Desperate Remedies

There was a woman who lived in small house in a busy town. She lived away from all the people though. They lived near a town up a hill. She was the town’s doctor. The town’s only doctor. She was said to never have a patient die under her care. They said she never got ingredients from other stores for her remedies. Some would she was a witch. She was evil and trapped to her land from a curse. The town people said she would cure them from a drink from her well. The people who drank it said it was the sweetest water they ever tasted. Little kids would want a taste and come to her well and drink some. They said she would quietly watch them, and her eyes would grow red and go into their soul. They would say there would be a mysterious voice in their head saying, “we’re warning you, go away,”. They would all say that she was a devil. Sometimes the kids that go there would not return but later be brought back in pieces mysteriously to the family. There would be a message carved into the kid’s arm saying, “I’ve warned them,” The families’ all blamed the lady saying, “You did this,”. The lady will respond, “It wasn’t me; it was him,” never telling who ‘Him’ was. The lady had some mysterious powers, the people said. They said they would just go into the lady’s house, and she would look at them for a minute and give them some mysterious remedies and her sweet water. The next day the patient would be all well. No matter how bad the condition. In return she will take a random, not too expensive item. But, before she takes it, she always asks, “Does this object have some family relation to you?” If the patient says yes to the question, she will immediately put back in some type of fear and look for something else. No one knew her name. They just called her The Old One.

The town mayor was at the end of his term. The town was small, but its value was big. Being the town mayor was a wish for many. People from all over the country would come to the election and run for mayor. The town would also be invaded by foreigners to rule the area. Every time they fought, the soldiers would get some type of magic making them stronger or even get mysterious power, a dark one that would conquer the soldiers’ souls during war and leave them after. Some invaders have said to see a tall black and dark red humanoid creature helping the town. He would kill the invaders in some brutal ways. The invaders have said they have seen their partners put on stakes, alive and immobile with their blood slowly dripping out of their body. They’ve also seen them being mysteriously cut multiple times slowly and being alive going through it. The town people knew there was dark magic in the town, but who or what caused it? They were unsure.

There was a rich gentleman coming to run for the election. He was winning the minds of many. He was giving money to convince the others to vote for him.  But the Old One didn’t like him. She kept warning everyone not to vote for him. She said he had a dark mind and wrong intentions. She said the town would collapse with him. Everyone called her crazy. The man running for election was mad at her. He thought of her as a problem. The town people suddenly started hearing a voice in their heads saying, “I’m warning you, don’t let your greed decide your future. Don’t be mad at me when you do let greed control you. Don’t be mad at what I do,”. They all said they heard this every day. The people ignored the warning though. They still voted for him because he kept on increasing the money. He promised a great future to the town. The final votes came in and the rich man had won. People got their money as the man promised. But the town collapsed under his control. Production was not going well, and the town was losing their wars. The soldiers said they were not getting anymore magic like they got before.

 Mysteriously people started dying. They would be chopped up and, on their hand, it would say, “I warned you,”. The town’s people were getting scared and blamed the rich man. The rich man said on an announcement, “The trouble you guys are going through is all the old hag’s fault. Tomorrow, I will get her removed from the town and all will be fine,”. The people didn’t believe him. They all said not to remove the Old One. But it didn’t matter. He was the mayor and he got to decide. No one had the right to stop him. He went up to the Old One’s house and barged in. She was confused about his sudden entrance. “Mam, you have been banished from this town, you have two days to leave, if you don’t, you will be prosecuted,” said the new mayor. “Why sir, I have done nothing,”. “No, people in the town have said you have killed their loved ones,” the mayor said lying. “I’ve told them, it wasn’t me, it was him,” the doctor replied. “You have been banished, you 2 days,” the mayor said. He left slamming the door.

 The Old One was mad. The mayor was the problem, and he was blaming her. She went to the well and sat there. She whispered, “Give him the disease son. Then the figure came out of the well. The same one that helped the town’s warriors during the war. The same one that gave the people the dark power during war. The same one who told the children to go back and would send them slaughtered if they didn’t listen. The same one that told the town people not to vote for the rich guy. The same one that killed some of the ones who didn’t. The same one who spell bound the water to help the sick. The same one who is the son of the Old One. The Figure was a dead son who died of a mysterious disease. He had a disease that would affect him after death. It caused him to stay as a spirit. Until God decided when he could go into god’s gate. The disease gave him mysterious powers. He shared some with his mother to help her heal others. They both researched the disease to find out what caused it and how to help others with it. They found the disease was ashes trapped in the air form an early war of gods and demons. The aftermath of the powers fighting created this disease. The gods wanted to remove it, but the demons wanted to keep it. The gods removed most but some were still there. So, The Figure captured all the specimens of the disease he could find and kept in a magical jar. The disease had many variants. All of them trapped the soul, but they all had different effects. The one he caught gave him powers of torture and healing from the mix of devils and gods fighting. The other ones had different affect. He separated each one. He was going to give the mayor a variant of the disease that puts the soul in constant pain. It was one that caused the victim torture and constant pain.

A day later the mayor was feeling really sick. He was always in constant pain. He asked everyone for a doctor, and they all said the only doctor here is the Old One. He went to her house. Awkwardly, she was standing right outside her property as if she was expecting him. “Mam, I feel sick, may you please heal me,” the mayor asked. “No,” the Old One said loudly but in a confident way. Everyone was looking at them, someone defining the mayor was not dared to even be thought about. The disease is on purpose. He will get revenge for the town. The figure appeared in front of the mayor. The mayor, terrified, tried to move away but couldn't. The figure said in a demonic voice, “Everyone this the man who has been destroying this town. Today you will see what happens to someone who tries to ruin this town,” He picked up the mayor and started putting cuts through his skin. Slowly he started bleeding and screaming. Then made leeches from his hand and put them in his eyes, and ears. The mayor screamed in pain. Then he made a dark stake and lit it with a special dark fire.  He put the mayor on it to slowly die in pain. The whole town watched in terror. As the mayor slowly died. And then he turned into something like the Figure but was screaming. He couldn’t move, talk, or help himself from the pain. Just there in pain for as long as the devils want.

He was there for many years and learned how to talk through pain. He kept on saying, “give me the remedy. Give me the desperate remedy.”