Sisters of Misery

by Megan Kelley Hall

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she snapped.

  “Do what?” Maddie giggled, feeling giddier by the moment. The vodka seemed to be taking over her body. It felt like liquid sunshine.

  “You’ll regret it, and we’ll all get busted,” she said seriously.

  “But Trevor said that his brother was cool with us drinking,” Maddie said, confused. Bridget, Hannah, and Darcy came out of nowhere and surrounded her.

  “Yeah, but he’s not cool with Ecstacy,” Darcy insisted.

  “Who…when?” Maddie asked. Then suddenly, it hit her. The sticker. Disgusted, Maddie pulled it off of her face.

  “Too late,” Kate singsonged.

  “How could you do this to me?” she cried, her euphoric mood crumbling into tears.

  “We’re just having a little fun,” Kate said innocently. “Get that stick out of your butt for a change and live a little.” Darcy and Hannah laughed and played with each other’s hair.

  Maddie was furious. Pushing her way out of the group, she dashed past Trevor and his stupid luge, avoided Mr. Campbell, and ran down to the ocean. Lying down on the beach, she decided to wait out the effects of the drug before heading home. She wanted to be able to think clearly if Tess or Rebecca questioned her on Cordelia’s whereabouts. Maddie let the Indian summer breeze caress her body as she waited for the high to end.

  Suddenly, someone was at her side. Cordelia whispered in a concerned tone, “Are you okay?”

  “How d’you find me?” Maddie slurred.

  “I don’t trust those girls, so I decided to check out the party to see if you were okay. Reed, er, Mr. Campbell said he saw you head down to the beach.” Cordelia knelt over Maddie, a look of real concern across her face.

  “I’m fine, fine, fine,” Maddie said, giggling. Cordelia’s face seemed to blur around the edges.

  “What did they do to you?” Cordelia asked, her voice tense.

  “Just too much to drink,” she sighed. “Just lemme relax here for a little while.”

  “You’ll never get sober if you just stay here,” Cordelia insisted. “Come on!”

  She dragged her cousin down to the water’s edge. Cordelia yanked off her clothes and sprinted into the ocean, diving headfirst into the waves. She called back to Maddie to swim out to meet her. Maddie jumped up and splashed clumsily into the water, shedding clothes as she ran.

  Despite Maddie’s athletic build, Cordelia was a far superior swimmer. She slipped beneath the surface, disappearing for long stretches of time, gliding underwater like a sea creature. A few weeks ago, Tess had told them that Cordelia was an Irish name for “of the sea,” and Cordelia was convinced it meant she was some type of mermaid washed ashore. Maddie half-expected her to dive under the waves and head out into the open sea, just like a real mermaid.

  They exited the waves, sputtering and giggling. Their underwear and tank tops were plastered to their rail-thin bodies, their hair streaming down their backs like seaweed. Maddie knew something was wrong as soon as they came ashore. Their clothing had been moved, thrown across a few jagged slabs of rock. Cordelia whipped around to see who had witnessed their nighttime swim, but the beach was deserted. If it had been the Sisters of Misery, they would have stolen the clothes, destroyed them, or thrown them into the water. But this was something entirely different. It was almost like someone wanted them to know that they were being watched.

  Just as they reached the end of the beach, Maddie looked back and spotted the dark outline of a man watching them. Before she could get a better look, he turned and disappeared over one of the dunes, swallowed up by the night.

  Chapter 8

  HAGALAZ

  HAILSTORM

  Wrath of Destructive, Uncontrolled Forces; Testing,

  Trial, and Suffering

  HALLOWEEN

  “No way,” Cordelia said firmly as they were getting ready for school. She no longer trusted Maddie to go along with Kate and the girls, especially after Trevor’s party. “Why the hell would anyone want to spend the night on some creepy island? Just blow them off, Maddie. You don’t have to go through with this. You know that you don’t!”

  “I kind of have to. You know that I’m part of this—this Sisterhood,” Maddie cringed. She could see how ridiculous it sounded by the look in Cordelia’s face. “Kate will kill me if I don’t go along with them as usual.”

  “Oh, good Lord,” Cordelia sighed. “What’s the big deal? Geez, people treat me and my mom like we’re witches, and it sounds to me like you’re the one who’s in a coven,” she said, laughing uneasily. “Has Kate ever stayed out on the island?”

  Maddie explained that Kate’s older sister, Carly, forced her to stay on the island when she was barely nine. Kate, never one to shrink from a challenge, had remained the entire night. The next morning when they all met up to retrieve her, Kate seemed totally unaffected by the night’s challenge. While they were congratulating her on making it through the night, Kate’s eyes glazed over as if she was willing herself not to cry. That was the only time Maddie had ever seen Kate vulnerable. As they all filed back along the path, Maddie gave Kate a supportive, yet awkward hug, but Kate just shoved her away in disgust, unwilling to show the slightest bit of weakness. Kate Endicott was the youngest girl in the history of the Sisters of Misery to ever stay out on the island, making her somewhat of a local legend.

  Cordelia fell back onto Maddie’s bed in disgust. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes and then sat up purposefully. “Then I’m going with you,” Cordelia said flatly. “It’s suicide for you to go out to Misery Island with those girls, and on Halloween of all nights.”

  Maddie was nervous about going, but she knew it was a bigger risk for Cordelia. It wasn’t just that the Sisters of Misery hated her; they were jealous of her—that much was obvious. Why shouldn’t they be? Even Maddie had her moments when Cordelia’s confidence and natural beauty were too much to take. Jealousy can make girls do crazy things. Malicious, evil things.

  Surprisingly, Kate gave in quickly and easily—almost too easily—when Maddie mentioned at lunch that Cordelia wanted to come along on the Misery Island trip. It worried Maddie that Kate may have been anticipating it all along.

  On Halloween night, Kate Endicott marched the Sisters of Misery and Cordelia along the loamy path that wound its way deep into the core of Misery Island. Blindfolded, strands of hair snarled tightly in the knots in the back of their heads, they made their way across the island, all in a line, each clutching the hand of the girl in front of them. No one knew whose turn it would be that night; all of them feared being the Chosen One.

  Branches tore at their exposed legs as they trampled through the underbrush toward a stand of trees. Mosquitoes dive-bombed their faces and bare skin, attracted by the pungent scent of bubble gum, soap, and perfume. Maddie shook her long, chestnut-brown ponytail to keep the biting creatures at bay, taking care not to break the chain for even a moment.

  “Stop!” Kate ordered. “We’ve reached the sacred ruins of Misery Island. It is now time to show our strength and to offer up one of the members of the Sisters of Misery to spend the night.”

  Nervously, they squeezed each other’s hands. Cordelia’s hand remained limp and cool. This was her first time on the island. She didn’t know enough to be afraid.

  “For those of you who’ve been through this before, you know what the rules are. For others,” Kate paused, and even blindfolded, Maddie could almost see her sneer, “This is your first time to show solidarity with your Sisters and to show that you are truly one of us.”

  You two need to stick together, her grandmother’s words rang out clearly in her mind. It’s the only way… Maddie wondered if Tess knew about this night, if she had seen it coming and was warning them. Warning Maddie not to leave Cordelia behind. No matter what. Maddie shook off the chill that crept over her.

  “Girls, you know what to do. Once I remove your blindfold, head back to the boat. One of you lucky ladies, however, gets to stay tied
to this tree all night—”

  “The Sacred Birch,” Hannah whispered.

  “That’s right,” Kate continued. “As the Chosen One, you will spend the night on the island tied to the Sacred Birch outside of the island ruins as a way to prove your worthiness to the group. If you’re lucky, you’ll make it through the night without being visited by the three witches of Misery, the ones who died out here after being exiled from Hawthorne.”

  “And still remain in spirit…” Darcy whispered.

  Kate paused. Maddie felt Cordelia bristle for a moment.

  “Yes,” Kate said, lowering her voice. “They’re here, or at least something is still out here.” Kate drew in a dramatic breath and continued. “Tomorrow morning, we will all meet back here at sunrise to make sure that the Chosen One spent the night with no help and no attempts to get back to the mainland. Break the rules and face the consequences, ladies.”

  Cordelia let out an exasperated sigh. Maddie was almost grateful for the blindfold because she knew one look at her cousin’s bemused expression would cause them both to break out in hysterical laughter. There’d be no stopping Kate then.

  Now, as they waited, each of them anticipating the worst, Kate paced in front of them, her long, hard glares almost palpable to each of their blindfolded faces. The chorus of their breathing was shaky and uneven. Finally, Maddie’s blindfold was torn from her face, along with a few tangled strands of hair. Kate nodded her head toward Cat Cove where the boat was waiting to take the rest of them back to the mainland.

  Maddie hesitated, Tess’s words still ringing clearly in her mind, and then turned for the path, forcing herself not to look and see who had been left behind. Racing down toward the water’s edge, Maddie had a sinking feeling that there was only one reason she had escaped spending the night out on Misery. Cordelia. Guilt washed over Maddie as she realized what she had done: she had brought her cousin as a sacrificial lamb.

  Maddie made her way back to the cove and waited for the other girls under the darkening skies, but no one followed her. She swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. Was this a trick to get her to spend the night alone on the island?

  After twenty minutes of waiting, she decided to risk it and returned to the ruins at the center of the island. The girls were all in the same spot, standing in a circle.

  “Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire! We call upon each of the elements to hear our voices and receive our offering.” Kate’s voice rose up above the churning growl of the ocean.

  Maddie looked uneasily at the other girls, shifting her gaze from face to face. “What the hell is going on?” she whispered to Darcy, who was pouring red wine into paper cups.

  Darcy whispered back with a smile, “Kate wants to try something different tonight. Tonight is going to be special. Just wait.”

  Kate had become intrigued with witchcraft ever since visiting Rebecca’s Closet, and it chilled Maddie to the bone to think of how far Kate would take her new hobby. Cordelia was to the right of Kate, next to the bonfire. She rolled her eyes and smiled, but Maddie could tell there was a little fear behind her brave façade.

  “What is Kate going to do?” Maddie whispered to Hannah, who shot her a look of disgust and loudly shushed her. Kate stopped and glared at her.

  “Maddie, do you want all of our attention? Because if you do, I’d be happy to oblige.”

  “Kate, I don’t understand…what are you doing?” Maddie asked. This was nothing like she’d ever witnessed before. Kate was out of control and drunk with power.

  “What I’m doing is offering up a toast.” Kate motioned to Darcy, who then provided each of them with a cup of red wine. “Here’s to the Sisters of Misery.”

  Maddie hesitated, looking at each of her friends, but no one would make eye contact with her. “Why did you send me off to the boat?” Maddie asked angrily.

  Kate simply shrieked, “DRINK!”

  They all finished their wine in long gulps, throwing the cups into the fire. The fire was built with driftwood, so the sea salt turned the flames various shades of blue, lavender, and red. It was magical.

  “We have come here tonight to initiate our Sister Cordelia into our sacred group—into the Sisters of Misery. But first, she must prove herself,” Kate said, walking over and grabbing Cordelia firmly by the arm. Darcy moved to the other side of Cordelia, seizing her free arm.

  “What the hell?” Cordelia looked angrily back and forth at them. Then she turned and looked at her cousin helplessly. “Maddie, what’s going on?”

  A lump rose in the back of Maddie’s throat. What was going on?

  “Kate, this is crazy. You’ve gone too far.” Maddie tried to push the fear from her voice, but instead, it came out strained and anxious.

  “I don’t think we’ve gone far enough,” Kate said smugly, staring Cordelia down. “If Cordelia is to become a part of our Sisterhood, we must cleanse her of her sins, make her worthy of the group.”

  The color drained from Cordelia’s face as quickly as the pink and purple sunset had shifted to an ashen gray. Kate let go of her arm and turned toward the rest of them. She pulled something from her back pocket.

  “I have something here in this envelope…information that could prevent her from becoming a part of our Sisterhood. Information that could hurt all of us if we were to become associated with her.”

  Maddie turned to Cordelia and looked at her in confusion, but Cordelia fixed a stony gaze on Kate.

  “The evidence within the envelope will only be destroyed if each element is appeased by Cordelia. That is, Earth, Wind, Water, and, of course, Fire. And then after Cordelia has appeased the elements, it’s our turn.” Kate lectured. Maddie had never known anything like this to happen during an initiation ritual. And she had a sinking feeling that her role in this evening would not be an enjoyable one. “Cordelia, what would you like to do? The choice is yours.”

  Cordelia wrestled out of Darcy’s grip and tried to grab the envelope from Kate.

  “Don’t even try it,” Kate snapped, holding up a perfectly manicured hand. “If you don’t want to be the Chosen One tonight, we could always choose someone else. Maddie, perhaps? What do you say, Cordelia—would you like Maddie to pay for your sins?”

  Bridget rushed over and grasped Maddie roughly by the arm.

  Maddie tried to struggle out of Bridget’s grasp. “Let go of me, you bitch!” she shouted. Despite Bridget’s frail frame, she easily overpowered Maddie. It didn’t make sense. Maddie was much stronger than Bridget out on the field hockey playing area.

  Cordelia stared at the envelope in Kate’s hand. Then she looked over at her cousin sadly. Maddie shook her head, trying to convey to her cousin that she had nothing to do with this.

  Cordelia looked from Kate to Maddie, then back again. “What do I have to do?” she asked, her voice resigned, her face pale with fear.

  “Appease the elements. Balance out the negative karma that you brought into this town with you. Once you have cleansed your sins—and we have cleansed your mistakes—we will be even,” Kate said and then quickly added with a smile, “And Sisters.”

  “The first element is Earth.” Kate folded the envelope in half and held it out to Cordelia. Just as Cordelia reached for it, Kate snatched it back.

  “Dig,” instructed Hannah.

  Cordelia looked around. “With what?” The ground was cold and hard.

  “Your hands, of course. They’re already all blistered and rough from all that manual labor you do in your little witch shop. It shouldn’t bother you a bit,” Kate said. The other girls laughed.

  Cordelia got down on the ground and scratched at the dirt with her fingertips.

  “Faster, or else this will make you famous.” Kate waved the envelope in Cordelia’s face.

  Cordelia turned back to the ground, her hands digging furiously into the dark, cold earth. Her hands became black, and sweat pooled at the back of her neck. Long strands of red hair brushed the dirt.

  Many times, she stopped and lo
oked anxiously up at Kate, but Kate would only shake her head and say, “Deeper.”

  Finally, after digging for what seemed like forever, blood, dirt, and saltwater combined to make a mottled paste on Cordelia’s hands and forearms.

  “You seem to be enjoying this a little too much.” Kate snapped.

  “I’m just pretending that I’m digging your grave, Kate,” Cordelia said as she stood up. “So, have I appeased the earth?”

  “Not yet,” Kate said. “Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia, the gods themselves throw incense.”

  Maddie recognized the quote from King Lear, and that’s when it hit her—this had all been planned from the beginning. Once she knew Cordelia was coming, Kate had tailor-made the entire ritual for Cordelia, Kate’s guest of honor.

  As if on cue, Hannah, Bridget, and Darcy grabbed Cordelia by the arms and shoved her back down to the ground, smashing her face into the hole she’d dug. Cordelia screamed and thrashed as they shoved dirt into her face and mouth. They pulled at her hair and ripped her clothes. Maddie’s legs felt rubbery. It was straight out of some crazy horror movie. Kate gleefully presided over the brutality, her arms folded across her chest.

  Maddie screamed and ran at Kate, intending to tackle her to the ground, but her legs buckled, and she hit the ground hard. Her vision blurred as she struggled to get to her feet. The wine! Kate must have put something in her wine. The group of girls became a clawing, writhing, tearing, muddy knot on the dark island floor. Kate smiled widely at Maddie’s feeble attempts before kicking Cordelia in the side. Maddie crawled forward, attempting to pull Hannah off her cousin, but it was no use. They were out of control.

  “I would stop unless you want to be next, Maddie,” hissed Kate. Then she stepped toward the group. “Stop!” she ordered. “Cordelia has appeased the element of Earth.”

  The girls pulled back one by one with ragged, heavy breaths. Cordelia lay crumpled and limp on the ground, her entire body cut and bruised and muddied.