Untamable Resolve: The Witheridge Witches

Ch. 19 - Maine

I leaned the side of my forehead on the cool panel of glass as I sat in the passenger seat of Lucas' car, looking out the window. I had always been particularly fond of long car rides. As a child, it had usually meant a weekend trip to grandpas. The misty scenic route of a crisp fall day quickly passing me by was a comforting sight. Growing up after a full week, my parents and I would pack everything we'd need for the quick trip into the trunk of our car and head from the city to my grandfather's cottage in Virginia. It was a little over a three-hour drive if we didn't hit rush hour traffic. When I was ten, we had moved to Baltimore when my mother had received a position at a teaching hospital there.

 She had become a brilliant neurosurgeon, and my father had worked as a nurse in oncology. I wanted to be just like them. I would probably be working with them right now if none of this had happened. But our world was turned upside down, and they died. It was weird to think I didn't know the real them. I never would. All that was left of them now was the genes they passed on to me and the stories that others would share with me. My father had died in his forties, but my mother had lived for hundreds of years. I bet Dalila could tell me all about her. Until then, I would have to be content with the answers my grandfather could give me. That is if he knew anything at all.

Lucas refused to let me drive. He said it was safer if he did. I used to love listening to the radio as I drove endlessly down the highway daydreaming, but then when they took over and fixed gas prices everywhere to thirty dollars a gallon for humans, they nipped my pastime in the bud. Gas was reserved for them. Those who could afford gas at outrageous prices like that had had enough money to get out and flee to another country before it was too late. We had been in the car for over four hours, and I had concluded that Silas' and Lucas' territory they were in charge of was near the border of the former United States and Canada. So curiously, I asked,

"Have you guys taken Canada?"

He quickly glanced over at me and smiled,

" You're a smart one, aren't you. Yes, but Quebec is holding out."

After a pause, he continued reassuringly, saying,

"Don't worry, though; our home is a good five hours away from any of that."

As soon as he finished his sentence, he knew he had given me too much information. And he was right to feel uneasy because I knew almost exactly where his territory was located now.

His home was in the southern tip of Maine. I had grown up visiting states up and down the east coast, and although it was hard to know where you were because they had changed all of the signs from English to their archaic language with letters made with straight lines that I had never heard it spoken I had narrowed where I was down to either Maine or Michigan. I was already leaning towards Maine, but now I knew for sure. I kind of liked to watch his squirm, but I couldn't let him get too suspicious, so I pivoted and decided to ask him a personal question about himself. He'd enjoy that.

"Where did you grow up?"

As soon as I asked, his eyes lit up, and he answered,

"In a little town in northern Montana. Silas and I were both set to be the Alpha and Beta before our fathers decided to join our brothers in arms. After we won the war, our pack was reassigned to our new territory when the head Alpha mandated it."

I guess that made sense. That's how they were able to take control of the entire country. They had spread out. I had learned another critical piece of information in our short conversation too. His father had died, and I'm assuming so had Silas'. That's the only way they could have become Alpha and Beta. I could only imagine his mother was dead too. I guess we had that in common.

Three more hours went by before we spoke again. He broke the silence by saying,

"You know you really scared me yesterday. I thought.. I thought you were going to die."

I answered honestly back, responding softly back, saying, "Me too."

While looking out the window I noticed it was getting dark. He grabbed my hand and slowly rubbed his thumb over the top of it. After a moment, I pulled away. 

We drove a bit longer in silence before he added, "Dr. Neil believes that the witch cast a spell on you, which caused you to be in all of that pain. Did she say anything?"

Hesitantly I said, "Yes."

After a moment, I decided to tell him the truth or part of it.

"She told me my parents are dead,"I said.

"And you believe her?"He asked.

"I believe her."I responded back to him. 

Clearly irritated, he bit his tongue, saying, "Well, just a word of advice. I wouldn't listen to her. Witches are notorious for being untrustworthy. They only do what is good for them. They're too quiet, and they're nearly impossible to track. Trust me, we've been trying."

'Maybe they don't want to be seen after the millennias that they've been hunted down and persecuted?'

Before I could counter him, he seethed, "There was a guard supposed to be down there, but he said he went to take a break and forgot to lock the door. He's packless now as consequence." That's when I began to tune him out before he went silent again.

I had fallen asleep at some point as Lucas drove through the night. I could tell we had turned off the interstate and onto the crumbling highway that was about thirty minutes away from my grandfather's cottage as the ride got bumpier and bumpier. It was still early in the morning, but I saw the familiar landscape of my town approaching. We were passing the town square when I saw a body hanging from his neck on full display for all to see. A message "thief" was nailed above his head on the post he hung from. I quickly looked away, but Lucas didn't seem to notice. I dug my fingernails into my palms almost drawing blood. I know I had become desensitized but how could this be not even acknowledgeable worthy to him? This was just another reminder that I was tethered to a monster. I tried to push down my emotions in order to not put a damper on my visit to see my grandfather. I knew he was excited to see me and I desperately needed to see how he was doing. I had had no contact with him since the morning that I had been picked up and sent to the arena. I needed to make sure that the help that Lucas had found for him was excellent, as most do not treat the elderly as they should.

A big smile grew on my face as I could see the outline of my grandfather's cottage. I was coming home if only for a short time and I would savor every moment. As we got closer and closer I could see the shape of his body sitting on the front porch in his worn-out rocking chair. When the car pulled up to the front of the house I had to almost restrain myself from bolting out of my seat and running into my grandfather's arms like I did when I was a small child. Without closing the car door I nearly ran to him with outstretched arms before bending down and giving him the biggest hug. We stayed like that for a moment. I could hear Lucas grabbing our items from the trunk and slamming the doors shut in the background. As I pulled away and he grabbed my hands and in his before instantly having a worried look about him before pointing at my cracked ring and whispered as my eyes widened,

"Oh, my sweet Jo... I'm so sorry. It's started."