The Other Side of Reality

Part 4

The fluorescent lights ricochet off the clean white tiles. Blinking against the annoying glared, you continued down the hallway. Trying to ignore the fact that Devon followed behind you. Your fingers picking at the hem of your shirt, shaking slightly. Each footstep was a shuffle, your padded slippers sliding across the cold and unyielding tiles.

Passing the community room, you noticed the inhabitants staring your way, and you faltered for a moment, wanting to go back into your room. Back into hiding. It wasn't a safe place. Not anymore. But you weren't sure you could be here either.

The new medicine, your new rules had you nervous and afraid. It didn't help that you Devon following your every movement. Devon was your constant shadow, always there when you never wanted him to be. Touching you like he had every right. Getting mad when you shrinked away from his touch.

He hadn't wanted you to go to the library. The scowl on his face made it clear that he wasn't happy with it. But you had wanted to see Dean. You needed to see Dean. He was the only normal thing in this place. Or at least as normal as you could get in an asylum.

"Devon!" A voice called out. The voice of the head nurse, a woman stern with a scowl in place at all times. "What are you doing?"

You stopped where you were, watching as Devon made his way to Mrs. Lynch, his scowl almost worse than hers. "I am keeping an eye on Miss Y/L/N, just as the Doctor requested."

"It's her free time. Let her be. There are other things that need done," she ordered. You were grateful for her distraction, but you had a feeling you would be punished for it later on.

"Miss Y/L/N, please keep moving. Devon is otherwise occupied," Mrs. Lynch ordered, and you scurried to obey. Leaving them behind, you raced down the hallway, running straight into the Librarian.

"Y/N! Please slow down!" She exclaimed, taking a step back. Looking up, you were ready to pass her when her eyes flashed blue.

"What the...," you muttered, taking another step back, your eyes wide, your heart racing. Quickly her eyes turned back to their normal brown, a frown pulling at the laugh lines on her face.

"Y/N, is everything okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I...I think....I'm just going to...to...find Dean," you stuttered, racing past her to your usual corner of the library. Wondering if you had actually seen her eyes flash a brilliant shade of blue, or if it was your medicine making you imagine things. Because there was no way a person's eyes could literally glow like that.

You could see Dean sitting in his usual seat, his journal clutched tight to his chest. His eyes seemed vacant, his entire body rocking slightly back and forth. Your slippered foot making no sound on the carpet floor, you were almost to him when a switch seemed to be flipped inside your mind.

Voices, loud voices echoed through your head, almost as if a radio had been turned on inside your brain. Never making any sense, talking in a language sounding ancient and almost alien. It was the loudest it had ever been, so overpowering you felt yourself falling to your knees.

"Y/N!" Dean called out, dropping his book as you pressed your hands to your temples, trying to block the loud voices. Hands reached up, grasping your shoulders, but you shook them away. The touch was too much with the voices screaming inside your head, and you knew you would do anything to make them stop.

"Please!! Make them stop!" You screamed, your hands tightening against your head, pulling at your hair. Never even noticing the pain as you tried to ease the pressure in your head.

"Breathe. Just breathe," Dean kept saying over and over, his voice calm. It was the calmness, the even tone of it that had the voices silencing as you realized something didn't quite right.

The voices faded away as quickly as they started, a giant relief as your head finally quieted. Taking a deep breath, your hands shaking, you reached for the hem of your shirt, picking once again at the loose thread.

"Are you alright?"

"The voices, they've changed. Becoming louder, speaking like the people in my nightmare. Dean, what if it's true? What if I am completely crazy?"

"You aren't," he answered, his eyes fluttering back and forth. "This place, there's something wrong with it. You and I, we aren't crazy. That's why they keep changing our medication."

Calming down long enough, you could see that Dean was in a frantic state, his breaths coming fast, his pupils dilated. He kept licking his bottom lip as he stared your way. "Dean, did they change your medication?"

"They wanted me to forget about Sammy," he exclaimed, holding tight onto his journal, looking over your head. No doubt making sure there weren't nurses to overhear. "They gave me more medicine. Telling me that it would make the pain manageable. But my hands don't hurt! The burns don't hurt anymore. Just my heart! I miss my brother and my best friend. Why couldn't I save them?"

It was your turn to comfort Dean, much like he had you. Resting your hands on top of his, you made sure he was looking your way. "Dean, you did everything you could. I know you did. It wasn't your fault."

"But it was my fault!" He argued, straightening up, almost knocking you to the floor. "I was supposed to look after Sam. My Dad always said that was my job, and I screwed it up! Now I'm locked in here, and they're trying to stop me from remembering!"

He stood, reaching down and grasping your hand. Pulling you tight against him, almost embracing you as he made sure you were alone. You tried ignoring the feel of his strong arms around you, the rushed beating of his heart against your cheek. You wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch, forgetting everything that was going on. But you couldn't. "They're watching Y/N. Always watching. They don't like us being together."

"The nurses?"

He nodded. "Especially Devon. Be wary of him. I'm going to try to stop taking my medicine. I suggest you do the same. I need to remember. I need to remember Sammy."

"But the voices," you tried arguing, stopping as Dean's arms tightened around you.

"The voices are a clue! Don't shut them out! Welcome them. Learn from them," Dean insisted, just a familiar voice that sent shivers of fear down your back echoed through the library.

"Dean, I've got to go. If he sees us...,"

"Go," Dean whispered, surprising you when he pressed a kiss to your head. "Be safe. And don't forget."