"I don't feel safe anymore. I'm afraid to even leave my house. What are you doing about it, sheriff?"
"You people turned this into a zoo. All I wanted was cooperation and assistance to catch the one responsible for these horrible crimes. While you all proceeded with your little witch hunt, someone is planning to take another life. Focusing on the new woman, whose name is Sasha by the way, is getting us nowhere."
The murmuring turned to a dull roar as everyone exploded at once. It was no use trying to quite them down. Harrison had lost all control. Fear had gripped the small town and pulled them deeper into the dark abyss of chaos. Fear could make people do unspeakable things and Harrison now feared for the future of the town and worse, Sasha.
The murmuring quickly turned hostile and people began yelling and screaming. Harrison had to break up one fight which nearly broke out in front of the stage. He yelled for the crowd to calm down but no one seemed to hear him. It was only a matter of seconds before the group formed an angry mob and ran Sasha out of town.
"Harrison is right," a woman screamed from atop her chair. The phrase had stopped everyone in their tracks, including the sheriff. Everyone stopped in an instant and stared at the woman. The woman looked around at the crowd and wagged her finger. Harrison looked down at her and nodded.
"Thank you, Mrs. Hazel."
Her husband had died a few years ago but that didn't stop everybody from calling her Mrs. She preferred it actually. After the loss of her husband, she had become something of a hermit. Rarely did she venture out of her home and when she did, she always had statements to say which made her seem unbalanced. Harrison took pity on her, fearing it might be early stages of dementia. Now, he wasn't so sure.
"The sheriff is right. It's a witch hunt people, open your damn eyes. That witch has cursed this town. Slowly, she's killing us all." Harrison listened to the woman ramble longer than he should have, nearly dropping the mic in surprise.
"Oh, fuck." It was all Harrison could mutter.
No one said a word for nearly a minute. Many were silent out of disbelief and uncertainty of how to respond. Others seemed to be nodding in agreement. Sheriff Harrison thought about praying to God, asking him to send these people common sense. But he knew it would do no good. Like the townspeople, he wasn’t listening.
"It's why she keeps the curtains closed at her house," Mrs. Hazel continued. "She practices her dark magic there and dances with Satan in the trees. The woman is a witch from hell. Mark my words."
"Mrs. Hazel, this is ridiculous. I need you to-"
"What if she's on to something?" Carol Leighter blurted out. Harrison, who couldn't think of anything to say, rolled his eyes. "Seriously, sheriff, think about it. The symbols found on the bodies, the black candle at the first scene, even the knife found with the second body. It all seems to point to one conclusion."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. I have no idea what you’re talking about." Harrison said.
"Please, Harrison. I saw the police report myself."
"How the hell did you get this information?"
"I can't give out my sources."
It was Donald, one of his deputies, he knew it was. The man was an idiot. All Carol had to do was come into the precinct, show a little interest in him and he fell apart. Harrison would have fired him years ago if his father wasn't on the city council. Granted city council was only two people, they still held power.
"If you do anything like that again, Carol, I'll-"
"What? Have me arrested? Are you covering for her?"
"There's nothing to cover for. What in the hell, people? Have you all lost your minds? You're blaming an innocent person for the death of our friends. Now, I know it's hard to hear but there's a killer among us. And I mean one of us. Sasha is innocent in all of this, I can promise you that. We're scared, I get it. But that doesn't give us the right to point fingers at anyone we deem as different. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Are you all so scared that you're willing to become monsters to feel a little bit safer? Jesus, that woman has a young daughter. They moved here to start a new life and didn't ask for any of this. Get a grip, everyone, or this fear will destroy this whole town."
Silence finally fell over the crowd. Harrison’s hands shook as adrenaline rushed through his body. Never had he been so worked up during a town hall meeting before. There was nothing left of this town to recognize. Fear had changed it into something else entirely.
"We need to run the witch out of town" Mrs. Hazel cried out, to which several people stood up and cheered. Harrison shook his head in disappointment, realizing there was no way to get through to them. Sasha wasn’t safe anymore. Harrison was well aware of that fact. There was no chance of talking the town down anymore. Something drastic had to be done.
"I have no choice then. Effective immediately, there will be a curfew in place. Everyone is to be
