chapter eight
not over yet

THE OFFICER IN front of her pressed record on the tape. Holland tucked some of her hair behind her ear nervously, glancing at his name tag. Peters. Her mom had told her about someone named Theodore Peters once or twice before. She wondered if they were related.

"Interview with Holland Watson. Sunday, October 2nd, 1994," the officer leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "So, you wanna tell me what happened?"

Holland's eyes fluttered close for a fraction of a second before she recited the lie they'd come up with. "We were picking up Sam's medicine and the lights went out. It was dark, so I couldn't see anything. We hid behind a counter until it was all over."

Peters hummed, clearly not believing her. "How'd you get that?"

His question made her look down in confusion. Seeing a small cut on her wrist, her eyebrows furrowed. She hadn't realized she'd gotten it. "I must've got it when I fell," she lied and looked back up at him. "Glass. Y'know? There's a reason my mom tells me to stay away when she accidentally drops a cup."

The officer rolled his eyes and leaned forward, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "I'm going to tell you what the facts tell me. The junkie-"

"Kate," Holland corrected him, her eyes narrowing. "She wasn't a junkie, you fucking asshole. She was my friend. My best friend."

Peters eyed her. "She's to blame for everything. That's the story this department will go with if you don't tell me the truth."

"That is the truth," Holland grumbled. "You're all fucking liars, y'know that? Kate had a future ahead of her. Yeah, sure, she made a few extra bucks from dealing, but that was because she wanted to get out of Shadyside. You're only going with that excuse because it fits the fucking picture."

Surprisingly, the man kept his cool. He simply pressed stop and got up, motioning for her to stand up as well. Glaring at him, she did so. Peters led her out by her shoulder, pointing over where Simon, Deena, Sam, and Josh were sitting, waiting for her.

Simon bolted out of his chair, waiting for her to come over to him. Holland shot him a small smile, calming down in his presence. He slung an arm around her neck and pressed a kiss to her temple.

Deena stood. "Let's go."

Simon nodded and led Holland towards the door. Josh trailed behind them while Deena and Sam followed behind him. The official-non-official couple waved goodbye to the others and headed to Eloise Watson.

"Baby," Eloise breathed out, rushing forward to engulf her daughter in a hug. Eloise pulled Simon in. The boy melted in the mother's warm embrace. The woman held them for about 30 seconds before she realized something was wrong. She pulled away from the teenagers and glanced around. "Where's Kate?"

Simon and Holland shared a look. Holland's mouth quivered. She bit her cheek to stop herself from crying as Simon stared at his feet. She sucked in a long, shaky breath. "Mom, Kate. . . she, um, she's-"

Eloise's face fell when she got what Holland was trying to say. "Oh," she pulled both teenagers into her arms again. "I'm so sorry."

Holland hadn't thought she'd had any more tears left to cry. She'd proved herself wrong when she practically soaked her mother's jacket.

After a while, Eloise let go of them. Simon had to go and let his family know he was okay. He pressed a quick kiss to Holland's lip, earning them a slightly confused look from her mother, before he walked away.

Eloise didn't pester Holland with any more questions as they drove back home. Holland pretended she didn't hear her mother continuously mutter her sister's name. She rested her head against the window as the radio played.

When Eloise and Holland arrived home, the woman set her keys down on the table while Holland sat on the couch mindlessly. Eloise's heart hurt as she watched her daughter.

The girl was alive, but at what cost?

"Hol?" Eloise spoke softly, gaining Holland's attention. "Why don't you go sleep?"

Holland nodded and got up. She pressed a light kiss to her mother's cheek before she headed towards her room. She kept the light on as she climbed into bed. She adjusted her pillows and closed her eyes.

Kate's dead body flashed in her mind.

She opened her eyes and stared into her closet.

Trauma.

That was what was going to follow her her entire life. She'd watched people get murdered, her friend included, and she'd basically played a sick game of hide and seek with murderers - one of them being the same one who'd killed her sister.

It all felt so surreal.

Eventually, exhaustion overpowered her body and she fell asleep.

She was back in Grab&Bag, looking at Kate's dead body, sobbing. She looked back up to where Simon was supposed to be, only to see that he was dead. Killed by the axe splitting his head in half.

Holland screamed and glanced over to Josh, expecting him to be alive. Instead, his throat and wrists were slashed. His blood puddled on the store's floor.

Where were Deena and Sam?

Holland looked behind her. Sam's body was lifeless, drowned, while Deena's had a knife sticking out of her neck.

"You did this, Holland," a new voice added. Her head snapped over to the direction of the voice. Cheryl Watson stood in front of her, looking like she did in the pictures hanging on the living room wall. The only difference was her body was cut up and bloody and her eyes were cloudy. "You're alive and we're not! This is your fault!"

The bodies of everyone around her started coming at her.

Closer. . . closer. . .

She woke up with a gasp. She was safe, back in her room. Her light was off and the sun was no longer shining through her window. Instead, there was a faint light from the moon.

Holland took a deep breath to calm herself and her heart, which was beating abnormally fast. After about five minutes, she was able to get out of bed and flip the light on. She swallowed thickly and opened her door.

Her heartbeat quickened again as she walked down the dark hallway. She flipped the hallway light on, then the kitchen light, then the living room.

She was going to be scared of the dark for a while now.

Knocking on the door made her jump. She stared at it warily before taking a few steps to the window and seeing it was only Simon. Letting out a deep breath, she opened it. "Hey, what's up? Why're you here so late?"

"Hey, Holly," he greeted, glancing over for a second before wordlessly holding out his hand.

She tilted her head and looked back at the lit house. "I need to shut the lights off," she told him quietly, walking to each switch and flipping it off.

She then took his hand and allowed him to lead her to the car parked outside. Holland squinted, seeing both Josh and Deena.

"What's going on?" she asked, turning her head towards Simon.

"Sam went crazy," he announced. "She stabbed Deena."

Holland's eyes widened. "What the fuck? Why?"

"She's been possessed by Sarah Fier!" Simon exclaimed, knocking on the window of the car.

Holland's breath hitched as she froze. She thought they were done with Sarah Fier. She thought that they wouldn't have to deal with the crazy, dead witch for another decade or so.

Last night, all of last night had now been completely useless. Kate's death, Sam's near death, almost getting murdered by zombies.

All of it meant nothing now.

She stared at Simon, her lips parted slightly. Deena and Josh got out of the car and opened the trunk, revealing a chained-up Sam. The girl - witch? - was lashing out, fighting against the chains as she growled.

All of it meant nothing because it wasn't over yet.

𝒎𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍 !!
act one is rewritten‼️