Satan's Tongue

Sunlight dappled the fallen leaves of the ground as Astrid Blackwood skipped through the well-worn pathway. She took a moment to breeze in the fresh spring breeze as she made her way into the Tumbledown village square. Her basket was thumping against her chest and her hair loose in her back. She hopped into the market square, heading for the direction of the bakery. She needed to buy some bread for her and her family’s supper. Her eyes glanced past the bakery and saw a black cat, prowling around the edges of the alleyway. That cat was the village cat, the one that no one ever adopted. It tended to just prowl around the neighborhood, watching over other houses. The cat was staring at her blankly, as if trying to send a message with its eyes. Astrid felt an urge to go up to it, to go inside the alleyway. 

“Whatcha looking at Astrid?” A voice called from behind her. She broke her stare with the cat and looked at whoever was calling for her. It was Helen Applebottom, the girl who lived beside her house. She was carrying a laundry basket, probably about to wash clothes by the river. Helen was okay, but she tended to be a little ditzy and tended to be quite giddy most of the time. 

“I’m looking at the cat over there. Maybe I should go in the alleyway and find out what’s in there.” Astrid answered, happy to see her. She was quite fond of Helen, despite her behavior.

Helen frowned as her face darkened.  

“Oh, but won’t that be disobeying your father? I wouldn’t dare to displease a man!” She said, dramatically placing her hand over her forehead. “Why, that would be un-lady-like.”

Astrid nodded her head, smiling slightly. She wasn’t going to listen to Helen though, though she did want to listen.

She opened her mouth to say something back before someone brushed past her, making her nearly fall over.  She got up and glared at whoever knocked her over. It was Drian Pakson, the son of one of the richest men in the village. His father owned a cattle farm and owned two cottages. He was pampered like a baby, which led to him being quite snobby and spoiled. 

While Astrid was fuming from the clumsy move, Helen seemed as if she were about to faint from delight. All the village girls fawned over Drian and would do anything for him. Though I didn't know what  they saw in him. 

“What are you girls doing here loitering in the middle of the marketplace?” He asked, sneering. Helen smiled dumbly as Astrid looked at him up and down with suspicion. 

“Why, I’m just about to head to the lake to wash my clothes!” Helen said enthusiastically, nodding her head towards her basket. “Would you like to join me? It would be such a pleasure walking with you.” She batted her eyelashes as she leaned towards him.

Drian just ignored Helen and turned towards Astrid. 

“And what are you doing here?” He asked her, pushing Helen to the side. She stumbled, nearly dropping her basket of laundry. Astrid glared at Drian under her hair, wishing that he would just disappear. Why was he curious about what she was doing?  

“Why do you want to know?” She snapped, glaring at him hard. Helen gasped in horror, even though he had just pushed her to the ground. Talking rude to a man was strictly forbidden. Drian’s curious gaze hardened as Astrid kept her head high.

He grabbed her by her shirt collar and threw her on the ground. She landed with a thud, her basket

“Just a warning to you, Blackwood. You do not want to cross me. You’ll learn to regret it.” He hissed as he turned away from them. “Tumbledown doesn’t take people like you.” 

Helen gazed sadly at him and turned to Astrid. She gave her a sad smile as she walked off to the river. She felt guilty for Helen, but she deserved to have someone better than Drian.  

She turned to the side, finding the cat in the alley again, the same position as before. It was staring at her with empty eyes, as if beckoning for her to come follow it. This was the longest she and the cat had been with each other. They stared at each other for a while, not making a move until the cat finally broke eye contact and turned to run into the alleyway. Astrid hesitated for a second. 

Should I follow it inside the alleyway? She thought to herself. But, going there could possibly risk my safety, and Mother would be upset I’m late. Especially past dark. She looked longingly at the cat, its shape getting farther and farther away. But I would die of curiosity if I don’t! 

“Urgh!” She screamed through gritted teeth. That earned a few strange glances from the other villagers milling around the square. Astrid let her curiosity run over her as she chased after the cat, its tail just disappearing from the corner of the alleyway. She ran after it, running through the tilted boxes and pieces of trash lying around the alley. The cat was going everywhere, turning left and right and making turns so sharp that Bernadette nearly lost it a couple times. The dark alleyway slowly went from the dark concrete pathway and turned into dirt and patches of flowers and grass.

It’s leading me to the forest! She thought as she took another turn through a few trees. The branches scratched her face and her hair got caught in the sticks. Astrid took a moment to catch her breath, panting heavily. The cat was staring at her as if waiting for her to catch her breath before shooting off into the woods again. 

She groaned before running off towards the cat again. This time, the cat stopped short, leaving Astrid skidding on the ground. She took a moment to look at her surroundings before seeing that the cat had led her to a wounded animal. Not just any animal, a bear. 

Bears were said to be dangerous, known to be brutal with anyone straying outside of the village. Mothers would warn their children to stay away from the forest, from the bears. Astrid backed away from the bear, trying to get as far away from it. She expected it to leap up and attack her, but paused for a second. It was breathing heavily, its eyes closed as it bled. She stepped closer, kneeling down to examine the wound.

 It was no predator, She thought, lifting her hand to her chin. There were no scratches, except a hole in its leg, clearly a gunshot. Astrid winced as she saw that the wound was pretty deep inside its flesh. 

 Who could it have been, shooting a bear? Astrid pondered, shifted her legs. She didn’t want to get hurt or attacked, but she didn’t want the bear to die, either. 

She sighed, getting up from her place on the ground. No creature deserved to die like this, even though it could kill men with a swift whip of a paw. Astrid opened her basket and took out her small canteen of water. She poured a little on its wound to clean it before dabbing it gently with her dress. 

Now what? She asked, putting her hands on her hips. The sun was starting to set  behind the trees and Astrid was worried whether she would have to walk through the woods in the dark. She could wrap some leaves around it, but that might infect it even more. Astrid looked hard at the bear before ripping some of her dress and soaking it in the water. She wrapped it around the bullet wound, tying it up so it wouldn’t fall off. Blood immediately soaked through her makeshift bandage, spreading quickly.

The bear’s breathing hadn’t calmed, and she was worried whether it would heal or not.  She wasn’t a healer or anything, only men were so her knowledge was quite limited. Astrid sighed and sat down again. It was dark now, and the woods were starting to turn into a dark blur.  The cat leaped down from its place on a tree and walked around the bear. It was as if it were thinking about what to do next. It stopped short upon the uneven bandage Astrid had made and seemed to look at it closely. Alice blushed with embarrassment before she could stop it.

Getting embarrassed because of a cat, get a hold of yourself, Astrid. 

The cat kept examining it before sitting down. It stayed in that position for a few minutes before something strange started to happen. Astrid felt…tingly. It felt as if a thousand ants were crawling up her arms and legs. Then, her hands started to flow. She gasped, nearly falling over. Bear’s leg had started to glow as well, the tingly sense getting stronger and stronger. 

What’s happening? She thought, panicking. Why was everything glowing? The light on her hands and the leg of the bear started to fade away before it was back to normal.

  Astrid was in shock. What happened? What’s wrong with me? The thoughts swirled in her head as she tentatively took off the bandage of the bear. She gasped when she saw that the bullet wound was gone! She looked towards the cat before looking back at the bear.

How is this possible? She asked herself.

Astrid didn’t have a moment to think before she heard yelling and the sound of footsteps beating on the ground.

“A WITCH!” A voice roared from behind. Astrid whipped her head to see that a group of villagers were behind her, holding torches and pitchforks. John Pakson, the father of Drian, was leading the group of villagers. 

 She looked up nervously, making eye contact with him. 

“A Blackwood girl? What are you doing here, girlie?” He asked, leaning in closer. The torch pushed into her face, the heat making her flinch. “What’s that cat doing here?” He spat, nodding his head towards it.

“I wandered into the woods by accident and found myself here.” Astrid started, trying to look convincing. “The cat has just followed me there, and I am no witch.” 

She still had no idea what had happened with her and the bear’s injured leg, let alone whether she was a witch or not. 

“A witch and the tongue of Satan! We must burn her at once!” John announced, pointing at her dramatically. The cat hissed and started scratching at his pants. Kicking the cat away, he raised his hands to the air. 

“Hear hear!” The villagers roared with agreement. They waved their torches with excitement. They advanced towards her, grabbing her by her arms.

“No! Let go of me!” Astrid screamed, prying the arms of the villagers off of her. “Please, I’m not a witch! Let me go!” She pleaded, falling down onto her knees. Tears sprung up into her eyes. 

The villagers ignored her pleas and more came to grab her. Astris kept struggling as they dragged her through the forest and into a clearing. The baker from the market place was holding her hands together while his wife and some other villagers were tying the rope to her hands.

‘Mr. Baker, please! You’ve got to know I’m innocent.” Astrid said, looking up at him hopefully. 

He looked at her coldly, a look he had never given her before. “You are a disgusting witch, I would never help you.” He snarled, turning away from her.

“Burn the witch! Burn the witch!” The villagers chanted loudly. They started gathering straw and leaves and placing them under the stick. Astrid looked desperately amongst the crowd. She could see her mother. Surely she would help her!

“Mother! Please help me!” She cried out, trying to get her attention. “It's me! Astrid!” Her mother looked up to see her, her eyes widening with surprise. To her surprise, her mother shielded her eyes and turned away from Astrid, as if she didn’t want to even see her. Astrid choked out a sob. Her own mother didn’t want anything to do with her. The villagers kept piling up the straw and wood until everything was all set up.

Someone, a young boy, walked out of the crowd, holding a large torch. Astrid had to squint to see who he was.

“People of Tumbledown Village, you have been gathered here tonight to witness the burning of this witch.” He announced, turning towards her. It was Drian, smiling at her with a wicked smile playing on his lips. “The speaker of Satan, the Daughter of Lucifer! We cannot have such evil lurking in our town. Tonight, she will burn!” He cried, raising his arms. The villagers went wild.

“No!” Astrid cried, kicking through her ropes uselessly. “You are the real evil lurking around this village! I have done nothing wrong! Release me at once!” 

Drian clucked his tongue, his mouth turning into a terrible sneer. “There, you see, she speaks the tongue of Satan! We must get rid of such abominations!” 

A murmur shot through the crowd of villagers. Drian’s face turned into a dark scowl. 

“Tonight, we will give the honor of burning this witch and favoring God Himself to this fine lady right here.” He said, motioning for someone to come forward. 

It was Helen! She walked up to the front of the crowd nervously, fiddling with the end of her dress. Astrid could see doubt playing in her eyes. Maybe if she could just convince her to stop maybe I could save myself and her. 

“Helen,” she croaked, looking into her eyes. “Helen, don’t do this. This isn’t you.” 

She looked at me apologetically, before looking at Drian. He nodded. Helen stood, trembling in her place, eyes wide with fear and uncertainty.  The world seemed to lean in as she raised her torch slowly. She dropped the torch on the hay bale, setting the wood aflame. 

The villagers cheered as they ran forward to place their torches down as well. Drian turned to me and smiled maliciously before placing down his own torch. 

Astrid screamed as the flames started to build up higher and higher. The heat licked at her feet, as if testing its limit. Hot tears streamed down her face as she screamed for someone, anyone, to save her.

She looked to the side to see that the cat was watching her with its wide eyes, staring at her blankly. Astrid snarled. It was the reason why she was in this in the first place. She was about to turn back away when she noticed that it had something behind it. It was the bear from earlier, lumbering through the forest with its big legs. 

The bear burst out from the forest trees and roared. The villagers screamed in terror as they dispersed, including Drian and his father. 

The people were the least of Astrid’s problems, though. The flames were building higher and higher, nearly reaching her ankles. She screamed for help, looking desperately at the animals.They stood there helplessly, not knowing what to do.

Astrid kicked her legs and tried untying the rope, but nothing was working. Then, the tingly sensation came over her again. Her ropes glowed and slowly, they untied. Just in time, too. The flames had reached the wooden stick she was on and started to go up in flames. 

Astrid had escaped the rope, but how was she going to get through the mound of flaming hay and wood? She was trapped, it was useless. But, somehow, the flames went out, leaving only a trail of smoke. She looked at her hands to see if she had done it, but there was no glow or tingle. 

As the smoke cleared up, she could see that it was Helen, holding a bucket of water. 

“Astrid, I’m sorry for setting the hay ablaze,” She said quietly, setting down the bucket. “But you and your…friends need to get out of Tumbledown now. The villagers will be coming back anytime soon to finish what they started. Get out while you can, Astrid.” Helen warned, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.

She was about to turn away before Astrid grasped her hand. She looked deep into her eyes before letting go.

“Thank you so much Helen. I know it wasn’t easy disobeying the rules, especially around… you know.” Astrid said, staring at her. 

Helen looked down with embarrassment and sadness. 

“I don’t like Drian, Astrid.” She said quietly. “I like you.” Astrid’s face went up into flames. She liked her? Astrid stuttered for a second before Helen planted a kiss on her cheek. 

“Now run off and don’t ever come back to this town, understood?” She said sternly. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Can’t you come with me?” Astrid asked, grasping her arm. Helen looked down again, shaking her head.

“I must stay here, for my family.”

She nodded quietly, both in silence before a crash came from the other side of the woods. Helen’s head whipped up.

“It's the villagers, hurry, you must go!” She whispered, pushing her forward. Astrid, the bear, and the cat scurried to the forest, taking one last look at Helen. 

She waved sadly before disappearing into the forest, never to return to Tumbledown again.