The forest was quiet by the time we arrived to the big show. The sky was dark and red, and every hair on my body stood on end. We all knew the danger of the forest, but killing some fucking witches was more important somehow than our own lives.

Ben, who jumped at the chance to be a real witch hunter and who I think secretly wanted to be Gretel's knight in shining armor, was waiting by the traps we'd set. Eager and ready to massacre the witches who managed to escape us. There wouldn't be many.

Mina was high up and armed well with a witch-killing machine gun, and she was more excited than she should be to use it.

Which left Hansel and I on the ground, newly reunited and with two goals in mind: save Gretel and kill as many witches as possible in the process.

We stepped through the trees, but they didn't notice us until the first witches' head slammed to the floor. Hansel and I, side by side, swung our guns every way, mowing down witches left and right. Mina did her part from above and no doubt Ben was doing his fair share of slaying at the base of the mountains.

I felt in my element. Shooting one, two, three witches. Backing up into another, slicing her head off. Losing my weapon, reaching towards my ankle for another. Killing them before they could kill me and making sure none that I laid eyes on got away.

The fight was no less than bloody—like it should be—and it was over before anyone could be sacrificed. Gretel ran free at the beginning of the massacre, saving the children and running off for another, Edward. So the original two went to work on the rest of the villains as the sun began to rise and their blood moon passed without consequence.

One remained at the end, the only one we cared about, and she would get exactly what was coming to her. We found Ben at the bottom shouting in his own triumph, having shot the thing, and we raced after her, all thirsting for blood.

When we saw the house the witch chose to take refuge in, all of us took a pause.

It was the house that still rang crystal clear in our nightmares. The house where it all started. And where it would all end.

"Whatever you do, don't eat the fucking candy." Hansel advised. I shivered at the mention, and he squeezed my hand. The strength in me renewed before he lead us to the final battle.

We walked slowly, scanning everything. Then Mina went flying. I screamed out her name before it was my turn, and groaned when I hit the ground.

The witch.

She had Benjamin in a headlock now, wand to his throat, taunting and threatening, and Hansel was holding his gun, steady and unafraid, though I knew he didn't have a clear shot.

"Stop right there, or the little boy dies. I thought it would be fitting for us to end up here, where it all began. Kind of lost its charm a little, huh?"

"Shut up," I coughed out, but she threw me again. "Alright, I'm just gonna lay here for awhile."

"Ah, ah, ah." She waved her finger at Hansel who's finger twitched readily on the trigger. "Drop it."

He obeyed, as he was the only one standing, raising his hands in surrender.

"Good boy," she said.

He didn't look at her, just at Ben. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not gonna let her hurt you."

I watched him do this, knowing something was off, he wouldn't just give up.

"Oh, really?" The cockiness in her voice betrayed her.

"Really." His hand was quick and lethal. He took his shot, with a pistol instead of shotgun, and he did not miss.

She sank back, releasing Benjamin, who came to my aid. But her wand was swinging in the next second, hitting Hansel with a log, and then a tree.

I saw him cough out blood as I rose to my feet, ready to battle once more, willing the pain out of my body.

"The end is near, witch hunter. I wish I could say it would be painless, but that would be a lie." Her voice was grating, and I stepped towards her ready to die for Hansel, ready to die for the man I loved.

But we had a good witch on our side, and she was not backing down without a fight. She was there, wand out, blasting the witch back into a tree.

"Get away from him." A warning.

"Always funny seeing a white witch with a wand." Muriel taunted. "What are you going to do? Hit me with your love spell?"

Like lightning, magic shot out from Mina's wand striking behind the witch, but she only shrugged. "Not bad."

She hit back, knocking Mina down. I ripped myself from Ben's arms, rushing to her, but I was thrown again. I landed on my back, gasping for air, but finding none.

I could hear my friend, my best friend, whimpering, not ready to die, but I couldn't move. "Mina. Mina." I whispered.

I heard, "No!" then a gunshot and then silence.

I rolled over and saw her body on the ground; Hansel was clutching her in his arms. I was crawling so slowly; she seemed so far away. When I finally reached, I breathed out, "Mina. I'm here. I'm here."

She was bleeding from the mouth, breaths heaving, and she told me, simply. "Kill the fucking bitch."

"I'm sorry. I am."

"I am sorry that I didn't invite them sooner, but I'm glad you have them. Don't be a hermit. Get married, have lots of babies, teach them to kill all the bad witches and name one of them after me because dammit I deserve it."

I laughed and cried and agreed before she died right in front of me.

The adrenaline picked me up, and I wiped the blood from my face. "Give me a gun." I said and Hansel obeyed. "Let's do this."

He rolled in first through the swinging doors. I stood behind him, face still and angry. She smacked him with a shovel as soon as he landed, but he bounced back, rolling sideways to miss another hit.

I shot at her, hit her shoulder before she swung the shovel my way. She hit me in the gut and I groaned, dropping the gun and falling to my knees. She hit me across the face next and I fell to the side from the blow.

I heard a new battle cry, and saw Gretel in her green meet the witch fought a close battle, blocking the other's blows, but when the witch found a knife, it was two seconds before it was pointed in Gretel's face.

Me and Hansel stood at the same time. Three against one. The witch didn't stand a chance. Her head was separated from her neck in less than a minute and we were walking away from that house for the very last time.

I had half a mind to set a fire in our wake, a message to all the witches practicing dark magic. And they should fear us. All of us.