Accusations

"You killed him without doing anything but to lift your hands. It is true what they said… witch!"

The dogs that had seen their master lifeless on the ground yelped and whimpered away. The impact of the tree branch that had fallen from a termite infested tree had taken their master's life and the stench of blood was all over the place.

Suzy threw rocks at the dogs in her last attempt to get rid of them and the big muscular trained hunters ran away as their master was now dead.

I looked back into the face of Suzy's companion and saw horror etched onto every inch of her face.

The woman had a crazed look in her eyes and she struggled to get away from Suzy. She was of tall stature but a bit smaller than Suzy. Her hair was a soft brown and her dress was the same ragged dress Suzy wore.

"You are misguided by partiality, Belinda. You and I are just the same. Slaves who just want to be free." Suzy told her as she stood up and reached a hand towards the woman.

Belinda slapped her hand away and spat at her.

"The other slaves at the black market had talked about you. You bring death and luck runs away when you are around."

"What nonsense are you spouting woman?" Suzy questioned her.

Belinda's body quivered with a sudden burst of woeful cries of agony. Her ankle hurts and she was afraid of everything. Afraid of the dogs. Afraid of their captor.

She was afraid of Suzy.

"Come on now. The town of Shalem is a few miles up ahead. We will live our new lives there and forget our horrible past." Suzy's outstretched hands were wide open for Belinda and she screamed instead of accepting them.

Her wail was haunting and after that she collapsed and fell unconscious beside the dead captor.

Suzy groaned in frustration and I could see the struggle in her face as she contemplated her choices if she should bring the woman with her or not. She bent down and grabbed Belinda's arm so she could carry her on her back.

Heaving and grunting, Suzy finally had Belinda positioned on her back and slowly she trudged away.

"You will know that Suzy was once a slave and had made a new life in Shalem. Remember that woman's face well, Lizzie." The firefly - the spirit of the forest told me.

She had circled me again, her light a beautiful glow that was the contrast of the dark marshlands.

"What does Belinda have to do with anything?" I asked her.

Just as I uttered the last word of my question, a flashing light enveloped my senses and I had to close my eyes to save them from becoming blind.

"Susan works as a maid for the Philips. Their daughters had thought to have been possessed by the devil when she was around." Belinda's voice ringed in my ears.

I opened my eyes and I saw the familiar downtown pubs of Shalem. Apparently, Belinda served as a hostess in the shady parts of town.

"Witch! Sussanah Johnson is a witch! She had killed a man before and evil and bad luck follows her everywhere, I swear." She whispered to the half-drunk men in the pub.

"Preposterous! How could such thing be? We should report her to the prosecutors then. We don't want evil in our little town!" said an old man as he slammed his mug of beer, a tiny splash stained his collar.

"You have heard of the poor farmer's daughter who bewitched Mr. Bernards' son, right? She is being held right now as a prisoner and is set to be judged in a few weeks." Said another with a raise of his finger.

The firefly landed on a table near me and slowly morphed into the shape of a girl of warm green light. The silhouette's head turned to me and I could sense an eerie smile from it even if there was nothing to see at all.

"You see now, Elizabeth? The prejudice and fears of men lead to the deaths of innocents."

The pub quickly changed into the scene where Suzy was taken by the townspeople, dragged and treated worse than I had been. I remember how bruised and beat she was when she had come to join the prison cells with me.

At that time, it had just been me and Rebecca and shortly after Sussanah, Alice was brought in just in time for the burning in the next three days.

Everything slowly faded into nothingness and then all that was left was a black void. The spirit of the forest's voice echoed as she told me,

"Harness the magic we lent you, dear. And achieve that well-deserved justice."

As if by cue, I suddenly jolted from the soft bed I had lain and I could feel the cold sweat that drenched my body.

Everyone was still asleep and I heard the boys' snores from the other side of the room. I heaved a deep sigh and stared at the night sky from where I sat.

The stars were twinkling so beautifully and all I could think of was the unfortunate things we all had been through in the past. The sky had leisurely turned lighter and I could see that the sun was about to peek from the horizon.

I got up from the bed and yawned.

I realize I had barely slept but I couldn't even dare to close my eyes as I dread I would be pulled again into that nightmarish world of sorrow. To relive the past again and again and to see how fate could let it happen.

I folded the sheets and tiptoed my way towards the mini kitchen that was provided in between the two rooms. Nico was indeed rich to have been able to afford such luxuries.

The tiny space was still dark and I felt my way towards the refrigerator for a cold glass of water to quench my parched mouth.

As I gulped the water, I had noticed a subtle movement from the far end corner and I almost dropped the glass in surprise.

A cloud of smoke puffed and I fumbled for the light switch near me. As the lights turned on, Levi waved frantically to shield his eyes from the sudden invasion of light.

"Ahh! Turn the lights off for fuck's sake its too early!" he complained.

He had his eyes closed and an ashtray raised as he clutched it with his left hand. Cigarette butts and ashes fell down and I could see he had been able to finish quite a lot already.

"What in the world are you doing smoking in the kitchen's corner, Levi?!" I asked him.