Chapter 1: It was supposed to be a Car Show

"So, remind me again why we're in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania…" Sam grumbled, shading his eyes from the summer light as he stepped out of the Impala.

"Baby, as perfect as she may be, is a bit of a classic and she could always use a few backup parts. I got a lead that the car show this weekend in the next town over has a guy with some of the stuff I'm looking for." Dean affectionately patted the hood as he closed the door.

Sam rolled his eyes, then glanced up at the sign in front of the small restaurant Dean had parked in front of. "Coventry Parlor", it was a two story white building with a few large windows flanked by burgundy shutters. The restaurant, like the rest of the surrounding town, was as unremarkable as could be.

Dean locked the car, then led the way in. The front door jingled as a string of bells shook to alert the waitress behind the ice cream counter that they had arrived. The front part of the restaurant appeared to be a 1950s style soda counter, with a room behind it for sit-down dining. Dean motioned to the waitress for two menus, then sat down in a chair by one of the windows in the back room.

"What do you think I should get?" He paused, scrunching up his brow, "Do you know what the hell scrapple is? They've got a scrapple omelette."

"It's everything left over from the pig after they butcher it ground up in a paste, then put in a block." Sam replied, looking at the list of breakfast options.

"Hmm…I'll still try it."

The bell rang again as another customer came into the store. It was a taller man with short brown hair and glasses. He was wearing khakis and a sweater vest over an awful plaid shirt. He looked nervous.

"Nancy, I need to talk to you." He leaned over the counter toward the waitress.

"Mike, I don't want to hear any more of your conspiracy theory crap. I don't care if you want me to cancel my party at the lodge because of some monster. I paid the township, I'm having a party!"

"Nancy!" He whispered, "You don't understand there is something in those woods. Something not human. If you guys go out there something bad is going to happen. I know it!"

"Mike, either buy something or leave. I've known you for a while and I know you're a good guy, but you need to lay off the sci-fi movies."

He sighed. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Mike walked towards the back room and sat at a window seat a few tables behind Sam and Dean.

"Dean, did you hear what that guy said? There might be something worth checking out in those woods."

"Or the guy watched one too many episodes of 'Chasing Bigfoot' and now thinks he's seeing something when it's just an oversized raccoon." Dean frowned, irritated at the possibility of missing his car show.

"I'm going over to talk to him." Sam stood up and walked over to Mike's table. Dean sighed and followed closely behind. Mike was reading the menu when he looked up.

"Uh, hi. Can I help you?"

"Agents Wilson and Love, State Parks Department. We heard what you said about the thing in the woods. What did you see?" Sam asked, he and Dean flipping out badges.

Mike looked at the badges for a minute before scoffing. "I've seen a bad fake ID before, but come on. What did you guys do, go to Staples and forget to change the names? That one says 'Linda Burkett', and the other one says 'Jamaal Washington'. Plus we're in Pennsylvania, not Maryland."

"Alright, so we're not with the State, we still are interested."

"Look, if you guys are just going to mock me and put some rant on Facebook, forget it. I've been saying there's something wrong with this town for years and no one believes me. At this point I'm tired of being ridiculed and ignored. If you're serious, sit down. If not, go away. I have enough people who think I'm nuts."

"Alright, well thank you for your…" Dean began before Sam shot him a glance.

"We'll join you, if you don't mind." Sam replied.

"Fine by me. But if it turns out you guys are with some paranormal TV show I want credit."

After Nancy brought them coffee Mike began. "Look, I've lived in this town almost all my life and in that time there's a lot of things that have happened that just don't have any sort of logical explanation. I don't know all of it, but I think it has to do something with the Native Americans cursing the land a few centuries back. Since then a lot of weird stuff has happened. Most of it never gets to the papers because the mayor has a stranglehold on the press, as has his family for generations. I know there's something going on, and I have proof. I don't have it with me now, its back at my house. After breakfast I'll show you proof I'm not crazy if you guys want."

After a breakfast of decidedly better than expected food and a tedious conversation about a local species of invasive moth that Mike was passionate about, he excused himself to use the bathroom.

"Sam, there's no way I'm going anywhere with that guy. Not only is he boring, but we know nothing about him, we can't trust him."

"Look Dean, we need all the information we can get. If this guy happens to have some it saves us from having to root through records for an afternoon, if it turns out that he's a nut job I'm pretty sure you can handle an accountant with a comb-over."

"Fine, but I swear to God if this guy tries to kidnap us or make us into a sacrifice to some bat-shit pagan ideology I will not let you hear the end of it."

Dean rolled his eyes as Mike began returning from the bathroom. "So, since I don't want to end up stuck in a car with the world's least interesting man, I'm thinking we drive behind him. What do you think this guy drives anyway? My money's on a used Accord."

"Oh, come on Dean, the guy isn't that bad."

Dean raised an eyebrow as he leaned back.

"Fine, he is that bad. Besides, it's probably a leased Corolla."

"Alright, are you guys in, or what?" Mike said, returning to the table.

"We're in." Sam nodded.

"Okay, follow me. I'm parked out front."

Mike said goodbye to Nancy as he opened the front door, Dean and Sam followed behind.

"Look, not that we don't want to share a ride, but we drove here and don't want to have to come back for it…" Dean began before he stopped, flabbergasted. Mike was unlocking a 1967 Camaro. "That's yours?"

"Yeah, used to be my old man's before he decided to get a new toy… She's pretty nice. SS/RS with a 396, all numbers matching. Sadly not original, but pretty close, interior needed work." He paused, smiling. "Look, I might not be as exciting as you two but I'm not exactly a bore."

Dean slouched, Sam rubbed his neck.

"I have pretty good hearing. And I'm not an accountant, I teach high school chemistry."

"Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"Dean-was it-its fine. I'm used to being considered a loser. My students think I'm boring and my neighbors think I'm paranoid because I'm into horror and sci-fi and I tell them that the town is cursed. Next time, just remember to get to know people a little before you judge them."

Mike pulled out a pair of sunglasses. "Well, come on."