It didn't seem to take long to make it to the island. There was a crumbling, rotten dock that jutted angrily out into the black water where Esther tied the canoe. When they stepped onto the island, Esther clicked off the lantern. The light vanished quickly, leaving them in a thick pool of darkness. After a moment, Esther's eyes started to adjust to the dark.
Beside her, she could see AnnMarie glance around with a measure of fear, her eyes looking but not able to see in the darkness. The girl's hand stretched out, uncertainly catching Esther's fingers and squeezing them tightly.
"It's okay." Esther said.
"I—I'm okay." AnnMarie said, though the shaking in her voice told Esther it was a lie.
"Are you sure?"
"I am a little bit scared of the woods." AnnMarie admitted. "When I was little, I heard about a girl that disappeared in town. She wandered into this small patch of woods— not even a quarter of an acre— and never came out. They looked for days, cut all of the trees down, but she had just... vanished. The woods are dangerous. I don't want them to take me."
"We'll be okay. You've got me." Esther said. "Not to mention, you're pretty tough yourself."
"Do you think so?" AnnMarie asked timidly.
"Of course."
"Alright then." AnnMarie squeezed her fingers. "Let's go then."
Esther largely stumbled through the dark behind AnnMarie. It was strange, bumbling around with her eyes closed, only guided by the warm, gentle tugging of AnnMarie's hand. She was so used to seeing in the darkness— seeing well in the darkness. It was unnerving to be dependent on someone else.
AnnMarie walked with a confidence Esther hadn't been expecting with how scared she had been not long earlier. Maybe it was fear. Esther couldn't see her face, after all. The speed and steadiness with which she strided through the trees could have been from an anxious desire to have it all over and done with.
Suddenly, she heard AnnMarie's quiet, careful steps suddenly come to a stop. Esther paused as well.
"What is it?" Esther asked.
"The trail stopped here. I don't see any more magick." She said, "Should we dig?"
Esther opened her eyes.
"Show me where."
She could see again. AnnMarie was standing just in front of a large cypress tree. Knobby knees reached up from the ground, and Spanish moss hung limply from the scraggly branches. She pointed at the ground just a few inches in front of the tree.
Esther picked up her shovel and pushed it into the dirt. The earth came up easily, damp and dark. She didn't have to dig for long before something white started to peak out from the dirt. Using the tip of her shovel, she carefully dug into the ground around it, and pulled it up further.
It was a skull.
She reached down and pulled it from the earth. It was mostly intact, though it was missing the lower jaw and a few of the upper teeth. It was strange to think that, much like herself, it had once been a person.
It was strange to think that this was the person who cursed AnnMarie to a life of isolation and misery. Now she was just a husk, like the pit of a cherry left after the sweet flesh had been devoured.
AnnMarie pulled the skull from her fingers in a panic.
"Careful! She said, "I don't want her to hurt you."
"It's just a skeleton, it's okay." Esther said.
"How can you be sure?" AnnMarie said. "I— I don't want to take any chances."
"I'm a vampire. I can usually sense magick or other malevolent things."
"Still..." AnnMarie said. She leaned into the skull and whispered quietly; "Sorry for digging you up. It's nothing personal."
AnnMarie placed the skull in the black trash bag as respectfully as you could do such a thing, and Esther filled the hole back in. Then, Esther closed her eyes, and AnnMarie started to lead her away again. The next time AnnMarie stopped dead in her tracks. Her fingers trembled just the slightest bit, and Esther could hear the heavy heaves of her breath.
"Are you alright? Is everything okay?" Esther asked.
AnnMarie did not answer directly.
"I think this is the cabin from my dreams." She murmured.
Esther opened her eyes, but she wasn't greeted by much of a sight.
There was very little left of the structure. Much of it was left to decay and crumble. There was a small stack of brick which had once been the fireplace, and petrified bits of wood laying sticking out of the ground. Everything else was gone.
"It's got bad energy." AnnaMarie said. She accentuated her words with a sort of nervous laugh. "Or maybe I'm just scared."
"Do we need to keep going?" Esther asked.
"Oh, sorry. The trail ended just around here." AnnMarie said, pointing at a spot next to a large piece of petrified wood.
Esther started to dig again, and she watched AnnMarie nervously fidget beside her. After a moment, the girl spoke.
"Esther..."
"Yes?" She said as she pulled up another pile of dirt.
"Would you...." AnnMarie trailed off. "Would you consider turning me into a vampire, if this doesn't work? If I, you know, die, then maybe the curse will be broken."
Esther paused and looked over to the girl, her mouth slightly parted.
"Annie... Annie, you don't want that."
"We could be together. I could finally leave Hallowed Ground."
Esther leaned the shovel against a tree and grabbed the girl's hand.
"I don't want to curse you, Annie." She said, "This ain't anything you want. Trust me."
"Maybe I would be happier." AnnMarie said.
"You wouldn't." Esther said. She meant it. It was a promise.
She brought the knuckles of her hand up to her mouth, and kissed them gently.
"We're going to figure it out. I promise."
"Okay." AnnMarie said, though Esther could tell she was not convinced.
Still, she let go of the girl's hand and resumed her task. After several moments, she again found bones- more than one this time. She was no expert, but it seemed to be the witch's legs, and bits of her hands as well.
She picked up one of the femurs, and looked at it under the moonlight.
On the side of it there were marks— little lines where someone had clumsily hacked at the limb with a blade of some sort. It was unskilled and angry— there was a sort of desperation to it, even. Bloodlust. Hate. Yes, she thought those were better words.
Had she felt that? Not in years, she thought. Not in years...
That sick, blinding rage— getting what you desire by any means. Taking things that weren't yours and you knew weren't meant to be yours.
She didn't feel that— not anymore, at least.
In the dark, she felt AnnMarie grab her hand again and squeeze it gently. She squeezed back.
She was still selfish, though, she knew that much.
Still selfish.
Within the next hour, they had collected two more piles of bones. Esther assumed they had nearly the entire skeleton. She offered to carry the bag for AnnMarie, but the girl was still too worried to let her touch it. Esther didn't argue. She didn't want to upset her.
They were nearly back to the dock when something stepped out from between the trees. It looked like a woman, but Esther knew it had to have been anything but. She hoped AnnMarie couldn't see the apparition in the dark, but the girl froze where she was, her hands beginning to tremble.
"Esther..." She said, "Esther, what is that?"
"Pretend like you don't see her and she might not bother us. Sometimes they just watch." Esther said.
AnnMarie nodded, and at the tugging of her hand, started to walk again. Esther kept her eyes forward, focused on the trail in front of her, but the apparition stepped out in front of her.
She was a sickly white color, vaguely in the shape of a woman. Maybe her form looked less hazy and made more sense from AnnMarie's eyes. From the eyes of someone who was still alive. It wasn't meant for someone like her.
"Let me take you home." The apparition said.
"We're fine. We know the way." Esther said, trying to push past her.
"I can take you somewhere better." The apparition said. She reached out, and placed one foggy hand onto Esther's arm. It felt cold, even to her. The touch of it almost hurt.
"Oh, I can't guide you anywhere." The apparition said. "You have a cold heart."
The cold hand let go of her, and pulled back.
"I do." Esther agreed.
"The girl?"
AnnMarie clenched her arm even tighter, her eyes lingering on the ground as she scooted a bit farther behind her.
"I'm taking her with me." Esther said.
"I can lead her home."
"No. I need her." Esther said. "She's important."
"You don't have anything to offer her except things that will hurt her."
The apparition was right, but it only made Esther hold on to AnnMarie's hand even tighter, with even more possessiveness.
"I need her." She repeated.
"Very well."
She gave one last look over her shoulder at them as she turned and left back into the thick line of trees. AnnMarie was clearly still shaken, but Esther could hear her breathing slow down just the slightest bit.
"Come on, Annie." She said. "Let's get that bag of bones back to your house."