Sins of Witches

by Wendy Brewer

The 1969 Mustang crawled along at a steady pace, the deep rumble of the engine the only sound to disturb the quiet night. The forest flanking the dark tar-and-chip road was thick and overgrown, the tops of the trees so large in places that their bare, spindly branches twisted out over the street to caress each other, creating a tunnel effect. Bright red lit the forest as Jake hit the brakes, pulling the car to a stop along the shoulder.

"Gotta take a piss, dude," he said, looking at his buddy in the passenger seat. He threw the shifter into park and grabbed the beer can from between his legs. His Adam's apple nodded in long strokes as he drank. A thin trail of beer escaped the corner of his mouth, dribbling down his chin. He finished the contents, crunched the can with one hand, and wiped his mouth with his forearm. "Get me another, will ya?"

"No problem," Shane slurred. He turned, snatched a beer from the case on the back seat and handed it to Jake. The dark, throbbing notes of Metallica crept out of the speakers and Shane cranked the volume, raising the music to an ear-numbing level. The interior light came on as Jake opened the door. He sat there a moment, leaning on the steering wheel, banging his head to the music with one leg out of the car. Shane thumped the dashboard in time with the drums, and sang in low, raspy tones in imitation of James Hetfield. Jake looked over at Shane and opened his mouth. A loud belch erupted followed by cackles at his own humorous ability.

He sat his unopened beer on the seat and got out, tossing the empty beer can across the road as he stood up. He staggered to the rear of the car, his fingers fumbling with his pants. His bladder suddenly felt like a twenty pound rock sitting hot and heavy in his gut. The zipper succumbed to his clumsy gropes at last and he sighed a whistle of relief. He began to bang his head again, mumbling the words to the song.

The music was muffled, but the car thumped heavily with the beat. He swayed with drunken unsteadiness as he shot his stream into the dried-up ditch. A sudden flash of light from deep within the forest caught his attention. Jake frowned and tried to focus his vision. A campfire, maybe? He tucked his self back into his pants and shuffled through the weeds, trying to get a better look.

The song ended and the music faded to the background, replaced by the voice of the DJ. Shane turned the volume down and rolled out of the car.

"My turn," he announced, waving his hand with a flourish. He looked around for Jake, then stumbled to the front of the car.

Jake moved along the edge of the ditch until he found a slight clearing in the forest, his gaze never losing the light. Suddenly, it changed. It went from the orange-yellow that made him think it was a campfire to a dark, glowing crimson. "Dude, come check this shit out." he whispered over his shoulder.

"Minute," Shane replied. "Weasel's draining.

Jake cocked his head to the side and squinted. The light flickered, the cherry glow dancing against the blackness of the woods. He frowned, listening hard. He could have sworn he'd just heard voices.

"What're you looking at?" Shane asked, lurching to the back of the car.

"Ssshhh!" Jake held his hand up, a look of intensity etched on his face. Shane was quiet a moment, then shook his head.

"What? I don't hear anything."

Jake, not hearing the sound anymore, pointed into the forest. "Look. Right there through the trees. See the fire?"

Shane followed the invisible path directed by Jake's finger, and stared into the forest. At first, he didn't see anything and opened his mouth to tell Jake what a drunken idiot he was. Then his eyes found the flicker. It rose high, bleeding that strange dark-red hue high into the night, then died back down.

"Whoa!" Shane breathed. He turned back to Jake. "Wonder what the hell that is?"

"Dunno, but I coulda swore I heard voices a minute ago. Hunters, maybe. Let's go check it out." Jake suggested. He turned to Shane with a look of mischief in his eyes and a half-smile on his lips.

Shane nodded. "Why not?"

"Lemme go shut the car off first." Jake said. He sprinted to the driver's side, killed the lights and the engine, then moved back to where Shane stood.

They stumbled down into the dry ditch, pushing their way through the tangle of thorny vines and underbrush. They crawled up the other side using the weeds for leverage. The darkness of the woods was a tangible thing and within moments of entering it, the boys were swallowed up.