"Ummm... do you think this is some kind of storm?" Dean asked while staring at the sky.
Dark clouds rolled overhead in unnatural patterns while lightning flashed through them every few seconds. Bobby narrowed his eyes as he studied the horizon. "That doesn't look like any normal storm."
"It's really not normal."
The voice came from behind Dean.
Dean answered automatically without thinking. "Yeah, what is normal in our life anyway?"
A second later he froze. That wasn't Sam. That wasn't Bobby.
Slowly, Dean turned his head and noticed both Sam and Bobby staring at something behind him with wide eyes. He let out a long sigh.
"Henry's behind me, correct?"
Both of them nodded. That voice was impossible to mistake.
Dean turned around and found Henry standing a few feet away with an easy smile on his face, as though he hadn't spent nearly two weeks unconscious.
"Hi, Dean."
For a brief moment Dean simply stared at him. Then he punched him.
Henry's eyes widened and he barely managed to dodge. "What the hell?!"
Dean stepped forward and swung again. Henry moved back a second time.
"Of all the things I expected after waking up, this is the last one. At least give me a hug before trying to break my nose."
"You think I forgot the stunt you pulled?" Dean shot back while advancing on him. Another punch came flying toward Henry's face, and Henry leaned away from it.
"Dean, I literally just woke up."
"Good. Then you're awake enough to get punched."
Henry dodged again and immediately took another step backward. "This feels excessive."
"No, excessive would've been if that one connected."
Dean lunged forward once more. "You launched us into the sky, disappeared for two damn weeks, blew up your house, and left us wondering whether there was even a body to bury."
The last sentence hit harder than any punch. Henry's grin faded. Dean finally stopped a few feet away, still glaring at him.
"For two weeks we were chasing rumors, digging through dead ends, and trying to figure out if you were alive. So no, you're not getting a hug."
Henry rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "When you put it like that, I can kind of see your point."
"Damn right you can."
The anger in Dean's voice was real, but Sam could see what was underneath it. Dean was relieved.
He would never admit it out loud, but for the last two weeks he had been carrying around the possibility that Henry was dead. Henry noticed it too, and for a moment neither of them said anything.
Then another bolt of lightning split the sky. The flash illuminated the salvage yard and pulled everyone's attention back toward the storm overhead. Henry's humor vanished as he looked up at the clouds, his eyes narrowing.
Bobby caught the shift immediately. "You know what this is, don't you?"
Henry remained silent for several seconds while another rumble echoed across the horizon. Finally, he nodded. "Yeah."
Dean's expression hardened. "What is it?"
Henry kept his eyes fixed on the storm. "The first seal broke."
Dean frowned. "Ummm... what first seal? What the hell even broke?"
Henry let out a slow breath. "Yeah, that's going to require a very long explanation. And unfortunately it comes with a very big mess attached to it."
The situation didn't make sense even to him.
The first seal was supposed to break when a righteous man shed blood in Hell, and Dean Winchester was supposed to be that man.
Except Dean had never gone to Hell, which meant somebody else had somehow fulfilled the requirement. Henry had no idea who. Maybe demons had dragged some poor bastard down there and forced him to do their dirty work. Maybe there was another explanation.
Bobby folded his arms. "So what exactly is sealed?"
Henry looked at him before answering. "Lucifer."
Silence immediately followed. The wind swept through the salvage yard while thunder rolled across the dark horizon.
Sam was the first to speak. "You mean Lucifer? From the Bible?"
"Yeah."
The casual answer somehow made it worse. Dean immediately looked unconvinced.
"Come on."
Henry raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You're telling me Lucifer is real?" Dean pointed toward the sky. "Next you're gonna tell me aliens are real too."
Bobby snorted. Dean shot him a look. "What?"
Sam shook his head. "Dean, we've hunted ghosts, demons, shapeshifters, vampires, witches, and a damn pagan god. Lucifer is where you draw the line?"
Dean opened his mouth to argue before pausing halfway through. After a few seconds he pointed at Sam. "That's different."
"It ain't."
Dean scowled. "It is."
Bobby looked completely unconvinced. Sam ignored both of them and focused on Henry. "If Lucifer's real, then what's the point of these seals?"
Henry's expression became serious again. "The seals are the locks keeping him inside his cage. There are many of them, and every seal that breaks brings him one step closer to getting out."
The thunder overhead seemed louder after those words. Dean's smirk vanished. Sam felt his stomach tighten. Even Bobby's expression darkened.
Henry looked toward the storm one more time before continuing. "If all sixty-six seals break, Lucifer gets out."
Nobody spoke after that. Lightning flashed across the horizon, illuminating the massive storm clouds hanging over the world. Every one of them was thinking about the same thing.
*****
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