Vicious by V.E Schwab
Two nights later, Merit cemetery
Sydney dragged the shovel she was carrying through the dirt. It wasn't comfortable to hold it, but it just felt right to be carrying it on her own, despite the wound in her arm that was still tingling. She hoped that it left a visible scar, one that would serve as a reminder. The freezing air made her shiver in her stolen, too-big clothes. Mitch and Dominic trailed behind her, each holding their own shovels, while Dol stayed by her side. Since there had been nothing on the news about Eli or Serena, Sydney had a big hunch that they were both still alive, much to her dismay. She wondering if Eli would end up living forever since nothing left a mark on him.
She wondered, if Eli were alive, what he would be doing right now. He could be sleeping, like nothing had ever happened in the first place. Or maybe he was hiding a body, pretending to be a hero, taking away the life of an innocent person who had recently cheated death, only to face it again. Sydney wondered if, deep down, he knew it was wrong. Wrong to be posing as god's solider, returning things to the natural way despite not qualifying for it himself. She wondering if Serena had also been a victim and how she had gotten into this mess in the first place. The Serena she knew wouldn't have done that.
The cemetery was far too quiet, although reasonable due to the fact that it was filled with dead people. She tried humming like Victor had, but it didn't feel right; the tune was sad and uncomfortable in her mouth. So instead, she focused on the back of her hand, where she had drawn a map on her hand with a black sharpie when it was daytime. Eventually, they reach the grave, unmarked aside from a book with the word VALE written on the side that she herself had placed in the morning after waiting for the gravediggers to leave.
Joined by Mitch, she raised her shovel while Dol went to look around, never leaving Sydney out of his sight, and Dominic kept watch. They began to dig. The thuds echoed through the empty cemetery, the vibrations bouncing around before going up into the sky, diminishing into nothingness. They continued digging until the sun seemed to be on the verge of coming out and the sky was just starting to hide away the stars. Then Sydney's shovel came into contact with the wood. Sydney and Mitch heaved the coffin out, dusted the last bits of dirt off the lid, and heaved it open.
Inside the coffin was not something either of them had been predicting. Rather than Victor's body lying there, it was a pile of ashes. It took everything inside Sydney to not break down right then and there. "It's alright," she thought. "I can still try." So she reached out and touched the massive pile of ashes, searching for the string. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find it. It wasn't like with Dol, where it was just out of reach. The string simply ceased to exist. Sydney collapsed onto the ground and burst out into sobs. She knew they never should've left Victor alone like that.
