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Sam was tossing and turning in his bed, the sheets wet with cold sweat tangled about his legs. He woke with a start, shivering, and found himself crying out. Embarrassed, Sam looked at the bed next to him, at Dean, hoping his brother hadn’t been aware of his nightmare.
Dean wasn’t there.
“Dean?” Sam asked, terrified to even speak, feeling that whatever had haunted his nightmare was out there with him. That it was going to get him.
No answer.
“Dean!”
Maybe he was in the bathroom. But Sam knew that thought was a brittle attempt at rationalization. Something was wrong. He was in darkness.
Suddenly, there was a cold breath by his ear, and he jumped.
Don’t know what to expect
My mind is racing, I can barely feel my breath
Like a dream I can’t escape
I wanna run but I’m still here when I’m awake
“Hello?” Sam asked, getting out of the bed. His sweaty t-shirt clung to him, and he suddenly felt too vulnerable in it.
A hand—a man’s hand—grabbed his face, and Sam gasped. He gasped so hard he almost choked, and he saw two red eyes in the darkness, peering at him. Close. So close.
Lightning flashed, and he saw a cage, saw a man standing before him, and he looked like himself.
God, help me.
In a pitch black world anything goes
No telling where the wind will blow
In a pitch black world anything goes
Lightning flashed again, and Sam stood before a broken mirror.
But that wasn’t him. The eyes were red, as red as sin, and somehow, he was inside that sin. His body moved and he had no control over it.
Blood. There was blood on his hands and he was licking it from his fingers.
“No. No, this can’t be real,” Sam said. His lips never moved.
A cruel laugh sounded in his head, and ice crackled over the mirror. Sam was swallowed in it.
In the dead of night strange things happen
In the dead of night the world goes cold
When the lights go out all around, whispers fill the air
In the dead of night better hold on tight
“Sammy,” a voice crooned. “Saaammy.”
“Sorry if it’s a bit chilly. Most people think I burn hot. It’s actually quite the opposite.”
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long, long time.”
“...we’re two halves made whole. M.F.E.O. Literally.”
“I’m your real family.”
You can shout or you can scream
But it won’t save you from the midnight trickery
When the daylight disappears
You’ll find no shelter in this tangled web of fear
Sam was backing up against the wall as the voices surrounded him. His and someone else’s. There was wetness running down his jaw, the sides of his neck, and, panicking, trying not to scream, he felt at his ears.
They were bleeding.
There was something hot running down his face. Tears?
More blood.
Lightning. Sam screamed, falling to the floor.
The thing in the mirror that was him but not him wiped at the blood on his face and laughed.
In a pitch black world anything goes
No telling where the wind will blow
In a pitch black world anything goes
A light shone upon him, and it went into him, into his mouth.
Through that light he could make out his surroundings. A church.
All the crosses were upside down and the angels were weeping. Crimson streaks on polished marble.
“You will say yes to me.”
The light filled him.
In the dead of night strange things happen
In the dead of night the world goes cold
When the lights go out all around, whispers fill the air
In the dead of night better hold on tight
Sam started clawing at his arms, trying to get the light out of him—light that was as cold as the darkness between stars.
Lips pressed against his.
Better hold on tight
Sam screamed.
In the dead of night
The darkness took his mind, and he couldn’t move. Couldn’t move as those lips assaulted his, as hands began to feel him, like they owned him. All of him.
Come take a breath
Don’t close your eyes
Don’t say another word
Don’t let the darkness find you
Red eyes stared at him, and Sam couldn’t look away.
“Who are you?” he asked once the searing cold lips broke away from his. He was left trembling in the dark of the night.
Alone?
No.
Never alone. Not here.
Holding still, don’t break inside
Don’t say another word
Don’t let the darkness find you
Sam had to hide. He had to hide, had to hide. But where? Dark surrounded him, and he felt it in him, in his very heart. If he could just open up his chest and rip it out—
What was happening to him?
“Hail, Mary, full of grace…” The words fell from cold-numbed lips in a panicked rush.
“I want to give you a gift.”
“...the lord is with thee.”
“I want to give you everything.”
“Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of they womb, Jesus.”
“You’re the one, Sam.”
In the dead of night strange things happen
In the dead of night the world goes cold
When the lights go out all around, whispers fill the air
In the dead of night better hold on tight
“Holy Mary, Mother of God…”
“I’m an angel.”
“...pray for us sinners…”
Better hold on tight
Sam was naked, blood on his lips, on his body. In him, but not his blood. Tainted. Unclean.
“...now and at the hour of our death…”
In the dead of night
Hands—his own hands—grabbed his face. Sam tried to pull away, but there was bruising strength there.
This was not him.
Yet… it was.
A sinner. I’m a sinner.
“Pray for us,” he gasped. "Pray for us..."
“It had to be you, Sam. It always had to be you.”
Better hold on tight
Sam woke up screaming.