Witch hunt

The sun set over the horizon as the repugnant smell of death filled the air. A lone figure stood at the
edge of a valley, leaves spread on the ground about dark leather boots. The shadow of the man fell short
of the ominous mountains as he watched the mixture of smoke and ash leave the chimney and float into
the darkening sky. Inhaling the souls of the lives he destroyed, Mr. Abbot breathed out a sigh of relief
knowing that he was doing quite well at vanquishing the evil from his country.

Ivan Abbot viewed himself as a modern day superhero, finding the bad, convicting them and making sure
they were never to walk the streets again even if it meant killing young women and children. His job was
not the most glorious, it involved travel and time away from the family but when night arrived there was
always a personal satisfaction in what he did. Ivan turned away from the desert heat the sounds of the
burning bodies and shrieks of the helpless ringing in his memory. Walking back to the black Tahoe, the
sun forming sweat beads on the back of his neck Ivan takes out a white handkerchief from his back
pocket to dab away the perspiration. Turning the key in the ignition Ivan can feel his legs sticking to the
leather interior of the car. A burst of cool air shoots through the vents as the man on the radio
announces the score of the Steelers game. Ivan buckles his seat belt and prepares himself for the long
drive back to Connecticut. As he drives along the monotonous road leading out of Death Valley Ivan
begins to recall the ordeal of the last six months.
The nightmare began in Providence, Rhode Island six months ago when a local clinic was suspected to be
providing patients with natural remedies. Society, still having a strong Puritan influence, did not approve
of alternative medicinal practices that did not fit the traditional ideas. With the arrival of autumn the
leaves on the trees began to change when the phone rang in the Department of Homeland Security. Ivan
was retrieving his trench coat from the cloak room when the head of the department, Mr. Bubba, asked
Ivan to take on the latest assignment. Ivan’s goal was to go undercover as a client in a local clinic and
investigate the healthcare providers to see if they were using illegal herbal remedies. It would take time
and dedication to prove Ivan’s loyalty and trust to the doctors. Mr. Bubba knew that Ivan was the only
man to pull off this massive undertaking. If Ivan succeeded then the largest running apothecary on the
east cost would be shut down and there would be enough ashes to cover Texas in a foot thick layer. Ivan
begrudgingly agreed to take on the task.
This would be his fifth project in the last four weeks, and Ivan had only seen his family for two
consecutive days, missing his daughter’s, Ella’s, fourth birthday party to arrest felons. Now with this
newest case he would miss his fourteenth anniversary being married to his wife, Ruth. She would never
forgive him for this. Ivan and Ruth were planning on taking a trip to Hawaii, but now it would have to be
postponed now until he completed his job. Ivan knew that he would be sleeping on the couch until he
could make it up to her. Ivan trudged up the stairs leading to the front door dreading the moment he had
to tell Ruth that their romantic get-away was postponed.

The metal cages filled with people clanged together as the train carried on through the night. The smell
of smoke and death became more and more potent as the train neared its fatal end. With every second
the young and old alike prayed that a miracle would save them from a fate too worse to imagine. In the
back of everyone's mind they knew that no God could save them now. The train screeched to a halt. No
one knew how long they had till they too would become floating ashes in the merciless sky. A silence fell
over the forsaken as the rusted doors of the train were pried open. A thick German accent greeted the
condemned as burly men lifted the cages and placed them on the god-forsaken (word choice ?) ground.
The people now acting like animals being led to the slaughter, pushed to the back of the cage, hoping to
be engulfed in the flesh of others as a sanctuary.
The dust was just settling to the ground when Mr. Abbot emerged from the distance with the sun rays
radiating off his back. Ivan drew in a breath as he viewed the carcasses to be and seeing the fear in the
living-deads’ eyes. Slowly, the doors to the cages opened as Ivan greeted the new-comers. “Welcome, I
assume you all know why you are here. If you do not then you are ignorant and unworthy of living”
crudely stated Ivan. Wide-eyed and horror struck the innocent’s mouths ran as dry as the desert sand.
Taking the silence as an understanding Ivan proceeded to tell what the next three days would be like.
On the first day Ivan led the prisoners to the branding room. The smell of burning flesh was present
when stepping into the branding room. Ivan could see the look of fear on all of the prisoners faces as he
explained what was going to happen next. “Listen up! The initials of the crime that each of you has
committed will be branded on your foreheads. The initials will be of the Wiccan alphabet. After you are
branded you will be divided into groups and sent away to the next form of torture.”