Broken Ever Afters

Part 2 - Chapter 6

Walking into the farthest room, I find large domed furnace. Is it the same one used by the witch to cook and eat children? So the fairy tale goes. The roaring fire of furnace comes to life and I jolt back. While I take the scare, I enjoy the warmth coming from it after being drenched in cold from the rain. My back hits something or someone and it makes me freeze in my steps. What have I bumped into? Hoping it's not the fabled old hag who eats children, I slowly turn around to find Jacob with his arms extended and fingers hunched. His jaw dropped and slightly to the side, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed.

"Boo!" he says playfully flailing his arms before dropping them to his sides and straightening his expression. I try to give him a cold, hard stare, hoping to convey my displeasure. His only reaction to it is a wink and even though my lips wanted to curl and smile, I try to keep the thing serious.

"It's not funny! First you scare the life out of people with your creepy stories and then you pretend I don't expect the worst from being inside a creepy, sugary house. I thought you were the old witch who eats children.

"Where have you been? I have been waiting for you here. I was worried you wouldn't find me if I left. You were chasing after me, right?"

"Yes, then I turned for a moment to look behind me and you were gone. I must have taken a wrong turn or something."

"A wrong turn?" Jacob asks, slapping his knee. "We were in a forest! It's full of turns."

"Uh! Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you! You're so unnerving. Never mind. What are we doing here anyways?"

I know exactly why I put up with him. Without his help, I can't return home.

"I need to retrieve something. Don't worry I'm not planning for us to stay here overnight. Believe it or not this place gives me the creeps."

"Are you sure no one is around?" I ask, searching the room for signs of movement.

"Yes, I'm sure. The last time I checked there were no evil, old hags. Look, I have to retrieve something from the other room. Do you want to come with or will you stay and wait for me here, scaredy-cat?"

I won't make the same mistake twice. Better the devil you know they say and for once, I have to agree completely. Walking in here was a mistake. Following Jacob in another room would be another mistake. At least I'm sure no one's around in this room.

"I'm fine right here," I lie. Being somewhere else right now would be fine. Okay would have been a better choice of wording and my statement didn't come out as confidently as I would have liked. "Go and do whatever you need to. I'll be waiting for you here."

"Okay, I'll be right back. Don't touch anything and stay away from the candy."

Jacob walks out of the room and goes into the room to the left. There's nothing for me to do in here so I rock on my feet and wait. A cuckoo clock ticks softly in the background and a gust of wind spills in from somewhere, making me shiver. A candle next to me goes out.

I stop moving in cold blood. What is the sound I'm hearing? Something creaks. On my way in, I remember seeing a wooden rocking chair. It must have moved with the draught.

Daring to take a couple of steps out, I peek to the far end of the room. The room is in complete darkness except for the light coming in through the frosted windows. The rocking chair is there alright but a dark figure sits in it now. The silhouette of a woman with unruly hair. The witch.

I try to scream but no sound comes out. I'm out of breath. A panic attack is exactly what I need right now. Jacob is somewhere in the opposite room but he has no way of knowing I'm in trouble if I can't scream. The witch stands and walks slowly towards me and I back away from her into another room. Black bars are now surrounding me. I have walked deep into an adult sized human cage. Before I can run out, the witch waves her hand and the cage door locks me in with a clank. Why hasn't Jacob come over yet?