The Darkness races toward the Impala and there's no escape... and Dean finds himself standing in the midst of the Darkness as it rushes past him. He sees a woman and calls to her, and she turns and stares at him.
Sam wakes up alone to the sound of the Impala's horn blaring. Once he shuts it off, he looks around and remembers what happened. The Darkness swept over the Impala and Dean disappeared, and the impact knocked Sam out. He finds Dean lying unconscious a mile away and wakes him up, and explains what happened. Dean remembers the Darkness sweeping over them and then the woman. He tells Sam that the woman--the Darkness--saved him.
The Winchesters go back to the Mexican restaurant and Dean explains that the woman thanked him for setting her free. He remembers that she had a focus around her but she didn't say much, and figures that they have to reimprison her because they set her free. They check the Impala and discover that it's stuck in a mud hole
Castiel crouches in a cabin in the woods, his eyes bloody. He remembers attacking Crowley in the church under Rowena's spell, and the two of them fighting. Once he knocked Crowley down, Castiel stabbed the King of Hell repeatedly. Demonic essence flowed out of him and Castiel realizes that Crowley is still alive.
A farmer and his sons find a dead cow and search the area, and one of the boys finds Castiel. Castiel warns that he can't help himself and tells the boy to run, and then runs as the other two open fire on him.
The brothers drive down the road and come to a road crew... all dead. There's also a family of tourists, dead in their car. A construction worker steps out and advances on them despite their guns. A deputy, Jenna, shoots the man and orders Sam and Dean to bare their throats. Once they show that they're clear, the brothers show her their FBI IDs and realize that she's wounded. Jenna explains that they got a 911 of hostiles attacking the family and she came to investigate. She admits that she's only been on the job three weeks. When she got there the road crew attacked her and she was forced to kill them all. Sam checks the corpses and realizes that they're no longer human.
The brothers drive Jenna to the nearby hospital and find more corpses scattered outside. The brothers grab as many of their weapons as they can because they don't know what to expect. Sam figures that the Darkness mutated the road crew but doesn't know what. They take Jenna in using a wheelchair, and Sam looks around while Dean takes Jenna to the ER to sew her up.
Sam checks the halls and finds a mutated road crew man trying to smash through the janitor's door. The man spots Sam and comes to investigate, but is distracted when he hears a baby crying. The man goes back and starts pounding on the door again to get at the baby.
Dean stitches up Jenna's wounds and assures her that she did what she had to do. As he works, Dean thinks back to what happened in the Darkness.
The Darkness says that she feels at peace for the first time in a very long time. Dean says that he knows who she is, and asks Dean if she is asking him to spare her... or if he is.
Sam hears the crew man collapse, and finds him dead on the floor. He advances slowly down the hall and knocks on the door. A man asks if the crew man is dead, and Sam says that it's okay to come out. He slides his FBI badge under the door and the man, Mike Schneider, comes out holdingbaby.
Crowley's essence takes over a woman, Marn, arriving home. He discovers that he can't teleport, grabs a tire iron, and goes inside. The woman's husband is there and calls her downstairs, where a couple, Dale and Deb, are waiting. The husband admits that he was startled by her request to get together with their friends, and says that they're ready to party for her birthday. Deb asks "Marn" if the car is okay, and Crowley says that everything is fine as he tosses the tire iron away.
In the ER, Mike explains that the power went out when the "twister" hit, and his wife Janie kept on with the delivery. Then she started bleeding and the doctors couldn't save her. Mike explains that he went outside and the road crew men pulled up. They attacked anyone that they could and Mike went back inside to get his daughter, and then hid. Sam confirms that some of them bled on Mike when they attacked, and Dean tells Jenna that whatever is going on might be transmittable. Mike says that he can feel something inside of him, and it's been four hours since he was attacked... and wonders how long until he turns rabid.
Castiel watches from the woods as the police arrive when the hunters call them. The angel prays to Heaven, confessing his transgressions and agreeing to whatever punishment they have for him. In return he asks them to save him from doing worse. The police begin searching the area and Castiel runs off.
Dean is ready to send Mike out, but Jenna refuses. Sam suggests that they let Mike die because the rabid have a shelf life and Jenna agrees. Mike overhears them and agrees to go somewhere quiet as long as Jenna takes care of his daughter. She agrees and Mike hands the baby over. As he leaves, Dean figures that it will come back to bite them on the ass. Sam looks outside and confirms that a truck is pulling up. More rabid crew men get out and come inside as Mike joins them. Dean readies his guns, figuring that they can shoot them in the chest like Jenna did and kill them. Sam suggests that they wait them out, but Dean says that the rabid could spread their infection and they have to deal with the situation.
Castiel calls Dean and says that he can't help him with what he has. The angel tells Dean to tell Sam that Rowena escaped with the Book and the Codex, and asks if the Mark is gone. When Dean says that it is, Sam gets on the line and explains that they freed the Darkness by removing the Mark. Castiel is surprised to hear that the Darkness is a woman, just as he hears something moving behind him. He tells the Winchesters that it may be some time before they see him and hangs up. There are two angels waiting, and Castiel greets them.
After killing the three humans, Crowley uses their blood to summon his minions. They assure him that they have a team coming to remove Rowena's immobilization spell. Crowley complains about his new body's menopause, and one of the demons points out that he didn't call for help until after the orgy. Crowley refuses to apologize.
At the hospital, Sam points out that randomly killing things hasn't worked well for them so far. Dean insists that they have to escape and save the baby. Undeterred, Sam says that they have to change or they're going to repeat the same crap. He insists that there's a cure and Dean has to want to find it, and says that they have to save all of the people. Sam admits that he unleashed the Darkness to save Dean, and it's on us... and they have to change. After a moment, Dean asks his brother what he's thinking. Sam says that Dean will get Jenna and the baby to the car and somewhere safe, while he leads the rabids off. Dean refuses to let Sam risk himself, but Sam says that his brother has to let him do what he does
Sam goes to the stairwell and calls to the rabids, luring them away before locking himself in supply closet. The rabid start breaking the door down, and a rabid orderly in the closet attacks Sam. She tries to stab him and Sam manages to cut her throat, spraying blood in his mouth. The rabids break in and grab Sam, and one grabs him by the throat and stares at him... and then lets him go. The three rabids turn and walk away.
A rabid Mike attacks Dean and shoves him away. Mike demands the baby, and Dean draws his gun and says that they won't hurt him as long as he leaves the baby. Gasping, Mike says that the baby's name is Amara and fights to control himself. Dean and Jenna circle around him and watch as Mike collapses and dies.
Once the demons break Rowena's spell, Crowley repossesses his original body and heals it. His minions say that they've heard rumors that the Darkness has been released. Crowley dismisses the Darkness as a myth, and they say that Michael or Lucifer are trying to warn them from the cage. Half of Hell is freaking out, and the minions wonder what they should do.
The angels take Castiel to a warehouse and hang him up from a chain, and admit that they're not taking him to Heaven as he expected.
Dean pulls up at a gas station with Jenna, miles outside of town, and she admits that she has no idea what she's doing. He tells her that her way back is Amara, and the two of them will help each other. As Jenna goes inside to change the body, Dean calls Sam. Sam is still in the closet and says that he's going to find a cure. His brother agrees, and promises that once he drops Jenna off with her grandmother, he'll come back and they'll clean up the town and kick Darkness' ass.
Dean asks the Darkness why she hasn't hurt him, and she says for the same reason he will never hurt her. She reveals the Mark on her shoulder and says that they have always been bound. No matter what she is or who she is, they will always help each other.
Sam looks at himself in the mirror and sees the marks on his neck.
In the station restroom, Jenna changes Amara. There's a small Mark on the baby's shoulder.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 8, 2015