CURSED // ZIGGY BERMAN X FEM READER

The Next Killer

'It's like she's been infected, or something,' Kate says, backing away from Sam, who is handcuffed to a bench. She hisses, her eyes dark and clouded. 

'I think I know what happened,' Ziggy says, glancing at me. 'It's the curse. Soloman Goode strikes again.' 

'Are you saying...she's the next killer?' Deena stares at Sam with concern. She swallows hard. 'But who...?' 

'I don't know,' Ziggy bites her lip, her eyebrows creasing. 'But it has to be someone who knows her, otherwise they wouldn't have written her name on the wall.' 

'Wait a second,' Josh smacks the floor excitedly. 'This is near the settlement where you lived in 1666, right?' He turns to me. 'So...-you talked about that chamber, with all the names on the wall.' 

'Yeah?' I say slowly. 'Where are you going with this?' 

Josh pauses for a second, possibly for dramatic effect. 'The chamber was under Soloman's house, so it must still be here.' 

My lips part. 'You're right.' 

'Thank you,' Josh fake bows. 'Do you remember how far away the tree was from your house.' 

Ziggy scrunches up her nose. 'How do you expect her to remember? That was more than two hundred years ago.' 

'Well...' I trail off, glancing around. 'I used to come to this tree all the time. Constance and I would climb it and- I'm getting off track.' I look around. 'It can't be too far.' 

'It was underground, right?' Simon asks. 

'Yeah,' I nod. 

'I know this mall pretty well,' Kate squints, pointing to a hallway. 'There..there's a grate that leads to under the mall.' 

'How do you know that?' Josh frowns. 

'It's not important.' 

'What are we going to do with her?' Deena asks, staring anxiously at Sam. 'We can't just leave her here.' 

'I'll stay with her,' Simon offers. 'Josh?' 

'I'll stay too,' Josh gives Kate a hard look. 'Don't die out there, okay?' 

'I promise,' Kate gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. A pang goes through my heart when I think about what we used to be. It's soon replaced by determination. There's no good in dwelling in the past, especially now that I have the chance to help them.

Deena, Kate, Ziggy and I make our way towards the hallway. Kate points down at the grate. 

'There,' She says. I bend down, tugging at the metal. 

'It's stuck,' I say with a sigh. We each grab a part of it, pulling hard. Eventually, it comes free, landing hard on the ground with a clang. 

Deena stares down the dark hole with a look of uncertainty. 'It looks pretty tight.' 

'I'll go last,' Kate says. Always a tower of courage. 

I grit my teeth, dropping down into the dark space. 'It's not too small.' Shuffling down on my hands and knees, I begin to crawl towards the bigger opening. 

I can hear Ziggy's breathing behind me. The tunnel leads slowly to a larger area. It's almost pitch black, but none of us dare to turn on a light. There's an eerie whispering coming seemingly from below us. It almost sounds like nonsense, but my gut tells me it's not. 

'What is that?' Ziggy mutters. 

I stop at the edge of the tunnel, right at the opening. It leads right into the cavern. A figure in a black cloak is standing right by the wall of names, holding a torch. 

This is the end. 

The figure has their back to me as I soundlessly drop onto the ground. Deena sneezes as a cloud of dust floats up in my wake. 

They turn around. 

'Who are you?' Her voice, which I expected to be Soloman's or something comes out surprisingly high pitched. The wall of names is illuminated by the torch, and there's one new one at the bottom. 

Samantha Fraser.

I stay silent, unsure of what to say. Deena steps out from behind me. 

'You,' the cloaked woman snarls. 'I should've known.' 

'Who are you?' Deena demands. 'And why do you have it out for Sam?' 

The woman laughs hysterically. 'First you destroy her life, and then she destroys mine! It's an endless cycle of hurt! Wouldn't it be better if she was dead? Who cares if she takes some Shadysiders with her?' 

'Who are you?' Deena repeats, her voice going dangerously calm. 

The woman pulls her hood off. 'I thought you would've known by now.' 

'Sheila?' Ziggy gasps, her eyes wide. 'But-' 

'But what?' Sheila snaps. 'You and Y/N have always been too nosy. When will you learn to give up?' 

I snort. 'After you're dead.' 

'You can't kill me,' Sheila scoffs. 'I have him on my side.' 

'Who?' 

Slowly, dark shadows begin to creep down the wall, gathering together in the centre of the room. 

'I've made enough sacrifices to fulfill his wishes,' Sheila whispers. I glance down at the ground, watching as blood trails in pools towards the shadow, condensing together to form...

'The devil is arisen.'