Salem 1993
The sisters, still on their brooms, appeared out of the woods. They circled the children, Sarah licking her strawberry colored lips, and Mary grinning widely as she moved closer to the children.
"Unfaithful lover long since dead," Winifred chanted, gesturing with her long knotted fingers, "deep asleep in they wormy bed."
Allison gripped Max's arm. And Max wrapped an arm around Dani protectively, his sister's fingers digging into his skin through his jacket.
"Wiggle thy toes," Winifred continued, "open thine eyes, twist thy fingers towards the sky. Life is sweet, be not shy. On thy feet, so sayeth I!"
The ground shook and trembled, the earth over the grave split open. Soil flew like it was boiling water. A coffin revealed itself out of the hole in the ground.
"Max," Dani whimpered. "Max."
Max pulled his sister away from the grave. His pulse pounding in his ears.
Abigail looked on in horror as the coffin lid burst open and the corpse of Billy Butcherson dragged himself out, shaking the earth from his matted hair. His skin was a grey-green color that could only be from three centuries of decomposition. The skin on his face was drawn tight over his cheekbones, and the stitches in his lips looked like they were pulled tighter than the day Winifred had put them there.
When Billy spotted Max, Dani, Allison, and Abigail, he jumped, startled by the group in front of him. The kids screamed and ran away once they fully realize what just happened.
Billy had no idea what was happening, the last thing he remembered was Winifred's face and then everything went black, though he remembered that he couldn't breathe. He looked around, spotting the gravestone behind him. He sighed, he can't even die without some sort of trouble, but that's what he gets for courting Winifred and falling for Sarah's games.
"Hello, Billy," Sarah called, waving at the corpse.
He smiles at her, she's still as pretty as ever, but the stitches keep his lips sealed.
"Catch those children! Get up! Get up! Get out of that ditch!" Winifred screeched as Billy pushed himself out of the broken bits of his coffin.
Binx led them through the woods once more, ducking under fallen branches and weaving between tombstones.
"In here," Binx called, stopping near a storm drain.
Allison helped Dani down before jumping in herself, Abigail paused, looking back for Max. Max saw Billy scrambling through the woods and grabbed a nearby branch, pulling it back as far as he could without snapping it. When Billy came close enough, the boy released the branch sending it flying into Billy's head and removing it from his shoulders. Max shouted in triumph, but the headless body lurched in his direction, and Max ran in the direction of the drain, away from the headless body. When she saw Max headed her way, Abigail jumped down the drain, and Max quickly followed.
Allison helped Abigail up and turned to help Max to his feet too. Dani coughed and Allison asked her if she was okay, to which the little girl grunted. Allison handed the spellbook to Max when Abigail wouldn't take it.
"What is this place, Binx?" Max asked as he tucked the book under his arm.
"It's the old Salem crypt," Binx answered. "It connects to the sewer and up to the street."
"Charming," Allison commented sarcastically.
"Fascinating," Abigail said at the same time. Everything was so different, there was so much to see. But it would have to wait until morning Abigail reminded herself, stopping those horrible sisters came first. And if she lived beyond sunrise, then she would explore this new Salem.
"We need to find my parents," said Max. "They'll know what to do."
"Your parents?" Binx was skeptical. "Adults always show up too late."
"Max is right," agreed Dani. "Mom fixes everything."
Dani's word seemed to hold more weight with the cat than her brother's word did, and Abigail figured it was because Thackery saw some of Emily in Dani. Their personality was vastly different, she could see that in the short time that she'd known Dani, but the little girl was in danger because of the Sandersons and Thackery wouldn't want her family to suffer as his had.
Binx thought for a moment and then shrugged the best he could as a cat. "We might as well try," he acquiesced. "I don't have a better idea."
"They're at Town Hall," Max told the cat. "Can you take us there?"
Binx shot the teen a look, one that clearly showed he was annoyed that Max had even asked the question. Abigail giggled at the look. The cat glanced at the 300-year-old girl when she giggled, though he'd been trying to avoid looking at her altogether. He hadn't heard that sound in ages. He'd always felt a sense of pride that he could make her laugh and giggle like that, but then three hundred years happened, things had changed. He shook his head and turned to lead the group through the maze that was the crypt.
"Uh, don't look up, Dani," Max said, after spotting several skeletons hanging from the ceiling. This, of course, made Abigail look up and she squeaked in surprise before fixing her eyes straight ahead.
"Don't worry," Dani said, any temptation disappeared with Abigail's squeak. "I won't."
"Relax," Binx said. "I've hunted mice down here for years."
"Mice?" Dani groan and Abigail squeaked out in unison.
"Oh, god" Dani added.
But if they had to choose between rodents and an undead colonist that wanted to kill them, they would gladly take the rodents.
Binx led the way through the dark tunnels beneath the streets of Salem, Dani, and Abigail following closely. The cat could have done without his friend so close, but she'd never liked rodents and he was rather adept at catching them.
Max and Allison trailed a little behind the trio, and when Max felt they were out of earshot he cleared his throat. "So," he started catching Allison's attention, "about earlier. I want to apologize."
"For lighting the candle?"
"Um. No, but I'm sorry for that, too."
"For ignoring us when we said it was time to go?"
"Uhhh." Max scratched the back of his head, embarrassed about all the things he'd done so far that night. There was a lot to be sorry about. "Yeah, sorry for that, too."
"For your Rico Suave stunt with the phone number?"
"I knew you were upset about that."
"I wasn't upset about it," Allison explained. "Just embarrassed. For you. You know, you don't have to be someone you're not just to ask a girl out."
There it was, the elephant in the room – or sewers – Max had acted the fool and here it was, biting him in the rear. All because he'd been to chicken to catch her in the hallway, tell her he liked her, ask her if she'd like to go get some ice cream some time. Instead, he'd resurrected three – well four – colonial witches, and three of them wanted to eat his little sister.
He knew it was his fault, he didn't have an excuse, not that he should have one. He knew he was wrong but he was struggling to find the words to tell Allison that. He wanted to make things right.
"Yeah, I get that," he finally said. "But I guess I wanted to apologize for what Dani said earlier. About – well, about you. It was embarrassing, and I'm sorry she did that."
"What did she say about me?"
"About your costume. About your, uh…" Max trailed off, gesturing lamely to his chest to try and make his point.
"You mean how she told me you've talked about my boobs?"
Max flushed at her blunt wording. "Yeah," he said in a small voice, thinking he'd rather be lost down here forever than be having this conversation.
"You don't have to apologize for her," Allison told him. "Dani didn't do anything wrong. You might want to apologize for yourself, though."
Max cleared his throat again. "Yeah," he said, he felt like a broken record at this point, he'd said Yeah so many times. "I – uh. I am sorry. I was an idiot. Like, a total idiot. But I wanted to tell my friend back in California about you, and he got bored with me talking about other stuff, so I thought –" He cut himself off by clearing his throat. "But yeah, it was dumb. And my fault, not his or Dani's. I do get that."
"Thanks," Allison's anger began to dissipate. She was surprised that Max had listened to her and apologized and taken the blame for what he'd done wrong. At school he acted too cool for anything, she like this side of him. "I appreciate it. It's just a little weird, you know?"
Their footsteps echoed around them as they followed the cat in silence now. Max could hear Dani telling Binx and Abigail something about space travel and briefly wondered how the colonial girl was taking the fact that man had been to the moon.
"I know," Max responded. "And I do know you're so much more than your – um…" He blushed again and stopped talking before he fell right back into the hole he'd just gotten himself out of.
Allison laughed this time. "You really aren't quick on the uptake, are you?" She laughed again, the sound bounced off the walls and made Max's heart flutter.
"So what other stuff?" she asked after a moment.
"Hmmm?"
"The other stuff your friend didn't want to hear about. What was it?"
Max licked his lips. He didn't really want to tell her, it was a little personal, but it was about her, so he didn't have an argument against sharing. And it wasn't anything bad, just a little embarrassing, but he'd already been embarrassed so much tonight, one more time wouldn't kill him. So, he swallowed what was left of his pride.
"Like, the vase you made in sculpture class last week was sick. All those dots of blue and white in the glaze? It was awesome. And when Nancy fell asleep in chemistry and you slipped her the answer when Mrs. Jackson called on her? That was really cool of you. I like that even though you're the best person in the class, you don't rub it in."
Allison smiled, tilting her face down, half to hide the blush that she felt across her cheeks and half to navigate around a pile of mushy leaves in the way. "Yeah, well," she said, "Nancy's parents are getting divorced; she deserves a break. Also, I am not better at chem than everyone else. Charles is.
"Charles is just louder," Max argued.
Allison shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You really noticed all of that stuff?"
"Yeah," Max said. "I hope it's not creepy."
Allison laughed again. "It's not," she assured. "I like those things about me, too."
"I just like that you work so hard. I don't know what you want to be when we, you know, grow up or whatever. But you are going to do it, Allison. You don't give yourself any excuses. That's – well, it's attractive."
He waited for her to say something about his confession that he liked her, but she didn't say anything, at least not directly. Instead, she said, "I like the way you treat Dani. You were a total idiot back there with the candle," she added. "But I can tell how much you love her. You're more you when she's around. More humble. I like that."
"She's got a lot of dirt on me," Max joked with a shrug. "Plus, she's smarter than I am, and she's eight. It's hard not to be humble."
Allison grinned. "What I meant was, I wish you acted around other people the way you act around her. It's a good look on you."
Max tried to figure out what she was thinking, but it was too dark in the tunnel to really see her face. He was going to ask what she meant, but Binx called out, making them both jump.
"Here we are!" the cat called. "Up and out!"
Max and Allison caught up to the two girls and the cat, only to find a ladder and a man-hole cover at the top.
"I'll go up and open the cover, Binx, you go out first and see if the coast is clear," Max said, moving towards the ladder. The cat hopped up on the boy's shoulder, showing his willingness to go along with the plan. Allison took the book from Max and he started climbing. When he reached the cover, it took him a second to get it to budge, but Binx slipped out.
"Look out!" Max yelled, seeing the approaching headlights, but it was too late for Binx to get back under the cover. Max dropped it, hoping the cat would be okay.
"Binx?" Dani called, worried about the cat. But he wasn't anywhere to be seen.
When he thought the coast was clear of cars, Max lifted the cover again. He pulled himself out and then helped Dani, Allison, and Abigail out.
"Oh my god," Max said when he spotted the flattened form of Binx in the road. He was too shocked to stop Dani from seeing.
"Thackery!" Abigail cried, crouching by the cat. "Oh, Thackery." Tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to spill the second she blinked. She reached a hand forward slowly, not entirely sure what to do.
"No…" Dani sobbed into Allison's sweater.
"It's all my fault," Max said, pacing.
Allison grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Max, it's not your fault," she comforted.
"What magic is this?" Abigail said, falling back away from the cat.
"Look!" Dani shouted, grabbing Max's sleeve.
The four of them watched, shocked, and amazed, as Binx reinflated like a balloon. They could hear the air filling his lungs and the sound of bones snapping back into alignment.
Binx rolled over, looking at them, his stare lingering on Abigail last. He could see the tears that had nearly fallen, and, though he was still mad about her being a witch, she was his best friend and he didn't want her to cry. He shook his head as if to clear it.
"I hate when that happens," he complained.
Max, Allison, and Dani all exchanged looks, while Abagail continued to stare at her friend.
"What?" he asked, stretching his back. "I told you: I can't die." He took a half step towards Abigail, and then another. "Are you alright?" he asked as he studied her face. The tears had fallen when she blinked, but none had replaced them. She'd almost wept over his death. Perhaps he might believe that she wasn't evil, that she was still the girl that he knew three hundred years ago.
She nodded. "Yes," she responded, a small smile creeping across her face.
He darted a little closer, rubbing against her side after a moment of hesitation. "Okay," he said, his amber yellow eyes meeting her emerald green ones. He broke eye contact and looked at the other three, saying, "Then let's go."
Max lead the way, Dani and Allison following. Abigail picked herself up off the road and fell in behind them, Binx by her side. Before she quickly bent down and scooped him up, carrying him.
"'Tis easier this way," she said, not looking down at the cat. "And thou hast just come back to life."
Thackery didn't protest.
The four of them ran through town, heading to find Max and Dani's parents. On their way to the Town Hall, they spotted a police officer sitting on his motorcycle outside of one of the stores.
"Officer, officer!" Dani yelled as she ran up to him.
"Officer, we need your help," Allison said to the mad.
"What's the problem?" the man asked.
Dani and Allison looked at Max, while Abigail stood behind the trio.
"Tell him," Dani prompted her brother.
While Allison encouraged him to speak with a: "Go ahead."
Abigail wasn't sure exactly who this man was, she figured he was important in the community since they had run over and asked for his help. Perhaps he was a witch hunter or something of the like.
Max looked between his sister and Allison for a moment, then spoke. "Well, um, well you see… I just moved here," Max started. The man looked thoroughly unimpressed at the start of this story. "Well, you see, it's like this, I, um, I broke into the old Sanderson house and I brought the witches back from the dead. See, I even have the book."
Max held the book up to prove his story, and the man looked at it, but his expression did not change.
"You lit the Black Flame Candle?" the officer asked slowly.
"Yeah," Max admitted with a nod.
The man stood and dismounted his motorcycle. "Come on," he said to Max. "Okay, let's get on the sidewalk."
They moved towards the stairs, further back on the sidewalk.
"And he's a virgin," Dani added, trying to be helpful, but she mostly succeeded in embarrassing Max. The officer gave him a look, and Max wouldn't look him in the eye.
After a pause, the officer says: "Come here," with a slight flick of his head, signaling that Max should move a little bit away from the rest of the group.
"Are you a virgin?" It was clearly supposed to be a private question, but all three of the girls and Binx heard it.
"Yeah," Max answered quietly, slightly weirded out by the question. He wasn't sure how it was relevant to the witches being back, other than the fact that a virgin had to light the candle. And if he'd lit it and brought them back that means he'd have to be a virgin.
"Really?"
"Look," Max responded, exasperated. "I'll get it tattooed on my forehead, okay?"
"Officer," Allison spoke up. "This is not a prank."
"Really," Dani promised.
"Hey!" the officer shouted. "I put my life on the line to protect this community and you punks pull this? Get outta here."
Abigail was shocked. This was serious and a man who was tasked with protecting people was dismissing them. Binx hissed at the man from her arms.
"Come on, Dani," Allison said as she grabbed the younger girl's hand. Max pushed lightly on Abigail's back, between her shoulder blades, to get her to move. The man shouted after them, but the words were unimportant and rude. Abigail had never wished to hex anyone this much since Elijah had shoved her in the harbor when she was in her new dress.