Being Dean's Impala

Mardi Gras Pt 1.

"Why here?" I ask as I bump into someone for what is probably the twentieth time.

"All these people are here for a party." Benny answers as he bumps into someone himself.

"Watch it." The man snaps. He stares at Benny.

"Look Buddy, today's not the day. Move along." Benny says lowly. The man doesn't move.

I feel uncomfortable. I don't know what to do. Dean usually takes care of stuff like this. It works for him. I want to help. I don't know why but I grab the man, stare into his eyes, and say, "Get lost." My voice drops down a few levels. The man stands up straight and walks away. Dizzy, he looked like. He walks back to his friends and begins talking. Like this encounter never happened.

"What the hell was that?" Benny asks me.

"I don't know, honest." I hold my hands up. "I don't know what's going on with me any more than you do." I tell him.

He continues to stare. "That might come in handy later on." He chuckles. "Tell me something." He says. "What do you smell?"

"I'm trying not to think about all the things I can smell." Aside from the people I smell good which is delicious but there's also garbage which doesn't smell so good.

"Vamps have a certain type they like to feed from. Everyone's different." Benny starts. "Some like drunks. Others like whores."

I snap my head at him. "That's not a nice word."

He clears his throat. "My apologies. Prostitutes." That doesn't make it any better. "Women of the evening." I roll my eyes. So many words different words used to describe a thing or a person. "Anyway, we'll walk around for a while. Eat some food, take a gander at the people around, and wait until nightfall."

"What happens at nightfall?" I question.

"That's when the party really begins." He taps my shoulder. "Try not to drink too much."

"I don't know anything about my alcohol tolerance or food tolerance since I got back. Which hasn't been that long."

"Using some mighty big words." He jokes. "We'll figure it out. You'll be alright. If we can drink coffee than I'm sure we'll be able to shovel down some New Orleans cuisine." He pats his belly. "It's been a long time."

"I hope you're up for it."

***
"What is this?" I pick whatever this pink thing is by its tail. There's no head. Just the body. I sniff it. "Smells fishy."

"It's a shrimp. It's delicious." Benny shoves one in his mouth.

I do the same. It's an odd fish taste but overall pleasant. You can really taste the herbs they put into their seasonings. None of that store bought seasoning either. Home grown. Put together it was like it was made with love. "That's really good."

"See?" Benny eats another one.

***
"I miss Dean." I tell Benny as we sit and watch the sunset. We found an abandoned building to sit on top of away from everyone.

He nods. "I know you do. Why don't you call him?" Benny sips on a drink he got in a fancy cup during the parade.

"And say what?" I don't know what to say to them. I play with my hands.

"That you miss him is all. You want to hear his voice." He sips again. He shakes the fancy cup. "I'm almost empty."

"I'm not just a human anymore, Benny." I pause and sigh. "I'm one of the things we hunt. What am I supposed to do? Act normal?"