Maleficarum: Hunger of the Witch Chapter 2: The Attack
Chapter 2: The Attack
Thirty or so minutes passed, and the small group chatted until Beverly’s brother Mike arrived with the food. He burst through the door with several grease-stained paper bags. He was looking as clueless as ever as he plopped the sacks onto the counter.
“What's up?” Beverly said as she grabbed one of the bags and started rummaging for her burger.
Mike snatched one, saying, “Not much. Just spent half my life trying to find out what kinds of oils were in the salad dressing at a fast-food joint, so Nick could still say he’s a vegan.” He glared at Nick. “You’re a fag. You know that, right?” He tossed Nick’s plastic-sealed salad over to him.
“You got the right order?” Nick said.
“Yep, fag.”
“Thanks,” Nick said as he popped the top on the salad and inspected the contents as if he were panning for gold.
“No problem. Just don’t ever ask me to do it again.” He finally located his burger and took a bite that was several times too big. Mike was about five nine and just on the portly side. However, he was in deceptively good shape for how he looked. He had been on the high school wrestling team and the football team, and since both his job and his love life were sad, he had taken to weight lifting to cure his frustrations. This endeavor could work only so well with a job at a porno shop, but he tried.
“Good Lord, these fries are salty,” he said as he continued to shovel more into his mouth. He had always dealt with his food with the passion of two long-lost lovers finally being reunited; however, the result of these encounters was less than attractive.
Chuckling Ann said, “Yeh, they need to teach the fry guy some restraint.”
“Did you give Chuck his food yet?” Nick said between bites.
Mike set his burger down. “Not yet, but I’ll get on it here in a sec. Hey, you got the money for the grub, man?” He looked at Nick.
“Yes, sir, I do,” he said as the cash register chimed open. Nick fanned out some money and slid it over to Mike.
“Your boss buys you dinner?”
“Yeh, he just doesn’t know it.”
“That’s kind of low,” Mike said with a smile.
Ann nervously reached into her front pocket and pulled out around five dollars. “Take it,” she said, handing the money to Nick. “I’ll pay for the rest soon.” Beverly could see Ann was unnerved by the idea of participating in theft.
Ann and Beverly hung around for a bit after they had eaten, but Ann’s curfew was gaining ground with every moment that Mike talked about why he believed that human b
eings were a feeder race for extraterrestrials. So with little fanfare, they excused themselves and began the walk home. It was almost a mile to Ann’s house, and in the dark everything always seemed so much more sinister. However, with Beverly at her side, Ann knew she was going to be fine. Ann’s feet shuffled on the loose gravel that was scattered on the road, even as the two of them managed to stay in lockstep. The night felt oppressive, and the scraggly pines all seemed to pull to a far-off place in the woods.
Ann blurted out, “Stay over tonight.”
“Why?”
“'Cause it would beee fuuun.” She reached out and grabbed Beverly’s petite hand and brought it in close.
“I might, but first you have to apologize.”
“Golly, whatever do you mean?” Ann said knowingly. “OK, I’m sorry Nick’s a pedophile. I know, it was a shock to me, too, but facts is facts, and he likes the young'uns.”
Beverly yanked on her shoulder while simultaneously digging her thumbnail into Ann’s finger.
“Ahhh, OK. Jebuss! OK, I’m sorry I embarrassed you in front of Nick. I will do it slightly less often from now on.”
“Well, that’s probably as good as I’m going to get, so I might consider it.”
“Yeh, we can tell ghost stories,” Ann said.
“Does your mom still keep the liquor cabinet unlocked?”
“Yeeeeep, but you can have only a little, ’cause I’m not cleaning up your throw-up this time.”
“That remains to be seen,” Beverly said with a smile. As much as Ann’s childishness bothered Beverly, she was still always won over by it. She couldn’t help it. It was hard to find a person in this life who didn’t have a drop of malice in their heart, and she knew that Ann would always be there. It just pained her that Ann forced her to watch the Wizard of Oz every time Beverly spent the night at her house, but after a few shots of stolen rum and a little vodka from Ann’s parents' liquor cabinet, she could stand hearing that wretched cowardly lion’s voice one more time.
The snap of a twig echoed through the night. Both girls stopped and warily surveyed their surroundings, but about all that could be seen was the soft moonlight reflecting off the yellow lines of the road. Ann’s free hand slid into her jacket, and she grasped a small pocketknife that her grandfather had given her. Beverly’s arm went rigid, and her grip on Ann’s hand tightened.
Beverly whispered. “Did you hear that?”
“Shhh,” Ann said as she peered into the darkness. There was another small crackling. It sounded softer than before, but it was distinctly closer than the last.
“Slowly turn around,” Ann whispered, and with that, both girls made a creeping turn and started to walk back the way they had come. The crackling underbrush seemed to follow them, and a strange malevolence seemed to bruise the air. So far, it stayed in the woods, but it wasn’t guaranteed that this would remain the case. Fantastic things began to flow through the girls' minds, and they were calling up terrible thoughts.
“Do you think it’s a mountain lion, or a bear, or something?” Beverly said. “I heard they will stalk you like this.”
“Don’t think about it; just go.” The sound crashed out of the woods.
“No—it’s more than that,” Ann said as their pace began to quicken. The sound came with them, increasing its speed. It was behind them on the road now, clacking on the pavement like someone quickly tapping long fingernails on a table. Nether dared to look behind as an even more frightful form crept in front of them. Ann clicked her small pocketknife open. Her hands shook as the shadow boldly took its spot in the center of the street. It seemed to be a person, but it still had a hateful aura about it. The girls halted, not knowing which way to turn. Should they face the shadowy form in front of them or the unknown sound behind them?
“Do you have your nail file?” Ann said softly.
“Yes.”
“Then get it,” Ann ordered. Beverly reached into her purse and pulled out the file. The black figure put its fingers to its mouth and whistled. Soft padded steps could be heard behind them, and as they spun around to confront the horror, they saw it. A perfectly white bunny rabbit hopped in between them. Its big floppy feet slapped the pavement as it hustled to reach its destination. There was no way that was what was following them, Ann thought.
“Heavenly, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” the dark figure said in a female voice. Halfway to the figure, the fluffy bunny paused and gave a solemn look back at the girls before proceeding. It seemed like a calculated thing to do, and with heavy thought behind its eyes, it turned back to the figure and kept hopping. The beast didn’t stop until it reached the shadow’s feet, where it waited patiently. The form bent down and picked up the furry critter and cradled it as if it was a child.
“Nice night for a walk, isn’t it, girls?” the figure said in a soft, feminine voice. The form started to walk in their direction before they could reply. The sound of a female voice was oddly reassuring to the girls. They could most likely cross rape off the list of the things that might happen, but assumptions are sometimes mistaken.
“Uhhh, yes,” Beverly said as the figure finally came close enough to see. It was a tall, aging woman in a thick black wool coat. She moved with confidence as she continued to approach. Her face was thin, and her long gray hair was pulled haphazardly into a bun.
“Hello, my name is Beth Hegel.”
Tentatively Beverly said, “Hey.”
“So, what finds you two out on a night like this?” Hegel said, coming within a few feet of them before stopping. Everything about her seemed old, from her square-toed black leather shoes, her frilly, cream-colored blouse, and most certainly her harsh, expressionless face that looked like weather-beaten leather. Neither of the girls said a word.
“You have others about?” Hegel’s speech had a distinctly European accent. However, the exact country could not be placed. It sounded like a strange mix from so many places that it might drive even a linguist mad. A guttural German mixed with Spanish and French; however, that only seemed to be the tip of it.
“Why?” Ann said, still clenching Beverly’s hand.
As the old woman looked down at Beverly’s fist, she saw her still gripping the nail file. “You aren’t going to rob me, are you?” Hegel’s eyes locked on the shining knife-like object.
Beverly looked down at the file, and realizing how it appeared, she said, “No, it’s just a nail file…You…You scared us.”
“Well, I never meant to. Say, can you tell me how to get to Black Shear from here?”
“I don’t think I know that place,” Ann said as the lady came closer.
Hearing a slight wind, Hegel looked into the tangled woods. “See the trees. Tonight’s a special night. Things can happen on this night that can’t happen at any other time. All your wishes can come true. You want a boy, don’t you?” she said, locking eyes with Beverly. Beverly’s eyes widened, and a sense of guilt washed over her.
“I can see to it that he loves you, and only you, forever.” Fear rushed into the hearts of the girls.
“I think we need to be going,” Ann said as she tugged on Beverly’s arm. The two of them started to walk around Hegel, who stood curiously straight and still. When they passed her, they began to march, almost run, back to the Black Crystal. The time for politeness had ended, and they looked only to distance themselves from the penetrating gaze of the strange woman.
“Tell the others that I have found dinner,” they heard the old hag say. With that, the stark sound of leathery wings could be heard rising into the air. Ann swung her head around to see the vile woman glaring at them with hateful eyes. The rabbit was gone.
“Go!” screamed Ann as she pulled Beverly into a flat-out run. But before they could get too far, a set of bony fingers pierced Ann’s shoulders and dragged her to the ground. She hit hard, scraping along the pavement; Beverly screamed as she spun. Ann was now being straddled by Hegel, who was raining down blows. Still clenching the nail file, Beverly
lunged. The old hag’s reflexes were sharp, and with little effort, she snatched Beverly’s arm as she swung. In one quick motion, Hegel ripped the nail file from Beverly’s grip and plunged it deeply into Beverly’s forearm. She screamed as Hegel ripped it out and went for another stab, but before the blow could land, Ann flung her fist, smacking the old hag in the eye with her pocketknife. The witch screamed in an unknown language and released her grasp on Beverly. Ann yanked her inch-long pocketknife out of the diabolical woman’s eye. Beverly, with all the force she could muster, shoved the screaming attacker off her friend, leaving the witch writhing on the pavement. Unholy wails like the sounds of many voices burst from the gaping maw of the injured witch. Beverly reached down and pulled Ann to her feet.