Work Text:
Bad Dreams
The sound of crunching leaves echoed throughout the leggy forest. Norman was thankful that the alien-like trees where bulky enough to hide behind. Every ten seconds he looked back to check on the demons. The long arms reaching out to him was the first thing he’d see. No matter how many twists and turns he made, the ravenous demons found a way to catch up. All at once, one of the demons jumped in front of him. Now surrounded with no weapons to defend himself, he froze. Before given the chance to react, they lashed out and everything turned dark.
Norman awoke startled. He wiped the sweat on his forehead and got up from his bed. Thank god . It was only a dream. He wondered how long he’d been sleeping. These days he couldn’t even get a decent amount of sleep. Working hard with the plan to annihilate the demons was sure to bring terrible nightmares. While casually scanning the room to take his mind off of the nightmare that occurred, he found it filled with beds. The covers and pillows all disorganized, almost like they’d been slept on. This room felt all too familiar to him. He looked down to see that he was back in the clothes he wore when he was living at Grace Field House. Running to the nearest mirror, he found that he was back to his younger self. He brought his hands to his face to reassure that what was happening was real. It truly was him. Trying desperately to recall the last thing he had done, he remembered that he finished talking to Emma and Ray about his plan for the future.
Emma. How I’ve missed you. Despite how much you’ve grown, you’re still the same. You still believe in everyone even if they don’t believe in you. That’s what I–
As he stopped himself from reminiscing any longer, he started investigating the place that once felt like home. He opened the door to the room he was in to find laughter and chatter running around the halls. He stopped in his tracks as he saw the womanly figure at the end of the hallway
“M–mama?” Norman stood wide-eyed, wondering what she’d do next.
“Good morning, Norman. If you don’t hurry now, your breakfast will get cold.” She smiled as she held Phil’s hand and walked to the dining room. Phil turned back to wave at Norman with a bright smile on his face. Norman’s heart ached as he felt a dissonance in his heart. Would Mama send him back through the gates? Would she punish him for playing a part in their escape? He wanted to believe everything was okay, but things just didn’t add up. Was this another dream or did he imagine the events that took place after he was shipped off?
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Norman made his way down the stairs, each step bringing agony to his confused heart. The voices and laughter grew louder as Norman reached the corner of the corridor. He opened the door to the dining room and was greeted by all the younger children who looked up to Norman.
“Norman! You’re awake!” said Conny, clutching onto her stuffed bunny. Conny. Norman looked down to find the smiling sweetheart.
“Norman.” A voice behind him called. A voice well known by Norman. He turned to find the orange-haired girl awaiting his attention.
“Emma.” Norman sighed as he reached out to embrace her. The smell of vanilla permeated through his nose. That sweet smell he always adored was finally at his hands, but he wondered if his sacrifice was for naught. They were all back to the place where it all began and yet the nightmare continued. He squeezed Emma until she signaled to him that she could no longer breathe. He pulled his face close to her ear, the warmth from her ear radiated towards his lips.
“What’s going on?” His voiced shivered. Scanning the room, he kept watch to see if Mama stared their way. “Why are you guys still here?” Emma giggled as if Norman had tickled her.
“What do you mean, silly? Why would we ever leave?” The brightness in her smile contrasted the dull stare piercing through Norman. Was she even real? The various shades of orange in her hair seemed real. The smell of thick oak and sweet pancakes seemed real. Even the kids chattering and dancing around the table in glee seemed real, so why did he feel this way he thought. Emma gave her signature smile and retreated to the table. Without any luck, Norman made his way to find Ray sitting apart from the group reading the books he’d already read twice over.
“Ray, what happened?” Norman’s voice demanded answers. “Did you guys go through with the plan?” Ray looked up from his book with a confused demeanor.
“What plan?” His voice played through Norman’s ears like a monotonous tune. Norman sighed in defeat.
“The one of us escaping this...awful place we call home.”
“Awful? You sure you aren’t going crazy?” Ray said, smirking.
“N-no, I’m not!” He slammed his hands against the table. The room suddenly fell silent. Norman cowered into his seat.
“Calm down, Norman. It was only a joke.” Ray nervously laughed. He went back to reading the dull red colored book. Norman watched Ray as the sound of the crisp pages turned every now and then.
“The books…” Norman whispered. “The books!” Norman reached over to Ray and snatched it from his grasp.
“Hey!” Ray protested. Norman ignored his reaction and rapidly flipped the pages. The inner corner of the cover remained bare. All that remained was the coffee-stained edge. Norman reached out and opened the rest of the books that Ray had. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Each book revealed the absence of Minerva’s hope.
Norman slumped onto the nearest bench and placed his head between his knees. It was becoming increasingly difficult to wrap his head around the situation he was in. As Norman was stuck in his pensive state, Mama walked into the room.
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“Everyone, I have a special announcement to make. Conny has been adopted and will be leaving tomorrow morning.” The entire room filled with cheers and sobs as they made their way over to congratulate her. Norman shut his eyes and held his hands against his ears. The laughter was almost intoxicating.
“You can’t!” Norman yelled. All eyes turned to Norman who pleaded to keep Conny safe. The laughter had subsided, the bodies all grew still. Norman ran out of the room to find solitude. I don’t understand. What is happening? Why has everyone forgotten everything? Tears welled in the corner of his eyes only to fall as he fell onto his bed. The room felt like a safe haven. The chattering seemed to be so far away that it turned into white noise. The sunrays that fell onto Norman relaxed him. Memories of Emma basking in the sunlight popped into his mind. He’d watch her as they laid under the trees outside of the house. The wind swaying her sun-colored poppy hair exposing the rosy cheeks that accompanied her adoring smile. How he yearned to caress her warm face. The memory faded as the door to the room clicked. Norman shot up to find an orange strand peeking out from the crack of the door.
“Emma.” The breath being taken out of him. She always knew when to appear. Especially if it was related to someone in distress.
“Are you alright? Everyone is so worried.” She said. Her petite hand landed on his slumped shoulders.
“I feel like I’m going crazy…” His voice trembling. Hoping to receive comfort, he was met with Emma’s newfound deadpan responses. Norman grew restless as he realized that he wasn’t going to get the response he craved. “Emma, please. Wake up!” Norman shook Emma, hoping it would knock some sense into her, but it only made her fearful.
“Norman, stop! Let me go!” Emma escaped Norman’s grasp and slammed the door on her way out. Norman chased after Emma, only to be met with a dark figure. Norman was inevitably left to collide with this figure. His forehead grew in agony as he backed away. Lifting his head he found Mama standing still with an uneasy smile on her face.
“Norman, what’s wrong?” She said standing still. He pushed her out of the way and ran toward the library. Passing the corner of the hall, Norman heard whispers and felt the ground shaking slightly. He couldn’t dare turn back, but his curious heart ached for him to look back.
“Come back, Norman.” The voices of his brothers and sisters overlapping felt like daggers to his healing heart. Norman’s breath deepened as he continued running. The voices grew louder and louder, reaching out towards Norman. Then, disappeared. Norman felt this change in the air. Where had all the children gone? The library was almost in Norman’s reach though he froze. Why was it so quiet, he thought. Swallowing the small amount of saliva that stayed in his mouth, he turned slowly only to find Mama waiting for him at the end of the hall.
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“Nor...man.” She called in the most frightening song-tune. Every step she took seemed to shake the very ground he stood on. His heart fell silent and seemed to stay in tempo with Mama’s metronomic stomps. “Be a good dear and come back. We miss you…” Norman’s heart crescendoed into a cacophony of warning sounds. Without a moment of hesitation, he sprinted towards the study. The locked doors created a moment of peacefulness before it was flooded with the children’s bodies. One by one, the children slammed into each other, piling up in desperation to reach Norman. Norman reached the end of the room, his back pressed against the bookshelf. He curled up and shut his eyes. The screams and laughter were too much to bare that Norman slammed his hands against his ears to tune them out. To no avail, the sinister laughter crept through. It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real. Norman’s thoughts screamed in his mind. The sound grew piercing to the point that it habituated. No laughter. No screams. Everything went still.
Norman’s eyes felt heavy as he tried opening them. The light blinded his vision as everything came into focus. One thing that bothered Norman was the increasing aversive odor . The bleached stench grew to be overwhelming. Normans eyes darted around the room as he struggled to free himself. The straps around his wrist burned with every twist he made. Hyperventilating, he seemed unable to soothe himself down. Emma. Ray. Gilda. Don. Their mouths along with their eyes remained open as the crimson bouquet of alien flowers laid within their chest. The scene was almost too horrendously beautiful.
A young demon entered the room making his way to the deceased children. The ropes which once held them down had been removed, revealing bruises on all of the children’s wrists. Suddenly, as if there was still life in Emma’s body, she slumped over. Her bloodshot eyes staring back at Norman was too excruciatingly painful for him to continue looking. The demon picked up the lifeless bodies and dumped them outside of the room. Norman twitched and the demon turned towards him.
“Lord Geelan isn’t so happy with you, Minerva.” The demon giggled, prancing around. All Norman could do was struggle against the restraints. The demon made his way to Norman.
“He knows.” The demon whispered. “He knows of your plan. The plan you think is correct. The plan you think will save you from that fear. The fear that lurks inside you.” The demon cackled. In the small lab room the demon continuously laughed until he couldn’t breathe. Norman was covered in tears still struggling to be freed. The door to the room opened and in popped a younger version of Emma. She was visibly nervous, but gave her signature smile when she saw Norman.
“Oh, there you are!” The demon said. He pranced his way to the young Emma and held her hand. “Come closer! Come closer!” Norman was trying to talk to the demon, but the rag muffled his pleas.
“What? I can’t hear you.” The demon said with a devilish smirk. Norman continued his protest and had the demon cave in. The demon approached Norman and removed the rag. Norman felt a sense of relief as the gag was removed.
“Please...Don’t hurt her.” Norman pleaded with all his might. The demon just stood there, still, a sinister grin plastered on his face. Young Emma saw Norman’s distress and wanted to help. She let go of the demon and began making her way to Norman. The demon quickly snatched her back up.
“Not so fast, little one.”
“Hey, stop. Norman!” Young Emma cried out as she tried reaching out to Norman.
“Emma!”
“I’m sure this one will make a fine prize for Lord Geelan.” The demon said before leaving the room.
“Emma!” Norman yelled out once more. “EMMA!” Norman yelled as he jolted awake. He sat at his desk breathing heavily. Sweat dripped from his face. Norman wiped his forehead and rested his face into his hands. At this point he became unsure if he should continue with his plans or listen to Emma and Ray. He couldn’t bear the thought of having Emma see him so weak.