The Trolley Problem
CRASH! You heard glass shatter and ran down the hall to examine the source. Sam already had the door open and his weapon lowered, but even after recognizing the culprit, your firearm remained cocked. Henriksen was right behind you, barrel pointed. "How do we—"
"We don't." Sam interrupted. "She's a demon?"
"She's here to help us." Possibly… "Are you kidding?" Asked a panicked Amici. Ruby stood there, out of breath, covered in blood and guts. Dean hung his head. She threw a look to Sam. "Are you gonna let me out?" He slowly scraped away at the paint on the floor, releasing her. "And they say chivalry's dead. Does anyone have a breath mint? Some guts splattered in my mouth while I was killing my way in here." She shoved passed you and walked away. "Classy." You muttered under your breath. She turned her head to throw you a wink. You rolled your eyes and followed anyway. "How many are out there?" you questioned. "30, at least. That's so far." Dean caught up with the two of you and put in his two cents, "Oh, good. 30. 30 hit men, all gunning for us. Whew. Who sent them?" She looked to Sam pointedly. "You didn't tell them? Oh, I'm surprised." Dean's head whipped in Sam's direction. "Tell me what." Keep stirring the pot, sister. "There's a big new up-and-comer. Real Pied Piper."
"Who is she?" You questioned, trying to keep the case about the case and not the boy drama. "Her name is Lilith. And she really, really wants Sam's intestines on a stick. Cause she sees him as competition."
"You knew about this?" Dean questioned his brother. You caught the gleam in Ruby's eye and your suspicions grew. "Well, gee, Sam, is there anything else I should know?!" Time to pull a mom card. "How about the two of you work it out later." They looked at you, both clearly having an argument at the ready. A stern look and a subtle shake of your head was all it took. Ruby scoffed, "Whatever. We'll need the colt." The silence was deafening. "Where's the colt?" Dean hung his head and Sam refused to make eye contact. Bunch of babies. "Stolen." You finally answered. "I'm sorry. I must have blood in my ear. I thought I just heard you say that you two were stupid enough to let the Colt get grabbed out of your thick, clumsy, idiotic hands." You took a bit of solace in the fact that she didn't include you in the insult. Wasn't even there when it was taken. "Fantastic. This is just peachy."
"Ruby—"
"Shut up," Halted Sam's defense. "Fine. Since I don't see that there's any other option, there's one other way I know how to get you out of here alive. I know a spell. It'll vaporize every demon in a one-mile radius—myself included. So, you let the Colt out of your sight, and now I have to die. So, next time, be more careful. How's that for a dying wish?" You didn't show it, but your spirits lifted minutely. All these demons plus the Ruby problem taken care of? Where's the downside? Dean finally spoke, "Okay. What do we need to do?"
"Aww. You can't do anything. This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue."
"I got virtue." Dean offered. Ruby laughed. "Nice try. You're not a virgin." Dean laughed, "Nobody's a virgin." The room grew silent. Dean immediately brought his eyes to you. "No." That ship had sailed. He looked back to Ruby, who was looking wistfully at Nancy. Everyone else followed her gaze. "No. No way. You're kidding me. You're—"
"What? It's a choice, okay?" One of the many reasons church doesn't agree with me. "W—so, y-you've never… Not even once? I mean not even…wow." He was in actual disbelief. Nancy looked away, embarrassed, until finally making eye contact with Ruby. "So, this spell… what can I do?"
"You can hold still. While I cut your heart out of your chest." Downside. "What?" Dean stood, immediately walking to Ruby. "What are you crazy?"
"I'm offering a solution."
"You're offering to kill somebody."
"And what do you think's gonna happen to this girl when the demons get in?" Henriksen cut in, "We're gonna protect her. That's what."
"Very noble." "Excuse me."
"You're all gonna die. Look, this is the only way."
"Yeah, yeah. There's no way that you're gonna—"
"Would everybody please shut up?!" Nancy yelled. I'm calling it. Martyr complex. "All the people out there… will it save them?"
"It'll blow the demons out of their bodies. So if their bodies are okay…yeah."
"I'll do it." Double bingo. And also predictable from a church girl.
"No, no. You don't need to do this." "Hell no!"
"All my friends are out there."
"We don't sacrifice people. We do that, we're no better than them." Henriksen voiced. He and Dean shared a look of respect. Ruby responded, "We don't have a choice."
"Yeah, well, your choice is not a choice."
"Sam, you know I'm right." Ruby redirected. You clocked the blatant manipulation; and also the fact that Sam had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the argument. In fairness, so were you, but that was the norm, at least until people stopped yelling. Dean stood in amazement, letting out a half laugh. "Sam." The younger Winchester stood stoically, still not answering. "Sam. What the hell is going on? Sam, tell her." Dean demanded. Nancy ended the feud, "It's my decision."
"Damn straight, cherry pie."
"No! Y/N/N, back me up here!" Dean pleaded. You knew he wasn't going to like your answer either, "It's the trolley problem. Plus, she's willing so—"
"Stop! Stop! Nobody kill any virgins! I need to talk to you. Both of you." You rolled your eyes and followed the brothers, getting the vibe of being sent to the Principal's office. When you were alone, Dean whipped around. "Please tell me you're not actually considering this. We're talking about holding down a girl and cutting out her heart."
"And we're also talking about 30 people out there, Dean—innocent people who are all gonna die, along with everyone in here." Now Sam speaks… "What's the matter with you two? How could you even think like that?"
"It's the highest probability of survival with the lowest number of casualties. Simple math." You responded. "Not simple math. Those are human lives, not numbers on a spreadsheet Y/N. I get being calculated has gotten you this far, and it's a hell of an asset to the team. But—"
"Great, so what's the problem?"
"The problem, Ice Queen, is that your way is morally grey at best. I'd like to come out of this with zero regrets, knowing we did the right thing."
"I'd like to come out of this, period."
"By killing someone! Where's the line? What if the ritual calls for a friend next?"
"Well good thing I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to save people, including your asses and myself. Or did you forget?"
"So if it were me, or say Sam, you'd just be fine carving us up?"
"Oh grow up, like it or not the world ain't fair and God plays favorites. You and Sam are obviously exempt. Loyalty means something to me and you know it. Think rationally Dean, take emotion out of it."
"No! I'm not gonna let that demon kill some nice, sweet, innocent girl who hasn't even been laid. Look, if that's how you win wars, then I don't wanna win."
Sam had been observing the argument, until finally adding, "Then what? What do we do, Dean?"
"I got a plan. I'm not saying it's a good one. I'm not even saying that it'll work. But it sure as hell beats killing a virgin."
"Okay, so, what's the plan?" you tested.
"Open the doors, let them all in… and we fight."
