Hocus Pocus: Rising of a Little Witch

Chapter 29: Feaver Dreams

Over the next week, I trained harder than I ever had. If I was going to take out Bartholomew for killing Mallory, I needed to be a hell of a lot stronger and more confident with my powers.
The sisters also pretty much didn't let me out of their sight after the incident with my mom. They feared Bartholomew was stalking me and just waiting for his chance to take me out the way he did Mallory.
"Thou can clear thy head right here in this cottage. I'm not going to let thee wander these woods alone only to find thee dead in the weeds like thy cousin."
Winnie would bark anytime I even thought to ask permission to go on a walk by myself.
Though I hated being treated like a child, I saw her point.
I found a small cozy spot by an upstairs window which I used instead of walking when I needed to be alone. It was secluded enough for me to think, but close enough for the sisters to make sure I didn't wander off and follow Bartholomew's blue light.
Thankfully we saw no sign of Bartholomew, which I didn't fully understand. If he wanted revenge so bad, why was he staying away for so long?
Mary thought he'd used up too much energy with his attack on Mallory so now he had to hide and recover. Winnie however thought he was formulating a plan and wanted to catch us off guard. Whatever the reason, it was giving me time to improve and hone my skills.
When I said the sisters wouldn't let me out of their sight, that literally meant I was with at least one of them at all times, even when we slept. Ever since returning to the cottage, I'd been sharing the bed with Sarah. This wasn't the worst, but the bed wasn't quite big enough for us both to stretch out comfortably. I quite enjoyed not having to sleep on the floor anymore though.
It was late in the afternoon when I sat in my little corner by the window. We had spent the whole morning training and working around the cottage, and I was tired and happy to have some time to myself. I sat with my knees up with the pink photo album resting on top of them. I had looked through this book so many times since that day, that I was able to see the pictures without crying. The sadness was however, still there.
"Kaytrina!" I heard Mary call.
I quickly put the photo album back in the tote I found, and got up to go put it away. However, as I went to hang the bag up on a wall hook, I felt something at the bottom I hadn't before. I reached in and pulled out a car key. Looking at it, I saw a scratched up Honda symbol and realized it must have been the spare to Mallory's CRV. I smiled. I had no use for it but it was a nice addition to my collection of momentos. Her and I had a lot of happy memories in that car, including the memories made the week before her death. I wondered what her parents did with it. I assumed they were going to sell it if they hadn't already.
"Kaytrina!" Winnie called this time.
I regained my focus and ran downstairs. When I reached the main room, Winnie and Mary were gathered around the cauldron. It was time for them to suck another child's life, so Sarah was out looking for a child to sacrifice.
I hated the idea of it, but I also hated the idea of them being gone when the sun rose in the morning. They were all I had now.
When I made my way over to them, Winnie looked up from her book and shot me an evil grin.
"Twill be time once Sarah returns." She informed me "Where will thou be?"
"Upstairs." I replied.
They knew I wanted nothing to do with the life sucking thing, and surprisingly they didn't force me to take part. I mean , it wasn't like I needed it to stay alive.
She gave me a nod.
"Off with thee then. Do not leave that spot until we are done".
I nodded
"Yes Winnie."
I was honestly thankful they didn't need me to do anything because I was starting to get a headache and wanted to lay down.

" Oh god I can't be getting sick" I thought to myself begrudgingly.
I went back upstairs to my spot, and pushed myself back into the corner. I curled up by the window and peered out at the sun setting behind the barren winter trees. A cold chill ran through me causing me to shiver. I rested my head on the wall and closed my eyes.

The next thing I knew I was in the woods. It's so dark I can hardly see. By the dead silence I can tell I'm alone. I start to run.
"Sarah?!" I scream
"Mary? Winnie?"
They are nowhere. I keep running but I have no clue where I'm going. I continue screaming their names but there's still no answer. I run until I see a light in the distance. As I grow closer, I realize it's a street lamp on a dark road. That's when I see her standing just before the treeline.
It's Mallory. She's facing to the side of me, seemingly staring off at nothing.
"Mallory!" I scream.
She does not react.
I scream her name again.
Nothing. I try and run to her but I'm frozen in place.
Out of nowhere a dark cloaked figure appears and holds out a hand.
"NO!" I scream.
A mass of energy shoots out, hitting her square in the stomach. She immediately collapses backwards and lands in the snow. The figure then disappears into thin air, leaving Mallory to die.
"MALLORY!" I scream.
I fall to the ground, sobbing and screaming her name over and over.
"Kaytrina!" I hear a familiar voice call.
"Kaytrina!"

My eyes shot open and I saw Sarah crouched down in front of me, her hand on my cheek. I panted and let out an anguished sob.
"Shh child 'twas only a dream". She spoke softly.
I shivered and brought my knees closer to me to try and get warm. By now, the ache in my head had spread to my entire face and other extremities. Sarah moved her hand from my cheek to my forehead before shaking her head.
"Tis a feaver" she murmured.
"Come come".
    She took my hand and helped me to my feet. As I stood, the room began to spin and I stumbled forward. Sarah grabbed hold of my shoulders and steadied me. I raised my eyes to look ahead and saw Mary and Winnie were now standing in the upstairs room as well. All three had a glow about them that wasn't there before I fell asleep. I concluded that they must have successfully sucked a child's life.

"Kaytrina! Thou art as white as a ghost". Winnie gasped.

"She's not well sisters" Sarah explained as she began leading me toward her bed.
She sat me down and began undoing the corset laces on my dress. Once she got the dress off me, leaving me only in a shift, she gently pushed me down on the mattress and covered me with the quilt. I continued to shiver as I rolled on my side. I closed my eyes and curled my body up to try desperately to get warm.
"Damn" I thought to myself "I don't even remember the flu being this rough."
I begin to drift off again until I feel something wet and cool on my face. I open my eyes to see Mary sitting over me, dabbing my forehead and cheeks with a dampened cloth to try and break my feaver. It may have been 2012 out there, but it was certainly still 1693 in here. She noticed I was awake and said:
"Shh rest child" before putting me out.

I'm back in the woods. It's still really dark but this time I'm on the ground. I try to get up but I can't . It was almost like I was cemented down.
"Kayti!!" I hear a familiar voice scream.
It's Mallory.
"Kayti where are you?!"
"Mal?!" I screamed back and attempted again desperately to get up and find her. I'm still stuck in place under a tree.
"Kayti please!" Mallory screams again.
I helplessly sob. Where was Mallory? And why couldn't I get up?!
Just then, a black figure comes into view from behind another nearby tree and starts moving closer and closer. I keep screaming and begging whoever it was to stay away. As the figure crept closer, I could still hear Mallory's voice screaming out for me. When it got close enough, I could make out paper white skin and yellow teeth beneath the shadow of its hood. A dark hand reached out for me followed by a menacing laugh. I scream.

I sat up in a cold sweat. I looked around and saw that it was now pitch black out. Though it was very dark, I could vaguely make out Winnie and Mary in her beds and Sarah right next to me. I groaned.
"What the hell are these dreams?" I thought to myself.
I took a deep breath and laid back down. Sarah made a noise in her sleep and rolled over onto her side. Though I didn't feel as terrible, I was still chilled and felt achy. I stared at the ceiling, not thinking of anything in particular when I heard something.
I sat back up and look around. I then heard it again. It sounded like Mallory.
Was I dreaming again?
I stood up and walked to a window.
"Kayti!" I heard Mallory's voice faintly call out.
What the fuck?
I peered out the window and looked out at the dark woods that surrounded the cottage. I couldn't see anything. I kept hearing Mallory call my name but as I looked around, I still saw nothing.
I pinched myself to make sure I was awake. I was.
I continued to peer out and saw not a thing, until I saw something glowing out near the path that led from the cottage.
Looking back now, I can see how stupid I was. Like the dumb hot chick in horror movies, who walks right into the murderer's trap. But at that moment, I genuinely had no clue what I was looking at. For a second I thought it was light coming from a flashlight, but it's color and the way it floated in the air wasn't right. I didn't even realize what was happening, I didn't even realize I had wandered downstairs and from the cottage, until I felt a hand grab my wrist. I turned my head and saw Winnie staring back at me.
Oh shit. Bartholomew's light.