Crucible Epilogue

          

Crucible Epilogue

Abigail and Mercy Lewis board the ship that is going to take them to Virginia to get away from Salem and the witch trials which she had mostly been the cause of. She was not going to be held accountable for all the murders, if the town ever came to their senses. Abigail knew that witches were not real and she certainly knew what she had done to herself to convince the judges that witches were most definitely real.

            After the one month journey from Salem to Johnstown, Northern Virginia, Abigail was feeling pretty good about herself. She had a plan to get rid of Mercy. Abigail had been pretending to be nice to her for the whole trip. Just so she would be even more vulnerable. Their boat lands at the dock, and they go and find the nearest inn where they can stay for the time being. Abigail has Mercy pay for the whole room for the first few months. Every time, it is time to pay Abby finds some way to convince Mercy to pay. Sooner or later she will exhaust all of Mercy’s money…which is part of her plan.

            After the sixth month, Mercy was completely out of resources and it was time for Abby to make her move. Abby skips town and leaves Mercy Lewis to fend for herself. It was cruel but she had to do it to get rid of her so she could move quicker and complete her plan.

            When Abigail leaves Mercy by surprise she meets with, Howard Jacobs, a man she had met a few weeks back. She greets him with a passionate kiss. They hop into his carriage and are headed anywhere but Johnstown, Virginia.  They have been travelling north for a few hours; they are deep into the woods. The carriage runs over a rock and the back right wheel falls off. The shock of the crash makes Howard drop the horse’s reins and the skittish horse runs off. Once they get up and find their bearings, they realize that their lanterns have fallen over and the dry fall leaves are all aflame. The fire was spreading faster than any other fire they had ever seen. Within seconds Abigail and Howard are surrounded by a wall of fire. A face appears in the orange blaze and it starts to talk to Abigail. “Abigail, you must go to Reverend Hale and threaten to kill his family if he does not help you spread the witch trials around the colonies and the world. You helped me so much in Salem; you got all of my witches to their home with me. If you succeed in this task, I will give John Proctor back to you. If you fail, you will be in hell alone.” The Devil is gone and so is Howard. Abigail is extremely frightened by her encounter with the Devil but she knows what she must do.

Abigail finds one of the lanterns and lights it again with the flames that are still left from the inferno. She wanders through the forest all night and finally finds her way back to Johnstown by dawn. To her luck there is a boat leaving for Beverly that morning. She has only a few short weeks to plan before she will be in Beverly and have to kidnap Reverend Hale and hold him hostage until he agrees to what she wants.

Abigail’s boat anchors in Beverly, she looks like a different person, she cut her hair and is disguising herself so she is not recognized by the townspeople. She spots Hale and plans to follow him all day, until she can get him alone. Hale walks through town greeting his citizens warmly, he seems to be happier than he was in Salem a year back. Abigail spots her perfect opportunity; Hale is alone and walks into a small shed. She quickly follows him in and slams the door shut. She pulls out her knife. “Reverend Hale, it is Abigail Williams.” Shocked he does not reply. “The Devil just recently came to me and told me that he needs you to help me spread the witch trials all over the colonies and the world.”

“No I will not help you with that, you evil being,” replied Hale.

“Oh, but you must or else I am going to kill your family.” Hale tries to escape the shed, but she stops him by pulling out her knife and placing it over his heart. He steps back and puts a foot of distance between them. “The first victim that you will charge witchcraft on will be your wife. The decision of her life will be up to the judges. You must be convincing or I will torture her and your sons. Accuse her today. You may go.” Abigail lets him walk out but makes sure he knows that she will be following him everywhere he goes.

Hale goes to the judges of the town and is very convincing in his accusation of his wife. The judges are confused why he would do such a thing because they knew how much he hated the witch trial in Salem. Goody Hale is called into court and questioned. To Hale’s dismay she does not confess to witchcraft so she is condemned to be hung in three days.

            Abigail is very proud of her work so far, and she keeps telling Reverend Hale who she wants him to accuse next. She loves her power, just like she loved the power she had in Salem.

Soon Hale is getting tired of this nonsense and cannot see one more innocent person die after his wife was hung that morning. For a brief moment when Abigail is not in sight, Hale grabs a knife from his kitchen and hides it in his jacket. When Abigail walks into the kitchen a superior force overcomes Hale and he grabs Abby and pins her against the wall. “I am not standing for this nonsense any more. I just watched my wife die because of you and…” Abigail stabs him with the knife she has in her hand. Before he even falls to the floor she is gone.

Abigail Williams is never seen or heard of again. However, witch trials and mysterious murders kept happening for years after her disappearance.