Her intimate knowledge of torture sent a chill down Dean's spine, and he looked at her, seeing her suddenly anew . It was if she'd come into focus. For such a close friend, he barely knew her. (But really, that wasn't too different from his actual long-term relationships.)

Perhaps it was more than coincidence that had brought them together in this place. Maybe they really were being tested. He felt the urge to turn and give the finger at the ceiling but he resisted. Instead, he dove deeper into their conversation about their unknowable circumstances. "Do you think we're driving this? Like whatever this is responds to our fears?"

He hadn't seen plain evidence, but as part of Dean's Generic Theory About What The Fuck Was Happening, it made sense. There was something lulling and innocuous about the mall while at the same time, it was clearly sinister (hello, Tobey Maguire's emo bangs). And the vague, unformed monsters stalking them didn't attempt egress as far Dean knew, so they were an empty threat to anyone who had half a brain. In his opinion, Airy hit the nail on the head - whatever was going on had to be motivated at least in part by their imaginations.