' reluctance, and the eerie silence of the forest behind them.

"Come on. We don't have time to be scared," Mills growled in frustration, wading into the river and shivering at how cold it actually was. Still, she did not slow, getting about chest deep before she kicked off, swimming through the water with strong strokes that cut over and up, pushing against the flow of the water to keep herself from falling further downstream.

Reluctantly, the other prisoners followed, and Dean used a gentle hand as he guided Castiel into the chilly water, the shock of it making him momentarily pause before Dean continued, pulling the man a bit closer when Castiel's eyes lit up with fear. Dean couldn't imagine how terrifying it must be, walking into the unknown with no idea what was going on.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Dean whispered, the water lapping at his chest. He glanced around, not sure what exactly he was supposed to do to get Castiel safely across and took a deep breath, the water washing away the dirt that had been caked on their skin for so long.

"Tell me which way to swim," Castiel whispered, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. Dean nodded, despite him not being able to see it and turned Castiel in a diagonal direction, holding his shoulders gently for just a moment and squeezing them in comfort.

"There," Dean said, watching as Castiel took a deep breath before kicking off and Dean couldn't help but thank God when he realized the man was actually a decent swimmer. He followed after him, a bit slower compared to Castiel and it wasn't long before his muscles were already aching, and the slight rush of the water was growing stronger as they reached the middle, forcing water over both of their head before they breached the surface and gasped for air.

Dean concluded that he would never swim again after his feet kicked down and he felt the ground beneath him, shaking water from his hair as he helped Castiel stand. Some prisoners were still wading from the water, others already disappearing into the trees. Mills waited for the both of them, her eyes showing her worry and relief when they made it out.

"How far do you think we can go?" Mills asked once they were standing, soaked to the bone, on the bank. Dean clenched his jaw, looking back at the river, then at the forest ahead of them before he gaze reached the slightly lighter sky.

"We'll go until morning sets in. We'll try to find somewhere to hide and rest," Dean answered, the warmth of Castiel's hand easing his frazzled nerves. He was responsible for these men's lives, and one wrong mistake would leave them back in the clutches of the enemy, or dead.

"What will we do for food?" Mills asked as they began a soft jogging pace, moving a little slower than the other prisoners for Castiel's sake. The man seemed to be keeping up though, but Dean had a lingering suspicion that it was just the fear that drove him to move faster than he should.

"I don't know. What's safe to eat? What'll kill us in an instant?" Dean asked, his brows creasing with worry. The soldiers would not live long with constant travel and no food, but the dangers of eating something poisonous were looming over all of them, especially with the strange plants and trees that surrounded them on all sides.

"I know," Castiel said, bringing Dean out of his thoughts. Mills slowed her pace a bit in shock, looking at the man with wary eyes as Castiel turned his eyes to Dean's general area.

"You know what's safe to eat around here?" Mills asked, her voice making clear that she did not believe Castiel at all. Yet, the injured soldier was not worried by it and nodded, his fingers brushing Dean's hand with a feather-light touch.

"I know many things about plants and animals," Castiel replied, the intelligence in his voice always bringing chills through Dean's body. The man, although so seemingly clueless, seem to have the world's knowledge at his fingertips, and to be honest, sometimes it really unnerved him to see that much intelligence in a single person.

"Can you find them even without your sight?" Mills asked, blunt and almost to a point where it was forceful. Castiel narrowed his eyes a little bit, his head tipping before nodding again.

"Of course. They are rather distinguishable," Castiel muttered, mouth twitching as he went into a deep thought, "There are bushes with a strange green berry with red veins in it. The ferns can be eaten. There is this plant with red leaves that stand straight up, they are plentiful here and there is a weed with flowers with long spindly fibers that can be eaten."

Dean had to give it to the guy. He was impressed.

"How did you learn that?" Mills asked, beginning to pick up the pace to catch up with the other soldiers. The sky was beginning to grow lighter, and Dean estimated that they had maybe a few more hours before dawn struck and the area grew too hot to keep going.

"My cousin Gabriel was worried when he heard that I was going to be deployed, so he sent me letter after letter with pictures of plants and when and where to find each one," Castiel answered, a small smile crossing his face at the thought.

"Remind me to thank him later," Dean grunted before they found the other soldiers standing in a small clearing, taking a moment to catch their breath. Dean swallowed nervously when he saw how small some of them were, especially the older ones, with their bones sticking against their still wet uniform in the moonlight.

"We need to find a place that will hide us for the day. Let's split up and look for one," Mills suggested out loud, earning weary nods from the other soldiers. They all split into groups of three or four, taking different paths into the trees, while Mills and Dean exchanged glances.

"Let's see if we can get any food for them," She suggested softly, looking to Castiel, then back to Dean before squinting at the darkened cover of the trees before moving forwards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day brought the buzz of insects and the bite of the heat, barely lessened by the alcove formed by a large uprooted tree, the tear in the ground big enough for the six soldiers to squeeze in once the dirt was dug up a bit more, the rest of the trees providing shade while the toppled tree and the rising land on the other side provided a little bit of hiding from the enemy.

With the help of Castiel, Dean and Mills had managed to find some of the food that he had mentioned, not a lot, but just enough to give the soldiers back some of their energy. They would have to keep a look out when they began moving again, collecting it on the way so they would maybe have enough to keep them going until they managed to find their way to safety.

Still, the soldiers slept, and Dean was beginning to doze off as well when he awoken by a tickling against his chin, his eyes opening lazily and smiling when he realized that it was just Castiel burrowing closer to his side, his head on his shoulder as he slept. Dean slid his hand along Castiel's waist, pulling just a little bit closer and letting his own head rest on top of Castiel's. He barely noticed that Mills was watching them with a slight smile on her face before he let his eyes close and drifted off to sleep.