chapter four
the meeting house

ABIGAIL HAD COME to the Watson home in search of Constance, wondering if she was there with Cora. She became worried when the girls told her they hadn't seen her all day.

"Constance?" Cora hollered, her hands cupped around her mouth. The Watson sisters were helping Abigail look for Constance. Cora's eyes then landed on The Meeting House where a crowd of people were grouping, screaming.

Cora didn't seem to be the only one of the three noticing that. Harriet tilted her head. "What's happening over there?"

"I don't know," Cora bit the inside of her cheek and motioned for the girls to follow her. She tapped the shoulder of someone. "What's going on?"

"The pastor has locked himself and children in there with him," the man told her. Abigail sucked in a deep, shaky breath. Everyone had been talking about how the pastor wasn't himself. It didn't help that they could see the Millers also trying to get in.

"Constance!" Abigail screamed, pushing through in attempt to get to the door. "Where is Constance?" Tears brimmed her eyes as worry flooded her veins. "Constance?"

Harriet glanced over, barely catching Thomas, Isaac, and Sarah running over to the side door. She rushed over, Cora following her lead. Abigail had managed to push herself near the front and didn't notice her friends leave.

When the twins got over, the door was open and Solomon turned around towards his brother. "Keep everyone back," he instructed.

"Solomon, wait!" Sarah moved toward him, but her path was blocked by Elijah. Solomon glanced at her and grabbed a pitchfork before heading inside the house. Elijah kept everyone back, some of the men helping him.

Harriet couldn't see all that well, since Isaac had stepped in front of her, but she could see the Pastor standing at his podium, his head down while the kids all faced him. Solomon crouched to the ground and glanced up at the pastor.

Soon enough, the crowd of worried parents and siblings pushed through and began to find their children. Abigail, Cora, and Harriet all went to find Constance. Abigail caught sight of her sister's bright red hair first and made her way over to her. Horrified screams left Abigail and Cora's lips at what they saw.

Constance's eyes had been cut out and dried-up blood fell down her cheeks as if they were tears, staining her dress. Cora and Abigail both began sobbing, but all Harriet could do was freeze. Slowly, she turned toward Pastor Cyrus Miller, a man she'd trusted with her entire life, who'd just brutally murdered a dozen children, and. . . who also had his eyes cut out.

Her eyes widened, horrified. She suddenly felt as if she needed to clean her own eyes.

Harriet blinked, hoping the image would disappear and his body would be limp on the floor. However, when she opened then, he was in the exact same position as before.

How could he still be alive? Surely he was supposed to be dead like all the kids surrounding him. She clenched her eyes shut, perhaps she was just having a really bad nightmare.

"Sarah!" she heard Solomon shout and she opened her eyes, just in time to see Cyrus about to approach Sarah only for Solomon to stab the pitchfork into his side, making his body go limp and hit the floor.

"No!" Mrs. Miller cried, reaching out for her husband, only to find the horror on his face.

"Witchcraft!" Elijah pointed at the body. "Witchcraft!"

Thomas climbed onto the pastor's podium, holding his arms out. "Evil, show yourself!"

"Witchcraft!" Elijah bellowed once more.

"Show yourself!" Thomas exclaimed again. "Show yourself!"

Isaac rushed over to Harriet and immediately pulled her into him. He wished he could've stopped her from seeing that, but he had also been too shocked to move.

Harriet let go of him and pointed to her sister. Isaac seemed to understand as he grabbed Cora by her underarms and allowed her to cry into him.

Cora felt like felt like her whole heart had been torn away. She loved Constance, and Constance had loved her. It wasn't in the sisterly way like everyone had thought for years.

It had been different.

They were in love.

Every ounce of Cora Watson had loved Constance Berman. They'd planned on running away together, to get as far away from Union as they could.

They'd planned on somehow building a house, just the two of them living in it. They were going to be free to be whoever they wanted, to love whoever they wanted. They were going to get married in their hearts and grow old together. Sure, they wouldn't have been able to have any children or grandchildren, but they'd both thought it was worth it as long as they had the other.

But now they could never do that.

Constance was dead, and she'd taken Cora's heart with her.

Cora could only focus on the past. When she and Constance had snuck away together to go off in the woods in be alone. They'd talk for hours about their future and kiss.

She was already missing the feeling of Constance's warm lips against hers.

Cora felt selfish. She pulled away from Isaac and fell back to the floor, throwing her arms around Abigail to allow her to cry into her shoulder.

Eventually, the men pulled everyone away so they could get the children's bodies out of The Meeting House. Cora and Harriet stumbled to find their mother, certain she'd heard the commotion and rushed to figure out what was happening.

They quickly found her. Wordlessly, Agnes pulled Cora and Harriet into her arms. She pet their heads, smoothing down their hair. She was unable to understand how Cyrus Miller, a man she'd grown up with, had murdered multiple children. Children Agnes had viewed as her own, such as Henry Fier and Constance Berman.

Something evil had found Union, everyone could feel it.

𝒎𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍 !!
the way that ziggy lost cheryl and cora lost constance