Dark Dreams

Author's Note: I do not own anything. All Characters belong Kripke. This takes place pre-series. Dean is 16, Sam is 12. When you see 'This' That is a characters inner thoughts. All that is "This" is the spirit. No the lore may not be correct but, this is my interpretation of it.

Chapter 8: After effects

John was watching over his sons as they were sleeping. Both were exhausted from this hunt. Sam more emotionally than physically. He had to watch as his brother his brother was laying there for hours without any movement. Hell he was barely breathing at one point. Sam had never seen Dean so weak, so fragile. John wasn't sure if he had ever seen him like that as well. Every time he thought of Dean he thought of the strong soldier he had raised. Someone he had come to rely on for strength.

Dean could hear a voice, a woman's voice if he had to guess. She was whispering something. Whatever it was, she just kept saying it over and over again. At least, that is what it sounded like to him. Dean opened his eyes and could see the motel room they had been staying in. He could see his father with the video camera in front of him, studying each frame and detail on the spirit's face. He looked to the side and saw Bobby and Ellen looking over photograph's they had gotten made from their cameras. They had the laptop open to do research on their mystery spirit. Dean couldn't see Pastor Jim and figured he must be sleeping or went out for necessities. Sammy was still curled up next to him and sound asleep. The voices whisper had picked up in volume and speed. 'What was she saying?'. Dean wondered as he tried to focus in on her voice. His eyes widened when he made out the whispers. "My Dean".

John was watching Dean a little closer than usual tonight. Hell his son had nearly died a few hours ago. He needed that reassurance that he was there, that he was alive. He watched as Dean started to slightly toss and turn in his sleep. He looked as if he was having a nightmare. 'I hope not'.

Dean was listening as her voice rose in volume again. Now he was positive that she was saying "My Dean". He looked around at the others sitting in the room. "Dad, you hear that?". Dean said as he sat up. His father didn't even register his presence. "Dad". Dean yelled. Her voice was rising again. It sounded like she was shouting in his head. "Bobby, Ellen do you hear that?". Dean asked them, he was yelling slightly. 'I can't even hear myself think over this thing'. Dean was holding his head. No one seemed to register him. No one answered him either. Dean had both hands over his ears, trying to drown out the yelling. His eyes were closed as the voice rang through his head, causing shooting pains in his head. It was like a migraine, on top of a migraine and brain freeze. Dean opened his eyes to see if the others had heard anything or saw his reaction. What he was not expecting was to see the Woman in Black, inches away from his face. "Son of a bitch" Dean yelled as he fell back on the bed. "They can't help you, not in here". She said as she started to raise her hand to his chest. She was going for the hand print again. She was going to finish what she had started.

John watched as Dean was groaning in pain, tossing and turning. Sammy woke up when he felt all the movement. "Dean, you ok". Sam tried to shake him awake. Sam's hand made contact with Dean's shoulder and he retracted it as soon as he had. Dean was freezing. "Dad, something's wrong". The others sprung into action at Sam's words. "Dean, hey kiddo. Open your eyes". John was shaking Dean's shoulders. Hoping that a little more force would rouse him. All he was met with was more thrashing from Dean. Then Dean's head tilted back and let out a blood curdling scream.

Dean could feel the burning happening again. He tried to call out to anybody, trying to get someone to help him. He needed someone to make this stop. "This will all be over with if you stop fighting me". She said as she placed her hand on the print on his chest. Dean screamed as the burning increased. A cold feeling started to spread through him. He was beginning to shiver and his breathing was becoming more labored. "No" Dean yelled at her. He remembered his promise to Sam. He wasn't going to break the kid's heart twice in one day. "Leave me alone, bitch". Dean yelled as he placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed. To his surprise he could actually feel her, she was solid.

John had tears in his eyes as he listened to his son scream. Not just in pain but also in terror. Then Dean started screaming out their names. Begging for help, for a savior. "What the hell is happening Bobby?". John asked as he held onto his son. "Give me a minute". Bobby said, not relieving any of the tension. Bobby was rummaging through all the lore. 'I know there was something, there has to be something'. Bobby had found the page he was looking for. "There's a psychic connection she forms when she lays claim. To break it you have to lay a protection charm on the child and a ring of salt". Ellen was running to get the rock salt that they were carrying for the burning of the bones. John laid Dean down on the motel room floor. Ellen started doing the ring of salt while Bobby placed a protection charm on a chain and placed it around Dean's neck.

Dean was surprised at the speed that she used to come back at him. She put her hand against his chest and the burning cold feeling returned. Dean was screaming for his family to help him. No one was answering, no one was moving. She suddenly vanished and Dean was left breathless, in pain and motionless. "Dean?". He heard his name by a familiar voice. "Dad?".

Dean sat upright at an alarming speed. He was sweaty and panting. It looked and sounded like he just ran a marathon. "Hey, easy there kiddo". John said as he quickly shook off the shock and reached out for his son. Dean felt the arms grab him and for a moment he could only think of her, the woman in black coming for him. He jumped and tried to fight the arms off. "Leave me alone, get off of me". He yelled as he tried to stop the hands from grabbing him again. There was another set that had joined in and Dean was confused for a moment. 'There are two of her?'. He wondered.

John was not expecting such a wake up from Dean. He was like a piece of toast. He just suddenly popped up. John shook the shock off quickly. "Dean". He was trying to comfort and support his son who was currently fighting him. He was happy to see the fight back in Dean. He was glad that Dean was not going to go easily. Bobby jumped in on the other side. He didn't want Dean to hurt himself. What little energy Dean had left was gone as quickly as it came. Dean slumped against his father's chest. "It's ok kiddo. You're safe, we gotcha". John said as softly as he could.

Dean could hear his father's voice. He couldn't hear it before in, where ever he was. He was confused. What had happened, why had no one helped him? Did no one see him fighting her, fighting for his life?. "Dad?". Dean asked as the fog lifted. "What happened?". John kept hold of his son and he rubbed his hands up and down Dean's arms. Trying to put some warmth back into him. "Psychic link Dean. I am so sorry, I should have checked. I should have made sure you were safe". John said as he kissed the top of his son's head and pulled him closer. Dean was motionless and silent for a moment before realizing what he meant. "It was a dream?". He looked to his father. John's heart broke as he saw the terror in his sons eyes. The look of betrayal that was there too. Something in there made him think that they had abandoned him or had sat by and watched this happen. He held his son closer as he didn't hold back his tears.

John had asked about the dream. About what had happened in there. Dean was silent for a moment. The dream was already fading but, the panic he had felt through out it was lingering. Dean was horrified to see his hands shaking. He needed to get over this and past it as soon as possible. When you are weak and your defenses are down, the supernatural world can make their move. They were stronger when you were at your weakest. Dean pinched the bridge of his nose and let his head drop slightly. "You don't have to talk about it now son, it can wait". Bobby said as he eyed John for a moment. "No, it can't actually". Dean said as he sat up and settled by the headboard. "Some of it is already foggy. I guessing it will fade soon. So I better get it out there while I have a chance". Dean smiled slightly and settled into his dream.

They were silent through Dean's reenactment of his dream. It had faded more but the main thing they picked up on was the fact that she had portrayed them as idly sitting by and not trying to stop her from taking Dean. To listen to him say he had screamed for them, begged them for help and got no acknowledgement or help was heart breaking. He was hurt by those actions, whether or not it was really them. It was traumatizing to see it play out like that. Being cornered and alone with an evil spirit that was trying to kill you would scare the pants off anyone. Hell Bobby shook just hearing about it.

Dean was sitting up by the table for a little while. He was afraid to lay down and sleep. He had had enough of her for one night. He was looking through the pictures they printed out of women who fit the profile to be their woman in black. All they had to go on were some facial features. The pictures and video were not as clear as they had hoped. Mostly due to the fact that she created feedback and distortion. She also drained some of the battery from the video camera and it had stopped filming. Dean decided to help with the process of elimination. Since he was the one who saw her face up close and had a better chance of finding the right one.

Dean was going through the pictures one at a time. They were starting to blend into each other. They all looked so alike and nothing was standing out so far. They had to include women from the 1800-1900's. 'This is going to take forever'. Dean thought as he ran his hand down his face and over his eyes. He was exhausted already, all he had done was sit up and look at pictures. 'Maybe that is part of her M.O. She makes you tired so she can get you in your sleep. No interruptions or distractions. Well except his family'. They had found all the lore and were ready for all of her tricks. He was trusting them with his whole life. He was depending on them to protect him and break any of her spells. Dean continued to look at the pictures. He really wanted to find her and be done with this already. He was tired and cranky. He knew he wasn't as useful as he usually is on a hunt but, he can still help in the research area. He glanced as Sammy who was sitting on the bed doing his homework. Here it was 5:00 in the morning, on a hunt, spirit trying to kill him and Sammy is doing his homework. Kid didn't know to take a break from homework or studying. Sam looked up and noticed Dean looking his way. "What?". He asked as he saw the look Dean was giving him. He had one eyebrow raised and a small half smile. "Dude, seriously? It is 5 in the morning". Sam shook his head. "What would you like for me to do?". Dean smiled and looked away. "Take a break dude. We had a busy day yesterday. How was your time with dad?". Dean sat up straighter hoping for good news. "It was actually fun. He surprised me with clothes. Like he actually knew my sizes and my likes". Sam was beaming. Dean was smiling as well. He had wanted good news and had gotten it. "Good. I'm glad you guys got along. What about when I had my beauty sleep after the spirit?". Sam looked back at his books for a moment. "While I wanted to yell at him and accuse him if being negligent, I knew that you asked to be bait. He couldn't have known the extent of her power also. I don't think many of us have actually dealt with a Woman in Black". Dean nodded. "I'm just glad that everyone kept their cool and handled it as good as can be expected".

Dean was looking at the pictures that were more in the late 1800's. He stared at one picture in particular for a little longer. "This is her, the Woman in Black. This is her". Dean said as he stood and brought the picture over to the others. "Are you sure?" John asked. Dean nodded "Yeah, I recognize her face. In my dream there was a moment when I saw her face clearly. This is what I saw". John stood and patted his son on the back. "Good work Dean. Let's go kill this son of a bitch". "There is just one problem" Bobby said as he took the paper. "It says here she was cremated".