Out of The Darkness

Dean/OFC, Sam/OFC

Setting: Season 11

Chapter 1

"Son of a bitch!" Dean growled as he looked over his shoulder to the sight of the Impala's left rear wheel spinning helplessly inside a cavernous pot hole.

"Dean!" Sam grabbed at the pocket of his brother's faded green army surplus coat, gathering what he could into his fist, as he closed his eyes and braced them both for impact.

Dean snapped his head forward, looking past his dash to the rolling wave of blackness that was quickly enveloping everything in its path.

"What did Death call this? The Darkness?" Sam shouted above the sound of the thunderous clouds that seemed to be approaching faster by the second.

Before Dean could respond both brothers gasped sharply, like they'd gotten kicked in the stomach by some unknowable force. Unconsciously Dean's mind flashed back to the thousands of demons that had clawed their way out of Hell through The Devil's Gate. He remembered the dark mist that filled the air as those damned souls swirled out of Samuel Colt's gigantic devil's trap and into the world. As he gasped for air now his final thought was that this dark cloud, thick with the smell of death, was a thousand times worse. Then, everything faded to black.

Rain pounded hard on the roof of the Impala, tiny droplets welling up and trickling down its slick, black exterior. Dean awoke to the sound of his brother coughing and an aching pain in his head. His eyes fluttered open to see Cas standing a few yards ahead of them.

"Cas!" Dean choked, unable to find his voice. Sam was already up, out of the car, and several strides ahead of him.

"Cas! What the hell?!" Sam asked nervously as he walked closer to the angel.

It wasn't until then that Dean began to notice his surroundings. Gone were the thick waves of black mist, but so was the dirt road and the hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant where he'd killed Death just moments ago. Gray clouds hung low in the sky as a steady rain fell upon the lush, green trees that surrounded them on all sides. Had Cas zapped them somewhere else? Where?

Cas' eyes moved down to Dean's right forearm and back to his face. "I see The Mark has vanished," he said matter of factly.

Dean rubbed the spot on his arm where The Mark had been. "Yeah, Cas, that's great. Mind filling us in on what the hell just happened?"

"Rowena cast a spell on me in an attempt to make me kill Crowley. When you killed Death, the spell was lifted. Rowena is gone and she took The Book of the Damned with her." Cas stared at the brothers intently but his mind seemed to be far away.

"But Cas, that doesn't make any sense. Why would killing Death lift the spell?" Sam looked at Cas with a tilted head and furrowed brow.

"It appears that when Dean killed Death, it effectively caused death itself to cease."

Dean was beginning to put the pieces together. "Alright so no big daddy reaper, no worm food King of Hell, no dead bodies. Got it. Well, hell, as long as we're gonna live forever we might as well hit the sauce. I could use some whiskey."

Sam shot a look of disapproval at Dean. "Ok, but Cas. Death said that removing The Mark would unleash The Darkness, the first evil. We saw it." Sam shuttered as he remembered those menacing clouds.

"Yes. I removed you from its immediate path and brought you here. The Darkness is as old as time itself and is capable of causing incomprehensible amounts of destruction. However, without the ability to kill, The Darkness remains but has been rendered ineffective. For now."

Dean's gaze again wandered to the thick, grey clouds that surrounded them. "Alright so The Darkness can't get it up so we're stuck with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs?"

"Essentially," Cas frowned.

"Awesome. I can deal with a little rain while we figure out our next move. What do ya say, Sam? We're basically immortal now. What should we do? Hit TJ, bang some strippers, did I mention whiskey?"

"Dean, the death of," Cas paused, "…Death has sent both Heaven and Hell into chaos. Once again, you've disrupted the natural order of things. The reapers will be in a frenzy without a leader. That's why I've brought you here."

Sam looked around sheepishly. "Where exactly IS here, Cas?"

"New Jersey.

The boys looked at each other and then looked back at Cas. "Okay Cas, any particular reason why you pooped us out in Jersey of all places? Is Snooki gonna ride shotgun instead of Sam?"

Sam side eyed his brother but continued, "What do you need us to do?"

Cas began, "You're just outside of a town called Montague. Go into town. You're looking for a man by the name of George Pickingill. He's a very eccentric, very powerful witch. He's well versed in Enochian and has in his possession several ancient texts that may help us further research The Darkness. Go to him and request his help."

With that, Cas was gone.

"Awesome," Dean muttered to himself as both boys made their way back to the Impala.