Dreams are my Reality
A/N: I was thinking what to write for you and what fandom. I thought on Castle but I was certain I wouldn't be able to catch the uniqueness of them so I then thought "Hey, you're the one that liked the idea of this series and I haven't written in a year (since your last birthday) I decided to gift you one more installment.
Happy Birthday DeathDaisy. I love you honey, and I hope you have an amazing birthday
*blows kisses*
Part 1
Jeremy Gilbert yawned as he drained the last few drop of coffee from his cup. He had finished his reports for the day and he was eager to get out of the office, grab a pizza and a couple beers and watch the game.
It was against his better instincts but when the machine on his desk blinked with a message he pressed the button to play it instead of leaving it to wait till Monday morning.
"Hello Mr. Gilbert. My name is Caroline Berkeley. I need your help"
A pleasant, if harried voice said.
"My husband and I run a hotel on the outskirts of town. But our guests are being scared off by something. I think the place is... haunted"
Jeremy rolled his eyes. Ever since he listened to his grandfather's offer of helping him publish a debunking of a "haunted mansion" worthy of a Scooby Doo episode story that landed him his first writing job after college, his line was full of fearful, or worse hopeful, owners of possibly haunted places.
Still, despite it all, he grabbed a pen and a torn piece of paper from the floor to jolt down the information of that Caroline woman. He hadn't finished writing before the paper caught fire. Jeremy exhaled and grabbed his cell phone
"Hey babe. Wanna help a ghost with me this weekend?"
Bella Swan pulled outside the hotel in the address in Jeremy's text. There was a taxi parked in the driveway past the open gates so her taxi dropped her off behind that one and drove away. Pulling her duffel bag higher on her shoulder, she walked towards the half open double doors of the hotel
Passing by the parked taxi to enter the hotel and look at the bar for her cousin, a woman shot out and grabbed her hand.
"Don't go in there - this place is awful! M-my husband is still trapped inside! But I can't get back into the room. I don't know what to do. I wish we'd never come to stay here"
The woman cried. Automatically Bella took in the short blond bob, the pink jacket and the skinny light blue jeans. Without waiting for a response, the young woman folded herself back into the open backseat of the taxi and kept on weeping quietly.
"I can see why Jay believed there is a real ghost here"
Bella mused to herself and looked around, feeling eyes on her. Seeing no one she shook her head and stepped on the stone steps only to jump back immediately. A kerosene lamp that was left on the steps fell and the steps caught fire despite the fact that apart from some fallen leaves there was nothing to catch fire
"Whoa! There's definitely something strange going on here"
She said as the message "KEEP OUT" appeared in the flames. Turning back to the fire hydrant she pumped the lever a couple times till a slight stream of water began flowing off the attached hose and put the fire out. When the flames died, she tossed the hose back to the hydrant, it wouldn't be funny if someone (namely her) tripped on it and fell and finally entered the hotel.
The inside of the hotel was no more welcoming than the outside. The blood red color of the walls, the heavy wood and gold reception desk, the marble floors created a heavy and gloomy atmosphere.
A young brunette woman in a red blouse was behind the registering desk, a big fluffy white cat was sitting on it and Jeremy was busy flirting to notice her. The woman did though and stood straighter.
"Miss Swan? My name is Caroline Berkeley. Welcome to the Berkeley Hotel"
"Nice to meet you. Please call me Bella"
The two women shook hands and Jeremy stood straighter to hug his cousin.
"Thank you so much both for coming. Another guest just ran out complaining about a ghost. I didn't believe it at first... but I've seen him too. The activity is all coming from Room 13. Come upstairs and I'll show you"
As Caroline walked upstairs Bella and Jeremy followed her falling easily in step together.
"Remind me to show you something when we're alone"
Jeremy whispered to Bella who nodded and began ascending the grand, red velvet carpeted staircase. The antique decor trend bordered decay upstairs. The corridor was large with dirty heavy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling every few yards. The walls were covered in faded green wallpaper that was peeling in the corners and the hardwood floor was covered by paper thin carpets. Taking the corner to reach the problematic Room 13, Bella saw there was no chandelier and the wires were hanging bare.
"This place is certainly going bad"
She said quietly to her cousin who had quickened his step to reach Caroline. The brunette woman was shying away from the door marked 13 as thick smoke was coming out of it
"What the..."
"This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. Will you help me find a way to open the door?"
Caroline asked. Bella considered telling Jeremy to kick the door open but this place looked ready to crumble if the wind blew too hard. As if sensing her thoughts Jeremy searched through his messenger bag and pulled out a leather case with lock picking tools. At Caroline's raised brows he said simply as he picked the lock
"I lock myself out of my apartment often"
Pushing the door open Jeremy's eyes widened. In the middle of the room was a king sized bed, an unconscious man on it and a... being made of white smoke with what looked as a cow face was sitting also on the bed, seemingly watching static on the TV
"Do you see that too?"
Bella asked. Jeremy nodded. The smoke being evaporated and the man sat up exclaiming
"This is crazy! What kind of hotel is this?!"
Before running out of the room not even bothering to put on shoes. The cousins and Caroline stepped inside the suddenly clean and tidied room with the functioning television
"See? That ghost is going to put us out of business! Is there anything you can do?"
"We'll do what we can. But we'd like to spend the night in this room. It may help in figuring out what's happening"
Jeremy responded for both of them. Taking Bella's ID card Caroline left the room to book them in for the night
"This ghost only attacks people when they're asleep"
Jeremy began but his words died when his mouth cracked open in a yawn that would give him the role of the shark in Jaws easily
"So you go to bed and I'll keep watch"
Bella proposed. Jeremy nodded and sat on the bed to go though his own duffel bag. Bella explored the room. It was a typical hotel room, bathroom to the side, double bed, too big closet and a window facing the back yard. The TV had only one available station and the painting above the bed had the tendency to change its happy and sunny setting for one of thunder and gloom when touched.
"You said you had something to show me?"
She asked sitting on one of the two armchairs by the foot of the bed.
"Yeah, I found this photo of the guest who ran out of here under the cat's bulk downstairs"
"Why would someone have a photo of the guest?"
"Beats me"
"I ran a quick search on the ride over but didn't find anything interesting about this place. In fact I could find nothing at all apart from a listing at the yellow pages"
Jeremy popped another yawn
"Sleep Jay"
Bella commanded. Jeremy nodded and turned the lights off. When he reopened his eyes, Bella had dozed off at the armchair with her notebook in hand and he felt well rested. He stood to stretch when the room began shaking.
The floor cracked.
The window broke.
The TV cracked.
The cupboard in the corner opened and black smoke filled the room.
"Bella! Bella wake up"
Jeremy shouted. Bella didn't stir. He reached to shake her but his hands passed through her body as if she wasn't there. His attention was stolen by a bang of the cupboard that now bore chains and a large yellow cat eye on it
"This has got to be a dream"
Jeremy exclaimed and took in the changed room. Branches covered the ceiling, with terrified faces on them. A creepy porcelain doll was in the middle of the room. Mindful of his steps, there were holes on the floor; he walked to the window feeling the eye on the cupboard follow him. a shadowy figure in a black top hat appeared on the other side of the window. a long white finger traced letters on the frosted window
"DEAL"
Jeremy read.
"Creepy. No wonder all guests are getting scared off"
"TV"
Bella mumbled in her sleep.
"Bella?"
Jeremy walked to her and tried to touch her again. Again his hand flew through her body.
"TV"
She repeated
Jeremy turned to the set. It was no longer static but now had a picture. Caroline Berkeley with a blond man. The man was sat in a wheelchair. The room around them was a ruined looking attic and an armor was off to the side.
"Homey"
Then the image changed to another view. This one was a basement, equally cluttered. On the stairs leading to double doors similar to the front entrance stood a man in a suit and a black coat with the same black top hat as the man in the window. Then the TV shut off.
Jeremy stood back blinking. he felt as if he hadn't blinked in ages.
"Now what?"
He asked aloud and turned to look at the room again. The eye blinked. It opened wider. A blue light shone and Bella's voice shouted at him through the eye
"Wake up Jay! Wake up! Now!"
At once his eyes opened, again, and he was looking straight to Bella's.
"Bell"
"Are you okay?"
Jeremy nodded licking his lips. Then he realized he couldn't move.
"Why am I tied to the bed?"
"You were thrashing and screaming. I didn't want you to hurt yourself so I tied you"
"Thanks. Can you untie me though?"
Bella didn't respond. Looking around him he saw that he was in the grotesque room again and Bella was nowhere to be seen
"I'm sleeping and this is a dream. Good to know"
"Bella? Bella can you hear me?"
He called out standing up from the bed. A semi-transparent Caroline opened the door to scold him.
"Stop interfering! I have to save my husband"
"Caroline?"
Jeremy called but the woman paid him no mind and became more and more transparent until she disappear
"Why do I have the feeling I've been duped?"
He said out loud not really expecting and answer and not being upset he received none.
"I'll feel sorry about myself later. Now I need to find a way to wake up"
The antique phone set on the nightstand rang and Jeremy reached for it happy to see that he could touch it. A male, deep voice, coming from the grave would be an excellent description, spoke
"A deal is a deal... No matter the price"
It said and broke to kind of comedic, over the top, evil cackle.
"Nice talking to you too"
Jeremy responded and replaced the receiver. Sitting back on the bed something poked him. Under the pillow and next to the broken doll was an ornate gold key with a ruby stone
"That's the same key Caroline was wearing around her neck. Why is it here?"
Taking the key in his hand he saw that it was resting on top of another ID photo. This one depicted the dark haired man that was sleeping in the room
"First the blonde woman and now the dark haired man. I'm getting cabin fever in here"
Jeremy put both photos and the key in his jeans pocket, slung his messenger bag across his body and left the room.
The halls and the foyer was even more grotesque than the bedroom with nails protruding off the walls, faces hanging on the walls, bats hanging from the ceiling
"All it misses is Michael Jackson singing 'Thriller'"
Standing behind the counter Jeremy saw a cork table on the self below the counter. A series of photo ID's were there. Behind each one was a name and a date. Going through the log book Jeremy saw that each photograph belonged to a person that stayed in Room 13 over the past 13 months. The only names in the log book without corresponding photo IDs were his and Bella's.
Running a hand through his hair Jeremy stepped out of the reception desk
"Summary: For the past 13 months people book Room 13 but leave in the middle of the night claiming there is a ghost unsettling their sleep. Caroline Barkeley calls me to debunk it and I manage to find myself in the ghost's trap. If it was any other time where I wasn't dreaming I'd begin looking for clues. Then again usually Bella would be with me or just a phone call away but anyway. I need to find a story here and stories usually include pictures"
The only painting he had seen so far, at least in the real world, was in the upstairs hallway. Hoping it'd still be there Jeremy climbed the stairs back up. On the corner was still a frame with monster people but people nonetheless. Using his sweater sleeve Jeremy cleared the painting of cobwebs.
Monster woman with long dark hair, monster man with dark hair, demonic infant in mom's arms. The setting was a library taken straight out from a scary flick.
"Could be Caroline and her husband. She didn't say anything about having a child though"
Deciding to search other rooms Jeremy walked down the hallway with the picked the first door he saw. Room 16. If the corridors made any sense, Room 16 was sharing a wall with Room 13. Jeremy pushed the door open. This room was far more luxurious than Room 13.
Despite it being grotesque it looked as if it was set up for Halloween instead of nightmarish. Against a corner was a baby grand piano with a fishbowl and a little skeleton fish on it, a bed that looked like it could sleep four people covered in black lace and had a semi transparent blond man in a wheelchair looking out the window
"He's the man in the image on the TV"
"I can hear you, you know young man"
The man called causing Jeremy to blush at being caught
"I'm so sorry sir. I'm Jeremy Gilbert and you are?"
"Oh, you must be the reporter. I'm Caroline's husband, Sam. We inherited this place from my father and turned it into a hotel. I almost wish we hadn't... I've been getting sicker and sicker ever since. Why are you in my room? Don't you know it's rude to enter a gentleman's dream without knocking?"
"I'm sorry to -"
"However I shall forgive you. I am worried about my wife you see. I think she's in danger and this bed is very uncomfortable. Will you close the door behind you when you leaver?"
"I will do my very best"
Jeremy muttered feeling a headache form behind his right eye. Seeing another painting hanging above the baby grant Jeremy walked closer. The same dark haired monsters plus a devil in a black top hat. They were standing in front of the entrance doors with the Devil in the top hat chasing them and the monster man pushing the doors closed on the devil in the hat. On a hook next to the painting was a locket pendant and when Jeremy pried it open he saw the same monster couple sans baby
A hissing noise had him ran down the stairs. The cupboard used to hang keys t the rooms behind the reception was fallen to the side and a hole was in the wall now.
"I don't even need a white rabbit to follow"
Jeremy mused and entered the hole. The new room was dark, cavernous, had steps down he didn't see and Jeremy landed on his rear. A face made out of Lego bricks greeted him
"Stay out of this! You don't know what you're dealing with!"
"Bugger off"
Jeremy replied and sat on the steps rubbing the back of his right thigh as he said the theory he had come up with out loud.
"So whoever the devil in the hat is, he made a deal with the monster couple with the baby, they ran away, left him here and now that Caroline and her husband inherited the place, they got the ghost as a packaged deal. The baby was probably Caroline's husband. So we have a run of the mill sold soul"
The theory sounded legit to him but there was only way he knew to make sure. Find the devil ghost in the top hat and let him know that, unless you were Raymond Reddington, hats were off season.
The room he was in only had a big boiler and an archway that led to the same basement from the second TV image. Caroline's semi transparent form was wrapped in black ghost goo and suspended in mid air
"Thank god you found me Jeremy! Hurry up! We can get rid of the ghost if we open that door. Use my key!"
The suspended woman urged him. Jeremy pulled the key from his bag and hurried up the door across the room resting on a short stairwell similar to the one he had bruised his thigh on. There was something bugging him about this scene but he couldn't place it.
The moment the key with the ruby stone touched the key lock black smoke appeared and the same voice as before warned him off again
"NO! You're making a big mistake. Don't open this door"
The spirit appeared again, still covered in white mist and with the cow mask on standing guard in front of the door.
"The locket!"
Jeremy remembered. He rummaged through his bag for it and opened it to show the ghost
"This is you, isn't it?"
Jeremy asked
"This IS me! Did I... have a family? I can't remember. Why can't I remember?"
The ghost mused, his cow mask disappearing in favor of the monster face of the paintings. A movement from the corner of his eye had him turning to look at a suddenly freed Caroline
"Are you alright Caroline?"
He asked. A zapping noise and a wave of pain hit Jeremy
"Caroline? What are you doing?"
He asked as darkness welcomed him once again.
"You shouldn't have brought her with you. I only needed one more nightmare to fuel the last key, you're ruining my plans! Sam will be cured very soon!"
Caroline said casually.
A/N: This'd be humongous if it was one part, so skip along to part 2 :D