Thank you to Ghostey who beta read this chapter

Nightmares

As children, we were afraid of going to sleep alone in the dark. It wasn't because of the monsters beneath our beds, or the boogieman in the closet, but being alone in a dark room all by ourselves. But then we also were afraid to fall asleep, where dreams could take an unexpected turn. When we sleep we enter a world of imagination where anything was possible, but were not always lollipops and candy canes. There dreams can turn into nightmares at any given time, but sometimes we have to face our nightmares, sometimes we have no choice.

"Daddy… please don't turn the light off," Rebecca cried, "It's stormy outside and I don't want to be left alone in the dark." She tightly gripped her blanket and brought it as close to her chest as she possibly could.

"Rebecca there's nothing to be afraid of," he reassured her, "We're two stories up so nothing can hurt you. And if you need me I'm right across the hall." Her father gently kissed his daughter on the forehead. "I wish your mother was here," He trailed off, turning to a family picture which was encased in a silver coral frame on the bedside table. He picked it up and stared at the picture. The mother had wavy red hair, stunning green eyes, and she looked no more than twenty five when the picture had been taken. He flipped the frame over and undid the backing to reveal blue writing on the back that read Rebecca, Steven and Mary forever. Steven began to feel tears sting his eyes but quickly wiped away them away, not allowing his daughter to see him in this state. He redid the back of the frame and returned it to Rebecca's nightstand. "You can keep the lamp on… okay? Goodnight Rebecca," he said tenderly as he left the bedroom, leaving the door open a little bit. Rebecca shrunk into her blanket burying her head in the pillow, trying to ignore the sounds of the storm outside. Before long she drifted off to sleep and into her dreams.

Rebecca woke up late the next morning, realizing that her father had forgotten to wake her up. She was already thirty minutes late for school so she quickly got changed into her cloths then went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she was done getting ready, Rebecca searched the house for her father but he was nowhere to be found. She rushed back up the stairs and banged on her father's bedroom door. "DADDY!! IM GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" Rebecca yelled as loudly as she could. After a couple of minutes she turned the door handle which was stuck because it was very stiff but she eventually jiggled it open. She crept into the room, and although the blinds were down and the lights were still off, she could just make out the outline of her father in bed. Quickly she walked over to the blinds and drew them open, turned around and screamed.

- - - - -

Sam had already gone through about fifteen newspapers looking for any sort of case. Over the last couple of days now there had been no signs of demonic or spirit activity, it just seemed to be... well... quiet all over. Sam put down the newspaper he was reading and began to pull out his laptop from his bag but stopped as Dean came out of the bathroom.

Dean strode over to his bed, water trickling down his body from his hair, towel wrapped low around his waist. "You can have the shower now Sam." Dean grabbed his jeans off his bed a slipped them on, after which he pulled out a black shirt from his duffel bag he kept under his bed.

Sam grabbed a towel from the pile near the bathroom door and his cloths and headed in. After stripping down, he hopped into the shower and turned the taps on full blast, placing his hands flat against the ceramic tiles allowing the water to stream along his back. Sam had been having nightmares in the last couple of days, waking up in the mornings drenched with sweat. Sam tried to ignore them but it was getting hard to do, and to make it worse Dean had noticed it to. Sam brushed his hand though his hair and let the hot water wash his troubles away.

After Sam had finished drying himself off he pulled on his jeans and a brown shirt. He closed the door behind him and sat down on his bed. Dean, who was sitting at table, was chewing on some toast and grabbed a newspaper from the never ending pile. "Did you read this newspaper?" Dean asked, flashing the paper towards Sam.

"No, I hadn't got to that one get." Sam tied up his shoes and sat down at small plastic table next to Dean, who began to read the front page article.

In Hayward yesterday morning the body of Steven Marshall (34) was discovered in his bedroom mutilated by his eight-year-old daughter Rebecca. Officials believe that he is the latest victim to a rash of brutal killings by a large animal and connections to the earlier deaths are being investigated. There were no signs of break-in or tampering with the property, however officers are urging citizens to stay indoors at night and to lock all doors and windows. If there anyone had information in regards to these killings please contact the number below.

"So what you think Sam? Could be dealing with a werewolf, the lunar cycle is just about right." Dean gave Sam the paper who immediately went over the article a couple of times reading word for word.

"Yeah maybe, the lunar cycle did kick in last night so it's possible," Sam grabbed some toast from the pile and began to eat.

"Okay then. That settles it. I'll start getting our stuff packed," Dean finished off his piece of toast and began to grab his and Sams' things together.

Sam finished off his own last bit of toast and went over to help pack up their stuff. "I'm so not gonna miss this place, it's as run down as that motel in Indiana when we fought that banshee." Sam finished packing all his gear back into his duffel bag and went outside to place it in the trunk of the Impala. Dean shortly followed lugging his gear behind him.

After a couple of minutes Dean headed to reception to give back the key and quickly headed back to the Impala, Sam was waiting inside the car head laid back against the back of the chair with his eyes closed. Dean slammed the driver seats door closed and started the engine which gave off the distinctive roaring sound.

"How far to Hayward Sam?" Dean asked, pulling out of the motel's parking lot and turning towards the highway.

"About six hundred miles." Sam said rubbing his eyes trying to get back to sleep.

"Geez you've been tired over the last couple of days." Dean pulled out an AC/DC tape from the cardboard box that he kept in the back seat. "Maybe this'll wake you up." Dean placed the cassette inside player and turned the music up, and to make it worse he started to sing along with it.

"Jerk!' Sam turned the music down and tried to get back to sleep but he was wide awake now. He gave up trying to sleep and pulled out his laptop to start researching local history.

After about ten minutes Sam closed his laptop and put it on the backseat cushion.

"So what have you got?" Dean asked. With the Impala on the open road he sped up a little.

"Well, there have been seven deaths in the last week in Hayward caused by mutilation, stabbings and so on. The one that stands out the most is the first victim, Alex Miller. He was found by his son in the middle of the night blood gushing out of his eyes and mouth."

"Well that changes things, think we could be dealing with some kind of vengeful spirit? Kinda like Bloody Mary or something?" Dean fiddled with the review mirror then turned him head towards Sam.

"Possibly, but from what I can tell the victims have no connection what-so-ever. And I've never heard of a garden variety spirit ripping someone's heart out. I just don't know."

Dean faced the road ahead of him. "Yeah, well just have to find out when we get there, nothing much we can do yet." Dean turned the music down for Sam and focused on the road ahead.

- - - - -

"Joshua you're not well… please get some sleep, you need to rest. The doctor wants you to get a good night sleep before the operation tomorrow." Amanda said, kissing her son. "I'll be back in an hour or so okay? I promise I'll come straight back," the mother left the room closing the glass door behind her.

Josh stared out at the rain hitting the window, it was pretty dark outside for this time of morning, and it was nearly ten. Joshua had never liked hospitals; they always gave him the creeps, even when he was a toddler. He had just turned thirteen yesterday and of course he had to be stupid and break his leg in multiple places, serious enough to get himself hospitalized. After about ten minutes he decided to catch up on the rest he hadn't got any last night. He lay back against the pillow and went into a deep sleep.

The nurse on guard of the pediatrics ward had just finished her rounds. The ward only consisted of five kids so it only took a couple of minutes. She sat down at her desk and started to update the patients' status. The lights on the ceiling suddenly began to flicker on an off, causing the room and corridor virtually pitch black. The computer screen went into a frenzy of motion, causing black and white pixels to appear.

"What the hell?" The nurse exclaimed, turning the screen off. Figuring it was faulty wiring, she picked up the phone to dial the number for maintenance but only got static. Great!" The nurse got up and grabbed the flashlight that she kept in the desks drawer. Slowly making her way down the pitch black corridor, she checked on each of the children fast asleep in their rooms. After checking on the kids she made her way back to reception.

"Excuse me miss?" A man tapped her on her shoulder. She turned around and pointed the flashlight beam towards the figure and screamed. The man's skin was as pale as moonlight, maggots crawling from his flesh, and bones poked out awkwardly from all over his body. The man pulled out a cutlass which was attached to a belt around his waist and drove it straight through the nurse's stomach and the vanished into thin air.

Joshua had this thing for pirates, loved anything and everything related to them. They excited his imagination and he always dreamt about them. But lately his dreams felt different… more controlled... more real… descending into nightmares. He had just had one then, he tried to wake up but it was as if something was trying to keep him asleep, forcing him to.

Josh finally awoke when he heard a faint noise coming from the corridor. "Is there anyone out there?' Josh lifted himself into the wheelchair that was next to the bed, carefully trying not to put any pressure onto his leg. He wheeled himself out to the hall just in time to see the nurse collapse onto the ground, pool of blood forming from what appeared to be a stab wound. Josh didn't know what to do, the nurse tried to speak but her mouth was filling with her blood. She reached out and grabbed his leg.

"Pirate." she said so quietly Josh didn't even know what she said before falling unconscious. Josh pushed the wheel chair as fast as he could to the reception counter and slammed down the emergency button.