Phoenix [Supernatural Season 1]

Bugs

Sam was reading a newspaper article about Dustin, he glanced back to where Phoenix was sleeping in the back seat of the Impala.

A minute later, Dean came outside, laughing and waving a wad of cash in the air.

"You know, we could get day jobs once in a while," Sam reasoned.

"Hunting's our day job. And the pay is crap," Dean laughed.

"Yeah, but hustling pool? Credit card scams? It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean,"

"Well, let's see honest." Dean held out one hand "Fun and easy." he held out the other, and gestured that 'fun and easy' outweighed 'honest'. "It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do,"

"Yeah, well, how we were raised was jacked,"

"Yeah, says you,"

"We got a new gig or what?" Phoenix called as she leaned out the Impala window.

"Maybe." Sam admitted "Oasis Plains, Oklahoma-not far from here. A gas company employee, Dustin Burwash, supposedly died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob,"

"Huh?" Dean asked, looking over at Phoenix for clarification.

"Human mad cow disease," Phoenix simplified.

"Mad cow. Wasn't that on Oprah?"

Phoenix quirked an amused eyebrow "You watch Oprah?"

Dean cleared his throat in embarrassment. "So this guy eats a bad burger. Why is it our kind of thing?"

"Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration." Sam explained "It takes months, even years, for the damage to appear. But this guy, Dustin? Sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour. Maybe less,"

"Okay, that's weird," Phoenix noted.

"Yeah. Now, it could be a disease. Or it could be something much nastier,"

"All right. Oklahoma,"

Dean and Sam got in the car.

"Man.Work, work, work." Dean sighed "No time to spend my money,"

***

Dean, Sam, and Phoenix got out of the impala and approached Travis at the Gas and Power Company Building.

"Travis Weaver?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Travis replied.

"Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?" Dean questioned.

"Dustin never mentioned nephews or a niece,"

"Oh, we're not related," Phoenix admitted.

Dean placed a hand on her back "Not yet..."

Phoenix plastered a fake smile on her face "I see no ring on this finger, dear,"

"Uncle Dusty mentioned you. He said you were the greatest," Sam said.

"Oh, he did? Huh," Travis smiled.

"Listen, we wanted to ask you...what exactly happened out there?" Dean wondered.

"I'm not sure. He fell in a sinkhole, I went to the truck to get some rope, and, uh...by the time I got back..."

"What did you see?"

"Nothin'. Just Dustin,"

"No wounds or anything?"

"Well, he was bleeding...from his eyes and his ears, his nose. But that's it,"