CHAPTER 1

Chuck disappeared. The world was suddenly dark, plunged into an unnatural nighttime. And that's when all hell broke loose…literally.

Armed with two rusty pieces of a broken iron fence and one angel blade, Sam and Dean Winchester and their angelic brother Castiel, stood back to back as every damned soul that they had ever sent to the depths of hell quite literally rose from the ground, tore out of their own graves, and started towards them in a horrific, seething mass. They came slowly at first but then surged forward, overwhelming the three hunters in seconds. There were so many, they couldn't even really tell who, or what, they were fighting.

Dean thrust the iron bar forward, impaling two at once, only to be knocked sideways by three more. As he fell, he managed to pull the bar loose and hold it out in front of him so one of his attackers fell on it. Sam swung his own iron piece at one's head while trying to wrench his other arm free of another's grasp, barely avoiding getting bit. But with the bullet wound in his shoulder slowing him down, he too was knocked down as something swept his feet out from underneath him.

Behind the brothers, Castiel was hit all at once with a wall of at least four different reanimated corpses, all biting and clawing at his flesh. The thick fabric of his trench coat and suit jacket underneath actually saved him from a lot of damage and gave him time to push back and retaliate. The angel blade proved rather affective as he stabbed and slashed at everything that he could see.

However, despite mild success, the sheer number of monsters barreling down on them was so much more than they could handle, and all three were rapidly losing the fight. How could this end any other way than them being torn to pieces?

Dean had somehow managed to get back on his feet, but Sam wasn't as lucky. As he swung the iron wildly to keep the creatures from piling on top of him, he was suddenly grabbed by the ankles and pulled further into the swarm. Sam cried out. "D-Dean! Dean, help!"

Dean stabbed a few more and shoved several others back before turning to see his brother start to disappear under a sea of monsters. "Shit, Sam! Hold on!" But there was little he could actually do as he felt his arms grabbed from behind, pulling him back, claws and teeth sinking into his back and shoulder blades. He shouted in pain and frustration.

"CAS!" he screamed desperately. The angel was Sam's only hope.

Thankfully, Castiel was the only one not on the ground or pinned at the moment, so when he turned to see Dean, then saw what was happening with Sam, he was able to do something. One monster tried to pull him away, but he threw his elbow back hard at its head, stabbed one coming at him from the right, and surged forward. There were so many around Sam that the best Cas could do was literally throw himself at the center of the crowd and tackle them off of the younger Winchester. He was able to clear enough away for Sam to scramble back to his feet and start stabbing every single one that had hit the ground. He even managed to return the favor as he impaled a creature that had taken advantage of Cas's fall and sank its teeth into his calf muscle. Sam reached down and pulled Cas to his feet, and together they turned to help Dean, who was seconds from being pushed down to the ground again. Cas grabbed Dean by the shoulders and wrenched him away as Sam killed the ones that had been attacking him. Covered in blood and gasping for air, Dean practically collapsed against Cas, who held the angel blade out over the human's shoulder defensively.

As Sam managed to keep Dean's assailants at bay, the onslaught temporarily slowed as the creatures backed away a bit to regroup. But the next attack was clearly about to happen at any moment, and the boys were still completely surrounded.

Dean straightened up but kept a hand on Cas's shoulder to steady himself. "We…w-we can't keep this up" he gasped out. "We n-need a new plan. Like, yesterday."

Sam whirled around, trying to take in just how many they were dealing with. "Yeah, like what?"

"We can't take them all down, not like this, so we need to run. Get to the car and get the hell outta Dodge."

"How!?" Sam cried, gesturing wildly. "All I see are monsters. There must be thousands of them."

Cas straightened up, wincing at the pain in his leg. "I have an idea" he said hoarsely. "But you need to close your eyes. And when I tell you to, run."

"What are you going to do?" Sam asked.

"Trust me."

Dean nodded. "Whatever it is, just do it."

The Winchesters ducked down, shielding their eyes as Castiel stepped up and held out his hand, palm facing the crowd. Just as the hoard decided it was time for the next attack and rushed forward again, Cas focused all his strength into one surge of energy. His hand began to glow impossibly bright, his eyes shown a brilliant neon blue, and suddenly the area exploded in white light. Cas did not have the power he had had many years ago, but it was enough to burn through the mass a ways and blow a path through on the other side.

"Run now!" Cas shouted, staggering.

Dean straightened up, grabbed the exhausted angel by the arm, pushed his brother towards the opening in the crowd and bolted for the Impala. They had a few precious minutes as the monsters struggled to recuperate and wade through the pile of charred bodies now lying between them and their prey. Dean was about to follow Sam past the iron fence when he felt Cas's arm yanked from his hand. He skidded to a halt and turned, holding up his 'weapon' defensively, only to see Cas had stopped voluntarily and was staring back at the mob.

"What the hell, Cas!? C'mon!" Dean shouted.

But the angel didn't move. "I…I-I can't…."

Dean's heart jackhammered in his chest as he saw some of the creatures were already starting in their direction. He rushed towards Cas and grabbed his shoulder roughly.

"Move it, now! We don't have time for this!"

But he stopped dead when he saw tears trailing down Cas's face. The angel stared back at the graveyard with an utterly heartbroken expression.

"I can't just…leave him there" he choked out. "We c-can't, Dean."

Dean's heart sank. He was talking about Jack. The thought of leaving the kid's body behind on the ground to be trampled by the living dead made him feel sick to his stomach, but he didn't want to lose his best friend over what was now, tragically, just a body.

He tightened his grip on Cas's shoulder and started pulling him back. "We have to, Cas. We don't have a choice...Please, man. We're almost out of time."

Cas finally relented but kept staring back until they reached the parking lot, but he pulled away again when Dean ran towards the Impala. Dean was about to shout at him until Cas called back "We might need two vehicles" and bolted to his truck. Sam was already in Baby's driver seat with the car running, and as soon as Dean got in, he stomped on the gas. Cas jumped into his own truck and followed, his tires flinging gravel as he peeled out to catch up to the Winchesters.

As they reached the dirt road leading out of the cemetery, the Impala's headlights illuminated something up ahead. The closer they got, the sooner they realized what it was: more undead monsters. A whole crowd of them had gathered across the middle of the road, acting as a kind of barrier between the hunters and their escape route.

"Jesus" Sam gasped. "What…what should I-"

But he was cut off by a loud roar beside them. Sam and Dean looked out the window to see Cas's truck fly past them and take the lead. Without hesitation, the heavy silver truck plowed right into the mass, sending bodies flying in every direction.

Dean braced himself against the seat. "Floor it, Sam!"

Sam nodded and pressed the gas pedal as far down as it would go. Following in the wake of Cas's truck, the Impala slammed into the ones he missed as bodies rolled over the hood and under the wheels. Dean startled as one of them cracked the windshield but was too freaked out to feel pissed off about it.

Somehow, both vehicles made it out to the main road and they booked it all the way back to the bunker. Along the way, they saw chaos in every direction. It seemed that every foul thing that had ever existed was suddenly on the rampage, attacking anyone and everyone in sight. They passed flaming wreckages, people being chased, various creatures devouring animals on the side of the road, and so much more. An endless stream of supernatural violence and carnage.

Until this day, their occupation, their way of life and their knowledge of what was really out there, of what lurked in the dark, the existential truth behind every myth, legend and religious icon, had been a secret to the world. Now, the planet was drowning in it, awash in all of the Winchester's past enemies, personal demons, and proverbial skeletons in the closet. Over a decade of ridding the world of evil…undone in the blink of an eye.

They finally reached the bunker, screeching to a halt out front, blood splattered all over their vehicles. Dean, trying to wipe the blood trailing down his face from a gash on his forehead, stumbled out of the car and towards the door. He paused only a second as he passed Cas's gore-covered truck. On a 'normal' day, he would have applauded Cas for taking the incentive back at the cemetery and mowing down all those monster zombies, but he was so numb that he couldn't think. Hearing Sam's unsteady footsteps crunching behind him, Dean reached the door and practically fell inside. He clung to the railing and just tried to breath. He felt like he had been put through a meat grinder, and his protesting muscles threatened to give out.

Sam came in behind him and pressed his back against the wall, clutching his bullet wound and wincing.

Dean craned his head over his shoulder. He thought about the gun. "You…you coulda died, Sammy."

"What else is new" Sam ground out. "He was killing Jack, I thought I could stop it…thought I could stop him. After everything…it's the least he deserves."

"But it was just more bullshit" Dean snarled. "Every word out of his mouth…a fucking lie."

Sam looked up at the ceiling. "I…can't believe it. All this time, everything we've ever done. Was all of it really just…just some script? Some sick, manipulated fiction? I mean, what-"

"Sam, stop" Dean cut in. "Don't do that. Don't let that son of a bitch get in your head. This is our life, not some fucking story. I don't give a damn what he said. We decide what we do, and that's it. Team Free Will, remember?"

Sam suddenly looked around. "Speaking of…where's Cas?"

Dean straightened up. In his fog of physical and mental exhaustion, he didn't even realize that Cas hadn't followed them inside. Alarmed, he pushed off the railing and walked back through the open door, into the dark. He let out a sigh of relief when he spotted Cas sitting on the ground, leaned back against the wheel of his truck. But it was still a concerning sight.

"Cas…" Dean stopped right in front of him. He took in the angel's ragged appearance, hair plastered to his face with sweat and blood, trench coat torn to hell. He also noticed the shredded pant leg and blood pooling underneath. "Can you walk?"

Castiel nodded absently, but continued to stare forward with a destroyed expression. His eyes were truly hollow.

Dean took a deep breath. "We had to, Cas" he said hoarsely, knowing what was on his friend's mind.

Cas did not look up at him, but the last of his composure failed and tears began streaming down his face again. He drew his knees up and buried his face against them, his frame trembling. Dean swallowed a lump in his throat at the sight of it. Up till now, Dean had never seen Castiel cry, and now he had seen it twice in one night. It was the icing on the shitstorm cake that had been their life over the past few days. Mom had been killed, by one of their own, their adopted son, who had also been killed, by God himself, and now the world was ending. Everything they had ever done, and it all added up to one massive, climactic failure.

Once again wiping the blood from out of his eyes, Dean walked over, leaned back against the truck, and slid down to the ground beside Cas. The angel was still folded in on himself, making small choked sounds. Things had not been good between him and Cas lately…hell, Cas was about to face Dean, fight him even, in order to defend Jack, and there was no telling how that could have turned out. But right at this moment, it wasn't the time to dwell on any of that. There would be…might be time for that later.

Dean looked up as Sam approached, staring at them both miserably. He stopped a few feet away, and the two brothers locked eyes for a moment. Dean had managed to keep himself collected for the most part, but seeing Sam's eyes fill with tears and his expression break, was the last straw. He felt his own eyes start to burn, and a damp sensation on his cheeks. And really, there was no use in fighting it….

As the tears spilled down his face and his breath hitched, Dean reached over and laid a hand firmly on Cas's trembling shoulder. It was a vain attempt to comfort his best friend, but he did it anyway. Slowly, Cas drew out his own hand and laid it on top of Dean's, squeezing it gently, a small gesture of their shared pain and heartbreak.

And so, three friends…three brothers…three fathers…mourned the loss of their son, their mother, and the world they had fought so hard to protect.

In the wake of it all, the impossible question remained….

Could they save it this time?

To be continued….

So, I was SO freaking HYPED after watching the SPN Season 14 finale last night that I woke up the next morning and started writing this, my take on what Season 15 could possibly hold. I'm considering updating chapters to this fic all summer, to try and keep myself sane during Supernatural's LAST HIATUS EVER AGGGGHHHHHHH

I would REALLY love suggestions on what could happen throughout this fic, perhaps something you think might actually happen in Season 15, or something you just WANT to happen. Either way, please comment!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you'll stay tuned!