Chapter Two

Margaret stared at Daniel in confusion. Daniel shifted his weight from leg to leg, a clear indication of how uncomfortable he was becoming. It took a moment for the wheels to turn but something came to Margaret's mind. The young woman smirked at Daniel tauntingly.

            “I know what you're trying to pull,” she purred. “You're too scared to leave with a girl.”

            “What?” Daniel's eye brows shot up.”That's not true!”

            Margaret flipped her hair, looking down arrogantly on the poor, confused boy. “It's okay, I know what you're thinking. 'I'm too afraid to go with this incredibly attractive woman. I don't want people to think wrong of me.' It's alright, Danny boy. I don't bite. Hard.”

            Daniel's eyebrows knotted together. “Not funny,” he muttered.

            “Sheesh, take a joke. Seriously though, let's go get food. I'm starving!”

            “But I can't!” His normally soft face showed frustration, the dark rings under his eyes looking like deep pools of black under the streetlights. He took a breath and his face relaxed. “Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you like that.”

            “Don't worry, but can you please tell me what's going on?”

            Daniel didn't respond and turned his head away from her. Margaret approached him and he took a step away from her. She let out a snort.

            “Fine, be that way. If you're not going to tell me, then I'm going to go get a burger myself.”

            Just as Margaret began to walk towards the academy's front gate, the iron bars suddenly slammed shut. The tall iron bars prevented her from leaving the school grounds. Her hands wrapped around the bars and she began to shake at them.

            “Hey! What gives!?” She shouted. “It's not even past curfew yet.”

            She began kicking at the gate, yelling obscenities as she went about. Suddenly, she felt a chill go down her spin. She turned behind her and saw Daniel with his hand clutching at his scarf. He looked as pale as a sheet.

            “You alright?” She asked.

            Daniel looked at her and gave a small, half-smile. “I'm alright. The school's security system probably just slipped up and made the gate close early.”

            Margaret felt the pocket of her skirt vibrate. It was her cell phone. She reached into the pocket and grabbed the dancing device, answering it without even looking at who was calling.

            “What is it?” She grumbled into the speaker.

            “Mistress Margaret! There's is something odd happening near where you're at,” said the voice on the other end. It sounded as if it was in a frenzy.

            “Gomorrah, calm the hell down!” Margaret yelled into the phone. “Tell me what's going on.”

            The voice on the other end panted, as if they were out of breath. It took a few moments but then it finally answered.

            “They're here.”

            Margaret pouted her lip. “Really? You're joking? I just want a freakin' burger. How close are they?”

            “Not far from where you're at. You'll probably see them any moment.”

            “Whatever, get your a*s over here now.” Margaret hung up and shoved the phone into her skirt pocket. She flung her backpack off of her back and placed it onto the ground. She looked over at Daniel, who was staring quietly at Margaret. “You better tell me your story later. Right now, I suggest you run and hide.”

            Before Daniel could respond, Margaret unzipped her backpack. The jingling of bracelets were heard in the distant and the noise came closer by the second. It was Sodom racing towards the two. The sandy colored cat's body hugged the ground as he ran towards Margaret. He stopped right in front of her, panting for air as he spoke.

            “Boy, am I out of shape. Did Gomorrah call you?” The cat asked. He turned his head to face Daniel and cocked it to the side. “Who is that kid?”

            Margaret's classmate stared at the cat in awe and bewilderment.

            “He looks just like one of those little desert cats. It's so cute!”

            “You can see me?” Sodom asked Daniel. “Regular humans usually can't see me!”

            “See? Told you you should've been a black cat. And he's a guy I just met,” Margaret responded to the cat, ignoring Daniel's question and his reactions. She glanced back at Daniel and frowned. “Why the hell are you still here? Get going!”

            “Can I see the kitty please? But wait, did he just talk?”

            Margaret rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yes, he did. Meet Sodom, my cat. He has 'can't-shut-up-itis,' a very serious disease. Now get out of here!”

            Sodom shook himself and yawned. “It can't be helped, Margy. He must certainly be special if he can see me. Is Gomorrah on his way?”

            “Yeah, he'll be here shortly,” Margaret said as she dug through her backpack.

            Her hands moved quickly through the bag, frowning as time went by. Her eyes lit up suddenly and she let out a satisfied breath. From her backpack, she pulled out a shiny, silver handgun. A fancy, flower design was engraved into the gun's black handle. The weapon fit perfectly in Margaret's hands and she seemed very comfortable holding it. She pointed the fun into the sky and pretend to shoot it. She accompanied the motion by making little gun sound effects.

            “Whoa...so cool,” Daniel muttered. His gaze was focused on the gun. “I know I should probably panic because you have a gun on school grounds, but this is just too cool!”

            Margaret smirked egotistically at her classmate. “This beauty is Foxglove. And he's going to cause some crazy s**t to happen soon.” She pointed the gun at Daniel and he reacted with a jump. “Relax, this thing won't hurt you.”

            “Margy, we got company,” Sodom growled.

            Margaret turned to face the direction Sodom was looking. Near the school buildings, she saw bodies bumbling towards herself, Sodom, and Daniel. The herd resembled their classmates, fellow patrons of the school. Indeed they were, upon closer inspection. There were fifteen of them and they seemed fresh out of practice from whatever extracurricular activity they participated in. A majority of them wore baseball uniforms but a few wore track and tennis outfits. However, they didn't act like regular students. Instead, they were walking slowly with their arms stretched forward. They were groaning and grunting with every step. They look more like the living dead than actual students.

            “This is so surreal,” Daniel commented. “Like from a movie or something.”

            “Eh, it's just a few of our fellow schoolmates walking around like zombies,” Margaret said with a shrug. She began itching the back of her head with the butt of her gun. “To be honest they don't seem much different than usual.”

            “Huh?” Daniel looked at Margaret in confusion.

            “I think they're being controlled,” Sodom spoke up. “Contrary to Margaret's biased opinion of the student body, regular people don't usually walk around with their arms like that or their tongues sticking out.”

            “Controlled?” Daniel echoed the talking cat's words. “Like someone is possessing them?”

            “Yeah, in a way they are,” Sodom answered with a yawn. “You seem much more intelligent than Margy is. Now, I think any questions you have should wait. Hey, crabby! We got work to do.”

             Margaret rolled her eyes at Sodom. “Whatever, pissy cat.”

            The herd of hapless students was not more than 30 meters away from them. Margaret went through her backpack once more. Unlike with Foxglove, she found the item quickly and pulled out a small item. It was a black, lace choker necklace. In the little of the lacy garment was a red stone. The red tone was dark and resembled the color of fresh blood. She fastened the necklace around her neck and flipped her hair. She flicked at Foxglove's barrel and sighed.

            “I just wanted to go out and get some food,” she complained. “Now I have to do this? I guess it can't be helped.”

            She flicked her hand in front of neck and over the stone. Suddenly, there was a bright flash that enveloped  the Witch. The light dissipated in no time but there was a change in Margaret's appearance. She was no longer wearing her school uniform. In it's place it was wearing something much different and bewitching. On top of her head was a dark witch's hat with a floppy point.. A white feather was stuck into the red ribbon that encircled the hat's cone. The school's blouse was replaced with a revealing dark, long sleeved top that exposed the tops of her breasts. The fabric of the top and a corset around her slim waist hugged against her. The bottom part of the dress was wide open in the front, exposing her legs and trailed flowingly in the back. Sheer, black leggings and knee-high boots finished off her newly acquired ensemble. She looked like a new woman, a powerful one. Daniel did not forget to take notice and gulped at the sight of her.

            “Awesome. How did you do that?”

            Margaret looked back at Daniel and flicked at her hat's brim.

            “Remembered when I asked you if you believed in magic?” she remarked coyly. Daniel nodded feverishly and grew a big, open-mouthed smile. Before he could say anything, Margaret silenced him with a flick of her hand. “Stay back, Danny boy. Things are going to get messy.”

            Groans and grunts came from the students as they drew closer. They were now 7 meters away from the group. Their mouths were agape, drool drizzling from the corners. Eyes showed no emotion and were rolling in their skulls with each step they took. Even Margaret's transformation didn't seem to sway them. They continued their march towards the trio, completely unaware of their surroundings. Margaret aimed her gun in the air and pulled the trigger. Foxglove's roar startled the zombified students. Some stood still while others fell over. However, their soulless eyes were drawn to Margaret.

            “Alright, that's enough!” Margaret shouted over their moans. “You ruined my opportunity to get a delicious meal and I'm definitely pissed off about that. Now, are we going to settle this the easy way or are you asswipes going to cause more s**t for me to deal with?”

            One of the students in the front of the group snarled at her. He looked much more beast-like than human, at the moment. He was a baseball player, from the looks of it. He was carrying a baseball bat and wore the school's practice shirt. The school's mascot was on his shirt's front side. It was a cartoonish looking raven holding a baseball bat with it's wings and wearing a cap on it's head. The jock snapped his jaws at Margaret and lunged forward towards her. Without a single pause, Margaret aimed at the his head and fired a shot. Daniel stood in astonishment as the student was sent backwards, falling to the ground as if he was a flour sack.

            “You shot him in the head! I thought it couldn't hurt anyone.”

            “What was I supposed to do? He jumped at me. I claim self-defense.” Margaret was very nonchalant about the whole ordeal. Daniel's face twisted as he looked at the baseball player.

            “Calm down,” Sodom growled as he walked over to the unconscious student's body. “The human is fine. He's just knocked out.”

            “Knocked out?” Daniel questioned.

            Sodom didn't respond and flung himself towards one of the incoming student. Margaret aimed her weapon once more at the students. She fired five shots. One by one and five for five, a different student fell to the ground. Even with their ranks thinning out, the nine remaining students continued coming towards them.

            The student Sodom tussled with had managed to toss the cat off. The cat shook it's body. From  it's fur, a sandy film that was on  him fell off and floated around Sodom. The coarse grains danced about the cat for a moment. With a quick flick of his tail, the sand around him flew into the nine students' eyes. An irritated grumble elicited from the group, causing them freeze blindly in their tracks to try to get the sand out of their eyes. Margaret took the opportunity and fired nine more shots, hitting each of the students perfectly in the head. As the last one fell, she looked back at Daniel and grinned.

            “Relax! I didn't fire real bullets at them.” She gestured towards the motionless students. Daniel walked towards Margaret and stared at her weapon. “They're going to be fine once they wake up.”

            “How does that work when you shot them?” Daniel asked.

            “I have no clue. I just shoot something that possessed and bam! They fall over and wake up with no memory of anything that just transpired.”

            “Ugh, what Margy is saying is this,” Sodom began. “ The weapon she carries fires off a special bullet that can ward off any supernatural force that is causing trouble. A single bullet will dispel any negative energy affecting someone. It's a powerful tool used to exorcise Demons, though tougher ones will need more than one shot.”

            “That's pretty interesting,” Daniel said quietly, reeling in from all of the information that was just pushed onto him. He directed his gaze to Margaret. “You are a very odd lady, but I think that's pretty cool. But what exactly are you?”

            “I'm a Witch, Danny boy. I hunt evil supernatural beings along with Sodom and Gomorrah.” She had a very serious edge to her voice. She had an unwavering look on her face and she narrowed her eyes. “It's a lot more than you can understand but I hope you are not afraid of me.”

            “Afraid? I think it's cool! You're destined to do something that I'll never be able to do. I-”

            Suddenly, Daniel's voice was cut off. His normally cheerful face shifted to a quiet and serious one. His gaze was directed on the motionless bodies of the students Margaret and Sodom had stopped.

            “What's wrong?” Margaret asked curtly. “You suddenly froze.”

            “These classmates, the ones you shot...” Daniel muttered quietly. His right hand went to his scarf and grabbed it tightly. “They've been harassing me almost relentlessly at school for the last few weeks.”

            Margaret looked at the group along with Daniel. She noticed the red haired bully she had injured earlier in the day laying down with the fray. Margaret frowned and looked over at her feline companion

            “Sodom, go check them out.”

            Without a word, Sodom walked over to one of the female students. The feline sat on her chest and yanked at the girl's shirt collar, ripping the fabric enough to expose her neck. Using a paw, he moved the hair away from her neck. By doing so, he exposed a large mark that almost resembled a bruise. Upon closer inspection, an imprint that had the appearance of a dress could be seen.

            “I know this mark...” Sodom growled, narrowing his eyes. He sniffed at the mark. “This is an old imprint, made about three weeks ago.”

            “You said they've been bullying you for a few weeks,” Margaret said to Daniel.

            “Yes, that is correct. Do you have a feeling who might be behind this?”

            “I think I do,” Sodom responded. “That creepy b*****d should be around here some-”

            “Sorry I'm late!” A voice shouted, interrupting Sodom.

            From the school buildings, a large white dog trotted towards the group. It carelessly and clumsily stepped on the unconscious bodies of the students as he made his way. It's tongue flopped around with each step; it's tail wagged joyfully as he approached them.

            “I see I missed out on most of the fun. I had such a hard time finding you-”

            “Where the hell were you, you stupid mutt!?” Sodom hissed. “It's about time you decided to show up! You know how long we've been waiting for you to make an appearance.

            The dog ignored Sodom's grumbling and looked over at Daniel. He tilted his head to the side quizzically.

            “Who is this human?” The dog asked Daniel.

            “It's another talking animal,” Daniel stated quietly. “But this one is a dog. He's cute though!”

            “Gomorrah, this is Daniel, who unwillingly got thrown into our mess,” Margaret answered hastily. “But, I guess he has something to do with this after all.”

            “Why do you say that?” Daniel asked.

            “Someone has it out for you, from the looks of it.” Margaret said with a shrug. “These hard-asses have been picking on you and someone else is pulling the strings on this operation. Face it, Danny boy, you're cursed.”

            “Cursed?”

            “Or something like that.”

            Daniel looked at Margaret in confusion, not sure is he should believe her or not. Before he could say anything, loud clapping was heard.

            “Bravo, my dear! Bravo!”

            A familiar, creepy voice called out. The four looked in the direction of the voice and saw the laky figure of Mr. James Arthur sauntering towards them. He was carrying the haunting, porcelain doll in his right arm. She was now wearing a light blue sun dress, accompanied with a a white bonnet on the top of her blonde head. Mr. Arthur began stroking the doll's cheek with his free hand. His mouth grew into a crooked smile as he looked at the four. Margaret rolled her eyes in disgust.

            “Shouldn't you be looking at a panty catalog? Beat it, pervert.”

            “Oh, Margaret!” He ignored her jab and tilted his head awkwardly to the side. “I don't believe you're wearing the school's regulatory outfit. I think you need some more detention in MY class so we can discuss your attire.”

            He started laughing uncontrollably. Sodom flattened his ears and snarled at Mr. Arthur.

            “Some of you humans are absolutely disgusting,”Sodom stated boldly. “But I shouldn't exactly say that you're human. Isn't that correct, Belial?”