Chapter 6: Matilda

"Finally," Abel moaned as he pushed into the warm room, the motel rooms beds were small but the hunter didn't care. He collapsed on top of the bed with a huff, Chamuel followed behind him with their backpacks. Dropping them on the floor before following the other man's lead.

The two had driven for hours, trying to get as many miles between them and Bobby's home as they could. The clock ticked to almost three am before Chamuel convinced Abel to pull into a motel,

"We're in a rush but not that much of a rush, you need to sleep,"

The argument didn't last long, Abel couldn't see straight and knew the Angel was doing what he could to make the situation less stressful.

After a quick change of clothes the two collapsed into their separate beds.

"I'm fucking beat," Abel groaned,

"Hey Abel, I was thinking," Chamuel started, "tomorrow we might want to...yaknow, get some fresh clothes? Maybe some more supplies? I really need to brush my teeth,"

"Ain't that the truth I can smell ya from here,"

"I could say the same about your BO,"

"In my defense, I swing a baseball bat while you do magic tricks,"

"Magic tricks? I thought they were superpowers,"

"Naw, you're like, Matilda levels of superhero,"

Chamuel stopped for a second, blinking into the darkness. "Who?"

Abel sat up dramatically, "Matilda? Yaknow?" Clearing his throat Abel sang "I would like to reach out my hand,"

Chamuel chuckled, "is she a singing superhero?"

"Oh my God, you've never seen Matilda!" Abel sounded as if the man had told him he never drank a beer, "that's a classic!!"

Chamuel shook his head, sitting up as well. Their beds nearly touching, Chamuel could make out the shocked look on the other's face.

"Is not watching Matilda a war crime?"

"Straight to the electric chair!" Abel clapped his hands together causing the angel to chuckle, feeling safe now as the anxiety of the situation flooded out of him.

"Well, I guess we'll have to take a small day off tomorrow and watch it, grab some clothes, figure this stuff out," Chamuel murmured,

"I got clothes,"

"Abel you packed four shirts and a pair of pants, at the thrift shop you bought one shirt and a CD,"

"And? Is that not enough clothes?"

Chamuel laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "they're all covered in blood and sludge,"

Abel felt his face heat up, "oh yeah, they are," he murmured glancing down at the only clean shirt he had left, his eyes tracing the Black Sabbath symbol.

"I know you want to find Sam, but I think we need to stop and breathe."

"What about all the people out there that need us? And Sam? Butch! Even Mishka," Abel asked, a troubled look on the man's face.

Cham shook his head, "I know, but we'll find them! You gotta slow down, since I met you it's like you're racing for the finish line. We need to pace ourselves, if we work day in and out well die before we can even figure out the prophecy,"

Abel took in a breath, letting it out slowly. The man laid back down, his body was sore. Eyes burning with the need to sleep, his stomach cramping from the lack of food. Chamuel was right, as much as Abel hated to admit it.

"Alright, we'll...have tomorrow off," Abel grumbled, nuzzling himself into the warm sheets of the bed.

After a few short seconds he heard Chamuel do the same, Abel stared blankly at the darkness. The feeling of dread washed over him, he rolled over so he could look at the other beside him. Feeling more comfortable with the angel in sight,

"Good night, Abel," Chamuel whispered, his eyes were closed already. Abel could almost see the sleep roll over the angel in waves,

"Good night, Cham," Abel murmured back, smiling as he fell into the darkness of much needed sleep.

***

Chamuel sat up with the intense need to use the restroom, the sun was up and shining with a cold morning light. The angel got to his feet only to pause as he looked down at Abel. The man's teeth clenched together, his eyes closed tight, twitching in his sleep. Every few seconds he'd let out a pained sigh, his knuckles white as he held onto the pillow as if it were a lifeline.

"Shhhhh," Chamuel whispered, kneeling down beside the man he put his hand on the other's shoulder. Closing his eyes the angel drained Abel's pain into his body, being hit with sparks of panic, fear, anxiety, it swirled over him threatening to drown him in its ever growing ocean. His body shaking from the intensity of it all, he couldn't remember the last time such emotional distress racked its way through his bones.

Abel relaxed now, his body going still as Chamuel filled him with much needed dopamine to calm his restless nightmares. Since he met Abel he could see the internal war being waged inside him, brushing some of the man's hair from his face Chamuel got to his feet yet again. He could handle the negative emotions, the painful anxiety, even the deepest depression. It was what he was originally created for, yet, for whatever reason, seeing the man in such great agony hurt him more than he was prepared for. Shaking off the thought as he dizzily made for the restroom.

Returning only a few short minutes later he couldn't help feel exhausted as he fell back into his bed, closing his eyes allowing himself a few more hours of sleep.

***

Abel drove through the downtown area of the small city the men had ended up in, feeling oddly refreshed and alive today as he gripped the leather steering wheel. He had plugged in a bluetooth device to allow his music to play over the speakers, enjoying the cold breeze from the rolled down windows as he drove slowly.

"Have you seen all these tapes in here?" Chamuel asked, holding a box of them in his arms.

When the two had woken that morning they had inspected the car's insides more. Sam had shown them the basics, the weapons, a few hiding places, but nothing else.

"Look at this," Abel laughed, he was holding up Sam's ipod that the man used to listen to his own music. "A dinosaur!" he had said,

Now as they drove towards the thrift store Chamuel couldn't help himself looking through the tapes, completely surprised at how well taken care of they are.

"I can't believe that Dean listened to the same stuff you do," Chamuel chuckled,

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess,"

Abel smirked at Chamuel, "That's cause it's good music,"

"If you say so," he said, leaning back in the seat as Abel pulled up to the small store. The two scrambled out of the car, "I'm helping you this time!" cham insisted as they walked through the door, Abel arched an eyebrow but didn't argue as the men moved through the small store.

Abel found the ugliest shirt he could and presented it to Chamuel who playfully slapped it out of the man's hand, only to find another similar shirt and holding it out to Abel with a laugh. The men scoured the clothes, the nicknacks, the sports gear. Abel filling their shopping cart with stuff he felt they might need along on their journey, sporting equipment for weapons, dvds for the pair to watch, an old cooler for cold drinks and food,

"You've never seen Lost boys?"

"Nope," he dropped it into the cart, "How about school of Rock, with Jack Black?"

"I just never really watched Tv,"

"Oh my god, Cham you're nuts," He dropped the DVD in with the others,

"Okay okay, you had to see this one!" Abel insisted, holding up the DVD,

"Never even heard of it,"

"You've never even heard of Top Gun? Did you sleep under a rock?"

"I've never seen you this perplexed!" Chamuel laughed, as Abel continued on with his disbelief. "That's my favorite movie, man! I always loved Maverick,"

The two made for the dressing rooms as they chatted, Chamuel listening to Abel talk about the movie with excitement. It warmed the Angel's heart to see such joy coming from his friend, making a mental note to watch the movie with him.

***

"What about this?" Chamuel asked as he stepped from the fitting room. The angel stood awkwardly in front of the man, an orange plaid jacket covering his frame. He looked nervous to be showing off at all in front of the hunter, it wasn't the nicest shirt Abel had seen but the look on Chamuels face made the man smile.

"Yaknow," he said, "I like it, orange is my favorite color,"

Orange wasn't his favorite color, but the glow in his friends eyes was worth the small lie. Chamuel stopped by the book section, grabbing a few religious texts from different cultures,

"Why are you grabbin those?" Abel asked,

"Well, I mean, you think there's only one God?" Chamuel turned to Abel, looking at the other confused.

"Are you telling me there's more? I hardly believed in the one God till recently,"

Chamuel dropped the religious text into the cart, "Honestly? I don't know fully. I just know there's more than just what's assumed," he said with a light shrug, leaning against the back of the cart.

Abel decided not to push the matter, after all, Chamuel would know better than him.

The men stopped in a grocery store next, collecting bottled water, some food and whatever else was on Chamuels list he had made on his phone. The angel went between looking over the list to checking their shared twitter account, the video had hit viral only a few hours after posting it but no one seemed to have any information on the picture. Though he was able to find multiple theories, ideas and speculation. His mind continued to be troubled as they finished their shopping, deciding to hit up a local burger joint as the day continued onward.

They stepped inside, Abel felt the hunger rock him nearly making him feel sick as they were sat down in a booth with plastic red cushions, the waitress dressed as though she had walked out of the fifties.

"Bacon double cheese burger," Abel practically screamed with excitement,

"Veggie burger, please," Chamuel said in a light voice, the woman nodded at them before making her way towards the back. For the first time since he and Chamuel were forced together he felt like a normal human being. As if all this wasn't happening and he was just out with a friend to grab a bite to eat,

"Alright!" Abel slammed his phone on the table, the screen flashed a few times before the title screen showed.

"What are you doing?" Chamuel asked

Abel pulled a pair of bluetooth earphones from his pocket, handing one to the angel who accepted it hesitantly. Looking over the earbud with a look of disgust, "This things probably covered in earwax,"

"Come on, Cham-a-lam, it's just my wax!"

"You say that like you're my friend or something," Chamuel chuckled, rubbing the earbud on his shirt a bit causing Abel to roll his eyes with a shake of his head.

"We're watching this now?"

"Hey! Matilda's a classic! Plus, I love watching tv while eating,"

Chamuel shook his head this time but didn't fight the other, popping the earbud in to watch the movie.

The two sat in the diner for the entire film, both enjoying their food as it came as well as sharing a dessert to stall out the need to leave before the movie ended. Abel telling Chamuel facts about the movie every so often, the hunter visibly excited to be sharing with the Angel who listened with a warm smile on his features. He could have listened to the man talk about it for hours!

The two now sat in the park, having walked around it for a short time after their food. Enjoying the sun, enjoying being in public and without a demon on their tail. Now they sat, chatting about the movie,

"I wish I could just want something and levitate it to myself!" Abel laughed,

"She is like a mild superhero!" Chamuel replied, scrolling through his twitter feed. Abel had a sudden thought as he watched the other, "Hey Cham, do you think you could do that?"

Chamuel stopped, glancing at his friend, "Move things with my mind?"

"Yeah, you got the glowing thing, right? Maybe you can use it to Matilda something,"

Chamuel blinked at the other, glancing around him he spotted a stick not far away. He might as well try it, right?

The two looked around to make sure that no one was nearby, Chamuel's hand glowed softly. He focused only on his right hand. Attempting to send the power that rolled through his veins to that area specifically, he then turned his attention to the stick. feeling the power waver softly before light surrounded the small twig. Pulling it from the dirt the stick slowly made its way to the men. Chamuel and Abel's jaws dropped as the wood floated delicately into the angel's palm. Both looked at the stick with a mix of shock and thrill while catching each other's eye.

"Holy shit," Abel whispered,

"We need to get this on video, I matilda'd the stick!" Chamuel felt his voice raise with excitement, holding the stick up as I'd he pulled the sword from the stone.

Pulling out his phone the angel handed it to his friend who took it without question.

"Get me doing it with something else," Chamuel said, Abel laughed as he held the phone camera up to Cham.

"Is this our version of a prank?" Abel asked,

"What do I grab?" Chamuel asked him, his blue eyes bright with excitement, his smile stretched over his features, he felt like a child but he didn't care as Abel seemed to match his giddy energy.

"That ladies hat," Abel said, pointing to a woman who sat on a bench not far from them. She was on her phone, eyes narrowed. On her head sat a beanie, it looked as though it wasn't fully on her head just gingerly placed there.

"No way,"

"Do it for the camera, man!"

Chamuel bit his lip, turning his head in her direction he lifted his hand. It glowed pink softly and only a few heartbeats later, the woman's hat glowed too. Chamuel lifted the hat lightly from the ladies head, she didn't seem to notice. Cham turned his head with a wide grin to look at the camera, laughing.

"Uh Cham," Abel whispered,

The woman was looking up at the hat with her mouth wide open, Cham gasped, dropping the hat and turning away quickly; his face turning red. The hat fell back on the woman who scrambled to her feet, ripping the hat from her head she turned and raced away from the bench. Abel couldn't help but laugh at the incident, after a few seconds Chamuel laughed too.

The two decided to practice this new found trick, going through the small town center Chamuel would move things at random. Opening a door for someone who looked at it with confused eyes, moving someone's backpack a few inches away, causing playful mischief. Chamuel couldn't believe how strong the power felt, it tingles at the ends of his fingers. Stopping every so often to make sure no one was watching them as they continued with their fun.

"Are you tired?" Abel asked suddenly as they made for the car,

"I mean, yeah, but it's not like usual, I'm only picking up little things so it's not really super draining," He said, shrugging lightly as he grabbed the door handle.

They both got inside, the machine purred to life as Abel backed out of his spot Chamuel looked through their twitter again.

He uploaded the video, eyes trained on the uploading screen.

"What if they think this is real?"

"A guy levitating things? Folks'll probably assume its string or something,"

Chamuel nodded, he was right. Abel hadn't been wrong yet when it came to their 'fans'. Their inbox was flooded with people asking questions, giving advice or ideas, attempting to call them out or report seeing the black sludge themselves. But one stuck out to Chamuel, the first words of the message read,

"I captured the--"

He had to open the message to read the rest but opening messages gave him trickles of anxiety, what if it wasn't anything interesting and he got their hopes up that they'd reply to him? Shaking his head to rid himself of the growing fears in the depths of his mind, he pocketed the phone. It was his day off, he needed to get his energy back if he had any hope of stopping what was to come, possibly, what had already started.

***

The hunters made it back to the motel as the sun slid down into the trees below, painting the sky shades of orange and pink. The two entered the small room, chatting about nothing and everything as they started to put things together. Filling the cooler with bottled water, collecting their dirty clothes into a pile to take to the washing machine, packing up their new clothes as well as finding a spot in the car to put everything. Abel hammered nails into a few baseball bats he found at the store in case he needed a back up, Chamuel cleaned out Sam's belongings from the car, putting them all in one bag so they wouldn't lose the mans ipod, clothes, a set of keys and whatever else he assumed belong to the older hunter.

As Abel finished up with his baseball bat Chamuel closed the door to the motel room, holding up a DVD

"Wanna watch a movie and order some pizza?"

Abel glanced up at the movie, his eyes glowed as he dropped the bat into their gym bag of weapons.

"Top gun? Really?" his smile wide,

"Well you said it was your favorite, right?"

"Yeah! I almost named myself Maverick!"

Chamuel looked at him in surprise, sitting down on the floor beside the other. The shaggy carpet of the old motel room brushes against Chamuel's pants, letting his back lean against the wooden bed frame behind him.

"Can...I ask why you picked Abel?" He asked, picking at the floor anxiously. Worried the question might be a little insensitive but Abel just chuckled, he was sitting cross legged on the floor. A jar of nails beside him, hammer, and a few baseball bats that had been modified for battle.

"Well...I don't really like talkin' about it," he started, Chamuel was ready to take back the question when Abel continued, "But you? I don't think I gotta worry about you giving me shit,"

"Playfully maybe," Chamuel whispered, giving the man a reassuring smile.

"Alright, I'll tell ya, but after we're watching Top Gun and getting buzzed,"

"I wouldn't want it any other way!" Chamuel laughed,

Abel leaned back to the bed frame, sighing as if he could see his memories reflected on the wall across from him, eyes tracing the old television as he attempted to put together the words without coming off as if the memory didn't hurt.

"So, I was seventeen, I was in this…" waving a hand in the air, "Foster home, my foster mom at that home was this...incredibly intense catholic. Yaknow? Slap ya' around in the name of God if you sinned, I couldn't watch anything that wasn't rated G, no wizards, no pokemon, the works," He sighed, Chamuel got to his feet. Going into their small fridge he pulled out a beer for his friend, handing him the can.

"Thanks!" Abel popped it opened, taking a sip of the bitter liquid, "Anyways, I came out as a boy that year. Yaknow, I had a full ride setup. I was going to go to college on a baseball scholarship, I fought so hard to be part of the baseball team and not the softball team. My couch, man, he was like a dad to me." Another sip, Chamuel could feel the sadness moving off the hunter in slow easy waves.

"I thought," He cleared his throat, "I thought that people were more progressive ya'know, like It wouldn't matter, I'm still me. I told him my name was Maverick, and I was a boy. Than he laughed at me," Abel frowned deeply now, looking into the beer with sad eyes, "It was like he was this amazing man, dad, person and suddenly...I wasn't who he thought I was and he turned into a monster,"

"Maybe he had a demon in him?" Chamuel offered,

"Naw, the guys only demon was his own," shaking his head, "Well after some arguing he sent me outta his office. Told the entire team I wasn't part of it anymore, that I was a tranny and he didn't want me to confuse his other players," Closing his eyes Abel sighing,

"I was laughed out of my own team, me! The star hitter. Well word got around quickly, even my foster mom knew by the time I got home. I told her I wanted to be named Maverick but I was told I shouldn't ruin such a good character by using their name, I needed to be sent to a church camp, blah blah blah. Well I decided to leave before I got too angry,

Found this random party some kid I never met was throwing. Huge rager! Beer, weed, even saw a few people doing blow." He glanced over at Chamuel, the angel's eyes burning with sorrow for the man.

"I got wasted, just...completely wasted," looking back down to his beer the man shook his head, "And when I was walking home I saw this fucking…rabbit or hare or whatever. He was sitting in the middle of the road like a dumb ass! So I walked into the room to kinda scare him into the woods, but I realized he was trapped on something. That's why he wasn't movin', poor guy! I was able to get whatever was sticking him to the ground off his foot and the fucker just took off," He laughed at the memory,

Taking another drink of the alcohol he scooted closer to the Angel, "Anyways, the rabbit was stuck to this cardboard with this sticky stuff on it. Not sure what it was but in that stuff was this bright paper, I picked it up and it was an add for some guy named Abel who sold guns. Said on the front something like "If I'm ABEL to sell these Winchesters God will bless me' or something like that. It...just kind of clicked. Abel Winchester, sounded similar enough to Alice that folks probably wouldn't fight me too hard on it too."

Chamuel let out a sigh, "Well, I like your name,"

"Thanks, your name kinda sucks, but my names pretty cool,"

"Hey!" Chamuel playfully punched the man's arm causing Abel to laugh in response.

"Lets watch this fuckin' movie!" Abel chuckled, grinning now as the memories faded into the back of his mind. The two settled in for the night, the movie took longer than Chamuel had anticipated as Abel stopped the film often to tell him facts, information or just to rewind it in case Chamuel had missed it. Yet the Angel didn't mind, enjoying the bursting energy that shone in the man's green gaze.

Ordering food the men enjoyed the last few hours until they knew that they'd have to return to their 'work' as Chamuel had put it. An ever forbidding feeling laid in the air between them but for the moment neither gave it much mind until Chamuel got to his feet,

"I think I'm going to toss these clothes in the laundry unit a few doors down," He said with a yawn, pulling their dirtys clothes into a plastic bag.

"Want me to go with?" Abel asked, laying on his bed with his face buried in his phone.

"No, I got this, I'm just gonna drop them off and come right back."

Abel nodded at the other, "If you don't come back in twenty minutes I'll send a search party,"

"Get in your Tomcat and come find me," Chamuel teased, causing Abel to shoot him a wide grin. "You got it, Goose," He laughed,

Chamuel felt a pulse of joy rush through him at the playful nickname, "I'll be back, Maverick," Abel's smile just grew as Chamuel stepped out into the cold night.

His breath billowed like clouds as he carried his bag towards the washroom, cars drove past the small motel quickly, their angry lights flashing over Chamuel as he moved. He wasn't in much hurry, his mind on Abel's story as he grabbed the cold door knob to the laundry room. He couldn't help but feel a shot of anger at the people in his story, he knew Abel didn't have the easiest time as a foster kid but even more so now that he understood a bit more of what the man had faced nearly his entire life.

Dropping the clothes into the washer and flipping it on, the dial gave him a thirty minute time before it started its cycle. The small room was empty aside from the angel, its soft lights turned the room to a shade of yellow, it smelled clean, fresh. Only holding three small washers and three dyers, it was incredibly small and very cold despite being inside the room and didn't seem to have any heating coming through it.

"Chamuel,"

The voice startled him, almost dropping his phone he had pulled out to set the timer with. Turning on his heels he came face to face with a short man, his chestnut brown hair trimmed short and neat, pushed to the side to give it a modern glow, chocolate brown gaze brimmed with warmth.

"Israfil?" Chamuel asked, surprised as he looked at the bright shirt the angel wore towards his smiling cheeks.

"Hey! Been awhile, brother," Israfil chuckled, his voice sounded like honey.

"What are you doing here?" Chamuel asked, giving the man a smile. Israfil was one of the few angel Chamuel had considered a friend, the man was nice to about everyone with this song in his voice that made him wonder if he was the angel playing a harp in all the old depictions of their species.

"I can't stay," he said quickly, walking up to Chamuel his voice falling to a whisper, "If anyone asks I was never here,"

Dread surged through the blondes veins at the others words, his heart stopping, "Whats happening?" Chamuel demanded,

"Look, I need you to take this," Israfil shoved a small trinket into Chamuel's hands, "give this to Abel," he said quickly. "Don't tell him how you got it, okay? He probably won't wear it," Chamuel looked at the distress in the other's eyes, concern filled him. This wasn't how Israfil acted, the man was an angel of music and he acted as such. With a constant hum in his throat, always smiling, but this? He looked troubled, almost tired.

"Israfil what's happening?"

"Trust me, there's something happening and I don't want anyone else to have this," the angel stepped away from Chamuel, "Promise me you'll keep it safe,"

Looking down at the trinket in his hands, it was a small golden necklace. It shone in the lights of the room, four circles that touched each other but didn't meet in the middle, the big circles held another small circle inside that didn't have an opening inside it like the bigger circles. The four smaller circles all seemed to be facing the same direction, to the right.

it was heavy to the touch and seemed to almost emanate an energy that Chamuel couldn't put his finger on.

"But wh--" He glanced up at the angel who had vanished, sitting on the ground where he stood was a soft yellow wing.

***

As Chamuel left Abel settled himself down in bed, feeling excitement flash through him at the nickname. He glanced through the messages on their shared twitter, uploading a selfie they'd taken before their "prank" as he had been calling it. His eyes raked the personal messages, he stopped. One didn't look like the others, he clicked it opened without a second though.

"I captured the black sludge I saw on your videos. This is the real deal isn't it? My dads a hunter, if you're in my area hit me up! I need to show you guys these things! -Donnie" attached was a picture of a jar with a piece of black sludge inside, a man with soft brown skin and a comical expression pointing towards the containers.

"Oh shit!" Abel instantly started to reply by,

"Hey man! That's awesome, how'd you catch the little fucker? Give us your address, we'll be there asap! -Abel"

Abel sat back, stretching in the soft bed. It occurred to him at this point that Chamuel had been gone for a hot minute, but the chime on his phone caught his attention. Distracting him from the thoughts clouding his head,

"Yeah, yeah!! Please come by! So long as you two aren't so crazy serial killers!"

The man, known as Donnie, sent an address only seconds after his message. Abel clicked on it, his gps app popping open to show the man lived a state away. Backing out of the gps the hunter went into his twitter once more,

"You're close, on the way to where we're going. Well if we are it's too late now! >:) -Abel"

Chamuel pushed back into the room causing Abel to glance up at the other, he was a light shade of red. Something about the way he was moving told the hunter something happened,

"Are you okay, Cham?"

The blonde let out a sigh, shaking his head "Erm, yeah! I just forgot--"

"You don't look okay, what happened?"

"Nothing! I just, I bought you this and almost washed it, that's all,"

Abel didn't fully believe the angel but he bought him something?

"I didn't know you had any money," Abel laughed, "What is it?" He decided not to push the subject, if the other wanted to tell him he would. For all Abel knew the Angel saw a cute cat and his allergies were reacting because he has to pet every cat they see.

"Well! I have some," he chuckled, "Not much, but I got this at goodwill for...a dollar," Chamuel didn't like lying, he wasn't good with it like Abel was but he couldn't say the truth.

"It's...a necklace?"

"I know it's not masculine, but, I just...felt like you'd like it," He turned away from Abel, his face turning a darker shade of red. His ears tinted in red too causing the hunter to laugh, "Naw, jewelry doesn't have a gender," Abel replied with a chuckle, pulling the necklace from the others hand.

It was cold, heavy, but something about it felt...familiar, he couldn't place it. Putting the necklace on he grinned at the other, puffing out his chest in a playful manner.

"I'm gonna get all the ladies!"

Abel didn't care what the gift was, he silently loved any gift that was given to him. He never got rid of a gift, "I love it though, it's pretty neat,"

"Yeah I thought you'd like it," Chamuel felt relief wash over his body. Sitting on his bed and letting out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Oh yeah," Abel pulled out his cell phone, getting up and taking a seat next to the other. They both laid back in the back at the same time, Abel chuckling as he hit the bed with a thump. "This guy messaged up! Donnie," Abel held the phone up so the two could look at it together, Chamuel read through the message, scrolling down to see the picture.

"That's weird, you'd assume it'd just break the jar. Right?"

"I don't think these things are that smart when they're tiny like that," Abel noticed,

"Why does he have that tiny one? I thought they all turned into those snakes,"

"So did I, but maybe since he's...in another place, maybe these didn't, like, feed?"

"Feed?" Chamuel turned his head to Abel, giving him a puzzled expression.

"Well yeah, to grow you gotta eat, right? Maybe those are babies?"

"Babies…? Wouldn't that mean that there's a mom?"

Abel's gaze turned from relaxed to horrified with the sentence Chamuel muttered out, "And a Dad." Abel whispered, both of them looked back at the picture on the phone.