CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
( ! one day ! )

SHE HAD REFUSED to take his name. He knew she didn't want to marry him so she let him know the only way she would say yes would be if he took hers instead, or better yet fell off the face of the earth.

He had laughed as if she were joking, she wasn't joking. She'd wished he would just jump off the earth and never come back.

She hated him and knew she always would.

Her plans with Isaac worked in the beginning, Michael would be away and she'd sneak off. Isaac and Paige would just talk, or even hold hands. But after a bit Michael had begun to hear about her leaving the house.

And boy, did he not like it.

She knew he didn't love her and he knew she didn't love him, she had quickly found out he too was forced into this marriage by his father. But he wasn't going to be made the fool by her and her lover.

So he found ways to keep her inside. He found times to check back home and she had learned quickly that when she wasn't there, it hurt. It hurt bad.

So Paige and Isaac found themselves seeing the other threw a window. She was trapped inside and he was out, working hard. It killed her not to be able to just go outside and speak with him but Michael was beginning to enjoy drinking and she couldn't risk it.

Years passed and Paige was forced to bear Michaels children. She had a boy and a girl, twins. She had wanted to name the boy Oliver, but Michael didn't like that name.

Isaac would have loved that name.

They decided, well Michael decided, on Lily and Peter. Paige didn't dislike the names, she just disliked anything he chose.

She loved her children. It wasn't their fault they were born into this mess and she knew that. So she cared for them like she had always wished to be cared for.

She hadn't spoken to her mother in a while, no matter how much Cynthia tried.

One day she had gotten a note from Isaac:

Dear Paige,

I'm writing to you to tell you that my father made it clear I must marry. He said I can no longer push it away, though I wish I could. My heart is forever with you but he has found a nice girl. She seems okay, yet boring.

I miss you everyday and wish to talk with you, wish to hug you. It kills me to see you stuck in that house with no escape. I'd kill Michael if I could get away with it.

Your children are beautiful, they remind me of you. I heard Michael speak about how you had wanted the name Oliver one night while at work. He was a fool to say no. Peter reminds me of Oliver, I hope you see it too.

I hope to see you soon. Everyday I pray for us to be returned to each other. I know we cannot be kept apart forever. I promise our love is one that will sing for thousands of years.

I love you and I always will,
Isaac.

Paige had hidden the letter away under a floor board. It was one of the most prized things she owned. Through the window she had one day seen Isaac, she had mouthed a thank you and he had smiled.

It had made her stomach do flips.

But as time went on it seemed even the wind sensed something was off.

The wind blew with a pity now. Pity for the girl who wished to be free, never being more trapped than she now was. Any freedom she once had was gone and being free like the wind quickly became a forgotten dream.

For now she was longing for the freedom instead of dreaming of it. Now when she felt the wind on her face all she felt was a taunting laugh instead of the breath of freedom.

She lost her way towards the wind and could no longer feel it's pull no matter how hard it tried to bring her back.

For the wind wanted her spirit to reconnect, it wanted her to fly. She just could no longer hear the whooshing or the roar as it blew. All she heard was the sound of her own broken heart.

But Paige knew one thing for certain. Her love with Isaac was unmatched and it didn't matter how long it would take, they'd find their way back to the other.

It didn't matter how many years their spirits would have to wait, their story wasn't yet over. For their love would live on even when they didn't, all would one day be well.

And their hearts would forever be connected, their souls would always find the other.

She'd go to the window everyday, the only thing giving her hope. And he never stopped coming. He never stopped making sure he could see her everyday. They'd be together one day, they both knew it. If not in this life than another, and another until it finally ended for them.

It didn't matter how long it would take, them both believed their souls would find each other's. Because they were meant for each other in every life, and someday it would stick.

DEENA NOW KNEW the truth. She knew of the evil that was Solomon Goode, and how Nick Goode was continuing on the legacy. She had to stop him, she had to finally get justice for Sarah Fier.

She had to stop Nick Goode.

"The Goodes, they're trading us. People from Shadyside. Goode gives a name to the Devil. The Devil takes over that person. Then that person kills and murders. And the Devil feeds on this blood of dead Shadysiders. And Goode gets whatever he wants. He becomes Sheriff. His brother becomes mayor. All of Sunnyvale gets better and better..." Deena explained but Josh quickly understood. "And Shadyside doesn't."

"And the Goodes do it over and over, again and again. One Goode from every generation passing down the evil. Solomon... Solomons son. Firstborn to firstborn. Right to today. Right to Sheriff Nick Goode."

and the killers came after us to keep us from uncovering it.

They had to run. Ziggy had called Nick, she thought he could help. Her mind raced back as the once good memories turned painful, as the once charming Nick Goode turned into a monster.

It was his fault. He was the reason her sister was dead. He was the reason her best friend was dead. And he was the reason she had to continue living on all these years without them.

we need to kill nick goode.

They made it to the mall, now accompanied by Martin, the malls lead janitor. He owed Josh a favor, and it was now time to repay it.

They made a plan, everyone grabbing what they needed like LED light bulbs, glow in the dark spray paint, glow in the dark paint, and more. Ziggy had offered up the idea to "Carrie" him, and now it was just time to set everything into motion and kill Nick Goode.

Deena stood before the group. "Everyone says Shadyside sucks because it's full of shitty people, that bad things happen here because we're bad, that we deserve what we have coming. That's how it was for Sarah, and that's how it's been for us. But it's all bullshit. Okay, just because we're weird and smart and different doesn't mean they can feed us through their meat grinder. Not anymore. It's been three centuries. No one else has gotten this far. It stops here... tonight. It stops with us. We're gonna kill this motherfucker. For Sarah. For Kate. For Simon and Annie. For Cindy. For all of us. For Shadyside."

The plan had gone as they wanted, Skull Mask, Nightwing, the Milkman, and the Grifter had all been locked behind the StoreSafe 250s. They had been fighting to get out and kill, but that all stopped suddenly and the group knew exactly who was making their way towards them.

Nick Goode.

Ziggy knew what she had to do. She had to do it for Cindy, for James, Alice, and even Tommy. But most importantly, she had to do this for herself.

So, with a sudden pull of a string, Deenas blood was dumped on Nicks head. He realized quickly what Ziggy was doing, especially after seeing the locked up killers were being set free.

So, he did what any psycho would do, and he grabbed Ziggy. He held her close to himself and got Deenas blood on her sweater. If he died, she would too.

So Deena did the only thing she could think to do. She cut her hand open to turn all the killers attentions towards her (though Nick had been stabbed once by Skull Mask).

She couldn't let more people die for her. She had already lost her three best friends and she wished daily she could bring them back, but in reality, all she could do was try to do better and that started with saving Ziggy.

Nick ran off and Josh yelled for Deena to follow him so after a second, she did. Josh, Martin, and Ziggy defended against the killers and made additions to the plan they already made.

But Deena found herself alone. She followed the blood trail Nick had left behind, finding herself lifting a part of the gutter on the floor up when flashes of Sarah breaking through the ground of the Meeting Hall came through her mind.

She was led into the tunnels. The exact tunnels Solomon Goode had cut Sarah Fiers hand off of inside. She yelled Nicks name, trying to make him face her.

She would be ending this no matter what.

At the sight of different parts of the tunnels, Deenas mind yet again flashed to Sarah and the moment she lost her hand. Deena gasped a bit, having to find herself back in reality.

Yet above in the mall, Josh had watched as a half possessed Sam ran right after Deena. But there was nothing they could do to stop her.

Deenas mind flashed to more of Sarah's memories as she found a new section of the tunnels, jumping slightly before continuing on. She yelled his name again. She couldn't see it, but he had jumped in fear and turned his light off quickly.

It wasn't like he needed it, he had known these tunnels since he was a boy.

Ruby Lane and Billy Barker had joined the battle once the other four killers had taken each other down. Josh had turned at the sound of Ruby's singing after having watched Billy hit some small toy machine with his bat, over and over again.

Martin and Ziggy were ready to blast Ruby and Billy as well with Deenas blood, but both quickly found their water guns were out of exactly what they needed. They'd now have to actually fight, or die trying.

"Too many people have died, I'm not letting them take my sister too! We have to protect her! Please!" Josh begged before stepping out and grabbing Nightwings axe. He took a deep breath as he tried not to think of the lives lost to this axe, he needed to stay focused.

Deena called out Nicks name again. She was slowly creeping when she finally heard his voice. "Solomon forged this place with nothing but words and stone! Awakening this power from the depths of the Earth. He extended his hand to the darkness for my family, for me! 300 years it's lived, grown. We've cultivated it. We've sacrificed for it! And you think you can stop it?"

And that's when Deena saw it. It was this giant, sticky, almost alive blob of things she couldn't even describe. It was disgusting to look at as it moved up and down, like it was breathing. Flies flew near and stayed close to the giant thing on the floor.

Up, up, down, down... left, right... B, A, start!

Josh hit Ruby in the back with Nightwings axe and Deena gasped as she fell to the floor. She looked up fast, catching Sams manic glare as the blonde held Deena down.

Deena begged for Sam to stop, trying to get the girl off of her. Sam didn't listen and wrapped her hands around Deenas neck, squeezing tight. It's me. Sams eyes widened as the smallest hint of recognition crossed her eyes and her hands left Deenas neck.

Deena quickly took this opportunity to grab Sam by the hair and shove her head against the ground, knocking her out.

Deena coughed as she tried to regain her breath, quickly realizing how close she was to the convulsing thing. She moved forwards, crawling on her hands and knees before seeing a pair of shoes connected to the legs of Nick Goode standing over her.

"Looking for this?" He questioned, holding the knife Deena had lost in her battle against Sam. Nick grabbed Deena and pulled her up by her hair, stabbing the knife right into her stomach.

Deena cried while Nick just pushed her up against the wall of the tunnel, continuing to hold her up by her hair with one hand. He then threw her to the floor, letting her go with a groan.

She tried to scurry away while on her back, screaming as Nick continued to come towards her with the knife in his hand. She blocked his arm quickly with her own to keep the knife away from her face and battled his hands. But Nick got the upper hand and put the knife against Deenas throat.

"You're gonna be famous! Shadyside's newest piece of shit makes the front page! Local dyke slays girlfriend, friends, brother. And they're gonna give me a fucking medal." Nick spat.

But that's when she heard it. "Deena..." Deena turned her head slightly to the disgusting blob and suddenly got an idea. So, with a final scream, Deena turned her body and landed Nicks hand right on the blob.

His eyes widened. He saw Cyrus Miller and the children who had been murdered. He saw the Grifter drowning one of his victims. He saw Billy, he saw the Milkman, Ruby Lane, and even Tommy Slater.

He watched every murder done by Tommy's axe. Arnie, Gary, Jeremy, Sean, Jesse, Rod, Stacey, Joan, Alice, Cindy, and James. He then saw Heather, Beddy, Kate, Simon, and Annie.

Nick lifted his now shaking hand off the blob, looking around in fear as a voice shot through his head. The truth shall be your curse. I will shadow you for eternity. And everything you take... and everyone you harm... you will feel the grip of my hand. I will follow you forever. I will never let you go. Nick gasped as he saw Simons dead body standing before him, axe wound and all.

He turned quickly and jumped at the sight of James and Annies dead bodies standing next to each other. He looked terrified as he saw the axe wound that went completely through her chest and the blood that oozed from his mouth.

That was the moment he realized what Annies last name was when he asked her all those weeks ago.

He ran forwards clumsily a bit, trying to find a way out. But all he was met with was Alice, then Kate, and then Cindy. No matter where he ran, there was someone standing there that he had gotten killed.

But finally he saw Sarah Fier. And her words echoed through his head. But it wasn't Sarah at all, it was Deena. And she took this moment of him being dazed to stab him in the eye with the knife he dropped.

Upstairs, right before the killers could reach them, they all exploded into thousands of flies that quickly flew away. She had done it.

Deena pulled the knife out of Nicks eye with a gasp. His body fell to the ground immediately, dead. Deena yelled out as tears ran down her face, she couldn't believe it was finally over.

She turned at a sudden noise before watching as the once giant blob slowly almost melted into the floor, never to be seen again.

Deena ran to Sam, hoping she was okay. And when Sam looked back up at her with a normal skin tone and no more growls, Deena knew she was back. Deena quickly smashed her lips onto Sams, so fucking glad to have her back. Sam kissed back quickly, still a little confused but just as happy to be back.

"ALL IS NO longer good in Sunnyvale. New evidence continues to surface implicating Union County Sheriff Nickolas Goode the Sunnyvale serial killer. The family maintains they had no knowledge of Sheriff Goode's horrifying secret. This new evidence has also cleared the names of young teens Kate Schmidt, Annie Marks, and Simon Kalivoda as the killers of a drug induced night of horror. Apologies are being made to the families of these three victims and their names will go down in Shadyside history as great losses."

THINGS WERE FINALLY seeming to look up in Shadyside. With no more threats of serial killers or Sunnyvale purity, the people of Shadyside where beginning to live normal, happy lives.

The tragic losses of the killings would never be forgotten, but now they could finally rest. There was to be no more evil curses cursing this town and it's people could finally feel the burden of living in Shadyside being lifted.

It was a time of new possibilities and second chances for those who got to keep going.

For Deena, Sam, and Josh, it was a time to be normal teens and to honor the memories of their fallen friends. They often thanked the memories of Kate, Simon, and Annie. Because without their sacrifice, there wouldn't have been as much to fight for.

SHADYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL
 sign donated by the class of 1981 
I N L O V I N G M E M O R Y
S I M O N K A L I V O D A
A N N I E M A R K S
K A T E S C H M I D T
H E A T H E R W A T K I N S

AUTHORS NOTE!
feeing: sad because I just FINISHED THIS BOOK (besides the extras I'm gonna add in of course)

but this has legit been my favorite book ever to write and I'm so fucking thankful to every single one of you who has supported this book in any way. It's literally my child and I'm so thankful to be able to share it with all of you!

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I finish the extras wow

anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter, for the second half I tried to kinda make jump cuts for you to visualize and stuff like that so that's why stuff is skipped and I don't mention everything!

anyways I love you all and I will most likely be posting act four by the latest in the morning because it's done I just want to give this chapter some time to be here.

love you all muah muah muah

just decided to do this: part three finished 12:03am july 28th.

STOP THE WAY I PUT THIS IN READER MODE FOR A SECOND AND WHEN I SAW THE IN LOVING MEMORY PART I STARTED BAWLING