By Oboroten
David Vernon arrived in Burkittsville late in the afternoon. He had
seen the "Blair Witch Project" at a multiplex in Montgomery County earlier
that week. Intrigued with the occult, he was determined to find the place
where the witches dwelled.
He pulled his old car over to the side of the road near the old graveyard. He got out of the car, and started walking into the cemetary. He stared intently at a seven pointed star painted on the side of a barn. Suddenly, a local man yelled "Stop that. We're sick of idiots vandalizing our town. I see you have one of those stupid stick figure things pinned to your shirt. There are no witches here. Go away!"
Surpised by this unfriendly greeting, David prepared to return to his car. An old man walked by, and in an apologetic tone, said: "Some folks have just gotten upset by all the publicity. Wizards once lived up on the mountain, a few miles to the north. They would use magic to conjure supernatural beasts. The snollygaster would swoop down from the sky and grab children with its tentacles. Some say the snarly yow still guards the road by Turner's Gap. Few are brave enough to visit that hill after sundown. If you go north, you may see some of the ghost lights in the gap. In fact, I hear some folks have already gone there."
Taking this advice, David drove north on a narrow road. As the evening shadows descended, he thought he saw an eerie glow up on the hill. Looking back on the highway, he spotted an grey animal walking across the road. David thought it was a cat at first, but then saw that it had a long, hairless tail. "It's a giant rat," David thought, "Even bigger than the ones in Washington. I'll squash it." The car passed over the beast with a dull thud.
A few miles later, David parked by a small pond, next to a beaver dam. The weird lights were becoming much more noticeable. For a moment, he thought he saw a pair of huge wings hovering above the hill, faintly illuminated by the glow. He then heard a scratching noise on the fence along the road. An odd animal, like the one he had seen earlier, was climbing from fence post to fence post, using feet that resembled human hands to keep a good grip.
At that moment, David was surpised to hear someone say "It's not a rat. It's a 'possum." David was startled to see a man standing beyond him in the shadows. "Sorry to surpise you. I'm Castor Zittle. I'm heading up on the hill to check out the old wizard's place. I bet you're going there too."
Glad to have a companion with similar interests, David began to walk along the highway toward the lights. Castor followed behind. Halfway up the hill, David asked: "What's a 'possum' - some kind of squirrel?" Castor answered: "No. Not even close. It's an 'opossum', the only marsupial in North America. Most city folks don't know about them. A lot of ignorant people think they are just vermin. Some will even swerve their cars to kill a mother possum carrying babies on her back."
At the top of the hill, David saw the light was coming from somewhere in the woods, off to the right. He spotted a black dog pacing to and fro by the road, in the distance. It looked very unfriendly. He decided to quietly move into the trees to avoid the cur. Castor was nowhere to be seen. David swore he had been there a second ago.
Next to a persimmon tree, David noticed a glow coming from a pile of rocks. Looking closer, he saw a glowing amethyst talisman, marked in red with a seven pointed star. He decided to pick it up, and show it to his friends. "Even though I didn't found a witch," he thought, "this must be at least as good. I wonder why it glows."
Distracted, he had not noticed that the black dog was trotting down the road. As he left the woods, the animal growled. It was only a few yards away! It seemed much bigger than before, larger than a Great Dane. He decided to head down the mountain, in the opposite direction.
As soon as he stepped on the asphalt, the dog appeared in front of him. It hadn't been there a second ago. It opened its ugly red mouth, showing sharp pointed teeth, shining in the moonlight. It seemed even larger. Maybe it was a bear, or some kind of monster. The dog, or whatever it was, made no attempt to attack. Instead, it just glared at him, with shining red eyes. It seemed to grow with each passing second. It was now bigger than a bull! David moved back, returning to the safety of the trees.
A mist was slowly forming a large column over the pile of stones. It seemed to be assuming the shape of a man. David heard a faint voice from the vapor: "Thief! Lay down what thou hast stolen and go away. Turn thy hand quickly. Even as the fish that swims in the water, or the birds that fly in the woods, or the possums that climb the trees, or else thou shalt lie low under the sod. Come quick and be swift."
David decided to risk the dog, rather than stay near a ghost. As he neared the road, walking by a persimmon tree, the mist followed. It congealed into the shape of a farmer, dressed in 19th century clothes, holding a staff. The old conjurer exclaimed: "Fool. I warned thee. Don't steal from wizards. I am a master of legerdemain and necromancy. Thou hast picked thy penance. For killing a harmless forest creature, thou shalt replace it."
In an instant, the mist enveloped David's form. The amulet dropped to the ground with a rattle. The dog, now returned to normal size, picked up the purple stone, and carried it back to its master. The wizard placed it on the top of his staff. The seven pointed star emitted a burst of blue light. The mist expanded to cover the entire hillside.
Seconds later, all that was left was an opossum clinging to the side of the persimmon tree. Its prehensile tail was curled around a wineberry stalk next to the tree trunk. It started to walk down the tree, using the opposable thumbs on its back feet to maintain its balance.
A few minutes passed. A pickup truck sped up the hill. The driver muttered: "Weird. Middle of a drought and a fog bank appears from nowhere. Maybe it was smoke. It was glowing, like someone had started a fire in the woods." He then spotted a grey shape just ahead of him. "It's another stupid 'possum. Why do those things keep walkin' on the highway? Well, it's road pizza now."