Chapter Eight: Fade out

"I need to kill myself."

Saying that Reina frantically looked everywhere, searching –

"Hey, Hey, Hey, Calm down. Calm down, okay?"

"How can I? How can I trust you?" She fought against his hands, as his grip tightened over her shaking body. "Give me a knife, Dean."

"No, are you crazy? This is real, very, real."

"No – this is a mistake. Mary came back, not Bobby. I saw what happens ahead, and I wished Bobby came back instead of Mary, and that's exactly what happened. I wished British Men of Letters never came to America, and that's what happened. I wished that stupid Lady Bevell never got her hands on Sammy – this is my dream of what happened next, and I'm trapped in a hallucination. Let me out, Dean!" She writhed to get out of Dean's grip, trying to spot a weapon on him.

All the noise brought Sam and Bobby out, just as Reina slipped out of Dean's grip, and backed away from him.

"What's going on?" Sam came to stand near his brother, suddenly confused about the whole scene. Bobby looked at the girl. She looked frightened out of her wits. "What's the matter?"

Reina stood leaning her back against the wall, looking like a cornered animal. "She thinks this is a hallucination. Her Djinn's world." Dean told them. "She wants to kill herself to get out of it."

"Hey, No, this is – Ren-Rae-na," Sam, walked cautiously towards her, his hands out in a placating gesture. "I know you don't believe us, but take a few moments to think, okay? This is real. If it was Djinn's world, wouldn't your parents be alive?"

She didn't seem to hear Sam at first, but a fresh wave of horror broke over her face, and she sank to the floor. "No, no –

"And if you were in a Djinn's world, you'd have an occasional glimpse of the real world, that feels like an illusion in this world. Like the images of the place where you're tied up." Dean supplied. "Plus, your world doesn't even have monsters, remember?"

She seemed to listen to them, but she didn't react. After a couple of breaths, she looked at them, and her shaking finally stopped. "You know – I have arguments against that all. My parents not being alive, is just another flaw in Djinn's hallucination, that helps me break through it. I may be too high with his venom to see the real world. There is no way to confirm it, except for dying." She smiled, so calmly, so opposite of her outburst just now - it scared Dean.

"You know we can't let you kill yourself." Bobby walked over.

"Of course, you wouldn't. You wouldn't want me to leave the hallucination." She smiled that creepy smile again.

"I can." Dean suddenly said.

"What?" Sam and Bobby both turned towards Dean. "What are you thinking?"

"I could injure her enough to let her see – if she bleeds enough here, and if this was a hallucination, she should be able to see the real world, wake up for a few seconds." Dean shrugged.

"But Dean – it's NOT a hallucination." Sam pointed out. "How do you plan on – Oh, Cas."

"Yup, he can heal her." Dean pulled out a knife and walked to her. "Let me do it, Dean." She put out her hand for the knife. "I'll just cut my arm."

And Dean looked into her face, and even as he placed the knife in her hands, he felt strange about how he just listened to her. And before he could react or regret it, she had stabbed herself in the stomach.

"No!"

Dean watched her fall down on her front, as he fell to the floor, catching her. "What did you do!" He placed his hands around the wound. "Sammy!"

Her vision blurred, as Dean set her down against the wall, his hands on her stomach. He'd pulled out the knife and held the wound closed in his hand. The last thing she saw was Sam running towards her, as one by one her sense faded.

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Reina was staring at a wall. It looked familiar; like she'd seen it a thousand times, in passing by it, or - like a picture, maybe? She knew she had seen it before.

She shook her head, frustrated at the lack of her memory's response. Where was this? Where was – where was SHE?

She turned her head around, and like a video game's environment folding out of darkness, a corridor materialized around her. The long corridor with white lights with grates over them stood silent. And then suddenly –

"At least the bleeding's stopped." She heard a voice - a familiar voice. Again, irritated that her memory wouldn't tell her who it was, she decided to follow the voice to see for herself.

She walked towards the sound of speaking, not realizing that her feet made no sound on the floor whatsoever. She didn't even notice she was barefoot.

"Her pulse, it's there, but it's very weak, Sam. We need to take her to a hospital." A male voice spoke. "I know, Dean, but we have to patch the wound to keep her stable enough." A voice, apparently some 'Sam' replied. The first voice must belong to someone named Dean.

"Get the Car ready, Dean. We'll meet you there." Another voice, a little gruffer, older.

She walked faster now and could hear them move in a room a few steps away. As she neared it, a tall man, with dark-blondish hair and a brown jacket stepped out and walked towards her in a hurry.

"Hey, excuse me," she raised her hand. He stood at the door, rummaging through his pockets. He looked really familiar – she knew this guy – but – Ugh, damn memory, what was wrong with her? "Hello!" she shouted as the guy found keys in his jacket pocket, and started to rush past her. "Hey!" He just walked right past her, as if he didn't even see her.

"Never mind. He must be in a hurry. Someone is bleeding in there, they said." She shrugged and began to walk towards the room. Just then the door opened, and an older man, shorter than the first guy, with a cap and beard and a steady, steel look in his eyes stepped out, holding the door open, and an even taller man emerged, carrying someone in their hands. It looked like a girl – Reina felt drawn towards her, pulled toward her. As the men paused at the door, she reached near them and raised herself on her toes to peek at the face of the girl in the man's arms.

And she looked right into her own face.