"Let me tell you brother she's been sleeping in the Devil's bed," - Witchy Woman by the Eagles

***

The day was slightly overcast. A stocky 20-something-year-old man who was waiting at the train station idly glanced at his watch.

“Another one of those long weekends of debauchery and delinquency,” he thought checking the time a second time.

His watch read 11:45. His tattoo under his left bicep had a cartoon of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster and read Jack-the-Gentle, although he was anything but.

Jack’s home was in Atlanta, but his two friends wanted to try to see if Astral Fight Club in Berlin was more entertaining. As he ran his hand across his lip to remove the stale beer he let his mind drift back to his weekend. He met a cute German mage named Ice Bunny who said meet up with him in her home town, but she never showed up. So Jack was forced to find another source of entertainment.

Jack thought about how he took advantage of the two sisters and their mother. How he invaded their minds and placed thoughts of how he was the greatest love of their lives. He even convinced the father to buy him beer and whatever food he wanted while he took advantage of the three all weekend.

Before he could feel a twinge of guilt, he reminded himself that he wiped their memories clean, with magic, and made sure the family believed the events they experienced were from a movie they watched.

"I should have set up a teleportation circle near Belin," he thought. "This waiting is a pain."

He checked the time on his ticket, 12:00, and looked up at the digital clock provided by the train station, 11:45. An icy cold chill ran down his back as he looked at his watch, 11:45, with the second hand frozen at 6 second mark.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered to himself.

Jack quickly called for his Astral Avatar, which didn’t respond. He held up his hand and a grossly exaggerated sized war hammer appeared in his hand.

As he raised it high in the air, Jack slammed his war hammer into the ground. The shockwave spread out over a 20-meter radius. Three individuals ascended the stairs.

“Cleaver, Mr. Gentle,” stated a female voice.

As they got closer, Jack’s eyes started to tear up.

“It’s not very many people who can see through my fata morganas.”

The blurry figures move closer.

A crackle of lightning coursed through Jacks nerves as he rushed voice’s source. Before he could land his attack onto the skull, one of the figures stepped in the way blocking his attack. He spun around on his feet as his momentum increased his strength and speed.

The figure raised a weapon to block the swing, but Jack shifted his feet and brought the pommel under the weapon and connected with the figure's jaw, sending this person into the air.

He continued his arc and brought the hammer down on the blurred position of where the person’s head should have been.

The person made it to their feet and dodged the attack. It mattered little because the second shockwave sent the three attacks back in random directions.

As his eyes completely filled up with fluid he was completely blind, but not helpless. He could hear the female bark new orders, although he was unable to understand what she said.

Jack’s ears began to swell up, as his hearing began to fade. Jack stood up proud and tall. He gave an evil grin as he forced all his life force into his nose. Jack had only one chance to escape out of this alive.

He could smell the sweat of the three individuals were attacking him. He detected their heat from their muscles, pheromones, and the scent of fear.

From this posture, their moves were careful and calculated. This was like wolves trapping a rabbit. Their adrenal glands fired up, and Jack picked up on the scent as they pounced in two different directions.

“Sorry, assholes, I got a train to catch,” Jack said as he leaped into the air and hovered above the train tracks.

A high-speed train zoomed by as Jack’s feet connected with the front section of the train. As it raced off his senses slowly returned to normal. The countryside whizzed by as Jack tried to reach out to his fellow team members with his mind.

No reply came.

The train raced down the tracks, Jack’s mind desperately trying to answer the questions: who is going through all these troubles to attack him?

Whatever the answer was, he would have to get back to the protection of AFC-Berlin where he could meet up with his other two teammates and seek out some answers.

He could feel the connection to Berlin grow as the train traveled along the countryside. He felt the influence of the city grow.

It would take him two or so minutes prepare and would need to be stationary, but Jack was now within a safe range to teleport directly to AFC-Berlin headquarters.

Jack leap off the high-speed train and landed in a heavily wooded area. As he scanned around, he ran deeper into the woods. The long dark branches reached up, grabbing at his soul. The long shadows gave him the feeling someone was watching him around every tree and shrub.

"I can see where the Brothers Grim got their inspiration," he thought.*

When he found a small clearing from the dense underbrush he began his teleportation spell.

When it was completed he could feel his brain, just above his right ear, give a small pop.

“And where do you think you are going, my pet?” a female’s voice said to him.

It wasn’t similar to the emotionally female voice he heard at the train station. It was a sickly sweet voice, like a sharp dagger coated in honey. Jack gripped his war hammer tightly as he searched around for the source of his voice.

“So why are you going through all this attack little-old-me?” he asked, trying to determine where his next target was.

The faint scent of roses hit his nose as he became light headed.

The female’s voice seemed to come from all directions as she replied, “Oh, my pet that will be revealed soon enough. Now drop your weapon before someone gets hurt.”

Jack the Gentle did as she commanded. He cursed himself as he started to fall into a dream-like state. His mind was a cobweb of dreams. A long figure slowly approached him. He felt as if being surrounded by a warm fuzzy blanket. The woman’s image flickered from an angelic figure of a woman to that of an old witch, and quickly back to an angel.

Her soft yellow eyes calmed every nerve of his body, his soul was at ease. He tried to cast his gaze away as his mind drifted off into an ecstasy-soaked reality.

“Don’t resist, my pet, it won’t hurt if you resist,” she cooed in his ear.

Jack felt a soft finger as every one of his senses lit up with pleasure. He slowly parted his lips about to surrender, when a voice in the distance screamed.

“GET OUT OF THERE!!!”

It was his battle avatar, his ever present companion in battle. The white cockatoo, was quiet, somehow found its voice.

Suddenly, the angelic woman before him was nothing but a hideous witch. Her sagging features, dirty unwashed hair and long nose were staring back at him. She stumbled back. It was only temporary, as long as that damned bird was allowed to remain free squawk about.

“Bind his avatar, you idiots!” she cackled. "Don't let him get away!"

Jack tried to size up his situation. He was surrounded by at least four more people, including the witch before him. He quickly tried to reach out with his mind to his friends in AFC-Berlin. He was too far away.

"The witch must have entered my mind and make me think I was within city limits," he thought.

He felt his battle avatar being pounced upon by several other avatars.

This was checkmate.

A tear ran down his cheek. Jack closed his eyes and muttered a small prayer, “forgive me for all that I have done”.

He clasped his hands together as he completed the last part of the teleportation spell. The witch was knocked back several meters as an explosion ripped through the air. Jack imploded. One of the males rushed to the witch’s aid.

As she slowly got up, he checked to make she was ok. The witch shooed him away.

“Are you ok, my Queen?” asked the male.

“I’m fine Taaoon. Now help me up.” She commanded.

He obeyed as he lifted her up to her feet.

“That’s most unfortunate he chose to blow himself up by teleporting,” Taaoon complained.

“Most unfortunate,” she said. “We still have a few others that we can use. It’s time to switch to Plan B. Next time we should have a dimensional anchor on standby.”

“I will make the preparations ready my Queen,” he said. “Ok, Horsemen, gear up and let’s get out of here.”

As they loaded up their weapons, the group slowly disappeared.