Every noise seemed to penetrate his ears like a thousand screaming daggers at once. Even his sister's soft snoring beside him sounded like thunderous swarms of mad hogs. His eyes popped open and he sighed.
"God dammit." He uttered. Hansel sat on the edge of the bed and looked back at Gretel who was hugging the sheets and occasionally snorted. He smiled.
As he stood up he felt the effects of having little sleep, the ale he had drank only hours before and the need for his dose of insulin rush at him all at once. He staggered over to the desk where he kept his injections. Blurry eyed he did his best to see in the darkness and finally succeed in injecting himself.
Letting out a sigh of relief from the nausea, he suddenly stuck a finger in his ear and winced. 'What the hell!?' He growled under his breath. Every sound was still amplified and his head felt if it were going to explode.
"I don't have chicken legs." Whimpered Ben from the other side of the room as he tossed in his cot. Even in sleep he was still tormented by Hansel's smart ass comments.
Hansel looked over at him, amused. "Yes you do." He whispered.
There came a whisper within his head. At first it sounded like the wind from the open window. Then the sound seemed to fill the room until it filled his head as if it were his own conscience whispering to him. He knew at once he was being placed under a spell.
"Ah hell no." Growled Hansel as he reached for his vest. He strapped on his dagger blade on his leg and on his belt his turret pistol and ammo. He hoisted his shotgun over his shoulder. "Hey sis." He reached over the bed and tapped Gretel on the shoulder. She snored. "Gretel." He shook her arm. She snored louder. "Seriously?" He sighed knowing he was on his own.
A cool breeze began to blow through the window as it hummed through the hills of Marburg. He shut the window. "Yeah you're welcome." He said as he flashed his sister one more look. She hadn't even budged. As he was about to turn away from the window a faint flash of light in the hills ahead intrigued him. He smiled. Hansel always liked a little witch hunting at night.
There was an eerie feeling in the air, an unsettling feeling that excited Hansel. There was magic in the air. He stopped just before Rathaus Marburg and gazed at it with all it's glory. Even in the moonlight it's haunting physique was captivating. Only days before his hunting crew had been called to Marburg in fear that there were several witches haunting the hills surrounding Marburg. There were subtle hints here and there but had no major leads up until this point. His attention from the castle was averted back towards the end of town where a woman's seductive laughter seemed to be calling to him. Hansel gripped his shotgun tighter, ready for action if the time called and followed the ever so chilling (and loud) laughter.
The early morning dew collected on his arms as he passed through a thicket. Hansel was almost upon the noise now. At least he hoped. His head throbbed maddeningly. What sounded like one woman's laughter was soon joined in by another and then another. Now they were saying something, uttering words that were distorted and foreign. From afar came an orange glow and a crackling of fire. He lowered himself slightly and peeked between the bushes and trees.
There not more than thirty yards away were three witches dancing and howling around a tree that was ablaze with fire of green and orange flames. They were in the nude and singing and dancing all the while using their wands to occasionally arouse the flames.
"Well.." He said to himself. "There's something you don't see everyday."