all fence and no doors
Dean falls into wakefulness, heart racing and breath short in his throat.
He hadn't meant to sleep.
Did he --
Is --
But there's nothing on the floor that doesn't belong there, no blood under his nails, no smell of --
It's all right. He breathes, then goes into the bathroom to wash his hands, anyway.
Three times.
When he comes back out he notices a box set just inside the door. He'll never be able to explain just why it takes him so long to go over to it.
But it does.
* * *
He doesn't listen to any of the music at first, not even Zeppelin. But the books, those he does take out and flip through. Then he puts down Cat's Cradle and picks up Slaughterhouse Five.
He gets to the part about the firebombing of Dresden and puts the book down pretty quickly after that.
It doesn't get picked up again.
* * *
He opens the pack of cards and tries a half-hearted game of solitaire.
Twenty minutes later he eats a handful of M&Ms.
Then a second handful.
He finds the Motor Trend issues not long after that. And those --
Okay, so all the cars are boxy and godawful, caught halfway between classic and modern, but they have engine specs and nostalgia for those days ain't as painful as it could be, so he keeps reading.
And when he's gotten through all those --
knock knock knock
He hadn't meant to sleep.
Did he --
Is --
But there's nothing on the floor that doesn't belong there, no blood under his nails, no smell of --
It's all right. He breathes, then goes into the bathroom to wash his hands, anyway.
Three times.
When he comes back out he notices a box set just inside the door. He'll never be able to explain just why it takes him so long to go over to it.
But it does.
* * *
He doesn't listen to any of the music at first, not even Zeppelin. But the books, those he does take out and flip through. Then he puts down Cat's Cradle and picks up Slaughterhouse Five.
He gets to the part about the firebombing of Dresden and puts the book down pretty quickly after that.
It doesn't get picked up again.
* * *
He opens the pack of cards and tries a half-hearted game of solitaire.
Twenty minutes later he eats a handful of M&Ms.
Then a second handful.
He finds the Motor Trend issues not long after that. And those --
Okay, so all the cars are boxy and godawful, caught halfway between classic and modern, but they have engine specs and nostalgia for those days ain't as painful as it could be, so he keeps reading.
And when he's gotten through all those --
knock knock knock