Chapter 1
(Cain)
The Mark did not just control him; it consumed him entirely. It brought a darkness that was completely separate from his own. What came with the Mark was not just darkness; it was a being that controlled those who held the Mark. And Cain had been the one to hold that Mark, and its darkness for the past thousand years. No one could save him, and no one could kill him. An infinite paradox within itself. But in time, Cain did learn to bargain with the darkness in his mind. It allowed him moments of freedom and clarity, for complete and utter control while he was awake. It was a never ending battle that he knew he was losing. For twelve hours each night, Cain was allowed complete control of his mind and body. But he could still feel that darkness within his soul. Biding its time until it took control of him. And while he had control, he still held every memory of every action that he had been made to do under the bane of the Mark.
Every night, Cain dissolved into alcohol and memories, unfit to see any point in living. Yet, he could not bring himself to take his own life, as he knew what the consequences would be, should he act upon those thoughts of his. He had fought off the black eyes for so long, why rewind the tape and start that fight all over again? He was tired; this fight was agonizing and while he could not fight this alone for much longer, he could not bear the idea of bringing anyone else into this fight. He deserved this Mark and he would let no one take that away from him. Or so he had thought.
Then came the day when those damn Winchester boys came knocking at his door. From the moment they had walked, Cain had seen that the tall one, Sam, was too weak to carry the Mark. But Dean…. Dean could do it. Dean could take this darkness away from him, and fight it just as he had. And just as Cain had hoped, Dean was hell-bent on taking on the Mark for himself, some way or another.
“Let us let him have a little taste. He knows the consequences of his actions.” The darkness whispered in the back of his mind. While that was true, Cain had only given a loose outline of what the Mark did the the bearer. Despite his efforts to continue to warn the brothers of the consequences of their choices, Cain eventually gave up trying to warn them, as it was apparent that neither Winchester cared. They had made quite the effort in finding him, despite all the precautions he had taken to not be found. Within a matter of minutes, and a lot of burning sensations later, both Cain and Dean stood gasping in the middle of Cain’s cabin. “It is done.” Cain rasped, falling back into the chair that he had rose from earlier that evening. And with that, the two Winchester boys left his cabin without so much as a ‘thank you’, before closing the door behind them.
Relief. The first emotion to filter through his mind and body. Downing the last of his beer, Cain let out a laugh, the deep rumble filling every corner of his home. He was free. After millennia of being trapped within his own mind, Cain was finally free from his Bane. Standing up, the man strode around his house, as if seeing every inch of his home for the first time. Everything seemed clearer; brighter; more vibrant than ever before. Why he had not done this before, he could not remember. While Cain only wished to celebrate his newfound freedom, a wave of exhaustion swept him off his feet, and it was in that moment that the immortal knew he needed sleep. As Cain wandered over to his bedroom, the man did not even bother changing into more comfortable clothing before collapsing on his bed, deep in sleep before his head even hit the pillow. For the first time in a long time, the poor man got a full night's sleep, only to be awoken in the early morning by a voice he was sure to never hear again.
“Silly immortal, you thought I had left with the Mark? I am not the Mark’s darkness, I am your own dark Bane. You will never get rid of me.”
(Mia - 1 year later)
When you work in a hospital, you see a lot of crazy things. But the day a man walked in, drenched in blood that was not his own was the day that Mia’s life really took a turn for the worse. Or for the better, depending on how you looked at it. The young woman had been filling out the final pieces of the paperwork for her shift when the front doors of the Huntington Beach Hospital burst open and a man drenched in red stepped through. “I believe I am in need of assistance.” The man said, weariness clearly woven into his voice. Mia immediately dropped what she was doing and rushed over, calling out for a gurney as she wrapped an arm around the man’s waist, in an attempt to help support him. With the help of two other attendings, Mia managed to shift the giant of a man onto a gurney, where he collapsed with what seemed to be overexertion. As they moved him into a vacant room, Mia inquired as to what his name was. “Can you tell me your name, sir?”
Slowly, the mysterious man turned his piercing blue eyes to meet hers, and he answered her question simply. “Cain. My name is Cain.” He murmured, before falling into unconsciousness. It was then that things became a bit more hectic. IV lines were attached, all his dirty clothes were removed, and Mia began to remove the blood attached to his skin. The blood was everywhere, all over his arms, in his hair, and under his nails. While washing his right arm, Mia noticed a scar that ran about an inch on his forearm. Lightly tracing her fingertips over it, the young woman guessed that the man had had something removed from that arm. What it was, she could not guess, but that was just another question she would ask of him when he finally awoke. It took Mia a good while to remove it all, most of the time being spent on removing it from the thick grey hair that covered his head and chin. As she was cleaning him up, Mia found it quite odd that despite all the blood, there were no wounds that she could see, other than the one deep cut on his forehead. For that, he would need stitches, that was apparent. But all this blood could not come from one simple cut. There were so many questions she needed to have answered, if only the man were not unconscious. But for now, all she could do was tend to him the best she knew how.
It was not until a couple hours later that Cain, or so he called himself, awoke again. Mia opened the door to find him struggling to figure out how to use a remote control. Once he saw her though, he immediately set down the console, the news running in the background. It was then that Mia got her first good look at her new patient. His grey hair ran down to touch his shoulders and his beard was the same color and while it was long, he made it look good. She knew he was tall, well over six feet and he was very well built, taking up most of the bed he currently inhabited. While he was wonderful to look at, it was his eyes that really caught her attentions. They were the lightest blue that she had ever seen, and while there was a kindness in his eyes, there was also a great darkness. His presence gave off an old-soul vibe that she found intriguing. “Who are you?” Mia murmured, almost too quiet to hear. Cain squinted his eyes, as if analyzing her and how to answer her question best. “I am someone who needs to get out of here as quickly as possible, for the safety of this hospital and everyone in it.” Cain rumbled cryptically. That was not the answer she had been looking for, as Mia now had even more questions to ask, both for his health and her curiosity. But his voice caused her brain to momentarily forget everything. When he spoke, his words sounded like music to her ears. It was deep and chocolaty, causing her bones to tremble. A dangerous gift he had, that voice of his.
While she wanted to inquire more of him, Mia saw that Cain’s attention had returned to the television screen behind her. Turning around the face the screen, Mia saw that a new story had come up on the news. The bodies of two young girls had been found in a nearby park, their throats cut and bodies mutilated beyond recognition. The news anchor continued to talk, saying that although the perpetrator had yet to be found, there had been two eye-witnesses that were in the process of giving vivid descriptions of who had done the crime. “Those poor girls. I hope they find-- hey, what are you doing?” Mia exclaimed, turning to find her patient attempting to remove himself from his bed. “I need to get out of here. They will come and find me.” Cain said, struggling against her grip. “Who will come after you? The police?” Mia inquired, her eyebrows furrowing.
Cain chuckled and shook his head, loose hair falling into his eyes. “I am not worried about the police. They will get nothing about me from those witnesses.” He said, his gaze daring her to ask the question that the both of them knew she wanted to ask. “Did you kill those girls?” Mia asked, afraid to know the answer. Deep down, she had already put everything together but when Cain nodded his head, confirming her assumption, many of her questions fell into place.
“I did kill them. And now you know why I must get out of here. I cannot stay here, as I am not only hunted by the police, but I am also being hunted by those who are far more dangerous. My one question to you is this.” Cain said, pausing a moment for effect. Mia’s heart was pounding in her chest, adrenaline pumping through her body. Cain sat up and Mia took a small step back.
“Will you help me get out of here, Mia?”
