Elizabeth looks up as Dean enters their shared bathroom, a change of clothes in his arms and the sweatpants he wears hanging low on his hips. "Morning," she smiles, beginning to put on a light layer of makeup to hide the pale scar above her right eye. It makes her feel like Harry Potter most of the time even though it's just a straight line from hitting her head on the kitchen counter when she was eight.
"What's got you so happy this morning," he grumbles, setting his clothes beside hers on the counter before moving to get the shower water heating up. The bathroom is slightly cramped compared to the rest of the house with only a shower, a toilet, and the counter that takes up a whole wall.
"My underwear match, so nothing can ruin my day today."
"Proof or you're lying, Liza." Feeling flirty this morning, she pulls up the strap of her black tank top to show him the lacy pink strap of her bra before tugging on the waistband of her skinny jeans to show him the matching band of her panties. "Well, aren't you just so very special."
"I'm pretty sure it's good luck."
"Explains why I don't have any of that then." She snorts, turning back to finish up with her concealer and powder. Once that's done, she pulls on a green and black plaid button-up that has It's just a bunch of hocus pocus printed on the back, then slides on a black headband to keep her hair off her face while they visit the crime scene. "You already take a shower?"
"Nope, I'm gonna shower tonight." Dean shrugs, tossing his boxers and sweatpants on the counter before getting in the shower, letting out a loud sigh when the hot water hits him.
"This water pressure is amazing." Smiling, Elizabeth grabs her shoes and leaves him to his shower, joining Sam and Archer out in the hallway.
"You're awfully chipper this morning," Archer remarks as they make their way to the dining room where the Cranston and Crandall families are eating. "What's the occasion?"
"Matching underwear," Sam states before she can even open her mouth. "That's the only reason she's ever happy in the mornings." Jackson looks horrified at the thought of Elizabeth's underwear, but the two teens just give small snorts of laughter. "How long till Dean makes it downstairs?"
"Well, he just found out about the water pressure, so we might have to drag him out of there," she replies, sitting beside Tyson and piling some bacon and scrambled eggs on her plate to nibble at. Sam makes a face, pouring himself a glass of orange juice and grabbing a piece of bacon for himself.
"You can, I'm not going near him when he's naked."
"Might we change the subject to something more appropriate," Jackson comments with a stern frown.
"Sure, Mister Cranston, what would you like to talk about?"
"It looks as though it might rain later, so you all should wear jackets when you…. When you go to that place." Elizabeth can see Tyson balling his hands into fists under the table, the poor kid shaking from pure rage and grief. His sister was murdered right in front of him and I can't imagine what that kind of thing does to someone's head. "Noah told me last night that you three were some of the best hunters in Oklahoma."
"He's right, I guess," Elizabeth shrugs. She places a comforting hand on Tyson's fist and squeezes a little until he stops shaking so badly. "Just three weeks ago, the boys and I took down a Pagan god that walked around as a scarecrow, and before that we took down a ghost that was messing with people's heads. This shouldn't be too hard once we know for sure what it is that we're facing."
"You're facing a dead Hessian soldier," Tyson states firmly. "I think he was some sort of ghost 'cause he kept flickering slightly like it was hard to keep himself together while he was killing my best friends."
"Has anything like this ever happened before? I mean, besides the whole legend of this place, has anyone been found missing a head?"
"No," Luka answers softly, pushing his glasses up his nose from where they've slid down. "There haven't been any suspicious deaths in seventy years or more, and all heads were accounted for." Sam and Elizabeth share curious looks before glancing towards the entryway when Dean waltzes inside.
"Are y'all ready to get going," he asks, pulling his jacket on.
"I want to come, too. It might help to have someone who knows the town with you. I can tell you some of the history while I'm at it."
"Luka, no," Anne shakes her head. "You shouldn't go to that place, it's morbid."
"Ma, you can't lock me in the house forever. I want to help in any way I can."
"I'll come too," Tyson nods and his mother starts to cry all over again. She pushes away from the table and leaves the room with Anne right on her heels. "I was there, I can give all the details." He meets his father's glare at the head of the table, some of his blond hair falling in his eyes. "I want to help nail the bastard that killed my baby sister."
"Alright," Jackson growls out, obviously as messed up over this as everyone else.
"Be careful, boys," Ryan adds in a softer tone," and you four as well. There's been enough death in this town to last a century." Elizabeth stands with the others, slipping her feet into her shoes and following everyone outside to the Impala.
"Luka and I can lead the way in my car," Tyson says, much more subdued than he was moments ago as he and his cousin get in an old Dodge pick-up while the hunters get in Dean's car.
"You think it's smart having them come with us," Sam asks as Dean starts the car and follows the truck out onto the street that leads away from town. "I mean, couldn't it just traumatize those guys further than they already have been?"
"It could," Dean agrees," or it could help them feel a little better knowing they're helping put this thing back in the ground." Elizabeth's on the fence about the whole thing, but she figures the boys will be the ones to decide what they want to do in the long run of things. "Liza, what do your Spidey Senses tell you about all of this?"
"They're not tingling quite yet," she answers, looking out her window at the countryside. There are a few houses lining the street this far out of town, but they're quickly growing few and far between as the group moves onto a dirt road.
Elizabeth supposes that might be why the guy walking in the tall grass catches her attention so abruptly, that and she'd recognize him anywhere. The man is tall with dark brown hair that brushes the collar of his tee, an athletic build, and an ass that perfectly fills his Wranglers. Her breath catches in her throat when he turns his head to look at the cars, blue eyes standing out against his tanned skin and dark stubble.
"Liza, you okay?"
"No," she gasps, covering her face with her hands. "It's him!" She can feel the tears stinging her eyes and there's no possible way for her to hold them back. Dean slams on his breaks without warning, Archer latching onto Elizabeth to keep her from flying into the front seat, but none of that really registers as her breaths turn to desperate panting. It can't be him, that's impossible. But it is, she'd be able to pick him out of a crowd, let alone an empty field like he was walking in.
"It's who, Liza," Archer asks in concern, prying her hands away from her face and making her look at him. "Who did you see out there?"
"Did he have a pumpkin for a head," Sam adds, him and Dean looking at Elizabeth over the front seat. She can't speak yet, struggling to breathe even as the world around her starts to spin and grown dark around the edges. "Move!"
"What's going on— Hey! Don't shove me!" A new set of arms pull her against a hard chest, the smell of leather and aftershave giving her some comfort, and the quiet humming grounding her back in reality. Slowly, everything returns to normal, though the tears don't stop completely.
"It's alright, Elizabeth," Dean murmurs into her hair as he continues rocking them back and forth. "I've got you. It'll be okay. Shh, you're safe here." She clutches tightly at the back of his jacket, the top of her head barely brushing his chin as he holds her tightly. "Just take some deep breaths, sweetheart." Despite his calm tone and soothing words, she can hear his heart beating ninety miles a minute in his chest. "You wanna tells us about it?"
"What's going on," Luka asks, and Elizabeth feels one of Dean's arms leaving her for a second before returning.
"It was him," Elizabeth mumbles finally, the panic attack leaving her a shaking, exhausted mess. "It was him, Dean." She pulls back just enough to meet his gaze, noting the worry and absolute helplessness that fills his green eyes. They're so beautiful, the type that you can fall in and never want to leave because everything else in the world seems dirty compared to them.
"It was who, Liza," Sam asks, his large hand resting on the back of her head with his thumb moving up and down in a soothing motion. "Who did you see in that field?"
"I saw Clarke."
"That's impossible, you killed him months ago." Sam doesn't sound so sure and Dean's looking murderous as he peers over Elizabeth's head at the field behind them. "You stabbed him in the neck, we all saw him die, and then we put him in the ground."
"He was in that field!" She turns to point him out only to see that the field is empty now, her hand falling into her lap. "That's impossible, he was right there! He fucking smirked at me!"
"Easy, Liza, we'll go check it out, but you stay here with Luka and Tyson." She nods, watching the guys head into the field in the direction she'd pointed to while Tyson sits in the space Dean had vacated.
"Who's Clarke," Tyson asks, taking one of her hands in his.
"A cop from Tulsa," she says, one hand going to rub her throat. "He was a psycho that murdered a few women before we caught up with him. He was trying to strangle me with his belt when I stabbed him in the throat with a broken beer bottle." Tyson's brown eyes go wide and he shares a look with his cousin over his shoulder. "What is it?"
"That guy's picture was on the news a few months back, they were talking about how he'd gone missing while investigating a serial killer that was going after blondes in their early twenties."
"We had a guy that matched his description show up in Sleepy Hollow a few weeks after they found what they thought to be his body," Luka adds, sitting in the driver's seat with his long legs hanging out. "Ty thought he was the cop at first, but then we saw the news bulletin about his remains being found and we just brushed it off."
"Yeah, we figured the guy was just the town drug dealer's new goon."
"Did he have a Voldemort-esque aura around him, like he could break your kneecaps and have you thanking him for it," she asks reluctantly, dreading their answer when they share another look.
"Uh-huh, I told my friends to steer clear of him when they went to buy their weed." Tyson lets out a disdainful scoff, glaring down at his hands. He's still holding one of Elizabeth's in both of his, making her hand look like a Hobbit's. "He was always leering at Kelsey, like he wanted to devour her or something."
"Kelsey was your sister's best friend, right?" Tyson and Luka both nod, Tyson's jaw clenching as he fights back tears.
"Yeah," Luka whispers, voice breaking. "They were always together when it was possible." Elizabeth looks away from the boys as Sam and the others rejoin them, Dean and Sam looking worse than they had earlier.
"What'd you find?"
"Footprints," Sam states," looked like he started crawling away from the road at some point."
"I have news, too, these guys just confirmed that the Dark Lord is working with a drug dealer in town."
"Well," Dean sighs, scratching the back of his head," I suppose we'll check that place out after we're done at the crime scene." He points a finger at Elizabeth, his expression telling her that he'll bind and gag her if she even thinks about arguing with what he's about to say. "And you're staying your ass at the Cranston house where you're safe. I'll have Tyson sit on you if I have to. Understood?"
"Yes, boss."
They're halfway over the covered bridge that spans across a lake when the Dodge in front of them comes to a stop, the red break lights extinguishing when the truck is turned off and the boys got out.
"I guess this is as far as our cars go," Dean remarks, cutting the ignition before their group joins the two boys at the other end of the bridge. There are flecks of dark red on the wood where it had sprayed from a victim's neck. Tyson flinches at the sight of it, making a point to step around it and the dried blood soaked into the hard-packed dirt.
"That's where Henry Callaghan was caught," Tyson mutters, hands in his Letterman jacket pockets. "His blood…. It got on my face and all over my clothes. It was horrible. I don't know why the Horseman didn't get me too, I was only two feet away."
"The bridge," Luka informs him," the Horseman can't cross a covered bridge, it's in the legend."
"Yeah, well, you're the smart one in our family, Luke." In a show of affection, Tyson raises his hand to ruffle Luka's short hair, laughing under his breath when Luka sidesteps and smooths his hair down again with a frown. "Anyway, Logan was killed a few feet back, Brit and Kelsey were killed between here and the football field, and I didn't see Jamie getting killed. I was too busy running for my life."
"I was supposed to be there, but I had to study for the Algebra II test that I failed last Friday."
"I'm glad you were home." Before Luka can dodge him this time, Tyson wraps him in a one-armed hug. Instead of fighting, Luka rests his head on his cousin's shoulder. "The, uh, Horseman was dressed in these weird black clothes and he had a cape that was pinned in place by two bright red rubies. It was like something from Zorro. He wore riding boots with the spurs on them that jingled when he moved and he rode a huge black horse." Tyson shudders, beginning to walk again towards the football field in the distance. A few feet away from where Henry was killed is another splotch of darkened blood. "Logan."
"Ty, maybe we should just head back to the house. You shouldn't have come here this soon."
"I got this, Luka."
"Maybe Luka's right," Elizabeth says, struggling to keep up with all the long-legged people surrounding her. "Besides, it looks like it's about to pour some cats and dogs down on our heads." The clouds overhead were only a pale gray when they'd left the Cranston estate, but now they're almost black. If it was summer, then she'd be worrying about tornadoes.
"No, I want to get this done with before I head back home and face my dad for making my mother so upset." The whole time he talks, he's walking faster and now he's basically at a fast jog as they finally make it to the halfway point. "I-I told her to be careful, but how can you defend yourself against a ghost that comes out of nowhere?"
"You can't usually, Ty." There are three splotches here, two close together and one near the toe of Dean's boots.
"He tossed my sister's head at me and it landed right there." He points at the third blotch and Dean makes a face, taking a couple of quick steps back.
"Alright," Sam sighs, squinting slightly as he looks towards the football field farther down the road on the right. "So, James must've been killed, ah, about ten feet from here if that dried blood down there is where he bit it." Elizabeth steps hard on his foot for his insensitive remark, making the big guy jump up and down with a groan of pain.
"Remind me to stay on your good side," Dean whispers, leaning closer to Elizabeth in a way that has his lips brushing her ear.
"Don't forget you said that, Dean," she returns, delivering a playful slap to his ass before starting back the way they came. "Let's move, boys, we have some research to do if we want to take this headless freak down."