Prologue, Chapter 00: York AND Zach[]
After a woodsman and his two grandsons find a dead body in the forest of Greenvale, FBI Agent Francis York Morgan is sent to investigate the crime scene and profile the identity of the killer. The main story starts off in a dream sequence, in which York (everyone calls him that) finds himself in an outdoor area filled with trees, red leaves, living room accouterments, and angelic analogs of Isaach and Isaiah, the twins that discovered the dead body. The mysterious scene quickly shifts to York driving to Greenvale, having a conversation about the psychological profiles of Tom and Jerry with his imaginary friend, Zach, with whom he constantly discusses his situation, sotto voce, in order to not be overheard by nearby people. On his way into town, he nearly runs over a person and gets into a car accident that lands him in the thick of a forest.
He begins making his way to Greenvale on foot and runs into numerous zombie-like creatures identified as "mysterious shadows", whose existence is never explained or even confirmed. Also, York has a brief encounter with an ax-wielding man in a raincoat, but manages to escape and finds his way out of the forest. On the way into town, he runs into Deputy Sheriff Emily Wyatt and Sheriff George Woodman on the town's outskirts. George, with a loathing for "corrupt" city officers, is reluctant to let York (who he refuses to call that) anywhere near the case.