A Witch to Live

by Glenn Bullion

  Victoria cast a quick glance to the basement door. “Walter and I are...doing some work in the basement. Sorry if we're being too loud.”

  Dan started to turn red. “Oh. Okay. I'll be going.”

  She reached for his hand. “You and your wife aren't bored, are you? We could use some company.”

  He went from red to purple. “Uh, no. You two have a pleasant evening.”

  She watched as he turned around and walked away, trying not to laugh. Seduction was a tool she didn't like to use anymore. Every time she did, Jake's face popped in her mind. But if it chased away a nosy neighbor, so be it.

  The basement door burst open behind her.

  She barely had time to process what happened, even as fast as she was. She turned to see the wolf, squatting near the basement door.

  Then she was on her back.

  Hawkins pounced on Victoria, and the two tumbled through the front door. Her head bounced off the concrete, stunning her for only a moment. She watched upside down as the wolf pounced past Dan, more interested in freedom than a fresh kill.

  “What the hell!” Dan said, diving for the ground near Hawkins' car.

  Victoria was at his side in a second, pulling him to his feet. The wolf sprinted down the driveway and up the street. Cars screeched to a halt as the wolf bounded by.

  “What was that?” Dan shouted.

  “Walter got a dog. A big one. Nothing can ever be easy.”

  Victoria's Porsche was with Kevin, and she didn't want to waste time searching for Hawkins' key.

  The foot chase was on.

  *****

  Kevin's heart was thumping hard for all the wrong reasons as he drove across town. He should have been worried about Mister Hawkins, and the horrible situation his teacher was in. Or perhaps the fact that he was building a friendship with, and putting his faith in a vampire who broke his neck and buried him in a graveyard.

  Instead, all he could think about was how awesome it was to drive a Porsche. He smiled at the pedestrians on the sidewalk, giving them a wave.

  He didn't worry about Hawkins or Victoria.

  Martha told him to listen to his instincts.

  His instincts told him he could cure Hawkins, and Victoria was trustworthy.

  He glanced at the soccer field as he found a spot in the parking lot. The girls' team was in the middle of a game. Kevin felt very exposed as he parked and clutched his backpack. Every eye on the sideline was on him. Whether it was because he was popular, or the Porsche, he didn't know.

  He grabbed the closest door to school and pulled, but it didn't budge. It took a magic touch and the key in his pocket to make it creak open.

  The halls were dimly lit. Only the occasional classroom light was on. It was tempting to grab the flashlight from his backpack, but the last thing he needed was someone working late seeing a light bouncing in the halls.

  He chuckled to himself as he made his way to Biology class, and couldn't help but think of all the papers he'd written on Macbeth.

  “Double, double toil and trouble,” he whispered.

  It was dark in his old Biology lab. Flipping on the lights, his heart sank as he saw the refrigerators near the back of class. There was only one when he took Biology his junior year. Now there were four.

  He smiled as the tool for the occasion popped in his mind.

  Reading glasses.

  The classroom changed as he slipped them on his face. The doors and walls vanished, leaving only a transparent image of them in their place. The outside wall disappeared, and he could see the soccer team still shouting and playing.

  “Now this is just freakin' cool.”

  He looked inside the refrigerators, not needing to unlock any of them. He found what he was looking for in refrigerators one and three, and gripped the key in his pocket once again. The frogs and worms were gross. He made sure to seal them in zip-lock bags from the supply closet before stuffing them in his backpack.

  Kevin stood near the front desk and stared at the procured chicken near the corner. He shoved it in his backpack, not bothering to be gentle.

  “Sorry, Miss Daily,” he said. “It's for a good cause.”

  He didn't bother removing his glasses as he walked back through the school's halls, enjoying the feeling of seeing through everything.

  “I wonder if this would work on Rachel's clothes.”

  He stopped in his tracks as he passed the English faculty's office, full of desks and offices. The glasses did their job, letting him see through walls and cubicle partitions.

  There was only one lamp on at a cubicle in the far corner. Kevin caught a glimpse of two people having sex. A woman sat on the desk with her skirt pulled up to her hips, legs wrapped around the hips of a man. It was a strange sight, watching sex from a distance from the other side of a wall.

  Kevin turned his head as fast as he could and quickly slipped the glasses off. He didn't recognize the man, but the woman was Mrs. Buchanon, the hot young teacher all the guys talked about. As far as he knew, Mrs. Buchanon's husband wasn't a teacher at school.

  He laughed to himself. The night was already one he wouldn't forget.

  “Kevin. Are you there?”

  It was Rachel's voice, coming from his backpack. They needed to come up with some kind of code. The last thing he needed was to be in a public place and have Rachel's lovely tone come out of nowhere.

  He held his magic rock close to his mouth.

  “Yeah, Rachel. I'm at school just...stealing things from class. What's up?”

  “Are you okay?”

  His brow furrowed as he left school and leaned against the Porsche.

  “Yeah, I'm fine. Why?”

  “A news report just popped up on TV talking about how a wolf is running free through the carnival. People are freaking out. God, I was afraid something happened to you.”

  He closed his eyes. “No, but cross your fingers for me. It's gonna be weird.”

  *****

  Kevin parked the Porsche at an odd angle outside the carnival. He had no doubt that what Rachel told him was true.

  The people fleeing in horror told him as much.

  Couples, families, children, teenagers, employees, all screamed and shouted as they pushed their way through the gates. Dozens of policemen were nearby, trying to keep everything under control. There were a few wildlife rescue trucks scattered around.

  Kevin clutched and unzipped his backpack, having the feeling he'd need every trick he could think of.

  He fought his way through the panicked crowd. Right when he made it to the gate a police officer clutched his shoulder.

  “I can't let you go in there,” he said. “There's a wild animal on the loose.”

  “I've got family in there,” Kevin lied.

  “I'm sorry. We'll do all we can.”

  Kevin grabbed his flashlight and shined the light in the officer's eyes. He squinted in pain and tried to block the light, but it was too late. He fell to one knee, blinded.

  Kevin finally pushed through the crowds into the carnival. People were running in a panic. Games and rides were deserted.

  He shoved his marker in his jeans and flashlight behind his belt, for easier access. He clutched his rock in his hand, and slipped the reading glasses on.

  The games and tents faded. There were still people running, trying to climb the fences. Police were everywhere, talking into their radios with guns drawn.

  Kevin did not see a wolf.

  An officer tapped him on the shoulder as three of them ran by.

  “You can't be in here, kid. Go to the front gate.”

  They stopped and looked at each other when the screaming started.

  The officers ran to the screams, Kevin only a few steps behind. They bumped into each other and nearly fell when they found the source of the terror.

  The huge wolf slowly made his way up a motionless Ferris-wheel, jumping from one seat to another.

  Two young girls, stuck near the top, shouted at the top of their lung
s.

  “Oh my Lord,” one of the officers said.

  Kevin took a step forward, past the reach of an officer.

  “Hawkins!”

  The wolf turned his head, but only for a moment, before leaping into the next seat.

  The officers talked amongst themselves.

  “What the hell is it?”

  “Tell animal rescue we found it.”

  “Screw animal rescue. Look at the size of that thing.”

  “We have to help those kids.”

  Kevin slipped his glasses off and looked at the girls. They couldn't have been any more than twelve or thirteen years old. One of them was trying to stand up in the seat, rocking it back and forth.

  “I'm gonna take a shot.”

  “Are you crazy? There's kids up there. Besides, I already shot it not too long ago.”

  “And it's still moving?”

  Kevin knew the werewolf was tough from the night before, but shaking off bullets was a terrifying thought.

  “Don't happen to have silver bullets, do you?” Kevin said.

  “Get out of here, kid.”

  An officer grabbed his hair in frustration, his eyes locked on the girls in danger.

  “What are we gonna do?”

  Kevin grabbed the officer by the arm as inspiration hit him. “Find some rope.”

  “I said leave, now. You shouldn't be here. Taylor, would you walk this kid out of here?”

  Kevin rolled his eyes as Taylor took a step toward him. He dropped his backpack and went to work, putting his marker and flashlight away and grabbing the item he would need.

  His magic feather.

  “What are you doing?” Taylor asked.

  Kevin looked up at Hawkins, who was only three seats away from the girls.

  It was a long way up.

  He sighed and clenched the feather tightly. “More than you, apparently. Get rope, a lot of it.”

  Kevin sprinted to the Ferris-wheel. The cops shouted behind him, but made no move to stop him.

  He jumped up, not anticipating the degree of weightlessness his feather would give him.

  He soared further than he thought.

  Passing one seat easily, he had to grab the framework to keep from floating further away. He scaled up the framework with no trouble, gravity no longer an enemy, jumping ten feet at a time.

  He stole a glance at the officers to see them standing with their jaws hanging open. Several more joined them, and a few animal rescue workers.

  “I said get a rope!” Kevin shouted.

  Finally, a few of their legs unfroze, and they got moving.

  The wolf took notice, and jumped one seat lower. He swatted and snarled at Kevin, only missing him by a few inches. Kevin jumped across the Ferris-wheel and landed on a seat on the other side.

  He was close enough to hear the girls. There weren't any intelligible words coming out of their mouths. Just panic and high-pitched wails that threatened to rupture Kevin's eardrums.

  The Ferris-wheel shook and the girls shrieked. The wolf had started climbing and leaping once again.

  It was a race.

  Kevin ran across the framework. He could feel the feather trying to lift him, but made it to the girls right as the wolf landed on the seat below them.

  One of the girls, a blond, wrapped her arms around Kevin's neck.

  “Get us out of here!”

  “I will, I will.”

  The seat rocked as the wolf swiped at them from below. The girls screamed and clung to Kevin.

  Peeking beneath them, he saw the officers finally found a rope. He hoped it would have been in his hands by now, but that wasn't an option.

  “What's your names?”

  “I'm Amy. This is my friend Michelle.”

  “Okay, Amy, Michelle. You have to do exactly what I say, okay?”

  They screamed as the wolf snarled again. If he decided to leap in the seat with them, they'd be dead.

  “Hold on to me tight. We're gonna jump.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “Trust me.”

  Kevin rubbed the feather through his fingers, to make sure he still had it. The girls embraced him from both sides, almost so tight it hurt. He held them as close he could. Amy cried into his shirt.

  “Please work,” he whispered.

  “What did you say?” Michelle said.

  He didn't think it was possible, but the girls squeezed harder as they jumped off the Ferris-wheel, away from the wolf. Their screams filled his ears. They descended fast, and panic gripped Kevin.

  Then they stopped.

  Their fall slowed until they were about twenty feet off the ground. The officers and workers whispered under them.

  They started to rise once again, the feather defying the laws of gravity.

  “Throw that rope!”

  The officer named Taylor leaned back and threw the rope as far as he could. It landed in between Kevin's shoulder and Amy's head. He couldn't grab it without dropping either girl, and they couldn't loosen their grip on him.

  “Can you grab it with your legs?”

  Michelle reached out with her ankle and wrapped the rope around her leg. The officers pulled them down as fast as they could, like they were a hot air balloon.

  Amy and Michelle didn't even let go when their feet finally touched the ground.

  Kevin sensed the eyes on him, all watching in awe.

  No one had time to ask any questions.

  The wolf landed on the ground not far from them. The officers tried to raise their weapons, but the snarling and drooling wolf was already moving.

  Kevin wrapped his arms around the girls to try to shield them.

  He caught a glimpse of his backpack, right where he left it, just out of arm's reach. There were more tricks up his sleeve, but he needed his backpack. As he saw the red in the wolf's eyes, he knew they were all in trouble.

  He actually picked up a hint of the wolf's breath before it yelped in pain.

  There was a flash of red hair and a cloud of dust. The wolf rolled on the ground, scratching and biting at a familiar beautiful woman.

  They separated after a quick skirmish and circled each other.

  “You'd better keep your eye on me, little puppy,” Victoria said. “I'll mount your head over my fireplace.”

  Kevin broke free from the girls and dove for his backpack.

  He gave Victoria a quick glance, and was mesmerized in awe and fear.

  Her eyes were as red as the wolf's. She crouched low, her hands open at her sides, claws instead of fingers. Her clothes were ripped and torn, revealing her stomach, which had claw marks trailing blood across it.

  She had a sinister smile, revealing her fangs.

  Kevin grabbed his flashlight as the werewolf and vampire charged each other.

  He wanted to blind Hawkins, but couldn't get a clear shot at his face. They clawed and snapped at each other, at times moving faster than Kevin could see.

  One officer led Amy and Michelle away. The others raised their weapons, but didn't dare fire.

  Kevin wished he could help, but as much magic as everyone kept telling him he had, he didn't know what to do.

  The fighting finally stopped when Victoria wrapped her arms and legs around the wolf and gripped him from behind. She held his mouth shut as blood dripped from her face to the dirt.

  “Kevin, now might be the time to use your little magical cure,” she called.

  He nodded and searched around him. Terror and fear tried to cloud his thoughts, but he forced them all away. He did fine in rescuing Amy and Michelle, but now that he was on the ground, he was almost numb.

  His eyes settled on a bucket of beer in ice near the controls to the Ferris-wheel, and finally got moving.

  The officers and rescue workers, now numbering near twenty, made no move to stop him as he ran by. He emptied the bucket on the ground, leaving some of the water inside.

  He rummaged through his backpack for the strange ingredients, and finally felt th
e zip-lock bags. In went the worms, as well as the procured chicken, and he used a dull pocket knife to cut the legs off the frogs.

  After pouring in some bottled water, he gave it a quick stir.

  Sweat beaded on his forehead as he took a cautious step toward Victoria. She still had the wolf almost in a sleeper-hold, but she struggled to hold him.

  “Any day now,” she muttered.

  “I need hair and blood.”

  Victoria sighed, and reared her fangs back. Every witness, including Kevin, winced as she buried her fangs in the wolf's shoulder. He howled in pain and thrashed harder.

  “There's your blood. Get your own damn hair.”

  Kevin pulled a few strands of hair from his side and held the bucket under his dripping shoulder. He stuck his finger in the disgusting mixture and watched it glow blue.

  “Open his mouth.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  Victoria grabbed his jaws and pried them open.

  Kevin stopped short of pouring the cure down his throat.

  “Kevin?”

  A terrible fact crossed Kevin's mind. It wasn't like the other awakenings he experienced lately, interesting magic tricks popping in his head. This was a realization that knocked the wind out of him.

  “You're right. The cure won't work.”

  Victoria flashed him a dangerous look.

  “This might be the wrong time to say I told you so-”

  “The recipe's wrong. It's not done.”

  “Great.”

  “It needs sugar...and silver.”

  He quickly went to his backpack, shouting at everyone around him.

  “Who has silver? It can be anything.”

  A rescue worker removed a silver cross from around his neck and tossed it at Kevin. He caught it and shook his head at the irony as he dropped it in the bucket.

  He grabbed a packet of sugar from his backpack and poured it in.

  The mixture glowed bright red as he stirred it. The ingredients disappeared and turned into an almost soupy mix.

  “This is it.”

  Victoria opened the wolf's jaws again, and Kevin poured the mixture down his throat, some spilling onto Victoria.

  “Be careful!”

  “Sorry.”

  The wolf coughed and gagged, still struggling to get away from Victoria's grip. It was a strange sight, watching a woman that could easily be a model out-wrestling a wolf one hundred pounds heavier than she was.