Chapter 2.3: Mother's Fear

Elaine had no idea how long it took for Lucille to find her. She fought to stay conscious after resting for some time but was too tired to stay that way for long. Her head was pulsating with pain each time she tried to wiggle her body and she felt so sick. It was as if her entire back had been crushed by the shell's collapse. Any subtle moment made her become a sniveling, nauseated mess.

By the time Lucille arrived the sun had sunk down with the sky turning black. The teenager could hear the front door open only to slam shut with a scream. The scream made her groan, her migraine had grown worse from lying under so much weight.

Bags dropped to the ground and the echo of panicked breathing filled the destroyed room. From where she was pinned, Elaine could see the anxiety controlling the witch. Tears streamed down her face as she wordlessly stared down at the injured girl.

Lucille's hands grabbed at a book and threw it carelessly off of her. She did the same for the next, her chest moving erratically as she did so. This did nothing to decrease the piles of books, artifacts, and wood that sat atop the younger girl.

With her blurred vision, Elaine watched the witch curse and grab at herself in anxiety. The teenager felt like shit seeing the terror consuming her. She knew getting the book would be risky. And that the plan was stupid to execute as a fragile toddler.

But she felt like she was suffocating in the cabin. There was a whole world of there and the witch was too fearful to let her see it. She wasn't a kid, she just happened to be trapped in the mind of one. The desperation for stimulation had been gnawing at her for what felt like a lifetime. If she lived like this any longer she knew she'd go mad. But that wouldn't be apparent to the witch. She would just think that the toddler had been in a random shelf collapse.

"It's okay honey," The woman yelled as she continued to throw things off of her. "I'm right here don't cry it'll be alright!"

Elaine blinked and realized she was crying. Little whimpers left her mouth as she wheezed in agony. Her body was numb from the pain like the day she arrived here. It gave her a small glimmer of hope that the next time she closed her eyes, she would be gone. She'd open them in her bedroom with her siblings yelling that they had to catch the bus. The thought made her cry even more. She knew that the chance of getting home was near impossible. And if she got home this way, it would destroy Lucille.

She was sure that no one would remain in the body. The woman would think she had died under her watch and gone insane with grief. Her chest ached as she watched Lucille stop and just cry. God, she felt really guilty now. She wanted to apologize but like before her brain refused to be listened to.

"Come!" Lucille yelled and her crossbow flew into her hand with a golden glow. She was shaking as she aimed at the wood. "Attach!"

The arrow from before flew out and pierced the wood with a loud cracking. The crossbow ticked above the girl as it trembled with power. Its runes throbbed with the amount of energy they held. The witch looked unhinged, her eyes wide with fear as she clenched her jaw. She looked away and took a moment to steady herself before speaking.

"Throw," She commanded the crossbow shook feverishly until it blurred into a blob of movement. The wood lifted in the air slowly, struggling with the weight atop it. "THROW!"

Lucille clenched at the crossbow as it sprang into action. Each rune spun itself in sync with the ticking the bow produced. The arrow appeared to grow in size, gold tendrils spreading throughout the inside of the wood like an infection. Soon the entire body of it was engulfed in the gold light she witnessed before.

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Every piece of debris flew off of the wood as the magic lifted it up and threw it toward the cabin wall. The shelf was obliterated into millions of tiny pieces. Wood slivers broke into dust and slammed onto the ground becoming nothing. Book pages tore themselves free of their spines.

They spread all over the room in a shower of chaos. The sheer force of the action made Lucille's hair sweep into the air. It flew over her panicked eyes and twisted as wood narrowly missed her body. Thankfully, the universe took mercy on Elaine who avoided being stabbed by the wood remains.

She still couldn't move very well with the weight off of her. Her body felt like it had been the one slammed into the wall at break speed. Her stomach twisted painfully causing her to sob. The teenager could see that one of her legs was bent funny. Her eyelids were heavy as she watched the blood pool under her weak body.

"Rest!" Lucille commanded her weapon which slowed down until it was dormant in her hands. She set it down and threw herself at Elaine. "Oh goddess, what do I do?"

"You're bleeding…" Her hands shook over the girl's body as she continued. "...what do I do?"

Like a broken record the witch cried out as she managed to wrap her arms around the injured child. The sleeves of the gorgeous gown she prided herself on were now in tatters from the magical crossbow destroying nearly the entire room's contents. She looked lost, mad even, holding her close as she tried to lift her up. It was clear that Elaine's leg was broken with it hanging limply in the air. The entire limb was an angry red with it becoming a fat lump.

If this were the world Eline had come from, she wouldn't be too scared of the injury. A broken leg was common with kids and insurance would cover any costs. But as she weakly stared at her leg, she found herself inwardly cursing. She wasn't going to a hospital much less a walk-in clinic. She had been thrown into a world with magic and witches. A world where people had to hunt for their food and live in the middle of the woods with no hot water or radio.

"I'm sorry if this hurts," The woman sniffled as she let out endless apologies. She held the girl tightly to her chest as she trembled. "I'll have to carry you to your bed until I can get help."

"But who would help ME?" The words hung in the air as Lucille walked to the younger girl's bedroom.

The room was undisturbed when they burst into it and slammed the door shut. The bed was made with the pillows neatly stacked atop one another as Elaine was laid on them. Her blood-stained dress and stocking ruined the white blanket she was on, making its beautiful color turn into a filthy mess. The book she had fought so hard to get was removed from her arms with no protest. She was too tired to hold onto it, her hands felt tense as she breathed in the cabin's crisp air.

With each intake, her lungs felt tighter than the previous time they moved. She could see that her lips were busted, the force of the fall bruising them raw. The teenager didn't need a mirror to see how sick she was. Her entire body was sore from the effects of a fall so high. She was thankful that nothing else was broken and teared up some more when Lucille set it on a pillow to stay upright. Besides that, the witch looked unsure of how to treat the injury.

Something cool was brought over her face and folded on her forehead. It was a wet rag, drenched in fresh water from the sink across from the bed. The rag felt like heaven on her skin. It had grown clammy, her body shaking as she broke into a rush of uncontrollable sweats. Elaine was feverish as her vision blurred like before and a thick cough left her bloody mouth. Specks of saliva and what she hoped wasn't a piece of her tooth flew out onto her dress collar.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, my daughter." The bed shifted as Lucille fell to her knees and leaned against it with a distraught look in her eyes.

Her voice shook as she grabbed at the girl's dress and held it tightly. "I took my eyes off of you for one moment and now you're hurt. I'm a failure."

A hollow laugh left the woman as her grip tightened, her shoulders moving rapidly. Elaine struggled to understand if she was sobbing or in hysterical laughter. She appeared to be losing it at the sight of the tiny child laying in an ashen state.

"Mommy will fix this Rebecca," The witch sounded strange now with her gaze taking on the light her magic held. "Just rest for me. And when you wake up, everything will be back to normal."