Prologue

It was completely silent in the brightly lit clearing. No birds sang in the afternoon light, and not even the wind was blowing. This was rather odd, but it didn't seem to bother the small ground lizard. He happily scurried back and forth across the ground not really having a destination in mind. His feet traipsed quickly across the ground. He ran to the edge of the clearing and stopped at the foot of a particularly gnarled tree. Leaves fell around him, covering up the denizens that inhabited the forest floor. Ants scurried back and forth, carrying food back to their hills. The lizard eyed them hungrily. Before he could pounce though, a loud sound like thunder cracked the silence.

The lizard whipped around and darted through the undergrowth. A few yards away Dean Winchester fell into the clearing, sending dust flying into the air. His shotgun flew through the air and landed a few feet away. He grunted loudly, and rolled onto his back. "Damn it Sam, where the hell are you?"

A few yards away, Sam Winchester ran into the clearing. "Dean? Dean!" he raised his shotgun and fired a shot at the air above Dean. "What the hell is it?"

"I don't know!" Sam fired again.

"But it's… What…" Sam's voice trailed off. "Dean…"

Dean leapt to his feet and scampered towards his gun. He drew his pistol after realizing his shotgun was empty. He spun and dropped to his knee and raised his gun. He faltered when he realized what he was seeing.

Standing in the tree line was their father, John Winchester.

"Dad…" Dean whispered. He lowered his pistol slightly. John smiled. But it wasn't his smile. There was something different. Something decidedly evil flashed across his face for the smallest fraction of a second. Like you could see his skull under the skin. As it was, his skin was deathly white.

"Sam. Dean. Long time."