Hollywood Babylon
I sat next to Dean on the tour bus as it drove through a large movie set town. His hand was on my thigh, prompting Lady to chew on his sleeve. He still didn't like her very much. Sam sat a row ahead of us. A younger boy sat on Dean's other side.
"First opened in 1927," the tour guide said, "the lot has been in continuous operation for eight decades."
"Hey, you know this is where they filmed Creepshow?" Dean asked the little boy that sat next to him as he shook Lady off of his arm. She curled up in my lap.
The boy looked utterly unimpressed.
"Now to the right is Stars Hollow." The guide continued. "It's the setting for the television series Gilmore Girls. And if we're lucky, we might even catch one of the show stars."
"Oh, I love that show. There's this one character who looks almost exactly like Sa--" I began.
"Come on." Sam said suddenly, hopping off of the bus.
"Let's finish the tour." Dean argued. He sighed, stepping off after I did.
We continued through the large area, moving between sets and large trucks.
"Sam, check it out, it's Matt Damon." Dean smiled, pointing as he set his other hand on my waist.
"Yeah, pretty sure that's not Matt Damon."
"No, it is." Dean said seriously.
"Can you two not have another petty argument?" I asked.
"Who argued for an entire two and a half hours over a dog?" Sam asked.
"Dean wants to get rid of her. I refuse. The argument was valid."
"Anyway, Matt Damon just picked up a broom and started sweeping." Sam pointed out.
"Well, he's probably researching for a role or something." Dean said.
"Uh, I don't think so." Sam replied. "Hey, this way. Uh, I think Stage 9's over here." He veered off to the left.
"Come on, man. Let's keep going this way." Dean pointed the opposite direction.
"No, come on. We gotta work." Sam stated.
"Sam, we don't need to work this much. It's all we do. Work, work, work. Let's have some fun." I said.
Dean sighed.
"Dude, you two wanted to come to L.A." Sam pointed out.
"Yeah, for vacation." Dean stated.
"Yeah, I was hoping for beaches and palm trees and walking around movie sets or fun. Not a ghost hunt." I said.
"Exactly. Swimming pools, movie stars. Not to work." Dean added.
"Does this seem like swimming pool or beach weather to either of you?" Sam gestured to the cloudy sky and the light rain falling. "I mean, it's practically Canadian."
"They have indoor swimming pools at hotels, thank you very much." I stated.
"You know, I just figured after everything that happened with....Madison, you could use a little R and R." Dean shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, maybe I wanna work, Dean. Maybe it keeps my mind off things." Sam said.
"Okay, okay. All right. So this crew guy, what did he--? He died on set?" Dean asked.
"You know, I think we're surrounded by too much death. I think we need more life in our...life." I said.
"And how do your propose we get that?" Dean asked.
"Well, there's babies, more puppies, ooh, a kitten. You know, new life."
Dean just looked at me. "No more animals. And if you buy a baby--"
"You don't buy babies, you dofus." I shoved his shoulder. "It's called adoption, for one. And secondly, why would I buy one when I have you. That's literally what you were made to do."
"Give you a baby?"
"Well, I mean, you the one with the--"
"Guys." Sam said.
"Right, right. Sorry. I'm not getting any more pets or babies. It was a joke." I said. "Jeez, can't even joke around here. It's gotta turn into a life lecture or something. I'm just saying objectively, Dean, you could potentially give me a baby."
"Do you want a baby?" Dean asked.
"I don't guess. I was just listing things that would bring more life to us. You know, too much death. It's icky." I said. "And depressing."
"Icky?"
"Yeah--"
"Anyway, rumor's spreading like wildfire online." Sam began, ignoring us and cutting me off.
I kind of felt bad for him. He had to put up with our random conversations that annoyed him.
"What about a fish?" I asked.
"How are you gonna take a fish all over the country?" Dean asked.
"Good point."
Sam sighed in frustration. "They're saying the set's haunted."
"What, like Poltergeist?" Dean asked.
"But I'm not sure that was true." I stated.
"Yeah, it could be a poltergeist." Sam nodded.
"No, no, no. The movie Poltergeist." Dean corrected.
Sam gave us a look.
"Sam, even I know this one." I sighed.
"You know nothing of your cultural heritage, do you?" Dean asked his brother. "It was rumored that the set of Poltergeist was cursed. That they used real human bones as, uh, props. Like, at least three of the actors died in it."
"Yeah, it might be something like that." Sam shrugged.
"Ooh, a parrot?" I suggested. "It could sit on your shoulder while you drive."
"Yeah, we'll get you an eye patch and everything, Dean." Sam said.
"No more animals in my car." Dean said. "So this crew guy, what's his name?"
"Frank Jaffy."
"Frank Jaffy. You got a death certificate or coroner's report?" Dean asked.
"Well, no, but, uh, it's L.A., you know? Might not even be his real name." Sam stated. "But the girl who found him, she said she saw something. A vanishing figure."
"What's the girl's name?"
"Uh, Tara Benchley."
"No way." I said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Tara Benchley?" Dean repeated. "From FreardotCom and Ghost Ship, Tara Benchley? Dude, why didn't you say so?"
"Well, so now you're suddenly on board?" Sam asked.
"I--I just. I mean, I'm a fan of her work. It's very good."
I shook my head, smiling. "Oh, whatever." I shoved his shoulder.
___
"We're just wondering if it could be...you know, a little brighter." A man in a suit that was probably in his 40s or 50s said, waving a hand as we walked onto set.
"Brighter?" A man in an orange shirt asked.
"Yeah, Jay. More color." The man said. "McG you know what I'm saying. You're the master." He said to the other man standing there.
Lights and ladders were scattered about around the fake trees and shrubbery that surrounded the rundown cabin.
"Brad, this is a horror movie." The man replied.
"And who says horror has to be dark?" Brad asked. "It's just--It's sort of depressing. Don't you think?" He looked around. "Uh, excuse me! Uh, green shirt guy." He called to Dean. "Yeah, yeah, you. Come here."
Dean made his way over.
"Could you, uh, get me a smoothie from craft?" Brad asked him.
"You want a what from who?" Dean asked.
"You are a PA. This is what you do." Brad said it like it was a fact.
I quickly made my way over with Sam close behind me.
"Yeah, yeah. He, uh...one smoothie coming right up." Sam said, grabbing Dean's shoulder and turning him around.
We all began walking off.
"What's a PA?" Dean asked.
"I think they're kind of like slaves." Sam whispered.
___
I rounded the corner, almost running right into Dean, who held a tray of smoothies. "Oh, there you are." I said. "I've been looking for you."
Dean gazed upward at the ceiling where the dead body was found on the walkway suspended above us. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. I was just looking for you." I shrugged.
Dean set the tray of smoothies down, pulling the EMF detector from his pocket. Lady followed behind him, biting at his ankles as he climbed the stairs. I followed. I scooped her up as Dean gave me the 'control your mutt' look.
"You can't do that. He'll kick us to the curb." I told her.
Suddenly all the lights dimmed. A bell rung.
"Hold the noise. We're rolling." I heard a guy call out.
I spotted all the actors inside the fake abandoned cabin.
Dean continued up the stairs. I followed.
We finally reached the top of the stairs. Dean knelt, holding the EMF detector out.
___
"So?" Sam asked as we all met back up at the snack table.
"No EMF anywhere." Dean replied.
"Great, so what do you think?" Sam asked.
"I think this is bullcrap." I read through the labels on the sandwiches on the table. Lady squirmed in my arms, trying to jump at the food.
"I think being a PA sucks." Dean stated. "But the food these people get, are you kidding me? Look at these things." He held up a mini Philly cheesesteak. "They're like miniature Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. They're delicious."
"That's exactly what they are, Dean." I stated, grabbing the on from his hand for myself. I broke off a piece and gave it to Lady before taking a bite myself.
"Look, now your mutt is stealing my food."
"No. I stole your food."
Dean grabbed another, taking a bite. "What'd you find out about the dead crew guy?"
"Uh, Frank Jaffy was just filling in for the day." Sam said. "Nobody here knew him or where he lived."
"Oh, great, so you found out about as much as I did."
"Not quite, I--"
"Hey." A man walked up, grabbing a sandwich.
"Hey. They're wonderful." Dean remarked as the guy walked off.
"Listen, I did dig up some stuff about Stage 9's history." Sam stated.
"Cool. Who died?" I asked.
"Four people died messy here over eighty years." Sam explained. "Two suicides and two fatal accidents."
"Any one of those could be a vengeful spirit." Dean shrugged.
"Yeah. Just gotta narrow it down more." Sam said.
Dean's eyes jumped over Sam's shoulder and landed on Tara Benchley who was sitting down across the room.
"I'll get right on that." Dean said. He walked off, snatching a stack of papers from a passing lady.
"You gonna follow him?" Sam asked.
"No. I want to watch from afar. He's cute when he gets nervous."
"Wouldn't he be more nervous with you lingering behind him?"
"Maybe, but I'd rather watch from the table where there's popcorn." I watched as Tara looked up at Dean. A smile spread across her face.
"Ooh, somebody likes your boyfriend." Sam teased.
"Hush." I slapped his arm. Lady barked. "See? Even a puppy wants you to be quiet."
"I'm surprised Dean let you keep her." Sam stated. "He's totally whipped."
"He is not." I scoffed.
"You've got him wrapped around your finger."
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do."
"Sam, I am not going to argue about this."
"But you are."
"I am not."
"Yes, you are."
"Samuel Winchester, you hush."
Suddenly Tara's smile fell.
Yep, they're talking about dead guys.
"Still, to convince him of a letting a dog in his car, you've got some power." Sam stated.
"Are you seriously still thinking about this?" I asked.
"Yes."