I was blog hopping and came across Natalie Whipple's blog. Her post today is a WIP she lost interest in. I thought the post was a great idea. I have a WIP that I started off really strong and then put it to the side and have yet to go back to it. I think it is because it is about witches and so far from anything I have ever attempted before. I thought why not post it. A short witch tale for Halloween. So here it is the first few pages of a witch story I started and never finished. Keep in mind it is rough. For a girl who despised working out Addison was running an awful lot. Though, when you had an overzealous group of deranged witches trying to capture you, there really was no other option.
So as her foot smacked down onto the damp moss covered ground she found the strength to propel herself forward. If she could just loop around the wooded area of her job she could get to the safety of her car. Even better she would be on her way to Brian’s.
One kiss from him would wash her mind clear of the mess she had gotten herself into. With the lingering thought of his soft lips pressed against hers her body became frozen in place.
A tingling frost washed over her every limb as she tried to fight free of the magic. No matter how hard she concentrated. No matter how hard she tried to fight, she couldn’t move, not even a single finger. Her eyes, however, were able to scour through the hundreds of oak and pine trees that were surrounding her.
The desperation in her smoky grey eyes began to fade as they darted up the tree trunks to the night sky above. She inhaled a deep calming breath and began to chant.
Above her the sky whirled into a fiery grey. Flashes of light striped the sky in long jagged bursts. As the last word left her lips a bolt streaked from the sky. Sparks of bright white and the smell of burnt wood permeated the air as a severed tree limb fell to the ground.
Heat surged through her veins as the magic holding her in place discharged from her body, flinging her to the damp moss below. How was she going to explain the dirt stains on her jeans to Brian? It was a problem but one she’d have to think about later.
Pushing the exhaustion away she rose to her feet and ran as fast as her perfectly toned and tanned legs could carry her. Her necklace, the one her grandmother gave her, was violently swinging on her chest every time her foot made impact with the ground. As she ran she lifted the long pewter chain that held a pewter medallion over her head and stashed it in her pocket.
When she arrived at her car she whipped open the door and took off before even getting a chance to pull the door completely shut. A victorious giggle slipped out as she pulled the door shut and fastened her seatbelt.
“Stupid witches when will they learn? I outrun them every time,” she said to herself as she turned onto the main road, her heart still rapidly beating as she nestled into the butter soft leather seat. “I didn’t even break a sweat.”
The road was dark in front of her. The few streetlights that lined the road gave off minimal illumination. However, she knew every curve like the features of her face. In which she knew very well since she spent hours a day examining it in her compact mirror.
The first curve glided around the woods, she just came running from, in the shape of a horseshoe. It was the first of many. She loved this particular road. Growing up with a father who lived and breathed race cars made it impossible for her not to share his passion of cars and the open road.
As the curve of the horseshoe framed the growing wall of rocks, a point when most people would slow down, Addison sped up. The combination of adrenaline, fear and the excitement of the unknown fueled her desire to go faster.
She closed her eyes allowing the feel of the road to guide her. A very slight disturbance in the smooth ride alerted Addison that she was around the first bend and coming up on the next. This time she opened her eyes wanting to see the shadows of the trees pass her by. Instead, the shadow of a dark figure, in front of her captured her attention.
Without being able to see the squared chin or the outdated greased back haircut clearly, she knew it was Marcus, the leader of the psycho witch brigade, and the most powerful warlock of the clan, in front of her car. Her foot pressed down on the accelerator her only option was to kill him. Put an end to the whole fiasco. But killing Marcus wouldn’t necessarily end it. If anything it would only make matters worse.
As the engine gunned, pulling her closer to vehicular manslaughter her eyes fixated on Marcus’ outstretched hand. She had a split second to make a decision. Press down harder on the pedal or use the skills she learned on the track and pull a 180 and high tail it out of there.
It was a no brainer.
She chose option two. In one quick motion she yanked the E-break turning the steering wheel at the same time. When the malevolent expression on Marcus’ face was behind her, she sighed a breath of relief, before flipping her visor down and checking her makeup.
The lipgloss she applied before the dreadful run in still shimmered and her blonde hair still fell in loose curls on her shoulders. “Not bad for out running a group of deranged witches,” she said as she admired her reflection.
Now that they were behind her she could get in a good few hours of a make-out session with Brian before she had to be home for curfew. It was just another day.
Ever since she started dabbling in black magic her life was anything but uneventful and she liked it that way. Besides it’s what gave her the supermodel body, Pantene Pro-V ad worthy hair and silky smooth skin. It also helped her get Brian to notice her. He loved her, though it had nothing to do with the magic. He just needed to be able to see her clearly and all she did was give him that Windex wiped window to see her through.
Yup her life was perfect with the exception of the psycho witch clan, that for whatever reason would not stop chasing her, but she was getting used to them. Every time they chased her she got away. Every time they shot lightening out of the sky she shot it back with more intensity than they ever could muster up. Every time they thought they had the upper hand she showed them up and she knew it pissed them off and she loved it.
In less than fifteen minutes she would be in Brian’s bedroom and nothing else would matter. As she took the bend in the road, the same bend that she looped around for as long as her and Brian had been together, eight months and seventeen days, it was strangely different.
The rocks on her left seemed more serrated than usual, sharp almost blade like. The cliff to her right seemed narrower as if somehow someway the road was closing in on her. At first she thought it was her imagination playing tricks on her, but when Marcus floated out in front of her car again she knew it wasn’t her imagination.
It was real.
Very real.
Only this time she couldn’t yank the E-brake and pull off a 180 unless she wanted to end up at the bottom of the cliff. With no time to react, she did as she did before. She pressed her foot on the accelerator until the black of the pedal met the black of her custom made floor mat.
First time was attempted murder this time she would succeed. She had no other choice. She didn’t have the time to use her magic or the resources to cause as much damage as she needed. As the curve in the road closed in on her she gripped the steering wheel and instead of a chant she said a prayer.
The jagged edges of the rocks pierced her car ripping and tearing away at the bright red paint. In her mind she begged the higher powers to forgive her. Swearing she would never misuse the power she was given again.
No one responded.
No words.
No miracle.
She closed her eyes accepting her fate as her car slammed into the rocks.
