Sam's heart was pounding, his entire body shaking. What the hell had just happened? He'd been through more horrors than anyone could imagine, but this was something else. It was bigger than the Apocalypse, and it'd only been mere luck that he'd escaped the station. He'd thrown himself out the window, and only worsened his predicament. I need to find Dean as soon as I get to a hospital. Shards of glass were impaled in his leg, shoulders, and even his ribcage. He knew that if he didn't get to a hospital soon, he wouldn't survive the night and die of blood loss. If the trials didn't kill him first. He whipped out his cell phone and dialed his brother's cell number. It rang once…twice…thrice, and finally: "This is Dean Winchester. Please leave a message."
"Dean, I don't know if you're going to get this or not," he began, "but, whatever the hell just happened back there, I have this feeling that this is only the beginning. Please…don't worry about me, I'm okay. Call me back if you get this." He cut the connection before shoving his phone back into his pocket. As bad as his own predicament was, he was more concerned for his brother's welfare. Dean was...Dean. When it came to Sam himself, he was willing to do anything and frankly, it scared the hell out of Sam sometimes, even more so than his brother's wish to die during the trials. Sam was the only thing that kept him grounded, and vice versa. Don't do anything stupid, Dean, he prayed. Please. He grabbed for a shard of glass and pulled it out of his ribcage. There was a sharp, fiery pain and he swore to himself. He knew he should get going; Bright Falls was most likely swarming with Taken. He dislodged the slivers in his legs and burst into a sprint, drawing his revolver and flashlight, trying to ignore the pain shooting through his body. I'm not out of the woods—and probably won't be for a while, he thought to himself. After throwing himself out the window, he'd taken off running, his survival instinct overriding everything else. His flight had taken him into the forests; now he was stuck in a maze to find his brother or, if he was lucky, Sheriff Breaker and Barry all whilst trying to find a way to end the Dark Presence before it covered the world in darkness and destruction. Sam knew that neither Heaven nor Hell played a part in this struggle; calling Castiel would be fruitless in itself. The angel knew nothing of or about the Dark Presence. How could he? Dean had prayed to him every night when he thought Sam was asleep, and he had never answered. The war between Heaven and Hell, he knew, paled in comparison to that of the Dark and Light Presence. The Dark Presence was much more powerful than both realms, and the Light Presence, it seemed, was losing strength. So much was at stake; he could only hope that he wasn't fighting a losing battle.
Zane knew it was bound to happen again. The Dark Presence had arisen once again, and was rising still, gaining more power with every passing minute. The painter it'd brainwashed had given it the key to the gateway in which it was finally free in every sense of the word. Its chains to Cauldron Lake were broken, and he was powerless to stop it. He had called upon Sam and Dean Winchester in their dreams, hoping that they would be able to stop the Dark Presence. They had indeed come to Bright Falls, but it seemed as if their arrival had awakened the Dark Presence from its sleep, almost as if it knew the reasons behind their coming. The writer had been able to weaken it with the Clicker, but now both he and the Clicker were lost. Zane was too weak to fight the Dark Presence himself; he was trapped beneath the lake, as he had been for decades. His Barbara was lost forever; there was no writing her back to life. There never would be. It would end in disaster. The Dark Presence was now wearing the FBI agent, who was no more than a walking corpse as Barbara had been. Cynthia Weaver—the Lady of the Light, she too was gone but not dead. The young waitress had been dragged into this war; there was no going back, for her, for himself, the writer and his wife, the Winchesters, for anyone. All he could do was wait, and hope that this was the end of it all, that they could end what he had started all those years ago.
Dean couldn't ignore the intense feeling of trepidation washing over him. He couldn't tell if it was because of his grief for his brother or the shock of the Dark Presence's attack. All he knew was that he and Sam had gotten themselves involved in something much bigger than closing the gates of Hell and if they didn't put an end to it soon, the consequences would be horrific. The Dark Presence may have resided in Bright Falls, but he couldn't ignore the strong possibility that its influence would soon become worldwide. This thing almost destroyed the town before, he thought to himself. If we can't put an end to this, all hell is going to break—
BOOM! A gasoline truck abruptly dropped before him, just barely missing the Impala. It exploded upon impact; Dean hurriedly veered around the blast, just as a vehicle was hurled at him with impossible force. He heard the crunch of metal on metal as the van and the Impala collided, almost throwing him off the road. In his rearview mirror, he could see the path of destruction the Dark Presence was forming as it took over everything in its path. He saw shadows seeping into buildings before consuming them entirely; Taken emerged like a bear awakening from hibernation, bloodthirsty and ready to kill. His blood ran cold at the sight of some of the Taken dogs; the dogs barely resembled what they once were. They were covered in shadows, much like the rest of the Taken, but looked almost demonic in appearance. Almost like hellhounds. For a brief moment, he remembered the night when Lilith's hellhounds had ravaged him before Sam's eyes. There was not a doubt in his mind that the Taken hounds would tear him apart if given the chance. Hellhounds, the Taken mutts, they were both the same thing. The only difference was their loyalty. The Taken began to chase after him, and he slammed his foot on the gas. His effort turned out to be fruitless, as within seconds, the Taken were upon him, swinging their axes, crowbars, shovels, and pickaxes at the Impala. The dogs were biting at the wheels, some trying to jump on the car. Some briefly succeeded, only to fall off when Dean violently veered to the side to throw them off just as a blinding pain hit him. The Dark Presence was speaking to him again, just as it'd done in the sheriff station.
I was imprisoned in the lake for centuries before I was dreamt free. There is no stopping me now. Dean struggled to focus on the road through the agony the Dark Presence as inflicting upon him; it took every ounce of control to keep himself from grabbing at his head and succumbing to the pain. A Taken suddenly manifested before him and swung their pickaxe into the engine of the Impala, only to be run down. The body burst into a shower of sparks, leaving absolutely no trace of its existence behind.
The perks of driving with nightlights, he thought smugly to himself. For a moment, he considered switching on the taillights. Dammit. The taillights don't provide enough light to take out their darkness mojo. Even if they did, he couldn't keep to the road. He had to find Sam, and there was no telling where he was and if he was okay or not. It was an evil choice, but one that he had to make. As important as finding Wheeler and Sheriff Breaker was, finding his brother was more imperative. He refused to abandon Sam. Dean hit the brakes, climbing out of the Impala, gun and flashlight in hand. "Come and get it, you sons of bitches!" he shouted, aiming the beam of light at the nearest Taken. He rapidly fired his weapon, concentrating, praying even. Something gave, and the light shone brighter. The darkness shielding them vanished, and after a few more rounds, they too dissipated in showers of sparks. The Taken dogs leapt at him, bearing their teeth and snapping at him. He blinded them with the ray of his flashlight before firing his revolver at them. They died almost instantly. It became a warlike dance, almost. Dean destroyed the Taken's shields with light before finishing them off with his fire-arm. By the time all of the Taken were destroyed, he was certain that he would need much more firepower than a simple flashlight and revolver. He knew that the Dark Presence would send more Taken after him. After him, the sheriff and Alan's literary agent, and even Sam…if he was still out there. Dean broke into a sprint, not daring to look back. I'm coming, Sam.
When she'd heard the inhuman roars and felt the earth shaking, she'd known. The darkness that had almost pushed her off the cliff of sanity last year had resurfaced. Rose was terrified, but there was no turning back now. The night is dark and full of terrors, she thought to herself as she reached for her lantern on the counter in the diner. She walked out of the diner, closing the door behind her, and let herself fall into the depths of madness. She made no notice of the vehicle speeding towards her.
