Prologue: Ab Initio

LAWRENCE, KANSAS. 1976.

"I guess it's no secret why I brought you way out here." 22 year old John Winchester said to his longtime girlfriend Mary Campbell as they sat in his 67' Chevy Impala.

Knowing what he was going to ask Mary starts: "John…"

But she was quickly interrupted by John, "Just… let me get through this, okay?"

"Okay wait. There're things you don't know about me, -" she started but was cut off

"So?" he said simply as he dismissingly waved his hand. Without taking his eyes from her he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little jewelry box and showed her a small but beautiful ring. "I will always love you, for exactly who you are." Mary smiled and they both leaned into each other but before they kissed, there was a loud knock, or really it was more if a pound, on the passenger side window. Out the window the couple saw the tall ominous Samuel Campbell, Mary's father.

"What did I tell you?" he roared to his daughter as he snatched her out of the impala.

"Sir, just listen!" John tried to reason, as he also exited the car.

"Dad!" Mary cried as Samuel pulled her away. "Stop, you're hurting me!"

"Stay away from her!" Samuel yelled over his shoulder at John.

"Hey, take it easy!" John said disregarding what Samuel said as he followed them

Samuel turned and grabbed John, breaking his neck like it was nothing. "No!" Mary screamed kneeling down next to her lover, lifting his head into her lap. "You killed him," she cried brokenly.

"Not just John, sweetie pie," her father said in a sadistic tone as he crouched down and unzipped his jacket so she could see the blood spatter on his shirt. "Mommy and Daddy too. They're all dead."

"N-N-Noo" she could barely get it out

"Yup. 'Fraid so," the demon replied, "You're a little orphan now."

"You son of a bitch!" she yelled as her hunter training kicked in

"Oh, stick and stones might break my bones… but they won't bring your family back again," the demon spat smugly

"I'll kill you," she swore. "I swear to God. I. Will. Kill. You."

"Oh, let's not get nasty," he said in mock fear, as he sat down. "Now look, we've both said some things that we regret. Let's uh… kiss and make up. I'll tell you what. I'll arrange to have lover boy here brought back breathing—"

"My parents too?" she hopefully asked, crying.

"Nope – sorry doll, that's not on the table. Think about it. You could be done with hunting forever – the white picket fence, station wagon – a couple of kids – no more monsters, or fear." The demon enticed her, like the snake had Eve in the Garden of Eden.

"And what?" she snarled "All it costs is my soul?"

"Oh no, you can keep your soul. I just need… permission."

"Permission for what?" Mary asked.

"Mmmm, in thirteen years I swing by your house for a little something, that's all."

"For. What!?" She re-asked loudly, wanting nothing more than to kill this demon.

"Relax," he says. "As long as I'm not interrupted, nobody gets hurt. I promise." Mary looked down at John. "Or you can spend the rest of your life, desperate, and alone," the demon continued. "Mary? It's a good deal. So whaddya say?"

LAWRENCE, KANSAS. 1989.

Lawrence, Kansas. Population 65,608. There, there is a small town American home on a small town American street. If one were to look up towards the warm, lighted yellow window, on the second floor, a small town American family can be seen. There's a woman standing in the door way holding a young boy, both gazing at two identical cribs lining opposite walls. Unbeknownst to the occupants inside the nursery, the window glass shimmers, ripples as if it were liquid. But just for a moment. Blink and like the mother and son you've missed it:

"Let's say g'night to the twins" the woman, now 33 year old, Mary Winchester suggested to the sleepy six year old on her hip.

"'Kay Momma" the little boy said. Mary set her middle child down and he went quickly to the crib on the right wall with a blue blanket draped over the side.

"Night Jay" he whispered to his sleeping baby brother, before running to the opposite wall where there was an identical crib with a pink blanket.

"Night night Gracie" the little girl cooed reaching for her older brother's finger.

"Hey Sammy" a gruff, distinctly masculine voice said from the nursery's doorway

"Daddy!" the little boy, Sam, ran excitedly toward his father. "How's Dean feeling?" The oldest of the Winchester children had been sick with the stomach flu all day

"He's feelin' better Buddy, but why don't you have a 'spend the night' with the twins just to be safe?" John suggested

"Okay!" John set his son down and the first grader ran to the hall closet to get a sleeping bag and his pillow from his room. While he was gone John went to his wife kissing her softly.

"You got him?" she asked her husband in reference to their middle son.

"Yeah, I got him" he said. Mary smiled at him kissing him one last time before going to check on her oldest baby. After she left John checked in on his youngest children, "Hey Buddy" he cooed to his son Jackson, the baby was still sleeping soundly paying no heed to anything that was happening around him. His twin sister, however, was ready to be held and was letting her father know it. Turning his attention from one twin to the other, John picked up his baby girl. "Whatcha fussin' for Mary Grace? Huh, why you cryin' Baby?" he gently asked the now quieting baby in his arms. "That's better Baby Girl." As Grace drifted to sleep Sam came bouncing back into the room. "Got everything you need Champ?"

"Yes sir" the little boy said motioning to the pillow, sleeping bag and teddy bear in his arms. Smiling John helped get Sam situated under the window in the nursery kissed him good night and then after looking in on both twins he left the room, leaving the door opened a crack.

After his dad left Sam quickly remembered he forgot something and jumped up to plug in his Casper the Friendly Ghost nightlight. Snuggling back into the sleeping bag, he never saw the nightlight slowly flicker.

Later that night, Mary groaned as she was awoken from a deep sleep by a baby's piercing cries through the monitor receiver on the nightstand next to her side of the bed. She looked over to John's side of the bed and noticed her husband was not there, rubbing the last bit of sleep from her eyes she rolled out of bed and headed to the nursery.

Mary shuffled down the hall. Opening the nursery door, she quickly peered in. the room was pitch-black inside. But Mary could discern someone crouched next to Sam on the floor.

"John? Is he okay? Did you forget to plug in Casper or something?" She asked surprised Sam made it that long through the night without his trusted nightlight.

The only response she got was a "Shhhhh."

Mary held up her hands in surrender "Okay, sorry." She turned around and headed back towards the master bedroom. But when she reached her bedroom door, she stopped, noticing a pale, dancing, ghostly light, coming from downstairs. Mary frowned, "What the hell?" she whispered, moving cautiously toward the shimmering glow. As her bare feet pattered down the stair, the sight she was greeted with made her sick to her stomach. Her husband, John, was asleep in his La-Z-Boy, an old war movie muted on the TV.

"Oh my God," was all she could say as she raced toward her children.

The distraught mother burst into the nursery, and quickly flipped on the light in a hoarse whisper she said to the figure: "It's you."

From downstairs, John burst awake when he heard Mary's terrible, ragged scream. He launched out of his chair—"Mary?!"

As John took the steps two at a time, Mary's screams abruptly snuffed out.

John exploded into the nursery. His wife was not there. He moved next to the crib on the left, Grace was okay, he sent up a prayer of thanks. He quickly checked on Jax next, also safe, but now crying. John picked him up in an effort to console him while he checked on Sam, who was still asleep on the floor. John continued holding Jax, confounded—"Mary...?"

John was about to exit the room, to search for his wife, when he stopped, sensing something. He turned back, noticing a spot on the ground, Plink. A dime of crimson red appeared on the Sesame Street rug. Plink. Then another and another.

They were drops, drops coming from above. John looked up at the ceiling. His face showing equal amounts of agony and terror.

"No...Oh my God, NO!"

On the ceiling, Mary was impossibly splayed out, as if it were the floor. Her eyes wide open, glassy. Dead. John barely had time to react, before sizzling, black lines began burning into the wall. Spider webbing. Some horizontal, some vertical. The lines smoldered and quickly ignited. The flames curled the wallpaper. It spread fast. The smoke alarms began to blare, waking the three Winchesters who were still asleep. "Daddy?!" Sam asked as he woke up scared.

Ten year old, Dean made his way to the nursery "Momma?! Daddy?!"

Hearing his children calling him John snapped back to reality, He grabbed Sam quickly, "Come on Boys, you have to go quickly, Sammy get your sister, here Dean take Jax outside, as fast as you can, Don't look back!" Sam, who had grabbed his now crying little sister, made his way out of the room, followed by Dean.

"Come on Sammy" the older Winchester said hurrying along his younger brother, as they made it out the front door and into the front yard.

Realizing he couldn't save his wife, John darted for the stairs, and out the front door. Corralling his children away from their burning home

After a few hours, the firemen had finally extinguished the flames, there wasn't much left. Across the street, John sat on the hood of the family's car, comforting his children, as they watch their old lives burn.

Somewhere outside LODI, CALIFORNIA. 2001.

An over exuberant Sam Winchester came quickly into the house, stepping over his younger sister who was drawling in her sketchbook on the living room floor. "Dad?" when he didn't get a response he nudged his sister with his foot "Hey Gracie, where is everyone?"

The girl gave her brother an annoyed look before returning to her drawling "Dean and Jax went to get food"

"And Dad?"

Grace shrugged not looking up from her sketch.

Realizing he wasn't getting anymore help from her, Sam went to look for his father. Finally finding him in the makeshift backyard cleaning weapons he walked to him and handed him an official looking envelope. Unsure, John took the envelope and read the letter inside. After a moment he finally said, "You're not going."

"What?" Sam was shocked, he expected his Dad to be proud, this was a big deal, "Dad, I got accepted to Stanford. Stanford University, do you know how hard that is?! I REALLY want this. More than anything else. And I'm going."

From her spot in the living room Grace could hear yelling from the backyard, rolling her eyes she reached into her backpack and pulled out her Walkman and turned up her mix tape blaring the music of Frank Sinatra to drown out the fight between her father and brother.

"You've wasted enough time with school already Son, time to grow up and start hunting, full time."

"I'm not wasting my time, Dad. It's college!" Sam yelled pissed his dad was reacting the way he was.

"So what you're just gunna be a coward? Runaway? What about us, Sam? We need you. Dean, the twins, we all need you."

"What's the point of it all Dad? Huh? This whole life, the reason we do what we do, it's ALL pointless! No matter how many things we hunt, we're NEVER gunna find the thing that killed Mom, and even if we do," Sam paused for a moment knowing he was crossing the line "even if we do, she's gone Dad. She's gone and she's never coming back."

"So that's it then, you're just gunna abandoned your family?" John yelled his temper flaring.

Dean and Jax entered the house and could hear the yelling. Without looking up, Grace just pointed to the backyard. Dean dropped the food onto the coffee table and made his way outside. "Whoa, What's going on here?" Dean asked uncertainly, Jax and Grace also came out, and sat on the sliding door ledge.

"Your brother wants to leave." John stated, his eyes not leaving Sam.

"What's he talking about Sam?" Dean asked, eyeing his brother

"I got accepted to Stanford." Sam simply said, "And apparently it's too hard for Dad to actually be proud of me!" Sam went to leave, and Dean stood there too much in shock to say anything.

"Sam." John barked. "If you're gunna go, stay gone." Dean and the twins shot their Dad a confused look. Hoping he didn't mean that, before throwing their attention to Sam:

"Gladly." And with that last and bitter good bye Sam grabbed his few belongings and left, not once looking back.