So happy everyone is enjoying so far. I'm going to try and fit as many episodes as I can in here without it getting too crazy though they will be out of order from Supernatural so hopefully it makes sense. Any questions let me know!
And a quick shout out to Haitus80 and Halohunter89 without who I probably would have never posted this and to ispiltthemilk for being my beta :)
Chapter 2
"The fuck?" Daryl mumbled as he sure as shit stared at the now empty cross. He knew something wasn't right about this orchard but that was beyond his wildest imagination. They were stranded in the middle of nowhere with only his knife to protect them. If he ever saw Harley again he was going to kill him for putting Carol in harm's way.
She squeezed his hand again, "How is that possible? I mean I know I just woke up but you saw it too, right? Where did it go?"
The orchard was quiet, too still, and the only thing that Daryl could hear was Carol's breathing as panic slithered around her as if it were a snake ready to constrict. Now that they were a little closer he could see that there was a porch light on at the cottage but he was torn at what to do for a moment. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to get back in the truck and drive until it ran out of gas except that wasn't an option at the moment. The cottage was really their only hope but how was he sure that whoever this sick fuck was that was toying with them didn't live there. They could very well be walking into a trap with no way out.
I expect her to come back in one piece without even a single hair out of place, Carol's father's voice played through his mind. They hadn't even made it through the first week of their trip and he already had her in the line of danger. A Dixon didn't break a promise though, he'd never let anything happen to her, not while he was still around. He started pulling her along toward the cottage while keeping an extra close eye on their surroundings, his ears trained for the slightest movement or snap of a twig.
Carol swallowed around her fears as goose bumps covered her arms, "You don't have any deep dark secrets you haven't told me about, right?"
"What?"
"Because I don't have any skeletons in my closet except that in the third grade I stole a pack of gum from the gas station."
"What?"
"Well, one of us did something the freaking Hook Man is after us!"
"Oh for fuck's sake, it's some deranged jackass. Less talking, more running."
The orchard was littered with apples that had fallen off the trees making it more difficult to run. Carol would stumble but Daryl would be right there, catching her and pulling her away from whoever was after them. A rustle in the leaves had them skidding to a halt, barely breathing as they squinted through the shadows to see where it came from. Carol went to ask Daryl what they should do but his hand quickly clamped over her mouth, whispering in her ear so quietly that it could have been mistaken for the wind. "Shh, don't speak." He let his hand fall from her mouth, his eyes strained on a group of trees just to their left. What he wouldn't give to have something other than his knife on him right now, but that wasn't an option. With fingertips digging into her sides, his breath fanned over her ear. "On the count of three, run. Don't stop or look back for anything. Get to the cottage. Ready?"
She barely nodded but he felt it, counted down, and she took off like a shot as he took his knife out of his sheath ready to attack the supposed scarecrow. He could hear Carol's feet crunching over the leaves and once he was sure she was far enough away he growled toward the darkness. "Come out you stupid fuck. You want me? I'm right here!"
The figure he could just make out in through the shadows moved faster than humanly possible but he didn't have a second to think about it as he prepared himself for a fight. He would have that is if Carol hadn't let out a yelp as she tripped over a root that had been sticking out of the ground. The only way that it was okay that he was going to kill this scarecrow would have been if he knew Carol would be safe. Keeping the knife in his hand, he jogged over to where she was pushing herself up from the ground.
"Is it still coming?" Carol asked breathlessly, not caring that she was covered in dead grass and splotches of mud.
Daryl shook his head and lightly pushed her towards the cottage that was closer than ever now. "Just run."
They were a bit out of breath as they made their way up the cobblestone walkway. Before they could make it to the porch to knock and alert whoever was inside of their presence the front door opened and out stepped an elderly woman wearing a kind smile and an apron covered in flour.
"Oh my, it's awfully late and you two are quite a ways off the beaten path."
Some of Carol's nerves started to calm at the sweetness of the elderly woman. "Our truck broke down and we saw your cottage from the road. We were hoping you had a phone we could use or maybe some tools that we could borrow to get it working again."
The woman tsked with a disapproving look on her face, "This time of night? No, no, that won't do. Why don't you dears come on inside. I just made a fresh pie. Have yourselves a bite to eat and I'm sure we could figure something out."
The woman left them on the porch, the front door open so they could follow, but Daryl caught Carol's arm before she could do so. "Somethin' don't feel right about this. We shouldn't go in."
"Daryl," she rolled her eyes and patted his chest with her hand. "It's a little old lady, what's the worst she can do? Besides, it's either her or that Hook Man scarecrow thing with the large scythe. I think we can take our chances."
He still wasn't thrilled with the idea but followed her into the house, keeping close, and scouting out any other exits incase they had to leave in a hurry. The house smelt sickeningly sweet which started to dull his senses. The woman had already set down two large pieces of cherry pie on the table while she busied herself in the open kitchen.
"We just had pie earlier at this café in town," Carol tried to turn down the delicious treat that was taunting her from its plate. "I wouldn't want you to waste it on us. If we could just use the phone, please."
The woman smiled, tiny crow's feet forming around the corner of her eyes, "It's not a waste at all. I get lonely out here all alone. It's nice to have guests come to visit. Now, sit, please. You must be so tired."
Carol silently debated it for a moment before taking a seat at the table while Daryl stood off to the side as if he were ready to attack at any moment. She shot him a look and motioned to the chair next to her. There was a scowl on his face but he sat anyways. Carol cleared her throat as the woman set out forks and napkins, "Do you really live out here all alone?"
"For many years now," the woman nodded, a far away look in her eyes as she went back to counter to start preparing another pie. "Go on, now. Eat up. Wouldn't want it to get cold then we can talk about that phone."
Daryl pushed his pie around the plate with his fork, appearing to have been enjoying it but he wasn't as trusting of this woman as Carol was. She had eaten about half of the pie before a grimace washed across her face. Concern flashed through his eyes and she shook her head trying to clear her vision. The room felt as if it was spinning and she had to hold onto the table to steady herself.
"Carol?"
She couldn't even force a smile as she met his gaze, "I don't feel so hot. Think I'm coming down with something." She pushed the plate of food away from her and apologized to the woman. "I can't eat anymore."
"Sure you can," the woman smiled as she dried off a carving knife with a dishtowel. Carol rested her head in her hands and as the woman stepped closer Daryl rose from his seat, a growl vibrating through his chest as he slid Carol's chair away from the table and put himself between her and the woman. She tsked again, "Someone didn't eat their pie like a good boy."
She was fast for an elderly woman and wielded her knife at Daryl who skirted around her as Carol tried to focus. She glanced around the room trying to find someway to help Daryl when her eyes landed on the window and she saw a young girl watching from outside. It struck her as odd to see such a beautiful girl with dark hair and pale skin to be observing something so sickening. She tore her gaze away from the window to check on Daryl and saw the woman smiling as she swung the knife trying to nick him. It wasn't evil or sarcastic, the woman actually appeared overjoyed to be trying to kill them.
Carol stumbled from the chair, taking the glass of water from the table and chugging it in hopes of clearing her head. It wasn't until the woman made another move towards Carol that Daryl shoved her hard enough that she fell back, smashing her head against the counter before falling to the floor unconscious.
She stared at the woman in disbelief as a small puddle of blood started to spill out from beneath her white hair. Her eyes were torn away from the scene as Daryl took her face in his hands, "Are you okay?"
Carol blinked a few times, "She must have drugged the pie…and there was a little girl at the window…we should check on her…"
"Carol," his hands tightened for a brief moment to keep her in the present, worry and anger coursing through him that she wasn't one hundred percent. "How do you feel?"
"Just fuzzy and a little nauseous."
Daryl sat her back in the chair and rummaged through the refrigerator for something to help clear out whatever the woman had drugged Carol with. He found a couple bottles of water and set them next to her with the instruction to drink as he went in search of the phone. It wasn't until several minutes later that he came back to where she was still sitting with a tool box in his hand.
"Doesn't even have a phone here."
Carol sipped on the bottled water he had given her, not trusting anything but what was sealed. "What about the little girl? Shouldn't we see if she needs help? Daryl, she could be out with that scarecrow!"
Daryl's mind was racing but no one would have known by looking at him, his face was expressionless, breathing normal as he checked every window of the house, making sure that there wasn't going to be anymore surprises. "She's gone." A frown pulled at the corner of Carol's lips and as much as he wanted to help the girl there was no indication that she had ever been there. He just attributed it to whatever the woman had drugged the pie with. "Ready to get the fuck out of here?"
She furiously nodded but felt her stomach churn at the sight of the woman. "What about her? We can't just leave her here. Oh my God, what if the cops come after us? Yeah, she was crazy, but Daryl, we killed her."
Daryl helped her out to the porch and then went back inside for a few minutes. Hoping that Carol would be able to walk on her own they stood on the front porch, the light of day just breaking over the trees. It wasn't as eerie in the morning as it had been the night before but Daryl was still leery that the creep from the night before would still be lurking out there just waiting for them. As they slowly made their way through the orchard and got closer to the wooden cross, they expected it to be bare but sure enough there was the scarecrow.
"Daryl…" Carol started.
He instantly shook his head, the night had been screwy enough as it was, and that was without hiding the body of the elderly woman. "Don't even say it. I just want to fix the truck and get the fuck away from here."
They walked in silence back to the road, trying to process everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours. Relief flooded them as they saw the truck still sitting where they had left it. With the luck they had been having part of them figured it would be gone. A quick rummage through the bed assured them that all their stuff was untouched.
Carol sat in the driver's seat as he checked under the hood easier in the daylight than in the dark. He asked her to start it to see what sound it made, if any, so he could figure out what was wrong but as she turned the key in the ignition, the truck rumbled to life as if nothing had ever been wrong with it.
They didn't discuss what had happened as Daryl had the truck speeding away as fast as possible and while Carol slept off the pie she had eaten he only could hope that the excitement for their trip was over.