"We're at the college." Elizabeth moans as Dean tugs on some of her hair, swatting his hand away so she can sit up and look around. "Why don't you go tame your hair in the bathroom and I'll go meet up with the professor?" She makes a small noise of agreement and grabs her bag from the backseat before following Dean inside, heading straight for the girls' bathroom. No one else is inside and she locks the door behind her to have some privacy.
I look like shit. Her hair is matted, there's drool on her chin, and yesterday's clothes are wrinkled and speckled with blood. She sets the bag on the counter and turns on the cold water, cupping her hands beneath the faucet before scrubbing her face. She uses a paper towel to dry with before brushing out the tangled mess. Once she doesn't look like she boils small children in cauldrons, she pulls on a fresh pair of pants, a galaxy-printed tank top and a blue beanie to hide her uncooperative hair.
Elizabeth brushes her teeth and slides on her glasses before repacking the duffle and leaving to find Dean. It's a Saturday so the college is quiet and she's able to follow the sound of voices into an office.
"Oh, professor, this is Elizabeth. She's the one that got me interested in all of this." Elizabeth gives the professor a small wave as she joins them at the desk, not fully awake just yet and definitely not ready to strike up a friendly conversation. "He might be able to help us with the question you had about gods that hung out in orchards."
"Neat."
"It is," the professor agrees. "It could be a woods god." He opens an old leather-bound book and starts flipping through the pages, going slow so that Dean and Elizabeth can take a good look at each of the pictures. One captures their attention, the picture showing people farming with a scarecrow set up in the middle of the field.
"Whoa, wait, what's that one," Dean asks, tapping the page before the professor can turn it.
"That's not a woods god, per se."
"The Vanir?" The professor gives a shrug of his shoulders and Elizabeth leans over Dean's shoulder to follow him as he reads the information on the opposite page out loud. "The Vanir were Norse gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Villages built effigies of the Vanir in their fields. Other villages practiced human sacrifice, one male and one female."
"Does that effigy look like the scarecrow from Jeepers Creepers to anyone else," Elizabeth asks when Dean stops reading.
"I suppose it does," the professor nods, though he doesn't look at ease.
"This particular Vanir, its energy sprung from a sacred tree," Dean continues.
"Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic." She straightens up as Dean does the same, relieved to finally have something to go off of. Now all they have to do is fight their way past an evil scarecrow god and destroy a tree. Shouldn't be too hard, should it? Then again, most of the things that shouldn't be too hard usually turn out to be the hardest cases of all. Case in point: getting Lilly to stop biting strangers.
"What would happen if the sacred tree had an accident," Elizabeth asks, looking up at the professor. "Like, what if it was struck by lightning or torn down? It would kill the god, right?" The professor lets out a nervous laugh, clapping her on the shoulder.
"You both realize these are just legends, right?"
"Yeah," Dean agrees, shaking the old man's hand. "Thank you very much."
"Glad to help." Elizabeth shakes his hand next, smiling a little more than she had before now that her blood is pumping in anticipation. "It was nice meeting you both."
"You too, sir." Dean opens the door to leave, but the Sheriff is waiting there and uses the butt of his rifle to hit Dean square in the face. Elizabeth tries to bring her bag off her shoulder and hit the Sheriff with it, but she's too slow and he brings the rifle down hard enough to knock her out.
Christ on a stick.
When Elizabeth comes to, she's in some sort of cellar filled with canned fruits and jams, and Dean is trying to break the door open using his shoulder. "Please tell me I'm just dreaming."
"Not quite, Liza." He grunts, ramming his shoulder against the door again with nothing to show for it. "What the hell is that lock made of?" He keeps at it as Elizabeth stands up, her head aching where it was hit and her glasses missing. Everything is blurry and she finds herself squinting to try and make things out in the dark. "We gotta get out of here."
"I know, get out or be murdered." Dean grunts as he continues to work at the door. Since it's a cellar they're trapped in, the door is slanted above their heads and he can't run at it like he could if it was at a normal angle.
"Technically, we'll be sacrificed. These people are classy."
"Oh please, they're one step above the Hills Have Eyes." A migraine is beginning to build behind her eyes the longer she's without her glasses, only adding to her list of discomforts. "Scooch over and let me help." Dean maneuvers to the side just enough for Elizabeth to squeeze in between him and the concrete wall. "Alright." In unison, they slam against the door, both of them only getting sore shoulders for their efforts.
"Jesus! I'm gonna need, like, ten Tylenol when we get out of here."
"Fuck that, I'm gonna need a massage." As they move to hit it again, the door suddenly opens and their momentum carries them out of the cellar and to the wet grass outside. Harley, the Sheriff, and Scotty point their rifles down at them while Stacey and the professor stand slightly back.
"It's time," Stacey informs them. The Sheriff grabs the back of Dean's jacket and hauls him to his feet before doing the same to Elizabeth, Harley jabbing his rifle in her back to get her moving on down the street toward the orchard.
"You guys are such assholes."
"Quiet, blondie," Officer Friendly snaps as Harley jabs her in the back again.
"Hey," Dean growls. "Why don't you show some respect?" The Sheriff scoffs, sending the hunters derisive glares. Elizabeth rolls her eyes and keeps walking, her feet aching worse than usual when they finally make it to the creepy ass orchard. Where before the trees had most of their leaves, this time they're almost completely bare and the trees show signs of dying.
"How does this place just keep getting creepier," Elizabeth asks, genuinely curious. "I mean, it's like a serial killer's wet dream or something."
"Shut it," the Sheriff grouses. Dean is taken to one tree to be tied to it and Elizabeth is forced to sit in front of one a few feet behind and to the right of his. Stacey and the professor bind Elizabeth's wrists above her head and wrap a thick rope around her middle to make sure she doesn't wiggle loose.
"How many people have you killed, Sheriff? How much blood is on your hands?"
"We don't kill them."
"You sure as hell don't save them," Elizabeth remarks loudly, earning a backhanded slap from Stacey. Once they're tied in place, the group begins to head back the way they came, turning their backs to the hunters even as they struggle against the ropes.
"I hope your apple pie is freakin' worth it," Dean shouts after them.
"Please tell me you came up with a plan while I was unconscious."
"I'm working on it." Elizabeth believes him until it starts to grow dark and he's still sitting there, tied to his tree with a befuddled expression. "Liza, do you have any ideas?"
"Sorry, I can't pull ideas out of my ass." As if things can't get any worse, a spider begins to make its way up her leg, her flailing legs making it soar through the air and land a few feet away on the ground. "Why can't spiders just die already?"
"Because they love you too much, Liza," comes the unexpected yet completely welcome voice of Sam. "Y'all just let yourselves get tied to trees?"
"If I wasn't so happy to see you, I'd kick your ass!" He chuckles, bending down and untying the ropes around her wrists and waist.
"How'd you know where to find us," Dean asks, straining to see Sam from his position.
"I got a call from a girl named Emily," Sam explains," and then I stole a car and drove here."
"Attaboy." Dean laughs, sounding proud of his baby brother. Once Elizabeth is freed, she and Sam move to help Dean, the knots hard to undo since her fingers are beginning to go ache from the cold, but she manages after a moment before moving to the larger rope around Dean's waist.
"Fuck, these knots are good."
"Hey, don't forget to keep an eye on the Creeper." Elizabeth nods, standing up and looking towards the post where it was bound, but finding nothing. Please say my eyes are playing tricks on me. There's nothing there that even resembles the scarecrow and Sam's next words confirm her fears.
"What creeper?" Dean scrambles to his feet and moves to stand beside Elizabeth, eyes scanning to orchard for any sign of the scarecrow.
"Move, now!" He grabs her arm and begins to sprint with Sam right beside him, both boys basically dragging Elizabeth towards the road since her legs aren't as long as theirs.
"Wait, how do we get rid of this thing?"
"Torch its sacred tree before it devours all of us and uses our skin to decorate with." Dean pauses only long enough to pick Elizabeth up over his shoulder before picking up speed again, this way quicker than her trying to keep up with them. "Liza, warn us if it comes up behind us."
"You got it," she replies, squinting to make out any moving shapes in the darkness.
"Why don't we just kill the tree now," Sam asks.
"Because I at least want to make it to my thirtieth birthday!"
"Liza's right," Dean agrees. "We'll come back in the morning when it's less likely to be awake." The boys round a corner only to come to a sudden standstill for a second before trying to back up.
"Scotty's here!" Scotty is standing with his rifle aimed at them, the glare of his flashlight almost blinding.
Dean sets Elizabeth on her feet, making sure she's sandwiched between him and Sam. In front of them is Stacey and Harley, Harley holding his own rifle. Their only other paths are taken up by the Sheriff and professor, effectively trapping the three of them in the orchard. A menacing growl sets Elizabeth on edge, her hands beginning to shake as she fully realizes she has no weapons to defend herself with.
"It'll be done quickly," Harley promises," but you all have to go back the way you came and—" He lets out a strangled grunt when the tip of a scythe breaks through the flesh and muscle of his chest, dropping his rifle. Stacey lets out a horrified scream when it happens and she continues to scream as the scarecrow drags the back towards its post.
Elizabeth wonders if the others would have stayed to help if Harley wasn't bleeding out too quickly or if they would have run for their lives all the same.
"Past the fence," Dean orders. "Move it, you two, now!"
It's strangely calm as they walk through the orchard the next morning, the sun shining down past the bare branches and birds singing. Already, the apples littering the ground are looking brighter and the trees healthier from the murder last night. They come to a stop in front of a gnarled old tree with a strange inscription carved into the old bark, Emily standing between Elizabeth and Dean as Sam moves ahead to pour gasoline over the tree and surrounding ground where its roots are buried.
"Can I do it," Emily asks once the long branch in Dean's hand catches fire.
"You do know the whole town's gonna die if you do this," Dean warns.
"Good."
Once Sam's standing by Dean, she takes the branch and tosses it at the base of the tree. Flames lick up the soaked bark and white leaves curl up before turning to ash, floating away on a breeze. They stay in the orchard long enough to watch the tree burn and destroy the scarecrow before they pile into the Impala, the women sharing Elizabeth's throw blanket to keep warm.
"Can you guys take me to the bus station? I need to get out of here."
"Sure thing," Elizabeth nods. It's a quiet ride there and even quieter as Emily buys her ticket and boards the bus heading to Boston. As the bus pulls out, Dean wraps an arm around Elizabeth's shoulders, holding her close.
"You think she's gonna be alright," Sam asks.
"I hope so," Dean says.
"And the rest of the townspeople, they'll just get away with it?"
"Their crops are gonna die and their lands will be completely useless," Elizabeth says as they start back towards the car, her arm wrapped around Dean's waist. "They'll have to sell out and move somewhere else if they want to survive, so I'd say that's punishment enough."
"You want me to drop you off anywhere," Dean asks his brother.
"Nope," Sam answers," you're both stuck with me now." They come to a stop in front of the car, Dean staring up at Sam in curiosity. Elizabeth knows what he's wondering about, he's wondering if Sam's just going to get upset and leave again like he did a few days ago. Elizabeth knows that Sam will do just that since he's a stubborn ass like the rest of them but she also knows he'll come back because, despite everything, he loves his big brother and he wouldn't like living without knowing Dean's okay.
"What made you change your mind?"
"I didn't. I still want to find Dad, you're still a pain in the ass, and Liza's still a smartass, but Jess and Mom... They're both gone. Dad is God knows where. The three of us and Bobby are all that's left, so, uh, if we're gonna see this through, we're gonna do it together." There's a moment of silence where Dean looks like he might just cry before he rests a hand on Sammy's shoulder.
"Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful." Sam brushes Dean's hand off with a smile and Elizabeth grins up at Dean, glad to see him back in a joking mood. "Come on, let's hit the road." Dean releases her so he can walk around the car to the driver's side, still smiling.
"You two should be kissing my ass, you were both dead meat without me."
"Whatever," Elizabeth smiles, getting in the backseat. "I could've pulled a plan out of thin air if I wanted to."
I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind/I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time/But I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon/I feel there is nothing I can do/I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon/After all I knew it had to be something to do with you/I really don't mind what happens now and then/As long as you'll be my friend at the end