Chapter 4: Captive

Aaron awoke to darkness and found that his world was shaking and rattling back and forth. He heard a familiar sound, and after thinking about it for a minute, he realized what it sounded like: old, wooden wheels rolling over an old road. Aaron tried to move and felt a sharp pain in his wrist; something was holding them together very tightly. He tried to move his feet, felt another sharp pain, and realized that it was no use. The Witch had bound him together good.

Still, despite his situation, Aaron felt that someone, anyone, might help. Maybe if he yelled loud enough he would be saved.

“Hello?!  Can anybody hear me?!”  Aaron’s voice was a little hoarse from crying, though he didn’t remember crying, and barely rose above a whisper. In fact, the last thing he did remember was talking with that strange boy and thinking how beautiful those white flowers were.  Where am I?  Being taken some place, he thought, wrapped up in a sack.

“Can anyone hear me?!”  He tried again, only a little louder. There was no answer. Aaron tried again, but the only response was the sound of crunching gravel. 

Aaron tried shifting his body, hoping to find a more comfortable position but instead only succeeded in making himself more uncomfortable positions. As he was jostled about, he bumped into something hard and heard what sounded like pots banging together.

“I see you’re awake.” Aaron recognized the coarse voice of the Witch and stopped breathing. “Try not to destroy everything. We’re almost there. So I suggest you keep still. Keeping your mouth shut wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”

Where is she taking me? Aaron was unable to speak. The Witch’s voice was enough to scare him into silence. He thought of his brother and wondered what happened to him and that strange boy. 

Aaron heard the Witch grunting and her old bird, Esther, cawing. The cart continued on, carrying its unwilling cargo to who knew where. Not knowing what to do, feeling uncomfortable, and trying to keep his fear down, Aaron tried to remember what had happened.

He remembered talking to the strange boy, of course, but he could not remember his name. Probably because he’d only heard it once. He had never been great at remembering names. Even so, he continued to try and try, but nothing came. And after a few minutes of trying, he moved on to something else: the blank space of time in his head after meeting the strange boy and before waking up to find himself wrapped up in a sack.

Think, Aaron, think, he repeated over and over again. It was something he had seen his brother do on a number of occasions, whenever he was trying to find something he had lost. Well, Aaron had lost a memory, which he considered to be a very serious misplacement. He didn’t know why he was trying this particular technique because it never seemed to work for Jason. Usually, he would get angry and throw something, usually his cell phone, and Aaron would watch as it flew through the air…

That’s it! A memory of Jason flying through the air burst through his mental block.

That’s strange. Why would Jason be flying through the air? It was as if some giant had picked him up and tossed him.

Nevertheless, it was enough. Once one memory broke through, the rest followed in quick succession. He remembered the black vortex, the black vines, and he remembered that strange boy (Boy he was fast!) grabbing his arms, trying to hold on. But it was no use. Aaron had still been taken, pulled through that vortex to some unknown place, and tied up in a sack. He felt a thrill of triumph for remembering, but it was short-lived, for it did nothing to help him in his current predicament. 

Aaron felt the wagon slow and then stop.  He heard a few more grunts come from the Witch; guessing that she was trying to heave herself out of her seat. Aaron felt a sudden weightlessness and had the distinct feeling that he was gliding through the air, but which direction he was heading he couldn’t say. He could only hear the muffled grumbling of the wretched beast that, no doubt, using magic to carry him somewhere.

They traveled in relative silence for half an hour when Aaron heard the sound of thunder and could make out a few flashes of lightning through the cloth that imprisoned him. Aaron was getting more scared; he didn’t like storms, not one bit.  His body started trembling.

“Are we getting a little scared now?” The Witch croaked, with a slight smile in her tone.

“No.” Aaron’s voice was less than convincing, and the Witch only laughed.

“Just wait. In a few minutes your going to met a friend of mine and I think you’re going to like her.” She laughed even harder at her own joke and continued to trudge up whatever path she was on.

The Witch’s laughing didn’t last long, soon replaced by very labored breathing and frequent stops. Aaron was getting hot in his little sack, not to mention cramps in both of his legs; however, he did feel relieved to know that the Witch, despite her magic, was feeling a little put out.

The thunder and lightning grew in intensity as time passed, giving Aaron reason to jump every time a clap of thunder shook the earth. He couldn’t feel the ground at that moment, but he knew it must have been shaking along with him. Soon lightning and thunder no longer preceded one another; instead they overlapped, almost like an excited conversation where both people run over each other’s sentences… only much scarier… especially because Aaron was still dry. No rain fell from the clouds above.

After another half-hour, his movement stopped and then Aaron heard, through the incessant thunder, a tiny tapping sound of metal meeting metal.  To Aaron’s surprise, the thunder quieted, leaving only a ceaseless low rumpling no louder than a growling stomach. Then he jumped. An incredible, screeching sound struck his ears. It reminded Aaron of the time a teacher had scratched her nails on the chalkboard at school, only this time the sound was magnified a thousand times. Aaron started screaming in pain. The cords binding his hands and feet cut into his skin.

Is this what Jason would’ve done, screamed like a baby? Aaron thought.  He held his breath and gritted his teeth, trying not to scream from the pain in his ears, hands, and feet. Never show any pain.

The nails-on-a-chalkboard screeching stopped. Aaron relaxed, as much as he could considering the circumstances, and tried to wipe the tears from his face. He didn’t want the Witch to open the bag, see his tear-streaked face, and laugh her banshee laugh.  Then again, once Aaron was let out of his sack, what was he going to see?  Nothing pleasant, he was sure.  He felt he was moving again.

Aaron’s sack didn’t move far before it stopped again. The bag open beneath him, and Aaron closed his eyes. He fell and hit the floor with a thud. Whatever he hit felt cold when his skin touched it, like his mother’s marble countertops. Aaron pushed away whatever fear was keeping his eyes closed and opened them. 

Before his eyes was an immensely expansive room, the ceiling disappearing into darkness. The windowless walls were made out of some kind of black metal, lined with flaming torches; the light from the torches seemed to be absorbed by the walls and reflected back in an unnatural way. Everything was lit, but only just so. It was as if light itself was afraid to shine to bright in that place. The shadows, however, were not so encumbered; they shifted and danced, unafraid.

As he looked at the floor, he noticed that it too was made from the same material as the walls, and, likewise, didn’t reflect any light at all. He almost felt that he was walking on the night sky, except this night didn’t have any stars, no comforting breeze.

Behind him, far in the distance, he could make out a large door that reminded him of an old castle. It was also made of the same metal. Aaron began to think that this place was carved out of one very large rock.

“On your feet, brat.” The Witch said as she grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him onto his feet. She waved her left hand and the cords that held his feet and hands together fell to the floor and, to his horror, slithered away. Aaron felt her cold, dry hands grab his chin and squeeze, forcing him to look into her eyes, which were no longer a burning red but were black and beady.

“Now you listen to me. You’re going to keep your mouth shut until asked a question. And if you try to escape I’ll wave my hand and turn you into the vilest creature on the face of the earth. Understand?” Aaron nodded. He thought about asking what was the vilest creature on the face of the earth but decided that it was best not to know. The Witch let go of his chin and turned towards the door at the other end of the room. Aaron immediately followed.   

A room like the one that Aaron was in would create an echo effect at the sound of their feet walking along the floor; however, the sound seemed to die once it was heard.  Aaron’s stomach twisted in knots as he looked around hoping for something that he could use to help him. Again, Aaron’s thoughts drifted toward Jason and how he would handle this situation. However, there was nothing on the floor and only the fiery torches along the walls, and Aaron was doubtful that he could grab one of them and hit his abductor before she turned him into some awful creature. The best solution, Aaron figured, was to wait; after all, she hadn’t killed him yet.

They reached another door exactly the same style as the one behind them. Aaron thought that “door” was not a sufficient word to describe what stood before him, because like the walls on either side of him this immense door stretched into the darkness out of sight. Was the other door just as tall? Or was I too far away to notice? The Witch stretched out her hand and touched the door with one finger. They waited in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Aaron hoped that maybe they would turn around and walk out of this unnatural place, but he was soon disappointed because the door started to open.

As the door slid open, it made no sound that Aaron could hear. Beyond the threshold, Aaron could see some light, not the yellow kind created by the candles but a white light that made him squint until his eyes adjusted to its intensity. After a few seconds, Aaron was able to see that the light was coming from two shafts of light meeting at the center of the room. The room itself looked only slightly different from the one that Aaron had just left: the two shafts of light and a very large throne placed behind the beams of light. Aaron wondered at this, Aren’t thrones supposed to be in the light, not outside of it?

A crisp snap brought him out of his reverie and he saw that the Witch was several feet in front of him, beckoning him forward with a sharp gesture of her hand. He took a tentative step over the threshold and walked further into the room. They continued walking until they were standing in front of where two shafts of light met, with the throne just on the opposite side. Aaron held his breathe, hoping that no one was sitting on this grotesque piece of furniture, but again, he was wrong.

“Step into the light.” Said an old, scratchy voice, Aaron estimated that it was over two hundred years old. He hesitated, but was soon pushed into the light by the Witch. He was immediately bathed in the white light, and he soon realized that it too was unnatural. The light seemed to caress him like invisible hands running up and down his body. He wanted to cry.

“That’s much better.” Out of the darkness, beyond the light, something moved. A hand with gray, withered skin stretched into the light. One long finger caressed Aaron’s cheek and slid down beneath his chin shifting his head up and down then side-to-side, like the doctor did whenever he was sick. Aaron was sick all right, just not from any naturally occurring illness.

The hand released his face and disappeared back into the darkness.

“What’s your name?” Asked the voice.

“A. . .Aaron.”  He licked his lips.

“There isn’t much time left. This had better work Grizelda. This is your last chance.” Aaron looked behind him and saw that the Witch, who the voice had just named Grizelda, looked just as terrified as he felt. Who is this person? Aaron thought. Who could scare her so much?

“It will. I’m sure of it this time. We just have to wait for the older brother to come and rescue him. And then we. . . I mean, you will get what you deserve.” Grizelda said, wringing her hands.

“He’s so young. Pity.” Aaron was going to ask the voice what it meant but the floor disappeared beneath him, and his stomach flew up into his throat as he fell into darkness.

Chapter 3: A New Friend

“How’d that happen?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t know. Hurry, before she finds us.” Jason started running, dragging Aaron right behind him. 

The forest wasn’t as hard to get through this time around. A small path, big enough for two people was laid out before them. Jason wondered whether the path had always been there or if the trees themselves were leading them somewhere. No matter how fast he and Aaron ran they could not catch up to see if the trees were actually moving. Jason also wondered whether or not they were being deceived and being lead back to the Witch’s cottage.  He didn’t voice his concerns to Aaron, and so they ran anyway.

After thirty minutes of nonstop running, Aaron, exhausted, said, “We have to stop.”

“Okay.” Jason was not aware of how hungry or thirsty he was; he had been so worried about his brother that he wasn’t thinking about anything else. This left him feeling strange as they slowed to walk, because it had been a long time since Jason had spared much thought for his little brother.

The forest was thinner than when they had first entered. There was even a small area off the path comfortable enough for Jason and Aaron to rest.  A small gathering of white flowers grew along the floor of the forest and even in the vines that wound their way up some of the trees.

“It’s really pretty.” Aaron said, as he lay down, propped up against one of the trees.

“I know, beautiful. Just a couple of minutes, okay. I have a feeling that we can’t stay here long.” Jason still didn’t trust the forest, especially after the Witch had called them her trees.  And yet, he was feeling sleepy; his eyelids growing heavier and heavier as he lay down next to his brother.

“Are you going to stay awake?”  Aaron yawned.

Jason yawned. “Yes, Aaron. I’m going to stay awake.” Just stay awake until Aaron falls asleep, he thought.

“Thank you, Jason.” Aaron looked at his brother through heavy eyes.

“For what?”

“For rescuing me.” Aaron yawned again.

“What else was I supposed to do?”

“Forget about me.” 

“Just go to sleep Aaron.” Jason yawned, again. He felt exhausted, his muscles weak. Strange considering he didn’t feel as exhausted when they first entered the clearing. Regardless, coherent thought was beyond Jason’s capabilities at that moment; his mind was just too tired to think of anything beyond its own exhaustion.

Aaron closed his eyes, but not before doing the strangest thing, at least according to Jason. He moved closer to Jason and rested his head against his older brother’s shoulder. Jason was surprised but didn’t say anything, he only lifted his arm and placed it around Aaron’s tiny body. 

“Those flowers smell really good, don’t they?” Aaron asked half awake, half asleep.

“Yes they do, Aaron.”  Jason couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore, but he did stay awake long enough to feel the rhythmic breathing of his brother before he started to drift himself. As he did, something sparked in Jason’s mind, an idea, something important, but before anything materialized in his head he followed his brother into sleep.

* * *

Am I running? I thought I was sleeping. Then this must be a dream. Jason didn’t feel like he was running but he saw the path that he and Aaron were following passing quickly beneath him. Where’s Aaron? He tried to look around but found that he was unable to. Jason felt as if something very important should be around the next bend, but instead he found trees, so he kept running. A hill rose up before him, and Jason found himself moving upwards. Up, up he went, fast at first but the hill kept getting steeper and the ground turned from soft green moss to hard, grey rock. Jason, then, was not flying through the forest anymore. Instead, he was climbing a tall mountain, very aware of the pain in his body. What is happening? When did I get hurt? His breathing was heavy, rapid. Jason looked away from the rock wall in front of him and grew dizzy. He was more than five hundred feet above ground. From that distance he could see a forest sprawled out across the land, stretching to the horizon and stopping in a sharp line not too far from the base of the mountain. Past that line, however, nothing green could be seen, nothing lived. The landscape was grey with only a few black specks Jason thought had to dead trees. Was that forest below the same one he and Aaron had been running through? Somehow Jason knew it was the same one. He saw a large clearing in the middle of the forest; only it was very small from his high perch, with a tiny brown dot directly in the center. The Witches cottage, he said to himself. Beyond the edge of the forest was a strange looking castle that he could not fully make out; light danced around the castles edges preventing him from see it clearly. Where is that? Someone was speaking to him. Jason looked up above him and saw a figure just a few feet ahead, a boy about his age. The boy motioned for Jason to hurry. There wasn’t much time left.  Time for what? Jason didn’t have time to ask the boy anything. Lightning cut through the darkness above, followed by a sharp clap of thunder. Jason flung himself against the mountain as a sudden gust of wind tried to pull him off. The boy above him waved his hand again and Jason reached for the next foothold. A large black crow fell from the sky onto his face and started piercing his skin with its beak.  In a panic, Jason swatted at the creature, losing his grip.  He fell.

* * *

Jason jerked awake to see a set of pale blue eyes inches from his face.

“Ahhh!”   Jason screamed as he scrambled away, putting some distance between him and those blue eyes. The pitch his voice attained was one he thought he had left behind with puberty.

A fit of laughter broke out after the scream and Jason saw that it was coming from a boy about his age. But Jason didn’t linger on this fact because as his eyes adjusted he saw that this boy was hanging upside down from a tree. As the boy laughed harder, his legs loosened their grip on the tree limb. The boy fell to the ground, but this didn’t seem to concern him for he could hardly catch his breath.

“You should’ve seen your face!”  He continued laughing.  “It was priceless.”

Jason couldn’t help but stare. The boy rolled on the ground, clutching his stomach. It took a while, but eventually the boy’s laughter subsided to giggles and then, finally to silence.

He seemed disappointed that Jason hadn’t spoken yet, “I think the first question that you need to ask is, ‘Who are you?’ That seems the most important thing at the moment.”  The boy rolled onto his feet and squatted.

Jason looked around—Aaron was still sleeping—and said, “Who are you?”

“Name’s Eric,” said the boy. His hand shot out and hung in the air, waiting.

Jason, with a slow deliberate motion, held out his own hand and shook Eric’s.

“See, that’s better. Now we’re known to each other.” Eric’s eyes glanced down at Aaron then up again. Eric, smiling, waited.

Not sure what Eric was waiting for, Jason looked down at Aaron and said, “Uh… This is my brother… Aaron.”

“Hi, Aaron. Nice to meet you,” Eric said to Aaron’s unconscious body. 

Silence.

“Um… Well… It was nice to meet you, but I think we should be going.” Jason spoke each word slowly, not sure how Eric would react.

“That’s a great idea!” Eric said, standing.

Reluctant to turn his back on this strange boy, Jason squatted and gave his sleeping brother a gentle push. “Aaron, it’s time to get up.”

After a few more pushes, Aaron rolled over and half-opened his eyes. “Is it time for school already?”

Despite his desire to leave the strange boy behind, Jason smiled. He did wish he could tell his brother, “Yes,” that they were indeed at home and that Mom had breakfast waiting for them. He couldn’t however, and so said, “You’re not at home, Aaron. Remember?”

Aaron jerked, suddenly realizing where he was. “How long were we asleep?” Fear was creeping into his voice.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re okay.” He gave a quick glance towards Eric, which Aaron followed. Aaron held his breath.

Eric spoke up, robbing Jason of the chance to introduce them. “Hi! I’m Eric!” He said, his voice getting louder now that Aaron was awake.

“Hi, Eric. I’m Aaron.” Aaron’s response was not so enthusiastic.

“Awesome. Good. Now that we’re all awake. I think it’s time we leave this area.”

“Yeah.” Jason said. A yawn caught him by surprise.

“Right. We need to leave now.” The mirth disappeared from Eric’s voice. He started walking away. Aaron and Jason however stayed where they were, and after taking five steps, Eric turned around. “Come on,” he said, indicating they should follow him.

“Um, I don’t mean to seem rude, but why should we follow you?” Jason asked. Aaron, having not stood up, yawned.

“Because it’s not safe for you two here. You have to leave the forest.”

Annoyed at being told what to do, Jason said, “I know. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

“Do you know how? Which way to go?” Eric asked.

Jason looked around. The forest looked different. Although he couldn’t say for sure how he knew, Jason felt that the surrounding trees were not the same trees he saw before they fell asleep. He tried and tried, but there was no way of telling which way he and Aaron had come from. If they started walking, he could very well lead them back the Witch’s cottage, and that would be a grave mistake.

“Well?” Eric asked.

Frustrated, Jason said, “I don’t know which way to go, but how can we trust you? We just met you.”

“Good question. And here’s my answer. First, you’ve been sleeping for a few hours, and had I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it then. Second, you’re both standing in a bed of Sleeping Lilies, and in just a few minutes you’ll be asleep again. Third, you’re just going to have to trust me.”

Jason and Aaron yawned. “Okay, lead the way.”

Just then, the air behind them split open, tree trucks cracked in half and fell, and a swirling black vortex appeared out of nowhere. Jason heard a sucking sound; the air around them had shifted; it was being sucked into the vortex, faster and faster it pulled the air in until they all had to brace themselves against the buffeting wind.

Two black vines emerged from the center of the vortex, slithering along the ground. They were searching for something. They were heading for Aaron.

Terrified, Jason turned and reached for Aaron, but Eric was faster. In the time it had taken the vortex to appear and Jason to turn—which was barely any time at all—Eric had already grabbed Aaron’s arm with one hand. His other hand raised up, palm out towards Jason. A wall of air slammed into Jason’s chest and stomach, sending him flying into the air away from the black vines. He landed on the ground ten feet away, hard, forcing the air out of his lungs.

Aaron screamed.

“No!” Jason ran back through the forest, his lungs burning, his stomach and chest aching, and still he ran.

He arrived back at the clearing to see Eric holding on to Aaron’s arms, his face straining with the effort. The black vines had wrapped around Aaron’s ankles and were trying to pull him into the black vortex. Eric was desperately trying to hold on, but it would not be long before his strength would fail. Aaron was screaming. “Don’t let her take me! Please, Jason help!”

Fighting against the wind, Jason tried to push his way through the blistering winds. But he was too late.

Eric lost his battle and Aaron slipped from his fingers.

“No!” Aaron screamed as he was drug through the forest floor, fingers clawing troughs through the dark earth, pulling up Sleeping Lilies.

Jason dove for Aaron’s outstretched arms, but something grabbed at his ankles and pulled him away from his brother. Anger and frustration flashed through his mind. However, anger and frustration all but vanished from him as he watched, helpless, his brother pulled into the black vortex. The second Aaron had been pulled into the Witch’s vortex, it vanished, the wind stopped blowing, and the forest fell silent.

For a few stunned moments, Jason just lay there on the forest floor, hoping it was all some sort of horrible nightmare, hoping that he would wake up from everything. Slowly he stood up, looked up to the sky and let out a scream fueled by frustration.

Eric stood too, a look of uncertainty on his face. “Jason?”

Jason didn’t answer. Instead, he started walking. And since he didn’t have any idea where to go, the direction he headed in was where the vortex had appeared and vanished.

“Where are you going?”

“To find my brother.” Jason said without turning around.

“Okay, but do you know where you’re going?”

“No. But I’ll manage.”

“You’re going to need help.”

Jason stopped and turned, the anger burning his face. “Was it you that grabbed me?”

Eric looked to the ground and in a quiet voice said, “Yes. I did but you…”

Jason didn’t wait for Eric to finish. “It’s because of you Aaron is in the hands of that… Witch!”

“I know, but you really have to listen to me. I had to make a choice.”

“What kind of choice did you have to make?!” Jason yelled.

“It was going to take either Aaron or both of you, and it would have been disastrous if she had taken both of you.”

Jason’s anger subsided a bit, “What do you mean?”

Eric stared into Jason’s eyes for a long time, searching for something. “You really don’t remember, do you?”

“Remember what?”

“I don’t think I’m the person to tell you. But, if you let me, I can take you to the person who can.”

Jason didn’t say anything, but he didn’t move either.

“I’m really sorry about your brother, Jason. I did everything I could. It just wasn’t enough.”

At the sight of this once too happy boy, Jason’s anger washed away. He did see Eric straining to hold onto Aaron, and if it hadn’t been for him, Jason would also be in the hands of the Witch, and who knew if he could manage another escape. Being free, Jason could get help in freeing Aaron. “Who is this guy you want to take me to?”

Eric’s eyes brightened immediately. “She’s no guy. I’m taking you to Abigail’s house.”

The hairs on the back of Jason’s neck stood up, and a warm feeling filled his heart. Who was this Abigail? And why did that name sound familiar?

Chapter 2: The Witch

Jason fell, tumbled, over and over again, through some kind of syrup-like, but not sticky, substance. Quickly he lost his bearings; up and down was impossible to discern. His mouth shut tight, lungs begging for air. Tumbling, he felt himself moving through the substance, wondering how much longer he could hold his breath. His lungs burned.

Jason didn’t know where he was going; his eyes were still closed and, by the way the black liquid surrounding him felt, he was going to be falling through it forever.  Aaron made it through this then you can too, Jason thought to himself, if he did make it out.

He stopped tumbling. The strange liquid seemed to have disappeared. As his lungs were on fire, Jason could no longer hold his breath. Jason opened his mouth and sucked in as much air as he could, taking a chance that the liquid had indeed released him. Each breath was a savory treat.

Once his deprived lungs were satiated, Jason began to notice his surroundings. A warm sensation swept across his eyes, and out of sheer curiosity he opened them. He was no longer falling through the strange liquid. Jason was, instead, lying on a bed of grass and flowers, surrounded by what seemed like several hundred trees—all tightly packed together with a mixture of vines and moss covering most of the tree trunks. He had never seen so many plants in all his life.

“What are you doing?  You’re supposed to be looking for your brother, not studying the plant life.”  He scolded himself.

Jason stood and saw for the first time that he had fallen through a doorway.  But this wasn’t just any door: It was a doorframe that held a black shimmering substance; the very same substance Jason had found in the entryway of his home. 

“Jason, help!”  Jason stopped looking at the door. His heart stopped.  While he knew that Aaron had just screamed for his help, Jason didn’t know which direction it came from.

“Aaron!  Can you hear me!?”  Screaming in the middle of the forest was not the smartest thing to do, but Jason needed to find his brother.

“Jason!”  Aaron’s voice was getting further and further away but this time Jason could tell the direction it came from.  He took a deep breath and plunged deeper into the forest. “I’m coming, Aaron!” 

As Jason started running, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched.

*    *    *

The forest was thicker than he had first observed.  Jason was not just walking through the forest, he was weaving his way between the trees like Aaron would whenever he played on the jungle gym, moving his body into positions that he had long forgotten were possible.

An hour seemed to pass and Jason was still finding his way through the forest.  Every once in a while he would call out to his brother but had heard nothing since standing by the doorway. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this. Walking through some forest after falling into some black tile looking for my brother.  I never thought in a million years that Aaron’s phobia would have come from something real.”  Just then Jason remembered: Aaron wasn’t scared of the black tile he was scared of the old woman in the tile.  Jason moved faster through the forest.

Another hour went by and Jason decided to rest for a few minutes before going on.  He tried to sit on the ground but found there was very little ground to sit on and so he decided to find two trees that could support his weight.  Once this was accomplished he squeezed himself in between two trees and prepared to rest his feet for a minute. However, this was not what happened. Jason suddenly found himself falling, landing flat on his back, hard.  He stood up and found that the trees that were supposed to be supporting his weight appeared to have moved a few inches.  That’s impossible, he thought as he rubbed the back of his head.  Jason could have thought longer on how those trees moved, but he was interrupted by the sound of screaming.

The scream came from his left and as he turned he noticed the forest wasn’t as thick in that direction, more light was seeping through the trees and the smell of baking reached Jason’s nostrils.  It smelled like cookies baking, or maybe pies, Jason wasn’t sure.  The only thing he was sure of was that he heard a scream in that direction, and it appeared that someone was living nearby.  Forgetting about the moving forest, Jason walked towards the thinning trees.

Jason stopped at the edge of the forest and found what he expected, a large clearing and a small cottage. 

There was something wrong with this cottage; it wasn’t cute and adorable like most cottages Jason had seen—not that he’d seen all that many.  It was old and looked as though it was going to collapse with a stiff breeze. Jason watched as it swayed back and forth; he listened as loud creaks broke the unnatural silence. The windows had sharp, irregular shapes as if someone tried to destroy the cottage but had failed and who ever lived there had tried to fix the jagged hole by putting a window there. 

Jason was scared.  Somehow he knew that Aaron was inside the cottage and he wasn’t alone.  He heard the scream again; only now that he was closer he noticed that it wasn’t a scream at all. Someone, or something, was laughing.  

Jason got down on all fours and started crawling through the tall grass, hoping that whatever was in that cottage wasn’t going to see him.  As he got closer to the cottage, a voice was heard talking and then laughing.  Jason made it to the swaying cottage undetected and quickly moved to one of the weird windows; he took a chance and peered through the window.

He gasped. Aaron was there tied to a chair, a red fabric stuffed into his mouth; he was crying.  A large black object obstructed his view and Jason crouched lower beneath the window hoping that whatever it was did not see him, but it didn’t, at least not that he was aware of.  He raised his head and peeked into the window again; the black object was smaller now because it was closer to Aaron.

And then the black object spoke, “So are you going to stop screaming now? I hope so ‘cause my ears can only take so much, and I would hate to cut out your tongue. No, that’s a lie. I would love to cut your tongue out, poor Esther hasn’t eaten anything fresh for days.” Jason shivered; this was not the voice of anything natural. It was scratchy and cold, as if it hadn’t been used in years.  The creature leaned over Aaron and after a second walked away, out of Jason’s view carrying a red cloth. Jason took this opportunity to get Aaron’s attention. Aaron was just about to start screaming again when Jason waved through the window and placed his index finger in front of his mouth; Aaron closed his mouth and gave his older brother a tear-stained smile.

“What are you smiling at?”  Croaked the creature.

“Nothing.”  Aaron tried to sound strong but was unable to hide his fear. Jason couldn’t blame him.

“It’s not nice for little boys to lie. Do you know what happens to little liars like you?” The creature towered over Aaron, blocking Jason’s view.

“They grow big noses?” Aaron’s voice cracked a little. Jason smiled.

“Big noses!? What nonsense!  Where did learn a stupid thing like that?  No dear boy, liars like you are turned into food.”  Jason’s heart stopped.  He needed to think of something quick; Jason may not have liked his brother but whatever Aaron did, he didn’t deserve to be turned into food. 

Jason looked for something to use as a weapon.  He crawled around the cottage, hoping to find something, anything. Jason found his answer at the back of the cottage: an ax lying on the ground next to a large tree stump.  Keeping low, he ran and grabbed it, returning to his spot underneath the window. 

The creature was still standing over Aaron, whispering something in Aaron’s ear.  Now was his chance. 

Jason moved to the front door and slowly pushed it open, just enough to see inside.  Aaron’s captor hadn’t moved.

“You’re a mean, ugly old monster!” Hearing Aaron yell out against this creature Jason felt a sudden surge of pride fill his heart.

“Ugly? Old? Those things I may be, but you’re a spoiled little brat who never brought anything to his family but trouble.” He opened the door enough to squeeze through, trying to be as quiet as possible. Once Jason was inside the cottage, he noticed that the creature’s voice was deep and scratchy. He hoped that Aaron could keep the old monster’s attention a little longer.

“You’re lying.  My family loves me.” Aaron spoke out.

“Do they?”

“What?”  Aaron’s voice grew weaker. Jason moved closer, yet he couldn’t help feeling like he’d been hit in the stomach.

“You are a stupid little boy. Always whining and crying about this and that. It’s a wonder your mother hasn’t left you on the side the road. I’ll tell you something. Before you were born your family was happier. They were whole.” Jason could sense the creature’s smile behind these words and hated the thing even more. No one talked to his brother like that—except him, of course. He stood up behind the creature torturing Aaron and prepared to swing.

“And what about your brother, Jason?” The creature continued. Jason stopped.  “I’ve never seen him do anything nice to you. He’s always scaring you, hiding behind corners, turning off all the lights, moving your precious rug… the only thing that protected you from me.  Tell me, does he love you?”  Jason wanted to swing, all it would take was one swift move of his shoulders and arms and everything would be all right; but he hesitated, wanting to hear Aaron’s answer.

“Y. . .y. . .yes.” Aaron’s voice quiet unsure.

“Y. . . y. . .yes what?”

“My brother loves me.” His voice was even quieter.

“You don’t sound so sure. Jealousy is a wonderful emotion, don’t you think? You should hear what he says to himself at night.  Terrible things, I couldn’t repeat them.  You are a terrible little monster. Jason has never loved you.  I’m doing him a favor by taking you away, and soon they’ll forget you ever existed.”

“That’s not true.” Aaron was beginning to cry again.

“Oh, yeah. Prove it.” The only sound Jason heard was Aaron’s sobs.

Jason couldn’t take anymore.  He swung.

The ax never made contact with its target. Jason felt as though he’d hit concrete and then the ax was ripped out of his hands. He only had a moment to wonder at this before he was flung against the wall by an unseen force.  A cold sensation surrounded his throat, trying to choke the life out of him.

“Stupid boy! Don’t you think I know what’s going on in my own house!?”  The creature whirled around and faced him.  Jason would’ve screamed if he could.  There in front of him was a horrible monster, red flashing eyes surrounded by a face old enough to be a grandmother a hundred times over.  Her skin—Jason knew that she was a woman despite her haggard appearance—was grey and populated by thousands of wrinkles, like crumpled paper; her hand was stretched out pointing at Jason as he was lifted higher above the floor, scratching at the invisible force around his neck.

“I haven’t lived three hundred years to be out smarted by the likes of you. What were you going to do? Kill me? You don’t have it in you.” The icy force loosened its grip. Jason dropped to the floor gasping for air. He was only aloud a second of recuperation before was again thrown through the air into a chair.  As soon as he landed into the wooden chair, vine-like tentacles surrounded his arms, legs and chest locking him into place.

Inside the small cottage looked like something out of a nightmare. Sure it had everything a normal cottage would there were subtle differences. A roaring fire burned in the fireplace that took up an entire wall, but Jason did not remember seeing a chimneystack on the roof when he was crawling towards the cottage. One large, brown puffy chair was positioned next to the fireplace, but far from inviting, it looked kind of like the face of Frankenstein’s monster, patched together with stitches. Jason guessed the material wasn’t leather. The one room cottage was filled with a multitude of tables, varying in height. But like everything else, these were not your normal tables. For instance, one table had only one leg; it swayed back and forth, threatening to fall over.  On these tables were all sorts of glass containers filled with stomach turning objects: lizards, bugs, and severed limbs from unidentifiable animals. All the containers had chips, cracks, and disgusting liquids seeping out onto the tables.  And hanging from the ceiling was a large wire cage. Inside that cage was the biggest, ugliest crow Jason had ever seen.

Yup, Jason thought, right out of nightmare. 

In the center of the cottage was a large black pot that could hold four people comfortably; its lid was leaning on the wall closest to the pot.

Jason didn’t want to linger on what the pot was used for and instead started trying to think of a new plan, hoping that it worked better than the first one.

“What took you so long to find us?  I hope the forest didn’t give you too much trouble.  My trees do like to play with young boys like you.”  The Witch’s voice clawed at Jason’s ears.

“No problem. Just thought I’d take my time.”

Her lips thinned. “I see now where your brother gets his sharp tongue.  But it doesn’t matter now that I have you both here with me.”  The Witch smiled and moved to one of the cabinets hanging over the large silver lid.  She opened it and looked at the hundreds of bottles that filled the cabinet, she grabbed two bottles and closed the door.  With a wave of her hand a fire erupted beneath the large black pot.

“Hungry are you?” Jason said.

“No I ate a couple of hours ago, just before I grabbed your brother.” She looked at Aaron who retreated as far back into his chair as he could. “What do think I’m going to do, eat you?”

“Isn’t that what witches do?”

The Witch laughed but to Jason it sounded more than a little unsettling. “You read too many stories. I’m not going to eat you or your brother.”

“Then what’s with the big pot?”

“Oh that?  It was the only one left at the market.  All of the good cauldron’s had already been bought. Esther here,” she pointed to the enormous, grotesque crow in the wire cage, “didn’t wake me up early enough.” Esther cawed at the attention of her master.

“So what do you plan to do with us?”  Jason asked.

“That’s a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“You’ll like this one, I promise.”  The Witch poured the contents of both bottles into the steaming pot and stood back as the fire engulfed the entire pot. She grumbled a curse at her stupidly large pot, waved her hand, and the fire receded to a more manageable size. 

Jason looked around the cabin; desperate to find anything that could help them get away from this horrid creature. Aaron was staring at the large pot, eyes popping, transfixed by the sounds emanating from inside. Jason decided Aaron was not going to be much help and couldn’t risk talking to him without the Witch overhearing.

It was at that moment that Jason saw a slight movement of the vines holding his brother into the chair. He blinked and looked again. Yes, they were moving. Then Jason noticed a tightening around his own arms and saw that the vines holding him in place were adjusting to his movements, preventing him from leaning further out of his chair. Could these things be alive? He tried to lift his arm up and sure enough they tightened their grip. What if these things could feel pain? Stupid, Jason was sure, until he heard whispering behind him.

“Would you two shut up!? I’m trying to concentrate.” The Witch continued hovering over her pot mixing different ingredients. She grabbed a small wooden spoon and leaned into the pot stirring the mixture.

Jason wanted to respond but thought it unwise. He relaxed a little so the vines would loosen their grip, and they did.

The whispering continued. It was coming from the chair.

This was Jason’s chance. He used his feet to push the chair back so that it was on two of its four legs and leaned all his weight in the direction of the tipping chair. Jason and the whispering chair fell to the ground.

A loud, muffled screech broke through the air and the vines that were holding Jason into place released him, flailing in the air. Jason moved for the ax on the floor, grabbed it and swung at one of the legs on Aaron’s chair. It screamed and released Aaron.

“Oh my leg!  My leg!”  The chair screamed so loud Jason almost felt sorry for it.

“What the. . .?”  The Witch turned from her pot but didn’t have a chance; Jason heaved all of his weight into her stomach and shoved her into the pot.

Her scream pierced Jason’s eardrums.

Jason grabbed Aaron’s hand and dragged him out of the front door, brandishing the ax in front of him in case any other inanimate object decided to come to life. The Witch was still screaming from within the cottage.

As they made it to the edge of the forest Jason ran into a new problem: There was not enough room in between the trees to allow either him or his brother to pass.

“Put down your ax, Jason.”  Aaron said, his voice returning.

Jason did as his brother instructed and placed the ax on the ground.  Immediately the trees shifted, revealing a path. 

“I’ll kill ‘em! I’m going kill ‘em! I swear!” The Witch was still alive, and very angry. They didn’t have long.

“Come on, hurry.” Jason said as he and Aaron ran into the forest.

The trees closed in behind them.