The Life and Lies of Mil Winchester - Book 1

3:01 The Magnificent Seven

“No, nothing Bobby could find,” Sam answered. “Not yet.”

“It’s weird, man,” Dean sighed. “I mean, the night the devil’s gate opened, all these weirdo storm clouds were sighted over how many cities?”

“Seventeen,” Sam answered promptly, flatly.

“Seventeen,” I echoed. “You’d think it’d be ‘Apocalypse Now’ but it’s been five whole days and we’ve heard nada.” Sam looked back at me, looking startled. “What are the demon’s waiting for?”

“Beats me,” Sam shrugged.

“It’s driving me crazy,” I lowered my voice so I spoke just about through my teeth. “I’m telling you. If It’s gonna be war, I wish it would just start already.”

“I don’t know, Mil,” Sam said darkly. “Be careful what you wish for.”

I grimaced at the reminder.

When we pulled up outside the farmhouse Bobby was to meet us at the next morning, we were greeted by an overwhelmingly loud chirping of cicadas.

“Hear those cicadas?” Sam asked.

It was hard not to. “That can’t be a good sign,” I said.

“No,” Sam agreed with me. “No it can’t.”

Bobby came round the corner to greet us at that moment. “So, we’re eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?” Bobby asked at Dean, who had his mouth locked around a cheeseburger. I swear these days, he was always connected to food, or a girl’s lips.

Dean broke away from the love of his life to answer Bobby. “Well, I sold my soul. Got a year to live, I ain’t sweating the cholesterol.” I shot Dean a look. 

“And you’re back on the wagon, I see, Mil,” Bobby noted.

The boys must have told him my plans. “Temporarily,” I corrected.

“So, Bobby, what do you think?” Sam started, getting straight to business as usual. “We got a biblical plague here, or what?” 

“Well, let’s find out,” Bobby said. “Looks like the swarm’s ground zero.”

Dean finished the last mouthful of his cheeseburger, and pounded on the farmhouse door. “Candygram!”

When there was no answer, I put it upon myself to pick the lock; and pushed the door open, gingerly. I entered first, with Dean and Sam behind me, guns drawn. I ducked my head, and covered my nose in disgust at the scent. My brothers mimicked me.

“That’s awful,” Dean groaned.

“That’s not a good sign,” Sam muttered.

As we crept through the house, I began to hear the sounds of panicked screams. I paused at the next door.

“You guys hear that?” I asked in a whisper.

Dean bustled forwards, and kicked down the next door. The screams were coming from a television set. I crept around the couch, and immediately recoiled as I took in the family of three, all in various states of decomposition.

“Oh my god,” Sam said.

Bobby burst through the door on the other side of the room, and also recoiled, looking horrified.

“Bobby, what the hell happened here?” Sam wanted to know.

“I don’t know,” Bobby admitted.

I scanned over the bodies, all of them looked rather healthy, no wounds, nothing. Just dead, and covered in maggots.

“Check for sulfur,” I suggested.