oblivion is where I'm headed

Queenie exhaled as she tread through the colourful home she and her best friend since college, Maya, shared. "Wakey, wakey!" She called cheerfully, unable to really stop herself, despite her frustration. Nearly every day started like this, and they went through the same routine every day, it was like they were stuck in a loop, and no matter how many times they tried to break out, they couldn't. She went to prepare breakfast, looking out of the window to the vibrant street outside, flowers of every colour and scent littered across the green grass.

Dean drove through the small city, frowning as all the apartment blocks and stores were painted different shades of beige and grey. "Alright, this is weird." He murmured to Sam, raising his eyebrows. "Did I take a wrong turn to Cincinnati?" He asked, looking at the manual map that was spread across his lap, frowning. "Does this seem... cartoonish, to you?" He asked, seeing the dead grass and flowers as he turned into a neighbourhood. Slowing Baby down to a crawl, he looked around. "Should we go and ask for some directions?"

When Maya woke up, there was a happy smile on her face despite the inner turmoil and discontent she was beginning to feel. "Good morning," she called back to her friend before she climbed off her bed and got dressed for the day, floral and bright, before heading out of her room to the kitchen. "What should we have for breakfast?" A part of her couldn't remember the last time they actually went shopping, but that was beside the point; she could barely remember anything outside of their daily routine at this point. It was exhausting.

Sam's brows furrowed during the drive as he took in the sight of the city. Not only were the buildings strange and the plants, but even the animals looked miserable - the ones he could see, anyways. "I don't think so," he said, looking to his phone as he pulled up the map but shook his head when he found that his phone had no service, so he couldn't even check. That was even weirder; his phone got service in most places. "This entire city just screams weird." Frowning, he looked to his brother but nodded. "Yeah, we could probably use directions. My phone's not getting a signal, so I can't even pull up the map to check."

"I vote pancakes!" Queenie clapped her hands as she put on a pot of coffee. She was sure she said this everyday, how had they not run out of coffee beans or pancake mix by now? looking out of the window to see a black '67 Chevrolet Impala. It was a strange sight in itself, there was barely anything black within the whole city, except for kitchen appliances. Still, Queenie couldn't bring herself to outwardly feel anxious, or confused. She couldn't help but hope that those people, whoever they were, turned their back on the city and never looked back. She wouldn't want anyone else stuck here.

Dean nodded. "Well, this looks like a good place as any." Dean looked up at the bland house, frowning as he looked at the garden of dead flowers. "Do you, uh, wanna go first?" Dean asked, trying not to be too freaked out. They'd been places like this before, and it was never anything good. Walking up the garden path, Dean looked around, seeing the street vacant and bland. "I'd hate to live here."

"Pancakes it is," Maya chimed in a too-happy voice that sounded fake to her own ears. Forcing the thought away, she moved to grab out what they'd need for pancakes. "Extra whip cream and syrup and cherries?" She looked over at her friend, arching a brow, but she blinked when she saw Queenie was distracted. "What's going on?" Shifting, she set everything down to move over to see what her friend was looking at.

Sam looked around at everything as they walked, taking it all in, trying to process just how off everything was. "Uh, yeah, sure, I'll go first, why not, it can't be much weirder than it already is," he mentioned, wondering how in the world a place could look so... Dead. Shaking his head, he moved closer to the house. "Why would anybody live here?" he asked, peering to his brother before he knocked on the door, "I mean, there's nothing appealing to it at all."

Queenie smiled as she heard the knock on the door. "We have visitors, silly!" She pushed the thoughts about the black car away, her heart pounding in her chest. Looking back at Maya, Queenie opened the door, feeling her stomach sink further as she came face to face with two strangers. "Well, hi there." She greeted cheerfully, hating the sound of her own voice. "How can I help you boys?"

Dean frowned at the woman's extroverted behaviour, looking to Sam in confusion at how happy she sounded. Looking over his shoulder to the street, Dean redirected his attention onto her. "Hi. I'm Dean, this here's Sam. We need some uh," he studied the hallway behind the brunette, seeing pale wallpaper and little decoration. "Directions."

Maya offered a smile in return, following her friend to the door, her curiosity getting the best of her, though she was sure she should have felt more apprehensive with the fact that strangers were at their home. "Directions?" she asked, tilting her head as she stared at the pair in front of them. "Where in the world to?"

Sam's brows furrowed slightly as he watched the girls for a long moment, looking to his brother as he wondered how they could seem so... Cheerful, considering the surroundings. Regardless, he looked back to the girls, taking in the woman who'd opened the door in the first place. "Um, Cincinnati," he informed, "Or, really, the fastest route out of this town would be nice."

"Out of town?" Queenie laughed, looking to Maya with a smile, shaking her head in amusement. "Who'd want to leave this place? It's paradise." She looked to Maya again. "How about you both come in, grab a cup of coffee." She offered. "We have plenty of the stuff, looks like you've been travelling a long time." She shot a nervous glance to the black Impala, moving to allow the boys space to enter. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Queenie, this is Maya."

Dean looked to Sam, although he quickly redirected his gaze to Maya, seeing her happy exterior, but seeing the hint of something behind her eyes that he couldn't quite put his finger on... ignoring his instinct telling him that there was something really wrong about the scene in front of him, Dean accepted the offer and stepped over the threshold, looking around the bland house. "Alright..."

Sam watched Queenie for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly. Despite how cheerful she looked and acted, he saw the nervous glance she’d shot the Impala and he wondered what exactly was going on and why she’d gotten nervous, but more so why she seemed so… Inhumanly cheerful. “Uh, well, I’m Sam, this is Dean,” he told her with a small nod, hesitating a bit before he stepped inside, looking around. “Nice place.” It wasn’t, but he didn’t want to offend her.

Maya watched the two, her smile still in place, though she found herself wondering about the pair. “I’ll go get the coffee,” she assured before she turned and disappeared further into the house, to the kitchen, so that she could get the coffee ready, though she found herself curious about what was going on. New people didn’t normally come through the city, after all, and nobody ever spoke about leaving, even if they wanted to.

Queenie nodded at Maya. "Have fun." She smiled cheerfully, looking to the boys as she lead them through to the dining room. "Sit right down, boys, make yourself at home." She smiled, disappearing to help Maya with the coffee, wanting to just step back from the situation, praying that the boys would notice there was something wrong, even if Queenie couldn't identify it much herself. "How's that coffee coming along, sugar?"

Dean watched as Queenie went to the kitchen, blinking. "Sam, this isn't natural." He told his brother, being upfront. As much as it wasn't natural, Dean felt, deep down, that something was wrong. "Their clothes are grey, the house is grey, outside is the same..." He listed off with worry, not wanting to admit Maya had caught his eye to Sam quite yet. "Maybe this is something worth investigating."

Maya offered a smile to Queenie when she saw that her friend had returned to her side and, despite all the anxiety and nervousness she felt, she was keeping the outward facade of cheerfulness going. “It should be done in a bit,” she assured as she moved to gather the creamer and sugar and milk - whatever anybody would need for their coffee, being prepared.

Sam watched Queenie leave, his brows furrowing as he watched her, his heart almost aching with the fact that she was out of his line of sight. His gaze went to his brother, though, and he watched him for a few moments. “I think you’re right,” he told Dean quietly, frowning to himself. “We’d have to figure out where to start first.” And, more than anything, he wanted to make sure Queenie came out of this unscathed.

Queenie smiled. "Smells good." She smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, already exhausted of keeping up the facade and hoping that Sam and Dean noticed, praying that they caught on that something was wrong. Still, Queenie placed the sugar, milk and creamer on a tray, wanting to help Maya.

Dean sighed. "So what could this be?" He asked. "It's like they're living in a friggin sitcom." He pointed out, trying to think of what monster could be behind this. Dean frowned, waiting patiently for Maya to come back, already missing her presence, but eager to ask her any questions. "Think they notice?"

Maya smiled slightly and nodded. “I worked hard on it,” she joked lightly, though the joke felt empty passing her lips, and she held the tray carefully, making sure not to misstep as she took into the dining room.

Sam peered back towards the kitchen, a part of him wanting to keep an eye out for Queenie, wanting to make sure she was safe, always. He shook his head slightly, sighing quietly. “I don’t know, man,” he muttered, looking to his brother, “But, we’ve gotta figure it out. We can’t leave this town like this.” And he didn’t want to leave Queenie like this at all, stuck in whatever this was.

"I'm with you on that one," Dean agreed with Sam, running a hand through his short hair. It was as though the town was black and white and the girls were living in technicolour dreamworlds. Dean stood up as he saw Maya with the tray of things they needed for a good cup of coffee. "Let me take that." He offered Maya a gentle smile, unusually out of character, but wanting to do something - anything - for Maya to trust him. "Thanks." And as he studied Maya, he felt a jump in his chest, and he couldn't help but relish in the urge to protect the girl, using it as inspiration to figure out just what the hell was going on.

Queenie grabbed the two cups as Maya disappeared with the tray, and humming cheerfully, Queenie looked out of the window to the black Impala once more, noticing how out of place it looked against the various colours of the plants. Unable to frown, Queenie merely eyed the car for a moment, before smiling and continuing to hum a cheerful tune as she joined Maya in the dining room. "Here you go," she smiled, the cups full of black coffee. "Enjoy! Maya, would you like anything, sweet cheeks?"

Sam nodded to Dean’s words, at least glad to hear that his brother agreed with him. When they were on the same page, they tended to work much better together, and this was definitely something that they needed to work together on if they wanted to save these girls. Still, seeing Queenie, he offered a smile. “Thank you for the coffee,” he told her with a nod, “Do you need any help with anything?”

Maya blinked when Dean took the tray from her, but she offered a smile and nodded slightly. “You don’t have to thank us,” she assured, “We just hope you enjoy.” And, a part of her truly meant it, even without what was going on with the city. Still, she blinked, looking to Queenie, and smiled. “Just lots of sugar in my coffee, you know me.”

Queenie laughed with Maya's words, rolling her eyes playfully. "Lots of sugar for a sweet girl." Queenie grinned, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Looking to Sam as he offered a smile, Queenie felt her heart jump as he thanked her, the sound of his voice comforting. "Oh, silly, it's no problem!" Queenie clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Just enjoy!" But as he asked if they needed help, Queenie paused for a very brief second. "Oh, absolutely not!"

Dean's eyes fluttered between the pair, and he wondered just what was going on, if they were trapped inside themselves somehow, screaming for help and unable to be heard. "Well," Dean cleared his throat, offering Maya a sweet smile, wanting to comfort her in the only way he could - for now. "I'm sure I will enjoy." He nodded. "So - Maya -" Dean leaned forward a little. "Do you like living here? Is it a nice place to settle down? My brother and I were looking for a place to live, and it doesn't seem half bad." He lied. "Anything important we need to know?"

Sam watched Queenie, listening as she spoke, watching her for any telltale sign that something was off, wrong, that something wasn’t quite right, and he frowned to himself when he noticed her pause. “Are you sure?” he asked eventually, concerned, “Nothing at all?”

Maya found herself struggling, unsure of how to answer, though her smile was still present. “It’s a perfect place to live,” she told Dean eventually, watching him, wishing she could tell him the truth. “I’ve never had any complaints.”