𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑 ⁻ ᶠᵉᵃʳ ˢᵗʳᵉᵉᵗ ᵗʳⁱˡᵒᵍʸ

10 - saving shadyside

"Once this is all over, we're gonna go on a date at the park, and we're gonna get cheeseburgers, and listen to Queen, and we're gonna-we're gonna hold hands in public, and we aren't gonna let anyone else bother us." She stated, both of our hands now holding the others.

"What about a shopping day, too? I'm pretty sure that isn't gonna wash out, babe." I referenced her dirtied polo, and her laughter became a core memory of mine.

"I'm sure we can fit a mall trip in there, too."

"Can we fit in marriage, too?" I finally asked the question I'd been wanting to ask since day one.

"We don't have enough money for rings though..." Her eyebrows knitted together in an adorable expression of confusion.

"Then we'll make paper ones, and we'll wear whatever white dresses we can find-or we'll make our own." I offered, and Cindy's laughter rang out again, causing me to laugh as well.

"Guys!" Alice's voice interrupted our moment, causing us to look over at the pixie cut girl in annoyingly perfect sync. "I sincerely hate to ruin you guy's moment, but the night isn't over yet."

"Right!" Cindy looked at me again, and I was just confused as hell. "Alice found her hand."

"What? Who's hand?" I asked, slow to process this information.

"Sarah Fier's."

~~~~~~

All four of us now sat at the table, Sarah Fier's wicked hand laid out before us. For a hot minute, it felt as though none of us even dared to breathe. This was real. We can end this curse. We can end this curse right now, for Shadyside.

"What? What is it?" Ziggy asked, apparently still clueless to a majority of this situation.

"It's Sarah Fier's lost hand," Alice replied after fifteen seconds.

"Nurse Lane..." Cindy spoke up, taking in a shaky inhale before continuing on. Our hands were clasped together, but not under the table this time-instead, our hands were right on top of the table. "...she spent her entire life looking for this. A-a way to stop the curse that took her daughter."

I kissed her shoulder to provide a decent amount of comfort, allowing the kiss to linger for just a second before turning to face Alice instead of just hearing her words.

"'Without her hand, her grip on the land holds firm. The curse will last,'" she slid the book to Ziggy. "-until body and hand unite.' This led us to the hand bone. And if the legend is true, that means her body's still buried-"

"By the hanging tree," Ziggy and I said excitedly, exchanging a weird glance at each other before shaking it off.

"We can end this," Cindy spoke up again, a small smile growing on her face. "No more murders, no more curse, no more...pain." She looked over to where Tommy's now masked and utterly dead body lay in the kitchen before she said the word 'pain.' "We can save Shadyside...tonight."

Ziggy pulled the hand over to herself, and in a terrifying moment, the blood from a bloody nose dripped down and she went into a trance-like state. The only emotion showcased on her face was terror, and I prompted myself to fight-who knew what would happen once Ziggy got out of that trance. Before the curse could set in any longer, Cindy grabbed one of Ziggy's hands, causing the girl to jump and gasp for air.