The Anxious And Hunted Witch

• Isabelle Gilbert, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2018

“Hurry, Violet”, Sapphire cried, squeezing her pupil’s forearm tightly and sprinting down the cobbled streets as fast as her legs could carry her. “They’re coming.” Violet followed, her heart racing like a steam train and her eyes darting left and right for any sign of army tanks and army soldiers. “Hey! You! Get back here!” For a split second, Sapphire’s eyes became wide and owl-like as she turned her head to see two army soldiers racing towards them, with lamps by their side. She squealed and turned into a nearby alley, throwing back a potion that released a sparkly cloud of magenta smoke. The two soldiers coughed violently and Sapphire exhaled in relief. She and Violet then skidded to a halt as they came face to face with the entrance to Warsaw’s sewers. Hearing the soldier’s recovering from the blast and shouting, Sapphire removed the lid covering the entrance and cried, “Violet, come on”, as she descended deeper and deeper into the slimy unknown. Violet just gazed at the entrance, rubbed her left arm and backed a few steps away from the entrance. But then she heard the soldier’s shouting and saw the eerie glow of their lamps getting closer, and closer. Her heart, instead of skipping a beat, pounded faster than ever before. Gazing at the entrance one last time, she closed her eyes and began to climb down the rusty stairs into the sewers, sealing the entrance shut behind her with the lid and further sealing it with a blast of ice. After she stopped, she simply stared at the ice. It looked cold, and lifeless. Almost like what she and Sapphire would most likely become if the soldiers found them, arrested them and shipped them off to one of those camps with the gas chambers. Gas, she thought. Gas….brings….death. She froze and clasped her neck with her right hand as her vision blurred and swayed into blurry colours, as she swayed like a loose tree branch. “Violet? Violet, are you OK?” “No”, she said absently, as she began to loose her grip and fall down the slimy hall. “Violet”, Sapphire cried, as she ran and catched Violet in her arms. Violet shook herself out of her daze and simply stared at Sapphire. She then looked on at the navy-blue tunnel in front of them and began to cry. “Oh, Violet”, Sapphire said with pity as she brought Violet down and grabbed her shoulders. “It’ll be alright.” “No,” Violet sobbed. “No, it won’t.” Sapphire closed her eyes and sighed. “Look, I know you’re scared, and I can’t say I know how you feel, but I do know that you’re not alone. You have me. We have each other. And that’s what matters now. OK?” Violet’s sobs settled down as she wiped her tears with her sleeves and stared at Sapphire. After a few short minutes, she simply said “OK.” “Good,” Sapphire declared, cradling Violet in her arms and beginning their long walk. “Now, let’s go!”