everlong| hocus pocus

022. three souls

     JASPER WEISS shot right up like a coiled spring, adrenaline surging through her veins. She yanked Max up by the collar of his shirt, both of them stumbling as they raced toward the sound of Dani's terrified shrieks. But they were entirely too late. Above them, Winifred loomed, her dark figure rising into the sky as she clutched Dani in her grasp. "Dani!" Max's voice tore through the air, raw and desperate, his eyes locked on the witch and his captured little sister, both suspended in a nightmarish tableau against the darkening sky.
     "Bye-bye, big brother!" Winifred cackled, her laughter echoing with wicked delight. Max, Jasper, and Billy sprinted forward, hearts pounding as they chased the shadowy figure of the witch and the teary eyed Dani. Winifred came to a halt, turning to relish the sight of her captive. Her eyes glinted with dark satisfaction as she locked onto Dani's tear-streaked face, savoring the fear that radiated from the little girl. "All right you little trollimog." Winifred whipped out the potion from her pocket. Dani screamed at the top of her little lungs before the witch kept a grip on her jaw, covering her screams and cries.
     "Hold on, Dani!" Binx yelled from below. He dashed up the tree branches, every leap fueled by a fierce determination. Clinging to Winifred, he dug every claw he had into her shoulder, a small but ferocious defender. With a swift swipe of his tiny paw, he knocked the potion from the Sanderson's grasp, sending it spiraling through the air. But Winifred was relentless—she swatted Thackary away with brutal force, and he crashed against a rock, the sickening crack of impact echoing through the cemetery.
He didn't get up.
The teen Dennison and the teen Weiss raced toward the potion, adrenaline surging through their veins. Jasper, with a burst of wild energy, lunged forward, his hands outstretched in a desperate bid for victory. In a chaotic scramble, he clumsily caught the vial, snatching it from the air just before Max could reach it, the moment hanging heavy with tension as their eyes locked in a fierce struggle for dominance.
     "Give me that vial!" Winifred yelled at the young teen.
     "Put her down or I'll smash it!" The girl rasped.
     "Smash it and she dies!" Winifred calls back, shoving Dani closer to her, and in that moment, the world around Jasper seemed to slow to a crawl. How could time stretch so painfully in such dire circumstances? Max read Jasper's face, becoming impatient. She felt her heart racing, but everything else felt suspended, as if the universe was holding its breath. Max, reading the urgency etched on Jasper's face, felt impatience boil within him. Dani was hanging by a thread—her life teetering on the edge. Still, she had so much ahead of her. Max had danced through endless parties in California, finally finding someone special, surrounded by friends and family who loved him. He had it all, but now it was Dani's turn to live. For Dani, for Salem, for Jasper. His head turned quickly to the vial and lunged toward and yanked the elixir to from Jasper's hands.
     "Stop!" Tatum shouted, yanking Max's arm back, desperation clawing at her voice as she tried to wrest the vial from his grip. Max locked eyes with her, seeing the terror reflected in her wide, petrified gaze. In a split second, he made a choice and shoves Jasper into Billy's arms, urgency driving him as Billy struggled to contain the screaming girl.
     Max stole one last glance at Jasper, her eyes shimmering with forming tears, and in that moment, clarity pierced through the chaos. It was the bravest—and most reckless—and stupidest decision he would ever make. Without hesitating, he raised the vial to his lips and chugged the potion in a single, defiant gulp, just before Jasper could break free from Billy's hold. The weight of his choice hung heavy in the air, destiny unfolding in a heartbeat.
     "No!" Dani screamed from above, her voice piercing through the chaos like a dagger.
     "Max!" Jasper cried out, thrashing against Billy's iron grip, desperation fueling her every movement as she fought to break free.
     "No!" Billy growled, yanking her back into a punishing hold protectively. The teen smashed it to the floor, shattering it into a thousand fragments, the sound echoing ominously in the night. He took his final gulp, the liquid burning down his throat as the cold, dark Earth enveloped him, a haunting embrace as Jasper pressed her face into her palm, the weight of the moment crashing down around them.
    "Now you have no choice!" Winifred's fury radiated from her as she clutched her head, the tension crackling in the air. "You have to take me!" As the witch descended closer to the ground, she yanked Dani around with a violent force, the girl's terrified cries repeating in Max's ear. Winifred leaned in, her face inches from Max's, malevolence swirling in her eyes as the weight of her threat hung heavy between them.
     "What a fool to give thy life..." Winifred sneered, her gaze dripping with disdain as she looked down at Dani. "for thy sister's." With a ruthless shove, she sent the hysterical girl crashing to the ground. Jasper crawled forward, enveloping Dani in a protective embrace, holding her tight against the chaos. But in an instant, Winifred's cold, merciless hand clamped around Max, her grip unyielding as she pulled him close, the chill of her power radiating through him, leaving him breathless and trapped in her grasp.
     The young teen was now being risen up to almost the tops of the autumn trees only hearing the cries of the people below him. His ears buzzed. The yelling which morphed to sobs were all just a muffle. The young teen felt himself being lifted higher, ascending toward the canopy of autumn trees, everything below fading into a distant murmur. But amidst the chaos, one thing pierced through: Winifred's sinister smile, a twisted expression of malevolence as she slowly drained the very essence of his being. A golden aura enveloped him, shimmering brightly against the encroaching darkness, a flicker of hope battling against the suffocating dread that threatened to consume him. A golden aura surrounded him, it shined bright.
     It was his soul.
Max flailed around, shoving the Sanderson's chin up trying to fight back he couldn't land a single punch. He looked down only to see even if he did fight back she would die from falling seventy feet in the air. Winifred grabbed the boy's wrist and flung it back, making Max hang from one arm. Dani clung to Jasper's sweater, burying her face in the fabric, desperate to block out the horrifying sight of Max's impending fate. He hung precariously from the broom, fighting to maintain his grip, the ground looming menacingly below. The boy clung back onto the broom still dangling. With a gasp, Winifred seized the blue crewneck he wore, yanking him upward with brutal strength. Max felt his body growing weaker, the world spinning around him. But with a final burst of determination, he summoned every ounce of energy left and shoved Winifred with all his might. Winifred lost balance on the broom from the force of the boy and waved her hands around in a frenzy "Hallowed ground! Hallowed ground!" the ginger squealed. "Sisters!"
     "Winnie I'm coming!" Mary yelled moving up quickly on her broom toward the panicked sister. Thanks to Dani's quick thinking, she latched onto the swiftly moving wire snaking out of Mary's vacuum, her grip tight and fierce. Billy and Jasper joined her, all of them pulling with all their strength, desperately trying to keep Mary from reaching Winifred.
     "Pull harder!" Dani squealed, her body straining against the effort, teetering dangerously as she fought to maintain her balance. Max glanced down at his friends, feeling the weight of their struggle, then up at the sky where a soft glow began to emerge. A smile tugged at his lips—dawn was approaching, and with it, a glimmer of hope amidst the chaos. Dani squealed with practically her whole body about to fall over from pulling. Dawn was approaching. All they had to do was hold on a little bit longer.
     "Come on! Come on!" Tatum strained using all her fifteen-year-old muscles could take.
     "I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" Winifred yelled, grabbing onto the brunette's hair and raising him up. Max screamed sharply while Winifred kept attempting to suck the poor soul out of the him.
     "Sarah!" Mary hollered while she was still being dragged down by the determined group. Tatum had finally gained that determination back that she always had. That determination was going to save her Max, she was using all of it to her advantage. "Help!" Mary reached her arm out for the blonde sister while she did the same. The two latched hands with strained grunts in between. Tatum looked up at the red-headed witch who was still sucking the soul out of Max from above. She tightened her grip and pulled harder than her body could take.
     "Let go now!" Tatum strained. The three in unison let go of the two witches, sending them flying into the sky far away from Winifred. Tatum's body collapsed with Dani coming down with her. Now all they could do was watch. Billy held the girls tight as the girls did the same with each other. Dani sobbed into Tatum's sweater, covering it in tears. The dust in Tatum's eyes stopped her from crying. But oh did she want to. So badly.
     The two screaming witches passed Winifred, just grazing the broom which mad the witch loose her balance. Winifred began to fall which meant Max was going down too.
Max slammed down onto the hallowed ground with a loud thud. A loud crack rang in the boys ear. A sharp pain stabbed at Max's ankle. The nerves of the pain was quickly sent to the brain causing Max to let out a ragged scream as he lay defenseless on the grass.
     Everything hurt and he couldn't even bother getting up. He wondered how he was still alive. Max exhaled shakily staring up at the orange trees above, not being able to get up. On the other hand, Winifred was still hungry and dead-set on getting that boy's soul no matter what even if she was touching hallowed ground.
Somehow she wasn't dead.
     Winifred was supposed to die.
Why is she still not dead yet?
     Winifred stuck out her two arms, picking herself up and spitting out old cemetery leaves. She spied an almost unconscious Max on the floor in defeat. The ginger hissed crawling quickly towards him. The Dennison boy had gained enough strength to turn his head only to see Winifred crawling towards him. Max tried to roll over but not before Winifred could catch him. The woman grabbed the teen back over to her, now on top of him with full control. Max squealed with Winifred's nail digging into the boy's back like daggers as she picked him up.
     He could feel the soul being taken out of her and into Winifred's already growing younger body. Max yelled trying to use his arms and fight back but Winifred's grip was as tight as ever. Max looked down to see Winifred's feet growing into stone. That action directed Winifred towards the view of the sun rising in the distance. "Oh!" The Dennison and Sanderson in unison both looked down at the stone growing up Winifred's body and back to the sun.
"Book!" Winifred sang one last time before completely turning to stone. Max looked in shock before shoving himself off the stone's grasp and falling onto the soft grass with eyes full of hot wet tears.
     "Winnie!" Sarah yelled breathlessly from the sky. "Goodbye." Sarah had disappeared, purple smoke was to be the last trace of her.
     "Uh oh! Ooh. Bye bye" Mary had been turned to red dust evaporating into the air.
     Max gazed up tiredly at the Winifred statue that would now explode into green smoke and glitter which would soon disappear. The boy yelped, covering his face from the explosion, sniffing into the cemetery grass, trying not to cry. Jasper's warm eyes sparkled with amazement as she continued crawling towards Max in exhaustion and pain. She somehow regained all her energy running towards Max even though she had felt all her bones were about to fall out of her body.
     Max slowly raised his head up to see Winifred Sanderson no more. A sigh of relief escaped the boys mouth as he gathered the strength to sit up and not injure his ankle anymore than he already has. Jasper looked up to see nothing but a cemetery and a Max Dennison slowly trying to pick himself up. Billy looked up to see his ex completely gone and evaporated into the sky. That must've felt good, eh? A smile grew on the sad zombie's face. Lastly Dani rose, seeing Max safe and sound and the witches no more. "Ha! Max!" Dani yelled, tears flooded Dani's face, finally letting all them flow. Max had now been crying too, reaching for Jasper before she crashed into him, both tears staining each others clothes.
   Jasper held the boy from behind, giving him the biggest hug she could. Dani lay in between the couple with an infectious smile. "Max. Are you okay?" Dani lowered her smile.
     "Ask me tomorrow?" He smiled. Max chuckled under his breath, letting the girl hold him comfortably tighter.
     "You know you saved my life." Dani reminded.
     "Well I had to I'm your big brother." Max answered, ruffling the auburn Dennisons hair.
     "I love you, jerkface." Dani heartwarmingly said, a smile continuing to grow on her face.
     "I love you too." He smiled, pulling Dani closer into a group hug between Max, Jasper and now Dani.
     "Come on." Jasper said softly helping the boy up. Billy helped her with Max who could barely walk. Their next stop was Billy's grave. Jasper sent the zombie off while he crawled into it messily.
     "Bye, Billy. Have a nice sleep." Dani said, waving goodbye at the Butcherson.
     "Hey, Billy," Max began. The zombie looked up with a grunt. "thanks." Billy nodded, looking towards Tatum.
     "We owe ya, Billy. Take it easy." The zombie smiled and nodded again before yawning loudly and quite literally plops back into his eternal slumber. Dani chuckled along with Jasper at the Butcherson.
     Now to say goodbye to Binx who still hadn't moved since Winifred flung him away to the rock. Dani pulled away from the two lovebirds, frantically looking around. "Wheres Binx?" Dani asked walking far away from the two. Jasper made eye contact with Max once more guilty. She knew what happens once the witches die. Max took the hand of the Weiss while they followed Dani who inevitably found Binx. Just not alive. "Binx!" Dani sat beside the cat who laid still.
     "He's gone. He's gone, Dani" Jasper walked towards Dani, trying to explain calmly.
     "But he can't die, remember?" Dani yelled within choked tears. Dani shook Binx until she had to face the truth. He was gone. "Binx wake up! Like last time!" Max and Jasper stared at each other still not knowing what to do or how they were going to get Dani off this cat. Dani finally gave up and sobbed onto the cat. Jasper stroked the Dennison's auburn hair, pulling it back behind her ear.
     "Dani. Come on. Please don't be sad for me." A familiar voice said. The girl looked up to see the Thackary Binx. Dani looked up with tears flooding her red face. Her blue eyes looked down to the lifeless cat then to the ghost. It was Binx.
     "Binx? Is that you?"
     "Yeah." he said with a chuckle, flinging his hands up with glee. Dani slid down the rock and rushed up to the ghost. The two teens rose up following Dani slowly in awe. "The witches are dead. My soul's finally free." he explained walking up to the girl. Dani chuckled with tears still running down her face. Binx held out his hand for Dani's small hands to hold it back. "You freed me, Dani. Thank you." Binx smiled. He then moved onto Max telling by his eyes shifting towards them. "Hey, Max, thanks for lighting the candle," Max gave a smile in return. Thackary turned his eyes to the limping girl last. "And Jasper, thank you for keeping the airhead in check. And keeping Dani safe." Thackary smiled.
     "Anytime, Binx."
     "Thackary! Thackary Binx!" An unfamiliar voice called. Binx knew it. He turned around with tears forming in his eyes like everyone else.
      "It's Emily." Thackary exhaled. He looked at the two teens for a moment before bending down to meet eyes with Dani. "I shall always be with you." He said before planting a soft kiss on the Dani's cheek. The three watched as Binx walked towards the sister he had been waiting three hundred years to see. He turned around one last time, giving the group a friendly goodbye wave. Max waved back in relief, his eyes growing watery again, laughing. Thackary turned around to hold his sisters hand in one huge, cathartic moment.
     "Thackary Binx, what took thee so long?" Emily asked in curiosity as they walked towards the opening gate.
     "I'm sorry, Emily. I had to wait three hundred years for a virgin to light a candle." Thackary explained with a slight chuckle.
     The three victorious kids watched the two reunited ghosts walk past the gate while it closed behind them. Dani continued to watch, collecting her breath. Max turned to Jasper, caressing her cheek, drying away her tears. "Look I'm crying too," the two laughed through choked cries. "I love you, Jasper." Max said clearly, glaring from her lips to her eyes.
     "I think...I think I love you too." Jasper exhaled. Like one huge weight has released from her shoulders. Love.
     "Oh, I know you do." Jasper laughed before holding Max's head, playing with his hair.
     Max then kissed Jasper. In that moment, they had truly won.

....right?