Chapter 5
There was evil in the woods at night. Howling and groaning and hissing, bright eyes in the trees. Sam could smell the ground, like it was spongy and already decomposing under his feet.
"Where are we going?" he shouted, as he tried to keep up behind her.
"We're almost there," she called back. "We're not too late yet."
They kept running. Sam started to think they were lost. The shadows were deepening, while the stars mocked him through the gaps in the trees. It felt like a thousand years had passed since he'd believed he could ever learn their names. It was futile, all of it. Sam would never find his father and brother in time. It was never enough. He was always too late.
Without warning, Emily came to a stop and grabbed him by the shoulders, pushing him roughly against the trunk of an old oak. Sam couldn't get over it. He couldn't remember why he'd ever thought she was a little girl.
"When I died," she said, "nobody could save me, and you're the one who's going to pay. Your brother has to live so he can save you. Do you understand?"
Sam was a world away from understanding, but he nodded.
She continued, "This thing is empty, but it needs to feed that emptiness. It doesn't need them. You are what it needs; you're the only way to make it stop."
"What do I do?"
"It needs your blood. Sam, I need you to listen to me. I'm going to be right after you. Once it's open, I'll be able to take care of it. I don't have time to tell you more. You'll just have to trust me. You can't call out, no matter what you see."
Swallowing his fear, he followed her into the shadows. They stepped onto a flat light stone, and from it he could see a clearing, eerily glowing in the moonlight. He'd been trained not to disobey a direct order, but none of his training could prepare him for this.
This was evil, it was darkness, and it was everything his family stood against. Dad was there, on the ground, but too far away. He looked trapped, like he was straining against the heavy air. Worse than anything Sam had ever seen before, Dean was there. He was hurt. He was writhing on the ground. The darkness was over him.
Emily whispered, "It needs your blood. Sam, your hand."
Something inside told him what he needed to do. There was something inside that this thing had awakened that was calling him. It terrified him to the marrow of his bones, but Sam pulled the hunter's knife out of his pocket. His hands were shaking, as he flipped it open and sliced the blade across his palm.
There was pain, but not much. In the moonlight, Sam could see the elegant arc of blood, flowing from his wrist down to his arm.
"Now the other one," Emily said. She was crying. Sam hadn't known a ghost could cry.
This was worse than the first, but Sam awkwardly gripped the knife with his slippery, bleeding hand and slashed his other palm. This time, the pain was immediate and shocking. Sam cried out and dropped the knife, but she stopped him when he bent down to pick it up.
"It's finished," she said. "You don't need it now."
Sam didn't understand what was happening. His blood was soaking through his jacket, dripping onto the ground, consecrating the stone underneath his feet. The darkness was recoiling from Dean. The thing roared like something possessed and turned toward him. It wanted him, it wanted his blood. Sam could feel that now.
"Sam!" his father yelled, seeing him. "Go back! Run!"
But Sam took a step forward instead. Emily was behind him, and suddenly he knew. He turned around and it was like a veil dropped before his eyes. He knew who she was.
"Mom?"
"I won't let it hurt you. I'm sorry, Sammy. I never wanted this for you."
"Are you going to leave me?"
The darkness was coming for him. They were out of time.
She was still crying. He didn't want to see her cry.
"We cheated, Sammy. I shouldn't be here at all. You go first. I'll follow. I won't let it hurt you."
He had so many questions, but she whispered in his ear, "I loved you before you were born."
Sam lifted up his bleeding hands. He was eleven years old and had no idea why anything would want him so badly. He could hear his dad yelling and Dean screaming for him, and Sam closed his eyes. The din made him ache inside, but it wasn't up to him any more. He felt her behind him. This was how he knew what love was.
Sam stepped into the darkness.
And it accepted his sacrifice.
TBC – one chapter left. I would love to know if you have been enjoying the story! I'm still very new to Supernatural and greatly appreciate the feedback!