chapter six
check her

        HARRIET AND CORA both seemed to be frozen in shock, struggling to process what was going on. Everything seemed to be happening fast. In a blink of an eye, Hannah had disappeared from their views and Isaac, Lizzie, and Abigail were beside them. Cora had no idea where the two girls had come from.

"Mother made me stay home," Abigail explained, noticing the girl's confusion. Lizzie nodded along. "We heard the commotion and decided to come see what was happening."

"Why were they taking Hannah?" Lizzie demanded to know when Abigail finished speaking. "What happened in there, Harriet?" Harriet couldn't bring herself to speak. Lizzie huffed and turned her head to the other Watson twin. "Cora?" She received no answer from the girl either. "Isaac?"

"Caleb's convinced everyone that Hannah and Sarah are witches," he informed them, wrapping his arm around Harriet. He couldn't care less if Colin saw them at the moment. It wasn't like he was doing anything to help comfort the girl he was supposed to be marrying.

It wasn't making any sense to Harriet.

The day prior, everything had been perfect. She'd woken up, done her chores, and then went out with her sister and Abigail. She'd gone with Lizzie, Sarah, and Hannah to get berries from the widow. She'd had a wonderful night with Isaac.

It had been perfect.

But then the sun rose once more, and everything had went straight to hell. The fruits were rotten, the animals were going crazy, and Pastor Cyrus Miller had lost his mind. He'd locked 12 children in The Meeting House with him and brutally cut their eyes out.

"As sure as the sun rises, we will purge Union. . ." Elijah began, making the five teenagers turn to look at where his voice was coming from. A crowd had gathered around him, wanting to hear more about getting the witch. ". . . of this—" He grabbed Hannah's arm. "— wretched pollution!" He shoved her forward, making her fall to the ground, unable to catch herself due to the chains. "We will search every house, every inch of wood! We will not rest and we will not have mercy!"

"No mercy!" the townspeople agreed.

"So help me, God," Elijah continued. "We will be cleansed of these anathemas!"

"Yeah!"

"We will have our justice!"

"Yeah!"

"We will find Sarah Fier!"

"Find her!"

Harriet, Cora, Isaac, Abigail, and Lizzie all shared looks as the adults around them split apart to hunt for their friend. Harriet took off, motioning for them to follow her. She opened the door to the Watson home and bit the inside of her cheek as she began pacing.

"Do you—" Abigail swallowed thickly. "Do you think what they're saying is true? Is Sarah really a witch?"

"You can't believe that, Abigail," Cora scolded, her gaze hardening. "Sarah's not a witch! Caleb's just angry that Hannah rejected him. He's a man, his ego is fragile." Isaac blinked at her, but she didn't apologize.

"Hannah and Sarah are as much of witches as we are," Harriet added.

"What are we to do now?" Isaac asked, turning his head to look out the window. "If we help Sarah or Hannah, we'll be killed."

It was true. If they even attempted to explain that Hannah and Sarah were innocent, they'd look guilty. They'd be hung with them. Harriet thought for a moment, but when she opened her mouth she was cut off by a pounding on the door.

"We need to check for Sarah Fier!" Caleb's voice sounded through the wood. "I saw ya in the window, I know you're in there!"

Lizzie's eyes widened, but Cora stomped to the door. Harriet bolted over to her, grabbing her arm. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"Trust me," Cora simply replied, tugging her arm out of her sister's grip. She unlocked the door and swung it open. "What do you want Caleb? Sarah's not here."

"If she's not here, surely you wouldn't mind us looking around?" he challenged.

"Certainly not," Cora spat. "You cannot barge into my home. If I see any sign of Sarah Fier, I will be sure to let you know. Now if you don't mind, I would appreciate if you would kindly continue your search someplace else."

"Move, girl," Caleb growled. Cora stayed in place, her eyes narrowed. Finally, he turned. Cora assumed he would be leaving. Instead. he waved two men over. "Check her and anyone else inside."

The men grabbed Cora by her arms, forcing her out of the doorway, allowing Caleb to have full access to the house. Watching her sister struggle against the men's grip as they began to undo her top, Harriet began shouting for them to stop.

"Stop moving girl," one of the men instructed, struggling to undo Cora's shirt with how much she was fighting against him. "It'll only take a second."

At the sight of Abigail, Lizzie, and Harriet, Caleb called for more men to come over to check them. Seven men, Colin among them, rushed past Cora. Two men each latched onto the three girls, while Colin was holding Isaac back, seeming to enjoy himself a bit too much.

One of the two men working on the girls held them while the other tried to undo their tops. All three girls were sobbing as they tried to escape. Harriet quietly whimpered, the man's hands rough against her skin. It sent shivers up her spine every time his fingers brushed her skin even slightly.

Harriet glanced over to Cora, and through her blurry vision, was able to see her top down, leaving her breasts exposed as the men checked her back. Cora was harshly biting down on the inside of her cheek, trying to fight away her tears.

Harriet felt her top loosen and with the second man holding her hands behind her back, she was unable to stop it from falling down, leaving her own breasts exposed much like her sister's. From the corner of her eye, Harriet could see Colin smirk.

Another sob tumbled past Harriet's lips as the other man's hard hands moved all over her skin. "Clear," he finally declared, making the second man let go of Harriet. As soon as her hands were free, Harriet rushed to pull her top up.

There was a chorus of clear's as the other men let go of the women. Cora pulled her top up, sending a glare to the men who'd publicly humiliated them. From behind one of them, she could see a small crowd around her home.

"What in Heaven's sake is going on?" Agnes Watson pushed through the crowd and headed inside her house. She stepped between Cora and the man behind her, peeking inside her home at all the men standing near the three other girls. "What is the meaning of all this?"

"We were just checking 'em for marks," the one who'd undone Cora's top stated.

"Get out," Agnes snapped. "All of you. Now! Get out of my home!" She pointed her finger towards the town. "Get out!"

Most of the men exchanged looks and nodded. Colin let go of Isaac, making the boy stumble forward. Colin was the last one to exit the house as Caleb came from Harriet and Cora's room.

"Cle—" his voice came to a stop when he caught sight of Agnes. Agnes quickly moved toward him, grabbing his shoulder and throwing him out of her home.

"If any of you come near my children or their friends again, so help me Lord, I will—" she left her sentence unfinished as she slammed the door shut.

𝒎𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍 !!