Girl!Sam
Scarcrow continued...
Sam had been walking all night without seeing a single car. As she came around a curve in the road, she saw a young girl with short blonde hair, sitting beside the road with her back to her.
“Hey.” The girl couldn’t hear her because she was listening to an ipod. Sam walked over to her and put her hand on the girl’s shoulder.
The girl jumped and took off her headphones. “You scared the hell outta me.”
“I’m sorry. I just thought you might need some help.”
“No, I’m good, thanks.”
“So, where you headed?”
“No offense, but no way I’m telling you.”
“Why not?”
“You could be some kind of freak. I mean, you are hitchhiking.”
“Well, so are you.”
The girl laughed in response. Just then, a van honked its horn and pulled over. “Need a ride?” The driver asked.
“Yeah.” The girl answered, but Sam hesitated. She didn’t like the look of the man behind the wheel.
Sam grabbed the girl’s elbow. “I don’t think you should go with him.”
“Why not?”
“Don’t you think he looks a bit…shady?” She whispered.
The girl pulled her arm from Sam’s grasp. “I can handle myself.” She climbed into the passenger seat.
“You coming too, darlin’?” The man’s voice made her skin crawl. For a moment she considered it. She didn’t think she should let the girl ride alone with him. But then, her instincts told her not to get into the van. Survival instinct won over valor, and so she shook her head and closed the door, watching uncertainly as the van pulled away.
**************************************
Dean had stopped at the local gas station and was questioning the clerk and his wife about the missing couple from last year. “You sure they didn’t stop for gas or something?”
The man showed the pictures to his wife, who shook her head. “Nope, don’t remember ‘em. You said they were friends of yours?”
“That’s right.”
A teenage girl, the couple’s niece, came downstairs carrying some boxes. She had overheard the conversation from the storage loft. “Did the guy have a tattoo?”
“Yes, he did.” The girl put the boxes on the counter and picked up the flyer with Vince’s picture. “You remember?” She looked up at her uncle. “They were just married.”
He suddenly remembered, “You’re right. They did stop for gas. Weren’t here more than ten minutes.”
“You remember anything else?”
“I told ‘em how to get back to the interstate. They left town.”
“Could you point me in that same direction?”
“Sure.”
**********************
Dean was driving by the orchard when he heard a noise coming from the backseat. “What the hell?” He pulled over and reached into his bag, pulling out his EMF meter, which was beeping frantically. There were no power lines nearby, so something was definitely weird about it going crazy like that.
Dean got out the car and walked toward the orchard. The EMF detector got louder and louder as he approached an old scarecrow. Dean switched off the EMF and looked up at the scarecrow. “Dude, you fugly.”
He noticed a sickle in the scarecrow’s hand and a design on its arm. Taking a ladder from a nearby tree, he climbed to the top so that he was eye level with the scarecrow. He moved its shirtsleeve and recognized the design from Vince’s tattoo. He pulled out Vince’s flyer and compared the designs. They were exactly the same. “Nice tat.”
************************************
Dean pulled into the Burkitsville gas station and got out. The girl who had recognized Vince’s tattoo was standing by the gas pumps. “You’re back.” She said.
“Never left.”
“Still looking for your friends?”
Dean nodded. He noticed her nameplate necklace. “You mind fillin’ her up there, Emily?” She obligingly grabbed a pump and started filling up the Impala. “So, you grew up here?”
“I came here when I was thirteen. I lost my parents. Car accident. My aunt and uncle took me in.”
“They’re nice people.”
“Everybody’s nice here.”
“So, what, it’s the perfect little town?”
“Well, you know, it’s the boonies, but I love it. I mean, the towns around us…people are losing their homes, their farms. But here, it’s almost like we’re blessed.”
Dean nodded. “Hey, have you been out to the orchard? Have you seen that scarecrow?”
“Yeah, it creeps me out.”
Dean laughed. “Whose is it?”
“I don’t know. It’s just always been there.”
Dean nodded towards a red van parked by the garage. “That your aunt and uncle’s?”
“Customer. Had some car troubles.”
“It’s not a couple, is it? A guy and a girl?”
Emily nodded. “Mm hmm.”
Yahtzee. Dean thought.
*****************************
Sam had made the long walk to the bus station and was talking to the clerk. “Sorry, the Sacramento bus doesn’t run again till tomorrow.” She rechecked the schedule. “5:05 PM.”
“Tomorrow? There’s got to be another way.”
“Well, there is. Buy a car.”
Sam scowled at the quip as she left the ticket window. She pulled out her PalmPilot and selected Dean’s phone number. She thought she should probably check in with him, just so he wouldn’t worry.
The girl she’d met on the side of the road was sitting on the floor with her bags. “Hey.”
Sam looked up, surprised, and for the moment, forgot about calling her brother. “Hey.”
“You again.”
“What happened to your ride?”
“You were right. That guy was shady. He was all hands.” Sam raised her eyebrows. “I cut him loose.” Sam couldn’t hide her slight disappointed. “What’s the matter?”
“Just trying to get to California.”
The girl sat up in surprise. “No way.”
“Yeah.”
“Me too.” She stood up and walked toward Sam. “You know, the next bus isn’t until tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s the problem.”
“Why? What’s in Cali that’s so important?”
“Just something I’ve been looking for…for a while now.”
“Well, then I’m sure it can wait one more day, right?” Sam forced a laugh. The girl extended her hand and Sam shook it. “I’m Meg.”
“Sam.”
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