AN: Hey guys. I figured I could write another little story. I'm just attaching this to my first one since I don't know how long it'll be and the first story was so short. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think!
When Shadows Come Alive
Chapter 1
Episode 5
John, Chas and Zed were in New Orleans. Another drop on the map had turned red and fresh, another blood spot that had life breathed back into it, which meant something horrible was happening.
Chas had settled in to his hotel, and John and Zed were making themselves comfortable when Zed had another vision. John begrudgingly admitted there might be more happening in the iconic city than they originally thought. He wasn't overly enthused with it.
After calling their new cop friend and warning him of the wreck that was surely about to happen, the last thing John wanted to do was sleep. He was rife with nervous energy waiting for the inevitable. He felt so helpless in situations like that, when he knew there was nothing he could do, that the only thing he could do was drink.
"Have at it, love." He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm gonna tie one on."
With a gruff sigh, and already digging into his pocket for his cigarettes, John headed toward the door. Zed watched from her spot near the elevator, her brows furrowed lightly. She saw the upset in his eyes and didn't want to leave him to himself. Forgetting the ghosts that seemed to be 'thinning the herd'; she knew trouble followed John wherever he went. If he didn't have supervision, chances were at the very least, John would end up in a bar fight.
He said nothing when he spotted her over his shoulder. John wasn't in the mood to say he wanted time alone only to have the stubborn Latina remain at his side no matter how hard he huffed and puffed.
A bar in the distance seemed to be calling his name. Not only was it one of the few that still allowed smoking within its walls, but he heard some rather seductive music coming from inside. While John was more of a punk rock fan, he could appreciate the blues. Sometimes, those old souls hit the nail on the head.
Zed followed John into the old bar. It was right in the middle of the Quarter, complete with its own balcony and the like set up for Mardi Gras, but the inside was simpler. Tables were dotted all around, the lights were dim and music filled the air along with a layer of smoke. Zed thanked whoever had the foresight to ensure the huge windows remained cracked at the least and the fans were on. It helped keep the smoke from settling right at head level.
It was karaoke night, but with a theme. The songs on the playlist were classic blues and soul. Some tunes were lively; others deep and mournful, but thankfully everyone who'd taken to the small stage in the corner of the bar had a voice that suited their song. John wasn't sure he was in the mood to listen to someone singing Muddy Waters when they sounded like a drowning animal.
Zed remained silent, sipping on her beer and enjoying her time while John brooded. Again, he knew something bad was going to happen, but Zed hadn't given him something overly useful, like a mile-marker sign. So he had to wait.
He threw back another shot and placed the cigarette to his lips again just as the current performer finished their song. Zed clapped. She thought the young man was rather good. When she noticed John wasn't, she didn't hesitate to elbow him in the arm. Grumbling under his breath, he let his cigarette hang limply from his lips and clapped heavily three or four times before pouring himself another drink. Zed rolled her eyes at him.
"Okay!" the MC announced from somewhere hidden away. Zed couldn't see him through the semi-crowded, smoky bar, but knew he was likely in some kind of DeeJay booth hidden away somewhere. "Next up, we've got a recent favorite. Let's give it up for Cali Robertson singing Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools."
The crowd applauded, a few cheered as though they knew what was coming, but Zed paused at the familiar name. She stretched a bit from side to side to get a better view of the stage as a young woman took her stance in the lights. Zed felt her stomach drop along with her jaw.
"Oh my god." She mumbled.
John narrowed his eyes on her, nearly asking what bothered her so much, before letting his gaze follow her line of sight. He saw a young woman with long dark hair, fair skin tinted orange by the stage's lights and an all around alluring figure. A smirk touched his lips.
"So, that's what tickles your fancy, hm?" he joked.
Zed's head shot to him. She hadn't removed the shock from her features, but he didn't notice as he tapped the edge of his cigarette against the ashtray.
"You…" Zed hesitated. She wanted to ask something she already knew the answer to and stopped herself beforehand. "Never mind."
"What? No witty retort?" he chuckled dryly. "You're losin' your touch."
"Shut up." She said. Zed swung her hand backwards and barely connected it with his gut. She was too busy watching the young woman sing. "I know her."
John's taunting smile faded. His head tilted marginally to the side and his curiosity began to take hold. Zed never admitted to knowing anyone, ever. The thought she might have a friend somewhere and not only that, but someone who might be able to tell him a thing or two about the woman with no past, dominated his mind.
"Do you now?" he asked leadingly and primarily to himself. Zed's focus was still elsewhere. "That's interesting."
John's attention soon shifted from Zed to the woman on stage. He barely listened to her singing. He was too busy inspecting the one who knew the enigma Zed, not even assuming he might have his own past with her.
She smiled wide as she sang –keeping relatively close to Aretha's incredible voice- and danced happily along with the music. She was attractive and didn't look much older than Zed. Hell, she even looked a few years younger.
When the song began to wind down, Zed didn't hesitate to stand. She hastily slid out of her seat and began towards the one she called friend just as she was leaving the stage. Drinking the last of his shot and stubbing out his cigarette, John soon followed suit. He felt like he might have a mystery that could possibly be solved sooner than his ghost problem.
Zed wove through the tables and people standing. She kept Cali in her line of sight as she nudged through the bodies that seemed immobile. She had to be sure. She had to be.
"A shot of Jameson, if you would please." Cali said to the bartender when she reached it.
The young man nodded and slipped away to pour her drink. She was still which gave Zed the chance to catch up with her.
"That was great. I didn't know you could sing like that." She said.
"Thanks." Cali replied before she turned. "I appreciate-" she froze mid-sentence when she spotted the young woman at her side. It looked as though she lost a shade or two of color. "Zed?"
"How's it going, Cali?" Zed asked with a smirk.
"How… what… Oh god," Cali mumbled. "Tell me John's not-"
"Weeelll," John smiled as he slid close to the two. "Who's this now? You got a new friend, Zed?"
A smile had formed on Zed's lips when she first reached Cali, but seemed to grow the moment John made himself known. She wanted to see how the situation would play out. It was too intriguing for her not to. She expected to see something, a spark of recognition from John, a hint of hesitation from Cali, but she hadn't. To her surprise, it was disturbingly normal.
"I'm Cali," she introduced herself to John without a break in conversation and even offered her hand to the Brit. "Nice to meet you."
"And you, Cali." He smiled. John took her hand and kissed her knuckles as charmingly as he could muster. "Constantine. John, Constantine."
Cali nodded with a kind smile before turning her attention back to Zed.
"So, what brings you here?" she asked the psychic.
Zed's eyes had bounced between the two having the conversation. She felt like her brain might explode. The situation she found herself in was too unbelievable. She was standing with two people who'd just introduced themselves to one another despite having met nearly twenty years prior. But it was like a blank slate. She'd only barely seen the effects of the 'mind wipe' once before, but this… this was intense.
"Zed?"
Hearing her name again forced the young woman to realize it was her turn to contribute to the conversation.
"Oh, uh," she stammered slightly. "Ghosts."
John's jaw tensed and he eyed Zed sternly, but she either didn't notice or didn't care. Honestly, it could've been both.
"In New Orleans, yeah." Cali laughed. "I'd imagine there are a few unsettled spirits roaming around here."
John's expression soon shifted from irritation with Zed to stunned shock at Cali. She hadn't missed a beat, joining right in on the conversation like it was about anything else.
"So what then," John said to Cali. "You psychic, too?"
"Oh, sweetheart," she smiled, cooing the phrase like she was speaking to a child. "I'm so much more complicated than that."
John smiled to her. It was his charming, flirting smirk that he'd used on a thousand different women a thousand different times. Zed couldn't fight her giggle. It was too amazing. He had no idea who Cali was, none, and he'd known her longer than almost anyone.
"This is so weird." Zed mumbled with a smile, drawing the others' eyes in the process. She looked at Cali. "Why don't you just-"
"Because he doesn't need me to." Cali interrupted, speaking fluent and fluid Spanish.
The shift in languages surprised both beside her, but only one understood the statement.
"Why?" Zed asked, continuing with the Spanish without meaning to.
"Because it doesn't matter. He doesn't need to know we have a past."
Zed's brows came together again. She looked at Cali sadly. While John didn't understand fluent Spanish, he knew bits and pieces. It was hard for him to follow the entire conversation, but he was more than capable of gleaning some bits through Zed's emotional shift.
"Doesn't that get lonely though? Making people forget about you all the time."
Cali offered nothing in the ways of an answer, only a soft smile and a weak shrug. Zed wanted to keep pressing, but Cali interrupted her first.
"So, how long are you going to be in town then?" she asked.
"Uh," Zed looked to John which forced Cali to do the same.
John's eyes had been and remained narrowed skeptically on the fair-skinned stranger. She simply waited for his answer, staring at him with wide, innocent, and brilliantly green eyes.
"Have we met before?" he asked before he could stop himself. "I swear, I think I know you from somewhere."
Cali laughed delicately and shook her head.
"I doubt it." She said much to Zed's surprise. "I guess I've just got one of those faces."
John smiled and nodded sarcastically. He didn't believe her and it was obvious she and Zed were hiding something.
"Right." He mumbled in response. "Well, we'll be headin' out when this spectral problem is resolved."
"What about you?" Zed asked Cali.
"Just the week. I come to New Orleans to unwind a bit." She replied. "That being said," Cali turned enough to notice her drink had been set on the bar awhile ago. She drank it in one swift gulp before digging into her pocket for cash. "I think I'm going to call it a night." She put 10$ on the bar. "Be safe, while you're here." She looked at John. "Pleasure meeting you, Mr. Constantine."
He gave her a curt nod, Zed still looked at her sadly, but neither said anything as Cali walked away.
It wasn't long after that Zed wanted to call it a night, too. She was a bit tired and after seeing Cali, she wanted to tell Chas. She wisely hadn't said anything in front of John. Zed knew the Brit was at least smart enough to suspect something being pulled over his eyes if Cali knew both Zed and Chas, but not him.
With her gone, John was left to his own devices. The impending wreck took the back burner when it came to the stranger Cali. He felt that, while she might not have been a worthwhile mystery, she was one he could solve. Perhaps it was just his paranoid nature that made him immediately distrustful of anyone Zed claimed to know. Or, it just as easily could have been his need to learn more about his newest compatriot. Whatever the reason, it prompted him to steal the ten dollar bill she'd thrown onto the bar and replace it with one of his own. He needed something she had in her possession for a location spell.