Ash Spring Development is a small group of two-story complexes in west Michigan. Quiet, green, well-trimmed lawns, tall trees... As far as neighborhoods go, ours is pretty peaceful. I mean, as peaceful as any suburban group. There's the occasional teenage fistfight, the odd argument, but mainly it was quiet.
That's why it came as such a surprise when Mrs. Annette Dare was found dead in her house on the twenty-fifth of June. And when she declared to have been murdered? Well, we sort of lost face after that. For about two minutes. Then we were all set back to be pushing timetables, gossiping, and acting as though it didn't happen. Mm-Hm. But that wasn't exactly how it happened. Because that was when They came.
The Winchesters. Even now, if you even mention that you've met them, people suddenly begin crowding around you. They... They saved us all. Never appreciated, never known, but always there. Oh, that's right. My name is Nea. Nea Givens... I hate my last name.. HATE IT. I used to wonder why, but now I know perfectly well.
Because it landed me in a history project with Sam Winchester, Jessica Moore, and Monica Fielded.
And that project landed me here.
And here landed me in trouble.
So here's the story. My story. It's a long one, a story that spans seven years and two oceans. It's a story of Suburbia, a story of Stanford, and a story of demons, metaphorical and literal. It all begins with a clock and a house fire. Then it ends with one too. But mostly it's a story of how the past catches up. How life catches up. And how hard it can be to tell someone you love them.
Ready? Well, ready or not... Here I come. Look out world.
-N