“Going into a graveyard on Halloween night… Are we sure this is the best idea?” Lisa brought up to Delron and Adam as they stood outside the old cemetery’s entrance.
“This was your idea!” Delron pointed out to her.
Lisa acknowledged his response, “Yeah, I know! The three of us weren’t getting anywhere trying to chase that sinister spirit all over town, and she’s likely to show up at her final resting place eventually, which would give us the opportunity to trap her in the witching bottle, but I didn’t really think about the risks involved…”
Adam probed, “Do you feel a little nervous ‘cause of how our last trip here went?”
“That definitely crossed my mind! But I imagine that Hester would protect us again if she tried that.” She stared into the burial grounds and saw no sign of possible peril for them, but she still got a sinking sensation as she considered going in there!
“Maybe your misgivings do stem from the fresh memory of your collapse in this place! That’s understandable- I’d get scared to return too! Just remember that you’re not alone! We won’t let anything bad happen to you!” Delron comforted her. Lisa sincerely appreciated his effort, but it didn’t give her much solace to have the two men there since a tragedy could easily befall onto the entire trio all at once!
Adam shared his sentiments, “He’s right, we’ll protect you! If we need to! Everything might go well, and we won’t have to worry about any more threats!” He gave her a broad grin as he wrapped a sympathetic arm around her shoulders, and while it made her heart skip a beat, the rest of her body still felt frozen! Adam got the drift of her general status, so he added, “Well, even if we wanted to back out now, we really can’t! Leaving this area isn’t exactly safe either…”
He gestured to his right, and Lisa glanced over in that direction. A small crowd had gathered outside of Brigfell, and not only did they not seem friendly, but they paced around in an antsy manner too! Their behavior reminded her of a pack of wolves anticipating their prey emerging from its den! Logically, she assumed that they wanted to confront them due to their unceasing belief that the three of them bore responsibility for Rebecca’s destruction, but the malicious aura that they emanated gave her the chills! Because of this, Lisa concluded, “It seems like we’re out of options where we can avoid harm, so we may as well try the one with a small chance of ending this madness!” The other two nodded in agreement, and after taking another glimpse at the library lurkers, Lisa shifted her attention to the path ahead of them. She recommended, “If it gets too dangerous in here, let’s run to the river and just pray that none of our neighbors consider searching for us there!” Delron and Adam indicated that they were on board with that plan. They took a collective deep breath and then set foot into the dark territory!
As the triad carefully crept along the ancient trail, Lisa attempted to steel herself up for this confrontation. She knew it wasn’t wise to dwell on anxious ruminations because it frequently became a self-fulfilling prophecy, but she couldn’t help but get overwhelmed with apprehension over this endeavor! She had no desire to flee from this site, but she didn’t like the ominous nature of this trek! She esteemed that they would endure this impending doom regardless of where they fled, and it occurred to her that their lives could conclude in these dismal surroundings! A part of her yearned to flee somewhere where she could bask in the beauty of this world prior to her leaving it, but she strove to push that concept out of her brain! She kept telling herself that everything would turn out fine, but a strong skepticism lingered around that affirmation!
“I wonder what their stories are!” Delron abruptly commented, which made Lisa and Adam jump a bit! He indicated to some of the nearby tombstones, and he elaborated, “All of the people buried here who weren’t part of the witch trials, what were their lifestyles like before their deaths? Were they farmers? Pastors? And how did they pass? Smallpox? Childbirth? They…!” He trailed off when he espied Adam and Lisa’s peculiar expressions, and he apologized, “Sorry, that’s my history professor husband talking!” Right after he spoke, his phone rang. “Speaking of my history professor talking… Denis, baby! How are you?”
Delron went off to another sector in order to get more privacy, and that left Lisa and Adam alone together. Lisa realized that this was the first instance that this had transpired since their near kiss during the hoedown, and she grew incredibly flustered at this prospect! It really flattered her to receive that romantic gesture from him yesterday, but now that the moment was over, she questioned how genuine it had been. She still harbored the notion that he had ulterior motives for courting her, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what that might have been! She previously presumed that the proof of his decent intentions laid in the fact that if he was serving Abby, he wouldn’t have created such a dramatic ire with her, but then she pondered whether or not that was part of his plot all along! Did he deliberately set her off? Perhaps he knew that her animosity would release that mayhem, and she started to worry that he may not have been helping Abby but their nemesis all along…
“It’s such a nice night!” Adam broke the ice.
Lisa had to blink to register the topic he raised. She had gotten so absorbed in spooky subjects and betrayal that small talk seemed out of the realm of possibility for her! She didn’t know how he could have possibly uttered such a sentence under these circumstances, so she puzzled, “Huh?”
Adam explained himself, “I specifically meant the weather! It’s cool but not cold, and the stars are so bright! It’s a shame that all this carnage is ruining the evening! If we all could’ve gotten along better, this could have been a beautiful end to this holiday!”
“No one accepted our offer to assist them!” Lisa recollected. “Not even the old lady struggling with her groceries! We tried to encourage the individuals we interacted with to send out good vibes to anyone they had problems with, but no one was willing to do it! Then shit would go wrong, and it looked as though we predicted it! It only made them blame us for the anarchy running amok at the present! Nevermind that many of these atrocities were happening in places nowhere near us!”
“My father would’ve hated to see what’s become of the region!” Adam ruefully remarked. “Oh sure, there’s always been a certain amount of gloom and doom, but there were always days when we could all put the b.s. aside and come together! That’s why he constantly threw parties on the farm- for a few hours, we could cut the crap and revel in each other’s company! But that’s not the case anymore! At the rate everything is going, we’d all be more fit to stay by ourselves!”
Lisa reassured him, “It won’t be like this forever! We’re gonna stop this evil ghoul, and we’ll make this city back to normal! Maybe even better! I refuse to accept that we’re powerless against this! There’s always something that can be done!”
Adam gratefully smiled at her, and then commented, “This is why I like you so much! You’re such a fighter for the future! You’ve been through hell, and you still believe in the goodness of the earth! You’re so rare and amazing!”
He grabbed her hand, and she could resist fiercely blushing! She was astounded by this high praise, and she hadn’t entertained this view of herself previously! She met his eyes, and they sparkled with pure admiration! He pulled her in closer, and for a second, she abandoned the judgment that he possessed anything but romantic impulsions for her! He fixed his gaze towards her lips, and she readied herself for his embrace…
The cellphone in Adam’s other hand chimed, and it took them out of their amorous torpor! Lisa would have gladly returned to their endearment, but she caught sight of the message he received. Her insides plummeted when she beheld that it was Abby asking about his current location! How could he not have broken ties with her after all she did to them? Especially her! “Are you late for something?”
“What?” He peered at where her scrutiny was at, and he told her, “I have no clue why she said that!”
“No clue?” Lisa reacted doubtingly. “You didn’t try to schedule any meetings with her?”
Adam reported, “No! The hoedown is over and paid for, so why would I wanna meet with her?”
Lisa charged, “She must have some reason for wanting to find you right now!”
“All I did was check in with her and see how she was doing,” Adam disclosed.
“Why would you do that after everything she’s done?” Lisa queried in an accusatory manner. “She almost strangled me, and she put nearly everyone in jeopardy ‘cause of her jealousy! Why would you even associate with her?”
Adam’s visage contorted into a perplexed and hurt grimace. “It’s not like I wanted to! She’s the ringleader of a lot of local social circles, so I figured she could convince a lot of people to act kinder to each other!”
Lisa folded her arms and articulated, “If you had that sort of influence on her, then I would’ve thought we’d see less attacks, but they’ve only increased! And why would she request to see you in person if that was her only goal?”
“What exactly are you accusing me of?” Adam challenged her.
“You’re conspiring with the enemy!” Lisa alleged.
Adam grew highly affronted by that statement. “She’s not the vengeful ghost we’re combating! She’s a victim of her wrath like the rest of us!”
Lisa shot back, “She’s making everything worse! She couldn’t get her way, so she’d rather watch the whole town burn down rather than deal with the consequences of her misbehavior!”
“Abby isn’t a bad person!” Adam argued. “She’s slightly misguided, but she-.” When he noticed that Lisa wasn’t buying his claim, he shouted, “What? You don’t trust me?”
“You’re not giving me the proper motivation to do that!” Lisa contended.
Adam quarreled, “Really? I’ve sacrificed so many hours helping you with this ordeal, but that wasn’t enough? Almost going to jail wasn’t enough? Sacrificing my reputation wasn’t enough? You know, Half Moon Hollow is gonna lose business from this, which’ll make my mom and I struggle, but that’s not enough, huh? Maybe I shouldn’t even bother!”
Lisa took out the witching bottle and yelled, “Fine! Don’t! I don’t need your help!” She threw the witching bottle to him, and after he put it into his pocket, he began to walk away without saying another word to her. Lisa hollered, “That’s right, leave! You’re not gonna pull the wool over my eyes anymore, Tommy!”
He immediately halted his gait, and Lisa instantly recognized her slip. She presumed that he was going to turn around and discuss her faux pas, but his pause seemed to indicate something else when they heard a scream in the distance! “That was Delron!” Lisa gasped. Without hesitation, they sped towards the source of that sound!
To their horror, they saw Delron getting bound and gagged by the throng next to Brigfell! Lisa’s outrage preceded her rationale, and after she marched straight up to them, she demanded, “Let him go! Who do you think you are?”
“We’ve been deputized!” A man flashed his badge at her. “Sheriff Hopkins authorized us to make some citizens’ arrests!”
“You’re coming with us!” another man leered.
Adam stepped forward and warned them, “You can’t do that!”
A woman retorted, “Watch us!” She kicked him in the back of his knees, which caused him to buckle! As she apprehended him, Lisa erupted in enormous clarity! She ached to apologize to him, but it was too late! She was soon surrounded and captured, and as they led him out of the area, Lisa feared forgiveness would never grace her as they endured whatever grim fate the man had in store for them!
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