Then.
Hamel, IL
Two young girls huddle together in a closet. It is night, and it is cold. Outside of the closet something is screaming. Loud, long, screaming. The kind of screaming that has never been made by a human mouth.
The younger girl clings to the older one, her tears dampening her pajama shirt.
"Shhh," the older one whispers. She is seven years old, with wispy dark hair and a pretty face. "It's okay," she breathes, even though she knows it isn't.
The younger one whimpers and bites her fist, her doll-like face shining with fear. Suddenly a loud thunk sounds on the closet door and the girls both let out strangled cries.
Whatever is outside knows they are in here.
The thumping continues, getting louder and louder with each hit. The wood on the door begins to crack and the older one pushes the younger girl behind her. She reaches around for anything she can find to protect herself and her sister. The little one is screaming now. Loud and strange. The older one grasps an old wire hanger off the floor and grips it tight.
The door shatters.
A shrouded figure bursts in, its arms wide and its face terrible. The older one stands up, the hanger held out front like a sword.
"Get away from us!" she shouts, her voice braver than she feels. The creatures screams its long mournful cry, its mouth and teeth slick with fresh blood. The blood of their parents, the girl realizes in horror. The creature rears back like a cobra, ready to strike. The girl lashes out with the hanger, knowing the weak weapon will do little against this horrible creature. She swings with all of her little girl strength and prepares for the pain of being devoured.
When the hanger connects with the beast's face it lets out another horrible scream and disappears in a cloud of smoke. The girl stands wide eyed in the closet, her hanger still poised for the attack. The figure reforms again, several feet back now, its horrible face contorted in anger. It's scream yet again fills the house. It charges again, but this time the girl knows what to do. She swipes at the creature's face again and it dissolves. It reforms quicker this time and comes at her again, and again, looking for weak spots. The girl cuts at the thing wildly, adrenaline keeping her on her feet.
The thing rears up again and the girl prepares to strike once more, but suddenly a loud burst sounds, like a gunshot, and the monster disappears in another gust of smoke.
Standing behind the beast is a man holding a shotgun. He is a big man, strong,and the girl is not afraid.
The beast reforms and attacks him now. He shoots it again, but the monster is prepared. It ducks the shot and swoops low, knocking the man off his feet, sending the shotgun flying.
"Stay here," the girl screams at the little one who is still huddled behind her. She runs out of the closet and grabs the gun. She's never touched a gun before. She doesn't know how they work. But the beast is descending on the man who is lying helpless on the floor. She points the gun and pulls the trigger.
Nothing happens.
She tries again, but the gun doesn't fire. There aren't any bullets left. She is still holding the wire hanger in her hand so she attacks the beast with it again, stabbing it in the back so it disappears again.
The man looks up and sees the girl standing over him. He looks confused, but grateful.
"The doll," he yells. "Where is it?"
At first the girl doesn't know what he's talking about. She stares at him as if he is crazy. But then she remembers. The doll with the white dress and the crossed eyes. She and her sister had found it in the house a few weeks ago when they moved in. Her sister had been sleeping with it. Her eyes go wide at the realization and she takes off down the hall. The man follows closely behind and just before they reach the little girl's room, the beast forms in front of them. The man tries to push the girl out of the way, but the beast makes its move and knocks her to the ground. The man takes out a knife and swipes at the creature. It dodges and they grapple for a few seconds. Meanwhile, the girl crawls into the bedroom and yanks the doll off the bed.
Not knowing what else to do, she bangs the doll's porcelain face against the ground, hoping to smash it. It does nothing except attract the attention of the monster. It turns toward her and lets out another loud scream. The girl screams back, as loud and as long as she can.
"Give me the doll!" the man yells from the hallway.
The girl hurls the doll at the man just as the creature descends on her. She screams as its cold hands clamp down on her, the sharp teeth inches from her face. Then suddenly the creature is burning, the flames devouring its shadowy form in a slow spiral. The girl is not burned by the fire, and soon she is lying on the floor, completely safe. She looks up and the man is standing over the doll, the flames consuming the tattered white dress and porcelain face.
Panting, the girl gets to her feet. She runs toward the hallway, past the man and the burning doll, past the mutilated bodies of her parents, passed the chaos that is now her house and lunges toward the closet where she'd left her sister.
"Penelope!" she cries, reaching in. The little girl's clammy hands grasp at the older girl blindly. The older girl lifts her out, and together they fall to the floor, the older girl murmuring in the little girl's ear. "It's alright," she says, even though she knows it isn't.
The man stands in the hallway watching the doll burn. He can hear the little girls in the other room and he too is comforted by the older girl's murmuring. He bends down and picks up the hanger from the floor. He examines the item that has saved his life. "I'll be damned," he says to himself. "Iron."
Sirens blare from outside the house. He looks to the little girls still huddled by the broken closet. He needs to leave soon. It won't do to be caught inside a ruined house with two dead bodies. He approaches the girls and squats beside them. The older one looks up.
"I believe this belongs to you." He hands her the hanger and stands to leave.
"Wait!" the girl cries, untangling herself from the sobbing toddler. "You can't just leave us here!"
The man pauses and looks at the girl. He's saved countless children in his life, but this is the first time one saved him. He hesitates. She's right, he can't just leave them here.
"They're real, aren't they?" she says, her eyes wide. "Monsters."
He nods. He can't let this little girl be told that what happened tonight was her imagination. He can't do that to her.
"How do I fight them?" she cries. "How do I protect my sister?"
And that does it. Something inside the man breaks as he watches this fiery little girl. She reminds him of another child hell bent on protection the one thing he holds dear. He reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a notebook.
"Here," he says, handing it to her. "This is everything I know about monsters and how to fight them. Don't give it to anyone else, you hear? It's just for you. And if you ever need help, there's a phone number on the front page, okay? You call me and I'll send help."
The girl looks at the book in her hands with wide eyes. "But, don't you need it?" she asks.
The man shrugs. "I'll just make a new one."
The sirens outside are getting louder. It's time for the man to go. He stands up and looks at the girls again. He hopes he never sees them again. He hopes they forget about this night. But one look at the older girl's eyes tells him that she will remember this moment for the rest of her life. He shrugs. There isn't much else he can do. He turns and he leaves.
The older girl watches him walk out before she opens the book. The first page has a phone number as promised. There is also a name.
John Winchester.