The Cursed Village

The Fourth Girl (2)

She'll wake up soon. Linda remembered Rob's words well. She looked at the witch in chains. Today again the woman was staring in front of her emptily, as she had for many years. Chained up, surrounded by a seal. And apparently comatose right now. The witch blinked.

'What's your name?' Linda asked again. There was no answer. She didn't know what the woman had done, but she couldn't help but feel it must've been terrible to warrant all these results. A witch.

It was the most un-scientific thing to consider the existence of witches. It was the kind of conspiracies that only existed in the mind of priests and morons. But here there was one, in front of her. A real witch, immortal and endlessly powerful. Or at least, an immortal woman who didn't age. She was glad there was a thick glass wall between the two of them.

Linda turned around and left the room. She was terrified by this woman, who'd deserved this kind of punishment for her crimes. Yet, a part of her was incredibly excited to imagine the woman waking up. This beautiful woman, this mysterious woman... there were so many things Linda wanted to ask her when she woke up. Most importantly: What's her name? And then: What did she do?

She remembered the other woman they held captive; Serena. What would happen to her once the witch awakened? She was supposedly a victim of the witch. Linda knew her father had ordered that she would be chained up as well, although not as heavily as the witch. Just in case. Perhaps, Linda smiled to herself, Serena would be able to talk as well, and give information about this witch.

Linda looked at her watch and realised it was almost time for dinner. She headed for the small restaurant where everyone ate. The research platform was a close-knit community of at most fourty people, and then at most ten exchange researchers who came from all over the world to help in the research for immortality. Everyone here was a specialist in their own field, and Linda hoped that she too would be one of them. Right now though, she merely did the jobs that nobody else wanted to do, together with Shane. Shane actually got the worst of it; Linda had grown up on the research station in the ocean, so that everyone knew her. Her position as the daughter of the boss, the only family he had left after his wife had died, also added to that. Shane however was a stranger, so that he really got the worst jobs. Shane didn't seem to mind though, and just like her he was grateful to work on this island.

In the restaurant she saw her father sitting at table for two, and immediately went to him. He'd usually sit with the other scientists during meals, but the seat for two was there for when he wanted to talk to her in private.

Forasmuch as privacy existed in the restaurant.

Linda sat down opposite her father and saw he was looking inside his wallet. After a few minutes in silence her father took out a photograph. It seemed old, very pixel-y.

'What's that?' Linda asked. She looked at the photograph closely. Then she gasped.

'That one's the woman we have here, right? Serena?' she asked, 'Who's the other woman?'

'Aunt Ella. My sister.' Her father said, a somber expression on his face.

Linda looked at the picture again and finally recognised aunt Ella, the aunt she'd only seen on photographs.

'There's a reason we're here,' her father said, 'and if what that man said is right... I want you to stay far away from the witch.'

'Why?' Linda asked. Shane came over to ask if they wanted dinner too. Someone had probably decided that he was now in charge of getting everyone food.

'We're fine,' her father said. As soon as Shane left again he continued: 'I met Serena a few times before... everything. I never really got along with her, I was too busy with studying. But she came over to visit Ella all the time. Once I told my sister that they were always being loud, but she told me that until I got a girlfriend I couldn't talk back.'

Linda giggled, imagining her father getting told off by anyone. Her father frowned at her, but then continued regardless.

'So when the temple was destroyed... things happened. The witch we're researching caused it all. I only have Rob's story as to what happened, but according to him they caught the witch in the forest and seal her. Then Serena fell for the lies of the witch and was, well, she ended up this way. When my sister found out she fell into deep despair. I left to finish my degree and met your mother, but grandpa and grandma often sent me letters, until they sent me one that my sister had died.'

'Why are you telling me this?' Linda asked.

'Because I want you to know what happened. Why we're here, and why I want you to stay far away from the witch.'

'I see.' Linda looked down at the table and the photograph. It was ridiculous of her dad to ask for this, the risk was the same for her as it was for everyone. Still, she looked at the photo and realised that the witch had destroyed both lives, and harmed her dad before. He was probably scared of the witch as well.

She wondered for a moment why, if he was scared, he insisted to continue research, but she immediately knew the answer. If he didn't continue there was no chance to restore Serena to normal.

'Fine, I won't go near the witch,' Linda smiled.