Song Remains the Same

Chapter 39: House of Gods

"All gods are homemade, and it is we who pull their strings,
giving them the power to pull ours."
- Aldous Huxley

Three dripping-wet Winchesters burst into the hotel lobby, catching their breath as they came in out of the torrential rain.

As soon as they made it inside, they could see that the place was nice. No, scratch that, it wasn't just nice—it was downright swanky. The lobby was sleek and modern, artfully lit, and immaculately kept. Fluffy white area rugs stood out against expensive hardwood floors, and the lounge area looked like it was straight out of a glamorous magazine feature. A stone fireplace crackled warmly across from the front desk and adjacent stood a full-service bar. Beside it, there was a sign that said Pool & Gym This Way.

Dean could hardly believe their luck. "Wow... nice digs for once."

He looked at his damp siblings who both appeared to be thrown off by how nice.

Lounge music played softly and a lot of people milled around. The storm had drawn quite the crowd. Dean hoisted his bag then led the way to the desk where the attendant glanced up and gave them an indulgent smile. "Checking in?" He was a small, pale man with dark hair swept neatly into a side part.

"Yeah." Dean leaned a wet elbow onto the counter.

"Just a moment," the attendant—Chet according to his name tag—said. He typed rapidly on the keyboard of his computer and Dean looked around again, unable to believe how great this place was. Also, how full of people.

"Busy night huh?" he asked.

"Any port in a storm, I guess." Chet chuckled pleasantly as he slid some paperwork over. "If you could just fill this out, please."

"Yeah." Dean took the form and filled in total lies, laughing at his inside jokes. Name? Fred Gwynne. Address? 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Beside him, he heard Sam give one of those little huffs and he knew what his brother was thinking: grow up, Dean.

Dean slid the paperwork back across the counter with some cash and Chet looked at him intently. "Sir, I think you got a little—hmm—" He pointed to Dean's neck. "Shaving nick there." He produced a tissue out of nowhere with a flourish, smiling graciously as he motioned for him to take the tissue. Dean did, a little confused—he hadn't shaved in a day, how would he have a nick? But sure enough, the white tissue came away with a minuscule bright red blood stain. What the hell...?

"Your room key." Chet offered a dangling silver key.

Dean reached out and took it, a little out of sorts. "Oh, uh. Thanks."

Beside him, he felt Alex tensing up—he looked and saw that she was yawning widely. He chuckled briefly before looking back at Chet. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have coffee, would you? And uh, some eats?"

"Certainly! Our buffet." Chet indicated to the left proudly. "It's all you can eat. Best pie in the tri-state area." Dean felt like the clouds had opened and sunshine was pouring through—this guy was speaking his language! "And all kinds of caffeine for the tired young lady." Chet gave a good-natured wink. Quite grumpily, Alex just gave him a look like bite me.

"Food," Dean said urgently to his two siblings. Need he say more? He led the way into the dining room, too hungry to care about going to their room first to change clothes. What awaited was better than Dean could have imagined. It was like out of a dream: colorful, fresh food lined the buffet. He saw fried chicken, ribs, chicken-fried steak, burgers and hot dogs, several kinds of pasta, salad, corn on the cob, rolls, french fries, an assortment of fresh fruits, grilled vegetables—and there was a piled-high dessert bar. He admired the spread lovingly, turning his head toward Sam slightly so as to not take his eyes off the food. "You ever seen anything so beautiful?"