chapter one
before nightfall

        THE FOUR TEENAGERS found themselves at Shadyside Mall. They'd managed to sneak in and started digging at the tree in the middle of the mall. Eventually, after a while, they'd finally found what they'd been looking for.

Sarah Fier's hand.

Holland straightened her back and shared a look with her friends and boyfriend. She grabbed the hand but not before she covered her nose with her shirt, just in case it started bleeding. She wasn't too keen on having a bunch of dead murderers chasing after her.

"Jacket," Holland instructed, holding her hand out expectantly. It took a second for Simon to realize she was talking to him. He shrugged off his jacket and held it out for her. Carefully, she placed the hand on the fabric and wrapped it.

"Okay," Deena whispered, standing up. "Let's go."

They all quickly got into the car. Josh took the hand and sat with Deena in the front while Simon and Holland sat together in the back. Silently, they drove to Sarah Fier's body.

"Lock the doors," Deena demanded when they got there. She threw open Josh's door to grab the hand from him.

"Wha— No, we're coming with you!" Josh protested immediately.

"No," Deena shut him down. "You're not." She glanced back at the couple in the back seat. "They can, but you are staying right here."

Josh didn't seemed to be focused on fighting with his sister. "Deena. . . your nose is bleeding," he told her.

Deena immediately wiped the blood away. Simon and Holland shared a look before they got out of the car. Deena walked away, eager to get the night over with.

"Stay here," Holland told Josh quietly, shutting the door to cut off his voice. She felt more connected to her sister than she had her entire life, so she mourned the loss of a girl she'd never got to meet.

She didn't want to lose anyone else.

Simon and Holland followed Deena to the wreck and dropped to their knees. They quickly uncovered the jacket they'd used to cover the bones.

Holland shivered, not from the cold, but from the fact that the last time they were there, Kate was alive and with them.

"For Kate?" Holland suggested quietly as she stared at the skeleton.

"For Kate," Simon and Deena agreed.

"We've got you," Deena glared at the bones. ". . . you witch."

Simon and Holland linked hands, squeezing hard in anticipation as Deena slowly placed Sara Fier's hand on her body.

The Johnson girl tensed as her eyes went wide.

○●○

CORA AND HARRIET Watson walked with Abigail Berman, their arms linked together. Abigail huffed when she saw her younger sister, Constance, singing with a group of children about the pastor. Abigail quickly walked over and grabbed her sister.

"Don't be a brat, Constance," she scolded.

"Don't be a shrew, Abigail," Constance retorted as Abigail forced her to walk with them. Constance turned her head to see Harrier and Cora. "Hello, Cora. Hello, Harriet."

"Constance," Cora nodded in greeting, a small smile forming on her lips. "How do you do?"

"Well before my sister came to bother me," Constance remarked, glaring slightly at her older sister. Cora chuckled and jutted her thumb towards her own sister.

"I saw that, Cora," Harriet jabbed her elbow into the girl's side, making her groan while Constance giggled.

"Sarah!" Abigail exclaimed when they came face to face with the Fier girl. The Watson twins came to a stop next to the Berman sisters. Abigail glanced around to make sure nobody was watching them and lowered her voice. "A full moon rises before nightfall."

"A good night to enjoy the fruits of the land," Sarah replied with a grin.

"I'm coming too!" Constance piped up eagerly, earning a smile from Cora but a scowl from Abigail. Constance and Cora had always been close despite the former being a year older.

"No you're not," Abigail argued, head snapping towards the younger girl.

"Fine, then I'm telling Mother," Constance fought back.

"You tell Mother and I'll cut your braids right off your head," Abigail threatened, dragging the girl away. Constance spared one last look at Cora.

"I'll meet you at the house," Cora announced, unlinking her arm with Harriet's. She waved bye to Sarah and her sister as she began to walk back towards their home.

"There's something strange happening with Constance and Cora," Harriet observed, placing her hands on her hips as she watched her sister enter their home. "I can't quite figure out what." Harriet turned her attention back to Sarah, only to find that she was not paying a bit of attention to her. Instead, Sarah's gaze was fixated on Hannah Miller, Pastor Miller's daughter. "Sarah?"

Sarah's eyes snapped away and refocused on Harriet. "My apologies, what was it you were saying?"

"It doesn't matter," Harriet waved it off with a small laugh. "I'll see you later, yeah?" Sarah nodded and Harriet was off to see the one person she most wanted to, Isaac Kalivoda. "A full moon rises before nightfall."

"A good night to enjoy the fruits of the land," Isaac dropped the shovel he was using to put feces in a bucket and neared her, only to have her back away from him.

"I expect you to be bathed by tonight," Harriet playfully narrowed her eyes.

"Only if you swear you'll get me filthy again," Isaac teased, nearing her dangerously.

"Hello, love," Harriet smile fell as she felt an arm be wrapped around her waist and pull her close. She glanced up to Colin Myers, the man she was supposed to marry to help her family.

"Colin," Harriet forced the corners of her lips upwards, pulling herself out of his arms. "Hello."

Colin eyed Isaac. "This bloke bothering you?"

Harriet laughed awkwardly, eyes flickering between the two men. "If anything, I'm the one bothering him."

"Okay," Colin nodded, but the glare he was aiming at Isaac did not go away. "We must go, so come on now." Colin tugged her away. She sent Isaac a brief apologetic look.

Colin led her to behind his home, his lips pressed on hers before she could blink.

She hated the way he kissed her. It was too needy and rough. She preferred the way Isaac kissed her. Soft and gentle, to make sure he was telling her just how much he loved her.

Harriet had no option but to kiss Colin back. She closed her eyes and pretended it was Isaac kissing her until he pulled away

"Colin," Harriet put a hand on his chest, seemingly an act of love. In reality, she was stopping him from getting any closer to her. "I'm going to go find Lizzie. I'll see you tomorrow."

Thankfully, Colin hadn't tried to stop her. He simply grumbled about it under his breath but allowed her to leave.

It didn't take her long to find the Schmidt girl. When she tapped her shoulder, Lizzie turned around and grinned. "Harriet, what is it?"

"Are you and Hannah still going to the Widow's?" Harriet questioned, lowering her voice so no one heard them. Lizzie nodded and Harriet perked, eager to avoid Colin. "Can I join you?"

Lizzie's lips twitched up. "Meet us by the woods."

𝒎𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍 !!
colin myers and i have beef