Welcome to the Impala

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Cecil stood in the hallway of the Night Vale Community Radio Station, waiting for Intern Maureen to lock the recording booth. He glanced down the long, seemingly endless, hallway and noticed the men's restroom. His heart gave a little leap. He missed having Khosekh hovering four feet above the floor. In fact, Cecil missed having Khosekh at work with him. But he would soon see Khosekh at home with his Carlos. My Carlos, Cecil thought, and a wide, loving grin spread across his face. He could never say that enough. Cecil's train of thought ended when he heard pounding feet racing up the stairs, toward him and Maureen. Dean was taking the stairs two at time and, once he reached the top of the stairs, put his hands on his knees.

"Cecil...... signs..... all over..... Night Vale," Dean panted.

Maureen rolled her eyes. "Say that again, but make sure we can actually understand you this time."

Dean stood up straight and raised an eyebrow at her. "And who are you again?"

"Maureen."

"Dean."

"Great!" Cecil clapped his hands together. "Now that we all know each other, what signs Dean?"

"You've got to see this," Dean said before staring down the stairs again. Cecil was at Dean's heels, and Maureen passed Dean an the other side of the stairs. Maureen was the first to reach the bottom of the stairs where Sam, Cas, and Carlos were waiting. She tripped on the last stair and Sam, springing into action, caught her in his arms and held her the way a groom might dip his bride.

"Hi," Sam said, starring down into Maureen's gray eyes.

"Hi."

"I'm Sam."

"Maureen."

Cecil smiled as he snuck past them, making his way to his Carlos. Dean rolled his eyes and shoved past them. They all lined up along the curb outside of the station. Cecil, Carlos, Sam, Maureen, Dean, and Cas, respectively. They were all starring at the bright yellow posters covering Night Vale. The posters just seemed to appear out of the air. One became two, two became four, and four became six. Dean knew that Cecil and Carlos had their hands intertwined. Dean thought that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad if his hand and the angel's were like that. After all, their arms were slightly touching. All Dean had to do was twist his wrist and--

"Wh-what the hell are those?" Sam stammered. "Someone tell me what the hell they are!"

"I can tell you what they are, Sam Winchester." There was a man standing in the middle of the road in front of the six of them. Maybe "man" was too generous. He was about the same height and build as Cecil. However, this thing with its perky voice was anything but what Dean considered to be human. It had two large, perfectly round, black holes where its eyes should be. It was grinning from ear to ear, literally. The ends of its mouth reached up to the tops of its ears and large, pearly white, razor sharp teeth knitted together in its wide mouth. Its fingertips were pressed together. Again, "fingertips" was maybe too generous. It had large, thick, black claws where its fingers should be. It was seemingly unaware that its bright yellow bow tie and gray vest were splattered with blood. "This," it said. "is life. Look around you." It gestured to the posters around them. "This is everything. Believe in a smiling God."

"This is StrexCrop."