SCARECROW PART 2
"I don't want you doing this alone. We don't have the slightest idea what's taking these people." Dean distressed his worries while standing off to the side, watching as Alice and Sam moved the couches in the living room out of the way.
Alice turned her sharp blue eyes up at him and slowly cocked a brow. "Well, Dean. It's not your choice. I've done solo cases before. How is this one gonna be any different?" She stepped over to the edge of the light brown rug and grabbed the corner, flipping the whole thing up and out of the way. "Besides, I'm getting kind of tired of listening to you guys bitch the whole time. A little peace and quiet won't hurt."
Sam squinted his eyes and looked closer to what was on the floor, seeing what appeared to be a latch and square door built into the hardwood floorboard. "Is there a hidden room below the floor?" he asked and could feel his giddiness sneak up in his eager voice. He even saw it pique Dean's curiosity as well.
Alice reached down and grabbed the brass latch, twisting it once and unlocking it. The door slowly opened to a pitch-black room with wooden steps leading down into dark nothingness, which Alice didn't hesitate to walk into. She had probably done it over a hundred times already. So it didn't take long to find the string for the lights and turn them on. Displaying a hidden paradise for weapon enthusiasts alike. A hidden gun room with things like pistols, shotguns, rifles, and even guns they knew were illegal for normal citizens to have. They were all displayed beautifully on the wall and below it was drawers that held the ammunition.
Dean's mouth fell open as he stepped down into the gun room. Practically a treasure hoard for hunters of every kind. "Holy…kinda reminds me of the rec room scene out of The Tremors," he said, totally astonished.
Alice crouched down in front of the ammunition drawers and began to shuffle through them. "I got a couple hunches on what the thing could be. Since it's only taking couples around the same week of every year, I got a suspicion it could be for a ritualistic killing, and the only thing that really does that…are pagan gods," she said with a wicked and wild grin. "And I got just the thing." She pulled out a large box of ammunition and displayed it on the table so Sam and Dean could see.
Dean pulled a bullet from the box and inspected it with wide eyes. "This is a .338 Lapua."
Alice snickered like a kid being given a toy. "I ain't looking to tickle it, Dean. I'm trying to make it hurt." She turned back to the wall of weapons and pulled out a Ruger Precision Rifle for the Lapua ammunition, and a Colt Python that was going to replace her secondary weapon at her side.
"It looks like…you're already itching to get away from us," Dean said with a disheartening smile. It wasn't hard to see it. Alice wasn't even bothering to hide it either. She was eager to go.
"Quit looking at me like a sad puppy, will you," Alice grumbled while patting his shoulder. She grabbed a large rifle bag beside him and dropped it on the table. She then began to disassemble the rifle so it would be easier to carry and look less conspicuous.
Sam bit down on his lips and looked a bit uncertain. "Alice, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean for this to happen. I just…I-"
"Don't be sorry for wanting to find your father, Sam." Alice cut him off before picking up her things and heading back up the stairs into the living room. The boys followed and turned the lights off behind them. "This is clearly the best course of action since we're under a little pressure right now. Who knows how long your dad's gonna stay still, and I don't even have a couple of days to deal with this case." She began to fasten the new holster for the Python to her side as the boys locked the hatch and covered it back up.
"You sure we're even going to see you again? I mean…you could just get tired of us and not come back," Dean asked hesitantly.
Alice scoffed under her breath and looked up at him, smiling. "What are you talking about? I've been tired of you guys since day 1." She holstered her weapon and walked over to him, resting her hand against the side of his neck. "Don't you boys worry. I'll be sure to see you later."
"I sure hope so." He raised his hand and made a gesturing motion to himself. "Come here." Dean opened his arms up wide, and Alice walked right into them. He wrapped them tight around her body and buried his head into her shoulder. "Stay safe out there. You here?"
"Same with you," Alice said while tightly gripping the back of his shirt.
It took the remainder of the morning for Alice and the boys to get ready and pack up their things for the long road ahead of them. Dean and Sam were heading across the country to California, while Alice was heading halfway to Indiana. They all knew it was going to be a long drive but neither of them wanted to give it much thought and run the risk of losing motivation. Alice didn't waste any more time and hopped on her bike and started it up. She began to pull out of the long driveway with the Impala driving slow behind her. When they reached the top of the road, the highway stretched out in front of them, Alice waved at the boys before parting ways. As she drove down the right side of the road, the Impala took the left.
Alice slowed her bike down to a halt as she pulled into the absurdly small and rainy town. Located deep within the secluded part of Indiana. At first glance, she could tell that the population must've been in the very low hundreds, but it was still a nice and cozy place to live despite the cloudy and cold conditions. In a way, it kind of reminded her of Rangeley. Another small town that was up in Maine.
"Damn this place is small," Alice muttered while taking her helmet off and shaking out her hair. She looked up at the dark gray sky and could even see frost escape from her parted lips. "Pretty cold, too."
She sat her helmet down on the handlebars and looked around for a second. There weren't many people out on the street, so she decided to approach the first person she saw. A man sitting outside a locally owned restaurant called Scotty's Café.
"Something tells me you're Scotty," she said while strolling up beside him.
Scotty looked up at her and could immediately tell that she wasn't from around here. From her dark leather clothes, wedges, and the large bag she carried on her back. "Yup," he nodded while gesturing to the café sign above his head.
"Hi, my name is Alice Cooper. I was wondering if I can ask you a question or two."
Scotty cocked a brow. "Alice Cooper? Isn't that the name of a singer?"
"Yeah. I get that a lot." Alice followed up quickly and didn't pay any mind to the bleeding in her lies. Instead, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out flyers of the most recent missing. Holly and Vince Parker. "I was wondering if you've seen these two pass through here by any chance."
Scotty took the flyers from Alice's outstretched hand and inspected it, but he hardly even gave it a three-second glance before shrugging his shoulders. "Nope. Who are they?" he asked while looking back up.
"They're friends of mine that went missing a year ago. I know they passed through here, and I was hoping-"
Scotty cut in. "Sorry," he said while handing the flyers back. "We don't get many strangers around here," he explained while turning his eyes away and facing forward. In a way, that silently told Alice that he was done with their conversation.
Alice had to stop herself from dropping her mouth open. It completely baffled her, the way he was acting and his overly casual demeanor. "I…I see. Thanks anyway." She managed to mutter out before turning around and walking back over to her bike. Once she was out of earshot though, Alice muttered under her breath. "Been here for less than five minutes and I'm already being lied to. Well, that's just great," she said with a huff and adjusted her rifle bag further up her shoulder.
Alice dropped her hands onto her bike and groaned. She only briefly looked back up though and spotted another building that was right across from her named Jorgenson General Store. Since she had nowhere else to look, she decided to try her luck there and half-jogged across the street. She walked inside through the front door and heard a bell ringing above her head, alerting the two senior owners.
One walked out from the back room. An older gentleman who already had his customer service face on and was ready to help. "Welcome. Anything I can get for you?"
Alice nodded. "Yeah, something like that. My name's Alice, and I was hoping you could tell me if you recognize a couple friends of mine." Once again, she displayed the flyers for him to look at. "You see, they disappeared a year ago, and I'm sure they came through this town."
Harley, the elderly owner stared at the pictures a bit longer than Scotty did, but his face gave it away that he knew nothing of Holly and Vince. Or at least that was what he was trying to do. Lies are like open wounds that bleed, and facades melt like ice in a desert. Something was wrong with the way he was acting, which painted the lie clear for Alice to see.
"Sorry. Faces ain't ringing any bells," he said while handing back the flyer.
Alice frowned and didn't look all that pleased with the answer she was given. She was hoping to at least get something the latch on to, but it seems no one in the town was willing to do that. "You sure? Like…they could've stopped for gas or something like that."
Harley looked back to his wife standing at the counter and showed her the picture. She only gave it a split-second glance though before looking away, shaking her head and keeping her lips sealed tight.
"Nope, don't remember them. You said they were friends of yours?" he asked.
"That's right."
"Did the guy have a tattoo?" A new voice chimed in.
Alice looked up and saw a woman coming downstairs carrying two boxes in her arms. She was a young-looking thing with blonde hair, and if Alice were to place how old she was, she would guess they were around the same age too. Though she was probably a year or two younger.
"He did," Alice said.
The young woman dropped the boxes off on the counter and looked at the pictures. "You remember? They were just married," she said to the owners.
Harley looked at the pictures one more time when it looked like it finally dawned on him. Though the abrupt change wasn't lost on Alice. "You're right. They did stop for gas. Weren't here more than ten minutes."
"You remember anything else?" Alice asked.
"I told 'em how to get back to the Interstate. They left town."
"Could you point me in that same direction?"
Harley nodded. "Sure."
The fog appeared to be getting thicker the further Alice drove out of town, down the same stretch of road Harley had told Holly and Vince Parker to take. It wasn't lost on her though how isolated the roads were, but that didn't concern her as much as the atmosphere did. The air felt somewhat suffocating and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up and quivering. She didn't know where she was, but the awful gut feeling she was getting told her she had to be in the right place. The impression she got from the town and its folk felt all wrong to her. She could see in their eyes that none of them were pleased to be asked questions.
Alice turned her head to the side and found that there was an old-looking orchard on her right side. She would've kept on driving past it if something didn't catch her gaze. A figure of some sort deep within the old trees. Without giving it much thought, Alice pulled her bike off to the side of the road and slowed to a stop. She pulled her helmet off and stared into the orchard, tilting her head to the side, and trying to see past the thick fog that blocked half her vision. She frowned before getting off and heading into the orchard to see what it was. It didn't take long to see that it was an old scarecrow perched upon a stump.
Its face looked like it was made of leather with only two slits for eyes and no mouth or nose, and its clothes looked like they had been through the wringer as well. He wore a tattered button-down gray top with straw sticking out of its belly, and a weather-stained jacket that had a musty and irony smell that caused her nose to turn up. She could even see that it had a hook for a hand as well.
"Dude…you are one fugly bastard." Alice scoffed before crossing her arms over her chest. She then tilted her head to the side when she noticed something odd on the scarecrow's arm.
Alice grabbed a ladder from a nearby tree and set it in front of the scarecrow. She began to climb up until she was at level with its two eyes slits. Slowly, she pulled the frayed fabric away from its arm and saw a familiar tattoo over what appeared to be dried-up skin. The exact same tattoo she knew Vince Parker had. She could easily make a comparison with the flyer.
Alice's eyes immediately darkened, and she looked back up to the scarecrow that no longer looked normal to her. "Nice try."