Wicked Curse of the Woods

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The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

What wicked things that once were still, have come their seeds to sow.

A brilliant disk, the moon so full, brimming forth with life

Has secrets kept for those who wander deep into her night.

Herb and root is what they seek; two forage in the wood.

The Summer Solstice, sweet and warm, gave all the light it could.

Serena of a practiced hand led on their foray;

Saffron with a pupil’s zeal let ambition lead the way.

Where to look, how to see, and everything to do,

the women collected Basil, Mugwort, and some Syrian Rue.

“These herbs three protection be, and heed the witches call.

Which we may need if we don’t flee, before the night does fall.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Saffron. “Would something do us harm?”

“Have you not heard of the Wicked Wood’s Curse?” She laughed with fake alarm.

“They say that on a Full Moon’s Night, the Wood may steal your soul.

Stealing hearts and breaking wills; the mind will lose control.”

The girls, they laughed and frolicked as they gathered root and herb.

Cawing crows and rushing wind, the warnings went unheard.

“Do you see that chimney smoke? Who would light a fire?

Midsummer’s hot enough, with flame it must be dire.”

“Leave them be.” Serena said. “That cabin gives me chills.

We have much more work to do while we have sunlight still.”

The search goes forth with herbs in tow, the girls they wander free.

A warning finally met and seen carved into a tree.

Bark shredded with a hint of blood, the claw marks they run deep;

Gashed and torn, big enough for only a grizzly to leave.

“Let’s stay away from this beast if we can,

luckily, I think I can see our new plan.”

Tucking her hair behind her ear,

she runs into the bushes and disappears.

“Come look, Saffron! Come see over here.

This is a path traveled only by deer.”

Owls hooting in hollows as they followed the path.

Shivers ran up the spine; twigs ‘neath their feet snapped.

Moss hanging high like chandeliers of green,

wrapped ‘round the branches on which they creep.

From out of a clearing, a swarm of pure wrath-

feral and screeching- a pack of black bats.

Biting and scratching, the army attacked,

pushing them farther away from the path.

Blinded by the furious cloud,

their vision and senses they did enshroud.

Bloodied and frantic, Saffron covers her face,

giving no heed to position or place.

SNAP

Metal jaws crunching, snapping the bone.

Mouth opened to scream, only finding a moan.

Throbbing with pain and stuck in one place,

trying to wipe the blood off her face.

Trap meant for a bear, new prey it had found;

writhing and wrestling, staked fast to the ground.

“Saffron! Stop moving, you’re making it worse.

We’ve fallen right into the Wood’s Wicked Curse.”

Serena drew out her old hunting knife

to pry open the jaws and save her friend’s life.

Quivering hands and metal bloodslicked-

a slip of the knife- she sliced to the quick.

“I’m sorry- it’s stuck… the knife’s in your leg!”

“Just cut the thing off!” Saffron cried and she begged.

Grasping at nothing in hope for reprieve.

Strangling rock and wrestling with leaves.

“I can’t fucking take it!” Now pale as a ghost.

Possessed by torment, a pitiful host.

“I’ll go find something that you can bite hard.”

Serena came back with White Willow Bark.

“Put this in your mouth, chew as long as you can.

It’s bitter, but numbing soon will set in.”

Gnawing on bark, sweating but still;

Saffron surviving only on will.

Serena laid her hands on the trap

and found a trigger that popped the latch

The knife falling free, a flash flood of red

Saffron fell limp from the rush to her head.

Dreamlike and melting, infecting her brain;

the cabin’s sweet smoke and its welcoming flame

calling her back from the darkest place

with promise of warmth, she knows she’ll be safe

Roused from a slumber too deep to be real,

an ache in her leg was all she could feel

Eyes shooting open, “My leg isn’t straight!”

“I did my best to bandage the break.

I stuffed it with Yarrow to stifle bleed,

but a doctor and medicine is what you need.”

“The cabin! The cabin will keep us safe!”

“Why would we go back? It’s the wrong way.”

“Let’s go to Crossroad, and then we’ll decide.

Every second we waste, we’re losing the light.”

Serena lifts Saffron as high as she can;

a gruesome three-legged race of the damned

Staggering and stumbling, Crossroads appear;

Saffron faints from weakness; Serena from fear.

“This is the way if we want to go home;

but somehow it feels wrong in my bones.”

The thunder of hooves came closer- and quick.

No trees to be found, nor bushes thick.

With nowhere to hide and unable to run,

the Beastly Shadow did them overcome.

From horse top a voice pierced deep in their souls.

Wide eyed and shaken, the nightmare unfolds.

A flurry of wings and a rushing of wind,

an army of bats, the Specter did send.

Black demons closed in, but Serena took heart

and stood in her strength, yelling into the dark,

“I won’t go down without a fight!”

And threw her old basket with all of her might.

Crashing of wicker and Mugwort scattered;

leaving the bat-like illusion in tatters.

“Who are you? What are you? Just leave us alone!”

“Don’t dare make demands, for you’ve trespassed my home.”

The mist rises up like coiling snakes,

wrapped ‘round their Mistress, they watch and they wait.

“Who goes there? Ignorant mortals, you’ll be sorry you’ve come;

for this Wood is cursed, and tonight you must run.

Ahead of you lies deception and traps.

If you value your life, you must turn back.

There is one shelter, where you will be safe.

A cabin in the forest, where flickers a flame.”

Seized by terror and seething in pain,

Saffron emptied her gut ‘til nothing remained;

herbs that were eaten to help and to heal,

now lie on the path, without an appeal.

“Serena and Saffron are the names that we’re called.

We cannot run, for she’s broken and mauled.”

“Pitiful children, you must turn back,

for all that awaits is death and a trap.

This offering of Mugwort, Basil, and Rue;

for this gift, I give warning. I care not what you do.”

Her hand waved like a sword slicing the air.

The snakes swirling ‘round made a portal right there.

In went the horse, coat dark as New Moon.

In went the Mistress, with our basket in lieu.

Nothing was left, except for the two.

“I’m freaking out, Saffron. What should we do?”

“I think it’s clear, we have to turn back;

ahead only lies a ‘series of traps.’”

“Why would you trust her? She wants us to stay.

From this Wood we must flee. We must run away.”

“There’s not time to run, black magic or not.

I need to get help before my leg rots.

The cabin is all the hope we have left.

My decision is made. I risk my own death.”

Resigned and rejected, Serena caved in.

They went on their way as the fog seemed to thin.

The path became easy, the night became warm.

In no time they saw the cabin take form.

The candle still dancing, a promising glow.

What wait for them there, they never could know.

The battered, old door swayed on its hinges.

The must of the cabin blurred all of their senses.

Before them lay a most merciless scene…

a bloodstained old hag down on her knees.

Eyes fixed and ferocious from under her cloak,

scattered about, a dismembered goat!

The head sitting center pentagram drawn of blood-

of which there is plenty- a never ending flood.

The Horned One beheaded, body hung from above.

Legs butchered and treated with precision and love.

A sacrifice of sweetest and freshest of death.

From the living, the witch always draws the last breath.

“Come in my doves, you’re right on time.

Midnight is nigh and you shall be mine.”

She cackled and threw the cloak aside,

revealing a body decayed and dried.

Sinewy muscles and skin laid bare,

a dagger in hand; a bloodthirsty glare.

They turned to go back, but the door was sealed shut.

Nothing was left but to give up on luck.

Shutters explode with a murder of crows;

pecking them into submission below.

A flurry of feathers and mile of rope

began to constrict from their toes to their throat;

bound and gagged, and surrendering hope.

Fainting and fading from shock and from pain

Saffron fell into darkness as crows feast on her brain.

Time and space both disappear;

sinking into despair and fear…

Suddenly brightness dawns like an answered prayer,

and Saffron awakened parched by dry, sterile air.

White walls and white sheets; white floors and white feet.

A nurse strolling by; “Hello Saffron,” she greets.

“Where is Serena? What happened?” She gasped from afar.

Checking her leg, seeing neither broken bone nor scar.

“She’s dead.” The nurse said. “Don’t you remember? She’s no longer here.”

She felt her face drop with panic and fear,

looking for someone she knew to be dear.

All the faces were strangers… yet she’d known them for years.

“How long was I out?” Saffron asked from her haze.

Clearly it was more than just a few days.

“All day, my dear, disease takes its toll.

This happens each month when the moon is full.”

“What do you mean?” She cautiously said.

She looked at her hands… they’re cuffed to the bed.

In the mirror is a person she can’t recognize.

Shaved head, scarred skin, and a madwoman’s eyes.

Where am I? What am I doing here? How long has it been?

The questions all asked as her head starts to spin.

“Remember what happened that night to your friend?

You were there when she met her end.

Shrieking and wailing, with your hand on the blade,

covered in blood upon her you laid.

They found you screaming in the dark;

all that was missing was Serena’s heart.

Since that night, here you have slept;

and to this ward, you’ve been sentenced ‘til death.”

A needle produced and injected into her skin.

“What is that?” — “Something to calm you down until you’re back to yourself again.”

As Saffron slipped into darkness, she could hear her friend’s scream.

When did reality tear at the seams?

Out the window she heard the crows mocking laugh;

Called back to the flame, it all fades to black.

~~~~