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His response told me he didn’t care about helping Eddie. I tried to find a weakness in the rope but there was none. I hung my head as I stood strapped to the stake, the feeling of loss filled me. Charlie wasn’t dead but he was injured. Healing could take hours if he didn’t feed quickly. By the time he found me I would be dead. They would leave my burnt corpse on display as a warning for all hellborns living in hiding. It would be a reminder that we were all just animals.
I looked around as more humans came out into the streets. Wood was no longer being stacked around me.
“Let’s gather around.” Henry called out. He moved around the pile of wood at my feet, examining the pile. “This witch has harmed one of our own.”
Henry waved men from the crowd who had gas cans. They began to pour gasoline on the wood. I felt as the liquid splashed onto me.
“EDDIE ATTACKED ME!” I screamed at them.
“LIES!” A voice yelled.
Henry ignored my words as he calmed the crowd.
“She pretended to be one of us while serving us drinks. We can even assume she used her devil magic on William to get the job. There is no way of knowing all she has done but we will right this wrong. We will destroy this witch!”
The crowd cheered at his words.
“BURN THE WITCH!” Slowly the chant spread through the humans.
“Light your torches gentlemen.” Henry reached out a hand.
Someone handed him a piece of wood with one end wrapped in cloth. He lit the cloth with a lighter.
“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING! EDDIE TRIED TO HURT ME! PLEASE! I SWEAR!” I began to plead. Tears began to roll down my face as I fought against the ropes.
Men circled around the stake and slowly lowered their torches as the crowd continued their chant. The wood caught fire. Panic turned into terror as I pulled against the ropes. Heat began to rise towards me.
All of a sudden there was a collective growl that roared over the chanting. All of the humans froze as they looked around, fear now setting in for them. Without warning, a large group of hellborns walked out of the darkness.
“You have a choice, humans. Leave now or we will destroy you.” Charlie spoke.
There was blood covering his shirt. His anger was clear as he walked towards the humans with a large group of hellborns behind him.
“We will not fear you! This is our city and you are not welcome here.” Henry tried to sound brave but his voice shook just enough to say differently.
“Death is your choice then!”
Without pausing, the humans began to move away as the hellborns attacked. The sound of fighting rose around me. I pulled on my ropes and began to feel the blazing heat from the fire as it moved closer to me. I could feel the souls of my feet begin to burn. My terror rising once more.
“CHARLIE!” I screamed as loud as I could. The flames rose higher and started to burn my legs. If I didn’t get freed soon it would be over. “HELP ME! HELP!!”
Tears streamed down my face. The flames began to eat at my flesh as they moved up higher. Suddenly, I felt the wood shake and the sound of it splitting before I fell forward. I felt the flames as they kissed my skin before I was rolled away from them. I could feel the heat of my burns as they came to life. Charlie’s face appeared in front of me. He growled as he used his hands to beat the flames away. Once he was sure they were gone he pulled at the ropes until they gave way. My body was burned in various spots. I felt as my consciousness slipped away.
I awoke to pain and darkness. I could still hear fighting in the distance which meant the hellborns of Sweetclover were taking control of the city.
“Charlotte, can you hear me?” Charlie brushed my hair away. I nodded my head. “Let me check you out.”
The pain seared through me as I lay on the concrete. I looked around seeing brick buildings on either side of me and darkness. I was in an alley with Charlie as he leaned against the wall.
“How…bad…is…it?” I asked.
“Your legs and feet are the worst of it. You have some burns on your arms and face. A few small spots are on your chest from the fall.”
I tried to sit up but the pain that shot through my body made me cry out. Charlie held me up as I took in my state. The burns on my legs and feet were deep red, almost black with the start of blisters setting in. My skin felt tight as the swelling started. My shoes were mostly gone with plastic melted to the sides of my feet. The bottom of my dress was singed. There were other spots on the dress that were burned as well. I started to cry again. I had survived the fire but I wasn’t sure I was going to survive the burns.
“You need to go…” I started to say.
“No!”
