Sherry White and her seven crazy brothers

New patients

Sherry

I had someone cover the office to figure out what to do with our unexpected guests. The animals sat on the ground and glared at me.

"It's for your good. You need to learn some control over your urge to eat us."

The beast-like creature blew air from his nostrils.

Goldie's mom stood next to me. "I never thought Satan would turn into an actual wolf and eat me. I figured he would do that in human form."

I looked at Liliana strangely.

"I still don't understand what happened," Greta said.

A black wolf lifted its head and wagged its tail.

"Don't think about it. You almost ate my friend and my brother." Greta pointed at the wolf.

The wolf laid its head on its paws and whined.

"Beast!" A voice yelled.

We turned around as Belle ran past us and grabbed the chain link fence.

The beast-like creature approached Belle and bowed its head. "Oh, beauty. I wish you didn't see me as this hideous beast."

"You're not hideous to me." Belle grazed the beast-like creature's head.

"I'm marrying an actual bear." Goldie sighed.

"Well, I married a wolf, so we all have crosses to bear," Liliana said.

I shook my head and went into the house. I have four people turned into the wild kingdom, sitting in a sanctuary to keep them from eating people. When did my life get flipped upside down?

*****
Hans

After dealing with the wilder beasts, I left to get some sleep. What the hell did Diego give me? I'll need to ask him tomorrow.

I fell into a peaceful slumber until my wretched sister woke me up when she slammed the front door. What the frickity frick? What does a guy need to do to get some z? Not live with Greta.

I dragged my half-awake ass from the bed and shuffled to the living room.

"How can you sleep at a time like this?" Greta asked.

"Easy. You close your eyes, count sheep, and doze off. Or you get the special herb from Diego, which knocks your ass out. I didn't get that herb."

"You're talking about getting high with our current issues. Are you high?"

"No, but I wish I was. It would make this convo sound better. Your head would float around." I waved my hand in a circle.

"Hans, be serious. My boyfriend is an actual wolf."

"Hey, animals need love, too. Scratch behind his ears. He'll love you forever.."

"I'm not touching an animal that tears me to shreds. Are you insane?"

"Why not? You sleep with Dante."

"Dante is a human, not an animal."

"Well, Dante is an animal currently. So, your theory is wrong. Would you like to use a lifeline?"

Greta scowled at me. I'm too tired or sober to deal with Greta's mood swings. I hit the toilet before crashing.

*****
The following day, I got ready for work and strolled into the dispensary.

Diego carried a tray with baggies of goodies to the counter. "Hey, Hans, my man. Did you have a good night?"

I walked around the counter. "My roommate, his sister's fiancé, and dad turned into the wild kingdom and tried to eat me."

"Good shit."

"Not good. Terrible. What did you sell me?"

"Nothing that you haven't sampled. Why?"

"I thought I was tripping."

"Hans, my stuff is one hundred percent natural. Most people grow synthetic magical herbs or lace it. I let Mother Nature take care of business."

"I need to lay off the special herb before the wild kingdom devours me."

Diego laughed.

*******
Sherry

I placed four large metal bowls into a wagon and hauled it to the sanctuary as Cosmo followed me. The two wolves, bear, and beast, looked at me. I unlocked the gate, opened it, pulled the wagon inside, and set the bowls down for each animal.

A bird fluttered down in the sanctuary as a wolf pounced on it.

"Excuse you!"

The wolf turned its head to me.

"You let that bird go right now!" I scolded him with my finger.

The wolf moved its paws as the bird flew away.

"You don't hurt the other animals. Do you understand me?"

The wolf laid its head down and whimpered.

"Now eat your meal. I will return to collect the empty bowls." I stepped outside the sanctuary, locked the gate, walked to the porch, and sat down.

Cosmo waddled to the porch and plopped his furry butt on the ground.

"Cosmo, I don't know what to do. Someone wants to destroy the sanctuary and take our land. Then you have Hans and his lack of common sense while dealing with humans turned into animals. Things are getting stranger by the minute here."

Cosmo looked at me and nodded. I needed to find a way to save my animals.

******
Narrator

While Sherry dealt with her unexpected visitors and Hans tried to figure out what Diego slipped him, the witches searched for the cause of the current mess.

"Maleficent, we haven't found any apples in town," Locasta said.

"Aside from the apple pie we tossed, we haven't found one apple," Helga said.

Maleficent stepped toward a pond, waved her hand around, and the water rippled, revealing an image. "A woman has an apple in her possession." Another image appeared. "If this woman bites into the apple, she will fall into a deep slumber. It will take a kiss from her true love to awaken her."

"Who is the girl's, true love?" Locasta asked.

Maleficent waved her hand around, revealing Sherry's true love.

"The stoner?" Helga questioned.

"It doesn't matter to true love. Love shall prevail and keep the books safe. We must work fast before Klaus finds the books," Maleficent said.

Helga and Locasta nodded their heads in agreement.

With all fairytales, you have two versions. One is sweet with a happy ending. The other one is the one parents never told their children about.

In the darker version, the girl bit into an apple from an evil witch and perished. The prince couldn't save her in time, and the kingdom fell in despair as evil ruled the land. It was a fairytale with a grin and an unhappy ending

With most fairytales, the story and ending have changed with each telling. This fairytale would rewrite as the witches raced against time to unite true love.