Save Me from the Darkness

Sam couldn't breathe. The air was a thick poison of dark smoke and embers. Sam's eyes stung as he forced them open, but he ignored the pain. He cast a painful gaze across the room. It had once been an infant's room with baby toys, books, and a little rocking chair. Now it was a feast for a blazing hot fire. A loud wailing noise was coming from the center of the room and Sam turned, spotting a small crib. The hunter ran up to it, finding a little boy crying inside. He reached to pick the baby up, but he was run through by another. Sam gasped, stepping to the side and watching as a familiar face grabbed the bundle within the crib.

"Dad?" Sam whispered in shock. The man in question couldn't hear him. John Winchester's main focus was the baby in his arms. John ran from the room and Sam followed, spotting a little boy standing outside the room.

"Dean, take your brother outside and run!" John shouted, pushing the baby into the boy's arms. Sam's heart twisted and he stared at the little boy that he knew as his big brother. Dean's hair was long and light. His eyes were full of innocence that would soon be eaten out by the rest of the fire's wrath.

Dean ran. His small form raced from the house and Sam followed close, teeth clenched as he watched his brother be chased by flames and almost squashed by falling beams. The door of the house came into sight and Dean thrust open the front door.

There was no yard when they exited the burning house. They weren't at home anymore. Sam glanced down at his feet to make sure Dean and the baby was alright, but both children had vanished. The hunter worriedly glanced around in search of Dean, heart pounding hard against his ribs. Sam found Dean, but not the child that had been running through flames with a baby held tight to his chest. A little ways away in the dirty shack Sam now found himself in, was another version of himself. He wasn't a baby this time though. This Sam had floppy, short hair and was sprawled out on an old mattress in the middle of the disgusting little cabin. Dean sat by his side, eyes vacant. Bobby appeared in the doorway suddenly, watching Dean with saddened eyes. Sam shot forward and grabbed at his brother's shoulders, but Dean couldn't feel or see him.

"Dean? Dean, I'm here! I'm okay!" His shouts were useless. Dean couldn't see him and he most certainly couldn't hear him. Sam sat back on his haunches, distressed and defeated. He looked at his body sprawled on the mattress and his eyes widened. A large hole ran all the way through him from his back. It clicked then. It had happened ages ago, but the memory felt fresh. He'd been killed, stabbed right through the back and this was the night Dean would sell his soul.

Dean stood and Sam stood with him, screaming at his brother while they marched back towards the doorway. Dean's eyes were glazed over and he looked lost to everything around him. With a push, Dean swung open the door and the world warped around them again.

Sam blinked several times, looking around in confusion at first. He was in a nice house leaning against a wall. A gurgled scream sounded from a few feet away and Sam turned, mouth dropping in terror. Dean crawled across the wood floor of the house, trying to get away from some invisible force. Long slices tore down his legs and back and he yelled in agony after collapsing from the pain and rolling over. Sam stared on in shock as he watched his brother be torn apart by the teeth and claws of a hellhound. Bile rose in the back of his throat and tears gushed from the corners of his eyes. When Dean drew his final breath, Sam finally broke from his frozen state and ran to his brother. Just as his fingers were about to brush the torn skin of his brother's hand the world spun and Sam was thrown once again into another reality.

This time Sam found himself sitting by the impala, watching as his broken and beaten brother stared at where the portal to the pit once was gaping. Cas was splattered all over the place and Bobby was sprawled in the grass, head twisted in the wrong direction. Sam reached out for Dean, trying to get the hunter's attention, but he couldn't. Dean's eyes were distant. Sam raised a hand to smack his brother to force his attention, but before he could it all flipped flopped again. It didn't take long for Sam to recognize the hellhole he was sent into next. The scenes changed fast, going from Cas diving into a lake and exploding beneath the waves to Dean, Sam, and Bobby walking through the forest. Sam dived for Bobby, but he felt like he was swimming through thick honey. The crack of a gun echoed throughout the forest and both Dean and Sam screamed as Bobby fell to the forest floor, blood gushing from his head where a bullet went in. Sam fell to his knees as he watched his brother and younger self crowd around the dying hunter. He pulled at his hair, feeling himself going crazy, but it all just kept coming. Sam opened his eyes and was shown images of Purgatory and Dean's sleepless nights after losing Cas. He was shown the terrible look of betrayal when Dean found out Sam had left him to rot in the world of monsters and he was shown the bottles and cans of alcohol that Dean Winchester drowned himself in day in and day out.

Sam covered his eyes, tears falling harder than before.

"Please…make it stop. Make it stop!"

Everything went dark then and Sam opened his eyes, instantly regretting the action. Dean was standing in front of him. Blood dropped down from Dean's body. His hands were soaked up to the elbows and by his feet were the broken bodies of all three angels. Dean turned slowly when he heard Sam gasp, his eyes were lost and vacant, tears staining his cheeks.

"They're gone…Sammy, they're gone…" Dean whispered. His body started to break apart, turning to dust right before Sam's eyes. The younger Winchester screamed, running to his brother and latching onto him.

"Dean, stop! I can't lose you again! Stop!" Dean couldn't hear him though. Sam sobbed, feeling like he'd been thrown back in time to that terrible month not too long ago. It was just like the coma and the scenes that had been previously played out for him all over again. Dean was falling to pieces and Sam was forced to watch, unable to do a thing.

A dark smoky figure watched as Sam fell to pieces, chuckling silently to itself. It dropped the black cloak wrapped around it to the dark ground and reached out for Sam, sending the young Winchester spiraling back down a whirlpool of terror.