The screaming wouldn't stop; it burrowed its way into Elijah's ears and lodged itself deep within his mind. Another swing, another sickening thump, the wet suctioning of the blade being removed from yet another gaping wound. Elijah swung the axe over and over again, thinking that eventually if he did it enough, the screaming would just stop. More warm, red liquid splashed onto his hands, his jeans. There was nothing around him but darkness. No color but crimson blood and a single violet eye staring up at him in terror and betrayal. It didn't faze him. He just kept chopping, slashing, slicing; he didn't know why he was doing, just that he was and that it was too late to stop now. He would keep going until there was nothing left to destroy, and then—
Elijah's eyes shot open. He was freezing and drenched in sweat. Emily's face hovered above him, eyes full of worry and concern. She stroked his hair softly with one hand as he began to get his bearings and come to his senses, holding his hand with her other one.
"You're awake." She told him. "Don't worry, you're okay." Elijah squinted at her. "You were having a nightmare." Emily explained. His head was in her lap; she sat with her back against her headboard, cross-legged. "So, I…" Her face started to turn red. "…tried to comfort you."
Elijah remembered the events of the previous night; how he showed up on their doorstep and broke down, bearing his soul to them; talking about the body, the nightmares keeping him from even closing his eyes for too long, the sick pit in his stomach that just wouldn't go away. He supposed the exhaustion took over eventually and he passed out.
After a minute of simply looking up at the woman, Elijah moved to get up and sit across from her on the bed. "Thank you." He grabbed her hand. "Seriously, Emily. Thank you."
She beamed at him. "Don't mention it, really. It's what friends are for, right?"
Friends. "This is all…far beyond what a normal friend would do." Emily tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously; she knew exactly what she was doing, Elijah thought. He let out a weak chuckle. "Emily – you're fucking extraordinary." The blue haired girl blushed more deeply and looked away for a moment.
"Thanks." She replied. Turning back to him, she was concerned again. "You're okay now?"
"I think so." Elijah said. "Last night was just…" He struggled for a word. "…overwhelming." He considered telling her about this latest nightmare, but decided it was not the right time.
"I can only imagine." She clasped a hand over his. "Nobody should have to see those kinds of awful things…be accused of something like that without evidence." Eli was momentarily taken aback. How had she heard that Kent was accusing him? She must have seen the confusion on his face, because she quickly explained. "Kent has been storming around town all day, saying you're responsible. Trying to get together a posse or something."
"A posse?" Elijah repeated the word. "For what."
She didn't answer. "Eli, no matter what happens, just know that I trust you, okay?"
He nodded slowly. "Thanks. That means…a lot more than I could tell you."
"You're a good person. Kind. Lots of positive energy. You just don't express it much."
They sat like that for a time, simply staring into each other's eyes without speaking. There was something comforting about it, therapeutic even. Their contentment was suddenly broken by Haley barging into Emily's room, throwing the door open and exclaiming something neither Emily nor Elijah could make out. The blonde woman stopped mid-stride and just gave them a puzzled look.
"What's…going on?" She asked uncertainly, eyes shifting between her sister an Elijah.
"Uh…" Elijah stammered intelligently.
"You see-" Emily began.
"SOMethING fUCKiNG eXTraOrdinARY!" The parrot by Emily's window shrieked, swiftly reminding them all of its presence. It had been strangely silent during their entire conversation. All three descended into a sudden fit of laughter at the parrot's absurdity while the bird simply looked around at them in bewilderment and, quite possibly, anger.
Once they all recovered, Haley grew serious. "We need to get Eli out of here." She stated. She walked over to the window beside the parrot and peaked out the curtains. "Kent…isn't listening to the mayor. He's telling everybody that, that Eli did it. They went looking for him this morning but couldn't find him on the farm. Apparently, turned the whole farm upside-down and couldn't find his scythe."
The sudden change in atmosphere brought back the same icy, creeping dread from last night to Elijah. "Scythe? Why is the scythe important?"
"Kent told everybody that it wasn't a bear, and that Doctor Harvey says the Killer used a scythe. You're the only person in town known to own and use one, but it's missing." Haley's tone seemed almost foreign to Elijah – he wasn't aware that she could act so seriously; however, he supposed that he also didn't realize Emily could be so…deep? Profound? Both sisters were surprising him a lot of ways recently – most of all by how well they cooperated when the situation demanded it.
"Then he's being framed." Emily insisted indignantly, as if she herself was being accused.
"Hey, I trust him." Haley threw up her hands. "We might not get along, sis, but you're usually a way better judge of character than me." She conceded. Emily blinked a few times. "Besides…" Haley continued. "…if he makes you happy, he's fine by me." She said this last part with a bit of dismay, as if she hated admitting it.
Elijah slowly withdrew his hands from Emily's. "So, what should we do?"
"Kent has everybody in the plaza, arguing over what to do, insisting you probably skipped town." Haley began unloading information. "I've been out all morning trying to figure out what people are thinking – test the waters, y'know?"
"And?"
Haley placed her hands on her hips. "The Mayor and the Deputies are all trying to keep people calm. Everybody's arguing about 'innocent until proven guilty' and if the lack of evidence is actually evidence." She lowered her gaze. "They've noticed that Emily's not there; some people are saying you two ran away together, even though I keep telling them you're sick in bed from the rain."
"Ran away together?" Elijah repeated. "Why would they think-"
"Oh, come on, everybody knows that you two are a thing." Haley scoffed. "I don't get why you keep acting like you aren't when other people are around." Emily and Elijah glanced at one another nervously, but said nothing. "Anyways, the way I see it, we have two options: Eli actually skips town, or we go out there and confront everybody."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere without a boat." Eli sighed. "Besides, that'd just suggest I'm guilty, right?" He shrugged, palms held out. "I don't have anything to hide. I mean, I have an alibi." He motioned at Emily. "That means I'll be fine, right?"
"It should…" Emily said.
"But people can be idiots." Haley finished the thought.
"You may have been here for a year already, but you're still a newcomer compared to pretty much everyone else." Emily explained. "A lot of people don't really trust you."
"Some just plain don't like you and might want you gone." Haley added.
"I never got that impression." Eli muttered, wounded.
"Yeah, well these little communities aren't always so perfect." Haley mused, heaving a sigh herself. "When you have so few people living so close together…" She raised a hand and toyed with her hair. "…gossip and cliques are super common."
"Right…" Elijah swallowed. "So, I just have to go out there and hope Lewis can keep people in line."
"Looks like it." Emily confirmed, moving away from Elijah, and standing up, stretching her legs.
"If it makes you feel any better," Haley chimed, "Robin is definitely on your side. She's been defending you all morning. Gus isn't being very vocal, but I don't think he believes you did anything wrong."
"What about Harvey?" Elijah inquired.
"Not sure about him; he's been pretty quiet. Only talking when people ask about the…about Vincent."
Elijah nodded. "Well, that's something."
"So far only a few people have actually said they're taking Kent's side." Haley continued, trying to reassure the man. "Clint and Caroline, mostly. Alex too, but he's shakier."
"Clint?" Emily asked, scrunching up her face in disbelief. "I wouldn't expect him to take a strong stance like that."
Haley shrugged. "People act weird in weird situations."
"True." Emily agreed, somewhat surprised by the weirdly astute observation from her sister.
"Pretty much everyone else is either saying we should wait 'til the cops get here to do anything, or insisting that you're innocent." Haley continued her exposition. "Robin and Marnie are being the most vocal; George too, when he talks."
Elijah smiled, emboldened by the support of his friends. "Alright…" He hauled himself to his feet. "I suppose I should go."
The sisters looked at each other, then back at Elijah. "Not like that, you aren't." Haley said with disgust that was only partially teasing. "You smell."
"Agreed. You're a mess." Emily concurred, smiling.
"Uh…okay." Elijah blurted. "Can I use your shower then?"
"We'll do you one better." Emily patted him on the shoulder, positively beaming now. "Go wash up."
Elijah made his way to the bathroom, now confused and slightly suspicious – of what, he wasn't sure. Navigating the girls' bathroom, he made it quick. Being careful to avoid contact with the mysterious eldritch undergarments hanging beside the bathtub, he undressed, turned on the shower and stepped in, puzzling over what specific bottle of the myriad of shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and various 'natural' substances, to use.
"Use the diluted honey for hair! Gold bottle!" Emily's voice floated in from beyond the curtain, followed by a giggle as she retreated. Elijah had no clue how long she had been there, or how she had deduced his dilemma through the opaque curtain. He did as he was told and blindly chose a kind of soap, quickly finishing up. He smirked at the scenario, feeling like an awkward high schooler again despite the decidedly serious greater situation he found himself in.
Once out of the shower, he discovered that his clothes had been spirited away, replaced by an entirely new outfit. He didn't understand the choice of colors – an earthen mixture of browns, greens, and blues – but went along with it anyway after drying his hair. At the bottom of the pile was a new brown jacket with a green lower half. Sitting gingerly beside the clothes was a brown cloth hat with a wide brim, one side of which was pinned to the side by a golden star pin. He grinned at himself in the mirror, fancying himself a regular old cowboy.
Exiting the bathroom, he found the sisters standing side by side, looking very proud of themselves.
"I told you it'd turn out alright." Emily cajoled her sister. "I got the measurements just right."
"Well, I'm just glad the colors worked out." Haley scoffed, dismissively tossing her hair over her shoulder. "The brown brings out the green in his eyes."
Emily fussily adjusted the collar of the jacket. "We were going to wait for your birthday this summer…" She began.
"…but we decided now was as good a time as any." Haley finished. "You gotta look good for the people."
Elijah found himself moved; this was quite possibly one of the nicest things anybody had ever done for him. "You know it'll just get dirty and torn if I wear it around."
"Outfits are made to be worn." Emily assured him.
"We wanted it to be an introduction to the beautiful world of fashion." Haley explained. "Figured that you'd realize looking great is fun, start diversifying your wardrobe on your own."
Elijah was amazed yet again at the synchronicity between the sisters when they tried. "Thank you, guys, again. Seriously, for everything, I-"
"You can buy us dinner later." Emily teased. "Right now, we need to get you out there to defend yourself."
"Right. Right." Elijah tried to steel himself, cracking his neck. "Everybody's gathered in the plaza, you said?" The girls suddenly flanked him, guiding him towards the door.
"Yep." Haley nodded.
"You go first," Emily insisted. "We'll sneak out in a bit to join the crowd."
"Remember, appeal to Robin, Marnie, and George. Pretty much everybody knows and respects them, and they're on your side"
"Right."
Emily place her hands on his shoulders and just looked at him for a bit, before surprising him by planting a quick kiss on his lips. "For luck." She simpered.
"This whole situation's fucked." Haley told him, putting a hand on his back. "We just need to make the best of it."
With that, she shoved him unceremoniously out the door.
Adjusting his hat, Elijah's eyes adapted to the bright sunlight. He cracked his neck a few times and took several deep breaths. Standing out in front of Emily's house like this, just like he was on the night that Vincent went missing…it made him uneasy for some reason.
He clenched his jaw and tried to stand up straight, confidently turning around the corner and walking down the street towards the central plaza. As soon as he spotted the throng gathered there, the wind immediately began to leave his sails. There was some sort of animated debate happening, with voices occasionally rising and carrying down to him. Kent stood defiantly on the platform alongside his family, Lewis, and the deputies – who all variously sat on assorted chests and bags - arms crossed as he listened unhappily to whatever was being said. Elijah felt guilt wash over him upon seeing the soldier – Kent was a father who had just lost his son in an awful way, and wasn't exactly the shining picture of mental health to begin with. He wasn't some villain out to get Elijah – he was just angry, probably scared; just like everyone else in town. It was easy for Elijah to forget, while he was being bombarded with these accusations, that Vincent was dead – it was a tragedy, and he couldn't expect people to react rationally at a time like this.
He began to come into range of the discussion; everybody was turned away, facing somebody at the other edge of the crowd. George, it sounded like.
"I remember back when the War started," He lectured. "they rounded up anybody who wasn't parading in the streets or buying bonds. Some of 'em got shot by vigilantes. Others got arrested. They were a Fifth Column, a threat to the Republic, the government said."
"What's your point?" Kent demanded.
"My point," George spat, quite literally, in the direction of the stage. "is that I didn't fight for Ferngill - storm the beaches at Alazo and slog through jungles in Gorat - just to see Her values thrown out the window when things get bad!" The old man was positively animated, much more-so than Elijah had ever heard him. "Liberty, equality, justice!" George shouted. "Or is that not why we're fighting in Gotoro?" Kent leered down at the old man; the last comment was clearly a jab at him.
Before he could retort, Kent's head snapped towards Elijah as the farmer neared the throng. "The Good Farmer Elijah!" Kent exclaimed mockingly. "Joining us at last!"
The entre town turned to stare at Elijah. He tried to weather their gazes, remain confident, but found them all much more intimidating than expected. Most of them didn't look angry – just sad, or piteous. A few wore stoic, indifferent expressions. Somewhere inside the crowd, the tops of a blue-haired head bobbed – the sisters had successfully merged with the throng.
"Where've you been all day, Elijah?" Kent demanded. "We thought you had run off before the cops could get here."
"Enough, Kent!" Robin growled, physically holding up a hand to him. "Let the guy come up here and defend himself!"
"What's there to defend?" Kent railed. "The murder weapon is missing!"
"We don't know that it was the murder weapon!" Robin roared back. She turned back towards the farmer. "Get up here, Elijah!" She commanded.
Elijah obeyed, scrambling up onto the stage and standing beside Robin. It was even worse up here, in absolute full view of everybody. He found that he was totally unsure what to do with his hands, so he settled for shoving them in his pockets. Elijah felt sick again. This wasn't just a town meeting – it was his trial. He was sure of it.
"Elijah." Gus began, putting a meaty hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Let's start with something simple, to set the record straight: where were you on Wednesday night, between 5 and 7 P.M.?" He spoke loudly so that everybody could hear, bellowing in Eli's ear.
Elijah scanned the crowd and gulped; he raised his voice, attempting to match Gus's volume. "I was at Emily and Hailey's house." He proclaimed. "From about 6 to 7."
"And what were you doing there?" Somebody jeered from the crowd. Elijah squinted down, making out the bearded face of Clint glaring up at him from towards the front.
"Why does that matter?" Haley exclaimed, pushing her way to the front as well, with Emily in tow. "We can confirm that he was there the entire time he says he was."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Clint demanded, directing his leer at the blonde woman now beside him.
"Why would we ever lie?" Emily demanded. "Friends don't lie, Clint."
Clint's expression softened slightly at Emily's statement, but still he proceeded, albeit more waveringly than before. "Well, we all know how close you are." The blacksmith sputtered. "I don't think you're a trustworthy alibi – plenty of people would lie just save their…uh, their friend's skin."
"Clint is right." Caroline huffed. Pierre shuffled uncomfortably next to her, eyes darting around as if he wanted to agree but didn't have the wherewithal to. A few other heads nodded along in agreement. "He needs an alibi that isn't inclined to lie for him."
Kent looked back expectantly towards Elijah, leading the crowd to do the same. He wracked his brain, trying to remember what all he was doing that day.
"For what it's worth…" Penny raised her hand high above her head, as if in a classroom, but struggled to raise her voice high enough to be heard by everyone. "…he was with me from about 4 to until about 4:30, maybe 4:45." Before she could be asked what they were doing, Penny curtly added: "We were talking about a book he was borrowing from me."
"She's telling the truth." George called out. "I saw the kid go into the trailer at about 4, looking out my window."
"Plenty of time to go out to the woods." Kent insisted. "Even if we believe Emily, there's still a whole hour where he's unaccounted for, right about the time Jas says Vincent went missing."
"You're grasping at straws, Kent." Robin warned. "It'd take him, what, thirty minutes to get there and back, at least?" The redhead looked to Elijah. "What were you doing for that hour, Eli?"
"He was with me." Emily announced. "He dropped into the saloon while I was working, to talk.
"That's right." Gus nodded before anybody could ask him, as owner, for confirmation. "Can't say when he came in, but he was there at about 6 when I let Emily off early."
"And after that, we, uh, went to her house." Elijah finished the timeline.
"So," Kent asked. "can anybody besides the Sisters confirm that he was at their house for that hour?
Clint raised a hand in objection. "I think I can confirm that he wasn't." He spoke hurriedly. Whispers rippled through the crowd. Emily and Haley gaped at him incredulously. "I was sitting by the river, under that big tree, doing some fishing, around 6, and I never saw anybody leave or go into the house."
"You fish?" Willy cackled. The old fisherman's grin revealed a set of yellowed, rotten teeth that made everybody uncomfortable.
"I'm trying to pick up new hobbies!" Clint whined.
"Why didn't you bring that up earlier?" Marnie, who had been largely silent up until now, demanded.
"I wanted to see where this line of questioning went." Clint crossed his arms.
Gus stepped forward. "Clint, I've had enough of your bullshit!" The barkeep bellowed. "You weren't fishing, you were moping in the bathroom of the saloon because of your creepy crush on Emily! I realize men's hearts make 'em do strange things, but think about what you're doing here! A man's life might be at stake!"
Clint's eyes widened, and he turned a shade of deep red. He looked around in dismay. "I-I didn't, I mean, you can't—" His voice was getting high and croaky now. Finally, words escaping him, the blacksmith simply hung his head in shame and retreated through the crowd, choosing to observe from the rear.
Elijah stared at the man in disbelief, as did many others; only Emily's expression outdid his as she digested this information, linking hands with her sister, as if for support.
Kent glowered around at the crowd. "Alright, 4 to 7pm, he has alibis." The father relented. "Where were you after 7?"
"I went home after leaving Em's place." Elijah stated, much more confident now.
"What way did you take?"
"The southern road."
"Why?"
"Quicker than circling around through town."
"Even though you have to slog through all that brush in the southern part of your farm?"
"I have a little path cleared. Not much, but better than nothing."
"So that would've brought you up around where Jas and Vincent had been playing."
Elijah hesitated. "I suppose so. The pond's only a bit of a walk from the southern entrance."
"So, you could've gone into the woods and found Vincent."
"I guess?" Elijah admitted uncertainly. "But I never saw him or Jas, and I went straight home."
"How do we know you did?" Kent demanded.
"I-"
"Do you have an alibi for then? Do you want to use your dog as a witness?"
"Listen, I-"
"Just admit, at the very least-" Kent started to howl.
"Dad, shut up!" Sam shouted from his seat next to his mother. Jodi remained silent, staring blankly at the ground. "I'm Eli's stupid fucking alibi!" He declared. "He walked with me all the way to Marnie's, I saw him go down the path to his farm."
Kent looked between Elijah and his son for a moment before surrendering the point. "Then let's talk about where you were the next morning." He steamed onward.
"For fuck's sake, Kent!" Robin complained, exasperated.
"Excuse me, Robin!" Kent suddenly advanced on the woman. Both Gus and Demetrius, in the crowd below, took several steps in her direction, afraid of what Kent might do. Kent got right into the carpenter's face. "If your little girl was cut up in a field, wouldn't you do everything you could to catch the freak that did it?!" Robin did not back down, but she didn't speak either, simply staring at Kent with a vexed expression on her face. Kent stepped back and turned back to the crowd.
"Let's look at the evidence." He extolled the townsfolk. "The murder weapon, according to the Good Doctor, was a scythe. The only two people who own scythes in this town are Marnie and Elijah. Marnie's got Leah, Sam, and Elliott as firm alibis for the times in question; Elijah has his girlfriend for sure, and some rough estimates from others. Plus, his only scythe is missing." He turned back to Elijah. "Do you lock your tool shed, Elijah?"
"Yes, I do." Elijah confirmed, wary of where this might be going.
"Do you take care of your tools?"
"Of course."
"What do you do with the tools after you're done with the day's work?"
"Depends." Elijah's mind was racing, but he tried to keep his voice level and confident. "Sometimes I leave 'em leaning against the shed or house. I usually have them in the shed by dark, though."
"So, what happened to the scythe?"
Elijah didn't have an answer. He didn't remember losing the scythe. "I…I don't know."
"And let's talk about the morning after the first day of searching. Where were you?"
"Asleep."
"Tii ten?"
"I was exhausted. From all the farm work, on top of searching." He leveled his gaze at Kent from beneath his new hat. "What was everybody else doing? Why didn't anybody come get me? I would've been glad to help more."
"Linus thought he heard Vincent in the mountains, up north," Robin said. The old homeless man was, noticeably, absent from the gathering. "so, we spent all morning searching the area. Nobody thought to go get you."
"So, there was plenty of time for you to do something with the body." Kent growled bluntly.
Elijah was caught off guard. "I was sleeping all morning." He replied.
"I was with him until about 8 A.M.!" Emily called out from the below. Then, a bit more sheepishly. "I stayed the night. He was still asleep when I left."
"Two hours is plenty to move that little body." Alex said suddenly, almost too quietly for everybody to hear.
"Alex!" Evelyn was taken aback.
"What if he ran into Vincent the night he went missing? What if the kid went exploring up by the farm alone?"
"Vince did love exploring by himself." Kent nodded somberly. "Always thought Jas would just get in the way because she was a girl." The little girl was also not present.
"So, Eli lures Vince back to the farm after saying goodbye to Sam." Sebastian began working towards Alex's confusion, standing beside him. Maru shot her brother an incredulous look, as did their mother. "And…" He shook his head lightly. "Locks him up somewhere? Kills him right away?"
"I don't like how we're pre-supposing guilt here, people!" Gus warned everybody. "Stop talking like it's a foregone conclusion!"
Elliott was nodding along with Sebastian from the other side of the crowd. "It makes sense – this scenario would him plenty of time the night before the search! Then, Friday morning, after Emily leaves, he brings the body out and makes it look like he found Vincent in the field."
"It all fits together!" Pam's shrill voice exclaimed. Penny shuffled to the side, trying to put distance between her and her mother.
Caroline joined in. "Two hours was probably just enough time to move the body and get rid of the scythe! It's probably buried in the forest or at the bottom of the river somewhere!"
"Shit." Robin hissed, taking a few quick steps sideways towards Lewis. The mayor had been utterly silent the entire time, simply observing the entire situation unfolding before his old, wise eyes. "We're losing control here." She cautioned the mayor. Lewis glanced in her direction and gave an almost imperceptible nod.
"Listen, I-I don't know what to say!" Elijah cried out, taking off his hat and holding it over his chest. Behind him, Robin quietly moved towards one of the many bags atop the stage. "I didn't hurt anybody! I hadn't seen Vincent since Tuesday! I-"
"Look at him!" Pam shrieked. "There's guilt written all over the stupid kid's face!"
Penny looked at her feet. "He does look kind of guilty…" She said in quiet agreement with her mother.
"I say we lock him up!" Alex shouted, raising a fist. "Stick him in the old Community Center or something, just until the cops show up!"
"We should do a lot more than that!" Pam spat.
A frightening number of people began too nod, echoing Alex's sentiment. The man's grandparents were aghast, protesting the idea. Elijah's head swam; his entire world was crumbling all over again. At least half the town was talking about punishing him for a crime – something utterly heinous – that he never committed.
"Please, I-" Elijah pleaded futilely.
Kent lunged towards him and grabbed the younger, smaller man the collar of his new jacket. "Let's lock up the man who killed my little boy!" Sam stood, moving to join him.
An earsplitting blast came from behind Elijah, causing his ears to ring horribly. Craning his neck around, he saw Robin standing there with a shotgun in hand; she had just fired a warning shot harmlessly into the floor of the stage.
"Nobody. Is. Doing. Anything." She asserted, enunciating each word very slowly, very loudly.
"Yoba's tits, woman!" Pierre exclaimed. "What are you doing with that thing?"
"Making sure none of us do anything we regret." Robin said coolly. She walked towards Elijah and yanked him out of Kent's grip. The soldier took a few steps back, throwing his hands up warily. The carpenter grabbed the farmer by the arm. "We're going to go back to your farm, grab whatever clothes or stuff you need." She said quietly, eyeing Kent the entire time.
"Then what?" Elijah asked, utterly terrified at this point.
"You're staying with us for a while. I don't know what's going on here…" Both pairs of green eyes met. "…but these people aren't going to stop until they have your head on a spike."