FicWad

"There will be a hex on your town." The old woman hissed as the mob slowly backed her toward the edge of the cliff. She looked back frantically as her feet slid toward open air. "Your descendants will be curst, by the affliction of the beast. I swear on the grave of my daughter you murdered before me. That on the anniversary of this day, when one of my descendants live in the family home, the curse will make itself known. The curse will only end when all my descendants are gone from this town."
The mob drew back slightly in fear of the witch's words.
She cackled with glee, then leapt from the cliff, her cackles slowly fading into nothing.
The mayor of the town quickly ran to the edge and looked down, "The witch is dead." He solemnly announced.
No one said anything, women wept in their husband's arms in fear of the curse. The mob quickly broke up, everyone hurrying to their houses, locking doors and windows as if to protect themselves. But as time passed and the curse never came to be and the townspeople of Athens slowly forgot about the old woman's words.

The girl jerked and moaned as she slept. She threw the covers off her. They were too hot. Abruptly she jerked awake and arose. She walked toward the door, silently slipping down the hall and out the front door. She threw her head back and howled as she felt a change come over her. She morphed into a wolf and howled again, than ran toward the forest. She loped over the rocky terrain easily, her nose perking up when she smelled prey nearby. She bounded into a field filled with sheep, who began bleating in terror at her presence. The wolf quickly pounced on one of the slower sheep, biting into its neck and tearing its jugular. The sheep went down quickly without a fight and the wolf began tearing bloody chunks out of the sheep's carcass. The wolf perked up her ears as she heard other howls, and she abandoned the carcass to join her brethren. The witch's revenge was complete.

Molly Richards woke up abruptly at the sounds of screams. She jumped out of bed, and hurried out into the hall. She ran to her daughter's rooms, but neither of them was in bed. She heard the screams again, and ran down the stairs, bursting out the back door. Her daughters stood, in their matching pajamas staring into the pen where they kept their pet goat Bruce. Molly ran up to them, snatching Greta the youngest, up into her arms.
"What happened?" She asked breathlessly. The oldest Amanda pointed toward Bruce' pen with a shaking finger.
Molly set Greta down and slowly crept toward the pen, she pressed a hand against her mouth to keep from screaming at the gory sight. Something had completely torn the head off the goat's body, leaving a pool of drying blood in the middle of the pen. The goat had been partially eaten his legs gone and there was a huge hole in his side with bloody entrails peeking out.
Molly swept up Greta into her arms and grabbed Amanda's hand, quickly running toward the house. She pushed the children inside, than closed and locked the door, before grabbing the cordless phone off the counter.
With shaking hands she dialed 911, "I'd like to report an animal attack," she said when the dispatcher answered the phone.
After giving the details and her address, she was informed that the sheriff would stop by as soon as he could. She hung up the phone, than looked over at her daughters who were staring up at her with wide eyes filled with fear.
"How about we get dressed and make some breakfast before the sheriff comes?" She suggested, gently stroking her daughter's cinnamon colored hair.
They reluctantly nodded, and started up the stairs. Molly followed closely behind and went in her room to put some jeans and a sweater on. She picked up the picture of her husband she had on the dresser, it was times like these she wished Tom was still around. She wiped away the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.
She heard Amanda call her, and she quickly went across the hall to help her daughter.

The sheriff came soon after they had finished breakfast, Molly sent the kids up to play in their rooms, then she let the sheriff in. He was a tall good looking man, with red hair and an easy smile. "Ma'am," he said with a slight southern twang, "I'm Sheriff Hart." She took him out to the goat pen and he whistled softly when she showed him Bruce, "this is the fifth animal mauling we've had today." He said to her after they went back into the house. "It looks like wolves, but the thing is there hasn't been a wolf sighting in this part of the country for years." He walked toward the front door, "I'll have our local veterinarian come out and collect the carcass. But I would suggest that you and your husband don't let your children out without one of you watching them.
"My husband's dead," Molly said "he died in an accident two years ago."
"More of the reason you better be careful," he said as they stood by the front door. "If I were you, I wouldn't leave the house after dark without good reason." Then he tipped his hat and walked down the front path. Molly watched him get into his car and back down the driveway, than she closed and locked the front door.

She walked up the steps, standing at the landing, listening to her daughter's play. She turned around and quietly walked back down the steps, Molly walked from window to window making sure they were all locked. Then did the same with the doors, she looked at her hands and realized she was shivering and walked into the kitchen, making sure not to look out the windows that faced Bruce's pen to make herself a cup of tea. It had been a couple of hours since Sheriff Hart had left, the veterinarian had called and said he would be there as soon as he could.
She jumped when someone knocked on the door, then set her mug down on the counter and hurried to answer it.
A tall distinguished looking man, with graying hair stood there, "hello," he said with an English accent, "I'm Doctor Albert Riley."
Molly stepped aside to let him into the house, "I'm Molly Richards," she said offering her hand.
He shook it firmly giving her a small smile. Molly showed him where the goat pen was and he put what was left of the goat into a bag.

"I'm going to dissect the animals that were attacked," he said when she walked him to his car as he stowed the bag into his truck. "I'll let you know what I come up with." He got in the truck and rolled down the window. "Just be careful," he warned, "we're dealing with an unknown predator here."
He slowly backed down the driveway and out of sight. Molly looked toward the sky, shuddering when she saw how dark it was getting. She ran up the path, closing and locking the door. Then went into the kitchen to make dinner.

Molly woke up abruptly, not sure what had woken her up. Then she heard it again, a faint howling coming from outside. She leapt out of bed and ran down the hall to check on her daughters. Greta was sound asleep, but Amanda sat up in bed looking out the window.
"Their calling us mama," she said.
Molly walked into the bedroom, "whose calling us?" She asked almost afraid of the answer.
"The wolves are calling us," Amanda said then pointed out the window, "look."
Molly looked out into the back yard, almost screaming in terror. Five large wolves stood in the field outside the house, howling and pacing back and forth.
Molly grabbed Amanda, then ran into Greta's room snatching her out of bed. She carried the squirming and protesting children into her bedroom, where she shut and locked the door. She set them on the bed, then reached over and grabbed her cell phone from the dresser. She heard the howling grow louder and peeked through the bedroom window, they were at this side of the house. It almost seemed like they knew their every move. Molly dialed 911, cursing loudly when no one answered. She flipped the phone closed, and thought a moment. Than dialed the directory.
"Doctor Albert Riley's number please." She said when the operator answered, Molly dialed the number she was given.
A sleepy voice answered after a couple of rings, "this is Doctor Riley."
"Doctor Riley," Molly said, "this is Molly Richards. I have wolves in my back yard right now. What do I do?"
His voice sounder more alert, "stay in the house Mrs. Richards," he said forcefully. "Do not for any reason leave. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Molly hung up the phone and laid next to her daughters, shivering as the howling seemed to get louder. After what seemed like hours, Molly heard shots, she bolted out of bed and flung open the bedroom door. Running down the stairs, she hurried through the living room to the front door. Albert practically flung himself into the house when she opened the door. He lay on the floor beside the door he had kicked closed with his foot, still holding onto the rifle he had brought with him to scare the wolves away.
"I don't think those are ordinary wolves," he said as the howling commenced. "They weren't afraid of the shots, one of them, a big red one almost attached me. If I hadn't gotten into the house when I did." He let his voice trail off and just shook his head.
Molly stared out the window, "there seems to be more of them." She said and screamed as one of the wolves leapt at the window.
He pulled her away, "we better call 911," he said.
She shook her head, "I tried," she said. "No one answered."
He grasped onto her elbow, "lets get upstairs." He said, "I have a feeling it'll be safer up there."

They quickly walked up the stairs, to her bedroom where her daughters were. Greta had gone back to sleep, but Amanda was standing at the window watching the wolves.
She turned when Molly and Albert closed the door. "The wolves are calling," she said as Molly pulled her away from the window.

She looked at him, "something's not right here." She said, "I remember my grandmother telling me a story once about an ancestor of ours. Something about a curse that would turn the townspeople to beasts. This used to be my grandmother's house. It's been in the family for generations. I wonder if there's anything in the old family journals that my grandmother saved."
Albert picked up Greta, carefully cradling the rifle in the crook of his elbow. "There's only one way to find out." He said opening the bedroom door. Molly grabbed Amanda's hand and followed, Doctor Riley. They opened the door to the attic and slowly walked up the stairs.
"My grandmother told me that no descendant had lived in this house for generations." Molly said when they reached the attic. "She owned the house but she didn't leave here, always said the house didn't feel right."
She set Amanda down whom immediately went to the attic window and looked at the wolves. Molly switched on the over head light, then opened the box labeled family journals. Taking two out she handed one to the doctor and began to read the other one.
They read for an hour as the howling increased outside.
"I think I found something." Molly said, "three hundred years ago, the townspeople in this town murdered a woman who they thought was a witch and responsible for the death of crops and farm animals. They then chased her mother to the edge of a cliff, as she stood cornered on the cliff. She cursed them, saying that they would be afflicted with the curse of the beast. That when a descendant of hers lived in this house the curse would happen and it would only end when all the descendants had left."
Molly looked up at Albert, "she was my ancestor, the daughter had a teenage son who escaped that night and went to California. That's why this house hasn't been lived in for so long, because of the curse."

Suddenly there was a loud crash, Molly screamed and scrambled to her feet, as Albert grabbed the rifle. He pushed Molly and the girls into a corner of the attic, as something large bounded up the steps. The large red wolf that had almost attacked Albert stood in the attic doorway, snarling slightly when he spotted the rifle. The wolf began to pad forward, seeming unafraid of the rifle. Behind him two other wolves padded up the stairs.
Albert cocked the rifle as the red wolf came closer, with a snarl the wolf leapt at him. Molly screamed as the rifle went off, Albert disappearing underneath the bulk of the wolf's body. She grabbed her daughters and ran, the other two wolves snapping and snarling at her feet. She turned and kicked one in the head, causing it to yelp and fall behind. Then dashed down the stairs into her bedroom. She practically flung her daughters on the bed, and slammed the door just as the remaining wolf leapt. It hit the door with a thud, then all was silent.

Molly froze as the howling began again, this time in the house. She looked up at the sound of a creak, and froze in horror. Amanda had opened the door, and was walking out into the hallway unafraid. Molly screamed her daughter's name, dashing after her into the hallway. Amanda was descending the stairs as wolves huddled around the bottom. Molly stifled a cry of alarm, afraid that any kind of nosie would make them attack her daughter. She walked as fast as she dared down the stairs as the wolves watched her with suspicious eyes, some growling softly.
She started to pick up Amanda, when a big white wolf bounded toward her. Causing her to freeze, the wolf looked at her with surprisingly intelligent eyes. Than threw its head back and howled. Molly grabbed Amanda as the wolf snarled and jumped at her. She threw her body on her daughter's to protect her. Just as a shot rang out, the white wolf fell onto the carpet turning into one of the town's matriarchs. With a bullet hole through its heart. Molly turned and almost cried with relief as Albert came limping downstairs, carrying Greta.

The other wolves slowly backed away, growling softly as Albert brandished the rifle at them.
"We have to get out of here," Albert shouted. "That's the only way to break the curse is if you and your daughters leave."

Shielding the girls with their bodies, the two made it to the truck. As the wolves snarled and snapped, but stayed just out of rifle range. Molly quickly opened the truck door, sliding Amanda in then grabbing Greta and quickly crawling in with her. Albert dove into the truck, just closing the door as the wolves threw themselves at the truck snarling and growling.
Albert put the keys in the ignition and pressed on the gas, quickly putting the truck into reverse. As he jerked the wheel, sending the car tailspinning before righting itself, he sent wolves flying into the front yard. He pressed on the gas and sped down the road, quickly leaving the house and the wolves behind.
As they left the town, they sped past a sign that said "thanks for visiting Athens, come on back now." Molly looked at Albert, "not in this lifetime," she muttered as they left the town of Athens far behind.

The realtor showed the young couple the house, "now I know this is a bit of a fixer upper." The realtor began. "But it does have its charm."
The woman snuggled up to her husband, "I think this is it." She said "I think this is the house that one of my ancestors lived in. She was one of the people killed during the witch trails." The man turned to the realtor and said "we want to make an offer."