OMGWTF I wrote Primeval fic
18 Mar 2007 11:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misaffectionYeah, I really, really did.
Lost - a Primeval fanfic about Claudia Brown written by someone called Helen
The creature came out of the darkness, all snarling fangs and eyes as cold as death. It prowled towards her like a cat stalking its prey. She backed up, heart hammering wildly, until her back hit a wall. The creature came close, its claws clicking loudly on the floor. It sniffed the air as if sensing victory near at hand, and then growled low in its throat. Then it pounded forward and she screamed and…
Woke up, sweating. She lay in a tangle of sheets, trembling and breathing hard. The nightmare wasn’t a new one; she dreamt of monsters all her life. Sighing she sat up and ran her hands over her hair, then slipped out of bed to the bathroom.
She stared at her reflection. Her sleep had been increasingly broken over the last few weeks and there were dark circles under her eyes as a result. It was ridiculous, she mused as she filled the sink with water. She washed her face and then regarded her image again.
“Grow up Claudia,” she told herself. “You’re too old for childish nightmares and monsters under the bed.”
If only she could banish them with stern words. Over the years she’d tried all sorts of therapies, seen all kinds of specialists, but nothing had worked long term. There were four distinct things that she’d dream about and, though the scenery changed, those things did not.
The first of these things was the large-fanged creature that had woken her rudely this morning. It had been the first nightmare and as a child she believed it lived in the darkness and had had a nightlight until she was thirteen and by her father’s opinion too old for one.
The second thing was a case of things in the plural. They were small, winged creatures that would not be as frightening if they did not swarm, chirping shrilly. She sensed the danger they represented rather than knowing exactly why they terrified her so much. Whatever it was, her nightmares of them had instilled a phobia of birds.
The third thing did not often appear. Another winged creature, it was the only one she recognised as actually existing. Well, once upon a time any way. It was a Pteranodon and she could put her dreams of it down to watching Jurassic Park whilst full of cold.
Claudia had long decided it was being able to put a name to the creature, and a reason behind the nightmares of it, that accounted for the fact she didn’t dream of it often. However, she hated those dreams because they underlined the fact that she did not have a reason for the others. She wondered whether she would have the others so much if she had a reason for them.
The last thing that haunted her was not a creature, but a man. She had no idea who he was; she’d never seen him in her life and yet he was familiar. He was tall, and handsome in a way. Usually he would appear and just stand there, staring at her within her dream with serious blue eyes. On rarer occasions he would speak.
“Where are you, Claudia?”
Her eyes jerked up to the mirror again. For a moment it seemed as if the glass had shattered. Its shards hovered, shimmering, and instead of her broken reflection, she saw him.
“Where are you?”
She backed away from the sink, shaking her head in denial. Her back hit the wall of her bathroom, the tiles cold against her bare arms.
“No,” she whispered.
“Claudia.”
“No!” she screamed and spun out of the door. She ran across her bedroom and flung herself on to her bed, sobbing and shaking. Who was he? And why was she now seeing him waking as well as in her dreams?
After a minute or two, she got herself back under control. She forced herself to go back into the bathroom, to witness the mirror whole once again. That satisfied, she returned to her bedroom and got dressed.
She skipped breakfast and walked to work, needing the time to organise her scattered thoughts. The streets were reassuringly busy; Claudia preferred to be amongst people since there was less chance of her imaginations getting the better of her.
Arriving at the office where she worked she greeted her friends with a smile and a hug, then shrugged off her coat and settled in front of her computer. Her position was nothing important, but her wages paid her rent and allowed her a few luxuries. Plus she had formed firm friendships with the other girls in the office. Two of them were giggling now, making her smile curiously in their direction.
“Have you heard this, Claudia?” Jenny demanded. She shook her head and Jenny laughed and continued, “Emma was out until four this morning.”
“Oh, really? Doing what exactly?”
“I was at the club,” Emma said. “Dancing.”
“That’s what she calls it anyhow,” cackled Jenny.
Claudia laughed as Jenny went bright red, and then her mobile beeped. She pulled it out of her handbag as she listened to her friends teasing each other. A quick glance at the screen revealed she’d received a text message from an unknown caller. She pressed the button to bring up the message.
“Where are you?” it read. Her smile froze and her head spun.
“Claudia?” Emma ventured in a worried tone. “Claudia, are you okay?”
She was far from okay, but she nodded distantly. Then she stood and headed quickly for the toilets.
She retched until her throat hurt. The nausea finally passed, but it left her weak and trembling. She was also utterly terrified. The world of her nightmares was colliding with reality and it scared her.
Standing she went to the sinks and washed her face, then went back towards the office. Halfway there she froze again. Did she hear the tap of claws on the floor behind her? She spun, but the corridor was empty.
“I’m going mad,” she murmured. “I must be if I’m talking to myself.”
Claudia went back into the office and waved a hand at the immediate concerns from her friends. She sat back down and picked up her mobile again. She wasn’t overly surprised to see the message had vanished. She’d probably imagined the whole thing in the first place.
By the end of the day, the incident was all but forgotten. Jenny and Emma persuaded Claudia to join them in an evening out. Though it didn’t take much persuading when all she had to go home to was an empty apartment haunted by her nightmares.
Still once they’d drunk and danced themselves to exhaustion, she still went home on her home. Jenny and Emma had found men to hook up with and, while there had been a few men that Claudia had considered handsome, she been disappointed at the lack of blue eyes.
She stood in front of her bathroom mirror again, staring at her reflection. Sometimes, just sometimes, she wondered whether her life was the dream and the nightmares the reality. The question was always about her whereabouts, as if she were lost.
The thing was, she felt like she was.
Lost - a Primeval fanfic about Claudia Brown written by someone called Helen
The creature came out of the darkness, all snarling fangs and eyes as cold as death. It prowled towards her like a cat stalking its prey. She backed up, heart hammering wildly, until her back hit a wall. The creature came close, its claws clicking loudly on the floor. It sniffed the air as if sensing victory near at hand, and then growled low in its throat. Then it pounded forward and she screamed and…
Woke up, sweating. She lay in a tangle of sheets, trembling and breathing hard. The nightmare wasn’t a new one; she dreamt of monsters all her life. Sighing she sat up and ran her hands over her hair, then slipped out of bed to the bathroom.
She stared at her reflection. Her sleep had been increasingly broken over the last few weeks and there were dark circles under her eyes as a result. It was ridiculous, she mused as she filled the sink with water. She washed her face and then regarded her image again.
“Grow up Claudia,” she told herself. “You’re too old for childish nightmares and monsters under the bed.”
If only she could banish them with stern words. Over the years she’d tried all sorts of therapies, seen all kinds of specialists, but nothing had worked long term. There were four distinct things that she’d dream about and, though the scenery changed, those things did not.
The first of these things was the large-fanged creature that had woken her rudely this morning. It had been the first nightmare and as a child she believed it lived in the darkness and had had a nightlight until she was thirteen and by her father’s opinion too old for one.
The second thing was a case of things in the plural. They were small, winged creatures that would not be as frightening if they did not swarm, chirping shrilly. She sensed the danger they represented rather than knowing exactly why they terrified her so much. Whatever it was, her nightmares of them had instilled a phobia of birds.
The third thing did not often appear. Another winged creature, it was the only one she recognised as actually existing. Well, once upon a time any way. It was a Pteranodon and she could put her dreams of it down to watching Jurassic Park whilst full of cold.
Claudia had long decided it was being able to put a name to the creature, and a reason behind the nightmares of it, that accounted for the fact she didn’t dream of it often. However, she hated those dreams because they underlined the fact that she did not have a reason for the others. She wondered whether she would have the others so much if she had a reason for them.
The last thing that haunted her was not a creature, but a man. She had no idea who he was; she’d never seen him in her life and yet he was familiar. He was tall, and handsome in a way. Usually he would appear and just stand there, staring at her within her dream with serious blue eyes. On rarer occasions he would speak.
“Where are you, Claudia?”
Her eyes jerked up to the mirror again. For a moment it seemed as if the glass had shattered. Its shards hovered, shimmering, and instead of her broken reflection, she saw him.
“Where are you?”
She backed away from the sink, shaking her head in denial. Her back hit the wall of her bathroom, the tiles cold against her bare arms.
“No,” she whispered.
“Claudia.”
“No!” she screamed and spun out of the door. She ran across her bedroom and flung herself on to her bed, sobbing and shaking. Who was he? And why was she now seeing him waking as well as in her dreams?
After a minute or two, she got herself back under control. She forced herself to go back into the bathroom, to witness the mirror whole once again. That satisfied, she returned to her bedroom and got dressed.
She skipped breakfast and walked to work, needing the time to organise her scattered thoughts. The streets were reassuringly busy; Claudia preferred to be amongst people since there was less chance of her imaginations getting the better of her.
Arriving at the office where she worked she greeted her friends with a smile and a hug, then shrugged off her coat and settled in front of her computer. Her position was nothing important, but her wages paid her rent and allowed her a few luxuries. Plus she had formed firm friendships with the other girls in the office. Two of them were giggling now, making her smile curiously in their direction.
“Have you heard this, Claudia?” Jenny demanded. She shook her head and Jenny laughed and continued, “Emma was out until four this morning.”
“Oh, really? Doing what exactly?”
“I was at the club,” Emma said. “Dancing.”
“That’s what she calls it anyhow,” cackled Jenny.
Claudia laughed as Jenny went bright red, and then her mobile beeped. She pulled it out of her handbag as she listened to her friends teasing each other. A quick glance at the screen revealed she’d received a text message from an unknown caller. She pressed the button to bring up the message.
“Where are you?” it read. Her smile froze and her head spun.
“Claudia?” Emma ventured in a worried tone. “Claudia, are you okay?”
She was far from okay, but she nodded distantly. Then she stood and headed quickly for the toilets.
She retched until her throat hurt. The nausea finally passed, but it left her weak and trembling. She was also utterly terrified. The world of her nightmares was colliding with reality and it scared her.
Standing she went to the sinks and washed her face, then went back towards the office. Halfway there she froze again. Did she hear the tap of claws on the floor behind her? She spun, but the corridor was empty.
“I’m going mad,” she murmured. “I must be if I’m talking to myself.”
Claudia went back into the office and waved a hand at the immediate concerns from her friends. She sat back down and picked up her mobile again. She wasn’t overly surprised to see the message had vanished. She’d probably imagined the whole thing in the first place.
By the end of the day, the incident was all but forgotten. Jenny and Emma persuaded Claudia to join them in an evening out. Though it didn’t take much persuading when all she had to go home to was an empty apartment haunted by her nightmares.
Still once they’d drunk and danced themselves to exhaustion, she still went home on her home. Jenny and Emma had found men to hook up with and, while there had been a few men that Claudia had considered handsome, she been disappointed at the lack of blue eyes.
She stood in front of her bathroom mirror again, staring at her reflection. Sometimes, just sometimes, she wondered whether her life was the dream and the nightmares the reality. The question was always about her whereabouts, as if she were lost.
The thing was, she felt like she was.
