Witch Hunt #Wattys2018

Chapter 18

As I rounded the house, I watched a man slit a witch's throat. The old woman fell to the ground in a heap, and the man looked at me.

"Are you Rose?" He asked gruffly

I slowly nodded, in shock of what I had seen.

"I'm Ezra." He stepped towards me, "The Witch Hunters are here. Don't worry." He glanced at my arm. My makeshift bandage had spots of red, as my wound continued to bleed. "One moment." He said, then tightened the knot.

I winced in pain and tightened my grip on the knife. In the town, the chaos continued.

Though the townspeople resembled the Witch Hunters in appearance, it was easy to differentiate the two. The Witch Hunters were the ones not running away.

Ezra guided me through the town, as if I didn't know it by heart, to the church. Reverend Brusco's corps still in front of it.

The Witch Hunter's had claimed the church as their base, and where the wounded would be taken.

A nurse was at my side almost the moment I stepped in the building. She took me to a small corner of the room where the nurses worked. She gently removed the bandage, and examined my stab wound.

She reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a needle and thread. "This will hurt." She warned, then started to stitch the hole together.

I clenched my teeth as the needle went in and out of my skin. My eyes remained squeezed shut until she informed me that she had finished.

Though the wound still stung, it no longer bled. Her job done, the nurse moved on to a man with several needles stuck in his leg. I stood up and walked to the other part of the building. There several members of the Witch Hunters argued about what to do.

"We shouldn't leave until they're all dead!" A man yelled

"And risk losing all of our members?" A girl, not much older than me, chided, "I didn't take you for a dalcop!"

The man opened his mouth to retort when another gave his opinion, "We should leave as soon as Mira is dead!" He said hastily, "If she's dead the others won't have a leader, they'll disperse!"

"Or find another leader!" Another added, "We know they take revenge very seriously."

The group continued to give options then point out why the option was a horrible idea.

"Mira needs to die!" I shouted. They all looked at me.

"Who are you?" The first man asked, narrowing his eyes.

"My name is Rose Winslow." I told him

"You're the reason we're here." The woman said examining me then turning to the rest of the group, "We came for her, now that we have her, we should leave! Before any more of our numbers die!"

"Now you're the dalcop!" The first man argued, "To risk the lives of so many, for one is foolish! We must take them all out!"

The group started to argue again. I clenched my teeth, realizing that they weren't going to listen to what I had to say. They had been members far longer than I had.

I stormed out of the building, into the chaos. I stepped over Brusco's corps, and swung the knife at one of the witches. The blade cut into her face. She screeched and put a hand to her face. A man behind her drove his own blade into her back.

I knew I had to find Mira. There was only one place I could think she would be. The last place her son stood.

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