The sound of an engine in the distance sent a shiver of panic down her spine and she bolted to the side of the road. Hiding just beyond the tree line, she waited. To her dismay, Harrison's truck zoomed by before she could leap out and flag him down. However, she had noticed a small figure in the back seat and let out a sigh of relief. Tara was safe. Hopefully, he was taking her out of town.
Once her eyes had adjusted, Sasha recognized the road she was on. Up ahead would be a right turn which would lead her straight back to her home. It wasn't the best of options but at least she could find something useful like her cell phone. She hated not having the little device at the ready. She would be able to call Harrison and have him turn around to get her. Then they would all be on their way out of this wretched town.
Keeping in the shadow of the trees, she walked towards her home. A smell singed her nostrils and filled her lungs. She coughed for a moment but tried to stay silent. It smelled like burning wood and soot. The closer she came to home, the stronger it became. Of course, she feared the worst but curiosity kept her moving forward.
As she feared, she found her little cottage on fire. The flames licked towards the heavens with an almost hypnotic glow. But it wasn't the most disturbing scene in view. No, that title belonged to the mangled body draped in her front yard. The blood-drenched body was nearly unrecognizable as a human and the head had been completely severed. When she spotted the decapitated head on the grass below, she nearly vomited. Upside down crosses had been carved on the cheeks and a solitary black candle lay only inches away. The wick burned peacefully.
Sasha had had enough. This town was full of psychopaths and killers. None of them was any better than the monster secretly roaming the streets. A terrible thought crossed her mind and chilled her to the bone. What if there was more than one killer? Maybe several townspeople had come together to share in the dirty work to run her away. It seemed possible. Hell, it seemed highly likely. The witch rumor would have been started by them, no doubt. The thought should have seemed a ridiculous one but considering the circumstances, she thought they sounded sane.
The fire would draw nearly everyone in town to her current location and she wanted to be nowhere near when it did. Hearing a car engine in the distance, she bolted past the burning house and into the woods behind. Once there, she found an area to hide which still gave her a clear line of sight. For some unknown reason, she wanted to know who would show up and what they would do. Curiosity had gripped her. Perhaps a little bit of fear as well.
It didn’t take long for a posse to grow around the smoldering fire. Some averted their eyes at the grotesque scene in front of them. Others were merely enraged by it. A couple of brave men approached the mutilated remains and cut it free. Gently, they laid the body in the dirt and covered it with spare articles of clothing. Sasha would have found the whole scene sweet if the town wasn’t full of bloodthirsty savages.
One of the men standing next to the body turned and faced the crowd. Sasha could only see the back of his head but his posture said enough. Clenched fists at his side, he began to speak.
“This has gone far enough,” he yelled. The crowd clapped. “This woman thinks she can come into our town and kill us off one by one? Witch or not, this woman is going to pay for her sins. If Sheriff Harrison doesn’t want to protect this town then it’s up to us.”
There was more cheering.
“We’re going to split into groups and scour this town until she’s found.”
They began to break into groups of four or five and crowded around their new fearless leader like a pack of determined hyenas. Orders were barked out at each group concerning their search area. She saw one group point in the direction of the woods where she hid and she knew it was time to move. Her hiding place would only conceal her from the street. Surely, she would be spotted in a matter of seconds by anyone who entered the tree line.
As the group moved closer to the tree line, Sasha slowly crept away from her hiding place and moved deeper into the woods. Her heart raced and she desperately searched for a new place to hide. Every option she came up with seemed to be shot down by her own thoughts. Nothing was good enough and everything would get her caught.
Now, she found herself in the clearing where Tara had found the knife. It almost seemed poetic, being back where everything had started for her and her daughter. But there was no time to think about it. Instead, she found a fallen tree on the outskirts of the clearing and ducked behind it. It was impossible to tell in the darkness if she was completely concealed or not. The ultimate test would soon be upon her.
Less than thirty seconds later, the small group entered the clearing and walked slowly. Sasha could hear their feet crunch on the ground but did not dare peek over the log. It was nearly impossible to tell which direction they were headed.
