Fic: Welcome to Nightmare
Title: Welcome to Nightmare
Summary: A Supernatural fanfic written for the OC Wish Meme. Aurora Sinclair (OC created by ciaimpala ) , along with the Winchester boys, is transported by a demon to the world of her nightmares. Written for Becca. Original character centric, also features my OC Zoe Mitchell. Hope you like it, Becca!
Rating: PG13
Aurora’s eyes slowly fluttered open. The first thing she saw was the sky. The first thing she felt was confusion. Slowly she sat up. She was lying on a hill, the grass trimmed short except for a few dandelions scattered here and there. The sun was high in the sky and beat down on her. It was warm but not too warm. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and under any other circumstances Aurora would have called it a perfect day.
Aurora felt disoriented, like she’d been knocked out by anesthesia and had just woken up from surgery. But she hadn’t been having surgery, she reasoned with herself. Had she? She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to remember. The last thing she remembered before waking up on the hill was being in a hotel room with Sam, Dean, and Zoe. They’d been having fun. She had been sitting on the bed with Sam, leaning against his chest with his arms around her. Dean had been lying on his bed, smirking arrogantly as he teased Zoe, who had been sitting in the desk chair with her arms crossed, pretending to be angry. After that Aurora’s memory was blank.
She let out a small groan and rubbed her head before getting to her feet and glancing warily around. It looked like she was in a normal meadow. Except for the part where she had been in a hotel room a few moments ago. However, maybe it hadn’t been a few moments ago. Maybe someone had moved her. But who? Why?
Faintly she heard someone calling her name and turned around to see Sam in the distance, his tall frame silhouetted against the blue sky. Aurora ran over to him and gave him a quick hug, though she was distracted by the oddness of the situation. “Did you just…?”
“Wake up here?” Sam finished. “Yeah. You too?”
Aurora nodded. “Last thing you remember was at the hotel, right?”
Sam muttered an agreement and took hold of Aurora’s hand as they walked across the meadow. Before long they found Dean with Zoe just behind him. Dean had his knife in his hand and a scowl on his face. “This would be the only weapon I had on me,” he muttered, flipping it over in his hand.
“What do you think is going on?” Aurora asked, getting down to business. “Trickster?”
“This isn’t really his style,” Sam said, making a face as he recalled his last encounter with the Trickster.
“Well, whatever it is, it’s bad news and we need to get out,” Dean said angrily. “Nothing good can grab someone out of their comfy bed like that and plop them down….” He looked around. “Wherever the hell we are.”
“Wonderland,” Zoe supplied. “Like Alice.” She looked down at her bare feet and wiggled her toes against the soft grass. “That’s what I feel like.” She glanced around. “It’s sort of nice here, anyway, isn’t it?”
Dean rolled his eyes at her.
“Don’t give me that look.”
“Guys,” Sam cut in before they could start arguing. “Come on. Let’s….walk around a bit. Try and figure out where we are.”
“Get our bearings,” Aurora agreed, turning to look away from Sam across the field. A loud thunderclap made her jump and then the rain began pouring down. In an instant, the clouds had rolled in and covered the sun, effectively turning the day to night and soaking Aurora to the skin. “So much for Wonderland,” Aurora commented, turning back to her friends, but they were gone. “Sam?” She whipped her head around again, wondering if she had simply missed him. Lightning lit up the field for a brief moment. Empty.
Aurora stood still with her heart pounding for several moments. Quickly she ran through the series of events in her head - woke up in the field. Found Sam, Dean, and Zoe. Turned away from them and they disappeared as the thunderstorm started. This had “bad news” written all over it, but she wasn’t sure what was really going on, and the thunderstorm raging around her was making it hard to think. Water dripped into her eyes and she rubbed it out. Think, Aurora! First thing to do would be to get out of the rain. If lightning decided to strike when she was out in the open like this she’d surely get hit. Without a second thought she made a dash for the trees surrounding the field. Again, not the best place to be during a storm, but better than being in the open unprotected like that.
Once inside the woods Aurora went for one of the shorter trees and curled up amongst the roots. Maybe the best thing to do was just to wait out the thunderstorm and then venture out to look for Sam. She really didn’t want to be out walking around while the storm was going on. There was a loud thunderclap again and heavy winds whipped her wet hair into the face somewhat painfully. Then she heard a loud crack and a branch from the tree above her dropped, striking her on the shoulder. Aurora stifled a cry of pain and edged away from the branch.
“Aurora!” Through the haze of rain she saw Sam jogging toward her, shaking water out of his hair like a dog.
“Sam!” Aurora reached out a hand to grab his. He pulled her to her feet and gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “Are you okay?” she asked him.
“I’m fine. Are you?” he asked, his dark eyes concerned.
Aurora nodded even though the storm was unnerving her a little. “Where are Dean and Zoe?” she asked him to take her mind off the thunder and lightning that still raged on.
“I thought they were with you,” Sam said.
Aurora shook her head. “All three of you disappeared when the storm started.” They both had to nearly shout to be heard over the sound of the rain. “I don’t know what the hell is going on!”
“Neither do I,” Sam said, holding her hand tightly. “Let’s just try and get out of the rain.” Together they set off through the trees, gripping each other’s hands and each keeping the other from falling when they slipped on the damp leaves that blanketed the ground.
Before long the trees began to thin out but the rain continued to pour down on them. As they exited the forest they noticed a tall figure waiting for them. Aurora squinted, trying to see who it was through the rain.
“Dean, is that you?” Sam called, still holding onto Aurora’s hand. Another crash of thunder and lightning lit up the sky long enough for Aurora to see the gun the shadowy figure held. She heard the bang as the gun was fired and heard herself let out a small scream, and Sam yanked her hard by the hand, causing her to stumble as they began to run. Two more gunshots were fired and Sam put his hand on the back of her head as they ran, making sure she ducked.
“Sam, I know what I’m doing - “ she started, but then there was another gunshot and Sam grunted in pain. His hand slipped from Aurora’s as he fell. Aurora let out a cry and whirled around ready to find the person who had shot him, to kick his ass, make him pay for hurting Sam - but there was no one there. Aurora swore at the top of her lungs, and ran back to Sam then practically fell to the ground next to him, mud and rainwater staining the knees of her skinny jeans. “Sam? Sam, are you okay?” She grasped his hand and struggled to keep her voice from shaking. Fear clutched at her chest, fear that she had been fighting back ever since the storm had started. And now if Sam - God, Sam had to be okay or she’d never make it through -
Sam’s eyes were unfocused, not looking at her. Blood from the gunshot wound in his back pooled around him, mixing with the rain and mud. Aurora choked back a sob. “Sam, please!” But his hand went limp in hers and slowly, in shock, Aurora let it slip to the ground.
Aurora could never remember how long she sat there. She cried for what seemed to be hours, rocking back and forth on her knees and calling Sam’s name, hoping against hope he would wake. Then the rain stopped and her tears stopped and she still stayed next to him, lying in the mud, not wanting to move ever, ever again.
Finally she got to her feet and tried to remember how to walk. One foot in front of the other, and keep moving. And Aurora did. She walked until she was out of the forest. In front of her was a building. At this point Aurora didn’t care where she was or where she was going. She opened the door and walked inside.
It was dark inside the building. She found herself in a narrow hallway, so narrow her shoulders nearly brushed the sides. And Aurora walked on. Her fear was almost completely gone. With the storm over, and the gunman having vanished - and with Sam dead, there was nothing worse that could happen to her. Aurora felt numb and lifeless, but her mind was focused on one thought. What Sam had been trying to do when he died was to find Dean and Zoe and get out of here. That was what Aurora was going to do.
A scream rang out through the hallway, just barely reaching Aurora’s ears. Though it was far away, Aurora was pretty sure it was a woman’s voice, a woman either terrified or in pain. She began running down the narrow hall, which seemed a lot longer than it initially had looked. After a moment Aurora realized the walls were mirrors. She paused, confused.
“Aurora.”
Aurora whirled her head around. All she saw was her reflection, surrounding her on all sides. She squinted - her reflection was her, but not as she was now. The mirror Aurora had no mud or blood on her jeans, her hair was softly curling over her shoulders instead of hanging in long wet strings. Her makeup was impeccable and her clothes were stylish and fit her perfectly.
“Who are you?” she asked the reflection.
The mirror Aurora sneered at her. “Who do you think? I’m you.” She paused. “Or you as you should be.”
Aurora turned. She hadn’t heard the woman scream for a couple of minutes and the silence worried her. “I don’t have time for this - “
“You think you can run from me?” the mirror Aurora screeched. “You think you can run from this?” She shook her head. “This is who you’re supposed to be, Aurora! Why didn’t you listen to your mother?”
“My mother had no idea what I wanted out of life!” Aurora screamed back at her reflection.
The mirror Aurora was far from listening. “Now that Sam’s gone, maybe you’ll find someone worth your time! Maybe you’ll put down the guns and the stilettos and make something worthwhile of yourself!”
Aurora clapped her hands over her ears. “I don’t have to listen to you!” she yelled, and started running down the hallway of mirrors, her reflection’s laughter chasing her the entire way.
“Useless - make something of yourself - listen to your mother - Sam was never good enough!” The taunts reached Aurora’s ears even as she tried to block them. Finally she reached the door at the end of the hallway, and upon realizing it was locked, kicked it open. Immediately the taunts and laughter ceased.
The room was pure white. White walls, white ceiling, white floor, no windows. It was also purely empty except for a huddled, shaking figure in the corner. A feeling of relief washed over Aurora as she recognized the mop of curly hair. She hurried over to Zoe and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Zoe?” she asked, and the sound of her own voice startled her. It was low and rough, and completely emotionless. But why shouldn’t she sound that way? Sam was dead.
Zoe looked up at Aurora with huge, tearful eyes. “His eyes were black.”
Aurora didn’t ask what had happened. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “It’s okay,” Aurora said in that same deadened voice. She slid her hand into Zoe’s and pulled her to her feet. Zoe staggered - she didn’t seem to want to move. Supporting Zoe, she moved cautiously into the hallway. While the mirrors were still there, Aurora’s reflection was just of herself. There was no screaming or yelling this time.
“What’s happening?” Zoe asked Aurora anxiously. Her eyes were red and puffy. The corners of her mouth turned down and she seemed close to tears. Aurora was sure she looked no better.
“I don’t know,” Aurora said. “We’re just going to find Dean and find a way home.” She pushed open the door she had entered through and stepped outside. The sky was lightening, though clouds still blocked the sun. The rain had long since stopped.
“What about Sam?” Zoe asked.
Aurora paused, her eyes squeezed shut. She had been dreading this part. “Sam is dead.”
“What?” Zoe gasped. “Th-that’s impossible.”
Aurora met her eyes for a moment, then tears blinded her vision again and she looked away. “I saw it happen.”
Zoe pulled her hand away from Aurora. “No, that’s impossible because I just saw Sam. He was in that white room with me, right up until you busted the door down.”
Aurora looked up and stared at her. “He was with you? Wh-what?” She took a step forward. “Zoe, you were screaming until I opened that door. That - it couldn’t have been Sam.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Zoe said quickly, folding her arms over her chest.
Aurora thought back to when she’d found Zoe huddled in the corner. “His eyes were black.” She took another step closer to Zoe. “So you saw Sam, but he was possessed?”
Zoe looked down and nodded once.
“You’re scared of demons,” Aurora said, thinking out loud.
“Well, no shit,” Zoe responded tearfully, still looking at the ground.
An idea was forming in Aurora’s mind, a flicker of hope for them. “Maybe it’s not real.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Zoe demanded. “It was real! Look at your jeans - you’re covered in mud. And look at this!” She rolled up the bottom of her t-shirt to show Aurora her ribs. A large purple bruise spread across her left side. “This is real!”
“Maybe it’s not what we think it is, though,” Aurora said. “It’s impossible for Sam to be in two places at once, even if one version of him was possessed by a demon. Maybe neither of our Sams were real. Maybe it’s just a nightmare.” She grabbed Zoe by the hands. “I don’t know everything that happened to you, but I’m pretty sure I just lived through my worst nightmare and you look like you did the same. Maybe whatever brought us here is trying to break us down by scaring us.”
Zoe looked apprehensive. “Something could do that? Like a whacked-out Freddy Krueger? I mean, Freddy is pretty whacked to begin with, but - “
“Yes,” Aurora cut in. “Something could do that. I don’t know what it is, but my money’s on a demon.”
“Oh great, I feel a thousand times better,” Zoe said.
Aurora shrugged. “If we got sent here, we can get sent out.” And maybe this means Sam’s alive.
“Zoe!”
Both Zoe and Aurora turned at the sound of Dean’s voice. He was jogging down the hill toward them - and Sam was just behind him. Aurora dropped Zoe’s hands and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck with such force she nearly knocked him backward.
“Whoa - hi,” Sam said, wrapping his arms around her. When Aurora didn’t let go he pulled her tighter to him. “Hey,” he said more gently. “What happened?”
“I thought you were dead,” Aurora whispered. “I was in the forest after the storm started and you got shot.”
“That’s what you saw?” Sam said, pulling away to look her in the eyes. He put his hands on her face and kissed her. “I’m here now. It’s going to be okay. Dean and I ran into each other a little while ago and we think we can figure out what’s going on.”
Aurora slid her hands down his chest and grabbed his hands, squeezing them gently. “This is really you, then? You’re not the illusion?”
“No, I’m not an illusion,” Sam said, a small smile quirking his lips. “At least I don’t think I am.”
Aurora laughed for the first time in hours. “Well, ah, good. I was just wondering what I was going to do without you.”
“Aw.” He leaned down and kissed her again. “I love you too.”
Dean and Zoe approached them, Zoe hanging back a little. “That really you, Sammy?” she whispered uncertainly.
He reached out and grabbed her shoulder gently. “Yeah, it’s me. Hey, Zo. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Zoe answered, sounding everything but okay.
Dean locked his eyes on her. “Zoe? Keep it together.”
“It’s together, it’s together!” she said quickly.
“Look, I’m not saying that to be insensitive, I’m saying that for your own safety,” Dean said sharply. “Sam and I think a demon sent us to Terror-land instead of Wonderland. And now it’s hunting us instead of vice versa.” Grimly he pulled out his knife and flipped it from hand to hand again.
“So what does that mean?” Zoe asked, still looking terrified.
“It means it’s using our fear to get to us,” Dean said. “It’s showing us things that scare us, and I get the feeling it’s going to be a survival of the fittest game around here.” Dean looked even angrier than he had when they’d first been dropped into this nightmare, which made Aurora wonder what he’d seen while Aurora had been running through the forest, and while Zoe had been locked up in that room. Dean pointed at Aurora and Sam. “How’re you two doing? Anyone scared?”
Aurora thought. No, she wasn’t afraid anymore. Knowing it was only a nightmare, and knowing Sam was alive and holding onto her was enough. There was nothing it could show her now that would scare her. “The demon had its chance to destroy me and it didn’t work,” Aurora said. She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, good.” Dean grabbed Zoe by the hand. “You, keep close to me. Let’s move. We’ve stayed in one place too long.”
“Please tell me you know how to get out of here,” Zoe said.
“Working on that,” Dean said.
“Whatever this demon is, it’s feeding on fear,” Sam said as they walked, skirting the edge of the forest where Aurora had seen Sam die. “We can’t give it what it wants.”
“Gotcha,” Aurora said, reaching out and taking Sam’s hand. A thunderclap sounded overhead and Aurora jumped.
“What the hell,” Dean muttered, looking up at the sky.
“It’s probably trying to scare me,” Aurora said. She glanced up at the dark clouds. “It’s not going to work so you can just quit trying!” she shouted.
Dean laughed. “Nice.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Zoe?”
She was gone. Dean’s eyes widened in panic - Sam’s hand tightened in Aurora’s. “Zoe!” Dean yelled. He paced back and forth. “Dammit, I want to find this bastard - you fuckin’ give her back, you son of a bitch!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Dean,” Sam said. Dean shot him a look and Sam shut up.
“Why did it take Zoe?” Aurora asked, desperately fighting back the worry that rose in her chest. Worry could turn to fear and fear was a death sentence here.
“Because she’s an easy target, that’s why,” Dean spat. “She can never handle fear very well.” He ran his finger along the edge of his knife. “I’m going to go find her,” he said abruptly. “You two stick together.” With that he turned and jogged off into the gathering dark.
“Dean!” Aurora yelled after him, but Sam put his hand on her shoulder.
“No point,” he said. “He won’t come back without Zoe.” Gently he pulled her to the edge of the forest and sat down at the base of a giant tree. Aurora curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
“What happened to you?” he asked. “When we all got separated.”
Aurora didn’t feel like reiterating the entire thing. “I told you,” she said. “I saw you die.”
Sam kissed the top of her head. “Are you holding up okay?”
Aurora gave a little laugh. “I am now. You should’ve seen me earlier. It was pretty bad.”
“I’m sure you were no worse off than me,” Sam said with a small smile. “Dean and I were pretty lucky, though. We ran into each other early on and worked out what was happening. Knowing nothing was real made it easier to cope with.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Aurora said a little bitterly, wishing she’d known that. “At least it’s leaving us alone now.”
Sam leaned his cheek against the top of her head. “Are you scared?”
“No, I’m not anymore,” Aurora said. “Like I said….it had its chance to scare me and now I’m not scared anymore.”
“Neither am I,” Sam said. And their surroundings flickered. For a brief moment, the forest disappeared and was replaced with the hotel room they’d been in before the nightmare started. Then they were back to the forest. Sam and Aurora looked at each other.
“So to get out of here,” Aurora said slowly, “you just have to announce the fact that you’re not scared?”
Sam nodded. “You probably have to mean it, though.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s interesting.”
Aurora smacked his leg playfully. “At least we know how to get home, though! Look, we already know this demon thing has zero power when we’re together. That’s why it keeps trying to separate us, right? So when Dean and Zoe get back and none of us are scared anymore, we should be able to zap ourselves out of here!” She leaned back against the tree. “All we need to do is wait for Dean and Zoe.”
It wasn’t long before they heard Dean approaching, calling out for Aurora and Sam. Sam got to his feet. “We’re right here!”
Dean came into sight, his arm around Zoe’s waist and hers pulled over his shoulder. Her cheek was bleeding. “Tell me you have good news,” he growled. “Getting her away from that thing was no picnic.”
“We know how to get out of here,” Aurora said. “We have to let it know it’s not scaring us.”
“Well, that’s easy enough,” Dean said. “I’m not scared, I’m effing pissed off.”
Aurora stood up and went over to Zoe, whose eyes were huge. “You okay, hon?”
“I’m great,” Zoe said in a high pitched voice.
“You’re a terrible liar is what you are,” Dean said, wrapping his arms around her. “Come here. Deep breaths, honey. Calm down.” He rubbed her back gently, looking over at Sam and Aurora. “You guys okay?”
“We’re fine,” Aurora said. “We’re totally fine.”
“Take that, you demonic son of a bitch,” Dean muttered, still rubbing Zoe’s back.
“His mother was a hamster,” Zoe said. “And his father smelt of elderberries.”
Dean laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but it sounds like you. That’s my girl.” He let go of Zoe and slid his hand into hers, taking Aurora’s on his other side. Sam completed the circle by grabbing Zoe’s other hand.
“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” Dean asked. “I sure as hell am not.”
“I’m not either,” Sam said.
“I,” Zoe said, her voice shaky but sure, “am not scared.”
Aurora shook her head. “Can you hear us, asshole?” she said loudly, hoping the demon could hear them, wherever it was. “We’re not afraid of you!” The forest flickered again. “That’s right, you heard me! You don’t scare us!” Everything went black for a moment. When Aurora could see again, she, Zoe, and the boys were back in their hotel room. A broad grin spread across her face.
Grinning, Dean gave her a high five. “Good thinking, Ror,” he said before turning to hug Zoe tightly.
Aurora turned around to face Sam and he kissed her deeply, bending her backwards. “You kicked ass back there,” he said softly, grinning.
“Thanks,” Aurora said, smiling back and running her hand down his face. “I’m glad you’re here, Sam.” She knew she would never forget how she felt for the short while she had thought Sam was dead, and she knew she never wanted to experience that again. For now, however, Aurora would put the nightmare out of her mind and celebrate their escape with the man she loved.