Ten months earlier

The First Witch

She giggled as he pecked her cheeks with soft kisses. She raked her long fingers through his thick dark hair and moaned as she felt the warmth of his lips reach the crook of her neck. He nipped at the skin and sucked on the spot gently.

"Eli." She breathed, as his name slithered from her parted lips.

"Hmmm…Julia." He moaned back. His grip on her hair tightened as he slowly grinded his hips against hers. With sweaty hands, she grabbed at his night shirt and pulled it over his head; Eli stood up, making it easier for her do so. The shirt was discarded and thrown onto the messy bedroom floor along with the other items of clothing. Julia wrapped her fragile arms around his shoulders, desperate for him to kiss her again, but instead, he gazed at her.

There she was, laying beneath him naked and quivering with excitement. He placed his hand on her cheek and smiled. Although the room was completely dark, he could still see her face perfectly: her heart-shaped face, her long raven black hair, the deep, intoxicating chocolate brown eyes, her soft pink lips, and her innocent smile.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked him. He smiled, and then leaned down to give her a long, chaste kiss.

"I love you, Jules."

"I love you too, Eli."

"Would it be cheesy if I...I.." he chuckled nervously. "If I said that you have my heart?"

"Depends. How much of your heart do I have?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Just answer it, dummy."

"All of it."

"Then yeah. Super cheesy." She laughed.

He laughed with her. "But it's true. I love you so much."

She didn't respond. Instead she pulled his face into hers with so much force that he was left out of breath. Eli Goldsworthy had never felt so whole in his life. There he was in solitude, making love to the girl who was the center of his world.

"Julia. Julia." He moaned her name continuously, panting heavily in between. With both hands, he explored her entire body. From her shoulders to her breasts to her hips, he caressed her smooth skin, admiring her as though she were a goddess (she was in his eyes).

Suddenly, he felt wetness. His hands were entangled in Julia's hair, but yet, he touched liquid.

He felt as the bed sheets become damp as though they were on a leaking water bed. The water rose gradually, the coldness of it penetrating the skin. It came from the ceiling too, and Eli shivered as the icy liquid trailed down his spine. The water cascaded endlessly, pattering loudly on the hardwood floor, the shelves, the books, the bed.

"Ahhhhh!" Eli jumped at the sound of Julia's inhuman cry. He sat up quickly, his entire body on the edge of convulsing from sheer panic. Another piercing cry surfaced, and he grasped her shoulders.

"Jules? Jules?" he shook her, but she didn't seem to respond to his voice. All of a sudden, she stopped. Her entire body stiffened, her muscles abnormally tensed. He whispered her name again, and her brown eyes quickly met his. From what he could see of her in the darkness, Julia stayed on her back, her eyes and mouth wide open. Slowly, she extended her arm- which was stiffened straight- and gently caressed Eli's face. Eli did not smile in return, nor did he even move a muscle. He was too scared; too horrified.

Crack! It snapped in half. Her entire body then began to convulse violently, and her screaming commenced. His ears rung as he heard the bones break. She called out his name for help, but choked as blood rose in her throat. "Help me, Eli! Please! Make it stop, Eli!" she gurgled. Her body contorted, and Eli felt nauseous as he heard her bending and breaking beneath him. She was coming apart right in front of him, but yet, he did nothing. He stood up in the bed, watching her in complete and utter disgust and horror. But he stood frozen, cold, as the water continued to pour from nonexistent clouds.

He shut his eyes tightly, hoping that this was all in his head. When he opened them, he found himself fully clothed kneeling in the middle of the street. To his left was the front of a dented car with a cracked window (which had streaks of blood), and to his right- a bit down the road- lay a destroyed bicycle. Her bicycle. He shivered violently as rain came down as cold, sharp knives, piercing the skin on his neck.

"You." He looked down, and grief overcame him as he saw Julia lying helpless beneath him. Though it was not the same Julia he had been making love to earlier. It wasn't the same girl who was smiling and giggling just moments ago. Lying underneath him was a broken body with mangled limbs covered in blood. Her eyes had become a haunting shade of white with thin steams of tears flowing from them. An intense feelings of dread consumed him. "You did this." She choked. "You mangled me. Why-didn't-you-save-me?"

"I-I'm so s-sorry, Jules!" Eli sobbed uncontrollably. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"You- fucking-broke me-into-pieces!"

"Help! Somebody help!" Eli screamed out. He looked around, hoping to find someone who could save her, but the pouring rain made everything so blurry. He turned his attention back to her. "You're gonna be okay, Jules. You're gonna be just fine."

Lies. All lies.

After a moment, she spoke again. "You-h-have-my-heart-Eli. Let-it-go." Just then, Eli heard a pulsating sound. He looked down at her chest, looking for its source. He ripped a hole through her shirt, discovering a deep, diagonal laceration in her chest. Without hesitation, he pushed his hand inside, searching desperately for his treasure. Julia squirmed to his touch. He always had that effect on her. His hand felt it; it was soft, and pulsated against his palm. Then with one swift motion, he gripped his treasure and tore it from its original place. Julia let out another blood-curdling cry of pain.

"I-I can't, Jules. I can't let you go."

He held it in his hands. The one thing he would never let go. It continued to beat rapidly, as the rain pattered against it, washing off the blood. Her blood.

Her heart was his.

"Ahhhh!" Eli woke with a start, his heart pounding painfully against his chest. The morning sunlight shone from the window, illuminating the cluttered bedroom. With weary eyes, he scanned the room, afraid that it would close in on him at any second. Beep! Beep! Beep! He jumped when the alarm went off. As reached over to shut it off, he read the time: 7:30 a.m. His sweaty hands groped the warm bed sheets. They were dry. Bone dry.

Bones. Her bones. Julia's bones were buried in the ground, but they had been haunting him for months. Ever since her death, he had been getting nightmares. But none of them were like the one he had just experienced. Everything was so vivid, so real: the emotions, the water, the blood, her voice. It was all just too overwhelming.

He sighed deeply and head his head in his hands. One...two...three...four...he told himself, trying desperately to get his breathing under control before he had a heart attack (a technique he had been told to use by his therapist).

"Hey." Within seconds, Bullfrog was in the room, sitting beside him on the bed. He had heard his son's petrifying scream. "You okay, kiddo?"

No answer. He stood as still as a stone.

"Was it another nightmare?" he asked, gripping his son's shoulder lightly.

"Yeah." Eli let his hands fall limp onto his knees, but he kept his eyes shut tight. He hated how sick he was. But most of all, he hated how it affected his parents. He had them worried all the time; because of his episodes, because of his antics, he had them feeling scared. He couldn't look his dad in the eyes sometimes.

"Son, look at me." Bullfrog begged. "Don't shut me out again, Eli. Look at me!" Although it was hard to do it, Eli looked at Bullfrog. Instantly he saw how scared he was for him- how broken he saw him.

"You look sick. Maybe it's best you that you stay home today."

"Dad, I feel fine."

"Well you don't look fine. You're pale, you're sweating like crazy, and your tremors are back. I'll call the school later and tell them that-"

"I said I'm fine!"

"You sure?"

"It was just a bad dream." he hesitated. "I'll okay in ten minutes tops." Eli put on his best fake smile, but Bullfrog remained silent. He wasn't sure what to say or what not to say. He trusted Eli's word, but something inside him knew that his son was not all right.

"Okay." Bullfrog said. And with that slowly got up and proceeded out of the room. Then Eli was alone, all alone. Sluggishly, he got out of bed and reached for his clothes. As he got dressed, he kept his eye on a picture that sat on his bedside table; a picture of a girl with the pitch black hair and bewitching brown eyes. She stood with her arms crossed, staring at the photographer. As he looked at the photo, he could hear her voice ringing in his ears. His stomach turned. He felt sick again.

You've mangled me, she said. You've mangled me.