Chapter 1 ~ A Flash of Light

The black 1967 Impala was speeding down the interstate through Virginia, when Dean became hungry.

He pulled the car off of the interstate, stopping at a small diner, in some tiny town he didn't know the name of, Sam was asleep in the passenger seat. He flicked his ear to wake him, chuckling as Sam bolted upright, startled.

"Dean!" Sam cried out groggily. "You could have just called my name."

He smiled at his brother teasingly. "What would be the fun in that?" Sam just gave his brother a dirty look and rolled his eyes in reply.

"Are you gonna eat or what?" Dean asked, jumping out of the car before he even had a chance to answer.

Sam grinned as his brother slammed his door shut, following right behind him.

After they ate lunch, the two brothers once again got into the black Impala and headed back onto the interstate.

"Where are we going, Dean?" Sam asked curiously.

"Bobby called while you were sleeping," he answered. "There's a job for us in Atlanta."

"What kind of job?"

"Not sure," he replied, glancing at his brother quickly before looking back at the road. "He was kind of vague."

"That doesn't sound like Bobby," Sam said suspiciously.

Dean didn't reply to Sam's obvious worry, he was concerned as well, but he didnt want to draw attention to it. He hoped that once they arrived in Atlanta, they would know why Bobby had been so cryptic on the phone, but he usually had a good reason.

Sam pulled out his laptop and began searching through news articles in and around Atlanta. He didn't like walking blindly into a situation if it could be helped. He was suspicious about Bobby's call as well, perhaps more so than his brother. He was always more of a worrier than Dean.

"Dean," Sam called frustrated, thirty minutes later. "I can't find anything in any newspaper or article that sounds remotely supernatural."

"Bobby wouldn't send us to Atlanta if there wasn't a good reason, Sam," he stated matter-of-factly, hoping that would end his worry.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he mumbled in reply. "I just wish I knew what it could be."

Dean shot his brother a quick, knowing glance before watching the road once again.

It was much later in the afternoon when the brothers came across a road closure due to a massive tractor trailer accident. They didn't have a choice but to make a detour, so they pulled off the interstate to find a way around. Sam pulled out his laptop once again, bringing up a map of the area so they wouldn't get lost. The brothers had been all around the US and back many times, but they weren't familiar with this particular part of Virginia.

They were a few hours outside of Georgia, hurtling down a paved country road, when they could see a town sign in the distance. Sam was about to glance at his laptop to see what town they were approaching when suddenly there was a bright flash of light in front of them. The light was so bright, both Sam and Dean had to close their eyes, covering them with their hands, while Dean floored the brakes, stopping the Impala so suddenly, they could hear the tires squeal on the pavement.

Seconds later, Sam peeked out from behind his fingers slowly, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He poked his brother. "Dean, you can open your eyes now."

Dean removed his hands from his eyes, opening them slowly. He blinked quickly a few times, turning to his brother with a questioning look. "What the hell was that?"

His brother shrugged his shoulders slightly, looking just as confused. "Not sure."

"I'm gonna call, Bobby," Dean said, pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket.

"Dean, wait," Sam said quickly. "Look at this." He turned his laptop around so Dean could see the screen. "I can't bring up anything. No internet signal whatsoever."

"Maybe whatever that light was knocked it out somehow," he replied nonchalantly. "I'm gonna try Bobby."

Sam had a feeling it wasn't going to work, but he knew better than to contradict his brother, it would only lead to an argument.

"Dammit!" Dean yelled in frustration. "No signal."

"This is strange, Dean. Even for us."

He glanced at his brother, nodding his head once in agreement. "Let's just get to the next town and figure out where to go from here."

Sam closed his now useless laptop and threw it in the backseat, then turned back to watch out the window. They passed the town welcome sign, reading it, but not comprehending at first.

"Hey, Dean," he called, looking confused. "Have you ever heard of a town called Mystic Falls?"

"No," he replied with a raised eyebrow. "But I don't know the name of every little town."

Sam rolled his eyes sarcastically. "It just seems kind of familiar, but I'm not sure why."

Dean grinned at his brother mischieviously. "As long as there's food, alcohol and hot women, I don't care what it's called."

He laughed at his brother, shaking his head. "We're lost and have no clue what's going on and all you can think about is food, booze and women?"

He shrugged his shoulders in reply, smiling innocently. "No reason I can't have fun while figuring out our next move."

"Yeah, right," Sam replied, rolling his eyes.

The brothers were silent as they continued to drive towards the town, stopping only a few minutes later at the first motel they spotted. Sam headed into the motel office to arrange for a room, while Dean waited patiently in the car listening to a cassette, the radio didn't seem to be working either.

Sam came back to the car a few minutes later. "Room five, Dean," he said when he opened the door. He reached into the backseat, picking up his duffle bag, then headed to their room.

Dean took the car keys from the ignition and shoved them into the pocket of his jeans, fishing out a quarter. He locked the car, walking over to the pay phone that was just outside of the office and tried to call Bobby. He tried several times, but each time he continued to get the same recorded message, 'Your call cannot be completed as dialed, please hang up and try your call again.' After the fifth try, he slammed the handset down on the receiver in frustration. "Son of a bitch!" he cried. He stood still for a moment, glancing around, then headed to his room.

"Dammit, Sam!" he yelled as he closed the door behind him. "What the hell is going on?"

Sam narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I don't know."

"I tried to call Bobby from the pay phone, but all I get is a stupid message. It's almost like he doesn't exist."

He opened his mouth to say something, then decided not to say what he was thinking, shaking his head instead. "I don't know, Dean, but look at this," he said, handing his brother a newspaper. "There seems to be a lot of animal attacks around here."

"Animal attacks?" he said questioningly while taking the paper from his brother, glancing at it quickly. "Is there much detail about the bodies?"

"No, not really," he replied. "I think we should do some research though."

"We could always talk to the sheriff," he suggested.

"No, I don't think we should, Dean. We don't know what that strange light was or why we can't get a hold of Bobby. I think we need to be more cautious."

He stood watching his brother pensievely for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders lightly. "What do you suggest?"

"We could always go to the library. Look up old news articles."

"Sounds like fun," he replied sarcastically. "How about you go to the library and I stay here and sleep? I haven't slept since early yesterday."

"Yeah, whatever."

Dean retrieved the car keys from the pocket of his jeans, chucking them lightly to his brother. "Take care of my baby...and watch your back. We don't know what's going on here."

He nodded in agreement, saying nothing more, then left the motel room.