Losing Hope | {BOOK 4}

35| The Darkness is Free

"Remember when we were in that church, making Crowley human again, about to close the Gates of Hell? Well, you sure as hell were ready to die for the greater good then."

"Yeah, and Ellie, you and Dean pulled me back."

"No, Dean pulled you back," I shook my head. "I stood by and then tricked you into being possessed by an angel instead of letting you die. You were right, Sam. You knew this would be a better world without us in it."

"No, no, no, wait a second," Sam shook his head as well. "You're twisting my words here, Ellie."

"Why? Because we- we track evil and kill it? The family business? Is that it? Look at the tape, Sam. Evil tracks us. And it nukes everything in our vicinity- our family, our friends. It's time we put a proper name to what we really are and we deal with it."

"Wait a second. We are not evil. Listen... We're far from perfect, but we are good. That thing on your arm is evil, but not you, not me."

I began pacing, walking back and forth to and from Sam.

"I let Rudy die. How is that not evil? I know what I am, Sam. But who were you when you- when you helped Dean bully Charlie into getting herself killed? And to what end? A- a good end? A just end? To remove the Mark no matter the consequences? Sam, how is that not evil? I have this thing on my arm, and you're willing to let the Darkness into the world."

"You were also willing to summon Death to make sure you could never do any more harm," Sam pointed out.

I smirked, glancing over at Death who was waiting off to the side impatiently.

"You summoned me because you knew I'd do anything to protect you," Sam continued. "That's not evil, Ellie. That's not an evil woman. That is a good woman crying to be heard, searching for... some other way."

I looked down at my feet, closing my eyes.

"No, there is no other way, Sam," I looked back up at him. "I'm sorry."

Setting his jaw, Sam punched me in the face.

"Good," I nodded, unwrapping the bandana from my injured hand. "Good. Fight."

I threw a punch of my own, hitting Sam in the face. As we fought, I managed to throw Sam to the ground, punching him viciously in the head as he tried to get up. I stared at him coldly, punching him two more times and knocking one of his teeth out.

"Ohh. Okay," Sam held his hands over his head as I stared at him, annoyed. "That's enough. Hey, that's enough."

He looked up at me, staying crouched on the ground, face bloody.

"You will never, ever hear me say that you- the real you- is anything but good."

I rolled my eyes as he spat out his dislodged tooth. When he looked up at me, there were tears in his eyes.

"But you're right. Before you hurt... anyone else, you have to be stopped at any cost. I understand."

 He started crying, but kept himself under control as he took a shaky breath, clearing his throat and speaking stronger.

"Do it."

Death walked over to me, handing me his scythe.

"Please," he addressed me. "Do me the honor."

I turned back to Sam with the scythe in hand. He inhaled deeply, giving me a small nod. I closed my eyes, giving a sigh.

"Close your eyes."

A tear ran down Sam's cheek as he looked up at me.

"Sammy, close your eyes."

"Wait," Sam hesitated.

Reaching into his jacket, he took out two photos.

"Take these. And one day, when you find your way back... let these be your guide. And they can help you remember what it was to be good... what it was to love."

He placed the photos on the ground between us. One of the photos was of him, me and Dean taken not long after we were reunited when they came in asking for help finding their dad. The other was of Maddie holding a baby Zep in the hospital, smiling down at her little brother. I hesitated slightly as I stared down at the pictures.

"It's for family, you must proceed, Trutina," Death said behind me. "To be what you are, to become what you've become is a stain on their memory. Do it. Or I will."

Sam and I stared at each other for another agonizing moment.

"Forgive me," I whispered.

As I reared back the scythe, Sam slammed his eyes shut. I swung the scythe, missing Sam and stabbing Death in the chest. Sam and I both stared in shock as Death crumbled into dust on the floor. Dropping the scythe, I held out a hand, helping Sam to his feet.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"I'll live. You."

"Fantastic. I think I just killed Death."

I walked over to my duffel, preparing to leave with Sam, and a shrieking noise sounded outside.

"That sound right to you?" I asked.

Just then, red lightning crashed through the roof, striking my forearm right where the Mark was. My arm and the Mark glowed red, crackling until the Mark disappeared. I cried out as the red lightning went back through the roof.

"This is good," Sam insisted as we headed out of the bar. "Ellie, this is good. The- the Mark is off your arm. Nothing crazy happened."

"Yeah, I'm sure everything's perfectly fine," I bit out sarcastically.

As we walked toward the Impala, there was a loud crackling sound. We both looked up at the sky simultaneously.

"What the h-?" Sam asked.

The sky was glowing dark red and several lightning strikes hit the ground several feet from us. The red lightning crackled across the sky, repeatedly striking the ground around us.

"What did Death call this?"

"The Darkness," I breathed.

The ground started rumbling and columns of black smoke erupted from the spots the lightning struck. They converged on one spot into a huge rolling cloud of black smoke. Sam and I stared at it, stunned as it started moving toward us.

"Get in the car!" I cried.

"Yeah. Let's go, let's go!"

Sam and I bolted to the car, him climbing into the driver's seat and me in the passenger side. As Sam reversed, we hit a pothole in the ground. The tires spun as Sam accelerated, trying to get out of the hole. I was just staring out the front window, reaching over and hitting him on the arm.

"Sam."

He looked up, staring at the cloud of dark smoke coming straight at us.

"Sam!"

At that moment, we were enveloped in the Darkness.