Currents

Chapter 32

We got out of the impala at a motel,
Dean said" Wow. You know, of all the lame-ass things you've ever said, that's got to be the lame-assiest."
Sam said" I'm sorry, but I happen to think Shemp was a funnier stooge than Curly."
" Curly was a freaking genius!"
" I always found Curly's work a bit obvious."
" It's supposed to be obvious, man. They're Stooges."
I said" You both are actual idiots, I'm not sure whether to be concerned or laugh."
They both said" Shut up." Sam opened the door,
Sam said" So, we calling James tonight?"
Dean said" No. I'll just call him tomorrow. That drive was a bitch."
" I wonder what he wanted."
" Well, his text said that he needed help. He's a cop. I figured it was work-related."
" Yeah, well, we do owe him."
" The guy saved our lives once, Sammy. I mean, it's not like the guy-"
" Saved our lives?" I smirked,
" I'm gonna go for a beer run. You need anything?" I shook my head, leaning back,
" No, I'm good."
" You sure?"
" Yeah."
" 'Cause you did just gank a hellhound, which is no slice of pie, and, uh, there is a mine field of who knows what crap ahead. Just want to make sure that you are okay."
" I'm good."
" 'Cause, you know, we could find another devil dog. You could tag out. I could snuff the son of a bitch."
" Dean, Kevin doesn't even know what the next trial is yet. So whatever it is you're worried about, stop. I'll be ready."

I was upside down, hanging off the bed, I heard scratching at the door, I pulled up, flipping over. Sam walked out of the bathroom, we walked to the door, Sam opened it and we saw a dog. What the... It ran in,
Sam said" Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." It jumped onto the bed, I smiled," Uh... no. Um..." Sam closed the door, we walked towards the dog,
I said" Hey. You friendly?" Sam pet the dog,
" Friendly. Good. All right. You're a pretty dog." It rolled over," You want, uh- you want a little belly scratch, huh? So, who do you belong to? Right. No tags. Uh, what are you doing here?" Then we heard the car,
" Oh, shit."
" Oh, no."
" Sam, sam, sam..." Sam went out there to calm Dean, I hissed as the dog turned into a woman. Hot woman, but nonetheless a woman! Sam opened the door and then came in, I fully shifted.
She said" I'm a familiar."
Dean said" A what?"
Sam said" Companion to a witch- some witches split their time between human and animal form."
She said" I get a more accurate read on people in my other persona. Approaching guys in a motel room like this- well, it gets complicated. My name's Portia. I belong to James Frampton."
Dean said" No. No, no. See, that-that doesn't work for us, 'cause that would mean that our buddy James is a witch."
" Wow. You're quick."
" James is a freaking witch?"
" He wasn't when you met him, but that last case you worked on with him-"
Sam said" Uh, lunatic alchemist. It was nasty."
" James wanted to learn more about that world- the black arts, witchcraft. It became the center of his life."
Dean said" Wait, so you're telling me that James the cop became a witch because of us? Unh-unh."
" You don't like dogs, do you?"
Sam said" Wait. So James isn't a cop anymore?"
" Sure he is. Homicide detective. His new powers make his work even better."
" Then what does he need from us?"
" Well, something's been happening to him. It started with excruciating headaches, screaming sounds in his ears, horrible nightmares. Unable to sleep or think. He can't work. It-It's like he's having a breakdown. Maybe you can find a way to help him."
Dean said" Well, here's the thing. Uh, witches- not real fans."
" Really? Well, James is a cop with a spotless record. He's used his skills for nothing but good. So why don't you lose the ignorant bigotry for maybe two seconds and give him a shot?"
" That was incredibly hot." She gave a look to Sam,
Sam said" It was pretty hot."
I said" I respect women."

Dean said" So, these dreams James is having, he thinks that they're real? He thinks that he is actually killing people?"
Portia said" I think so. At least that's what I picked up before he started blocking me."
Sam said" What does that mean, blocking you?"
" Familiars and their masters- we can communicate telepathically. I can get inside of James' head anytime I want. But he shut me out."
" So, what, you think maybe there's something in there he doesn't want you to see?"
" Possibly, yeah- something dark, you know, that's destroying him. He can't go to the police, and he doesn't trust other witches."
Dean said" But he trusts us? You do know who we are, right? We're the last people that somebody like James needs to be telling his troubles to."
" This was my idea. I was the one who sent you the text under James' name. He doesn't know you're here. But... I think you're maybe all he has."
——
We were doing Bobby's witch-killing spell, never been done before, so we have no clue if it'll even work. Dean's out getting the last of the stuff, Sam and I are looking at all of the crime scenes, James described to them when they visited him.
Dean walked in,
He said" Got the last of it."
Sam said" All right. Well, I have been looking at the crime-scene reports, and they are exactly the same as James told us- vics, dates, location. The most recent one was a blind man, just like he said."
" That's not good."
" Also, I looked into his record on the force. He went from rookie detective to lieutenant basically overnight, and in the last four years, his solve rate's been right at about 100%."
" Of course. He's got the booga-booga on his side. Man, you know that we've never actually seen this witch-killing spell of Bobby's work, right? I mean, this is not a sure thing."
" Is anything we ever do a sure thing?"
" Well, no, but I would just like to have odds in our favor as much as possible."
" Right." We looked at him,
" Well, I'm concerned."
" Concerned about the, uh- the witch-killing spell... or that I'm gonna mess these trials up?"
" Look, we get too far down the road with this, we can't go back. And it'll be too late for me to jump in."
" Who says that you're gonna have to? You know, maybe I'll actually pull this one off."
" I'm just saying."
" I know what you're saying, Dean. You've said it. You know, I've been going over this and over this, asking myself why doesn't he trust me? And it occurred to me finally- it's not that you don't trust me. It's that you can only trust you."
" Are you done?"
" Yeah, I'm done if you're done."
" You know, once I get this put together, we can't hesitate. If we got to use it, we use it."
" You mean if we find the witch that's doing this to James?"
" Or if there is no other witch."
" Or it wouldn't be the first free pass we've given, Dean."
" Look, I like James as much as the next guy, but people are getting ganked here. Besides, Benny, Kate- they were forced to be what they are. James chose this."