Page 14 of Wicked Witch

I can smell her. She’s all sunshine and rainbows with a hint of thunder. Delicious.

Entering the room, I don’t bother taking in the decor. Walking right for the shower, I strip as I go and practically dive head first into the cold water.

It’s refreshing, and now that I’m here I take a minute to just rest and think about Gru and what he did for me the other day.

I know this isn’t the end. My mother is notorious for twisting lies, and she will be searching for me again soon…

Gru said I needed to get married, and I have someone in mind, but now I need to track her down, hope she’s not a pile of ash and she’s willing to talk to me.

WYNTER

Bouncing along the weathered road, I feel my French toast making a reappearance. I understand this place is well hidden for good reason, but they really need to pave this street.

I’ve been driving for over an hour and I should be getting closer. I’m hoping so. The sky is getting darker the deeper into the woods I drive.

Checking my phone for the photo I took of the random map Liv drew me, I notice that the road ends at a gate.

I still don’t see one, so I crank up the radio and sing along as I continue driving. Soon enough it’s there barely holding on.

I park the car and choose to keep going on foot. I can see a large building up ahead and no one seems to be around.

I don’t know why I was summoned here. As I walk along the road and into the town square I’m frozen.

Literally.

Chills run down my spine as I glance up at the gallows. Perfectly preserved bodies hang from the ropes and I no longer try to keep my food down.

Angling my head to the side, I throw up.

I knew something horrific happened here, but that was centuries ago. So why do these bodies look fresh?

If not for the clothing that is.

A blur from the corner of my eye has me turning my head. A young man is hovering there, holding his camera as if he died in the middle of taking a photo.

This isn’t the first ghost I’ve seen, and I doubt it’ll be my last.

He stares at me, and I know I need to look away before he realizes… Too late.

“You can see me? Oh this is awesome! I have been floating around here for years waiting for someone to help me.”

Sighing, I reach into my bag for some wet wipes and gum while he continues to babble.

“I came here with a group of friends. We loved ghost hunting and anything occult related. It was supposed to be a good weekend. We set up camp in the High Priestess’s house, but the next morning…”

“Let me guess you woke up dead, and your friends weren’t anywhere to be found?”

“Yeah, I can’t believe they would just ditch me like that.” He sniffles, and I can admit he’s tugging on my cold black heart a little.

“What’s your name and do you remember the date you came here?”

“Arnold Abernathy and yeah it was spring break. April 10th, 2009.”

Dammit! I was hoping he wasn’t one of those repressed spirits.

“Well, Arnie, can I call you Arnie? It’s now 2024, and I hate to tell you that you have been gone for a long time. If I had to guess, I would say that when you reappeared as a spirit it had already been five or ten years. Time is different in the spirit realm.”

“I’ve been dead for fifteen years? No, that can’t be right.”

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