Chapter 3: Water Witch

Dogs howled and barked into the night sky.

Small, bare feet carried a young girl quickly through the woods, long blue hair dancing with the cool summer breeze. She held her arms tightly together, old ragged clothing ripped at the knees and her side.

The Dogs' paws pounded on the soil as they bounded after her, three large middle aged men following quickly behind her, all dressed in plaid shirts and jean overalls. "Don't let her escape! Get that little witch, boys!"

The girl turned back, blue eyes simmering in the dark. Her foot caught on a loose tree root and she began to tumble down a small hill, her face dipping a river.

When she pulled her head up, teeth sank into her ankle, blood spewing from the bite of one of the hounds' fangs. She cried out in pain, using her fist to hit the dog and try to break free as the three men surrounded her. The other two dogs rushed at her, but two of the men grabbed them by their collars and kept the hounds at bay.

The one with the largest beard knelt, prying the dog that bit the girl off, petting him. "Good boy. So thought you could run, huh? Not gonna be doing much running now, huh?"

She took heavy breaths, tears beginning to simmer in her eyes. Her face was one of anger and hate. "Leave me alone! Please!"

"Aye, afraid we can't do that, little girl. Stealing food is a no no from us. You know that." He stood up, undoing one of the buttons on his overalls. "And based on the fact that you have no money and live in our house, I guess you gotta pay another way."

"Ooo, we get to break her, Bobbie?"

The one who spoke was a bit smaller than the other two in height, but his stomach was bulged out more. Sweat was visible on his forehead, even in the darkness of the night.

"It's always the young ones that feel the best!"

"Oh, shut it, Carll. Hurry and strip her clothes." Bobbie commanded, and the other two men began to grab at her. She cried softly, shaking her head and moving around frantically to break free from their grasp.

"Get off! Get off, Get off, GET OFF!" One of her arms broke free, and when she slapped Carll, the river behind her reacted, shooting itself out and spearing through Carll's skull. He was dead in an instant, body going limp and dropping with a loud thump as the water did.

Bobbie stepped back fast, drawing his rusty looking 9mm from his back pocket.

"The fuck! What the fuck was that!"

The other man had hopped back fast, slipping on one of the wet rocks, hitting his head against it and knocking himself out cold. The dogs had been barking, but turned and ran in fright when the girl stood.

Her body was glowing as her eyes, blue tattoos rushing up both sides of her neck and face, trailing around in a design that stopped just short of her collarbone. She screamed, the water bursting massively behind her. With a cry of anger, she willed the water to swallow Bobbie whole, carrying him high into the air.

The liquid was scorching hot, so much so that Bobbie's skin slowly began to melt away in excruciating pain. The bubble of water ran red as his mouth opened to scream, but water filled his throat and belly faster than his voice could leave. His stomach began to expand, more and more as the muscle on his arm tore and oozed up. His flesh dripped as it was washed away by the river current, stomach erupting and leaking his intestines out, before his body exploded in a gust of blood and water that rained down from the sky.

The girl dropped to her knees, tattoos fading away as she took heavy breaths.

Exhausted.

Winded, lonely and lost.

She had sensed something during her outburst. Someone like her, not too far from her current position. She had a feeling she knew who it was, as she had seen him a few months before, back when she witnessed her parents being slaughtered so carelessly.

Skeptical as she was at first, she knew he was her only hope. Her only salvation at this point in time. While his name was unknown to her, she had a clue that she could follow. One single characteristic that made him so much easier to find that many others.

White hair.

Standing, and using a broken branch as support for her leg, she stumbled forward past the gore and shut her eyes. In the bushes behind her, she felt something gazing at her. It sent a chill down her spine, fearing that the man that was left unconscious had woken back up. Faster and faster she picked up her feet, until she was breaking into a pained and sweaty sprint.

The presence drew closer and closer, loud huffing and muffled laughs filling the young girl's ears.

"Please! Please let me make it!" She ducked under a loose branch, pushing her small body to dash faster through the forest. "Please! I need your help," She yelled out loud, voice echoing into the night.