A Deal With a Witch (English)

Prologue

The street lights turned on and it was officially night.
It was still pretty light outside. The sun was on its way down to the horizon and it colored the clouds golden against the pink and purple night sky. The tall buildings cast long shadows and the streets lay dark in contrast to the colors above.
I was moving fast along the sidewalk. As fast as I could without it being considered jogging. The content inside the large hiking backpack shuffled and rustled.
On the way into town, a steady flow of people appeared on the sidewalks. Most of them were on their way to the bars and discos down town. I had almost forgotten how much life there was here during the weekends.
Music flowed out from the nightclubs. All the different party songs melted together into a mess of notes and bass sounds. The sound of drunk people singing along could be heard in the distance.
The backpack hung heavy on my shoulders. It was stuffed full and reached past my head. It had been just fine when I left, but I was starting to feel like I had miscalculated a little when I packed it. A lot of the things I packed had felt like good ideas at the time, but looking back now I was starting to regret some of it. I mean, there would definitely be a frying pan where I was going. And I could have just bought new canned food. There was absolutely no reason to bring everything that was left in the cupboards.
As usual my hindsight trumped my planning ability.

I felt clumsy and tail heavy where I navigated as well as I could past the pedestrians on the sidewalk. I stood out noticeably as I hurried along. A few sent me looks, but for the most part, people were too busy with themselves to pay me any attention. A weirdo with a backpack on a late Saturday night was hardly the most exciting thing to see around here.
Out of two taxies came a group of people wearing colorful carnival costumes. In the middle of the group was a woman wearing a sparkly plastic tiara. The bachelorette party ran along, their moods chipper as they laughed. Compared to them, I slipped anonymously into the crowd.

Well inside the center of town it was getting significantly harder to slalom past the horde of people. Passing this many people out on the town was usually frustrating enough already. Now, with a gigantic backpack, it was almost completely hopeless. I had to shove myself past them as well as I could, and the backpack proved to be like an improvised bull bar that helped me plow my way through.
It would have been much easier to take the detour through the park. There were fewer people, and even if it was a longer trip, it would have taken less time getting there all together.
But that wasn't an alternative tonight.
Right now, the sea of people was exactly what I needed.

As I reached the pedestrian area, the crowd drowned out the music. Loud voices could be heard from all around. It was nearly impossible to distinguish them from each other. That's why it surprised me when I suddenly heard a familiar voice within all the racket.
"Sara!"
My eyes searched for the source of the voice.
"Sara! Sara, over here!" It came from one of the outdoor areas in front of the restaurants.
This time I saw the arm waving at me enthusiastically. The girl smiled widely as she was leaning against the fence that framed the outdoor area. She had a beer in one hand and her phone in the other. I plowed my way passed a talking couple and walked over to her. As soon as I was in range, I was immediately pulled into a hug.
When she let go of me, her eyes went up and down the backpack. She chuckled. "Are you going for a hike?"
Before I could reply, it seemed like something dawned on her. Her expression changed.
"Wait. Are you going now? Like, for good?" she asked surprised.
"For good? That sounds dramatic", I replied.
"You should have said something! We could have had a going away party", she exclaimed in disappointment.
I laughed lightly. "Yeah... You'll have to party enough for the both of us tonight", I suggested.
I looked around. I couldn't see any of them. Of course, that didn't mean that they weren't there. I couldn't stay here long.
I was just about to say something to end the conversation, but she beat me to it.
She took a sip of her beer and shuffled the phone around in her hand.
"So, you're taking a night bus then, or?"
I nodded. "Yep. It's leaving soon."
The initial plan was to take a regular bus tomorrow. But apparently that wasn't an option anymore either. They had found out about it faster than I'd anticipated.
She leaned her elbow on the hand she was holding her phone with.
"How long will you be gone?"
"I'm not entirely sure. I'm thinking I'll take it as it comes."
I looked at my watch discreetly.
"And your mom is okay with it?" she continued. She looked a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden. Her hand fiddled with the phone.
"I mean, since it's not that long ago since the funeral and stuff, y'know..."
I straightened the straps on my backpack.
"We've talked about it. She's not too happy about it, but she understands that it'll be good for me to go away for a while", I explained and gave her a reassuring smile. "Besides, it's better than me just walking around and moping here", I added and shrugged. I got a smile in response. She reached out her arm and gave me another hug.
"You have to call when you get back. We can have a welcoming party instead!" she said and toasted her beer at me. I returned the toast empty handed.
"See you", I said and grabbed the straps of my backpack, then turned and continued walking through the pedestrian area.
I didn't look back. There was no point to it. I was never going to see her again.
And I already knew I was being followed.

The bus station was located on the outskirts of the city center.
As soon as you left the pedestrian area, you just had to follow the road all the way to the mall. After that, you walked across the parking lot and ended up right by the bus stops.
I had made it through phase one now, but that was also the easiest one. As long as there were people around me, they couldn't do anything. The pedestrian area was safe. So was the road, if I was lucky. I was.
Since the night was still young, there were still a lot of people out and about. Together with the traffic on the road, it made for a perfect combination.
Sometimes I thought I could spot something moving in between the buildings. By all means, it could just be something I imagined, but it benefitted me more to think about the other possibility.
Now came the hard part. The closer I got to the mall, the fewer people I encountered. Now that I was here, there was no one to be seen at all.
I sat my course right for the parking lot, moving with long, quick steps. My braid swayed back and forth across my chest. I stared ahead vigilantly, scanning the entire area for movements.
The contents of my backpack were shaking about and making so much noise, that I didn't hear them arrive. But a quick glance behind me confirmed my suspicions. Under a street light stood one of them. The light from above left the face in shadows. It was impossible to see a single feature. There was just an endless black hole under the hood.
I started running.
So did my entourage.
More of them showed up, but I couldn't determine how many.
I bolted around the corner of the mall and could see the bus station. There was light on the platform and the bus was ready for departure. The rumble of the engine was like music to my ears. I held the straps tightly, running as fast as I could. My sneakers pounded against the pavement. The water bottle flew out the side pocket of the backpack and hit the ground with a smack. It disappeared behind me as I just about threw myself onto the platform.
Oh well, I wasn't thirsty anyway, I thought and pushed the straps off my shoulders. The backpack was then hurled into the luggage compartment. I didn't move until the hatch closed.
As soon as it was shut, I calmly walked into the bus. The bus driver looked at me curiously.
"Good evening", I greeted.
I paid for the ticked and moved further into the bus. There was a surprising amount of passengers. That explained why they hadn't followed me onto the platform.
I found a seat in the middle of the bus and sat down. A window seat of course. I mean, I had to say goodbye to my farewell committee.
The dark silhouettes stayed put in the parking lot, where they watched from the shadows. I could feel how the cold eyes were observing me. The atmosphere wasn't good out there.
The doors closed with a loud whoosh and the bus started moving.
With a smile on my face, I raised my hand and waved at them. They had, after all, made a valiant attempt.
The bus drove away and they disappeared in the night.
I exhaled and sunk down in my seat. A little later the driver turned on the speaker and informed us about the destination and the travel time. He also reminded us that it was mandatory to wear the seat belts. The air was filled with the sound of a dozen passengers reluctantly taking off their jackets to put on their seat belts.
I leaned against the window and took a silent goodbye with the town as we drove through it.
Three years, I thought. It felt longer.
I rested my forehead against the cool glass. The memories passed in tandem with the city.
The square. Where I found her.
The park. Where the sister found me.
All the streets and buildings we went through.
The neighborhoods outside of town.
Their house.
The rural areas.
The forest.
The place we found it.
The path where we chased it.
The place Emily died.

I looked out at the trees that flew by, the dark, empty forest. For a short moment I allowed myself to remember that night. Remember all the mistakes we did. Remember the look she gave me before it was over her. Remember the sight of it tearing her to pieces.
I stopped there. I refused myself to think about what followed.
Instead I was left sitting there and staring out the window for a long while. With so few lampposts outside, the world turned pitch dark. The small lamp above me reflected in the glass and I was made aware of my own reflection.
There was something accusatory in those eyes. It annoyed me.
I turned the lamp off.

My jacket was made into an improvised pillow and I eventually closed my eyes. The only sound that could be heard was the steady thrum of the engine. It was an okay thing to focus on.