Currents

Chapter 12

Dean was on the payphone with Frank, once he walked out,
He said" I hope he finds something quick, this whole protocol du jour thing's really creeping my cheese."
Sam said" So, we got dick on Dick?"
" That's a valid way of putting it. You find anything on Wonder Woman?"
" No. And there probably won't be. They are definitely gone. But I might have found something over in Kansas."
" All right, well, let's do it. But, uh, a few simple rules, okay? No babies. In fact, no baby mamas. No bars. No booze- no hot chicks of any kind." I laughed,
" Wait, wait, wait. Did you just say-"
" Hey. You spawn a monster baby, see how quick you want to dive back in the pool."
I said" So, can I still hook up?"
" Key, car!" Sam laughed, patting my shoulder,
" It's an honest question this time, I swear!" I walked to the car, pushing Sam's seat up and getting in, Sam got in.

I was at a motel room, Dean and Sam working the case, I stared at the mirror, letting my face shift into the siren. I stared at the features, my glowing blue eyes, my fangs, I just needed to keep up facade. That I'm okay. That I'm normal, human, and nice Keir. Just Keir. That can't be that hard, right? Definitely not... oh, shit!
——
There was another murder, Sam's phone rang,
He said" Hey." I kicked his leg with my foot, he put it on speaker,
Dean said" Hey. You remember a chain called Plucky Pennywhistle's?" Sam's face practically paled, I smiled, looking at him,
" No."
" Really? Could have swore you loved those places."
" No, dude, I hated them. Uh, you would dump me and go trolling for chicks."
" It's not like I left you in jail. I mean, those places are supposed to be fun."
" Fun? Uh, they're lame. And they smell like puke. And the ice cream was all grainy."
" All right, don't have one of your episodes, okay? I'm just saying I hit a dead end with this whole wishes-gone-wild thing, but both kids were at Plucky's day of. Look, why don't you go check out the local Plucky's and ask about this Billy kid?"
" Look, man, w-why don't I just... uh, why don't I just wait for you to get back?"
" No can do, Hermano. I'm on my way to talk to little Billy."
" Why-Why... Why don't I talk to Billy... right now?"
He laughed" Wait, wait, wait. This isn't about your, uh, your clown thing, is it?"
" What?!" I laughed," No!"
" Sammy?"
" No."
" Yeah, what in the world did they do to you? All right, you know what? Never mind. Just know that 99.99% of all clowns can't hurt you, okay? And if it bleeds, you can kill it." He put his phone down,
" If it bleeds, you can kill it."

Sam dragged me with him, he was staring at the sign,
Sam said" I'm too old for this." I laughed," Shut up."
I said" I definitely stole from a place like this. Never got caught."
" Just come in with me."
" Oh, come on! You're a big boy, Sammy."
" Just, Keir, come on."
" I'mma be invisible, so I might be with you, or I might not be." I went invisible," Come on, chicken shit." I got out, he got out, and we walked into the building.

Sam was staring at all the clowns while a worker went to get the manager. We walked to a wall of fears,
A woman said" Real beauties, huh? We rotate them out once a week. Kids love having their art on the wall."
Sam said" Draw your worst fear?"
" I know. But we don't post the truly evil stuff- just the standard crap like sharks and ghosts. Jean Holiday, shift manager."
" Johnson, FBI. So tell me- why even ask the kids to draw creepy stuff to begin with?"
" It's just an exercise... some pop psychologist came up with. Plus, the owner's obsessed with aiding children's development. So, the place mat is a safe way to get kids to talk about their fears. You know, we get them to sketch it in a little box, and- voilá!- Plucky magically transforms it into rainbows and candy. Personally, I think it's a load of hooey, but they say that if these fears run wild, then it affects kids long into their adulthood." Then a Plucky passed Sam, who tensed up, I covered my mouth and laughed.
" Yeah, I've- I've- I've heard that. Um... so, I don't know if you'll remember, but there was a kid in here yesterday named Billy Pogue for a party?"
" Oh, the conniption kid."
" Conniption? He-He had-"
" No, no, no, not him. He was fine. It was his dad. He pulls the kid away before cake and presents, and I guess the kid asked to stay for another five minutes. The dad pulls a full-frontal douchebag, starts screaming. Just embarrassed for the kid."
Sam was getting on his phone, a man clicked his tongue and whistled,
He said" Hey. Hey." Sam walked to him," You a cop?"
Sam said" Uh, yeah. I'm a fed."
" Uh, what are you investigating?"
" Couple of crazy deaths. Why, is there something you want to share?"
" Look- not now. Too many eyes. Come back after closing." He walked away, I looked at Sam, then water-ported to the car.
——
We walked into the room,
Dean said" Hey. So what's the lowdown with trauma town?" I grabbed a container, starting to eat.
Sam said" I can tell you this much. Neither vic was up for parent of the year. Kelly's dad skipped her birthday, and Billy's dad pulled one of those dick parent scenes that makes everyone cringe." He put the drawings on the bar,
" What the hell are these?"
" Kid therapy. Um, you draw your worst nightmare- poof!- Plucky fixes it. Um, they hang them up on this big wall."
" Well, can't argue with this. Leprechauns are deadly. Okay, so, Kelly draws a monster, and then that goes after her father? That's what we're saying?"
" Well, here's the thing. They label those. And guess which two were missing. Well, name tag was there- no place mat."
" Little Miss Octovamp."
" Yeah. And... Billy. So... somehow, whatever he drew came to life and killed his dad, riding a horse."
" Close, but no Seabiscuit. See, I went and had a little chat with Billy. And he drew me this." I looked at the picture, it was a unicorn,
" What? So now unicorns are evil?"
" Yeah. Obviously."
" Great. Well, now the question is, how did a unicorn come off a sketch and kill Billy's dad? How's any of this happening?"
——
Last night, there was another killing, the janitor from earlier, so we've suspected that whatever this is can use kid's nightmares at will.