Chapter 2: Into the Misty Mountains

To say John was surprised was an understatement. Confusion did not begin to describe how off-balance he was, and starving was not adequate to his situation. He was down right ravenous, dumbfounded, and astonished. Not to mention a bit suspicious.

The guy who had helped him out of his grave, placed he noticed, right in front of Mary's memorial along with his dog-tags, was a bit jumpy and un-forthcoming with information. All he'd told him was that his name was Chuck, he knew Dean and Sam, he was a psychic, and he was taking him to Lebanon. After that, he was on his own. Saying that it would not do him any good to come into face to face contact with his boys, something about them thinking he was dead and would like to keep it that way.

But for a guy who did not seem to say anything, he could sure talk a lot. For what seemed like hours, he bombarded John with inane chatter and random sentences. He did not tell John much about what Sam and Dean had been up to over the past few years. YEARS! That had caught John off guard, but he did tell him that they had found a permanent residence and they where in fact, still alive. Still together, which was good. He could see, even when they where younger, that they where stronger when they were together.

The old Station Wagon that he was riding in smelled like it had not been washed in a few years. With the distinct smell of alcohol and vomit mixed in the back, barely covered by the ocean breeze air freshener that Chuck had hung from the mirror.

Eventually, mercifully, Chuck pulled up to a fast-food joint in Lebanon, handed him a hundred dollar bill, gave him instructions to where they lived, and wished him luck.

John thanked him and removed himself from the vehicle.

The first thing he did was to go into the restaurant and order something to eat and two bottled waters. Odds are he was going to be doing a bit of hiking. The instructions that Chuck had given him would lead him out of town and into the forest. Eating quickly enough to not draw attention to himself, but still giving himself the time to savor the taste of food, he finished and headed outside.

As he walked, he attempted to get his thoughts in order. He did not remember much. He made the deal with the damned Demon he'd been chasing for over twenty years to save Dean from a horrible death, that if he thought about it, was his fault. He should have listened to Dean and not gone to those Demons himself.

He'd talked with Dean, told him what he needed to know before John had passed on. He had given the Demon the Colt, then went back to his room. He did not remember anymore after that. He was sure he had gone to Hell, but he could not remember any of it. You would think one would remember that, but nothing.

Did his boys find a way to bring him back? No, that's not possible, they're to smart to mess with things like that. So how did he come back?

Demon? No, Demons would gain nothing from bringing him back. Did they think they could force him into something, using his resurrection as a form of blackmail? That didn't make sense, any Demon worth his salt or lack thereof would know they couldn't bully him into anything using that.

So, what then? John couldn't think of anything else that would have the power to get him out of Hell. He was, however, unable to continue on with his thoughts, because he heard a car horn and a pick-up pulled over in front of him.

"Hey, buddy?" Said the driver. Poking his head out the window, reminding John, creepily of Bobby Singer with the way he spoke and dressed. "Need a ride?"

"Only if your headed my way." John answered, frustrated at the fact that whatever had brought him back, hadn't seen any reason to give him a weapon. "Up in the mountains."

"Headed in that direction myself." The man answered. "Where abouts in the mountains?"

"Near, the power plant." John answered.

"Yeah, I pass the power plant on my way home. Climb on in." The man offered.

Deciding it would be better for him to hitch a ride, then wear himself out looking for the damn place, he loaded himself into the truck.

"Your not from around here, are you?" The man asked, after introducing himself as Garry.

"You could say that." John answered, keeping one eye on the road, and one eye on the man driving.

"So, what brings you around here?" Garry asked, seemingly trying to keep polite conversation.

"Visiting my kids." John answered simply.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Garry prompted, turning back to the road.

"Not really." John agreed, then added. "I guess you could say I'm a bit out of my element, and getting over quite a shock."

"I get that." The man conceded, turning on the radio to some country station. John finding himself remembering how Dean would always complain when he would change the station to country. That gave him a small smile, before he found himself wondering if Dean would still be like that.

The drive was not long, but John was ready to go when the man pulled over in front of the power plant. He bid the guy farewell and thanked him, getting out of the truck. He then started walking into the woods. He knew it couldn't be to far.

He stayed off the road, and out of sight, but he made sure to follow it like Chuck said. Finally, he came up to the side of a huge warehouse. This couldn't possibly be the place, could it. The address was the one Chuck had given him, so it must be. He circled around the compound, taking in the outward details and looking for the front door.

Finding the huge metal monstrosity that was in the place of a door, he felt it to find it was made out of pure iron. He then knocked three times. He waited just a few moments, but it felt like an hour. Finally, the door cracked open and he saw a familiar brown eye poking from the small sliver between the door and the wall. To be honest, he expected the gun that was pressed up to his head, and the sound of it being cocked behind him.

"This better be good." He heard his oldest say to his right.

Chapter 2 down. I have plans on posting another chapter in just a couple of minutes. I figure no one will really read this until tomorrow. I just want to get to Dean, Sam, and Cas stuff quickly.

Though I promise, the rest of the chapters will be longer, this is just set up.