Not Until We Are Lost

Johnny left the house that contained the woman who had tried to eat him. Even though she claimed that that wasn't what she'd been doing, that she'd been feeding and not eating he'd come to call it that in his head. Not physically like some might, but there had been an attempt at consumption. That bothered him. Though, not as much as the fact that she couldn't do it. Whatever she'd been doing, she'd been stopped somehow. Something about him was different enough that she couldn't take what she wanted from him. She'd been just as bothered and confounded by it as he had.

He was so unnatural that he couldn't feed whatever kind of creature she was.

There was part of him, that part that Jo had started to build and he'd been constructing with Mary, that thought Bo might be the kind of thing that needed to be hunted. That part was small, though, and he'd gotten to know and understand the woman enough to let her slide out of that hunted status. She was a little odd, but nice enough, and she'd not actually tried to kill him. Or anybody, for that matter. That he knew of.

Despite whatever dark thoughts were circling around in his head, Johnny still had a need to find Mary. They'd grown close. And the idea of her not being here with him bothered him. He didn't want to be apart from her. He didn't want to lose... whatever it was that they had. He knew that it was different for her, that she had him in the future in a way that ... well. It was different.

Being out of the house wasn't really any better than being in it, since the weird decor extended to the exteriors as well and seemed to take over the whole block. As he walked and left the street, he saw that it went through the whole neighborhood, and also the rest of the town.

Johnny found a newspaper and picked it up, reading The Caldbury Times emblazoned across the top of it. At least he knew where he was, he supposed. He didn't read it, but tucked it under his arm. He wanted coffee. He didn't know if he needed it, but he wanted it. He walked a little bit, a little freaked out that he wasn't getting the normal kinds of stares, but instead eliciting smiles from the passersby. Unable to take much more, he ducked into a coffee shop, nearly running headlong into some kid.

Max had stayed the night, and he had settled in to watch some strange movie that was a mix of Freddie, Jason, and Easter Bunny Charlie Brown. He wasn't sure if it worked, but it had managed to knock Eleni out. Rather than move her too much, he'd pulled the trench coat, that he'd taken off earlier, and covered her with it. He'd even wrapped an arm around her and snuggled in to the couch himself.

The p.i. didn't go to sleep immediately, his ears ever listening for the imminent vampduck attack. Mallard with fangs? Count Duckula? He smirked to himself as he came up with weird names and phrases. The zombunnies hadn't shown up, but he wasn't doubting the Stark kid that she had seen those. Ducks with fangs would take care of that bit of disbelief.

He was also further along in believing her about her parentage. The weapon she'd just thrown together in her basement or wherever she'd done it was a good sign. She was wicked smart as some might say, and he didn't think a Stark would be known for idiocy. Not a normal one anyway.

So, there Max dozed, wondering if he'd ever get to sleep comfortable in a bed again. He would have continued to do so if something, movement near by perhaps, hadn't woken him. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but something or someone was in the house. It was too dark to see, but that didn't give him any hint to the time. Nothing close by was helpful, not without him signalling that he was awake. He just hoped that the vampducks didn't know a few undead monkeys who could open doors.

Jo had found Mary easily enough, but so far she'd seen no sign of Dean, Johnny, or even Jack. She was worried about all three, and she was missing her boyfriend. Worse, she wondered what it would do to Dean for her to disappear again like this. She didn't mean to keep doing that, but it seemed like there were forces outside of her control that were determined to keep pulling them apart.

Jo wasn't one to wallow which meant that she decided now was a good time to take a break before she started wandering too far into those darker thoughts. She found a small pub-a place with tacky neon signs that depicted Cadbury Beer and Pumpkin Ale. She ordered herself a beer and then grabbed a booth in the corner of the room. The booth provided a good vantage point to keep an eye on what was going on in the rest of the bar and to keep her eye trained toward the entrance. It was as much a defensive move as it was a hope that she might see one of the people she was looking for walk through those doors.

For now, she settled into her corner of the bar and started to drain her first beer. It would take a few before she was pleasantly fuzzy, though that was the goal right now. She didn't need to be more than that since she was in a new place and didn't know what threats might be out there in the night, but a little bit fuzzy could be good. It was better than thinking about the people that she might have lost with this latest abduction.

First and foremost, Cas had no idea where he was. He'd believed that he'd fallen asleep in a room somewhere within Atlantis - a city whose very existence bothered him, but that was hardly of any import anymore. There was a street now, and where there had been a boat and nothing more than an endless stretch of ocean, there were rows of houses. Yet...he was definitely not home. The town may have resembled that of those he'd once hunted in, but...something was different. For one, there was a discrepancy regarding the time of year - Autumn did not occur at the same time as Christ's rebirth, and as for that, it was the ritual involved rabbits and eggs. To explain this to anyone would evidently be a mistake.

If there was indeed, anyone he was familiar with.

He was experiencing no pain, so that was likely a comforting sign - he had his blade, his gun, and his phone. Which of course, upon examining it, there was no signal. There were no numbers regarding those he'd met aboard the cruise liner either, but...if he were completely honest with himself, they had only been temporary anyway. He needed to find a way home. And he was not going to do that standing in the middle of a street among those who insisted upon wearing masks.

Moving further down the street, he nearly bumped into what he supposed was a female, who said very little to him. Deciding that was useless, he chose to grab the shoulder of the next person he saw - one who apparently did not have a mask. "May I..."

Realizing he'd likely grabbed too hard, he took a step back and released his grip. "My apologies. It seems...it seems I'm very lost," he said quietly. "I need to speak with anyone who is familiar with this area."