Elizabeth looks up when Dean opens his car door, hurriedly trying to mark her place in her book before following him across the street. There's a man seated in a rocking chair outside a restaurant called Scotty's Café, looking pleasant enough with dark hair that brushes the collar of his jean jacket and a lined face. He seems to have a small interest in the fact that people are visiting, but Elizabeth figures this place is crawling with tourists in the summer that insist on taking pictures of everything.
"Let me guess," Dean greets," you're Scotty."
"Yep," Scotty confirms, glancing at Elizabeth for a moment before returning his bored gaze to Dean.
"Hi, my name's John Bonham and this is my best friend Patricia." Once he learns the pair are just friends the little interest he has dies away and they're left with complete disinterest. If you're going to kill off random couples, you might try to be friendlier to people that might just fit the bill.
"Isn't that the drummer for Led Zeppelin and his wife?" Elizabeth grins when Dean's caught in his lie, gazing up at him just for his comical deer in the headlights expression. Deciding to take some pity, she speaks up and give Dean's arm a sympathetic pat.
"His parents had a weird sense of humor and I go by Trish instead of Pat to make it a little less awkward for us," she says, stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets. Scotty just shrugs a little, his fingers laced together loosely in his lap as he makes the chair rock slightly.
"What can I do for the two of you?" Dean pulls the missing posters out of his coat pocket, unfolding them before handing them off to Scotty to look at. Dean and Elizabeth have decided to claim that Vince is her cousin to see if they can get the sympathy vote from someone around here. It works in most small towns, all the old people either reincarnations of Satan or the nicest people you've ever met, the type to give you the shirt off their back.
"I was wondering if you've seen these people by chance," Dean answers solemnly. Scotty glances at both pictures for a grand total of three seconds before looking up at Dean again.
"Nope. Who are they?"
"Good friends of mine and Trish's cousins. They went missing around a year ago and they were around here the last time they checked in with Trish to let her know they were okay. We've already been through Scottsburg and Salem." The words have barely left Dean's mouth when Scotty hands the posters back. Elizabeth takes them from him, folding them and stuffing them in her back pocket in case they need them later.
"Sorry. We don't get many strangers around here."
"Scotty, you got a smile that lights up a room. Anybody ever tell you that?" With the polite smile still in place, Elizabeth elbows Dean in the ribs.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes. "He doesn't realize how stupid he is sometimes. Ain't that right, Johnny?" Dean grumbles with a wince, rubbing his side as they step off the low porch and head across the street to another business. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to be a dick to the person that might give us some information?"
"Yeah, you did in high school." She must have elbowed harder than she thought because he's still rubbing his side when they step up on the porch of a Mom and Pop shop slash auto garage. "Anybody ever tell you how bony your elbows are?"
"Yeah, you in high school." He mocks her in a high pitched tone before disappearing inside the store, but she hangs back and pulls out her cell. It's expected that Sam wouldn't text Dean, but the fact that he hasn't even tried to text her has Elizabeth worried about him.
You still alive? She waits for the sent message to appear on the phone screen before snapping it shut and heading inside to talk with whoever's occupying the store. It's an elderly couple, the man looking to be a little older than Uncle Bobby, the woman slightly younger than her husband, and the woman stocking shelves a little younger than Elizabeth is. She's pretty with pale blonde hair while the older couple are both graying. Elizabeth pulls her phone out quickly when the text alert goes off.
Last I checked, yeah.
Check in every now and then or I'll track your skinny ass down.
Yes, ma'am. She tucks her phone away again, sending Dean a shrug when he glances over at her. He's just as worried about Sam as she is, but they have a job to do.
"This is my friend I was tellin' you about." Elizabeth gives the couple a smile when she joins them inside, Dean sticking his hand in her jeans pocket long enough to extract the posters before handing them over. "And this is the couple that's missing. Are you sure they didn't stop for gas or anything?"
"Please," she adds, widening her eyes a little and thinking of something sad to get a few tears to make her eyes shine. "They're the only family I have left, Vince and I were raised together." The old man shows his wife the posters before handing them back to Elizabeth, shaking his head in the negative.
"Nope," he says with a shrug," don't remember them. I'm sorry we can't be more help and I hope you find your cousins soon." She stuffs the posters back into her pocket as the other woman starts down the stairs with an armful of boxes.
"Did the guy have a tattoo," she asks, setting the boxes down on the counter.
"Yeah," Elizabeth nods," he got it just before he got married." She pulls out the posters again so the other woman can see the picture of Vince, the tattoo displayed clearly in the middle of his forearm. She looks up at the old man, clearly remembering the couple better than the old timers.
"You remember? They were just married." She hands the posters off to the old man and he taps a knuckle against his bottom lip, feigning remembrance. The fact that it's so false a two year old would recognize it only makes it hard to keep from rolling her eyes.
"You're right," he recalls," they did stop for gas. Weren't here more than ten minutes."
"Do you remember anything else," Dean asks, jumping on the lead.
"I told them how to get back to the Interstate. They left town."
"Could you point us in that same direction?"
"Sure." The old man scribbles the directions down on the back of one of the posters before Dean and Elizabeth run back to the Impala and start to drive towards the edge of town. They've only driven twenty minutes when the high-pitched whine of the EMF detector starts going off in the backseat. Dean and Elizabeth share a surprised look, the noise confusing them since the thing barely works when the antenna is all the way out, let alone when it's buried in the bottom of Dean's duffle.
"What the hell?"
"Hang on," she mumbles, leaning over the backseat and digging around until she can find the damn thing, all the small bulbs on the top if it a bright red color. As she moves to sit back down, she feels something tugging on the button of her jeans that refuses to give out. "Shit, Dean, pull over, I'm stuck."
"How the hell are you stuck?"
"I don't fucking know, I just am." Dean pulls off to the side of the road and puts the car in park before he starts pulling on Elizabeth's hips, finally pulling hard enough to unhook her. She falls back in the passenger's seat, having to re-button her jeans as Dean holds up a string.
"It must've gotten looped around the button. Not that I'm complaining about you being half out of your pants." She tosses the EMF at him, laughing as she sits up straighter in the seat. "You know what they say, Liza, all work and no play." He tugs on her belt loop, but his eyes are focused on the EMF detector.
"I'll worry about that if you start chasing me through a hotel with a roque mallet. Until then, all I have to do to keep you from turning into a serial killer is show you my boobs."
"Fair enough." Elizabeth opens her door, letting her legs hand out as she stares behind them at the empty road. "What do you think caused this thing to go haywire?"
"Not sure, but we have two options. We can either keep driving and leave Stars Hollow behind us or we can go play Dora the Explorer and check out the creepy orchard we just passed."
"As much as I love the sound of the first thing, I'm gonna have to go with Option B." She's about to get out when Dean calls her name and sneaks a quick kiss when she turns to look at him. "For good luck."
"Oh, now you're just being a tease." He winks and sends her a flirty smile, making a shiver race down her spine. Damn that man. She shakes her head as she gets out of the car, shutting the door and waiting for Dean to cross to her side before they start walking. They share looks of trepidation once the reach the entrance. It's almost winter and the trees are starting to go bare in places, leaves and apples strewn all over the ground.
"This place isn't creepy in the slightest."
"If this is the job I'm killed on, I blame you."
"Don't blame me that your darling cousin had to go get himself killed."
"He's not my actual cousin and you know it, you ass." They cross onto different paths as they walk farther into the orchard, taking in the creepy Halloween vibes. There are ladders and large baskets set up near a few trees, the baskets beginning to overfill with the bright red apples. As if the trees don't make it creepy enough, a low fog covers the ground and a scarecrow is pinned up to a post in the dead center.
The scarecrow is done up in moldering old overalls and a jacket, the burlap sack making up its head is crudely stitched with two black pits serving as its eyes, and a small scythe is wrapped up in one of its hands. Elizabeth reaches out and grasps Dean's arm as they come closer to it, having to cross over onto a different path in order to reach the freaky thing.
"Dude, you fugly," Dean says, scowling up at it.
"It's like something out of a horror movie," Elizabeth agrees, not wanting to get too close in case it comes alive and starts harvesting body parts. Dean grabs a nearby ladder and moves it over to the scarecrow, gesturing at the ladder.
"Ladies first."
"Bite me, Winchester."
"You just want me up there so you can look at my ass." He does a corny eyebrow waggle to make her laugh before climbing up the ladder, looking the bird-repellant over as she wraps her arms around herself and looks around at the orchard. The overflowing baskets make it seem like nobody really comes out here, but the ladders show no sign of rust, so someone has to come out to keep them in shape.
"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate places like this? Because I hate them."
"Liza, hand me Vince's poster." Shaking her head, Elizabeth hands up the poster and watches as he looks from the paper to the scarecrow's arm. "Take a look at this." Once he's on the ground again, she climbs up and pulls up the jacket sleeve, her fingers brushing against the strange-textured arm. When she spots the familiar tattoo, she lets out a strangled shout and falls backwards, Dean managing to catch her before she hit the ground.
"That's- I just- Ew!"
"I know." Dean sets her down on her feet, making sure she's steady before letting go of her upper arms. "So, the Creeper here is killing the couples and taking their…. Parts. How does no one in town notice a creepy ass scarecrow lurking around the orchard?"
"Because I'd bet my right shoe that they're in on it. Scotty looked pretty disappointed when he found out we weren't dating, but we never told the old guy about it, so he sent us here to give the scarecrow a heart."
"Let's head back into town and gets some more answers."
Twenty minutes later, they're pulling back into the main part of the small town, Dean putting the car in park in front of the gas pump. The woman from earlier, Emily Jorgeson, is standing outside her aunt and uncle's store when they pull up and she has a smile ready for Dean.
"You guys are back," she greets with a bit of surprise coloring her tone. Happy surprise or fuck-they're-still-alive surprise? It's kind of hard to tell in this town.
"Never left," Dean replies, getting out as Elizabeth opens her door to stretch her legs.
"Still looking for your friends?" Elizabeth nods at her question, following Dean's example and getting out of the car before hopping up to sit on the back of it near where Dean is standing. I'm not jealous, I'm cold. Without seeming to think about it, Dean rests one hand on her knee, squeezing it as he continues to talk to Emily.
"You mind filling it up?" With her smile still in place, a friendly one that doesn't seem to be practiced, Emily starts the familiar task. It's a rare moment to see someone other than a Winchester messing with Baby, but Elizabeth figures this is a good way to ask questions without it looking suspicious. "So, did you grow up here?"
"I came here when I was thirteen. I lost my parents—car accident. My aunt and uncle took me in."
"My uncle took me in, too," Elizabeth says. "My dad died in a hunting accident and my mom died after I was born. Your aunt and uncle seem really nice."
"Everyone around here is nice."
"It's the, uh, perfect little town," Dean jokes with a grin, moving his hand from Elizabeth's knee to rest on the trunk a few inches away from the small of her back. His presence is comforting and she's sure it's a mutual thing.
"Well, it's the boonies, but I love it. I mean, people are losing their homes, their farms all around us, but here…" Emily trails off, trying to think up the right words as the other two share a knowing look. She isn't aware of what's going on or she wouldn't be speaking so freely, but obviously some massive shit's going down to keep this little town afloat. "It's like we're blessed.
"Have you been out to the orchard and seen that creepy scarecrow?"
"It creeps me out too."
"Whose is it?"
"No idea, it's just always been there." Elizabeth nudges Dean when she notices the car behind Emily, one that wasn't there when they were here earlier this morning. Noting what she spotted, Dean studies it for a moment and gives just the slightest shake of his head.
"Whose car is that," Elizabeth asks.
"A customer's. They had some car troubles."
"They? Is it a couple?" Emily nods, her hands in her jacket pockets.
"Yeah, they went into Scotty's to stay warm while Uncle Harley works on their car."
"That sounds like a good idea, I'm freezing."
"Y'all go on ahead, I'm gonna stay out here for a little bit longer." Elizabeth slides off the trunk and holds out her hand for Dean to take, Dean lacing their fingers together without hesitation as they head across the street to the café they'd visited earlier.
"Hiya, Scotty," Dean smiles as they step inside, Scotty looking up from the two customers. "Can we get two coffees? One black and the other loaded down with sugar." Scotty gives a shrug and moves to the kitchen part of the café while Dean and Elizabeth seat themselves at the table behind the new visitors. "Oh, and some of that pie, too, while you're at it." Dean's attention is focused on the couple now, sending them his friendliest smile. "How're you doing? Just passing through?"
"Road trip," the woman answers around a mouthful of food. The couple are average looking, both with brown hair and fit builds.
"Us, too." Scotty walks back over with a pitcher filled with juice, pouring the couple a drink and completely ignoring Dean's previous request.
"I'm sure these people want to eat in peace," he says in a warning tone.
"C'mon, Scotty," Elizabeth responds," a little small talk never killed anyone." He sends her and Dean a go to hell look as he passes by, but they ignore it easily. "What has y'all stopping, the cute surroundings or the pie?"
"We just stopped for gas," the woman answers again as her boyfriend stuffs a forkful of fresh apple pie in his mouth," and the guy at the gas station saved our lives."
"Is that right," Dean asks in disbelief.
"Yeah, one of our break lines was leaking," the man nods with a laugh. "We had no idea. He's fixing it for us."
"Nice people."
"Uh-huh."
"How long until you're up and running?"
"Sundown."
"Isn't that a bit long for one break line," Elizabeth asks. She already knows the answer after growing up in a small town garage. "John here worked at my uncle's savage yard, he might be able to help you out."
"She's right," Dean agrees. "I could probably have it up and running in about an hour and wouldn't charge you anything."
"Thanks a lot," the woman replies," but I think we'd rather have a mechanic do it."
"Of course." Elizabeth bites her lip, wondering if anyone would notice her sneaking outside and popping their tires if only to delay them going past the orchard until after sundown. That must be when Leatherface recruits bits and pieces for his plastic surgery. "It's just that these roads aren't real safe at night." Well, that's one way to come off as creepy and make them want to believe the wicked townspeople over you, Dean.
"I'm sorry?"
"What he means is that there's been lots of trouble on the road back to the Interstate," Elizabeth clarifies upon seeing how quickly their happy moods have dropped. "We read it in this online newspaper we found a few nights ago, the writer said it's safer to travel while there's still some light out."
"Right," the man says, unconvinced," we just want to eat."
"Thanks for comin', Sheriff." They look up at Scotty's voice, spotting a man wearing a leather jacket with a badge pinned to the front. Exasperated, Elizabeth rolls her eyes and leans back in her chair as Officer Friendly makes his way over to their table.
"I'd like a word, please," he states. He places his hands on his hips and looks down at the hunters like they're two teens he caught in the backseat of a car.
"Come on," Dean pleads," we're having a bad enough day as it is." The Sheriff rests his arms on the table, bending so that he's on Dean's level.
"You don't want to make it worse. How bout I give y'all an escort out of town?" Dean seems to have a mental debate before standing up and holding out a hand for Elizabeth, wrapping it around her waist as soon as they're outside. Emily is standing on the porch of the family store as they cross the street, sending them curious looks when she spots the Sheriff right behind them.
"This is bullshit."
They wait until dark to drive back into town, almost there when they notice the car pulled off the side of the road with its emergency blinkers flashing. "Son of a bitch," Dean grumbles, parking the Impala in front of the other car while Elizabeth jumps out and runs for the orchard, her pistol in the waistband of my jeans and a machete in her hand. She can hear Dean running behind her as they move farther into the orchard. "Split up!" She gives a nod and moves to the right as he continues to go straight and she ends up behind the scarecrow as it chases after the couple from earlier.
"Hey, ugly," Elizabeth shouts. "Fresh meat right here!" Breathing hard, the monster starts after her and she tightens her grip on the machete handle as it comes closer.
"Liza!" She drops to the ground when the scythe cuts through the air where her head had been seconds ago, the scarecrow off balance when his weapon doesn't connect with flesh. Before she can drive the machete up into its stomach, a shotgun blast rings out and straw sprays out of the scarecrow's shoulder. Not wasting any time and scared shitless, Elizabeth ducks beneath the limp arm and runs to Dean, sheathing the machete and bringing out her pistol.
"Thanks."
"Thank me later, let's go!" They sprint after the couple as the scarecrow turns and begins to chase them again, their guns having no effect on it even after Elizabeth shoots it between the eyes. "Save your ammo!" Frustrated and out of breath, she runs a little faster towards the Impala, the monster gaining ground fast. It's only when they reach the car and turn to face down the scarecrow that they notice it's no longer behind them and that the loud breathing is coming from themselves
"W-what the hell was that," the man demands.
"Don't ask."