Bewildered Heart

Chapter Two: Nightmares

     They ran toward the rift, their footsteps pounding into the dusty ground. Sweat streaked down their faces and clung to their clothes. 

     "Almost there!" Dean yelled into the wind, his voice slightly muffled as Remi and Sam followed close behind.

     Remi glanced around Dean and Cas. She could see the amber rift zapping in the open air, but her breath caught in her throat as she saw it diminish just a bit. 

     "Hurry!" she yelled back, her voice panicked. "It's closing!"

     Their gait picked up slightly at the revelation, but her heart stopped when she heard another, heavier pair of footsteps growing closer. The monster they had encountered in this new and strange world was catching up. None of their earthly weapons had seemed to have an affect on it, so the only option was the safety of their own reality.

     Cas jumped through the rift, disappearing in a flash. Dean followed close behind, but with his entrance, Remi saw that the rift had closed considerably. She stopped just as she and Sam reached the rift, their breathing ragged and labored. 

     "Sam, let's go!" she urged, reaching out to him. He made no move, not even to look her way. "Sam! Come on!" she nearly screamed, panic seizing her.

     Sam finally turned to her, his hazel eyes concerned. "No, Remi, go! Go without me. That rift isn't going to stay open long enough for both of us."

     Remi's heart dropped at his words. "No, Sam, no. Please, please. We can make it!"

     Sam shook his head emphatically. "No! Remi, you have to go! Now!" 

     "I'll stay here, Sam! I don't want to leave you here alone..." Remi said, her voice cracking as tears pricked the back of her eyes.

     Sam took her face in his large palms, pulling her close and staring intently and lovingly into her blue ones. "Remi.... I can't let you stay.... Not here." He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, his kiss conveying every emotion he was feeling. When he pulled back his own eyes were misty.

     "Sam," Remi breathed out, tears streaking down her cheeks.

     "I love you," he whispered before he roughly shoved her backward. She flailed as she stumbled into the rift. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as shock enveloped her. Her eyes widened in horror as the monster they had been running from finally came into view, coming to an abrupt halt right behind Sam. Something plunged into Sam's back, piercing his skin and coming out through his chest. Blood splattered as Sam cried out in pain, dropping to his knees. 

     Remi was unable to see more as she fell through the other side of the rift, falling heavily on the bunker's cold, hard floor. She scrambled to her feet and leapt toward the rift just as Dean's arms wrapped around her waist from behind, jerking her backward, the rift evaporating in a flash.

     "No!" she screamed, reaching out her hand where the rift had been just moments before. She crumpled to the ground, her face coming to rest on the cool concrete as her fingers wove into her hair in agony. Her shoulders heaved as sobs echoed off the walls.

     Dean wrapped his arms around her shoulders, but she violently pushed him away, sending him sprawling out onto his back, his eyes widening at her sudden outburst of anger. 

     Remi stood up, her legs trembling as she glared down at Dean. "You had no right to stop me, Dean! No right," she accused, turning quickly on her heel and running toward her and Sam's room, her sobs breaking the deafening silence.