Chapter 1
Celine
I was running. It wasn't unusual for me. In a world where so many unexplained things have been happening in recent years, people have been going back to calling people witches just for being different. It was like the dark ages all over again, where people who were suspected of having some sort of power were hunted down. I was constantly hiding from the people in my own city. Hoping no one realized who I was. The fact that I had eyes of two different colors made that harder, but I was able to order contacts.
One had fallen out when I was getting coffee, though, and now I was on the run. My hoodie slipped off my head, the bright purple I had dyed my hair to hide the platinum blonde like a beacon even in the dark. I pulled it back up over my head. I heard noises ahead and darted towards a fallen tree. I managed to wedge myself under it in time for the people trying to surprise me didn't see me. I covered my mouth to muffle my breath.
"Where did that witch go?" One of the men said to the others. "I can't believe she was actually still hanging around. Damn witch. No wonder the weather has been s**t lately."
The world seemed to self-destruct. Bad weather and disasters were a normal occurrence. People got sick from a simple cold and didn't make it. Something was going wrong, and fear had driven people to blame something. Even if that something was impossible. If I had powers, I would have used them to hide. Or get away from here. To be free of this constant fear. Suddenly, I felt a grab on my ankle. I screamed as I was dragged out from under the tree.
"Found her!" The man holding my ankle shouted, and the sound of running footsteps through the leaves was all I could hear. I tried to kick free, but soon my arms were also grabbed. It wasn't long before I was tied up and tape was put over my mouth. I begged the men around me for mercy through the gag as they looked down at me.
"What should we do with her? Burn her? That worked in the past, right?" My eyes went wide, and someone else shook their head.
"No, we can't be certain that she won't curse us. We have to keep her contained and make sure she can't use her magic to hurt anybody anymore."
I screamed into the tape, and then I felt pain in the back of my head. The world spun, and I went limp.
"There. At least now she'll be quiet while we talk."
I tried to cling to reality, knowing that if I passed out now, I would likely never wake up again. No matter how hard I tried, though, it slipped through my fingers.
I woke with a start. That night still haunted me. That was three months ago. As I sat up from the sleeping bag, I winced sharply. My body ached as always, and I looked over my latest injuries. Nothing too serious. I didn't want to have to beg these people for medical supplies again. The small cabin they had taken me to had become my cage. I wasn't allowed to leave, and if I was lucky, they gave me enough food to make it to the next time they stopped by. Last night they had stopped by.
They beat me for the right to have the food they had brought. As they usually did. Even after only three months, my body was covered in injuries and several scars. My hair had long lost its color purple, but it was a tangled mess as it hung past my shoulders. It wasn't like I was given a brush or a proper shower. As I dragged myself off the floor to get some food, I heard a wolf howl in the distance. What was a wolf doing this close to the city? It was all alone based on how sad the howl sounded. Poor thing, maybe it was lost.
I grabbed a piece of meat and slipped it out of the small hole under the front door. I hoped that the wolf would find it. Maybe it would break down the door and eat me. Then I would be free from this nightmare. I treated my wounds as best as I could and split the food into rations. I had enough to last for three days this time. I dragged my body to the sink and prayed the water was left on. I managed to turn it on, and I caught it all in a jug. It was barely half full when the pipes groaned empty. Great. They had shut it off. I took a small sip of water. I would need to ration it.
I didn't expect them to bother me again for a while. My body was already bruising from seeing them the day before. I sat at the only window in the place. The boards over it meant I only had a small sliver of view outside. The forest was silent and empty as always. Then I saw movement. A red wolf lifted its head and snapped in my direction. It crept closer, eyes flicking to the door. It moved slowly and managed not to make much noise at all. It looked weak, and it picked up the small piece of meat I had left. It threw its head back and chewed it quickly, and then its yellow eyes turned to me as if it could see me. Around its neck looked to be some sort of collar. I frowned at the odd sight on a wolf. Then it flicked its ears like it heard something in the distance. Then, in a flash, it turned and ran off.
