Page 11 of Scarred

“I love you always.” Amma swung the pack onto her back. “And I will see you later.” Amma grabbed the banister as a loud boom rent the air and the house rocked.

“Everyone run!” Lily screamed. “Run!”

Amma stayed on the heels of her younger siblings and cousins as they raced downstairs and out of the house. Outside, the air was even heavier with smoke. Orange sparks flew up around the borders of the house making the gothic beauty seem like a hulking beast. An undistinguishable chant filled the air and sent shivers of ice down Amma’s spine. She wondered how many in the crowd lived and worked in town. How many had made small talk with her and her family daily. How had her family not seen that they were living next to a town full of people who wanted to hunt them down and kill them?

The backyard was a chaotic mess. Over fifty women and girls fled the burning house and temporary housing, rushing towards the woods. Many were still in the nightgowns they had been sleeping in. It broke Amma’s heart to see mothers tightly gripping young babies as they held the hands of toddlers. Tears threatened to spill. How could anyone justify hunting children? Yes, some had already come into their powers, but they were still children who should never know the sense of doom and desperation heavy in the air.

She turned back toward the house and glared at the flickering glow. Not only were the assholes hunting them, but they were burning down their home. The one place where her family felt safe and loved. Amma swore to return and rain down the powers of her ancestors upon their heads.

She straightened her shoulders and turned away. She had been given an order from her mother and she would follow it. She watched the last of her cousins disappear into the forest before she stopped next to the family willow tree. It had roots all the way back to the shores of Africa and had listened to generations tell of their hopes and dreams. Amma laid her hands on the trunk and sent some of her magic into the protection around it. She somehow knew this was the last time she would see her family home, but she hoped something survived the mob. One day, it would become a home to her family again.

The second she was in the woods, the sounds of her family home being invaded faded away. She couldn’t even hear the others running for their lives, and they couldn’t be more than a half mile ahead. All she could do was send a prayer into the universe to keep her family safe until they were all together again, especially the younger witches who were not in complete control of their magic. They were being forced to grow up in one night. Amma kept a constant pace until her legs started to burn and her breath huffed out too fast. She lurched to a stop and leaned against a tree with her head bent down. Every breath was like a burning fire and her eyes watered. Amma wanted to sit down and sleep for days, but stopping would mean being caught. Stories from her childhood of how her ancestors had been treated kept her from giving up. There was no way she was going to be tortured or disabled or killed because others didn’t understand who she was.

Amma grabbed a water bottle from the pocket on the side of her backpack and downed over half. It did nothing to help clear the cotton from her mouth and throat. She shoved the bottle back in her pack and pushed away from the tree. She had a few more hours of walking ahead of her before she could find a place to rest and plan her next moves. The forest was big enough for her to keep moving for months without being caught, if she played her cards right. Hunters would be looking for them next to waterways, caves, and well-traveled trails. She started walking. Amma had almost given up hope of finding a place to hide when she came across an ancient tree with roots she could make into a kind of dugout. She quickly scanned the area and found nothing larger than a few beetles scurrying about their business. After checking for anything that would poke her, she tucked her blanket in before using some downed branches to cover the top of space, then added leaves and smaller sticks until it looked like just more underbrush in the forest.

Amma tossed her backpack into her shelter before draining the last of her water. She would refill her bottle in the morning. Until then she could get any moisture she needed from scavenging food.

“Time to start surviving,” Amma whispered.

You left us. Mike dropped from the tree and angrily chattered at Amma.

We had to hurry to find you. Sam joined his brother. Why did you run from home?

“I’m sorry I didn’t have time to warn you.” She knelt to stroke their backs. “There are bad people trying to hurt my family and we had to scatter to get away.”

I can bite them. Mike puffed out his fur.

“Thank you for the offer, but my mom said to run.” Amma stood. “I need to use the bathroom and gather something to eat.”

I have nuts. Sam wriggled closer.

Amma gave him a pat on the head. “I think I’ll get my own dinner. I don’t want to take from you guys. Stay near camp so nothing harms you.”

We will watch your stuff. Mike flicked his tail.

“I know you will.” Amma walked behind a large tree and quickly did her business before ranging out to see if she could find anything to eat. She returned to her camp with a handful of mushrooms, edible flowers, and grubs. Some of her cousins refused to eat bugs, but she knew they were just another form of protein. Some of them were tasty, especially when roasted with a hint of salt.

Your stuff is safe, Sam announced as he ran over to her.

“Thank you.” Amma sat and started snacking on the grubs as she picked through her survival pack. Her mother and auntie had packed the bags, but never told anyone what was in them. Not that any of her sisters or cousins cared; their family hadn’t been hunted in over a century. How unprepared they were. She pulled out a red drawstring bag and smiled. It was the kind of thing her mother would give to each girl on her birthday. She opened it, fished out a piece of paper, and instantly recognized her mother’s handwriting.

“My precious oldest daughter. There is so much I still need to teach you before you are ready to face the world. Instead, evil has come knocking on our door and forced us to part ways. I don’t know if I will ever see you again on this side of the veil, but if I don’t, you will be the leader of our family. Where you are going is a haven my sisters and I found years ago when we were still children. We never really explored the world as much as we should have, but we practiced our magic there. Please, find your sisters and cousins. They will be spread out because we cannot control the portals. Boil up a location portion and use the herbs inside this pouch. Remember, no matter what happens, I love you.”

Amma wiped the tears as they ran down her face. She knew when the older generation passed, she would become high priestess of her family branch. If it was time for her to take over, she was ready. But she hadn’t expected it to happen for years to come, and when it did, it was supposed to be celebrated in a huge family gathering. She would find her sisters and cousins, and they would start a new life wherever their mothers led them. Amma started a small fire and placed her travel cauldron with water over it. Once it was boiling, she added the herbs.

“What was lost now is found.

My magic circles round.

If you are near or far.

I call to you.

I call to you.

Come and meet me here.”

The water bubbled and popped green, purple, blue, and finally yellow while white smoke rose lazily into the air. Amma had practiced opening portals when she was younger, but they had only led to the opposite side of the yard or to her room. It had been fun practice that had done nothing to prepare her for what she was seeing. Everything within the portal was bathed in blue light from the large moon she could barely make out between the leaves of the unfamiliar trees. The leaves moved in a wind that she couldn’t feel and she wondered if maybe she had done something wrong. Was her mother really expecting her to go to another world? Something so foreign?

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