Desolation Comes Upon the Sky

LARPing and the Real Girl

January 5th, 2014

Whitefish, Montana

The cabin was surrounded by the thick, grey darkness of the early morning, and the only source of relief was from the slowly-dying fire that popped and crackled in the stone fireplace. The room was silent bar the rhythmic thud thud thud as Alex bounced a small, green bouncy ball off of the floor and wall. It was Ashiel's, one of few that hadn't been sent back to heaven with him. She had found it tucked beneath the cushions of the brown couch. The young angel was alone; both of the Winchesters back on the road and out looking for cases, and Castiel was still awol.

An owl screeched from outside the window, and Alex flicked her wing in fleeting annoyance. The bird had been a frequent visitor to oak tree beside the cabin for the past week, and its cry sounded like the scream of a young child. The angel snorted in amusement at the memory of Dean had stormed outside four days ago at three in the morning, gun in his hands as he muttered curses under his breath. He had fired two shots at that wretched bird. The forest had been silent for the next two days, but before long the owl returned. That was when the Winchesters left.

The opening chords of Welcome to the Family erupted from her phone, and the bounce of the ball ceased as Alex looked up. That was her personal phone, which meant there was only five people it could possibly be. She dragged herself across the room and over to the couch, grasping up along the cushions for her phone. "Hello?" she answered, falling back onto the ground.

"Hey, it's Sam."

"Yeah, I know." Alex bounced the ball onto the ground and caught it when it returned upwards. "Caller ID. What's up? Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Listen, we're in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Garth called us up here on a case." She heard the sound of an engine coughing to life, followed by the slam of a car door. "I know you said that you wanted a few days to yourself, but this one sounded like something you would like." He waited until Alex hummed out a note of partially-interested curiosity before he continued, "A man got drawn and quartered last night."

The angel sat up straight, head cocked. "Drawn and quartered?" she repeated, unable to keep the keen interest out of her voice. "Like torn limb from limb by horses. In Michigan."

"In his bedroom," Sam added. "Yeah. If you're interested, we're on our way to the police station right now to talk to this guy who threatened to kill the vic last night. He said he was 'a mage' and was going to make Ed 'bleed for his crimes.' "

"So witchcraft." Alex moved so she was sitting up on the couch. "Witch hunts are always pretty interesting," she admitted as she leaned back against the cushions. "When did you say you guys were gonna interrogate him?"

"In the next fifteen minutes if at all possible."

"Huh. Okay, yeah, I'll bite. I'll meet you guys there." Alex hung up and shoved her phone into her back pocket. "Witches. Fun fun," she told the ball in her hands. She rolled it between her fingers for a second or two before she returned it to rest safely in her jacket pocket. "Guess I'll go get dressed."

...

Farmington Hills, Michigan

Alex landed in front of the Impala, shaking her wings so the feathers would lay flat as she watched the two brothers get out of the car. She turned her head up towards the sky; the sun was already above the horizon. What a difference a timezone made, the angel mused as she patiently waited for the Winchesters to join her on the sidewalk. Sam gave her a small nod as he straightened his tie, and Alex reciprocated the gesture before she turned to Dean. "Well?" she asked, hands going into her pockets. "So what would you guys like me to do?" She followed them up to the police station. "I can go over the case file or go sweep the crime scene."