Wednesday, August 21st, 1991 - Part 2

     I ran into the forest partly because that’s what I meant to do and partly because the force of the wind on my back gave me no other choice but running. The trees swayed above me and their branches crashed into each other. It was so noisy I knew I couldn’t track by sound. The rain didn’t fall as easily through the trees as it did in my yard, so I was able to track footprints. Sister Astrid did not possess my tracking skills. Her footprints from her sensible shoes trailed off from the two sets of sneaker prints a ways in, due to the children’s head start. That was good; hopefully she’d be somewhere else and I could kill the children and still make it look like an accident. I followed the sneaker prints further into the forest.

     It’s been years since I’ve killed someone with my bare hands, but it’s kind of like riding a horse: you never really forget. That reminded me that I haven’t ridden a horse since before I cast the curse. We have stables in this town, so what am I waiting for? I began to think of organizing an event for the town involving riding horses. A memorial for Nick and Ava, killed by the horrible storm, would have been perfect.

     My thoughts on fundraisers halted when I saw him. Nick was alone in the clearing before me, his back to me. The rain was pouring down on him and the clearing was nothing but mud. I stopped by the trunk of a large tree that would not bow to the storm. I knew this was a trick. One person is the lure to draw in the bait and then the other attacks. I could see that Nick’s hands were empty, which meant that Ava was somewhere nearby with the sword. Tactics flew through my mind. If I ran to Nick, would I get to his heart in time? What if I stayed where I was and waited for one of them to crack? Or what if Ava already saw me? I looked down at the ground again and saw scuff marks in the dirt. Someone had tried to clear her tracks, but she missed one footprint facing the other direction. I looked back up and saw Nick facing me, but he was looking past me. I ducked just in time for the blade of my broadsword to clang against the tree. The force from that mistake threw Ava to the ground beside me, my sword falling out of her hand. I grabbed it and stood, its tip pointed at her throat. I motioned for her to stand and walk into the clearing to meet her brother. If one or both of them had to die by impalement, that was fine by me.

      You know what? A hurricane’s really hard to stand up in. The storm was much stronger in the clearing and a blast from the wind made me slip and fall flat on my face. I held onto my sword and managed to get on my hands and knees. Both of the children had fallen too. I could reach Nick without shedding his blood. My hand was on his chest in a second, but the next second he was far away from me. The wind picked me up and I was flying. I think I was caught in a small tornado. It had somehow missed the children and I could see them running for cover. The funnel steered me towards a large tree. Rather than brace for impact, I aimed for it. I hit it hard, but I held onto that tree and the tornado lost its grip on me. I was able to look into it before it left and saw it glowing green. Thank goodness it didn’t take me somewhere else; my curse on everyone would have broken.

     The wind calmed a bit once the tornado left and I managed to climb down. Nick and Ava were gone again and I decided to leave them be. If I could just get home I’d be safe. I held onto my sword and ran.

     “Regina!”

     I stopped in front of Sister Astrid on the ground beneath a fallen tree. I ran up to see how bad it was.

     “They were here!” Most of her body was fine, but there was a large branch pinning her right leg. “They said I was in league with you and chased me! Then the tree fell!” If I left her, she might die after a few days, but we were close enough to town that someone could find her if she shouted loud enough. Then she’d tell everyone I left her to die. I don’t know why I just didn’t kill her on the spot to make things easier. Slamming into that tree probably did something to my head and I should get looked at as soon as possible, but I took my sword and hacked the branch free. I reached for her hand but she screamed again.

     The children were standing about ten feet away from us. I widened my stance and held my sword as they charged for us. Another gust of wind came through. This time I only wavered, but the gust was enough to knock Nick and Ava over as well as two trees in front of them. It was hard to say whether or not the trees actually landed on them, but the children did not pop up over the fallen trunks.

     “We need to see if they’re alive!” Sister Astrid grabbed my hand before crying in pain.

     No we didn’t. I’d had enough of this and now was our chance. “We need to get you safe!” Sister Astrid reluctantly agreed. She couldn’t put any weight on her ankle, so she leaned into me and we stood up. She looked at the fallen trees and cried her apology at the children who I hoped wouldn’t rise and come after us. We hobbled together through the mud and made it out of the forest. My wooden furniture was strewn around my house and down the street. We made it inside and I barricaded the door before slowly taking her into the center of the house and making her a bed to lie on. I gave her a knife and told her that if the children were alive and did come in, they might try to kill both of us. And I’ve been sitting here, writing ever since she fell asleep.

     The sun is rising and the children have not come after us. The storm has calmed and appears to have done what I intended to do. I think we’re safe.