Chapter LV:

The Civil War only lasted for four years. It was long enough for everything to come undone. What were we going to do after the war? I knew that I couldn’t stay in New Orleans anymore. Maybe I could go to a place where there are no people. But what about Maddie and her siblings?

I didn’t get time to think about that when I heard screaming. I sat up in bed with a jolt. That sounded like Maddie. I jumped out of bed and ran out of the cabin. I ended up running towards the woods. A million thoughts ran through my mind. I didn’t like a single one of them. Maybe they saw a snake or something. Maddie and the children stood near the entrance.

“What is it?” I asked. One of the children trembled as she pointed forward in the grass. Against my better judgement, I turned my head. My jaw dropped. The decapitated corpse of a little girl lay further up in the grass. She looked about six years old. Her left hand was missing. Her dress was so dirty. How long had she been out here? I took a step closer, covering my mouth.

“Is that…?” I asked. They didn’t have to say anything. I thought I was going to vomit. Maddie looked up with tears in her eyes.

“Who would do this to her?!” she wailed. I gently took her into my arms.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to her. She wept against my chest. The remaining children cried around me. At first, I told myself it was an animal attack. But I knew that wasn’t true. There was only one answer I could think of.

Maddie and her siblings couldn’t stay here. Whatever is stalking me is getting worse. But where are they going to go? The South is falling apart. The Union has been storming through and burning everything. I was lucky to stay hidden out in the swamp. Still, I can’t help but wonder how long that will last.

“Do you have any family?” I asked Maddie one day. She looked up at me with unease. Her eyes welled up with tears.

“No!” she whimpered. Maddie into my arms. My heart sank. This problem might have gotten worse. I don’t know how to handle this. We had come three years into the war, but it didn’t feel like it. In the distance, I could feel Luna watching me.

But she wasn’t alone this time.

More and more ghosts kept appearing around the house. Was it them? Were they the ones making the children disappear? Did they kill that little girl? It’s kind of funny now. I don’t remember her name anymore. I can’t even remember what her face looked like. All I remember is seeing her headless corpse in that tall grass. I don’t remember if we buried her or not. We might have cremated her. It doesn’t matter. She’s lost to time. Just like everyone else that has crossed my path. I really thought that I could get Maddie away from me this time. I should be so lucky.

The Civil War would rage on for one more year. After that, things would get worse for the South. When it was all said and done, Maddie would never be the same.

But not before I would try and end everything with her. It would take one more death to help me make my decision.