Defenders of the Night

70. The Monster at the End of This Book

CHUCK'S HOME - NIGHT

Chuck was sprawled on a couch, sleeping with papers clutched to his chest. The coffee table was littered with unfinished food and drinks. He was in the throes off an intense dream about Sam, Dean, Lana, Rose, Hana, the Impala, and himself.

COMIC BOOK SHOP - DAY

A man took a comic book off the shelf. Dean, Sam, holding Rose's hand, and Lana, holding Hana, entered the shop. The boys were in suits and long black coats while Lana was in a white blouse and black slacks and a black coat; FBI costumes. Rose was wearing a nice dress. The man behind the counter looked up as they approached and took out their badges.

"Uh... can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked.

"Sure hope so," Dean replied. "Agents DeYoung, Shaw and Sucherman. Pardon the kids. Just need to ask you a few questions."

"Notice anything strange in the building, last couple of days?" Sam questioned.

"Like what?" the man behind the counter wondered.

"Well, some other tenants reported flickering lights," Lana explained.

"Uh, I don't think so. Why?"

"What about noises?" Sam inquired. "Any skittering in the walls? Kind of like rats?"

The man behind the counter looked at them skeptically. "And the FBI is investigating a rodent problem?"

"What about cold spots? Feel any sudden drops in temperature?"

The man behind the counter grinned. "I knew it! You guys are LARPing, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?" Dean and Lana asked.

"You're fans."

"Fans of what?" Sam questioned.

"What is "LARPing"?" Dean wondered as Lana frowned.

Rose frowned. "Daddy, it's like... I don't know what it is. Dress up?"

"Like you don't know," the man behind the counter said, seeing their confused looks. "Live-Action-Role-Play! And pretty hardcore, too."

Lana's brow furrowed. "We have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're asking questions like the building's haunted. Like those guys and girl from the books. What are they called? Uh... "Supernatural." Two guys and a girl, alongside a little girl, use fake IDs with rock aliases, hunt down ghosts, demons, vampires. What are their names? Uh... Steve, Laura, Ruth and Dirk? Uh, Sal, Lucy, Raquel and Dane?"

"Sam, Lana, Rose and Dean?" Sam asked.

"That's it!"

"You're saying this is a book?" Dean questioned.

"Books. It was a series. Didn't sell a lot of copies, though. Kind of had more of an underground cult following." He went over to a table labeled "Bargain Bin" and the four followed. "Let's see. Um... Ah. Yeah." He handed Dean a book. "That's the first one, I think."

Dean read the cover of the book. ""Supernatural" by Carver Edlund." He flipped the book over and read the back cover. ""Along a lonely California highway, a mysterious woman in white lures men to their deaths.""

"Give me that," Sam demanded, taking the book from Dean.

Lana looked at the man. "We're gonna need all the copies of "Supernatural" you've got."

MOTEL ROOM

Dean was reclining on one of the beds, next to Rose, flipping through a book and frowning. Lana was on the other bed, with a sleeping Hana, reading another book, an annoyed look on her face. Sam was seated by the window with his laptop.