by Evan Bond
The make-shift altar before her had been made out of sticks, books, papers, and anything else which would be flammable. When the time was right, it would light up like a new year’s celebration. Best of all, Sasha would find herself in the middle. A witch burned at the stake. The punishment couldn’t be more appropriate. She felt like a puritan. They were the true saviors of this country, Carol thought. They did what was right. The women killed during the Salem witch trials had been the first step to cleansing this land of the impure. Carol knew those women hadn’t sold their souls to the devil. But many of them were impure. Adultery, native sympathizers, and liars were all done away with. They only fouled up the land with their presence. Every last one of them deserved what they got. Carol was sure of that. Just as she was sure Sasha would too.
“No,” Carol yelled. “Don’t pour the fuel yet. It will evaporate before we’re ready. We’ll have to wait until we have the witch in custody.”
Two men holding red canisters took a step back and placed them on the ground. Carol shook her head, wondering if she were the only educated person in the entire town. Sometimes she felt like it.
In the town hall, Tara sat with a bag over her head and a rope wrapped around her body. It led to the handrail leading up the stairs to the stage and held her securely in place. She wriggled around in discomfort and fear. Carol stepped over the threshold of the hall and approached the unsettled child. In one clean motion, she removed the bag from the girl’s head. Carol saw the tears running down the little girl’s face and decided to say something.
“Little girl, it’s going to be OK.” She lied. “This town merely wants justice. I know it’s difficult to understand but your mother has done something terrible to us. One day, when you’re older, you will understand what happened here tonight. When that day comes, you will want to thank us. We stopped a monster. You will see.”
Tara looked up at the woman and wiped tears from her eyes. “You’re the monster.” She said with a leering glare. Carol held back laughter. The little girl had a fighting spirit. It would be a shame to kill her too but there was no other option. Even though they were doing the right thing, the rest of the world would call it vigilantism. In God’s eyes, they would be victors but the world would condemn them. In order to keep the town safe, they would have to destroy all loose ends. God would understand, Carol was sure of it. She felt no remorse in her heart. Besides, her mother was a murderous, black magic dabbling whore. Who’s to say her daughter wouldn’t turn out the same. Killing the girl would prevent her from one day hurting others.
Carol placed the bag back over Tara’s head and smiled. Everything was coming to an end. In a few hours, the town would be back to normal with this terrible incident behind them. Sure, wounds would need mending but like all great towns, they would come together to heal. She had nothing but faith in her happy little town.
She stepped out of the town hall and back into the night air. All around her, people sat and waited. Some continued to meddle with the stack of debris in the parking lot. Some only watched. Carol gritted her teeth. That bitch needed to be brought to justice before the whole town lost its nerve.
“She’s out of time,” Carol stated, grabbing the microphone once again. Her booming voice echoed through the quiet streets of Carlisle once again. “Sasha, your time is up. Your little girl will now pay-“ A loud bang! erupted in the still night and somewhere off in the distance a fireball rose to the heavens. Simultaneously, a car came speeding down the road directly at the crowd. Panicked people ran in all directions to avoid becoming hood ornaments. In the pandemonium, Carol left the town hall door wide open and unguarded.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sasha watched the chaos from around the corner from the town hall. She couldn’t help but be proud of the plan she had concocted. Like something straight out of an action movie, the cars in the parking lot had been rigged to explode by ramming pieces of cloth into the gas tanks. She had found a hoody draped across the back seat of an older Mustang. After smashing the window, she tore sheets of the fabric free. Finding road flares in the driver side door in one of the trucks gave her the opportunity she needed. Leaving one car untouched, she found a rather heavy rock and placed it on the gas pedal. She also ran a long stick through the steering wheel, hoping it would keep it straight. Once all the bits of cloth had been lit, she started the car with the rock on the pedal and pulled the shifter to drive. It whined and revved loudly at first and she worried it wouldn’t move but it did, tearing off at great speed down the road. A few moments later, utter chaos.
She now watched people run for their lives from the runaway car and couldn’t help but smirk. There was no sympathy in her body for anyone left in town. One or two citizens of Carlisle nearly became nothing more than marks on the windshield. The explosions in the distance seemed to work perfectly. It caused the perfect amount of panic and chaos which she had used to sneak closer to the town hall.
When Carol had moved away from the open door, Sasha knew it was her opening. Sasha had fully anticipated fighting the old hag. She was confident she could win that fight but she would rather grab her daughter and run. They wouldn’t stop until they reached the next town.
Sasha darted inside the town hall and spotted her daughter across the room. As she sprinted to her side, she could hear the pitiful crying from under the bag and it broke Sasha’s heart. Quickly, she removed the bag and looked into her daughter’s eyes. Immediately, they lit up with excitement and relief.
“I’m gonna get you out of here, sweetie.” Sasha’s tone, despite the chaos and excitement outside, was tender and loving. Her daughter had been through enough. There needed to be something to make life seem far more normal for her.
Without hesitation, Sasha untied the ropes and pulled her daughter to her feet. Before she could turn to run back out the front door, a voice called out from behind. Sasha’s shoulders slumped in defeat. If Carol had found them, it was only a matter of time before others would join.
Sasha turned to face the older woman and shoved Tara behind her. “Let us go.” It was less of a plea and more of a demand. To Sasha’s dismay, the woman merely laughed. “We both leave your town and we never come back. Just let us walk out that door.”
Shaking her head, Carol said, “I don’t think so. Justice needs to be served. This town will never survive if the only murderer in history got away.”
“That’s what you don’t understand. The killer didn’t get away.”
“You’re right, she’s standing right here.”
“No, you’re not listening. The real killer is dead. His body is in the woods. There’s things you don’t understand here.”
“Let me guess, an ex-lover come to finish you off?”
Sasha nearly gasped at how accurate her description had been. For a brief moment, she wondered if the whole thing had been set up between Carol and her husband. But she quickly shook the feeling away.
“Well,” Carol continued. “Maybe he killed those people, maybe you did it. Or you’re practicing black magic. In the end, it doesn’t matter. The town needs someone to blame and that someone has to be you.”
“But I didn’t fucking do it. I’m a victim too. Can’t you see that?”
“You brought the murderer to us which means you brought death to this town. You’re guilty either way.”
“You’re insane. I’ll tell everyone out there the truth. They’ll have to believe me. They will see you for what you are. A bloodthirsty, power-hungry hag.”
Carol scrunched up her nose at the insult and a fiery anger burned in her eyes. Sasha wondered if the insult had been too much.
“And they’ll see you as a witch. Which do you think is more terrifying?”
Sasha knew the woman was right. No matter what she said, the town would never believe her. Not as long as Carol had a voice. She would merely manipulate everything she said. It would end with her being punished for her husband’s crimes. Worse, Tara would suffer for the sins of her father. Sasha woul
d absolutely not allow it.
She turned to her daughter. “Run, Tara. Find the back door. Get out of here. I’ll be right behind you.” Sasha could hear Carol running up behind her now. There was no more time. “Run!” She screamed and pushed her daughter away. Carol lunged at Sasha but she kept her eyes fixated on her daughter. When she saw Tara had made it, she decided to turn her attention to the attacker pushing her to the floor. Sasha could only think of one thing in that moment. She didn’t get the chance to say she loved her daughter one more time.
Kicking the despicable woman off of her, Sasha climbed to her feet. She grabbed Carol by the hair and swung her around with all of her might. Carol was flung on the stairs behind them. If Carol had been hurt, she was good at hiding it.
Carol stood up and leapt off of the stairs. She screamed as she did so, leaving an unsettling feeling in Sasha's gut. Like a bull chasing a matador, Carol charged at Sasha. Sasha sidestepped but not quickly enough. The two women flew into the seats in a tangle of limbs. Both women struggled back to their feet. Quickly, they were at it again. Punching, clawing, slapping, kicking. The two women wrestled for their lives.
With a sweep of the leg, Sasha brought Carol to the floor. She straddled on top and raised a fist in the air, ready to knock every single tooth from the woman's mouth. But several strong hands stopped her at the last moment. She was pulled off Carol and thrown to the ground. Several more hands pressed down and held her in place. She kicked and screamed and bit and clawed to no avail. They had won. They had captured her. Of course, she knew what this meant. Her thoughts turned back to her daughter. If Tara had made it to safety, it would all be worth it.
Carol, as if sensing Sasha's thoughts, approached her. "We're going to catch her, you know." She sneered as she adjusted her clothing and hair. Sasha could feel a dribble of blood running down her lip but she ignored it. Her mind raced faster than it ever had before. She desperately searched for a way to escape.
"Nothing to say to that, witch?" Carol continued.
Still, Sasha remained silent. It seemed to be eating Carol up inside and Sasha reveled in it.
"You're silent cause you know you've been beaten."
Nothing.
"Don't you want to plead for your life? Tell us you’re innocent?"
Sasha smiled. Carol took a step back as if horrified but quickly gained her composure.
"If I were you, I'd wipe that smile off your face. Otherwise, the devil will do it for you when you get to hell."
Sasha's grin widened. "I know something you don't."
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tara ran. She ran for what felt like hours. She kept running until her lungs felt like they would explode. Then, she ran some more. When her body could no longer handle it, she collapsed on the pavement. Her mother had told her to run and she knew where she was supposed to go. It was far and she was tired. A quick rest couldn't do any harm. But the thought of the town catching her made her surrender the thought of a break and continued on, though at a much calmer pace.
She passed all the places she remembered seeing on the drive in. The road leading to the next town had to be the one she was on now. She was sure of it. Her little mind raced with anxious thoughts of saving her mother. If she made it to the next town in time, she could send the police back to save her.
For such a young girl, she had been thrust into an extreme situation. Most people double her age had never experienced such stress before. She didn’t know it yet but it would take many years of therapy before she would ever be normal again. And even then, it would follow her for the rest of her life.
For now, Tara carried on her way towards the neighboring town. Hope filled her heart. All she had known, up until this moment in her life, had been her toys and her mother. She had barely known her own father before he had left them. This was the first real terror and the first misery she had truly felt. And it wouldn't be the last. Not by a long shot.
The town seemed to come to an end. The buildings melted away into nothing but endless forest on each side of the road. A few minutes later, she passed a metal sign that read, Welcome to Carlisle, Maine. Est. 1692 Our Lands Whisper with the Echoes of the Past. It was familiar. They had driven past it on the way in. She remembered reading the phrase on the way in and not understanding what it meant. Desperately, she tried to figure out its meaning as she walked. Tara needed something to occupy her mind otherwise terrifying thoughts would enter it.
The meaning of the sign seemed to melt away when she heard the call of an owl somewhere in the trees. The sound made her ears and curiosity perk up. It was a welcome sound in an otherwise awful night. Something about it was calming. Almost like knowing the world around her still went on helped take the fear away. She was too young to understand how her own mind worked. It craved stability and it found it in the nature around her.
She listened to the hooting of the owl for several minutes as she walked along the road. It was impossible to tell how long she had been walking but eventually, the hints of another town began to appear. Far down the road, she spotted another sign. It was too far to read but she could almost make out the word Welcome. She knew it had to be good news. Help was over the horizon.
Tara felt a new energy envelop her. Being within sight of a new town gave her the strength she needed to start running again. The welcome sign drew closer and closer as she ran. Tara panted hard but didn't give up. Flashes of her mother's face filled her mind. She knew her mom would never give up on her so she had to do the same.
When she reached the sign, she dropped to her knees and took in a breath. Her vision was blurry and there was a terrible ache in her side but she had made it. Finally, salvation had arrived. When her heart beat dropped to a normal level, she peered up at the sign and nearly burst into tears. Welcome to Eagle Lake. 5 Miles ahead.
Tara didn't know exactly how far five miles was but it seemed longer than she could walk. She pictured it taking all night and not getting the police until the next morning. By then, it could be too late. But going back wouldn't do any good either. They would merely hurt her along with her mother. Maybe, she could get there fast enough if she sprinted in small bursts. Or, perhaps she would get lucky and a car would drive by. She had seen many movies where people hitchhiked. All it took was a motion of the thumb. Someone would pick her up for sure. Determined to rescue her mother, little Tara started off again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Strong hands pushed her along the narrow path to the center of the crowd. All around her, people hissed and booed. It was all strange and foreign, like something straight out of The Twilight Zone. The people had gone mad. She hoped beyond hope her story would have a happy ending, though something told her it wouldn’t.
In the center of the crowd, she spotted the piled debris. Sticks, paper, books, and other flammables sat in a large pile. A tall, metal pole protruded from the center. She thought of pleading and fighting and running. But what was the use? They had the numbers. It would only be a matter of seconds before they forced her back into place. Besides, keeping the attention on herself meant Tara would have plenty of time to get away.
Her life had changed dramatically in only a few days. Where she used to feel broken and ashamed, she was now empowered. For the first time in years, she didn't care about her depression. Finally, she no longer saw herself as damaged. True, things were dismal. But, she had confronted her husband and finally ended that torture once and for all. She had saved the life of her daughter. And she had been able to put herself out there and partake in a romantic relationship. She had to take the wins, no matter how small. She would refuse to let this condition consume her like the hatred and paranoia of the small town of Carlisle.
She was brought to a halt in front of the pile and turned to face the crowd. Behind her, Carol Leighter climbed up on the debris and the crowd went quiet. She let the silence sink in for a few minutes before speaking.
"Before you all stands the woman accused of the most heinous crimes this town has e
ver seen. Murder and the practice of dark magic."
The town booed again.
"We need to bring justice back to our society. Those meant to protect us were swayed by the seductive power of this witch. He's dead now. God always prevails."
The crowd cheered and Sasha's heart sank. Harrison was dead? She wanted to know how. If the town had killed him, then there was certainly no chance of survival for herself. They had turned on their own. As an outsider, she was doomed.
"What did you do?" She demanded.
Carol laughed and looked at her.
"Not me, not us."
It did nothing to answer Sasha's question but she assumed it would be the most she would get out of her. These murdering bastards had killed the sheriff and now they would kill her too. But, Sasha knew, she would have the last laugh.
Carol marched her up on the pile, pressed her back against the metal pole, and tied her to it. It was at this moment Sasha truly realized the end of her life was coming. Sheriff Harrison was no longer alive to save her and her daughter could take hours to get help. This would be her end.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid. However, something inside her felt unusually calm. Even in the face of certain death, she seemed to be handling it all well. Sasha did not understand how. Though she felt an eerie calm, survival was still on her mind.
"Please, let me go." She said, matter-of-factly. Her tone was void of nearly any emotion, startling even herself. "I didn't kill those people. The man responsible is dead in the woods. I've done nothing. You can't kill an innocent woman."
The crowd murmured and shifted uneasily. Sasha could tell some of them were beginning to have second thoughts. She realized, she wouldn't have to convince everyone, merely a few. If some in town were willing to argue on her behalf, it might convince the others the idea of burning her alive was crazy.