I'm not dead! Although, I did do this collab with my friend, Josie. Her username is xxjofoxx, so go check her out! She's rather new to this site, so go annoy the shit out of her!
Disclaimer: We don't own Supernatural, but if we did, let it be known that we would have hooked up with the brothers a long-ass time ago!
Let's begin!
*Ritchie's POV*
Leaning against the counter top of the apartment, the only feeling I could really recognize that was overtaking me was worry.
"Where do you think they are?" I asked my roommate, Josie, as I rested my head in the palms of my open hands. She looked over at me from her place on the white leather couch through thick, black lashes. I could tell that my best friend was as concerned as I was; if not, more so. Although, you wouldn't know it unless you knew her like I did.
"Well, remember? Maria texted me that they were in this town in Indiana, I think it was called Burkitsville or something." She rested her arm along the top of the couch as she looked through her phone for the specific message that our roommate sent her. "And then not a damn thing. You would think that, at least, Chris would have called or some shit like that."
Chris, our other roommate, was also along for their trip. They were headed for a concert in Indianapolis, but somewhere along the way, we lost contact with them. No texts, no calls, no carrier pigeon to our window; nothing.
"Should we go look for them? I mean, it's been a few days." I suggested warily, unsure if it was the right idea.
At that moment, Josie jumped off the couch and exclaimed, "Yeah, let's go! The police haven't done shit so far! I'm the sheriff, you're the deputy. Start packin', Ritchie!" In all honesty, it was unanimous, but she was always there to give me that little push I needed to go through with whatever I had on my mind.
"ASAP? Why not wait until morning?" But even as I asked her, I already knew what she was going to say. Although, I wasn't expecting my travel bag to be chucked at my face.
"Bitch, we're going." She glared at me in a mocking manner, her mahogany-tinted eyes filled with authority. "Can't go without my deputy."
*Josie's POV*
"I shot the sheriff, but I didn't shoot the deputy." I sang, poorly but with great enthusiasm as we grew closer to the hick town known as Burkitsville. It took almost all night and about majority of the morning to get here. The weather was gloomy and it looked like it was about to rain. "You know, I find that song kind of messed up, why the hell can't the deputy be shot instead of the sheriff?"
"Shut the hell up, we're here." Ritchie said, reading the sign welcoming us to Burkitsville.
Up ahead was a bus station, earlier Ritchie said he would start there while I went into the town all alone, where I could be kidnapped. "Are you sure you want me to leave you here? By yourself?" I asked Ritchie as he reached for the door handle, ready to leave.
"It's just the bus station; we'll cover more ground if we split up anyway." He replied, opening the door and stepping out, letting a harsh wind whip inside.
"I'll call you when I get to the town." I said before pressing my foot down on the acceleration pedal after he barely closed the door.
Burkitsville is a small, creepy town. The roads were deserted; dying oak trees surrounded the area. As I pulled up to what seemed to be the main part of town, I spotted a small diner called Scotty's Café, with a few people inside. Unexpectedly, I spotted a black Chevrolet Impala at the tiny gas station, I laughed to myself because I was driving a burgundy Mach 1.
Inside the diner, there were only three people. I thought it was a good place to start asking around about Maria and Chris. The closest to me was this young couple, enjoying a giant meal, they didn't seem to be locals.
"Excuse me, sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you had seen these people." I held out my phone, with a picture of my roommates ready. Chris and Maria were sitting together, arms around each other on the white leather couch in our apartment. It was taken on the week we just moved in.
They genuinely stared at the picture, seeing if they recognized either of the two. "No, sorry we don't," The girl replied, both of them shaking their heads apologetically, quickly returning to their meal. The couple seemed a little odd, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Behind them sat a hot guy, with dark clothes and smoldering green eyes. I could definitely tell he wasn't from around here. "Have you seen them?" I asked, leaning forward. Instead of looking at the picture, I caught him staring down my white V-neck shirt. "Once you're done staring at my tits I actually appreciate if you looked at the picture."
He cleared his throat, his lips slightly twitching to the side, "I haven't seen them. How long have they been missing?" His voice was gruff and deep, which was kind of a turn on.
"A few days, last I heard from them they were here." I snapped the phone closed, upset that I was unsuccessful in finding anything about my friends.
He sat back, thinking intently. And I took that as a cue to take a seat at a table and getting something to eat. The smoldering green eyed hottie turned his attention from me to the couple, to continue their conversation.
"Is that your car in the garage?" He asked, nodding his head towards the window where a red Sudan was parked.
"Yeah, there's something wrong with the break line." The man answered politely.
"How long will it take to fix?"
"Till sundown."
Both Green Eyes and I scrunched our eyebrows skeptically, before I injected myself into their conversation, "A break line shouldn't take that long to fix."
"Yeah, what she said. You know," He leaned in closer, "I know a thing or two about cars I could have your car fixed in about an hour, no charge."
That was a little creepy. The couple also thought the same.
"Thank you, but no. We would rather have a mechanic look at it." The woman answered, smiling nervously.
In defense of the creepy hottie I said, "I would rather have a guy fix my break line in an hour than wait several when it shouldn't take that long."
All three looked at me, the couple just ignored me but the hottie smirked at me as if he was thanking me. "You really shouldn't drive out here at night, it's dangerous." He said with worry and concern tied in his gruff voice. It was like he knew something was out there and he was trying to help the couple, but instead he was scaring them.
Like he was annoyed, the man said, "We really would like to eat our meal."
Which reminded me that I wanted one.
"My brother could just give you his puppy dog eyes and you would listen to him." He shook his head in disbelief, unsuccessful in changing the couple's minds.
I scoffed to myself, I prefer the bad boys than the puppy-eyed ones; that's Ritchie's type.
Then a real sheriff with an actual badge came inside, where he was greeted by a man that came from the back room. "Sheriff you're here, good." The sheriff bypassed the man to go to the hottie that sat at the table alone.
Instead of listening to the conversation, I called Ritchie.
*Ritchie's POV*
As Josie sped off in her Mach 1, I turned toward the entrance of the station in hopes of finding somebody who might have seen either Maria or Chris. The bus station was a well-populated yet somewhat rundown building and most of the people outside were already in such a rush that they wouldn't even give me the time of day. Hopefully, there would be better luck inside.
Walking into the open entry of the station, I was met right away with the distracted gaze of a tall guy around the same age as me. He had shaggy dark brown hair and warm hazel eyes, which reminded me somewhat of my own. I looked away, somewhat blushing at the sudden eye contact of the cute guy. He seemed to do the same out of bashfulness, but I needed to keep his attention.
"Excuse me, but have you seen either of my friends?" I pulled out a photograph of the two of them. Maria was playing with the string of Chris's dark blue Manchester University sweatshirt, unbeknownst to Chris. Out of nervousness, I tried to look at anything; anywhere that I wouldn't be able to catch his meeting gaze. I ended up focusing on one of the front pockets of his olive green jacket.
I felt another pair of eyes on me and turned in their direction. A petite girl with a blonde pixie cut and heart-shaped face was somewhat glaring at me. I got the idea that I was intruding somewhat, but let's face it; I had good reason to be.
"Sorry, I haven't seen them." He shook his head, showing the blonde next to him the picture. She barely even glanced before looking up at me and shaking her head in a nonchalant fashion. "How long have they been gone, though?"
"Four days. Last we heard from them, they stopped at this town with some car trouble." It seemed to remind him of something because he got sort of a glazed look over his eyes, as if in thought.
"Umm…sorry…again." He snapped back into reality and I nodded my head at him, pursing my lips somewhat, and turned in the direction of the teller to ask her the same thing. No luck with her, either, though.
As I turned back, I briefly glanced back over at the two people. The male was staring intently at his phone while the girl was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall. Shaking my head, I walked back out of the bus station and hoped to catch somebody who would recognize them.
After a few minutes of asking around and receiving absolutely no positive information, my phone began to buzz loudly at the pit of my jean pocket. I glanced at the caller ID, but I didn't have to. I already knew who it was.
"Hey, Jofox. Anything?" I asked as I flipped my phone open, feeling some sort of comfort from calling her one of her old nicknames. Her voice was somewhat irritated, but it weirdly calmed me.
"I didn't find shit! Except for this one hot guy. I'll tell you about him later." I chuckled to myself at that. Same old Josie. "Anything on your side of the world?"
"Nah, I got nothing, either. Just a bunch of people in a hurry." She could probably sense the disappointment in my voice as it was quite evident. "You should continue asking around, though. I'll stay here and wait for new people."
"Alright. I'm gonna go talk to the sheriff…a real sheriff." We both laughed pretty vocally at that and we said our goodbyes, but she stopped me right before I flipped my phone shut. "I'll call you when I'm on my way to pick you up."
Alright, back to my previous job. Somebody better have seen them; I'm tired of all these 'no' answers.
*Josie's POV*
I was inside in my car, entertaining myself with the radio, waiting for the sheriff to return. He kicked the hot creepy guy out of the town, and that's when I discovered he was the one who owned the black Impala. One of my favorite oldie songs 'You Really Got A Hold On Me' finished playing as the sheriff pulled up. I didn't even wait for him to turn off his squad car's engine before I was out of mine and walking towards him.
He was a little surprised when I knocked on the driver side window. "How can I help you?" He opened the door getting out of the seat and joining me in the gloomy weather.
"I was wondering if you had seen them." I pulled out the same picture of Chris and Maria I had shown earlier.
He took my phone from my hand, studying their faces then handed it back to me shaking his head, "I haven't seen them." His response made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"Last time I talked to them they were here and they were having some sort of car trouble." I explained, hoping it would kick-start something his memory.
"Like I said, I haven't seen them." Without a glance back at me he walked away, reentering the diner.
I ran my cold fingers through my long dark hair, tugging on it in frustration. I flipped my phone open to dial Ritchie's number, "Hey, I didn't get anything from the stupid chota." I spit out, releasing some tension.
"What?" He said, confused.
"It means cop in Spanish. And you're Salvadorian?" I mocked, returning back inside the driver seat. I felt better joking with Ritchie, but not entirely.
"Shut up gringa." He spat back, joking along.
"I'm not white, you dumb bitch. I'm on my way over to pick you up." I clicked my seatbelt on, fixing the collar of my jacket that was messed up by the process.
"Alright, see you soon." He said before hanging up.
I hung up, sticking the key into the ignition and turning it, bringing my car's engine to life.
As the sun was disappearing behind the horizon, I drove down the familiar empty highway on my way to pick up Ritchie at the bus station, when I spotted the same black Impala I saw before. There was another car there too; the red Sudan that belonged to the couple.
I parked alongside of the road, wondering what they were doing here. The sheriff made the hottie leave town, so I don't understand why he's here. It was extremely creepy, being outside in the orchard at night, light fog was settling in and it became colder.
"Oh my God, why am I doing this?" I muttered to myself as I adventured in deeper into the field of apple trees, farther away from the sanctuary of my car. I had my hands up in a defense position, prepared for anything to attack me, "I should have brought a flashlight." I thought out loud, hearing the dried leaves crunching under my black flats. It was extremely dark; the moonlight barely peered through the thick trees to illuminate objects.
I noticed the night was too quiet, no owls or crickets were making any noise. Then in the middle of the grove, a woman screamed and shotgun shots rang out.
"Oh, fuck this!" I shouted, running away from where the sudden sounds came from back to my car. I didn't know what to expect when I decided to walk into the creepy forest, but I didn't expect to be a witness to a murder.
When I reached the edge of the orchard I saw the couple from the diner and the hottie run out. "What the fuck is going on?" I exclaimed, holding my car keys in hand, ready to unlock the doors.
"Run!" Hottie yelled at me.
"Shoot!" I yelled back, pointing at the dark figure that stared at us.
A few more shots rang out before I had enough and jumped inside the safety of my car and sped away, heading back towards Burkitsville to tell the Sheriff what was happening. When I entered the town again I honked my horn, probably waking everyone up.
"Where's the sheriff?" I exclaimed, after I turned the car's engine off, and ran towards the diner where I had previously seen him.
The man I saw earlier that came out of the back room was there, along with the sheriff. "What's the matter?" He asked bewildered.
At first I didn't know what to say or how to phrase it, "There was this thing and it was chasing these people at the orchard." I pointed in the direction I came from.
Random townspeople gathered at the noise I made, they whispered amongst themselves when I told him what I saw. "Did they get away?" The sheriff asked, concerned but I'm not sure it was about the people being chased down.
I nodded, "I'm pretty sure they did."
He sighed deeply disappointed. "We're going to need your help, miss."
"With what?" I asked, a little wary, the hairs on my neck standing up again.
"Come inside." He said, waving towards the diner.
I was reluctant to go inside, but I did anyways, thinking it was safe. When I got inside, I could smell the familiar scent of apple pie and I could feel the warmth of the heater. But then, everything went black.
*Ritchie's POV*
I glanced at my cell phone for the time. It has already been an hour since the sun went down, but Josie had called me about two hours ago, telling me she was on her way. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn't starting to panic.
I needed to call her to see if she was okay. One ring…two rings…three rings…four…nothing. If I wasn't worried before, I definitely was now. It wasn't like her to not answer her phone, especially if she were running a little late.
The wind wisped by me, causing me to shiver slightly at the chill that ran through my body. It was getting far too cold to be outside, so I might as well go inside with the cute guy and the pixie-haired girl. She seems like a bitch, so I was rather reluctant to actually wait inside. Although, the thought of seeing that guy again outweighed my hesitance.
They were both enjoying a couple of beers, sitting across from each other at one of the tables. I slightly rolled my eyes at the scene and went to go sit on the bench next to the noisy vending machines. I hugged at my torso, hopefully creating some sort of warmth that can keep me from getting any colder than I already was.
I saw the tall man at the table look over to where I was sitting. He got up from where he was and left the blonde to herself. My heart started to beat slightly faster when I realized he was actually walking toward me.
"Any luck?" he asked kindly, as he took a spot next to me and, of course, he still towered over me. I shook my head, not really able to form my thoughts into words. I met his worried gaze, and I melted right there and then. God damn, he's adorable.
"Now, I got my other friend to worry about. She's not answering any of my calls." I sighed heavily as I flipped my phone open out of a nervous habit. "She was supposed to pick me up from here about an hour ago, but she never showed."
"Well, I'm sure your friend will get here soon. It may be a deserted area, but it's still pretty big." Those words comforted me, but not because of what he said. It was his voice that soothed me a little bit. My shoulders became slightly less tense as they dropped down.
He rested his hand on my shoulder, comforting me that much more. The warmth from his touch seeped through the layers of my clothing, leaving its resonance there. Not only that, but the butterflies in my stomach were rapidly changing form. There was no way that they were even butterflies anymore; they're pterodactyls.
"Thanks." That was the only word that seemed to escape my lips, although I wanted to say so much more.
"I'm Sam, by the way." He reached his hand out to shake mine and I gladly took it before introducing myself. "Do you wanna join Meg and I?"
I looked over to where the girl was sitting and she did not look happy that he momentarily dismissed her for me. Ever so slightly, I smirked at the thought and turned back to Sam. I was a bit torn between accepting his offer or avoiding the glaring woman altogether.
"Actually, that sounds great. Appreciate it." I smiled warmly at him and he returned it with equal amount of enthusiasm. We both got up and he grabbed me a chair from across the room to join them at their table.
"Meg, this is Ritchie. Ritchie, Meg." She gave me a forced grin and I gave her a knowing look before accepting the cheap, metal-lined chair that Sam put in between the two of them.
After a night of talking and losing track of time, I realized that Josie never came, let alone text or called me. At this, point I couldn't help but be in full panic mode. I paced the floor of the cement room while chewing on the ends of my fingertips. I couldn't help but think the worst.
"Nothing yet?" Sam asked me from his place on the bench that was sitting in the middle of the station. I looked at him and gave him a worried shake of my head. That's when I heard a phone ring.
I was too nervous not to notice that it wasn't mine, but Sam's. He answered it somewhat warily as Meg peeked out from under hooded eyes from her place on the floor. She seemed to be listening intently, but I didn't pay much attention to that because more and more theories of why Josie hasn't contacted me rushed through my mind.
After a bit of time, Sam hung up his phone and Meg stirred from her fake slumber. "Who was that?" Her voice was drowsy, but I knew that she wasn't asleep in her little corner.
"My brother." He answered distractedly, reaching into his pocket to put his phone in. Meg got up and slowly made her way to where Sam was sitting.
"What'd he say?" she asked curiously, grabbing her backpack from off the floor and placing it on the bench next to Sam's.
"He said goodbye."
*Josie's POV*
The back of my head hurt like a bitch as I woke up. I was lying face down on the cold cement floor and there was a musky scent in the air and it scratched my throat. There was barely any light so I couldn't make out what was around me.
"What the fuck?" I groggily said, sitting up slowly, keeping one hand on the tender spot behind my head.
Every part of my body was sore, and a few joints popped when I moved. I scanned my surroundings, trying to figure out where I was when I noticed light peeking through the cracks of the wood. I slowly made my way towards it, hitting the stairs that were supposedly there.
"Fuck!" I hissed, when I banged my shin pretty hard against the bottom step.
As I reached the last one without any more injuries, I pressed my hands against the two doors pushing as hard as I could, without success. "This is just fucking great." I muttered, smacking my hands against the outside of my thighs.
I used my hands to make it safely back down the stairs. I squinted my eyes to make out some of the darkness but I couldn't make much out. The room was filled with boxes that had nothing useful and empty barrels. I checked the pockets of my jacket and pants and found them empty. They took my wallet, car keys and cell phone.
"They better not be planning on playing silence of the lambs or raping me."
Just then the doors opened, and I instinctively ran up the stairs to meet a gun pointed directly between my eyes. "Get back down." The sheriff growled at me, inching closer with the rifle.
I held up my hands in surrender, slowly backing down into the darkness, giving him dirty looks. Never in my life had I had a gun pointed at my face, and I never want it to happen again. Two men, one of them I recognized, dragged the hot guy with the Impala down with me. Without looking at me or saying another word they closed the doors again and locked them as if we were nothing but objects.
"Aye dude." I pressed my foot gently against the passed out guy's side. "Wake up." I pushed harder. When he didn't wake up I kneeled next to him and began to shake him by his solid shoulders. "Wake up, they're gonna rape us."
Still no response. So I slapped him, once…then twice on the left cheek.
He stirred suddenly, blinking his eyes open at the sudden pain, "Owe!" He grabbed the cheek I slapped, which was turning a bright red.
"Sorry dude, there was no other way." I shrugged, standing back up, dusting my pants off.
His green eyes scanned mischievously over my body, "I'm sure there were other ways." He gave a cocky grin. Even though we were in this predicament I found it kind of funny, and insulting.
"We don't have time for that. We have to get out of here." I said, with a roll of my eyes sitting down on one of the closed boxes.
"Right, later. Where are we?" He asked, sitting up, still holding his cheek.
"I'm guessing the cellar." I stared up at the only source of light. "What are they going to do with us? I really don't want to get raped." I nervously rubbed my hands over my thighs; goose bumps appeared on my arms as I thought about the gun again.
"They're not, their just sacrificing us." He answered simply walking towards the stairs.
"That makes it so much better!" I exclaimed sarcastically, watching him.
He went up to the cellar doors, banging his shoulders against them. I walked over combining my force with his, but it still wouldn't budge.
"I guess we're not getting out that way." I sighed heavily, hanging my head back in agitation. He didn't respond, he went back down the stairs to start scanning the room and searching through the boxes and empty barrels. "Their empty, I already checked them." I said nonchalantly, sitting on another box. Then he checks his pockets, doing the same routine I had done moments ago. "Dude, they took everything."
He glanced up at me, contemplating another way out and still not listening to me. "There are no windows and the only source of light is coming from the only way out of here, so we're stuck here."
"There has to be another way out." He said, obviously not taking what I told him into consideration.
With a hint of annoyance to my voice I said, "Didn't you hear what I told you, there's no way out."
"No offense, but I got this under control sweetheart." He winked at me.
I stood up, anger dripping from every word, "Look I'm a forensics major, and I know what I'm talking about."
"Do you? Do you know this town was strange and were going to be sacrificed; did you know that forensic major, because I don't think you did?"
"Wait, tell me about the sacrifice?"
"Yeah that's what I thought." He scoffed.
"Don't even start buddy, just start talking."
"Remember the couple in the diner, well they were originally going to be scarified but I saved them. The Pagan woods God was going to skin them so the town would be safe."
"So the thing I saw you running from was a Pagan God?"
"Aye, I wasn't running from it, I was protecting them."
"Oh yeah, I'm sure. Since they weren't killed and skinned or whatever we're the replacements?"
"College babe learned a thing or two." He sarcastically said
.
"Your ass is getting skinned first."
"Ladies first darling."
"Dicks before chicks."
For a few minutes, we sat in silence till he asked, "Got a name college babe?"
"Josie."
"I'm Dean."
"So how did you know about all this Pagan stuff in this town?"
"A year ago my friends disappeared just like yours."
"I don't think my friends were sacrificed."
"They weren't, because they wouldn't need a couple still."
With nothing else to stay, we sat in the dwindling light that peeked through the cracks.
"So what time is our death sentence?"
Just then sounds of the locks were being undone and the doors swung open, releasing a mass amount of light into the cellar, causing Dean and I to squint.
"I'm guessing right now."
*Ritchie's POV*
"It's been way too long…" I said all-too-suddenly as I got up from my place on the wooden bench next to Sam and made my way to the exit. "I have to go find her."
"Yeah, I haven't heard anything from Dean, either." Dean was his brother, the one that called him earlier today. Sam has also been trying to get a hold of him, but just like Josie, Dean hasn't picked up.
"You do what you have to do, but I have to find a way to Burkitsville." Before making my exit from the station, I felt a small yet firm tug on my right shoulder. I turned to see Sam with, what I thought of as, a look on his face that was a mixture of both confusion and surprise. With that look, I couldn't help but give him a questioning gaze as Meg looked on.
"My brother is supposed to be there, too." I could feel my eyes slightly grow from that. There's no way that that can be a coincidence. "Let's go."
"But Sam, our bus came in." Meg said, almost desperate to keep him with her. She slunked her pack over her shoulders as she said this, exuberating a sense of urgency that it was now or never to catch that bus.
"You better catch it." He gave her one last look before he turned to me and said, "We gotta go."
We rushed outside, but it was about as deserted as it could possibly get. Although, there was an old Ford truck near the back of the station. It was silver with a slightly damaged truck bed.
"Umm okay…this might be a little bit out of your element, but…do you want to find Josie?" Sam asked me, grasping me by both of my shoulders, his gaze boring into my own.
"Of course I do." I replied without hesitance, meeting his gaze.
"I-I think that the only way we can…is if…if we steal that truck." Sam elaborated as he gestured toward the silver Ford.
Normally, I wouldn't even consider it as an option. I would call the man crazy and run the other way, but for whatever reason, I felt like I could trust him completely. And if that meant going all 'grand theft auto,' then I felt like it was reasonably okay. His eyes just conveyed true genuineness.
"Let's go." My body was already moving toward the truck, but he stopped me once again.
"Wha-? You're not even going to question it?" He looked rather confused at my enthusiasm about committing the crime, but I knew that I wasn't exuding any sort of hint that I've done this before.
I just shook my head lightly and responded with, "No. Now, let's go." I smirked slightly at that and made my way to the passenger side of the truck, waiting for Sam to find a way in through the driver's side. He was still on my side of the truck before he shook his head free of his own thoughts and rushed over to the opposite side.
*Josie's POV*
It was late in the evening time when we arrived at the orchard. An old couple tied my hands above my head with rope that was secured tightly around the tree. Dean was being tied to the tree as well, which was a few feet away from me.
"How many people have you killed sheriff? How much blood is on your hands?" Dean asked, being a smartass.
The cop finished checking the tie he had made and glared down at Dean as he simply replied, "We don't kill them."
"Oh but you sure cover up after, I mean how many cars have you hidden, clothes you buried?"
He didn't reply. He just picked his gun back up and walked away, as did the rest of them.
To their retreating backs Dean shouts, "I hope your freaking apple pie is worth it!"
"Got a plan?" I asked, tugging on the rope, hoping it would somehow come loose.
"I'm working on it." He answers a hint of uncertainty in his rough voice.
An eerie breeze swept passed, giving me goose bumps on my exposed skin. "So what is exactly is going to skin us?" I asked, as I watched Dean also tug on the ropes that held him.
"See that scarecrow?" He pointed with right index finger, behind us.
I tried to crane my head to look, but I couldn't see a damn thing. "I don't see no damn scarecrow. But I did see him before we got tied up. So that was the thing you were running from last night?" I lightly laughed, picturing Dean running away from the scarecrow in Wizard of Oz.
"I told you I wasn't running! That thing is going to skin your cute, tight body unless I figure a way out. Now shut up and let me think!"
I let the perverted sly comment slide this time, only because I was still too busy giggling at the image. However, even though I couldn't see the scarecrow, I knew it could see us. I could feel its eyes watching us, waiting for nightfall.
About an hour passed, the sun vanished below the horizon, leaving only the moon for Dean and I to use for light. My ass was starting to become numb from sitting on the cold, hard, uneven ground for too long, and my hands were starting to fall asleep from the rope cutting off my circulation.
"So I'm guessing you don't have a plan?" I said, shifting my weight, trying to make myself somehow comfortable.
"I'm working on it." Dean says, staring off in the opposition direction. He turns his head towards me, "Can you see? Is he moving yet?" He nods his head behind him.
"If I couldn't see him before, do you magically think I can see him now?" I replied, sarcastically.
Then from the corner of my eyes I saw a dark figure moving, along came footsteps crushing the dried leaves that had fallen on the forest floor.
"Oh fuck." I whispered. In a desperate attempt to defend myself I kicked off my shoe aiming into the darkness, somehow by a miracle or complete skill it made contact with the approaching figure.
Dean struggled furiously at his ropes, as my shoe made contact with the thing.
"Owe!" A shout came from the dark.
"Wait…that sounded human." I said, realization striking me like a shoe to the face.
*Ritchie's POV*
Turns out that Sam ended up hot wiring the truck in order to start, not that I was expecting another tactic. He smirked softly at the truck, its engine roaring to life. I swiftly strapped myself in using the seat belt as he took the truck out of park and started driving in the direction that Josie had left in before.
"So, are you sure we're not jumping to conclusions?" I started, sort of hesitating in the current plan. "I mean, sure, it's a bit weird that both of them aren't answering, but maybe they're both in an area without any cell phone range."
"No...Trust me," Sam's voice was smooth and his eyes, knowledgeable, "this isn't what it is."
"And how do you know that, exactly?" I asked warily, just now questioning what was going on.
"...You don't want to know." He said, almost with a sense of dread and mystery lingering along his words.
"Try me." Sure, challenging him was a bit much, but it wasn't with animosity. Although, I was met with a wave of silence that overtook us for a good ten to fifteen minutes.
I decided that breaking the silence was probably the best tactic at the moment, just so that we can discuss what we plan on doing.
"So…you do this often?" I asked Sam with a slight smirk as we made our way down the highway, trying to break the silence that was rather overwhelming. Both of us were anxious to find the two, so tensions were running high.
Luckily, he took it humorously and gave out a soft huff of a chuckle before answering. "Not usually, but it's happening more often, as of lately…"
"And why's that?" Curiosity was evident in my voice, and I assumed he noticed since he continued on with an explanation.
"Dean and I…we get ourselves into situations every now and then…" Okay, Mr. Cryptic. Don't elaborate all at once, here. "I guess you could say that we're sort of danger magnets."
"Alright, so, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you and your brother to Hicksville, Indiana?" He grinned lightly before answering, his hands rotating the wheel as we turned down another road that was practically a carbon copy of the last.
"Nothing at all. Actually, it's the same reason you and your friend are here."
"Wait, what?" Sam was looking for his friends, too? Is this somehow connected?
"Yeah, our friends went missing around here, also. Just vanished completely." Oh, shit. Same story and everything. If I didn't show him the pictures of Maria and Chris, I would think that he was friends with them, too. But, as it may be, he had no idea who they were.
"What? Same thing happened to Chris and Maria. How is that even possible? That's way too much of a coincidence."
"Maybe it isn't." And with that, he slowed down as we drove by a grove. "My brother talked about this place before and how it might be of significance. Probably the best place to start looking."
We made our way out of the car, trying to be as quiet as we could be while closing up the truck doors, which were almost impossible with how creaky they were; the hinges probably rusting over as we did. I'm actually surprised it didn't fall off.
Sam was the first to crunch his way through the fallen leaves, my footsteps close behind. And although I couldn't see anything above Sam since he was a freakin' giant, I saw around us and didn't see much other than apple trees and darkness, only to be dimly lit by the crescent moon hanging over us.
After a few minutes of randomly making our way through the maze of identical trees, we spotted them. Sam told me to keep quiet, as we weren't aware if others were close by. A rather loud crunch underneath one of Sam's steps alerted the two of our companions, but we were still shrouded in the night, so there was no way they would see us.
That's when Josie used her only use of self-defense and kicked her shoe off, aiming in our direction. That's when Josie's shoe collided with Sam's face.
I turned to Sam as he clenched at his face from the impact of the heel of Josie's black leather flats. I laughed slightly before asking if he was okay.
"Yeah," he said, holding the bridge of his nose. "I'm good. Let's just get them untied. Dean?"
I rushed toward them, stopping at Josie as Sam jogged over to where, who I assumed to be his brother. "What the hell happened to you guys?" I asked urgently as my hands flayed around the ropes at a speed much faster than I thought was possible.
*Josie's POV*
Dean gasped out the breath that he was holding in, "Oh, I take back everything I said." He rested his head back in appeasement. "I'm so happy to see you. Come on"
As Dean's tall brother went over to untie his hands, Ritchie was undoing mine and I answered his question in a very irritated tone, "The bastard's kidnapped us and tied us to these trees to be skinned by their damn apple god!" I was utterly relieved that Ritchie was here, and I was being rescued. Usually, I'm not one to be rescued.
"What the fuck?" Ritchie exclaims, as he let the rope drop from his hands in shock at the absurd answer.
The pressure around my wrist was gone and I felt the blood rushing through my veins, returning feeling back into my fingers. There was a thick red mark where the rope had been, it would leave a bruise. "No time to explain." I said, as he helped me up, the numbness in my butt made standing hard.
"How'd you get here?" Dean asked, still being untied.
"I, uh… I stole a car." His brother answered, focusing on the rope.
Dean laughs proudly, "That's my boy!" What a strange reaction to your brother telling you he stole a car, mine was opposite.
I turned to Ritchie sharply, "You stole a car!"
"It was the only way." Ritchie replied defensively. Then, he looked at me skeptically. "Also, nice shot." He flipped the subject, reaching into his jacket pocket to hand me back my black flat that I used for my weapon of defense.
"Oh yeah, sorry Dean's brother for kicking my shoe at your face." I apologized while sliding my shoe back on my left foot.
"I'm Sam, and yeah, that was a pretty good shot, while being tied to a tree." He agreed with a slight chuckle to his voice.
Dean chuckled, in sort of a perverted tone, "What else can you do when your hands are tied up?" We all looked at them with the same facial expression, and then his brother loosened the last knot. "Keep an eye on that scarecrow. He could come alive any minute." He untwined the rope from around his hands, ignoring our disapproving looks.
Sam glanced behind him, "What scarecrow?"
Dean shot up, scanning the area where the scarecrow should have been.
"Ritchie, let's get the fuck out of here." I grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him with me. The brothers, Ritchie, and I were on the move as we jogged in the darkness. The scarecrow was coming after Dean and I, and I didn't want Ritchie caught in the middle.
"All right. Now, this sacred tree you're talking about?" Sam asked his brother.
"It's the source of its power." Dean replied, as he investigated around the trees, searching for either the sacred tree or the scarecrow.
"So let's find it and burn it." Sam declared, ready for action.
"No, in the morning. Let's just shag ass before leather face catches up."
"What the hell am I missing out on?" Ritchie shouts, keeping pace alongside me.
"I'll explain it to you when we get to a safer place." I field his question, praying that we would get out of here alive.
Then if anything couldn't get worse, we were stopped by flashlights and guns being cocked at us. Dean stopped me in place with his arm. He pushed me by my waist, to go back from where we were running, "This way." But we were met with more guns from all around us.
The only sounds were us breathing heavily, and the wind blowing past us. Then from deep in the orchard came an eerie groan. I felt my body tense, ready for anything to attack. Dean kept close to me, also ready.
"Let us go!" Ritchie shouted, anger subsiding his fear.
The old couple that had tied me to the tree just stared, you could see traces of guilt in their eyes but they weren't going to let us go. Suddenly, in a blink of an eye the old man's chest was pierced in the middle. I jumped back, bumping into Dean by surprise. The old women screamed, dropping her small flashlight. The scarecrow that I had seen the other night pulled his weapon out of the man and clutched the women in the chokehold, piercing the man again in the neck to drag him, with the women screaming the whole way.
Everyone that had their guns pointed directly towards us ran away, not even trying to help the couple. Dean grabbed me by arms, leading me away, "Come on. Let's go."
We ran a few more feet out of the orchard, onto an empty road. We all searched back inside, making sure the scarecrow was really gone.
"What do we do now?" I asked, not removing my eyes from between the trees.
"We find that tree." Dean answered, finally taking his arm off of me.
Sam says, "Dean, there was a small gasoline can in the truck I stole."
"I think I saw a lighter in the glove compartment." Ritchie replies, digging into his front right pocket, which was one of his nervous habits. "I'll go with you." He didn't want to leave Sam alone just in case the scarecrow came back. Ritchie always thought of others before himself.
Both of them walked away, heading towards the truck that they stole. Never in my mind would I guess that Ritchie would steal a car, or be an accomplice to the crime. The guy is scared to jaywalk across an empty street. But people can surprise you, even if you lived with that someone all your life.
"So, is that guy your boyfriend?" Dean asked, sliding his hands in his pocket, making small talk.
I crossed my arms, laughing at his question, "No, he's like my brother."
"Oh, really?" He takes a step closer, trying to slyly make a move on me. "You know I deserve a kiss, I saved your life." He smirked happily, probably thinking I would give it, because of his good looks.
I rolled my eyes at him, "Actually you didn't save me. It was by luck that the scarecrow picked a different couple." He lips puckered out in a pout, his smoldering green eyes giving me that puppy dog look. "Awe," I cooed, "still not going to happen." I smiled at him, noticing Ritchie and Sam were returning to us. "So what would this sacred tree look like?"
Unexpectedly, Dean answered my question. "It would have markings, special symbols." I thought he would avoid me after my rejection.
"It's probably deep in the orchard, in the middle." Sam added, fixed looked ahead, not looking forward to a probably long and grueling process.
The sun was already rising; its bright rays peaked barely over the horizon, illuminating some of the shadows.
"Do we split up, or stick together?" Ritchie inquired.
"No, we stick together." Dean says being the first one to move back into the grove.
Everything seemed unreal. Ritchie and I were looking for a sacred tree that had special markings, with two brothers, who were also looking for their friends, just as we were. Talk about a small world, a small strange world.
"So how did you know about the scarecrow?" I questioned, remembering how Dean saved the couple the night before, which almost lead to us being killed.
It was about a minute before he clarified, "There was something not right about the couple's break line. So I followed them to make sure they were alright and that when I saw they were being attack."
There was something not right about his defense. "How do you know about the sacred tree?"
"I'm good with mythology. Now, stop talking and find that damn tree."
He was lucky, I just wanted to get out of there.
*Ritchie's POV*
After a few minutes of searching the area, we finally found this really weird, petrified-looking tree. It was tinted gray with a bunch of carvings engraved into its trunk. Its bare branches almost looked like long, spidery fingers entangling each other in a mass of, what can only be described as, bleakness. Everything about it seemed to read 'death.'
Sam shook me from its trance, asking me for the lighter. That's when the strong stench of gasoline hit my nostrils. I looked over and saw the empty red canister flung to the side, its contents now hugging at the tree trunk.
I reached into my pocket for the lighter, handing it to the much taller man. Our fingers slightly brushed together, the touch almost sending chills throughout my body. Luckily, it wasn't visible enough for anybody to notice.
He flicked the lighter open, pushing down on the trigger. A small flame rose up from the tiny metallic object and then was swiftly tossed at the sacred tree. It was quick to catch the impending flames, the gasoline only igniting it more so.
"Burn, baby, burn!" Josie interjected as she picked the gas can up before it was swallowed by the hot flames already licking at the orchard's bed of leaves.
A couple of minutes of just watching the object of many deaths burn up into ash turned into a quick acknowledgement between the four of us.
"Thanks for saving my best friend." I looked up into Sam's olive-tinted irises with much thanks.
"No problem. I'm sorry we couldn't find your other friends, though." He said with much sincerity, his eyes looking somewhat apologetic.
"We'll find them, I'm sure. Sorry you didn't find your friends…" I added, guilt evident in my voice.
"Yeah, about that…" Dean interjected, his tone was a cross between hesitant and amusement. "We don't have any missing friends. They were just a couple we were trying to find. Sammy and I were investigating, hoping we could find them."
"I knew it, you fuckin' liar!" Josie said, somewhere between being angry and sarcastically playful before walking over to the truck. "Now, come on. I want my damn car back."
With that, the rest of us sluggishly followed her path, Sam quickly taking place of the driver's seat. Dean attempted to get Josie to sit in the back with the two bucket seats facing each other, but she was having none of it.
After a colorful argument between the two, Dean grumpily made his way into the seat behind his brother. I ended up taking the seat across from Dean, which made for a very awkward car ride back into town.
Sam flicked on the radio, quickly switching to a well-known classic rock station. Dean stuck his bottom lip out and bobbed his head to the rhythm, his right hand patting at his knee along with the bass.
Josie let out an impatient sigh and changed the station to her normal genre; oldies.
"Hey!" Dean exclaimed, glaring daggers at the side of Josie's head. "That was Black Sabbath! You can't go changing on Black Sabbath!"
"Look here, dude. Passenger has radio privileges, backseat shuts the fuck up," she elaborated, not even making the effort to meet Dean's fiery gaze. "Except Ritchie; he's cool. I only want to hear his voice back there."
Sam's shoulders start to shake, making it evident that he was trying to hold in his laughter. If that wasn't enough to make it clear, a few breathy laughs escaped his pursed lips. Before he could get back to a normal state, Dean slapped the back of his head. Sam swerved slightly over to the right but swiftly regained control of the wheel before rubbing at the spot where Dean struck him. I chuckled lightly before embracing the sound of the radio and not much else.
*Josie's POV*
It was a quick ride back into town; it was even quicker to find my car. Before Sam killed the engine, I was already out and running to the Mach 1.
"My baby!" I cried, running to the burgundy-tinted vehicle.
"Oh lord, Josie." Ritchie said, as he guffawed at me.
Luckily, the doors were unlocked. Inside, I started to caress the black steering wheel, noticing my cell phone and wallet resting on the passenger seat. The townspeople probably were going to get rid of all the evidence of my presence here all at once.
Both Ritchie and Sam watched me with disbelieving eyes, as Dean gazed at me with understanding as he admired my Mach 1.
"Nice ride, babe." He commented, which I felt was somewhat demeaning.
"Would you expect anything less?" I countered, grabbing my phone to check for any missed calls. 20 from Ritchie.
"Yeah, you with less clothing." He grinned seductively, as he ran his hand across the hood of the car.
"Aye, get off my car. I don't want you touching my car or me." Before telling Ritchie to get in so we can leave this Godforsaken town, I got out to thank Sam, which was slightly awkward because I came up to the bottom of his chest. Ritchie was taller than me, so he came up to the middle of Sam's pecs.
"Thanks for saving me, gentle giant." I said, expressing my genuine gratitude.
"No problem, I think you were pretty safe with that shoe kicking skill you have." He teased, as he returned the hug.
I counterclaimed with a light giggle, "But I would have ran out of shoes."
Dean's arms extended with disbelief written on his face, "Where the hell is my hug? I saved your life too."
As I was halfway from entering my car again, I replied, "Asshole, you got me tied to a tree. You don't deserve shit. Ritchie, we have to go." I called closing the door.
Ritchie took a minute to properly give his thanks to Sam and then gave Dean a quick wave before hopping inside with me.
Both the brothers watched me start the car and shift into drive.
After a minute or two of me silently driving, I broke it, "I can't believe you stole a car!"
"I can't believe you got to hug Sam, and anyways if we didn't your ass would be dead by now."
I took a deep breath before replying, "True and I thank you."
"So what are we doing now? Going home?" He asked, sliding off his jacket. The heater was on full blast, and I was starting to feel the heat myself.
"We're still looking for Maria and Chris." I answered simply.
He looked at me in surprise, "I can't believe after your near death experience you still want to look for them." Then his facial expression shifted to playful manner, "You're so badass."
"I know." I laughed.
"Bitch, you got tied to a tree!" He exclaimed, laughing hysterically.
"Shut up!" I shouted, smacking his left shoulder.