Edward stopped the car in the forest when he couldn't drive any farther. He killed the engine and got out, moving to the trunk to pop it open.
Kristen got out of the car, going around to the back to see if Edward needed any help, glancing around nervously in case anyone saw them, but there was no one around.
Edward handed her the basket and took out the shovel before hauling the suitcase out as well. "No point doubling back for the basket." He said starting to walk farther into the forest.
Kristen nodded, following after him quietly. Edward seemed to know where he was going, almost as if he already had a particular spot in mind. She couldn't help but wonder. "Have…" she paused briefly, wondering if she'd regret asking. "Have you um… used this forest before?"
"No." He said turning to her. "When would I have-" Oh right … Daugherty … "No …" He said continuing on until he stopped at a decent spot.
She was glad, weirdly, that Edward hadn't disposed of Dougherty's body here. She didn't know why it mattered, though. Wherever his remains had ended up, he wasn't any less dead there than he would have been here. It didn't change anything. She came to a stop when Edward did.
"Want to take turns digging?" she asked.
It was a macabre thing to ask to take part in, but everything about this felt surreal. It was hard to really process what they were doing, and so the part of her brain that would ordinarily be freaking out about it seemed to have shut down, leaving her numb to the implications of what they were doing. Anyway, it was a practical question. It was bound to be hard work by the time the hole was deep enough to keep the suitcase from being found.
"Just keep a watch out." Edward said as he started digging the hole. He dug until it was about two and a half feet deep, and just slightly longer than the size of the suitcase.
He put the shovel down against the tree next to where she'd put the picnic basket down, and moved over to the suitcase and pulled it into the hole.
As Edward moved over to the suitcase, Kristen thought she heard a twig snap nearby, and craned her neck trying to see, certain that she'd heard movement. "Ed," she murmured frantically, still keeping her voice down. "Someone's coming."
"Hey, what are you two doing all the way out here?" Edward jumped despite Kristen's slight warning.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people … It's rude." Edward said as the man came closer. "Would you like a tea sandwich?" He asked moving over to the picnic basket.
"A what?" He asked not paying attention to Ed as he looked into the hole. "Hey what the heck you got in there?"
"Nothing," said Kristen hastily, taking a step toward the man, trying not to panic.
"Don't look like nothing." Edward picked up the shovel he'd used to dig the hole. He swung it up and above his head bringing it down hard on the man's neck. The man grunted and fell into the hole, the head of the shovel snapping off from the force of the hit. There was no way the man survived that.
Kristen stared down at where the man had fallen, knowing he wasn't getting up from that, knowing he had to be dead, and felt ... relieved. If that man had reported them … it would have all been over. But still … she knew it should have bothered her. Just days ago, it would have completely horrified her. It should have horrified her … why didn't it? Was it just that after everything, one more stranger seemed to make less difference … particularly a stranger who could have jeopardized Edward's entire future, and her own. But … Edward had just killed someone, right in front of her. She should feel something, shouldn't she? Yet, except for the dwindling burst of adrenaline after they'd almost been caught, she didn't feel anything.
"Ah great." Edward said kicking the mans boot. "Now I have to improvise."
"So…" Kristen said, looking back up at Edward. "That got out of hand quickly."
"Yes it did." Edward said evaluating the situation. "It's his own fault for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong." He said tossing what was left of the shovel onto the ground. "Well …. If I can't make the hole bigger …. We'll have to make you smaller."
Kristen raised an eyebrow as she looked back at Edward. Well. If that didn't confirm how Edward had gotten his father into the suitcase … And that sure as hell should have bothered her. But what else could they do? "Do you have tools for that on hand?" It wasn't as if they'd planned on having to dispose of a second body today.
"Yeah, I have my saw kit in the car." He said sounding rather annoyed. He looked down at the body shaking his head. "Don't go anywhere." He said before heading towards the car.
"I don't think he's planning on it," said Kristen, following after Edward. What was happening to her? How was she just calmly talking about a dead man Edward had just murdered? Had it just not sank in yet? Still … she wasn't comfortable enough with the situation to want to hang around with two dead men, one of them in plain sight.
Edward looked at her as they reached the car. He paused and raised his hand to her, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. "Hey …" He said quietly. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"I … don't know," she said, looking up at him. "This really should bother me, but ...:" She shook her head. She couldn't explain it. Maybe she had just exceeded her capacity for emotional turmoil. "What about you?" she asked. After all, Edward was the one who had ended up killing him.
"Yeah I'm fine." He said. Honestly he was. Killing that man had been obnoxious, and not nearly as thrilling as Daugherty … But it he had still enjoyed it. "Do you want to stay over here while I take care of this guy?"
Kristen started to say yes, but then paused. It was because he'd thought that she couldn't handle it that she'd ended up stuck downstairs last night… She straightened her posture and shook her head. "I'll stay with you," she said firmly. "If I decide I can't handle it, I'll come back to the car."
Edward watched her for a moment before he nodded. "Okay." He said quietly, not wanting to argue with her. He wasn't comfortable with her watching him do this but … He didn't want to argue. He headed back to where the suitcase, and the hunter were inside the hole and put the saw kit down on the ground, opening the wooden case.
Kristen went over to sit back down near the picnic basket, then frowned as she noticed something. "Edward …" she said uneasily. "I think someone else was here."
Edward looked up at her but paused half way, staring at a spot on the ground. "Hey, who took the picnic basket?" He asked looking around and finding a trail of blood. He sighed.
"You know … For a secluded forest this place has a lot of foot traffic."
"You're telling me," Kristen said, fighting back a growing alarm at just how out of hand things were getting. "Who does that, anyway? Sees a dead body and thinks 'guess I'll steal some sandwiches'?" And she'd thought she was getting too desensitized.
Edward sighed as he tossed the saw he'd picked up back into the case. "Looks like it's going to get a tad crowded in there." He said standing up. He looked over at the hunter a moment before he picked the saw back up and the flashlight. "I'll be back."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" she asked anxiously. "It could be dangerous." Given how apparently unfazed the intruder had been by this macabre scene, he was likely either very desperate, or a hardened killer himself. Either way, not someone it was advisable to cross alone.
"I'll be fine. I'd feel better if you stayed here." He said before following after the trail of blood.
"Alright," Kristen sighed, then looked down at the dead hunter. "Guess it's just you and me then." Remembering the suitcase, she added: "Plus one carry-on."