That night, Max sat by the window, listening to the town's conversation.

"What are we going to do with the boy?" The blacksmith asked.

"There's no way he could be here, he's not one of us anymore." Another man said.

Max's mother wept as she tried to reason with them. "He's my son!"

"He's dangerous! You saw him nearly tear your younger boy apart!"

"That's not Ben. He was under the influence of the witch's spell!"

"Who knows what spell she used on him, he could turn on us any day, you understand that?"

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Max walked across the street to home. When he came inside, he saw Ben with his arms folded. Max sat next to him on the bench, then looked up at his older brother; but Ben wasn't looking at him, he was staring straight at the stove. "They can't do this to me..."

"It's not fair....." Max agreed.

Benjamin shook his head.

The boys looked up as their mother walked in. Her arms were folded, her expression sulken. "Benjamin, I'm sorry it has to be like this, but you need to say your goodbyes and leave.."

"Mother no! They're not going to cast me out!" Ben shouted.

Max put a hand on his mother's shoulder. "There's got to be another way..."

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, but it needs to be done. If he doesn't leave, they'll kill him. They're giving him 'til sunrise."

Angrily, Ben grabbed his mother's wrist and pulled it closer to him.

"You're NOT going to let them do this to me!"

The mother didn't look at her son, instead she was looking down at the floor.