Breckenridge Mysteries: The Return of the Blackwood Witch (Prologue)
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[[Begin the story.->One]]Breckenridge Mysteries: The Return of the Blackwood Witch (Prologue)
Breckenridge, Massachusetts (September, 1679)
From the found journal of Jonathan Acsherdown
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Only an hour passed after midnight when the shriek pierced my hearing and woke me from my slumber. Had it not been the third night I experienced the shrill sound, I would believe it was a figment of my unconscious mind. I had no recollection of fabricating such a frightening moment, and without doubt, not for three nights in my dreams.
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Two nights prior, I had remained still in my bed, too frightened with paralysis to concern myself with the effort to move from my position and locate the wretched noise. As a farmer, no creature I ever witnessed made such a sound, and no human would be capable of such. Or so I believed. I closed my eyes and prayed the sun would appear with haste.
[[Next.->Three]]The day began in a whisper. My name arrived like a gentle warm breeze as it brushed past the fine hairs in my ears. Awakened by my wife, Charlotte, I experienced comfort.
[[Next.->Four]]It appeared the horrifying sound had not awoken her. She placed her soft hand on my forehead with concern for my health. It had been the third morning I overslept. As such, she had arranged for my early morning duties of gathering our hens' fresh eggs and feeding them to calm their ruckus.
[[Next.->Five]]I asked for forgiveness and assured my good health. I omitted my nightly experiences as the cause.
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She smiled at me as she moved to open the curtain and allowed the sun to flood the room with pleasing light and warmth. Her beauty was traced by the sunlight pouring through the window. Her figure contrasted with the light, casting the darkest of shadows across the floor. I recall this image in my mind's eye as the final moment with her. She was my Charlotte, and she was beautiful.
[[Next.->Seven]]In a protective manner, I had kept more than the terrifying sound from her. During the previous two mornings, I discovered our flock had decreased in size with no sign of trespass. On this, the third morning, I found the same. Three more female Orpingtons had gone missing.
[[Next.->Eight]]The strange noise and missing fowl were not the last of my fearful findings. Tending to the cornfield, I next witnessed a disturbing sight.
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The sun was setting, and an odd silence revealed every beat of my heart. The call of crows, “Caw, caw, caw,” ripped through the air as if the sky was tearing like parchment. They circled above the field like a violent storm.
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I soon realized that my senses had deceived me. I discovered the moon and not the sun as it provided a backdrop to a gathering of torches.
[[Next.->Eleven]]An evil darkness had revealed itself inch-by-inch from the soft glow of the flames as a group of young girls, no more than sixteen years of age, occupied the clearing and appeared in the flickering shadows with pale skin and pure white eyes.
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The glow of the bright flames exposed an overwhelming presence of evil. A group of young girls, no more than sixteen years of age, occupied the clearing and appeared in the flickering shadows with pale skin and pure white eyes.
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The village’s minister led the mob of torches. His scream echoed throughout the village and in my mind, "They have been afflicted by evil and are now bewitched. Burn them!”
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The young girls' chants turned to screams as they stood unwavering and were consumed by the flames. The sight sent chilling blood like stinging shards of ice through my veins.
[[Next.->Fifteen]]Agatha, our daughter, was among the group and had perished.
[[Next.->Sixteen]]For some hellish purpose, I became a cruel witness to my worst nightmare. I shall forever see the lingering horror.
[[Next.->Seventeen]]I was cursed with bearing the news to my dear Charlotte. She shall find the loss immeasurable.
[[Next.->Eighteen]]
I found my heart broken again as Charlotte was now missing.{embed image: 'https://tonymoreira.com/if/Breckenridge-Witch/images/feathers.jpg'}
I filled with fear and I ran. I found myself hidden within the tall stalks when a clump of Orpington feathers caught my eye. Disoriented in my position, the setting sun's faint glow helped set my course. Weaving through the corn, I followed a trail of these feathers and arrived at a clearing.
[[Next.->Ten]]