Chapter Text
Steph looked at her fathers expression, he was hard to read like usual but he did look concerned or upset about something. That was enough to make Steph concerned, that and the silence after she’d asked what was going on the first time. Her father almost never showed any real emotion, even when he was the smiling two-faced politician his smile was quite frankly obviously fake. This was something else, something far more concerning.
“Dad, seriously… What is it?”
“There is something going wrong in the Witchwood, if we don’t stop it… chances are everyone will die, regardless of what your friends are capable of.” He was speaking slowly to her, like usual when he was explaining something he thought was important, but the message got to her quickly.
“Shit. Fuck. Uh… then… then I’ll go. It must be the fifth one, I thought it was weird Richie only knew four places when there’s five of them.” Steph mentioned, Solomon nodding.
“I’d imagine so.”
Steph and her father hurried to his car, Steph not seeing that Boy Jerry had noticed the two leaving the safe zone and stopping Miss Tessburger.
“What’s going on?”
“Don’t worry, Mayor Lauter and his daughter are just going to handle this situation.”
“Well considering how he spoke to me earlier I don’t have a lot of faith in him. And from my understanding, the handling isn’t up to him.”
“Well, it is up to Stephanie.”
Something about the way Miss Tessburger said that put Jerry on edge, but he wasn’t sure what about it. He knew that, from what he was told, Steph was there during the summoning and that she was a part of the little group of teenagers who were the targets. But Jerry was a reporter, he’d learned how to see through politicians' lies, especially Mayor Lauter and his far too loyal secretary. He knew there was something different about this. All the others were forced to go to save someone important to them, but as far as he knew everyone Steph cared about were in the diner, save for the Spankoffski boy who he was told was off to save his brother. He wanted to try to pull Steph aside to ask her more, but Miss Tessburger hurried over to the car's driver seat, driving the group off, Jerry intending to keep an eye on the situation before he rejoined Girl Jeri and the Flemings in helping with some food distribution. He tried to shake the old rumors about what had happened to Steph’s mother, as horrible as he’d heard or thought that Solomon was, he had to believe he wouldn’t do anything to harm his own daughter. Or at least he hoped he wouldn’t.
Steph watched nervously out the car window, seeing that things did seem to be getting worse. She wasn’t really sure what the plan was, but it seemed like her father had one, he was very calm about this all. So she was hoping his plan would be enough. Once they arrived in the Witchwood, she got out, immediately hit by a horrible smell and the sound of pigs squealing. She didn’t know anything like that smell, personally, but it reeked in a way that made her brain scream that she was somewhere unsafe. She knew well enough that there wasn’t some kind of butcher in the Witchwood, so the pigs were also concerning and confusing.
“What the hell is that smell?” She looked at her father, who didn’t seem particularly bothered or surprised.
There was something on his face, but she couldn’t place it, it wasn’t something she’d ever seen him look like before.
“You’re early.” A snobbish voice Steph almost recognized hit her, and she spun around to face whoever had spoken.
“Well, I want this over with.” Solomon was cold as ever, but something about it made Steph nervous.
This man looked wealthy, if not uncaring, and the fact her father wasn’t trying to be overly polite to win this man over was strange.
“Our lord Nibblenephim doesn’t care about the wants of some… politician.” Steph almost recognized this man the more she stared, probably from some of the boring parties her dad threw.
Importantly, she did recognize the name of his ‘lord’ and she quickly took a few steps back, “Dad?”
“I tried to warn you Stephanie. Those friends of yours crossed lines they shouldn't have. Now, we pay the price.”
“What are you talking about? We’re winning, Pete just has to get back and-”
“And what? That still leaves one undefeated, or can you not count to five?” Solomon’s words cut Steph down, like usual.
She had noticed something was off, that there were four locations mentioned, that Grace and Miss Holloway were concerned about Wiggog Y’Wrath making a move so soon, she’d even considered going back to the Old Waylon place with Grace because of how strange things seemed. Miss Holloway and Grace had discussed which ones were defeated, and Grace seemed to think that T’ny Keraxis was after Ted and Pete, so that only left Nibblenephim. But she wouldn’t have guessed that his cult was out in the Witchwood slaughtering pigs and preparing for some kind of ritual.
“So you think what, giving me to one of their cultists will solve this?”
“We’re sacrificing you to Nibbly, it’s an honor.” The man interrupted, Steph feeling her blood run cold. “Of course we need more time… Setting up the ritual takes time, and this is not the day Nibblenephim usually is summoned on. You know that, Solomon. We agreed to this only because Nibbly seemed very interested in the flavor of your daughter. He did enjoy her mother quite a lot.”
“You- What?” Steph took more steps back, jumping as two men put arms under hers. “Dad, you can’t be serious.”
“Everyone has to do what they must to keep this town safe, Stephanie. Especially me.”
Steph struggled, the two men having a firm grip on her, “Dad, please you can’t-”
It was clear he wasn’t listening, he didn’t even flinch when her voice broke a little, instead he was speaking with the man.
“Roman, you better be right about this. I’ll ensure that her little friends don’t try to interfere any further, one way or another.”
She struggled, but was dragged over to some old building, falling onto her knees as she was shoved inside, the door locking behind her. She took a few panicked breaths, pulling her knees up to her chest as the reality of the situation slowly sunk in. Her father considered it fair enough to sacrifice her to one of the Lords in Black to preserve the faint ‘peace’ they’d had, despite knowing that they could end Hatchetfield whenever they wanted. That Webby was doing her best to give them real peace, because he didn’t believe in Steph. She should be used to this by now, her father had always treated her like a burden, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. She could only hope her friends would notice something was wrong, and soon.
“Where is Steph?” Emma looked around worriedly.
“She was helping outside last I saw her.” Grace admitted, feeling a sense of dread coming over her.
They looked up hearing the diner door bells jingle, hoping that Steph had just gotten the news Pete was back and hurried inside, but instead of the girl they saw Boy Jerry, who looked frazzled.
“Hey is everything okay?” Max was already on edge with Steph not there, and Jerry being so clearly worried didn’t help.
“Maybe not. Pete, when did you get back?” Jerry was at least relieved that Pete was alright, but he was still worried looking.
“Just a couple minutes ago. Boy Jerry, have you seen Steph?”
“Well uh, her and her dad were going somewhere. I thought maybe you needed help but… now I’m worried it was something else.” Jerry admitted, the group all looking at each other. “I was hoping that maybe you and your brother just needed help but... I uh, I know it’s… kind of a lot, but… I hear a lot of bad things about Solomon Lauter as a reporter. Most of them aren’t reported because there either isn’t proof or he manages to cover it up. Some people even say he uh… might have had something to do with Steph’s mothers disappearance.”
That was hardly surprising, even what little they knew about him was all mostly bad and with Jerry being a reporter he was actively seeking information like that. What was worrying was how it was clear that Jerry was concerned about Steph’s safety with her own father, and that rumor made Pete’s blood run cold. Before Jerry could continue, they heard a car pulling up, and one glance outside and they all could see it was Solomon and Miss Tessburger… but no Steph.
The group jumped up, Pete being the first out the door, Richie only hesitating a moment before Emma and Paul gave him a little nod as he then hurried outside himself. He could tell Jason was sticking close to him, not that he could blame him after what happened. Paul stood up, Emma looking at him worriedly.
“I’ll just go listen in, fill you in on… what’s going on.” His voice was still hoarse and Emma was still clearly worried hearing it, but she nodded.
She was worried herself, and she looked out where Pete was storming up to Solomon with concern. She wanted to believe Steph was safe, the girl was tough, but this day had been hell, and she just wasn’t sure, especially after hearing Jerry’s concerns. And the rumor…
The only adult that was with them at the moment was Boy Jerry, but Pete didn’t need any support, though he knew he had it. Max’s jaw was clenched, the clear sign of Max being absolutely furious, and it seemed like he knew exactly what Pete was thinking. Ted noticed his younger brother's demeanor, excusing himself from MacNamara and intercepting the group.
“Petey, hey, is everything okay?” Ted knew his brother well, and it was rare to see him angry.
“Where is she?” Pete demanded, Solomon looking at him.
“Who?”
“Don’t play stupid, mister ‘mayor’, I saw Steph leave with you.” Boy Jerry pointed at Solomon, wincing just a bit and putting a hand on bad shoulder.
“And you are on pain relievers, don’t you think that it’s likely you were just… confused?” Solomon clearly didn’t care how offended Jerry looked.
“‘Pain relievers’ is a big, nebulous term. Not surprising that a politician might try to use it to muddy the waters. But I gave him some extra strength ibuprofen, because he wouldn’t take anything stronger.” Becky stepped forward, crossing her arms. “So no, he’s not ‘confused’.”
Solomon frowned, but once Tom joined them it was clear he was more uncomfortable and unable to hide it. Richie found himself even more glad that Tom had hit him earlier, but he was also worried. Pete was getting more and more concerned, looking at the others for some kind of support. That support came in the form of Ethan, who stepped forward, grabbing the front of Solomon’s suit and pulling him closely intimidatingly.
“Where is she?”
“You better answer him.” Tom stepped closer, Solomon glaring.
“... I did what I had to do.”
“What do you mean?” Ruth sounded nervous, but she took Pete’s side and put a hand on his arm to try to comfort him.
Alice joined her in the action, as did Grace and Richie, hoping Steph was alright. Max was still tense, and Jason looked absolutely done with the day, but he was clearly just angry at Solomon. Lex was trying to comfort Hannah, but both of them looked almost more angry than worried.
“A sacrifice will get them to back off, for the time being.”
“And you believed them and gave them Steph?” Pete stepped forward.
“Everyone, calm down. There’s still time. A summoning like that, it’ll take time to prepare.” Miss Holloway’s words helped them all relax. “We just need to find her.”
“This is the only way to stop them, temporarily. Let it go. Listen to me, I know more about the nature of this town than anyone.” Solomon’s words annoyed them more, but before Ethan could throw a punch Ted stepped forward.
“First of all, no you don’t. She does. I say we listen to the eighties loving witch.” Ted gestured at Miss Holloway, who smiled a bit. “Second of all, and I’m only going to ask this once, okay, where is she?”
“That witch might know-”
“I’m trying to have an intelligent conversation with you, Mayor Lauter, in other words, shut up.” Ted reversing what many of the teens had heard Solomon say to his daughter gave them all a brief moment of glee seeing him frown deeply. “See, the one chance to tell me was because I don’t need you to. I was just hoping that you’d do the right thing given the chance. Turns out, you're just a piece of shit.”
Pete perked up as Ted pulled out his cellphone and opened an app, “The tracker… shit I forgot.”
“Yeah well I didn’t. Like I said, no repeats of what happened to Richie.” Ted gestured, but the group was all just relieved. “Looks like some part of the Witchwood… Hey uh, BJ, you hike around this section a lot.”
Boy Jerry seemed annoyed at the nickname, but he walked over, looking. He gestured Girl Jeri over, the woman having been listening quietly and nervously nearby. Both of them got a haunted look on their face looking at the location on Ted’s phone, which only made everyone more worried.
“... Girl Jeri, isn’t that the uh… the trail we stopped using?”
“Yeah… yeah it is.”
“Uh… why did you stop using it?” Alice could tell the two were shaken by the location, and she needed to know why.
“We kept finding… butchered pig corpses. Once a year, in the summer. It was unsettling, to say the least.” Girl Jeri explained nervously.
“We thought it was some kind of satanic activity. For once I don’t think we were that far off.” Boy Jerry admitted, Ted nodding a bit in agreement.
“... Of course.” Miss Holloway looked at Grace. “Nibbly, he must have organized this. His cult organizes a yearly sacrifice, the Honey Bee Queen. Stopping the festival was damn near impossible, and I could never find where they made the sacrifice. The Witchwood is as big as it needs to be, after all…”
“That’s why there were only four altars used, because they needed us to use one to communicate but they knew they weren’t going to need the fifth. They planned this.” Grace surmised, Miss Holloway nodding.
“With the weather calmed down, getting there will be easier.” Ted admitted, looking at the Jerries. “I uh, I hate to ask, but I know you guys know these woods better than most people. If we’re going to have any chance at reaching Steph, we’re gonna need you guys.”
“We’re coming.” Girl Jeri insisted, Boy Jerry nodding.
“General, in case somehow things get dangerous again, I’m counting on you to keep everyone here safe.” Miss Holloway insisted, MacNamara nodding.
“I’ll-” Grace started.
“No, Grace. You stay put. I need you to set up… this.” Miss Holloway flipped through the book, handing it open to Grace. “Alright?”
“... Alright. Why?”
“Because they are not going to take it well when we stop this and come back with Steph, and we need to be ready.”
Grace nodded, clearly feeling better hearing Miss Holloway say ‘when’ and no ‘if’.
“I’m going.” Pete insisted, Miss Holloway looking at him a moment before nodding.
“I know I can’t stop you, Pete.”
“Pete, here. I uh… I don’t think that pink bastard has eyes but I’m sure his cultists do.” Alice handed him her BB rifle, and he nodded.
“Thanks Alice. My uh, my aim isn’t that great though.”
“Still, I’ll feel better if you take it with you. Ted, here, I know your car is back at CCRP, take mine.” Alice insisted as she handed her keys to Ted, Pete and Ted nodding a bit. “We’ll help Grace set up.”
Miss Holloway nodded to Alice, “Good idea.”
“Is there anything else we should do?” Lex asked, Miss Holloway stopping and looking at her.
“I can’t think of anything, but Hannah, maybe try asking Webby. We need to go, you kids stay safe alright?”
Hannah nodded, looking up at her sister, who ushered her to a slightly quieter place. Miss Holloway and Pete got into her firebird, following Ted, hoping they’d get there in time. Charlotte was holding Ted’s phone, clearly concerned as she looked at the screen.
“Char, you didn’t need to come with us, you had a rough day already.”
“I want to, Ted. That poor girl… I can’t believe her own father would betray her like that.” Charlotte sounded more angry than sad, and Ted couldn’t blame her.
“I knew the Mayor was a cruel, corrupt politician but I never would have guessed this…” Boy Jerry sighed, looking around. “If we want to try to sneak up on them, we should pull over somewhere around here, I know how to get to uh… to where they leave the pig carcasses every year from here.”
“Good call.” Ted nodded, pulling over. “I never cared too much about local politics, I know I should but uh… how bad would you say he is?”
“He was always covering up something, now we know it was some cult movement. I thought it was just some run of the mill political corruption.” Boy Jerry admitted. “Not that many people would have believed me even if I ever got to try to bring out the story… The most I ever got out was that dog story recently.”
“Oh, so your journalism was covered up because of the prick too. Great.” Ted sighed. “At least you got to make him look like an asshole for being so pissed off about being bit by a puppy.”
“I’m sure in his mind these are all ‘necessary evils’.” Pete sighed, but he was too worried about Steph to really internalize any more of the stories Boy Jerry was sharing with Ted as the group hiked out into the Witchwood.
They all quieted down after Boy Jerry insinuated they were close, hearing what sounded like pigs shrieking and squealing and the squelching of some kind of bodily fluids. The smell was awful, but Miss Holloway seemed relieved, looking at the others.
“If they’re still preparing the medium that he needs, then we’re not too late.” She whispered, the others nodding.
“So where would they keep her?” Girl Jeri asked.
“Nibbly is… specific, they won’t risk her getting too bruised, she’ll be locked in somewhere…” Miss Holloway explained quietly.
“There’s a weird solitary shed nearby.” Boy Jerry chimed in after a moment of quiet from the group. “I told our ‘elected officials’ about it but nothing was ever done about it, and no one ever bothered to explain it either.”
Miss Holloway nodded, “Alright. Lead the way.”
Steph slammed herself against the door once more, but it again refused to move. Despite looking old and decrepit, the shed was evidently in better shape than it looked. She sighed, looking around the room, hearing footsteps nearby. She backed away from the door, looking around for anything she could use as a weapon.
“Steph?” The voice made her pause, feeling joy and relief.
“Pete?”
“Oh thank god, we’re here to help you.” Pete sounded as relieved as she felt, and she was about to step back to the door.
“Alright, back up Steph.” Ted’s voice instructed.
She jumped a bit as she heard Ted slamming against the door, but like when she attempted it didn’t budge.
“Alright, okay… this door is tough as shit.” Ted admitted.
“There’s a hatchet at Camp Idontwannabang, right?” Pete asked.
“Should be. I replaced the one Grace had to use to… well you know. But the camp isn’t exactly a short hike.” Boy Jerry admitted.
“And that’s assuming the forest doesn’t change.” Miss Holloway sighed.
“Alright, BJ give me a hand here.” Ted instructed.
“But his shoulder-” Girl Jeri started.
“I don’t need him to slam into anything, hopefully. There’s got to be a way to get this thing open…” Ted looked more closely at the door. “I know you got some tricks from being a counselor and a reporter.”
“I do but there’s something weird about this door… Girl Jeri, you and Pete go and uh, try to get to the camp to get that hatchets while me and Ted try to figure this out.” Boy Jerry offered. “No point in putting all our eggs in one basket…”
Miss Holloway nodded, looking at Charlotte, “We’ll be on the lookout then.”
Pete handed the BB rifle to Miss Holloway, “You probably have better aim then me.”
“Thanks Pete.” Miss Holloway smiled a bit.
She could tell he was stressed about this situation, but she wasn’t sure how she could help aside from letting him know she would be there to try to protect Steph.
“Don’t worry Steph, we’re not leaving without you.” Pete promised before looking at Girl Jeri. “Lead the way.”
Girl Jeri was obviously nervous, but she also clearly knew the path well. Pete knew that both Jerries were active, it seemed like they’d once just been kids who went to Camp Idontwannabang every year before they took over the camp. They were probably the two people in all of Hatchetfield who spent the most time in the Witchwood…
“Hey uh, Girl Jeri?”
“Yeah?”
“This might be a weird question but uh… earlier this year, did you or your uh… partner?”
“Oh we uh, we never became official or anything…”
“Why not?”
“I guess… after we broke the rules of our church, of the camp, and then after we gave up the baby… we just felt like we didn’t deserve to.”
“... I know we go to uh… different churches, so I don’t really know what you believe but I think if you two have been through all that together, you deserve to be happy as a couple. I mean, you two still seem to care about each other.”
“Well… maybe after uh… this, but your question?”
“Oh uh, did you and Boy Jerry find anything weird in the woods around this summer or fall?”
“Besides the pig corpses like usual? Uh… oh, we noticed some strange men ‘doing a survey’ but Boy Jerry seemed pretty sure that something was suspicious about it. He never found out what they were actually up to though.”
“I bet they were setting up whatever it was the Fosters and Ethan had to break to let Webby reach us again. Well not me but uh… my friends.”
“I can’t believe how much you poor kids have been through in two years.” Girl Jeri sighed, looking around. “So you and Steph have been together after camp?”
“Oh uh… we’re not dating or… official or anything.”
“Oh sorry I just assumed…”
“I mean I like her I just… I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”
“Well… if it makes you feel better, despite everything, me and Boy Jerry are still close. Even with our complicated… not-relationship.”
“That does make me feel a little better, actually.”
She gave him a small smile, looking around again and changing direction with confidence that made Pete believe she knew what she was doing. “You know, what Miss Holloway said, about the forest moving? Me and Boy Jerry, we knew it seemed like the forest sort of shifted but we never knew how that would be possible.”
Pete wasn’t too surprised to hear that, really, it made sense to him that the two people who regularly went hiking noticed something off about the forest. But who would have believed them even if they had told someone? Especially with their reputation in their church, Pete could only assume how much the two of them were bad mouthed.
“Well, I’ve learned that in Hatchetfield, anything is possible.” Pete admitted, Girl Jeri nodding a little, both seeing the Camp Idontwannabang sign. “Oh, the camp. That was… fast?”
Girl Jeri seemed likewise confused, and on edge, looking around a bit, “Let’s… get those axes and get back.”
Pete now knew for certain that something was wrong, making sure that the camp counselor stayed in sight. She was nervously chatting, clearly trying to pretend everything was fine and trying to convince Pete of that as well.
“Uh, Girl Jeri, I’m eighteen, I know something is wrong. I know you're used to helping make kids feel safe out in the woods but… I mean my friend is at risk of being sacrificed.”
She sighed a bit, getting into the shed and handing him an axe before picking one up herself, “We uh, thought it might be a good idea to have more than one. After we heard about what happened to Richie and the uh… the hatchetmen.”
Pete nodded, walking alongside her as she tried to lead him back. The forest seemed colder, foggier, and Pete felt himself getting more and more nervous.
“Alright uh… Pete, don’t panic… but we’re being followed.” Her voice was very quiet, but he heard her warning.
He wasn’t sure how she knew that, but he had enough faith in her survival abilities and general forestry knowledge to assume she knew what she was talking about.
“I know I can lose them, alright? So I need you to listen very carefully. It should be straight ahead, if nothing goes wrong, but if it does, there’s a way to know when the forest… moves. Moss tends to grow on northern parts of trees up north, in most places. Here in Hatchetfield, the moss… is different, it grows toward the center of the forest, no matter where you are in the woods. You want to try to reach the north east, so go away from the moss pointing in a south western position, alright?” That explained why Girl Jeri had looked around so much, she was looking for moss, but it was still another definitely paranormal happening.
“Uh… y-yeah okay. Be careful.”
“I will.”
Pete ran ahead, at her insistence, keeping an eye on the way that the moss was growing. The forest was assuredly shifting, as he’d been warned, but keeping his eye on the moss was seemingly working. He heard the pigs again, and came to the shed. But he immediately felt a huge pang of concern, his brother, Boy Jerry, Charlotte and Miss Holloway were nowhere to be seen. The only sign of them was a sigil on the door that he was certain Miss Holloway put up to stop the cultists from taking Steph.
“Steph?”
“Pete? Pete, you need to go find your brother, they were leading some of them away.”
“I’m not leaving you.” Pete insisted, shouldering the axe. “Step back Steph, I’m getting you out of there.”
He was relieved that he was able to chop away until there was a hole Steph could exit through, hugging her tightly once she got out.
“Are you alright?”
“I- he just… he let them take me. He didn’t care. He… they mentioned my mom and… and he let them take her too o-or something I-” Steph was shaky, looking more upset then Pete had ever seen her. “Neither of us mean anything compared to his stupid office.”
He knew that Steph was always more upset then she let it seem about her fathers apparent coldness, but that she always held out hope that perhaps he was hard on her because he cared in some way. Now that this happened, she knew just where they stood. Worse, she now had the answer to what happened to her mother, and it was far from pleasant. He’d never asked her about her mother, he had assumed it was a sore subject, and now they knew what happened to her.
“Steph, I- I’m sorry. I’m sorry he treats you like that. You deserve so much more. You’re so much smarter than he thinks, and kind, and brave and- I… I waited too long, because I didn’t want to ruin anything between us, and… and now might not be the best time to tell you, but… I love you. I love you because of who you are, and the fact that he couldn’t see how wonderful you are is a fault of his, not you.”
Steph looked up at him, smiling a little and rubbing her eyes, “T-Thanks Pete. I love you too…”
They both jumped hearing footsteps, relaxing a bit as Girl Jeri came around the corner, covered in blood that was decidedly not her own, looking relieved to see them initially before she realized the others weren’t there.
“They were leading them away, I think.” Steph explained, Girl Jeri nodding a bit. “I have no idea where to meet up with them though…”
“I think I know where Boy Jerry might take them…” Jeri admitted, gesturing. “Let’s go.”
The two teens followed her, Pete gently taking Steph’s hand as they hiked through the woods. Girl Jeri clearly thought it was adorable, smiling a bit to herself, the group hearing someone exclaim in pain nearby.
“That wasn’t Ted.”
“Or Boy Jerry.”
That was a relief, at least, and they hurried forward, seeing a cultist holding his eye. Another turned hearing them, but Girl Jeri being armed at least gave them pause, enough for her to make the first move. Pete would have been worried how desensitized to violence he was that he didn’t really react to the man crumpling over or the spatter of blood, but at this point he was just relieved that his brother and Charlotte were still alright.
“We need to get out of here, they’ve summoned him.” Miss Holloway insisted, the others nodding. “Let’s go.”
“He uh… he can’t stay right?” Pete asked.
“No, this form takes a lot out of him, he only does it because it allows him to… to eat.” Miss Holloway admitted. “He’ll probably eat one of his cultist who failed him once we’re safely out of the forest.”
“I hope he eats that rich pompous asshole.” Steph huffed.
Charlotte was fussing over them the whole way back to the car, the group freezing seeing cultists waiting for them.
“Great.” Ted sighed.
“You cannot stop what has begun.”
“Yeah well none of us signed up to be eaten by your bullshit god either.” Ted snapped back.
"Your desires mean noth-" They might have intended to say more, but a car arrived, crashing into some of them.
“What the f-” Steph started, but she got the answer quickly as she questioned what was happening.
Max got out of the car, along with Jason, the two jocks armed and doing their level best to scare off the attackers, and upon looking she realized Richie was driving, though he looked a little worse for wear after crashing into them.
“Damn Rich, didn’t know you had that in you.” Steph admitted, looking in the car worriedly. “Are you okay?”
“Hey, you hit some hatchetmen for me. I think we’re even. And uh, I’ll be fine, after Emma grounds me for life.”
“What did I say about-” Miss Holloway started.
“You were gone too long.” Max interrupted. “Somethings going on.”
“Of course.” She sighed, looking as though she sensed something. “Everyone, cars, now.”
They did as told, turning around the cars to be pointed back toward town, when an oppressive, disgusting smell hit them. Steph froze up looking in the rearview mirror, Pete quickly seeing why. Nibbly had formed itself out of the pig carcasses, with no eyes but far too many teeth, and ungodly smell.
“Stephanie, yum-yum. Just like your mommy.”
“Steph, don't listen to that thing.” Pete put an arm around her.
Ted began driving as quickly as he could away from the corpse puppet, the cars eventually leaving the creature screaming angrily behind them. They eventually got out of the forest, all of them relaxing and slowing down a bit, Steph giving Pete a small smile.
“... Thanks Pete.” Steph leaned on him a bit.
“Are you alright Steph?” Ted asked.
“I’ll be fine… thanks for uh… for tracking that phone. For caring.”
“Hey, just because your dad is a fucking prick doesn’t mean anything about you, alright?”
“I know. Thanks Ted.”
“I’m so sorry for what you had to learn today Stephanie, that’s terrible.” Charlotte muttered, Steph shrugging.
“I… I’m kind of glad. I mean not that she’s dead just… that I know. That she didn’t just abandon me, I guess.”
Charlotte nodding, “I can understand that.”
“Besides, I uh… I have a pretty great found family, and it seems like my boyfriend's family likes me.”
“... Oh, fucking finally Pete. Took you long enough.” Ted smiled, Pete blushing and covering his face in embarrassment. “Glad we’re all on the same page.”
“Hey I mean I could have said something first.” Steph admitted. “It’s not all on Pete.”
“Eh, you’re too soft on him.” Ted teased, but Steph just laughed and leaned on Pete.
For the moment, things were calm again, and for possibly the first time Steph really felt loved. So she settled into Pete, and tried to relax. Things might not be over just yet, but at least she knew she had people to lean on.