Juliette held her closer to her to ward off the chill. Or, to keep in the heat, her mind reminded her as the late autumn weather changed the world.
The cross-body backpack was her only source of warmth as it hugged itself to her back. The empty water bottle and the remains of lunch were its only contents.
The winds were cold. The trees were dying. Dead leaves carpeted the ground in mushy decay.
A soft day of snow, followed by two days of mediocre weather had left everything moist.
Juliette shivered as she made her way through the forest path. It would have been beautiful, except for the fact that the early nights cast eerie shadows across the trees.
The wind also made the bare branches sway and knock together. The unsettling rustle and scratches showcased why Halloween was king in the season.
She picked up her pace, her boots began to stomp onto the ground. The pavement meandered with the land, so it left her making a broken rhythm of thumps and squelches.
There were rumors lately. Missing people that had visited the area. This area.
This pathway in particular.
Men. Women. Children.
It didn’t matter and so far any investigation fizzled as there were simply no leads, no evidence, and no bodies.
Juliette clenched her teeth as she tried to speed through the backways of the town’s parkways. Maintenance was poor, town funding was at an all-time low.
Tourism, the town main income after the mines dried up, and the factories left for foreign shores, was also now drying up.
The terrible kidnappings had tainted the town. Even with triple the police force of the nearest town, it didn’t help. People still vanished and there was no evidence of where, when, how, and why.
The hairs around her neck rose, and Juliette trembled as she heard something in the wind.
It sounded like laughter. Evil laughter.
A cackle.
She was a brave girl, however. She didn’t turn around because she watched horror movies with her big brother, her mom and dad. She knew better.
Juliette began to run.
She was on the track team, and she proved it by sprinting across the uneven ground at breakneck speeds. She used to race her big brother before he moved away to college.
He came back fatter, which meant that she won more, and he often bought her sweets as a reward.
The cheerful laughs of those warm afternoons felt hallow as she began to slow down. Her muscles complained and her lungs burned as she wheezed to a walk.
The cackles grew and Juliette whimpered as she hugged herself in desperation. The air grew colder.
“Sleep, my dear. For when you awaken, the dream shall end,” a sweet voice filled her head and her eyes grew heavy. She blinked once. Twice. None.
----------------------------------------
The rough bounce of her head on metal woke her up. There was talk, but she couldn’t hear.
Juliette moaned as the sound of plastic wheels filled her ears. The world slowly began to sharpen, and the dull lights around her began to focus.
The words began to collect in her fuzzy head.
Delish. Soon. Fun. Bleed. Sack. Truth.
They didn’t make sense.
Then they passed through a doorway filled with beads on a string. Her eyes sharpened and she chocked as she realized it was teeth. Her sight focused on a broken tooth. It was the same size as hers, but broken and covered in blood.
“Shhhhh.” A woman by her whispered. She had one overly large right eye that was yellow, and her left was deformed into a squint. The large eyeball moved on its own, swirling round and round as she walked.
“Yeshhh, you’re shafe with ush,” the woman on her right cooed as her lower jaw separated in two with a waggle of her tongue. Her fair hair fell in ringlets and spittle flew with her every word.
“A good time, we will all be,” near her right foot, an overly tall woman said with a wave. She looked like a skeleton that had skin stretched over her. Her neck was too long, and her fingers unnatural.
“Much fun!” a short and rotund woman near her left food chimed in. she looked like she ate five whole cakes a day, every day. Her skin glistened with an oily shine.
Not knowing where to look, she found herself staring at a sack hanging from the ceiling. They were hooked up like aging meat in a market. They seemed familiar somehow and that was what scared her the most.
As they moved forward, the meat sacks began to shrink. Smaller. Smaller.
Then they stopped and Juliette screamed.
The women revealed with a flourish, the fruits of their labor.
It was a young woman. Naked and hanging. Her stomach bulged and pulsed as something slithered out. The liver like thing wiggled in the air, and then slithered back into her mouth, leaving a trail of slime to smear its host.
The women around her cackled and giggled as Juliette twisted and turned. Her limbs were tied down on the stretcher.
Her impotent screams filled the ladies with happiness.
They could taste her despair.
The four resumed, pushing the down the hallways and towards something warm.
The air became hotter. The smells of something smoky, sweet, and acrid filled her nose.
The world began to light up, the cave-like walls were filled with the crackles of fire. From the ceiling dangled a gypsy’s dream.
Wallets. Clutch purses. They all were hooked onto the strings and they dangled and danced in the air. Each was different and many were stained with blood.
They spun her around, so she was feet first, and Juliette cried as fear began to overtake her. These monsters were going to turn her into whatever that was. Weren’t they?
“Yes…” a soft, aged voice filled the room.
The two women by her feet did something and the whole stretcher fell forward. It stabilized quickly, allowing her to both be secured and yet freely stand.
An old woman was working a giant cauldron. She was clichéd with her dark robes and she cackled as she slowly stirred.
She turned her head and her face was surprisingly normal. It belonged to any mother. There were worn lines from stress and age. She looked quite good as her soft hair fell in a cascade down her back.
She stood, and her height was second only to the skeleton woman.
She took a deep sniff in the air.
“Hmmm. 13. Yes? A ripe age. A touch of puberty for flavor, but no true growth yet. Yes?,” she recited like that banker her mom took her to last week.
They had finally opened her an account since she was going to start a part-time job. An adult thing for adult behavior. She wanted money to start buying her family presents for their birthdays.
The professional bank woman was like that. Cleanly spoken, but rhetorical.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Juliette clenched her teeth together. She grounded them and refused to answer.
The woman around her cackled at her silence.
The pudgy woman had a bounce with her walk. She didn’t really use her knees, and instead seemed to flounce about. She made her way over to a trolly and wheeled it over.
Juliette whimpered.
Saws. Knives. Pliers. A tilling tool for small gardens.
She looked away as she fought tears. They were going to hurt her.
She stared at the wallets, the purses. They were the only other thing to look at that didn’t involve these monsters.
Her heart stopped.
There. Dangling near the bottom of a string was a wallet. It was blue and worn. The fabric had long since lost its luster from heavy use. The front of the wallet was an anime character.
She knew that wallet. Knew its feel in her hands.
She had snuck away to the town over with friends. There, the only discount shop owned by that weird Chinese man had shown it to her. The smiling blond boy, the smiling pink-haired girl, the gruff black-haired boy.
She could see it clearly, despite half of it being faded, and the other half covered in blood.
Simon had visited in the summer, but then he had vanished. The police knew nothing. They searched high and low.
All they found was his car, in the parking lot at the start of the forest path. No signs of violence. No odd fingerprints. No body.
So she had taken it upon herself to search. She had just been heading home after another failed attempt. No clues despite her heading deeper and deeper into the forest grounds.
Until today.
There was whispers of course. Of witches and devils. Ghosts and monsters.
Juliette felt anger spike as she lowered her eyes. Looking at the five women before her. Those fairy tales were all true.
They were monsters.
“Don’t worry my sweet, we have many ways to open your mouth,” the normal looking woman said as the other four picked up the blood-soaked tools.
They were rusted and damaged. They were scuffed and dinged. All imperfections were highlighted by the blood.
Juliette stared at them. She was helpless, but she would resist her bitter end.
“Fun! Fun!” the fat one laughed as she wiggled the wire cutter in her hands.
“Another tooth, another string,” the skeleton whispered as she licked the pliers in her hands.
“Wait,” the robed woman commanded as she stared at their prisoner. She took deep sniffs and licked the air before her.
Juliette’s heart raced. She knew that it would not end well, but her hopes surged none the less. Was it heroes?
“Strip her!” the robed woman screamed and the other immediately acted.
Juliette had enough time to shriek once before her clothes were torn off her.
The four women stared at her fair skin in jealousy. The dark arts had a price. Most of it physical. Even if they had gained talent and power, they would never look like they once did.
Unless one devoured the fair. The oldest of them. The Hag had done so for decades and had regained her immaculate human looks. They too hungered for it.
The vain beauty of the young.
The hag hissed as she fully stood up. Her robes fluttered as six spider legs came out, allowing her to tower over even the skeleton woman.
Her arms unfolded. Her hands shot forward as a third an arm slid out from under her black sleeves.
“You!” the hag hissed and screamed simultaneously.
You who?
Juliette stared at the hag in who was now snarling. Spittle flew everywhere as the human-looking face terrified her more than the other four.
She trembled as the warm room turned cold under those heartless, red eyes.
“You don’t have to shout, I can hear you just fine,” a calm, amused voice chuckled at besides her.
Juliette twisted her head over to her right to see a man leaning against her stretcher. She didn’t know how long he had been there for.
The other four women blinked and traded looks in confusion. When had he shown up?
“Haglet, you are a clever one. Didn’t realize how close you were to my own back yard,” the man chuckled as he pinched the velvet ties around her wrist and they loosened.
She would have fallen forward, but she grabbed onto him for balance as he did the same to the ties on her feet.
The fat one and the skeletal woman hissed. Those were not so easily undone, but he cut through them so easily. There were no tools on him, just his hands were enough.
“Shhhh. Don’t worry. Simon sent for me. You are safe now, and I will deal with these haglets,” he whispered as she trembled on her feet.
She nodded as was free now, but where could she go? He gently draped his long coat over her nude body and then turned to face them once again.
“Yes, so safe!” the fat one chipped in as she nipped her wire cutters together.
The one with the multipart jaw lunged forward with a shriek. In her hands were two hack saws.
Juliette gasped but then he stood in front of her. There was a wet wrenching sound. Then there were more shrieks as a wet thump hit the floor.
“You are Mister Tentacles!” the Hag reacted as she quickly backed away. She turned towards her collection of best weapons as the other three hesitated.
She had heard of him, a demon that hunted other dark ones. A traitor to their kind.
Juliette’s bladder failed as her savior’s arms were wriggling. Tentacles. His arms had turned into tentacles.
“Hagla, you will find me a touch more… challenging then innocent men and women. I will make sure don’t hurt any more people!” the man screamed as he began to walk forward.
The three tensed. They knew that he was strong, but could he do more? Could he fight 4 of them?
The skeletal woman moved first. The other two followed. They had tools, and they tried to flank him.
Juliette watched at how that plan failed. His arms were too limber and quick. The skeletal woman was pierced first through the leg and the fat one tripped.
The one with the eyes died next. The man simply turned his tentacles on her and also ripped her to shreds.
Then the skeleton. Then the fat one.
They all shrieked as they were killed.
The Hag watched in silence. A wooden stick and a lantern on a metal rod were in her hands.
The man never looked away for long. He glanced at his victims while they flailed under his assault.
Witches in training were always weak. It wasn’t until learned and matured that they gained real power.
Hags were an endpoint. They modified their bodies and spirits using the energy of others. It was rarely pretty and incredibly inefficient.
Though one could argue that it did work. They did grow stronger than the average man by several folds. This hag was most likely bulletproof and had great resistance to the elements.
The lantern flared to life. A green fire lit up the room and it grows from a match stick fire to the size of an apple. It was mesmerizing and Juliette found herself unable to look away.
“Will-o-wisp’s flame. It was originally used to reveal the hidden paths of a forest,” the man explained as his bloody arms flexed.
The hag pointed out her wand towards them. The green wisp fire floated out and the hag jabbed it.
A jet of green fire launched out. It formed into a cone of rage and smashed into the only entrance of the room.
Juliette shrieked as the fire nearly touched her.
The man’s left arm tentacles were wrapped around her waist as they leaped to the other side of the room.
They landed safely, but the area where they were standing now burned with green fire. It flickered for a few moments before dying.
The hag jumped forward, her long legs taking heavy strides as she tried to escape.
Mister Tentacles followed with her beside him. They moved her to his back and other tentacles ripped through his shirt and hugged her to him.
She was confused and terrified. She didn’t want to go with him, but she definitely also didn’t want to stay as she saw the torso of the fat witch jiggle on its own.
Mister Tentacles was quick and easily caught up. But he had to dodge twice as the green fire came at them like dragon’s breath.
Juliette found herself hugging him, to make sure that he didn’t drop her. He had said that Simon had called for him. That meant that he was good, right?
The witch cackled as she made it to the entrance. She would collapse the cave and bury her enemies inside.
Her final steps were halted as something wrapped around two of her legs.
She gasped, the realization of his shadow abilities bypassed her own shadow magic had her freeze for a second. A second that enabled him to tear off two of her legs.
She screeched as she fought for balance. Her left, rearmost legs were gone and she was teetering.
Other tentacles grabbed her arm and she struggled. The fire was too slow and so she tried basic cutting spells with her wand. They struggled and she succeeded in cutting off two of his small limbs.
Mister Tentacles screamed in pain but it was too late. He was already gaining the upping hand.
The Hag howled as she lost her legs. Then her left arm. Then she watched as her right arm was slowly torn out from her.
The agony had her mind wavering and she almost lost consciousness twice.
There was one final spell she could perform. Self-detonation was impractical for future growth, but she would take him down with her. Or at the very least, the innocent little girl would die.
She cackled as she drew her energies into herself.
Her vision wavered. The world spun.
She blinked as she bounced and her eyes locked onto him. He was tearing apart her body… but how could she see…
She gasped as the final moments of her dark life was filled with his bloody visage and his heartless smile.
----------------------------------------
Juliette sat in the police station. Miss Justice and Superion stood beside her. If it had been any other day, she would have been out of her mind. Asking a million questions an hour and her phone would have been full of photos of her heroes.
The two had shown up with the dawn.
Mister Tentacles had cleaned up the cave and then dropped her off at the local police station.
She turned the blue wallet in her hands. She played with it as she stared at its worn looks. It was hideous if she was honest. Ragged, dirty, and falling apart.
Her eyes watered.
There was no reason for Simon to keep the wallet. But she also knew why he still had it.
Simon always held a gift from the family in high regard. He loved this wallet.
She stared at it and she knew that inside was a folded piece of paper. A final surprise from Mister Tentacles. She had already read it a dozen times.
A plea for Mister Tentacles to help their town. To look into these weird disappearances. He was worried about his family. His little sister.
From what she had pieced together Simon had tried to investigate on his own. He was too restless. And then he was caught.
He was always dumb like that.
“The cave has been cleaned out. So far the remains…” Superion paused as he had to gather himself. “Account for almost all of the missing people report.”
Or at least that was what the Beast and the Sentinal had said.
The police chief sighed. This was a disaster. There were over a hundred missing people report that he had to now sift through. Who knows how he was going to explain this.
His own child. He sniffed. At least he knew they could properly bury him now. He had seen the photo of the pit of skulls and he just knew. His son was in there somewhere.
Juliette stopped her hands as a hand settled on her shoulder. She looked up at the soft expression of her heroine. Miss Justice.
She wanted to ask a lot of questions. She wanted to ask for a hug. A selfie.
“Who… Who is Mister Tentacles?” she whispered instead.
Miss Justice stared at her. She crouched down and looked into her eyes. Juliette stared back. She needed to know.
She nodded after a minute of staring.
“He is… someone who protects us through the shadows,” Miss Justice said as she sat down and hugged the girl to her. “A hero that needs to remain a secret.”
Juliette nodded and her hands began to slowly turn the wallet round and round.
She leaned into the hug. Her eyes stayed on the frayed object. The last memento of her brother.