American Noise

32. Golden Time

INTERIOR - ARADIA APARTMENTS - HALLWAY OUTSIDE ROWENA'S APARTMENT

The floor to either side of the door was strewn with mail. A woman approached the door and knocked.

"Mrs. MacLeod? It's Jessie, from 3C? Haven't seen you in a while. Everything okay?" Jacinda asked.

She crouched down and whispered next to the lock, "Aperiatur." The door opened.

She looked around Rowena's apartment. "Okay. Game on. Come on! Where is the good stuff?"

Jacinda proceeded to ransack the apartment, tossing books and smashing bottles, until she leaned across Rowena's desk and her nose and eyes began to bleed. She realized she'd been cursed, tried to stagger toward the door, but it was too late and she fell dead to the floor.

BUNKER - KITCHEN

Sam was at the table with his laptop. Jayci sat next to him. Dean strolled in wearing pajamas and his robe and holding an empty cereal box.

"Hey," Dean greeted.

"Hey," Sam replied as Jayci waved.

"You know they still put, um, jokes on the backs of these things. Listen to this one... What's round and bad-tempered? "A vicious circle." 'Cause it's..."

"Yeah, I... I... Wait a second, did you eat the whole box?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Because I'm a champion."

"Wait a second. So I've been looking for signs of... of God or... or Lilith, Jayci's been interjecting every so often, and you've been in your room, eating cereal."

"And marathoning "Scooby-Doo". Well, did you two find anything?"

Sam shook his head. "No, not yet."

"Shocker."

Dean ate cereal out of a fresh box of Muesli, spit it out, and instead, grabbed another box of Cocoa Crunch.

"Hey, did you two notice anything weird just now when you came in?" Sam asked.

"No. Why, did you have another one of your visions?" Dean wondered.

"No. I haven't had a vision since Colorado. I think maybe they stopped."

"Oh, I doubt it. Not until Chuck gets his end game, you know? The Winchester Bowl. Cain and Abel 2.0. This is God we're talking about. G-O-D. Wouldn't be too worried about finding him. He'll find us."

Jayci shook her head. "No, but I did feel a chill earlier. Which means a ghost. So that means we need to salt and burn the bones or some object important to them."

"Let's wait and see, okay?"

"Okay."

EXTERIOR SIMMZY'S BAIT AND TACKLE SHOP

Castiel walked up to the front door, but it was locked. The owner, Andy, walked up and greeted him, opening the store. "Hey, Clarence."

"Morning," Castiel replied.

"Come on in, early bird. Well... What can I do for ya? Bait working out good?"

"Oh, yeah. The... Bait's good. I think it's the fish. They've begun to anticipate me."

"Yeah, fish can be smart. I'd switch up spots. Maps are over there."

Castiel browsed through the map rack and picked up a tourist map of the lake, while Andy poured whiskey into his coffee cup. "I had a friend who always praised fishing for its meditative qualities. Wish I found it more relaxing. Andy... is everything all right?"