The Witches Curse

Matthew Wilson

obviously we killed Gemma Ryan because she boiled kids down in a pot and sold the fat as soap Prisoners dont care what other Prisoners did for example I shot my sister Carol because she slept with my husband but in Prison we dont stand for that kid killing stuff

for her protection the Warden had put Gemma in the Laundry Section folding sheets but she showed no fear when we bribed the Guard and surrounded her in that tiny steam drenched room

we had all read stories of her being a Witch of using childrens innards for her potions but we didnt buy into fairytales

Gemma smiled when we told her to pray for forgiveness she didnt shriek when we put the sheet over her head nor defended herself when we took turns beating the lumps out of the sheet with Metal Bars

it was actually a very uninteresting murder but the four of us swore to have each others back against the Warden we would face the Music together satisfied that we had taken the lowest of the low out of the World

and then Marie escaped punishment altogether by hanging herself with a bedsheet

the news hit me like a Suckerpunch as she had seemed her usual sweet and confident self the night before we were Lifers so I didnt see what stress another 40 year sentence could have had on her

they should have given us a Medal

instead they slammed poor Marie in the Oven and buried her ashes in the little Garden out back

I cant accept that guilt got to the others little things pile up in the confines of any Cell ready to overwhelm and drive you Mad

after suffering insomnia for five nights straight they dragged Elise away in a Straight Jacket when she came out to Roll Call laughing she only calmed down when the Prison Doctor assured her that Witches couldnt invade Dreams in a padded cell

for my part I slept like a Baby until Claire said we were Cursed

what? I said I had to wrestle my second helping of porridge out of a larger womans paws so I refused to spit up a morsel in surprise

Claire crossed herself like a good catholic and stared imploringly at me with wide panicked eyes as if expecting an attack from every corner

my Mother warned me about Witches Claire shivered unable to eat her food at Breakfast she seemed gaunter than usual hunched over the Prison table like some bird waiting for fish to disturb surface water

I stabbed porridge with my spoon and forcefully said I do NOT believe in Witches we did a good thing that Nutso killed children

its gods place to punish not ours Claire sniffed and I thought she might cry a definite No No in the Prison system

Ive been to the Doctor five times this week with bumps and bruises my food tastes Awful and my letters home have been stopped its the Curse

Claire I said

and the Nightmares Claire continued shaking as if she were naked near a window my god the Nightmares wont leave me

this is Crazy I said but when Claire beat her brains out headbutting a wall later that night the Doctor said it was Delirium

Death is a constant possibility in Prison the only companion you can rely on for through their Cowardice my friends had left me one by one I alone was confident in the Worlds general indifference there were no Otherworld retributions besides what you made yourself

I did not believe in Witches and Curses

not until the Nightmares came

in the woods of upright crucifixes Gemma was waiting for me nailing my three dead friends onto the thorns of spiky bark

outside the confines of a Prison she had gone full out fixing her black pointed hat upon her head no longer beaten into a pulp her cloak was fit and she had Life and great Evil in her dancing red eyes

I told myself it was a Dream but I could not wake up as she brought children before me she skipped with them played with them and then when the black Cauldron bubbling on the fire reached Boiling Point she lifted them over her head and Threw them in

Sally?

I blinked and then the Dream World went away but none of my stubbornness went with it though I didnt remember being carried there I was in the Wardens Office my hands tied for his protection

Sally are you awake?

my throat felt like Id been walking a desert I licked my lips and started croaking is this the Real World? I asked

the Warden looked up as the door creaked open and the Prison Doctor handed him a thin file I didnt trust Doctors and had never been to see her before my sister had been a Doctor she had sworn to protect people and cause no harm

how she had harmed me

the Doctor tells me your not sleeping

I blinked and heard my lids clap together

you shouldnt listen to her I tried to smile and gave up shes Crazy

well you look like Hell Im worried that your not looking after yourself

I waited for the punchline but there was none coming Im locked up here because no one cares about me

the Wardens chair squeaked like a Horror Movie door as he shifted his weight and his tactics dont get me wrong Sally its my job to keep you AWAY from society but its also my job to keep you SAFE from others and yourself now I know your friends killed Inmate Ryan

we what? I asked Sweetly I was writing poetry to inspire Down and Out children at the time ask my friends

your friends are dead he reminded needlessly I had seen their torn faces Scream enough in my horrid Dreams to know they cant confirm anything but I want to help you I want you to go see the Doctor maybe a one on one talk will help shift any guilt

you wanna help me? I asked

the Warden crisscrossed all his fingers like some Magician about to unveil a great Trick within reason he said

I nodded my noggin filled with nasty ideas as I lost my tiredness can you get me a Book on how to kill Witches?

Wardens are never helpful and swearing not to feed my Paranoia he refused to give me books on how to defend myself so I found myself a woman of Faith like Claire

a weapon on killing Witches? Lana sighed slinking back on her rumpled Bunk defeated when I blocked her Cell Door whilst she was heading out to Breakfast I can sharpen a toothbrush into a shiv for ya

I smiled a smile that made her Gulp

Im not here for jokes you havent lost your Faith in this Hell hole I bet your Momma told you stories to keep you in line that staying on the straight and narrow would keep you safe from Monsters

my smile showed more Teeth and Lana flinched as if I had Fangs

now your gonna be a Good Girl and make me believe in all your Mommas stories your gonna help me with my Problem or Im gonna make it YOUR problem

Lanas hand trembled as she shook mine

a Deal was a Deal

she would help me do the Impossible

tonight I was going Witch Hunting

it cost me a weeks tobacco ration to get the salt a young Arsonist in the Kitchen undid six months of Therapy and made a lovely distraction setting Fire to the pan but while the Guards back was turned I ducked into the Supply Closet and stole a small pot marked S

I tasted it to make sure it wasnt sugar

now I was armed and at last Roll Call I told myself that now I was armed I had a Chance if the Witch intended to disturb my sleep tonight then she was in for one Hell of a surprise

one by one the Prison lights went out and I waited in sweet darkness

I will not regale my reader with where I secreted the little Salt Pot regardless to say I had been making myself puke for years to keep my figure my husband had liked thin dames like my sister Carol

yet now sleep refused to come I was like a little kid bundled up with excitement at Christmas but Santa didnt visit waking children I closed my eyes and forced my mind to clear

then it happened and she came

the little Cottage was not made of gingerbread when I tapped on the door I winced when a Splinter pierced my knuckle the knotty thing was solid wood just like the ugly crucifixes in those Damn Woods

if I could feel Pain in that dream then what would happen if I Died there?

there was no Cauldron in the hearth filled with childrens bones as I expected the cottage interior wasnt built for comfort but rather for work on a table were bloodied Knives of course I had read the newspapers vile stories of her Crimes when she had first come into our Prison no doubt they had been stirred together by my anxiety into some destructive soup but this was just a dream I refused to be frightened by imaginary soup my mind constructed

Gemma? I said

a Bullet cracked through the window and punched into my thigh I staggered as if drunk and fell against a bookcase of spellbooks I heard the Salt Pot strike but not shatter against the floor

this time the little knotted door didnt creak as it opened and closed

high heels clicked along the floorboards and then when the owner turned a corner I rolled over and lost all memory of sunlight

Sally my sister Carol said smiling

oh you Bitch I tightened my eyes against the Pain refusing to cry you dirty Bitch

Sally thats no way to talk to your sister Carol said picking a Beauty Spot on her chin the only thing my Bullet hadnt smashed apart the only thing that Mother had been able to identify her by at the Morgue

hows your husband is he back at home? the Witch picked her Beauty Spot harder and then ripped it off there was no Blood just a sound like torn paper she seemed to find the experience pleasing and started tearing off more of her Face

it wasnt real it WASNT my sister

you were always jealous of my beauty Gemma the Carol said thats why he chose me

she hurried towards me when I crawled like a Baby after a dropped bottle and I locked my hands around the Salt Pot

oh very clever the Witch giggled someones been doing their research

the Witch squatted down trying to snatch the Salt Pot out of my grasp but I was determined and slapped off the top and threw the entire contents over my left shoulder like a superstitious Gambler wishing for their lucky number to come up

the reaction was instant the Witch shot up rubbing her melting eyes she didnt scream nor gave me pleasure in another uninteresting murder

when I awoke and the Doctor slapped me across the face to prove she was real I told her how Gemma had melted like a wax figure on the floor leaving only her laughter as the little Cottage had vanished like a watercolour painting left out in the rain swirling away retreating back into the dark

now that Damn Doctor has thickened my file listing me with every Crazy thing she can but I was NOT making it up

I have proof of facing off with Witches

the Warden has the Bullet they cut out of my leg in a little jar on his desk but all he wants to know is who snuck a Weapon into his Prison he has promised to greatly increase my sentence so that instead of serving Life I will have another 40 years on top

well if it didnt frighten me the first time

how I Love the feel of these Hospital sheets while they fix me up

good food and good rest

even my Dreams are gone

I am the last of my kind Killer of Witches

yet with my luck they still wont give me a Medal

maybe I am Cursed after all

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