Days of Horror

Day 4: Hail to the King

"KHANDAR ESTRADA KHANDOS THRUS INDACTU NOSFRANDUS KHANDAR DEMATOS KHANDAR."

October 10, 1692. Salem, Massachusetts

Through the year of 1692, the town of Salem was in a state of constant fear.

For an entire year, their world had been torn apart and turned upside down. A once proud and lovely town had fallen into disarray.

No one trusted each other. No one knew who could be human and who could be a witch.

It had all begun back in February, when a group of little girls had come forward and shown signs of being under the control of witches.

The town immediately went on a witch hunt, bringing the witches and servants of the devil himself to justice.

Or so they thought.

As the months passed, more and more of the townsfolk seemed to be turning to the dark arts, letting themselves become infected by the dark one.

Friends became enemies.

Loved ones could no longer be trusted.

The world as they knew it was falling apart.

Pretty soon, many Salems citizens took it upon themselves to perform their own witch hunts. A vigilante group of sorts was formed to do what the government couldn't.

To go door to door and root out who was afflicted with the mark of Satan.

And make sure they never returned to the world of the living.

On this night, the group gathered in the woods at the foot of the largest tree in the wood, led by their leader, a man named Samuel Campbell.

He stood in the middle of the group, torch held high, the suspected witch bound and hooded behind him.

Samuel looked at the crowd before, at his fellow witch hunters.

"Citizens of Salem!" He called out, his voice carrying over the trees. "You know why we are here tonight. Tonight, we continue our holy work. Tonight, we continue to burn away the wickedness that has infected our once pure town! And tonight, we kill yet another witch!"

The crowd cheered, man and woman alike rising their torches skyward. Campbell smiled, feeling a sense of pride and power course through him.

Before the witch hunts, Campbell hadn't been a popular or even well known man. He'd been a nobody. Just another face in the crowd.

But now... now he was a public figure. Now he was seen as a hero. As a person people would remember forever.

Campbell gestured at the man behind him, letting the guards bring him forward until he was right beneath the tree. A noose hung just above his head, lightly touching the hood.

"This witch, a man we have never seen before, invaded our blessed town!" Samuel bellowed, eyes meeting every one of the assembled towns people. "He came into our world ready to infect the very heart and soul of Salem!"

"Excuse me."

"He came with weapons made by the devil himself!"

"Excuse me!"

"He came to turn our girls and women against us! He came to make us servants of the dark one! He came–"

"EXCUSE ME!!!"