Losing Hope | {BOOK 4}

48| Sam's Plan

"Because it's crazy, okay! And it's not going to happen. How many times do I have to say that this is a horrible idea?"

Dean was frustrated because according to Sam, the visions he'd been seeing that he thought were from God lately had been all about Lucifer's Cage.

"About as many times as I have to say, okay then what else have we got?" Sam shot back at his brother. "Listen, I'm all ears. Dean, ordinarily, I'd agree with you, but the visions only happen when I reach out to God. I asked him for a way to beat the Darkness and the visions got more specific- and I was in the Cage."

"Yeah, with Lucifer. The biggest monster ever hatched. Fan-freaking-tastic!"

"You know Lucifer was the biggest monster ever hatched, until you, Ellie and I hatched one that's even worse. Listen, in the vision, Lucifer touches me and I feel calm, like things will be alright. And that's not something I could ever come up with. I mean, that is the last thing that I would ever feel."

"If Lucifer touched you, it would be the last thing you think," Dean growled. "Ever."

As the elder brother walked over to pour himself a glass of whiskey, I spoke up from my spot at the table. Maddie was sitting nearby reading a book while Zep was playing with some cars on the floor.

"Why would God even ask this of you?" I asked Sam. "What proof do we have that any of this is actually real?"

"There was a burning bush."

"A burning bush?" Dean repeated.

"Like in the Bible," Sam shrugged.

"You were in the forest," Dean pointed out. "There are bushes there, and sometimes they burn!"

"Not in Kansas in the middle of November," Maddie said, glancing up from her book. "That's not normal."

"You stay out of this," Dean glared at her and she rolled her eyes, going back to reading. "And don't you roll your eyes at me, young lady. It's impolite."

He took a seat once more, turning his attention back to Sam.

"You know what man? Maybe there is something to it all, maybe, and maybe there's not."

"Dean, doesn't it make sense?" Sam pressed. "I mean, Lucifer would know how God ended the Darkness. He was there."

Dean just shook his head, taking a sip of his whiskey.

⁘

Sam, Dean and I stood under a bridge with Crowley, near a homeless encampment where Sam was running his idea by the demon.

"So God assured you of this, did he?" Crowley addressed Sam. "I'd say you're making this up but I never think of you as imaginative."

"We're not saying it's gonna happen," Dean said. "We just want to know..."

"Theoretically," Sam jumped in.

"... if it's possible."

"The Cage is a can of worms you do not want to open. I believe this conversation is over."

Crowley prepared to snap his fingers and I piped up to stop him.

"Is it?" I asked. "Crowley, you know that the Darkness is going to pound on everything and that includes you."

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "And you had a shot at taking him out when he was with you, but apparently you thought sucking up was the way to go."

"And that didn't work out so well."

"Because he chose you," Crowley pointed out. "And you couldn't control your boyfriend. What happened in that room? Why did he insist on sparing you?"

Sam and Dean both looked at me quizzically, Sam moving his gaze back to Crowley immediately after while Dean kept his eyes on me.

"What is he to you?" Crowley pressed.

"Wanna know what he is, Crowley?" I asked. "How about God's brother!"

"God's brother? He has relatives?" the demon questioned in surprise. "I had that kind of leverage under my thumb and I let it slip away."

"Can we focus on the bigger picture here, okay?" I continued, eager to not have Dean's eyes burning a hole into my head. "Can Sam meet with Lucifer or not?"

That got my husband's attention off of me and back on the King of Hell, waiting for his response.

"In the Cage," Sam added.

"No, not in the Cage," Dean corrected. "That's not going to happen."

"Okay, then I don't meet with Lucifer. Dean, we can't let him out."

"What?" Dean snapped, looking at Crowley.

"There may be a way," the King of Hell admitted. "Clearly if Sam enters the Cage he's gone. And yes, it's on my bucket list, now is not the time be selfish. Need a secure site, a way to neutralize Lucifer's powers."

"In Hell?" I asked.

"Yes, in Hell! So we have a modicum of control. You think I want that abomination running amuck upstairs?"

"Is it possible to control the situation?" Dean asked. "Because if Sam's not safe, it's not happening."

"Goodness, mummy, loosen your grip," Crowley rolled his eyes. "Theoretically, it's possible, with challenges. I can arrange a transit into Hell. Opening the Cage, that's another matter."

"You're the King of the joint," I pointed out. "Don't you have a key?"

"It was sealed by God himself. Of course I don't have a key. The mechanisms of divine manufacturer, I believe its secrets, along with the spells for warding Sam were recorded where many such mysteries are found- 'The Book of the Damned'."

⁘

We got Rowena on board and under supervision while she translated the Book to find a spell we could use to open the Cage and then keep Sam safe once we did. There had been a massacre at a church, so while Sam and Dean stayed behind to keep an eye on Rowena,  I went to investigate. It was definitely Amos's work- the cops said the vics were alive, one of them, a Priest, was talking to a mystery man who wasn't killed like the others.

After interviewing a Priest, I began to walk away, and then stopped, an eerie calm washing over me. A second later, it disappeared and I looked around, confused. I walked over to a park, coming to a stop by a hot dog vendor as the feeling hit me once more.

"Hot dog?" the attendant at the stand asked.

"Yeah," I said, still dazed. "Uh, one."

My phone rang, and one glance at it told me it was Dean calling. As I went to answer it, the feeling hit me once more, stronger this time and I turned around. Amos stood there, fully grown in the form he'd been in when I met him in the smoke, and we stared at each other, my phone continuing to ring out in my hand.