Chapter 15

Brooklyn

Darkness surrounds me and I wonder if I'm dead. Maybe I'm in Hell again. Maybe fire will erupt in front of me, blocking me from ever escaping and I'll meet the face of the devil again.

"You're not in Hell," A woman's voice echoes, causing my skin to crawl and my eyes to search the darkness for the source. Nothing, I can't see anything.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I say a little loud in hopes the person can hear me.

"The Darkness. Because of you and Dean, I'm free. Thank you."

Confused, I shook my head, still trying to figure out where this woman's voice is. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly my eyes fully open, causing light from the sun to meet my eyes and close again. A groan leaves my lips as my hand reaches up and rubs my head as a slight headache starts to leave me.

"Brooke! Brooke!" I hear a voice yell and I'm able to fully see my surroundings. I'm at the bottom of a green hill with flowers poking out of the ground.

Sam runs up to me, as I stand.

"Brooke, are you okay?" He asks worriedly.

"Yeah. Where am I?" I asked, looking around confused.

"What do you remember?" Sam asked.

My brain strains to remember as my eyes squint, "I was in the car. And then... Dean. Where's Dean?" I ask in panic, looking around.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know, neither one of you were in the car when I woke up."

I look around before quickly climbing the hill with Sam to follow. Sure enough, Dean laid on the grass, just starting to come too.

"Dean!" I yell, heading over to him as he wakes up, groans, and stands. I put my hand on his arm, looking him over to find little to no scratches.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked?

Dean put his hand on my arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he nods. "Yeah. Where's the car?"

"It's . . . About a mile that way," Sam says, pointing behind him, in the same direction he came from.

Both Dean and I look at Sam confused, responding simultaneously, "What?"

Sam looked at Dean and me, just as confused but for a different reason, "Seriously? The darkness hit. You two disappeared. You remember none of this?"

I think back to what I saw, "I remember seeing the smoke then everything went dark. Then I heard this voice..."

"Voice?" Sam asked?

"The Darkness," Dean said, making me looks at him. He looked at me and nodded, "Yeah, she talked to me too."

Sam waved his hands in the air, "Wait a second. What do you mean?"

Dean spoke up, "You were there. When the storm hit, everything went dark."

"Yeah, but you two just disappeared from the car."

With a shrug, Dean said, "Well, what do you want me to say, okay? I was in the car, and then I wasn't in the car. I was in the field, and she was there."

"Same here, except I never saw her face, I just heard her voice. It was, chilling."

Sam looked between Dean and me, "And she told you she was the darkness?"

A sigh left Dean's lips, annoyed, "No. She was wearing a nametag. What do you think? She thanked me."

"For what?"

"Setting her free."

"You didn't set her free. I set her free."

"Does it matter? I mean, yeah, you said the spell, but I had the Mark, so lock and key."

"So, what, now she feels indebted to you or something?"

"I don't know. She's a Darkness. Does she feel anything?" Dean turned to me, "What did she say to you?"

Shrugging slightly, I said, "Nothing really. She said my name, told me that because of me and Dean she was free, then thanked me. Same as you."

Sam slumped slightly, "Well, nice to know she has favorites."

I looked at Sam sympathetically, "It's probable just because of the whole connection thing with Dean and me."

"Anything else?" Sam asked and I shook my head. "So we know jack."

Dean started to lead the way, heading back to the car. "Well, we know what she looks like, and we know that she's evil. The question is, what does she know? I mean, she's been locked away since the beginning of time. Does she even know what a cheeseburger is? All I know is that we set her free, and we're gonna put her back in, no matter what it takes."

We headed to the car, Dean walking like he was on a mission. He climbed into the driver side while Sam and I stood outside. We watched as Dean stops, looked out the window at the back tire which is still in a pothole. He sighs and looks at Sam and me. "Just gonna let me get in the car?"

Sam smiled and I shrugged, "It's your baby, I thought you'd remember."

Dean sighed, looking at the ground before climbing out. Sam and Dean started to push from the back while I pushed on the gas. We were able to get it out, causing Sam to climb into the passenger seat and Dean to look at me through the driver side window.

"Need a ride handsome?" I said with a smirk, causing him to smile, chuckle, before nodding for me to get out.

I climbed out, giving him a peck on the cheek, before climbing into the backseat.

We headed out, getting a few miles down the road before we came across a gruesome scene. Dead bodies scattered the ground around a power vehicle and police car.

The three of us climbed out of the car, pulling out our guns.

"What the hell happened here?" Dean asked, eyeing a dead body.

A sound behind us made us quickly turn around. A creepy guy with black veins in him approached us, making my eyes go wide, "Oh, yeah, that's not creepy."

Dean put his hands up, "Hey, easy, buddy. Just stay cool till we figure out what's going here, okay?" The creepy guy continued to ignore us and approached, making Dean shrug, "Kind of narrowing my options here."

"We don't even know what he is," Sam said.

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot is heard, making us jump as the man drops dead. A deputy stands behind the dead man, aiming her gun at Sam, Dean, and I.

"Weapons on the ground. Slow," She ordered, causing us to put out hands up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, officer. We're FBI, okay? We got badges," Dean said, reaching into his pocket to pull out his badge. The deputy pumped her gun as she ordered, "Don't. Show me some skin."

My eyes pulled together in confusion, as I leaned over, whispering to Dean, "Did she just ask what I think she just ask?"

"I think so?"

"All of you. Your throats," The Deputy said, nodding towards us.

Sam put the pieces together in his head and glanced at the dead man who had veins up and down his neck. He pulled his shirt back as Dean and I did the same, "Okay, all right, look. Huh? See?"

A sigh left her lips as she lowered her gun and slouched, "Good." She moved a bit, revealing her side which was cut deeply and bleeding.

"Wow, that looks bad," I said, causing the Deputy to glance at it.

"Rebar. I sought cover. I fell."

Dean took a couple of steps towards her, "Okay. Why don't you tell us what happened here?"

"911 reported a family in distress. I arrived to find several hostiles attacking said family. Oh, God, it was horrible."

"How long you been on the job, deputy?" Sam asked, seeming to tell, like I did, that she must not have been here long.

She paused before looking at the ground, "Three weeks."

"Huh, nothing says "welcome to the job" like..." My voice trailed off as I gestured around at the scene.

She nodded, "Yeah, no kidding. I'm Jenna."

Dean pointed to himself, me, than his brother. "I'm Dean. This is Brooke and Sam. Just breathe. Okay? Speak plain. What happened?"

"They killed them all."

"Who?" Sam asked?

"Road crew. They were like rabid dogs. I fired off a warning, but they didn't stop."

My eyes looked around at the dead bodies, surprised that one deputy, only being on the job three weeks, was able to do all of this. I must not have been the only one thinking that because Dean spoke up, surprised. "You killed all these?"

"Damn, smart girl," I mumbled.

Jenna looked saddened as she looked at one of the guys, "I knew some of the boys, but they didn't look... something was wrong. They were-"

"They're not human," Sam said.

Dean nodded towards Jenna's wound, "Hey, look, we can stitch that up, but, uh, it's gonna be ugly. You got a hospital around here?"

"Yeah, up the road."

"All right, let's go," Dean said.

We climbed into the Impala, Jenna sitting in the back with me. As we drove up to Harley Hospital we found abandon cars and a gurney and wheelchair tipped over outside.

"Well, this is encouraging," Dean said sarcastically as he climbed out. Sam and I joined him, me motioning to Jenna, "Wait here." The three of us pulled out our guns, keeping an eye out.

Sam grabbed the wheelchair, wheeling it over to the car. Dean went to the back of the Impala, grabbing a gym bag and loading it up with weapons. I helped him while Sam got Jenna out.

"So, what are we thinking?" I asked?

Dean shrugged, "I don't really know what to think. And I don't know what to expect either, so I'm just gonna chuck it all in."

Sam walked over to us alone, "This is the darkness, right? It's got to be."

"So, what, she shows up and everybody goes "28 Days Later"? We didn't," Dean shrugged.

"Yeah, but I was in the car, and you two were, you said she protected you. So, I mean maybe it wasn't her. Maybe it was the smoke, and anybody who was outside, like the road crew, they were exposed. I mean, you saw that. That wasn't human."

"So, what? The smoke mutated 'em? Sure, why not? Just a couple hours ago, I almost killed you and killed Death," Dean said, gesturing towards me. Yeah, I don't really want to recall that right now. "I'm pretty much open for anything. But mutated into what?"

"Zombies?" I said, half joking but also being serious.

Dean shrugged, closing the trunk, "Not the worst thing I've heard." He waved his hand, looking slightly annoyed, "All right, you know what, one thing at a time. Let's just get her some help and then we'll deal with whatever comes next."

Dean pushed Jenna as we entered the open hospital. To no surprise, when you see the scene outside, we found everyone dead, sprawled out all over the place.

"I've got to call this in," Jenna said, worriedly.

"No, bad idea. More people, more bodies. We'll deal with this," Dean said.

Sam spoke up, looking at Dean and I, "You know what, I'm gonna take a look around."

Slipping my hands in Dean's spot, I nodded off as I looked at Dean, "Go on, I'll sew her up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I smiled. I started to turn the wheelchair to go down the hallway when Dean lightly took my arm, stopping me.

"Hey... I love you."

I smiled, pulling one hand free and laying it on his cheek, "I love you too." I leaned in, giving him a small kiss before leading Jenna away. We found the exam room and I helped Jenna sit on the bed. I found what I needed and started to get to work.

"This is gonna hurt like hell," I said, and Jenna nodded. She hissed when I started but calmed a little, talking to distract herself.

"I knew those boys' sisters, their parents."

"You did what you had to do. You probably saved more people from getting hurt."

Jenna chuckled lightly, "They don't train you to shoot your friends. I panicked. I could have..."

I stopped her before she could fall down this hill, "Those boys weren't boys. They were monsters, and they were a threat. Anybody would have panicked. Not everyone would have done what you did."

"This job is supposed to be saving people."

"Sometimes you can't save everyone," I said. I remember those words being said many times, but it seemed like when it came to each other, those rules didn't apply. That's what you do for family, I guess.

Jenna hissed, tensing up, "Distract me, please."

"With what?"

"Are you and Dean married?"

I smiled at her words, "Engaged. At some point we'll get married... hopefully," I said, mumbling the last word. Right now, with everything going on, it looks like a wedding may be long in our future.

Jenna laughed through the pain, "Take it from someone who knows a lot about other's lives, you only want to get married once."

Finishing Jenna up, I looked at her, "That's the plan." With that, I patched her before putting everything away. Just as I was doing so, Dean and Sam entered with a man holding a baby.

He introduced himself as Mike, but yet to have a name picked out for his daughter. He started to explain what had happened.

"The doc said it was gonna be a tough birth, but Janie, she stepped up. The twister hit, the power went out. She just kept on going. No drugs. Just pushed out this little dewdrop like she was nothing. Then Janie started bleeding. They tried, but, you'd think they'd know how to stop something like that."

Jenna spoke up, seeming to know the man a little, "I'm so sorry, Mike."

Dean gestured around, "You think you could tell us what happened here?"

"I went outside to collect myself. A truckload of 'em pulled up."

"The road crew?" Sam asked?

"They didn't say nothing. They just went off, attacking folks like they were possessed. I tore back inside to get this little one. I found that supply closet, and you know, been there since. I could hear them, though. Tearing through the halls. Doctors, nurses, they didn't care."

I pulled my brows together in confusion, "You said the road crew went nuts. Did any of them come after you?"

"Yeah, a few of them," Mike responded.

"Did they cut you or bleed on you?" Sam asked worriedly.

"They did," Mike said, looking between all of us. Instantly, I noticed the dark veins starting to grow on his neck, making a sigh leave my lips.

Jenna shook her head, confused, "I don't understand. What are you saying?"

Dean explained, "Saying that whatever this is, it might be transmittable."

"What? We don't even know what this is. Now you're saying it can be passed on?"

Mike nodded, speaking up and grabbing our attention, "He's right. I can feel it. Inside. Something's happening."

"How long has it been since you were attacked?" I asked?

"Three, four hours. The real question is, how long till I become like them?"

Dean looked at the ground for a second before motioning for all of us, except Mike and the baby to the other room to talk. I find my eyes drifting over to Mike and the baby as we speak.

"Well, you know where I stand," Dean said, shrugging. He knew that this would only end one way, and deep down we all knew it as well. Well, almost all of us.

"No, you're not, you can't be serious. And if he goes out there, they'll kill him," Jenna said, motioning outside.

Shrugging, Dean said, "So, we just wait around for him to kill us? Oh, yeah, that's a plan."

"Or we just wait for him to die. There was a, whatever you want to call it, a "rabid" attacking the closet door, and he just died. These things have a shelf life," Sam said.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing here," Dean said, tossing his arms up.

Jenna shook his head, "No, he's right. We lock him up, we find a cure. This is a hospital."

I crossed my arms, speaking up, "Something tells me we won't find a cure in this place."

Suddenly, Mike walked in with the baby, grabbing our attention, "I didn't open up that closet door to find a cure."

Dean sighed, "Look, Mike, I'm sorry, but this is untenable."

"I know. That's why I thought maybe we could make a deal. I'll go find somewhere quiet and lay low until this is over. And you save my baby girl."

I nodded, giving him a reassuring smile, "Defiantly. We won't let anything touch her, I promise."

Mike nodded, looked down at his daughter, before looking up at Jenna. "I know you. I've seen you in church since you were knee-high. Please," He gives the baby to Jenna who takes it nervously.

"I don't even own a Guinea pig," She states, trying to figure out how to hold and sooth the baby at the same time.

"Thank you. Thank you all," Mike said, giving his daughter one last look before running out of the room. At doing so, the baby starts to faintly cry.

Dean watched Mike leave, mumbling next to me, "Why do I get the feeling that that is gonna bite us in the ass?"

"Cause it always does," I responded.

Jenna continues to try and sooth the baby but it's not working. "Guys. Any ideas?"

Something in me turned on like a switch. It was like mother instincts or passed experiences kicked in and my body moved without a thought. "Here, let me." I reached out, taking the baby and swaying lightly.

In contact with me, the baby stopped crying and started to calm, drifting off to sleep.

Jenna's eyes went wide at the sight, "You'll have to teach me that."

I wish I could share some secret way that I had learned to calm a baby, but I haven't even held a baby like this since I was 19. Something in me knew what to do, and took over.

My eyes looked down at the baby, making me smile at her little face. Something about this baby just grasped my attention, taking everything I knew, or didn't know, and putting it to the test.

Dean speaking up, made me look up, "Would it be wrong to say that's kind of hot?"

I eyed him, making him smirk before clearing his throat, "All right, let's gear up." He started to grab some weapons while Sam looked out the window, "That might be tricky," He said as more rabids pulled up.

Dean continues to load up weapons, grabbing Sam's attention, clearly not happy. "Dean..."

"We made a promise.

"To do what? Charge out there, guns blazing? We don't even know how to kill them," Sam said, gesturing outside.

Pointing to Jenna, Dean said, "She does. Chest, right? I'm guessing heart." He tosses her a gun.

Jenna looked at the gun, shaking her head, "This is madness."

"No. No, that is madness," Dean pointed outside than at his weapons, "This is horse sense."

"Save Mike's baby, but shoot Mike. Tell me where that makes sense," Jenna said, her eyes looking to me for help. I didn't know what to say.

"Look, we can just wait for them to die," Sam said, gesturing towards the Rabids.

"And how long is that? And when they infect others, how long is that? No, we stay here, that baby dies. We did this, Sam. Okay? We broke it, we bought it. You know there's no other way."

I rocked the baby as I spoke, "I hate to say it Sam, but Dean's got a point. We can't let this get out of control."

Suddenly, Dean's phone rings, causing him to answer it, "Where the hell are you, Cas?"

"I'm, I'm okay," Cas said, as Dean put him on speaker. He sounded hurt and weak.

"You don't sound okay," Dean said.

"Dean, I am fine. Besides, what I have, you can't help me."

I approached Dean, standing next to him as I asked, concerned, "What do you mean, Cas? What's going on?"

"Just please tell Sam, Rowena escaped with the Book of the Damned and the codex."

"Forget Rowena. Where are you?" Dean asked, shaking his head.

Cas spoke up, changing the subject, "Now, you tell me, the Mark..."

"Oh, really? You're worried about me after everything that I've-"

Cas interrupted him, "Dean, is it gone?"

"Yes."

"Brooke?" Cas asked, as if needing me to verify Dean's words.

Dean sighed in annoyance while I answered, looking at Dean, "He's good, Cas."

"See, I'm good. I mean, I'm not great."

"Makes two of us. This is good news."

Dean nodded towards the phone, "Okay, your turn. Talk to us about the darkness."

Cas spoke in confusion, "Why would I talk about the darkness?"

Sam walked over, going near the phone as he said, "Because it's free. Removing the Mark opened some kind of lock. Dean and Brooke saw her."

"The darkness is a woman?"

"Well, that's what we're asking you. We were hoping you could tell us what kind of defcon screwed we are," Dean said. He paused waiting for Cas to answer but he said nothing, causing Dean to ask, "Cas?"

"Sam, Dean, Brooke this is goodbye, for now. It may be some time before we see one another again."

"Wait, Cas," I said but he already hung up the phone, leaving us to look at each other with worry.

Sam and Dean walked out of the room, hoping to figure this out and get a plan that they both like. We might be here awhile.

I handed off the baby, showing Jenna how to take her, "Just hold her like this and bounce her if she starts to stir. Think of it like a tune that you're bopping too."

Nervously, Jenna nodded, "Yeah, okay. You make it sound easy."

"Nothing, especially a baby, is easy."

Jenna nods, looking down at the sleeping child, "Do you have any kids?"

I shook my head, "No. I want them but not right now."

"My grandma always told me that if you wait for the right time, it'll never come."

"Yeah, well something tells me your grandma wasn't expecting all of this." Jenna nodded in agreement before Dean and Sam walked back in. Dean didn't look to happy though.

"We've got a plan."

"A horrible plan," Dean added unhappily.

Sam glared at his brother for a second before explaining. "We can't kill these things, we need to find a cure. So I'm going to lead them away while Dean gets you guys and the baby out of here."

"Sam..." I started.

"We need to change, Brooke."

I sighed, looking over at Jenna and the baby before picking up a gun. "Fine. But I'm shooting anyone I see."

No one said a word and instead started to prepare to leave.

Sam made his way over to the railing of the stairwell, looking down it and calling out. "Hey! Up here!"

The people ran up and chased after Sam, passing up and barley noticing.

"Come on," Dean motioned. He led the way with me behind him. Jenna held the baby behind me, trying to keep her quiet. We made our way to the front door, only to be stopped by Mike who was seeming weak with veins all over him now. "Oh, come on," Dean mumbled.

"The baby," Mike said, reaching out.

Jenna held the baby close, shaking her head, "No, Mike."

"The baby."

I prepared my gun, "I'm sorry, but you're not touching that baby, Mike."

"Amara."

"What?" Dean asked, confused?

"Her name is Amara," Mike said, falling to his knees before collapsing on the ground, lying dead. We all moved quickly after that, heading out of the hospital, into the Impala, and driving off.

Dean pulled up to a gas station which seemed to have more life in it than the town over. He climbed out to get some gas while I stayed in the front seat. Jenna climbing out though grabbed out attentions.

"Oh, you good?" Dean asked Jenna?

"Yeah. Baby. Poop. What could go wrong?"

Dean saluted her, "Godspeed."

Jenna sighed, looking down at the baby as she rocked, "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I'll show you," I said, climbing out. We headed over to the bathroom where we laid Amara down and I started to show Jenna how to change her. After I've finished, I start buttoning up her onesie.

Jenna shook her head in disbelief, "How do you know about all of this stuff?"

I smiled at her words, recalling an old memory, "My best friend had a kid at 18, she had no idea what she was doing either. I guess I just figured it out."

"My grandma always told my mom that she was born to me a mother. Maybe you were too."

A mother? It scared me just as much as it excited me at the thought of being a mom. I want kids, I really do, but with the life I live it seems impossible to think of having a kid.

I know it can be done, my parents did it as did Dean's, but they also weren't dealing with all of this.

Amara grabbing my finger made me look into her eyes, seeming to drift off a bit. Maybe it was a vision, a dream, or something, but my mind got sucked into it.

I was back in the darkness again, only this time I wasn't alone. Instead a woman was standing there, looking at me with a smile. Something in me told me who, or what, she was.

"You're the Darkness?"

"I go by many names. Some you'll learn."

Looking around, confused and on edge, I asked, "Why am I here?"

The Darkness looked me up and down, making her way slowly towards me. "You know Dean really loves you." I look at her suspicious and confused. She continued, "I'm connected to Dean, as are you, but in different ways. I'm connected through a Mark, you're connected through his soul."

"The Mark is destroyed," I stated.

"It is, but I was a part of Dean, still am."

"Leave him alone."

The Darkness shook her head, "I'm not going to hurt him, or you. I am not a threat Brooklyn, not for you or Dean." She stops in front of me, looking me up and down, "You're a strong woman, Brooklyn. I hope to learn that."

With that, I'm back, starring into the eyes of Amara.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it took a bit to update but I took a little break, now back on it!