"Dude," Jon said from across the fire, the shadows causing him to look malicious. "Look."

All eyes were on me in an instant. I saw the boy I hadn't seen before, his dark skin red in the fire. Matt. "It's that witch girl that lives in the woods," he said, and he reached down up and picked up a stick off the snow-covered ground.

Should've brought Dog. I swallowed, but tried to make myself look powerful with my 5'9 frame. The trees were rustling even more now. "You have to put out the fire," I tried to say in a strong voice, but it shook as I spoke. Come on, Willow, I thought to myself. These boys were just talking about a murder. But Mr. Leland would come looking for me. Chris would come looking for me.

I hope.

"What are you talking about, witch? You shouldn't be here," Aiden said, and Natalie was looking at me with an unreadable expression as she was pushed off of him and he stood up, easily reaching over 6'0. His brown eyes looked pure black in the night, and I felt my skin thrum with one idea; run.

"I'm not here for trouble," I managed to say as the other two stood up, Jon being about my height and Matt an inch or two taller. "Do you not hear the trees? They're begging you to put the fire out. They'll remember if you don't," I said, more confident now. "Please."

Aiden scoffed and went to walk towards me, but tripped on a root I swear wasn't there before and toppled forward. The sickening sound of head-on-wood silenced everything for a moment, before the rustling of the leaves grew more urgent.

"Put the fire out, now!" I shouted as Aiden pushed himself up, groaning and grabbing his head. He didn't make it farther than halfway before he slumped against the assailing tree, groaning. "The trees remember. Put it out."

Jon looked terrified by this notion, but Matt had his eyes on me, squinting. "You did that," he said like it was a statement.

"No, I didn't. The trees did. Do you not feel their terror?" I finally made my move and moved towards the fire, quickly dousing it with snow.

And sending us into darkness.

The next few moments happened in slow-motion. "Get that witch!" Aiden shouted from my left. I took three steps back, but was tackled by Matt. He had the build of a young football player and all the wind was knocked from my lungs immediately.

"Dude, no, people know her here. We can't do this again," Jon said, his voice now shaking.

"We're not going to kill her," Aiden said loudly. My breath hitched in my throat as Matt pinned me down, his strong hands pressing my wrists into the snow and a knee across my pelvis.

"Let me go!" I shouted, kicking my legs at nothing and anything. "I didn't hear anything, I just wanted the fire out!"

Natalie spoke for the first time. "We can't trust her," she said deeply, and I blinked in surprise. "She has magic, remember? Best to leave her somewhere they'll find her, though. She has friends up here."

Everyone was silent at this. "Nat," Aiden said like a warning. "No."

I couldn't see anything but the stars above and the waning moon. The trees had settled, and I pushed out the sound of Natalie and Aiden arguing, Jon sometimes interjecting. "Let me go," I whispered to Matt. "I have a dog and he needs me, and an old man I have to take care of. Let me go," I pleaded again.

"Sorry," he whispered back, and I could smell the whiskey hard on his breath.

"You're drunk and you're making a mistake. Just let me go. Say I wiggled out or something."

Silence for a moment. Please, I pleaded in my head.

"I can't," he whispered back, sounding more remorseful.

"What are you two love birds talking about?" Aiden asking, his huge frame walking into my view. He flicked open his lighter and everyone was suddenly doused in orange. He looked pointedly at us, expecting an answer, then when he saw our blank stares he rolled his eyes. "Come on, we have to take her somewhere. Not camp."

"Where?" I asked in a breath, almost to myself. But his eyes snapped down into mine, still black.

"The summer homes," he said simply, a smile growing on his face.

-

The mountaintop had two permanent residences; me and Mr. Leland. However, rich old white folk liked to come and swim in the lake in the summers, enjoying the low atmosphere and chillier days.

Their houses would be vacant now. "I didn't hear anything," I kept pleading, but they landed on deaf ears, until Matt shoved his dirty hand over my mouth.

Aiden's fire from his lighter was the only light in the landscape. Natalie was beside him, and Jon was behind us. I could hear him mumbling to himself, but couldn't see him.

Finally, one of the large cabins broke into view. "What time is it?" Aiden asked, looking up at the house. "We need to be back by 7 for the wake up count."

"3:12," Jon responded shakily from behind me. Aiden didn't respond and scaled the stairs in one large step, peeking around the door and windows. It's vacant, I promised in my head, but a part of me prayed someone was holed up here. Or maybe they would get whatever's coming to me, too.

Aiden kicked the hard oak door once, and it didn't budge. Another kick, and another. He cursed under his breath and did a final kick that broke the seal and made the door fly open, smacking against the wall beside it. I cringed, being forced up the stairs and into the cabin.

The cabin was not built for lasting the winter. The thin door wouldn't be able to keep out any breeze and the fireplace was surely only for decoration. I was already chilled to the bone from the melted snow on my back and hands, and I needed actual warmth.

Maybe they would just lock me in until I died of hypothermia.

Aiden flipped on the nearest light switch and the hallway came to life. "Wait here," he instructed, beginning to stealth around the house for any other evidence of people. Pictures of two older people with young kids were smiling at me. The next was of a black lab, who was panting in a picture with the old man, who seemed content. A small table held a black-and-white photo of a wedding with an empty keydish beside it. I shifted from foot to foot, and Matt removed his hand from my mouth.

I took in a full breath of air, but didn't speak in fear of getting that sweaty hand back on my face. I looked around for an exit plan. Two doors, one to my left and to my right. An open kitchen, the stairs with a door on the side, and another doorway leading to a living room I could barely make out.

"Clear!" Aiden called from upstairs, and I let out a sigh of relief. He came stomping down. "Two stories," he informed. "We can lock her in the bathroom upstairs. Has a small window on it; one nobody could climb through."

"Alright, lead the way," Matt said, pushing me towards the stairs. I complied, and tried to take in as much of the layout as I could. A door directly across from the top of the stairs, slightly ajar to show a large bedroom. Another closed door to the right. We took a left and started down the hallway. There was another unopened door, and then one that was all the way ajar, showing a relatively small bathroom. It had an old-fashioned tub in it, a sink for two, and a fluffy rug in the middle.

"Wait," I said, but Matt continued to force me to the bathroom. I dug my heels into the ground as hard as I could, but one good shove sent me spiraling forward, struggling to keep my legs under me. "If you guys are leaving, what about me?" Nobody answered, and I tried my hardest to stop what was happening, bucking against him and digging my shoes into the ground. "Wait, wait, stop!" I screamed, kicking my feet as hard as I could in any direction I could. Too little too late, I thought as I reached the bathroom. Matt let me go with a shove and I tumbled forward, grunting as I hit the cold tile. I looked back and saw the door shutting, fast, and I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could. "Wait, stop, no!" The door was shut right in my face, and my fists collided with it next. Banging. Pounding on the door.

"Don't leave me here!" I shouted, trying the handle. It turned, but something on the other side was keeping it closed. "Hey! Hey!"

I pressed my ear to the door and heard them going down the stairs, chatting so lowly I couldn't hear. "Don't-You can't-" I screamed in frustration, putting my hands in my hair. I slid down against a wall facing the door, the tears coming fast. It was nearly pitch black in the room with only the window to light up a square of the tile.

My sobs filled the silence of the house. If it had been my mother, the boys at the correctional center would have feared her. They always had, with her towering to nearly 5'11 and years of muscle built under her. They had never feared my skinnier stature and shorter frame; I was the weak, powerless witch.

I then got something to stand on and raised myself up to see out of the skinny window into the dark landscape. Against the white snow, I saw four figures moving quickly towards the correctional center. They had left me here. No, no, no, this can't be happening. My body wouldn't be found until summer, when the older people noticed their door was kicked in and commenced a search of the house. It stinks, Harold, the old woman would comment about my rotting corpse.

I stepped off the balance and felt the floor sliding out from under me again. Not now, I thought as I slipped backwards, nothing to hold onto.

In the window, I saw the two butterflies doing their dance, tapping against the glass frantically now. I reached my arms out for anything to hold onto, to catch myself with, but realized too late I had fallen too close to the porcelain tub.

My head cracked against it, and everything went black.

-

"Willow?" My mom called. It was now much later after sunset. I was still standing in the same spot, frozen in place. She was running from our house, my grandmother not too far behind her. "Where's your sister?"
I felt numb as I lifted an icy finger to the lake. "What do you mean, Willow? No, no, honey, where is she? Where is Aspen?" She grabbed my face and looked into my eyes, bloodshot from crying. I did nothing but let out a sob as I saw the panic in her eyes, and then the despair quickly followed. "No, no, no, I told you to stay off the lake!" She cried, pushing away from me and falling to her knees in front of the water. Broken up chunks of ice were still swishing left and right, left and right, where she had caused a tidal wave. And I continued to stand there as my mom's anguished sobs and pleads of no filled the silent night. My grandmother finally approached me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"Come on, Willow, let's get you warmed up," she said in her same, stoic tone. "Stop looking," she commanded with her siren voice and my eyes hesitantly peeled away, instead looking towards the cabin.
"It will all be okay."