A cold wind blew through a dull apartment as the rain pelted the windows. A young woman sat alone surrounded by filth and empties. A pale arm hung from her sofa holding a large needle in the dip of her elbow. Vomit covered her mouth and front as she breathed heavily. Rolling over she dropped the vodka bottle she held in her other hand.
The sound of shattering glass woke her with a start. Pain rang through her skull as she placed her feet on the dirt covered floor. Her heavy boots crunched glass underfoot as she cursed the sound for disturbing her. Noticing the needle she yanked it from her arm. It clattered as it bounced across the coffee table.
“You’ve lost your way child.” the woman’s head rung with pain as the words clattered around her skull. Blinking rapidly to regain vision she looked up to the source of the voice. A decrepit old woman cloaked in dead wet leaves stood across the table from her. “We are dying child. You must return”
“Fuck off.” The woman stood and walked to the apartment's small kitchen. “You are squandering the gifts you have been given child. You are ungrateful for what the all father provides.” the young woman squinted as the light from her opening fridge flooded her vision. “I could not care less if you paid me to.”
The woman clad in leaves appeared behind the fridge door as the woman slammed it shut. “We took you as a child. We made you one of us and we made you strong. We ask only for you to protect our mother and all father.” The young woman took a swig from an opened milk carton.
“If by taking in you meant you inducted me into your spooky pagan bullshit and then after making me trust you all by teaching me all this witchcraft green glowy stuff then demanding i have a child with your all father. Then yeah you did. I am not about to be a baby momma to a tree.” the woman threw down the empty carton and walked away.
“So destroying yourself is the answer? Look at what you surround yourself with, this is not the grace of our mother that was envisioned for you.” an empty bottle lifted from the floor with a green glow and smashed into the cupboard door next to the old woman. “What you envisioned for me was to be nothing more than a breeding bitch for the fucking fey!”
“Yeah I know it was all you people. There is no mother. There is no all father. There's just a bunch of moss covered ancient witches in the woods that serve the fucking fey! I found your writings, you old hag and that's why I ran off!” a dull knife began to float from the ground as it slowly rotated to point towards the old woman.
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“I am never going back. Fuck your forest and fuck your people.” the knife clattered as it hit the wall behind the woman having passed straight through. “My child you are hurting. You fill your veins with these poisons like sulphur in the rivers. Without your presence the forests have begun to choke and die. The hand of man grips at our very throats”
“So let them kill you. If the progress of man means that your people burn then so be it. I'll watch from a hill as your forests choke and die.” the woman slumped down into the corner of the kitchen staring daggers at the old woman as she crumpled to the floor. “You do not mean these words child. You must purge this blasphemy from your heart”
“Ever since I let you in, all you have done is moan and complain that I am not doing enough. One person cannot stop man from destroying your forest. No matter how powerful I get or how many faerie children you have me pop out. I'm sorry but your people’s time in this world was done a hundred years ago.” the woman's words hung heavy in the heart of the antiquated witch.
“When they came for us in Salem our brood thought it the end too. They fought back against the march of man and we hid amongst the trees. How can we escape their injustice if we do not stop their destruction of our homes.” the old woman came down to eye level with her and held her hand.
“We all have responsibilities child. Yours is to be our new mother. To bring back the beauty of nature and creation.” the young woman began to laugh to herself as she lifted her head. “You aren't really even here. I remember now.” she continued to chuckle as she stood herself up. Her scraped knees quaked as she rose.
“I watched you burn. They came for you and they burned you and the others alive. I saw as I was running away.” she laughed harder as she opened a cupboard. “You all burned and now I'm the last one of you!” she chuckled heavily as she pulled out a small orange bottle with a white lid.
“You know they said to take these if I started seeing things again?” the young woman eyed the label as the elder watched on “Ava!” an unnatural loudness boomed from the old woman's voice. “I can feel your intention, child. Do not what you feel. Come back to the forest.”
“Your forest is gone. So are you” Ava shed a tear as she cracked open the seal on the antipsychotic medication. “Child please.” Ava grabbed a half a bottle of whiskey as she emptied the contents of the pill bottle into her mouth. She gulped heavily as the whiskey washed it down. She smiled at the old woman as she collapsed onto her sofa.
“Child you must purge this evil from you. You must be our mother. You must deliver us. If you take this path the world will burn and die. A great evil has risen on this world and you must do all you can to ensure its destruction.” Ava coughed as she began to drift to sleep.
“I told you that I don't care. Why don't you just shut up for once for fucks sake.” Ava smiled as the old woman began to fade with her vision. Her limbs fell limp as she began to drift away. Finally through all her torment and strife she would be at peace in death.
The door to her apartment shattered as men in tactical gear charged into the room. They barked orders and spread throughout as one approached the sofa. He pointed the barrel of a rifle into the fading vision of Ava as she chuckled to herself before being struck with the butt of the gun.