Bane Hawthorn is one of the few guests at the Slate's house that night. Eleanor Trei and Reverend Glass, also have the luxury of attending. They are eating deer steak, with gravy and rice. .
Eleanor is so polite, as she cuts her up into elegant little pieces. Cynthia was sure to seat Bane right next to Eleanor. "How many of these witches have you been able to find?" Mrs. Slate asks the Reverend. He looks up from his plate and replies, "A few here and there. Despite all the rumors you don’t find them in Covens". Mr. Slate shakes his head, "Interesting, what kind of things help you identify witches?
"They are normally the type of people who don't fit in. Strange aloof people, who somehow think they're above it all. None of them seem to find interest in the bible. They don't fit in to the social norms, and may try to rebel against the status quo through the devil. Through my years I've learned the Devil can be many things. May it be drugs, feminism, queers, or witches, they all must be stopped!" the Reverend shouts, as he slams his hand down on the table.
Cynthia lets out a huge laugh, "I know, can you believe all those idiots who march around with wire coat hangers. I mean if you don't want a kid, don't be such a whore! Then they wouldn’t have to worry about murdering babies!"
"I know a witch!" Eleanor interjects.
Everyone stops, and turns their attention to her.
"Who is it Eleanor?" her Aunt asks her.
Eleanor pauses, and then says "Rose Winter, she stole a book about witchcraft, from the library today. She's not normal, that's for sure. The last person to check out that book was Emerald Tiller!"
Mrs. Slate places her hand over her mouth and cries, "I saw her leaving early at the preaching, bet it made her ears burn!"
Bane stands from his chair, "This is crazy, she may not be normal, but she's not in Satan's army!"
The Reverend walks over to Bane, and places his palms on his forehead, then cries "Just as I suspected the witch a put a spell on him!" He shoves Bane back down into the chair, and starts praying over him. Bane tries to get up and leave, but everyone has surrounded him.
"It's okay Bane, we don't blame you. We know that witch used some sex magic, or something to get you. Why else would you want her!?" Eleanor cries!
"She's not the Devil!' Bane shouts.
Mrs. Slate is in the corner sobbing and praying, "Dear Jesus, help this poor lost soul!"
Bane leaps up from his chair, while saying "Y'all are crazy!" He makes a run for the front door, but Mr. Slate picks up the black BellSouth rotary phone (Which he bought back in 1955, so weighs about much as a brick.), and brings it crashing down against Bane's head. He is out cold.
He wakes up to the smell of fire. Bane is bound with heavy ropes. It takes him a moment to realize where he is; its Rose's house. Panic fills his heart, as he watches her grandparent's house go up in flames. A crowd of people are standing around watching, like it's a football game. Bane can hear them talking amongst themselves.
"Rose Winter wasn’t' even in the house." some old woman says.
"Maybe the Devil told her we were coming?" replies a small child.
"Doesn’t matter, they were consorting with the Devil, all of'em!" shouts an old man.
Meanwhile back in the woods, Rose is still trying to find her way. The sun is gone, and Rose had to turn on her flashlight "What if I can't find this place? How will I ever know anything, if I'm always kept in the dark? I won't take anyone's word for granted; I have to see for myself.", she thinks. She looks down at the almost empty spool of twine. All she can do is to keep moving.
The forest starts to become less dense around her. She makes her way through the tree line and into the clearing, there's the house. Rose takes a deep breath, and hesitantly makes her way across the yard. The dead leaves crunch beneath her feet. She steps on to the porch. Luckily, the door has already been kicked down, so Rose has no problem getting inside.
Inside, the house is pitch black. Rose moves the light around, examining her surroundings. The house had been wrecked and torn to pieces. Tables have been turned over, the sofa's been ripped to shreds, maybe some animals had gotten inside.
Everything is still so dark, as Rose navigates her way across the living room. She's trying to find the room, from her dream. Upon entering the room, she knows this has to be it. The salt pentagram had corroded into the wood, leaving behind a faint trace of the past. "Can it really be the same one" she thinks to herself.
Rose leans down to investigate. She runs her fingers over the pentagram, and picks ups something unexpected. There's a dark brown smudge on her finger, could it be blood? She shines the light over the rest of the pentagram, there's a large brown stain covering some of it.
A vision overtakes Rose's mind, she is taken back into the dream. Emerald Tiller is exactly where Rose left her, however she's not alone! A tall slender man with black hair has Emerald pinned to the floor. Despite her best efforts, Emerald Tiller cannot escape.
Rose immediately recognizes the intruder, it's Reverend Glass!
He raises the sharp golden bookmark high above his head, and stabs it deep into Emerald's chest! The blood drains from her body, and onto the floor. Rose grabs her heart, she can feel her pain. Poor Emerald, tears are streaming down her cheek. He pulls out the knife, and stabs her again.
"Stop" Rose screams! The Preacher Man stops and turns his attention to Rose. He pulls the knife out of Emerald's chest, and points it at Rose; blood is dripping on to the floor and says, "I'm coming for you, Rose Winter!"
She only takes a few steps back, before hitting a wall. Reverend Glass is coming towards her with a crazed look in his eyes. He raises his sharp bookmark above his head. Rose is so scared. She throws her arms up in defense. Rose awaits death.
Amongst all the chaos, Emerald Tiller goes unnoticed, as she forces herself to stand. She grabs a small ritual knife from the table, and stabs his neck! He falls to the floor. It takes a moment for Rose to even realize what has happened. She's still curled up in a tiny ball, shaking and crying.
Emerald holds her hand. Rose looks up, she's very happy not to be dead. A smile crosses Emerald's face, as she caresses Rose's cheek. They look into each other's eyes, before Rose asks, "Momma?"
Emerald shakes her head, yes. She gives Rose a kiss on the forehead and tells her, 'That somebody's always been watching." These are Emerald Tiller's last words before passing. Rose tightens her grip on her Mom and cries, "No Momma, please don't leave again!"
A river of tears pours out of Rose. They sting her eye's she closes them tight. When she opens them, she's back in her time. Everything is normal again, except Emerald's blood all over her clothes. Rose stands to her feet and exits the house.
The cool night air is refreshing, after being in that stagnate stale house. Rose takes a moment to catch her breath, everything seems peaceful. She picks up the string she left on the porch, and starts back to the woods.
Rose looks up and notices something strange about the large oak tree; it's hard to tell in the dark. She shines her flashlight over it, for a closer look. She was right; something is wrong, very wrong.
Bane has been tied and gagged to the oak tree. She removes his gag "Who the fuck did this to you?" she demands.
Bane looks around desperately, Rose can smell his fear. "Get out of here, just leave me and run!" he urges!
Rose reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a small pocket knife. "I can't leave you here like this!"She replies, as she tries to cut the rope.
"Please Rose, listen to me, for once, And Go!"He shouts.
Before Rose has a chance to think twice, someone has already grabbed her.
All of a sudden, a mob made up of some angry townspeople start to emerge from the tree line. The preacher man is their ringleader.
Rose struggles against the strong arms holding her captive. She bites down as hard as she can, on his forearm. He loosens his grip, and she tries to make a run for it.
Despite her best efforts, she is no match for the star quarterback of the High school Football team. He tackles Rose into the dirt, and punches her in the face. Blood comes rushing from her nose. The mob surrounds them. Rose is perched against a sturdy wooden fence post. Kindling has all ready been placed around it, when they tie her up. "Bane!' Rose screams!
The Preacher Man walks across the yard and through the crowd, bible in hand. He stops in front of Rose. He turns around to face the crowd, to addressee them, raising his voice high, "Tonight, We do God's work! I know he's up there right now, singing our praises!" He turns his attention back to Rose and asks, "Are you ready my child?"
Rose spits in his face, and shouts" I know what you are, a murderer! You killed Emerald Tiller!"
The Preacher Man wipes the spit from his cheek, and retorts" In your eyes maybe, but in God's, I'm his instrument for justice!"
"What the Fuck is wrong with you people!?"Rose screams!
Cynthia Slate emerges from the crowd and says, "We must keep out town, and our children pure! We have to keep them away from people who don't think like us, people like you!"
"The world is a different place today, this ain't the 1950's!"
Cynthia Slate cracks a very wicked smile and says, "We don't change around here, where do you think you are, New York City?"
A few people in the crowd emerge, with red metal gas cans. They surround Rose, and pour the gasoline over her head. Even after closing her eyes, the gas still burns. Once finished, they take a step back.
Reverend Glass takes out a book of matches from his pocket. He folds over the booklet, and strikes the match between the paper and the rough board. After the first match is lit, he uses it to set the rest of them on fire. Nonchalantly, he throws the flaming book at Rose's face. She goes up in flames.
Screams of anguish pierce through the night sky, as the flames grow higher and higher. The smell of burning flesh encompasses the mob. One man in the crowd throws up!
Bane is screaming incoherently! The Preacher Man stands beside him and professes, "See, the Demons are already leaving his soul, can't you hear it?"
The town's people clap and cheer "Burn the witch!" they all chant!
Rose hair has been burned completely off. Her flesh boils and pops, and her skin start to slide off the bone.
Poor Bane, this is all too much for his psyche. His brain breaks off, and wanders into the dark abysses. Who knows if he'll ever be right again?
The once angry mob, is now rejoicing "The witch is dead!" they all shout!
The mob doesn’t seem to notice the stranger coming from the forest. She is a tall beautiful woman, with long thick black hair. Her luxurious black clothes and boots, highlight her good taste. A 120 cigarette is hanging between her slender fingers, which play host her sharp claw like red fingernails.
Her jewelry is minimal, only a few gold bangles adorned in precious stones such as, Sardis, Topaz, Diamonds, Beryl, Onyx, Jasper, Sapphire, Turquoise, and Emeralds.
She doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. She watches the insanity unfold in front her, with a smile.
She walks directly in front of the crowd; she's ready to be known.
With a flick of her wrist, she extinguishes the fire. Rose's flaming corpse continues to smolder.
The mob goes silent.
"I don't know why you all are celebrating, no witch has died tonight!" the mystery woman shouts, with a thick southern drawl.
"Then we'll burn you too, for good measure!" The Preacher Man shouts.
The angry mob starts to ascend on her. With a twirl of her finger, she conjures up an invisible wall. It pushes the angry people far back. The mysterious woman throws her cigarette to the ground, and smashes it with her foot. She inspects Rose's smoking charred corpse and sighs, "Poor Dear."
The Preacher Man looks to the sky and prays "Oh Dear Lord, Please save us today!"
The Woman chuckles and replies, "Save your breath, it's falling on deaf ears."
"Lies, God has blessed my holy conquest, to kill these godless heathens!" Reverend Glass fires back.
This place and you all, are too vile for the Lord! Why do you think She sent me?" she shouts.
The Preacher Man seems confused, "Are you an angel?"
She shakes her head and laughs, "I have set in God's private chambers, because I was loved most; but that was a lifetime ago."
Reverend Glass's mouth drops open, as he cries, "The Prince of Darkness?"
"More like the Queen." she smirks.
"Are you here for the witch's soul?" he stammers.
"No, I'm here for yours", she points her finger straight at him and shouts. Then she turns to the crowd and proclaims, "And the rest of the murderers, who fell for a false prophet!"
She stamps her foot on against the ground. The earth splits open to reveal the fiery pits of Hell. With another flick of her wrist, she sends all the wretched souls down into the fires of hell. Their screams of agony and anguish can be heard, as the gates of Hell closes up around them, forever. The Earth closes up and repairs it's self, everything goes silent.
The Devil turns her attention towards Rose's body. She severs the ropes. Rose hits the ground, with a thud. The devil embraces Rose's body, and gives her a passionate kiss.
Bane can't believe what he is seeing "Maybe I am crazy" he thinks to himself.
Almost instantly, Rose is perfect again. She wakes up from the dead.
Now Bane is certain he's mad, as he watches the Devil help Rose to her feet.
Rose's head is spinning in circles, and she's so confused, "What the hell happened?" Rose asks.
The Devil smiles and replies," Exactly that, now come on."
She extends her hand out to Rose. They make their way towards Bane, who's still tied to the tree.
Bane is trying to break free from the ropes, when the Devil kisses his forehead. She takes the madness away. Using her razor sharp nails, she cuts the ropes that restrain him.
As soon as he is free, he goes to Rose and protectively wraps his arms around her and shouts, "Don't you try anything!"
"Don't push it; you're lucky they had you tied to a tree." she says to Bane before continuing, "Try to be a nicer person, treat Rose right, and hopefully you won't see me again."
She looks up at the sky. The sun is starting to peak over the trees, and morning is coming. The Devil looks back to Bane and says," Its dawn, I'm sure her Grandparents are probably starting to worry about their Rose."
Bane looks to his feet, "They're dead, and the house is gone. What am I suppose to do?"
The Devil gives him a little wink and says, "Trust me on this one, and take her home." She starts for the woods, when Rose grabs her shoulder.
The Devil turns around to Rose and asks, "Is there something else?"
Rose fiddles with her fingers before finally getting it out, "Why did you help me?"
"I like to surround myself with the dredges of society; you're just not my type."
The Devils is unprepared for what happens next, Rose gives her a big hug, and says, "Thank you."
The Devil replies with a kiss, on Rose's forehead. She makes her way off into the wilderness, before disappearing.
Bane takes Rose's hand. He kisses her palm and says, "Let's get you home." Rose wraps her arm around his waist.
A new day is breaking, as they leave this dreadful place.
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