sceNe 32 - ʙʏɢoNe ᴋNoᴡʟeᴅɢe

The plan was ridiculous, but it worked. Jason distracted Cryztal so I could sneak upstairs and try to find something to help us in the witch’s study. There really wasn’t anything immediately helpful aside from a small wooden frame labeled “In Case of Overactive Child” and it was just a bottle of chloroform. I knew Cryztal’s mother was lazy sometimes, but this felt negligent. I didn’t feel great breaking my promise to not go up there, but we didn’t have much else of a choice.

With Cryztal unconscious, we were able to drag her back downstairs and put her in a kennel cage from the garage. I had only ever dabbled in magic, but I could tell that among the stacks of cages in the garage, this one had an enchantment of some kind on it. There was no telling how strong Cryztal was, especially since she hadn’t reverted to looking human, so anything that could help needed to be considered. It wasn’t long after that she awoke, and began to talk with Jason.

“What happened?” She asked, rustling the cage only slightly.

“You went on a rampage. You could have killed us.” Jason was speaking firmly.

I hid at the other end of the house so Cryztal could not see me. Jason intentionally told Cryztal that I had left, trying to gauge how dedicated she was to hunting me specifically. Before my parents sent me away, Cryztal’s mother was teaching me how to make the ritual potion, but I didn’t remember any of the ingredients. Not to mention there were probably steps to the ritual I couldn’t do without someone else there. If it were that easy then she could have just used herself as the sacrifice.

Suddenly my phone started vibrating. Dale was calling me back.

“Bad news, kiddo!” Dale started, very loudly. “The earliest I could find that… uh… solution you’re looking for is tomorrow. So if you haven’t figured out something else, you’ll have to keep her occupied until then.”

“I guess we’ll have to see what we can do. I’ll call you if anything changes.” I said, whispering.

Dale chuckled. “Don’t sweat it. I’ll know before you have a chance to call.”

Then he hung up.

I wandered upstairs now that my only option really was to find whatever Cryztal’s mother might have left to help. I went to walk into her study before stopping and deciding to head into her bedroom. Maybe she kept a journal or a cheat sheet in a more convenient spot. Realistically, though, her bedroom couldn’t have been more normal. Clothing and hairpins and various knick-knacks were easy to find, but it was as if she kept nothing magical in her bedroom. I understand keeping work and life separate, but you would figure being a witch was a lifestyle.

Before I tried the study again, I noticed some books in the closet, with one labeled “Baby Book” on the spine. Pulling it down made it clear it was more like a spiral bound album. Was this really a time to be looking through Cryztal’s baby photos? Maybe there could be something helpful in there! Only one way to find out!

Opening the book immediately gave me goosebumps. The first page was a detailed warning, advising that the reader not risk being culpable in the crimes documented in the book. As well as an apology to “the subject of this book” for what would be a very harsh read.

The first dozen or so pages were not related to the rearing of a child, but instead plans to produce a human-alien hybrid using a controlled environment. Despite the processes clearly involving magic, these pages read like a scientific experiment. A sort of divergence point began after documenting an attack on a visiting client picking up a requested charm.

“Hybrid-37 has suddenly been performing better than its siblings, but has also become relatively dangerous. After biting off a chunk of a client’s leg, it no longer crawled around on all fours, and its eyes became larger. It has since eliminated and devoured Hybrid-35 and Hybrid-41. The others have not replicated this behavior, even after Hybrid-31 passed independently.”

The next page looked more like a scrapbook page with a photo of a baby bundled up.

“The entity formerly known as Hybrid-37 will today be given a name, and will be raised as my own child, as it has learned how to resemble a human child with appropriate diet.”

After that point, the pages resembled a more traditional baby book. The photos were cute and all, but remembering that Cryztal needed help made it feel like the book had nothing to offer. Without making it to the end I closed the book and went to put it back up, before a page slipped out. It looked like a recipe, but reading it made two things clear: the recipe wasn’t food, but a potion, and it was exactly what Cryztal’s mother would have used if she were here with us.