“I hate them!” he shouted into the night sky, shivering, and full of rage as he walked. He had barely managed to pull himself out of the river narrowly avoiding being swept away, over the waterfall.

“I’ll kill them! I’ll kill them all!”

He was so angry that tears began to stream down his face, although he failed to notice as he was already soaking wet.

“Ahhhhhh!”

James stopped in place and screamed. He screamed and screamed until he was breathless, and his vocal cords felt like steel wool in his throat. Even then he only paused to catch his breath before he continued screaming. It wasn’t until he had finished that he heard them. Something was growling, and it was getting closer. In fact, they were getting closer. As he turned around all he could see were glowing yellow eyes in the wood-line. Evil, ominous, hungry eyes.

“Shit.”

He started running. As fast as his legs would carry him, he ran. It was incredibly difficult as his wet clothes were weighing him down. On top of that he realized he was missing a shoe when he stomped down onto a rather large thorn. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for him to deal with it right now. Blood dripping behind him with every step, he continued to run. Deeper and deeper into the forest, hoping that he could outrun his pursuers. Praying that someone would hear him and come to his rescue he tried to scream for help, but his voice was so hoarse that he could scarcely make any noise at all. So, he just ran, terrified, and silent, struggling to survive.

Suddenly James burst out of the trees and found himself trapped by a wall of stone. It had to be hundreds of years old, maybe older. The forest had claimed most of its surface. Vines grew between the cracks and along the top, cascading down in thick webs. The once smooth exterior was now badly worn, chunks having fallen out here and there. There was only one spot that looked as if it were new. Intricate carvings ran vertically for the small length of untouched stone, artwork from another age. If only he had the time to appreciate it. James began to run along the wall, searching for an opening. As he ran, he looked over his shoulder to see how close they were, and tripped.

“Ahh-!” He cried out in pain as he slammed into the ground, snapping his ankle in the process. Even then, he could not produce any sound, only blood now from the worsening condition of his throat. He glanced down at the source of his pain only to find that his foot was lodged under a massive tree root.

“Help me… Somebody… Anybody…” he mouthed into the air as he laid on his back facing the stars. It was such a beautiful night sky. If he was going to die, at least he could watch the stars as he did so.

The wolves descended upon him.

He could feel every millimeter of their teeth as they sank into his flesh. One was tearing into his unbroken ankle as it pulled on his leg, while two others were trying to work their way through his jacket and into his torso. Tears ran hot against his cheeks as he listened to a fourth slowly approach his head. James knew that it was coming for his throat, he’d seen it in a documentary at school. As time slowed down, his heartbeat became so loud in his ears that it blocked out every other sound. Ba-dump. Ba-DUMP. BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP! He closed his eyes, hatred overcoming his misery as their faces flashed through his mind, and he swore that he would repay them from beyond his grave.

“Why wait?”

James’ eyes shot open in disbelief at the sound of a woman’s voice. He looked up and found her sitting upon a tree branch, swinging her legs back and forth like a child would. In the darkness the only detail he could make out, was her hair. Long, glimmering red hair that hung past her shoulders. He tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth.  She laughed.

“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?”

His eyes widened as his heart plummeted into his stomach. What kind of person would laugh in this situation? He was being eaten alive! It was then that he noticed a huge paw land next to his face, causing his heart to sink even further.

“Hmph. I thought it was funny!” the woman scoffed.  

With every ounce of his remaining willpower he ripped his gaze away from the wolf standing above his face and returned it to the woman in the tree.

“Help me.” He mouthed. “Help me, please!”

She stared at him, silently looking him over for a moment before she answered.

“I guess you’ll have to do.” She waved her hand through the air and began speaking in a softer, quieter tone that he could not fully hear.

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 The wolves stopped. James looked from one set of eyes to the next as his heart began to race faster and faster. They were all frozen in place! He wasn’t sure what she was doing but he wanted her to keep doing it. As he looked up at her once more, he noticed something off about the branch she was sitting on. Only then did he realize that it wasn’t a branch, but a broom. He closed his eyes, cleared his head as much as he could, and opened them again. Nothing changed. There, floating several feet above him, was a woman sitting on a broom. His expression must have given him away because she smiled at him and bared her teeth mockingly.

“Don’t regret this later!” she laughed, and his entire body was beset with searing pain.  

The wolves around him burst apart spraying blood, bone, and organs into the air and all over him. At least that would have made more sense. Instead the decimated wolves were now circling above him. Round and round, like a black hole made specifically for wolf guts was sucking them in. There was a spiraling lake of blood and fur dancing above his head, and all he could hear was gleeful cackling. Through the gore he could see her, the witch, dancing atop her broom. Laughing, dancing, throwing her arms in the air and waving her entire body left and right. Her red hair seemed to absorb the light of the stars as it gleamed and flowed like liquid fire. Despite his intense pain, and uncontrollable writhing, he could not look away. She threw her hands straight into the air one final time, shouted something in another language, and everything froze.

The moonlight caught her face and he sucked in a gasp as he saw them for the first time. Deep, blue, and cold as ice. Her eyes looked as if the world’s oceans had frozen over and it felt like he was at the bottom. She dropped her gaze to meet his and smiled before she threw her hands out toward him. The blood and body parts had condensed into a spinning orb no larger than a basketball. The moment her hands pointed at him, the mixture shot out in a straight line and entered his mouth. It burned its way down his throat and spread to the rest of his body from there. The pain was so much greater than anything he’d felt before that it threatened to drive him insane.

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Ahh!”

James shouted as he sat upright in bed. He looked at his hands, his ankle, his entire body. Everything was fine, not a scratch could be found. He moved around and found that the only thing he suffered from was a slight stiffness. Covered in sweat and scared out of his mind he looked around. He wasn’t in the forest, but in his bed. He was safe.

“Thank god, it was only a dream.”

He sighed as he dropped down and let his head hit the pillow. After confirming his ceiling fan was still there, he closed his eyes and smiled. It was only a dream!

“What did you dream about?”

Every hair on his body stood on end as his eyes shot open once more. His body became rigid and he turned his head as slowly as he could until his breath caught in his chest. There she was, poking her head out of his closet with a wicked grin stretching across her face.

“Pee. Ka. Boo!” She said slowly, as she walked out of the closet and stood beside his bed.

“No. No, you aren’t real. It was a dream!” he shouted, as he sat up and tried to back away. Before he could stop himself, he fell over the other end of his bed.

“Afraid not.” She said with a stern look as she crawled onto his bed to stare at him on the floor. “It was all real.”

“But you-! You’re- You’re a witch!” He yelled as he pointed at her. He raised his voice. “You-!” His throat cracked and he felt a familiar pain returning. “Damn.” He whispered to himself as he grabbed his throat. He couldn’t deny it now. “It really did happen?”

“Of course. Why else would I be here?” The light coming through the window caught her eyes and he noticed that they were somehow softer than the first time he’d seen them.

“Actually, why are you here?” he asked cautiously. James was nervous, and unsure of what was happening, but he was alive. Regardless of what he thought about her, she did save him.

“You’re welcome.” She said, as if she had noticed how he was feeling. The woman stood, having slid off the bed, and walked around the room.

The light from the moon was shining through his window and now that his eyes had adjusted, he could see clearly. His blanket, checkered grey and blue, was sprawled across the floor where he had fallen. He grabbed it and threw it back onto his bed as he pulled himself to his feet.

“Thank you.” He replied. “But again, why are you here?” James grew bolder and yet more nervous at the same time. “What do you want from me?”

She stopped and looked him dead in the eyes. Her eyes were cold enough to make him shiver.

“You owe me.”

Her words weren’t as soft, nor her demeanor as gentle as they were a moment ago. She stuck out her hand and resting within her palm sat a ring. A wolf’s head with ruby eyes.

“Take it.”

“I don’t want it.” James backed away, feeling uneasy.

“Take it.” She threatened, her voice growing more sinister.

Reluctantly, he grabbed the ring from her palm. As soon as he touched it the ring expanded and flashed as bright as the sun. Blinded and startled he felt the ring shoot out of his own palm and onto his right thumb. The ring was red hot to his flesh and his skin began to bubble up and blister as it burned into him. Instinctively he grabbed it with his other hand to pull it off but only succeeded in searing his left hand. The pain became so great that he fell to his knees as he gripped his wrist hoping to cut off the sensation spreading throughout his body.

“Get up.” She said, sounding irritated. “It’s not that painful.”

“What did you do to me?!” he asked frantically as the pain subsided and he returned to his feet. He risked trying to pull the ring off again now that it wasn’t so hot, but it wouldn’t budge. It almost felt like he was pulling on his own thumb.

“That ring is now fused to you. To remove it, you’d have to cut off your thumb.” She turned away and started walking toward the window. “I will call for you when I need you and you will come to me then. Understood?”

“What? No! Not understood! What’s going on?!” He protested as she materialized her broom and threw open the window. “Hey! Answer me!”

She sat upon her broom, shot out the window, and disappeared into the night sky.

“Sleep.” Was the last thing he heard as he suddenly fell backward into his bed.

“I don’t understand! What… happened? Why… me?”