“I love you so much. More than I ever loved Melanie.” He pressed her head underwater. “I know this doesn’t make any sense now, but soon it will.”
Jasmine was spitting and sputtering.
“You and I can be together forever.”
Mud was in her mouth and up her nose. Jasmine tried to fight him. She tried to swing behind and kick and flail, but he was too strong. Her whole body went limp. The bog’s darkness was swallowing her. Things went black. She could feel her body sinking into the greasy mud.
Suddenly there was a tug on Jasmine’s arm. Pulling her back. Back to air. Back to breathing. Back to life.
It was Mia.
Next to her, Hannah held a huge rock. She was hitting Eddy over the head over and over again, knocking him down just long enough for Mia and Jasmine to run to shore.
Eddy pulled himself back up to his feet. He ran after Jasmine and Mia.
The sun was just a sliver on the horizon.
Grabbing Jasmine’s ankle, Eddy dragged her back to the bog. Mia, and now Hannah too, pulled Jasmine’s arms, trying desperately to free her from his murderous grip. He was too strong.
“I will never let you go.” His voice was calm, certain. “I told you: you are mine for—”
The sun finally dipped beneath the horizon.
Eddy’s flesh collapsed around his bones, starting with his face, moving down his shoulders to his spindly fingers. He was skin on bone. Bones dried and splintered. Jasmine, Mia, and Hannah watched a man go from youth to dead to decomposed to dust. Like an autumn leaf, the wind took what was left of Eddy and scattered it across the bog. All that was left was his pocket watch. It lay where his body once did.
The girls huddled together, cold and wet but alive. And friends. They had never been so grateful to have each other.
They tromped back to Simon’s wagon. And like a gentleman, Simon unlocked the doors and handed a box of Kleenex to the three girls.
“You have a little something on your—” Simon waved his hand all around his face and chest. “Well, pretty much everywhere.”
It was true. They were all covered in bog slime.
It started with Jasmine—a contagious giggle. Then Hannah caught it, and Mia too. Soon all three of them were laughing and couldn’t stop. “I guess this is better than crying,” said Jasmine. “That is absolutely the most terrifying thing that I have ever been through. You guys, I was sure—sure—that I was going to die.”
“You’re OK now,” Mia said. “We’ve got you. Three strong women have got to stick together.”
“No matter what,” said Hannah. “Say, Jasmine, I love your new eye shadow. Can I borrow some?”
Jasmine wiped some of the muck off her forehead and smeared it across Hannah’s eyebrow.
“Thanks!” Hannah said.
They started laughing all over again.
“So are you going to shower before the dance tomorrow night?” Simon said all of a sudden.
For a few moments, they’d forgotten he was there.
“About that dance . . .” Hannah said. “I . . . I’ve kind of been through a lot tonight, Simon. I know I promised, but . . . I’m just not sure now that I can go.”
“Yeah, I figured it was too good to be true,” Simon said, sounding totally unfazed by the rejection. “C’mon. I’ll give you a ride home.”
They climbed in the car.
When they arrived at Mia’s house, all three girls got out.
“Will you do me a favor?” Simon said, his window rolled down. “Will you say hi to me in the halls every once in a while?”
“Of course, Simon.” Hannah leaned over and gave him a tiny, muddy peck on the cheek.
He made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a squeal. “Does this mean—”
“No!” all of the girls replied.
Chapter 18
In the days that followed, Jasmine gave the earring to the police along with the pocket watch. The police were able to link Edmund Trefare, the jeweler’s son, to Melanie Zurner’s death. A two-hundred-year-old murder case was finally solved. And Mia, Hannah, and Jasmine were to thank.
“You know, I think the police department would really benefit from our detective services,” said Hannah. She and her two best friends biked back to the bog for one last visit before winter.
“Just as long as the cases don’t involve slimy dead things,” Mia said.
“Or ghosts,” said Jasmine.
They parked their bikes and walked to the bog. Stillness lingered, but not the creepy kind they had felt weeks ago.
Tiny white flowers covered the velvety moss on the bog. Mia, Hannah, and Jasmine sat on a nearby log. Mourning doves cooed before the sun completely set. In the distance they saw her—Melanie Zurner. Her almost-invisible outline turned to them and waved good-bye. She faded into the bog’s mist.
“It’s crazy to think of where all this began,” said Hannah.
“The Atlas of Cursed Places,” said Jasmine.
“Actually, no. It all started with Mia and a little butterfly clip of Grammy’s.”
Mia was silent. She could feel tears coming. “I’m glad I didn’t see Grammy. She wouldn’t have been the same as I remembered.” Then she paused. “I do kind of wish I knew if she was okay.”
A gentle breeze touched their faces as a butterfly landed right on Mia’s shoulder. It stayed there looking at her, moving its delicate wings as if to say “Hello.” On the next gentle breeze it lifted and flew into the setting sun.
About the Author
Kathryn J. Beherns has a Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults and an undergraduate degree in English Education with a decade of experience teaching young writers. She has also taught writing classes for teens at the Loft Literary Center and is currently an adjunct English instructor. She believes reading and writing connect people to everything else and that words (written, read, spoken, screamed, sung, whispered, shared) make us more alive!
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