The Beldam (A Supernatural Fan fiction)

THE GHOST CHILDREN

Sam pushed himself up from the floor and ran for the portal. He assumed he could just go through it the way the Other Mother did, but the wall was now solid. He slammed his fists against it in frustration. Then he heard the faint shrill of a scream or a train whistle. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

"Who's there?" he said, turning around to face the rest of the dark room. In a moment there were three glowing lights across the way underneath a pile of white sheets. Almost like cheap ghost costumes.

"Hush and shush!" a young girl's voice echoed. "For the Beldam might be listening." The room suddenly got very cold. Sam took a shaky step toward the glowing bedsheets.

"You . . . you mean the other mother?" he asked. He waited a moment for a response, but the voice went silent. Sam cautiously made his way across the room and gently pulled the sheets off of the old cot that was in the corner. Three transparent ghost children were huddled together as far into the corner as they could possibly go.

"Who are you?" Sam asked. The smallest one, a little boy in a waistcoat and a high-collared jacked, floated forward towards Sam. He had buttons for eyes.

"Don't remember our names, but I remember my true mommy," the ghost boy explained. Although some of the answers to his budding questions were becoming fairly obvious, Sam couldn't help, but pry.

"Why are you all here?" he asked. All three of the ghosts floated up to him closely. One, was a pioneer-looking girl closer to Sam's age. She wore a big hat and the expression on her face seemed to be a permanent scream that may have been her very last living emotion before she died. The other, a little black girl in what Sam was sure was a pink dress. There was a flower in her braids. They all had buttons for eyes.

"The Beldam!" they said together. They sounded fearful of the name they were telling him. Two disappeared, leaving the little black girl who floated around Sam. He followed her path, not wanting to have his back to her.

"She spied on our lives, through the little dolls eyes," she explained.

"And saw that we weren't happy," the little boy added as he reappeared.

"So she lured us away with treasures," the pioneer girl added.

"And treats," the little boy said.

"And games to play," said the little black girl.

"Gave all that we asked," the little boy told him.

"Yet we still wanted more," the little black girl admitted.

"So we let her sew the buttons," the pioneer girl said. She floated down to Sam and went right through him. He cringed at the feeling and tried to imagine how it felt to have buttons sewn into your eyes.

"She said that she loved us," the little boy cried. Sam turned to see the trio together again. They floated up to the ceiling and he followed with his gaze.

"But she locked us here," the pioneer girl explained. They floated back down from the ceiling, crossing their arms over their chests and settling back into the cot as if it were a coffin they all shared. "And ate up our lives!" The white bedsheets was pulled back over them. They did not want to be seen anymore. They wanted to mourn and grieve in private.

"Well, she can't keep me in the dark forever," Sam said out loud, not sure if the ghosts were listening anymore. Or if they were even there. "Not if she wants to win my life."

He turned back to the cot to see the ghosts floating over it. They stared at him through their button eyes, waiting and listening intently. Almost as if they were hopeful.

"Beating her is my only chance," Sam realized. There was a moment of silence. The ghosts glanced at each other. Then the little black girl with the braids floated towards him.

"Perhaps if you do win your escape, you could find our eyes?" she suggested. Sam cringed again at the realization that they had no eyes at all, just the buttons.

"Has she taken those too?" he asked.

"Yes, and hidden them," she confirmed.

"Find our eyes mister! Then our souls will be freed!" the little boy begged.

"I'll try," was all Sam could think to say. Suddenly he felt hands over his mouth and he was being pulled back. Back out through the mirror and into the hallway. His first thought was the Other Mother, the witch, the Beldam. Out of instinct, he immediately kicked, punched and fought off whatever had him in a headlock. When he finally threw the attacking figure to the floor, he pulled the mask off that it was wearing to find the Other Dean.

"DEAN?" Sam shouted in confusion. The Other Dean hid his face from Sam. Something was wrong. Sam knelt down and pulled the Other Dean's arms away. The Beldam must have sewn his face into a permanent smile. It was grotesque.

"Did she do this to you?" Sam growled. The Other Dean froze, probably too scared to answer. Sam reached over and tugged at the threads to undo them. Eventually they came loose and the Other Dean rubbed his jaw.

"I hope that feels better," Sam said. The Other Dean leaned forward and shushed him. Then he grabbed Sam by the hand and they rushed down the hall back to the living room. Sam and the Other Dean shoved the wardrobe out of the way of the little door leading back to the real world. The noise awakened the Beldam.

"Samuel!" she shouted from somewhere in the house. Sam's heart dropped at the sound. "Is that you!?"

"Let's go!" he whispered to the Other Dean. They crouched down behind the wardrobe and opened the little door. The tunnel had changed. It now looked dirty and dusty with tons of cobwebs and discarded items. It was going to be like crawling through an attic.

"Samuel!" the Beldam called again. The tunnel shook. Sam glanced back over his shoulder into the house. He wondered if her movement caused the tunnel to shake. He grabbed the Other Dean by the shoulder in an attempt to pull him into the tunnel too, but the Other Dean wouldn't budge.

"Come on! She'll hurt you again!" Sam insisted. The Other Dean frowned and shook his head. He pulled one of his gloves off to reveal a hand made out of sawdust. He blew on it and the gust of air destroyed the hand as it burst into a cloud of dust, reminding Sam that he wasn't real. He was just part of the illusion that the Beldam created to lure him into her trap. He probably wouldn't have made it through the tunnel if he tried.

"Samuel!" the Beldam called again. Her tone getting more frustrated. "How dare you disobey your mother!" Sam still hesitated, wanting to take the Other Dean with him. But the Beldam was getting closer and his window of escape was getting smaller. The Other Dean pushed him into the tunnel and slammed the door closed behind him. Sam was about to reach for the doorknob to go back for the Other Dean, but he heard the Beldam shout his name again and this time she was closer.

He flinched and quickly resolved to leave everything in there behind and go back to the real Dean in the real world. He crawled through the tunnel as fast as he could, hoping that the Beldam wouldn't think to open the door and crawl through to catch up to him. His heart raced until he got to the door on the other side. When he reached it, he pushed it open and climbed back into the real living room and slammed it shut, making sure to turn the key to lock it. Sam pulled the key out of the door for good measure and turned toward the rest of the house.

He assumed he had been gone for hours, if not more. Dad and Dean were probably worried sick. He knew he'd be in so much trouble for disappearing like that and going into a monsters lair by himself, but he didn't care. He was just relieved to be out of there.

"I'M HOOOOMMEEE!!!!!"