The Winchesters had seen some outlandish things in their travels, but this one took the cake. A green-hued midnight sky, lit only by a yellow full moon, dimly illuminated blood-soaked streets. That wasn't what unnerved the brothers, however.
It was the coffins.
Dozens of black lacquer coffins lined the street, some standing upright, others tilted against alley walls. Sam shuddered as his footsteps echoed off the caskets. Dealing death to monsters and demons was one thing.
Walking into an upright cemetery was another thing entirely.
"What the hell is this place?" Dean wondered aloud, his normally cool exterior visibly shaken.
"And why would Gabriel send us here, of all places? Seems like we're too late," Sam mused.
"Well, he is the asshole angel who put us on a Japanese nut punching game show just to get a three-letter word from me. I doubt making sense is one of his priorities," Dean pointed out. "What I want to know is why he told us to 'save the girl.' Like that prick cares about anything other than his damn apocalypse."
Just then, a loud scream erupted a couple blocks away. Sam and Dean exchanged glances and instantly took off toward the voice. Sam pulled Ruby's knife from the back of his belt, though he wondered how effective it would be.
Hardly more confident than his brother, Dean also pulled a weapon; his gun, the one his father had given him when he was trusted to take care of Sam. He still trusted it to help him protect the younger Winchester.
The two quickly saw what appeared to be a giant black blob attacking a teenage girl in a Japanese high school uniform. The girl scrambled nervously, narrowly evading the monster's attacks.
Without hesitation, Dean fired directly into the center of the black mass. The monster slowed for a moment, just long enough for Sam to grab the girl's hand and attempt to pull her to safety behind him and his brother.
The girl, however, had other ideas.
She remained in front of the brothers and quickly pulled a gun from her book bag. Sam and Dean exchanged puzzled glances and called out, but the redheaded girl ignored them almost completely. She slowly raised the gun to her head, an eerily calm expression on her face.
"What the hell?" Dean looked at Sam in disbelief. Suicide? Was that what Gabriel wanted them to save her from?
Before either Winchester could recover from the shock, the trigger clicked and a reverberating shattering noise filled the otherwise silent night sky. In the midst of the deafening blast, Sam could have sworn he heard the girl speak.
"Persona."