Hazel & Gretel by A.B. Keuser

Author:A.B. Keuser [Keuser, A.B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A. B. Keuser
Published: 2016-03-26T23:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

The witch did not reappear the next morning. There was no sound above them, and Hazel let Gretel and Edina sleep while she worked on the lock. She had grim determination on her side this morning. Before the witch had cooked, carved and eaten Krell, storing what was left of him in a mechanically cooled icebox tucked into the far corner of the room, she had thought this was all a matter of biding her time. Now….

She glanced back at Gretel and chewed on her cheek at the thoughts that ran through her head. Edina might believe the witch would keep from eating either of them because she only ate boys and men, but there was nothing holding her to that. And Hazel would die before she let the witch consider even licking Gretel.

Her third pick broke and she pulled the second to last from her hair. If she didn’t get it open with one of these last picks, they wouldn’t be getting out today. She’d have to wait, carve more, and hope that the witch left them alone for any stretch of time again.

Behind her, Gretel shifted, stretching with a yawn and a shiver. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get us out of here before she can change her mind and eat you next.”

Gretel recoiled at the words, but recovered quickly. “What can I do to help? I’m not about to let her eat you, either.”

“Any chance you’re good at picking locks and never told me about it?”

“I did it once when my mother locked me in my room….” She pulled a hair pin from her already mussed hair and a tumble of curls fell. “Let me give it a try with this.”

Stepping forward, she motioned for Hazel to move, and reluctantly, she pulled her bone pick from the keyhole and shifted to the side.

“I didn’t need to escape after I met you.” Gretel smiled over her shoulder. “We can thank your climbing ability for that.”

Gretel had the cage open in less than a minute, and Hazel kissed her for it. “You constantly surprise me.”

Shrugging, Gretel smiled as she used the hairpin to drag some of her hair back up and out of her face.

The room was oddly dank and musty, as though their cage bars shrouded them from the worst of it. Hazel swallowed back the disgusted sound she might have made and moved into the kitchen, avoiding the oven, even though she knew it would not jump out and bite her.

The doors were her first priority. If they could get out, they had a chance at safety. The furthest corner of the kitchen held a crooked door she hadn’t seen from the cage. Dark mold bled up from the floor like the tendrils of a weed. Its top edge was crumbling and left an uneven gap against the frame.

Gretel murmured something behind her—low enough she was certain she wasn’t meant to hear it.

Her hand rested on the handle a moment longer and she took a deep breath, afraid of what she would find.

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