Here it is! The final chapter! ...Or is it?

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

Pontiac, Illinois

Slowly, she watched the numbers tick by on the world clock on her phone, set to Central Daylight Time.

11:59:56 PM

11:59:57 PM

11:59:58 PM

11:59:59 PM

12:00:00 AM

Deep breath in, deep breath out, Skye reminded herself. Just because nothing's happened yet doesn't mean anything.

Flipping her phone back shut, she reached into her backpack to pull out the tattered collection of papers she's been living by the past few days. She paid little attention to the worn writing on the cover, going straight to the back of the document. Straight to the end. Hastily, she read through the events that were supposed to have taken place.

Dean convinces Bobby to help him summon Castiel.

They do the ritual at the barn.

Big thunder and lightning show.

Castiel shows up.

Shooting.

Stabbing.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."

Castiel knocks Bobby out.

Epic lights show with Angel wings.

"Good things do happen, Dean."

"We have work for you."

Then it just, ends. No more pages. No more writing. It was just "we have work for you" and "to be continued." That's all. The only problem was it wasn't continued. Whoever gave her this packet (and she must assume someone gave it to her because there's no way it just magically materialized in her backpack one day) hadn't left anything else. Just instructions on the front cover to "fix it" and "don't look for him," referring to what Skye had to assume was the author of this bizarre prophecy, whose name was scribbled over in the same black sharpie used to write the notes.

Although she was skeptical at first, she did try to fix it, the only way she could think of how – by at least making sure Dean didn't get hurt all those times Castiel tried to talk to him. That was the only way she could think she could wedge herself in there enough to change things, and even then, she wasn't certain that she even had. Maybe it was too late. Maybe the events were already set in stone.

No, I can fix this, Skye told herself. Someone seems to think I can.

…But who? Why pick her specifically? Why was she following along with this craziness anyway? Where should she go from here?

Skye didn't have the answers to any of those questions except maybe the last one. She had to fess up to what she had done and show the Winchesters what was in the packet. It was probably the only way to both "change things" and figure out what was going on.

Reluctantly, Skye shoved the packet back into her backpack before tossing it further into her van. Then, she got up and slid the door shut. She was going to walk around to the driver's side door to get in so she could move it before the police noticed her trespassing. That was, until a hand grabbed hold of her left arm from behind and roughly pinned it behind her back. The person's other hand braced against the back and side of her neck, keeping her from turning and seeing who was behind her. Slowly, she took a steadying breath.

"Alright," she said. "You wanna talk? Let's talk."

If you're reading this on Archive of Our Own, you might have noticed that this work is now part of a series! The next story/episode in this saga will be titled "Witness" and it will be released on 5/13/22! Keep an eye out for it!

Also, I didn't realize it until I went to type out this author's note, but FFN isn't giving me notification e-mails for when people favorite/follow my stories. I'm still getting them for reviews, but not for favorites and follows. Does anyone know why that is?

Remember kids, this is just the end of the beginning.

SPECIAL THANKS:

FFN: Catgoddess1992, Deangirl1990, dulcinea54, and KHARAKI TAKAN.

AO3: 3131934, And_Softheart, Andressa_Snape, dndgvyd, flatdaysandstaticnights, Galaxy_Children, idcishipit, Indigo_Guardian_Phantopm_Night, leafyqweenivy, Little One, midge_x, pitzer, READINGREADER, SBelmonte, sevwoaini, SherlocksHound, teylaoo16, VictoryInFabrication, xandratheshinigami, and the 12 guests who left kudos!

Playlist: (1) "Song of the Century" by Green Day (2) "Coming Home" by Avenged Sevenfold (3) "Build God, Then We'll Talk" by Panic! At the Disco (4) "Show Yourself" by Mastadon (5) "Fake You Out" by twenty one pilots (6) "The Night We Met" by Lord Huron (7) "Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" by Panic! At the Disco

Originally published to FFN on 3/10/22.