Witch {Book One} [UNEDITED]

XLIII: One Hundred Miles in Barbed Wire

Three days had passed, apparently. 

I figured that out just as I was being dragged away by Gabriel. 

"Two days until your birthday," she had said as she shoved me into a closet. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the closet with me before she could leave. 

"What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On?" I demand, keeping my voice low. 

"Jemma is trying to kill us, I think Death is dying, and now you have two days until your birthday. I'm assuming this is your last trial?" I narrowed my eyes debating whether or not I should show her the barbed wire. She probably already knew, and a teeny part of me trusted Gabriel, so I decided to show her. I pulled up the hem of my dress--just to my knees--and gestured at the bloody barbed wire wrapped around my legs. She cursed under her breath but didn't say anything else. She looked at me one more time before taking off, leaving me alone in the dark closet. I let go of the hem of my dress and slumped against the wall. When did my life go downhill? Just two months ago I wouldn't have even thought that angels were real and that I would be dating Death and that Lucifer would be on my shit list and I would be hunted by a ghost and Hell Hounds and demons. 

I ran my hands through my tangled hair. Maybe if I just ran . . . I shook my head but still stood up. It was silent in the hallway so, without thinking, I threw open the door and started running. The wire bit into my legs but forced back a scream. 

I saw Jemma first. 

She looked just as she did when I exorcized her. Her eyes were black and she looked like she had fire under her skin. She looked at me and smirked an evil smirk. It was that stereotypical smirk that all villains did. I stumbled back but that was all I did. 

Then I saw Sammy. 

She had black blood oozing from her nose and her mouth. I saw black smudges on her collar and wrists and sleeves. She had been bleeding for a long time. 

"Run," Sammy whispered. 

"Don't," Jemma said in a broken voice.

I stepped back again. Sammy shook her head and Jemma started advancing. 

It was then that I screamed at the top of my lungs. Jemma's hands flew to her ears and she fell to her knees, trying to block out the noise. Sammy shook her head again and disappeared. Whether she just vanished into thin air or ran away, I don't know, she was gone. I stopped screaming and started running. 

I left Safe House and didn't stop running. The barbed wire stung as it dug further into my legs but I ignored it completely. Sammy was dying--which was impossible because she was Death--and Jemma was going to kill us. 

"Bandit!" I turned my head at the sound of my name and stumbled to a stop. Gabriel stood behind me, her wings spread out. I swallowed and ran back to her. 

"What?" I hissed, getting ready to run again. 

"Take care." She smiled softly and before I could say anything else, she started flying. 

I was both confused and stunned. Now Gabriel was gone (not to mention still female) and she just left like that. No real goodbye. No explanation. She literally just took off flying. 

I didn't think for long as I started running again. 

By nightfall--at least I thought it was nightfall--I had made it to the forest that was on the edge of town. Or in the next town over. I couldn't remember anymore. I fell to the ground and let out a sob. My legs burned like they were on fire and were slick with blood. I yanked my dress up and looked at the slimy shiny blood covering my pale legs. There wasn't any skin that wasn't coated in blood. I gagged and forced myself to look away. 

Annie? I asked silently in my mind. I didn't expect a reply but I was still slightly disappointed when I didn't get one. I pulled my knees to my chest and tried to convince myself to get up and go finish the hundred miles. I didn't even know how many I'd already completed. Ten? Fifteen? Less? How would I even know? 

Bandit . . . a familiar voice filled my head. I scrambled to my feet, trying to place a name to the voice. I couldn't, but I knew that I had heard it before. 

And then I saw her. 

>>>

Glitch took Thomason's hand. He was shaking and Glitch could see that before he felt Thomason's shaky hand. 

"You're gonna be okay," Glitch murmured, kissing Thomason's knuckles. Thomason pulled his hand away. 

"No, I'm not. It's clear that I'm not gonna be okay. The Hell Hounds still want me and they won't stop 'till they get me," Thomason argued. Glitch sighed and ran a hand over his shaved head. Thomason was right but Glitch wouldn't admit that. 

"It ain't just the Hell Hounds," Glitch eventually said. It was true; the Hell Hounds were only a minor problem. There was Jemma, who was trying to kill everyone; there was Sammy, who was dying or bleeding or both; there was Lucy, who tried to kill everyone and now was god knows where with her evil goat; there was Gabriel, who was still a woman and now was gone; and there was Bandit, who just took off without saying anything. She had been acting strange and neither Glitch nor Thomason could even begin to think of what was wrong. Maybe she was finally going mad from the trials. Maybe Ada had gotten to her. Maybe this was just normal Bandit Lee. What did Glitch know? He hadn't known her for long. 

"I feel like we should'a helped Gabe . . ." Thomason muttered. "He's helped us more times than I can count and we owe him. Her. Whatever." 

Thomason, again, had a point. 

"We pulled Gabe from Hell. It's his move now. Tommy, this ain't about Gabriel." 

"It's about Bandit." 

"Not even her."

"Don't let her know you said that." 

Glitch tensed up suddenly, a thought coming to him. 

"Thomason, I just thought of something," Glitch whispered, making sure that Thomason was the only person to hear him. "Why does Ada want to kill Bandit?" 

"Isn't it because of her family line or something?" Thomason asked after a minute of thought. 

"No," Glitch said, now grinning. "I think that Ada is scared of Bandit." 

>>>

There was a woman standing in front of me. She was translucent--ghostlike--but I could recognize her immediately. She had thick black hair down to her waist and dark blue eyes hidden behind thick lashes. Instead of black dresses and tattoos, she had on a casual black and white outfit and I couldn't see a single tattoo on her. It was like I was looking at a mirror that only showed you the future, but different. I took a step closer but snapped myself out of the trance. This woman hated me. She betrayed me. I hated her and I wanted her to know. 

I took a deep breath and asked, "Why the hell are you back, Momma?"