NEVER LOOK IN THE BUSHES

0:00How to have fun, anytime, anywhere. Step one, go to chumbacaceno.com. Chumbacaceno.com. Got it. Step two, collect your welcome bonus. Come to Papa, welcome bonus. Step three, play hundreds of casino-style games for free. That's a lot of games, all for free. Step four, unleash your excitement. Woo-hoo! Chumbacaceno has been delivering thrills for over a decade, so claim your free welcome bonus now and live the Chumbalife. Visit chumbacaceno.com. No purchase necessary VGW group void for prohibited by law, 21 block terms and conditions apply. April 14th, 2021 marked the day Quinn Harris life-change forever. April 14th was his birthday, and in that particular year, the year he turned eight, his parents gave him the only present he had ever specifically asked them for. He had never been greedy or needy, never one to focus on material possessions, but he had baked his parents for his very own metal detector. Neil and Trisha, Quinn's parents, had held a private discussion shortly before the

1:03boy's birthday, and decided a metal detector, although quite expensive, would be a wonderful way to get the sun exploring outside in a day, an agent which most kids would rather stay in, and most parents would rather allow us at behind screens to do their job for them. After every other present had been opened, and Quinn was sitting on the couch forcing a contented and thankful expression despite his searing disappointment, Neil Harris brought out a long box wrapped in green paper. Quinn's favorite color. Not even Ira, Quinn's for a few-year-old sister, knew about the metal detector. She thought she had gotten to brother the premier present of the year, the digital watch that read the temperature showed the min cycle and told the date and time all at once. But she nervously watched her father enter the living room with a victorious grin on his normally placid face. She knew her watch was about to be buried by whatever her father held in that box, and she was delighted. Ira loved her little brother, and could tell he had been disappointed by his gifts. He had never in his life seemed ungrateful that day being no exception, but Ira could tell something had been missing, and she hoped her dad was about to deliver it. Her hope was not misplaced. Quinn tore through the paper. Before he had even pulled the last bits of wrapping away, he was shouting, thank you.

2:07Thank you. And bouncing up and down on the patent rug in front of the couch. The Dick Finder Pro. It's exactly the one I wanted. Who knows what and go and to find with this. I will thank you. Quinn would have gone straight outside to search for ancient treasures lost beneath suburbia, but the Dick Finder Pro's rechargeable battery had come out of the box, trained. Sori Kitto. We're going to have to plug it in for a while. Neil said as he glanced over the user manual. Ira took advantage of the forced delay and showed Quinn how to set up his fancy new watch. By the time the metal detector had charged, the sun was cresting over the horizon, and Tricia was putting the final touches on dinner. Quinn had chosen hamburgers, his favorite, for his birthday meal. Quinn downed his burger in a few marts' wallows, but Tricia made him wait to eat his cake until everyone had finished. I'd a time the birthday song had been sung, the candles blown out, and the cakey and the sun had traded places with the moon and the temperature had plummeted. It's stark out there, Kitto. Neil told his crest full and birthday boy. I don't mind. I can take a lantern. Quinn protested. Yeah, but it's cold now too, Neil said. It was warm enough with the jacket earlier, Quinn argued.

3:11Neil smiled roofily and shook his head. Welcome to Iowa. Might have been warm a few hours ago, but you'll be shivering out there now. You'll get your chance tomorrow, Tricia said. Yeah, I'll go out with you. You're offered. Quinn said, okay, but he sounded far from it. The sun rose on that beautiful Sunday morning and woke the lightly sleeping, freshly eight-year-old boy. And suspending a dayfall of metal detecting, Quinn rose immediately, leaving his room far before anyone else and his family was there. His brand new dig find arrested against the wall in the living room, still plugged into the charger, but now with a little green light where it had once go of red. When pulled up the plug and let the cord fall to the floor, he stopped only to open the closet and retrieve his winter coat. It was still cold and would probably stay that way for a few hours of Quinn's eight years had taught him anything. Once he bundled himself up and slipped into his tattered tennis shoes, Quinn rushed out the door, dig find her under one arm. No sooner had he stepped off the concrete porch into the dry brown grass, then Quinn started to wave the dig finder over the ground. The heavy device had been designed for a grown adult.

4:13Quinn was tall for his age, but not quite tall enough. The metal detector's handle stretched almost to the top of his head. Still Quinn made do. Rather than use the ergonomic grip at the top of the handle, he clutched the middle of the shaft. He was having far too much fun surveying the yard to notice how quickly his cold hands were cramping around the cool metal handle. Nearly fifteen minutes went by with nothing but the sound of the magnet brushing the top of the grass. It's not it started to evaporate from the edges of Quinn's nostrils, trapping them and making them glow red and smart. Still, the boy didn't pay any mind to the cold, nor the chilly breeze which only accelerated as the sun knocked above him. Quinn finished scanning the front yard and began to lose the battle against disappointment. Of course, it's unlikely to find anything interesting buried in the front yard of a practical brand new house, but try telling that to an eight-year-old boy with an explorer's ambition. In his mind, he had as much chance of digging up an old revolver or the spur of sun-long dead cab was booted as he did a discarded roofing nail. He accidentally scraped the bottom of the dig finder on the sidewalk and instinctively pulled it back. The sudden jerking motion made him look

5:13up for the first time since he has stepped off the porch. He looked across the sidewalk to the patch of grass and he had a side and the bushes lining the road there. They stood tall enough to obstruct the view of the Harris house from the street, which meant they were technically hedges, but Quinn had never heard them call that. They also obstructed Quinn's view of the street from his yard. He had never liked those bushes or hedges. He sometimes felt the tickle of ice peering through them. He thought of how easy it would be for some terrible person with so-ded murders to spy on him while he played outside. For this reason, Quinn usually stayed clear of the towering plants and never set foot on the unless he was with his parents or ear. But today, he had his brand new dig finder. The grown-up toy made him feel all grown up too. Something about a sturdy metal build gave him confidence. Without any fear or trepidation, Quinn stepped over the sidewalk on his own for the first time and he was rewarded. The dig finder finally wind. At first, the sound came out scratchy and wheezy, like a mouse dying of pneumonia. But as Quinn walked closer to the hedges, the wheezy wind became a high, bolvering. It sounded like a heart rate monitor flat lining,

6:16but Quinn's heart was racing. The indicator light on the top of the magnet change from red to orange. He was close. Just a couple more steps. Don't you dare dig in these bushes, boy. Quinn lost a tiny scream and dropped the dig finder on the grass. The ugly voice had come from the hedges in front of him. He stared into them, searching for whom of her headspoken. His hands trembled. He wanted to shove them into his jacket pockets, but he couldn't bring himself to move a single muscle. His already racing heart, so light with excitement and anticipation, now beat heavy and fast to drive as much blood as it could tears like so he could run. But his brain wouldn't let him move. That's right, dear one. Stay back. Stay away. There ain't nothing for you to find here that's worth finding. The singing dig finder laying in front of Quinn's tennis shoes bade to differ, but he wasn't going to argue. Who are you? The terrified voice stammered. Come closer and see if you like. The novel voice rasped. I know thank you, Quinn whispered. The voice in the hedges cackled and for the first time Quinn could deduce its owner was a woman.

7:17She sounded ancient and sick. Such good manners, boy, she said. So why don't you use them? Be good little boy and stay away from the bushes with your marvelous little toy there, unless you want it to disappear forever. Is that what you want, little boy? Um, excuse me, another female voice entered the conversation from behind Quinn. This one he recognized, and it had exactly the opposite effect on his mind and body as the ugly one in the bushes. Ears stood next to her brother, picked up his metal detector, and said, if this thing goes missing, I'm sending the cops straight to your door. Why don't you just come get it yourself, sweetie? The haggard voice asked. And go near your dump of a house. No thanks. Now my brother has every right to be here. So, Ears told the woman in the bushes to go do something Quinn had never heard before. The voice cackled again, but quickly went silent, and after Russell brittle leaves, the woman was gone. Thanks, Quinn said breathily. Do you know who that was? Yeah, couldn't you see her? Ears replied. When shook his head. As she handed over the dick finder, Ears said, I guess you aren't tall enough to see her face over the bushes. That was Shana from across the street. She's such a creep.

8:23Why didn't she want me looking in the bushes? Quinn asked. She probably just doesn't have anything better to do than boss little kids around. Ears extended her hand. In it, she held a sharp spade, which she handed to Quinn. He thanked her as his face flush embarrassed he had not thought that far ahead himself. But who knows, Ears said in a cheesy, ghoulish voice. Maybe this is where she bears her animals. Quinn smiled broadly, and his sister, whose face was somewhat of a feminine mirror of Quinn's own, reflected his joy back at him. He swung the dick finder toward the bushes, and the orange light turned green. I've got something he shouted. Ears pointed to the spade in his hand. Quinn nodded eagerly and dropped to his knees. He dug into the dry dirt, flinging pebbles and bits of dust in every direction during his clumsy excavation. Ears stopped to turn off the dick finder before his manic wine drove her insane. After less than a minute of digging, the seabings heard a metallic scrape. Quinn gave his sister another joyful grin, then switched to digging with his hands so as not to damage whatever he had discovered. It's here.

9:24The boy trailed off as he raised a golden pocket watch from the dirt. Ears jaw dropped. It's a Quinn said again, but his face twisted in confusion. Open it up, Ears said, still offstruck. That's going to make the one I gave yesterday look like a toy. Quinn obeyed. Then his jaw dropped open. It's a clock he shudder standing up an excitement. A watch, actually, you're corrected. It's called a pocket watch. I wonder if it's real. It's not ticking, so probably not, Quinn said. Well, yeah, it probably needs to be wound, but I actually mended gold. Quinn, if that's real gold, you just found a real life bird treasure. I did? Yeah, you did. Quinn leapt into the air. When his lighter than air feet hit the ground, he lunched forward and threw his arms around his big sister. He clutched the pocket watch and his dirty fists behind her back. He pulled away slightly to look up at the ear and said, I still like to watch he gave me better. Ears was about to respond when someone behind her clamped a dry hand over Quinn's fist. Startled, he let go of the watch and stumbled backward, shrieking with terror as he fell on his rear

10:28in the hole he had dug. Ears looked at him, dazed. Then she saw his eyes were focused over her shoulder and turned around just in time to see a bony gray forearm disappear through the hedges. A withered hand clutching Quinn's bear treasure followed the forearm through the green leaves and vanished. Oh, hell no, ears shouted. She reached her own arm through the bushes and grabbed the person on the other side. Give that back, she screamed. Suddenly, the look on ears face shifted from rage to surprise. She was yanked forward until her whole body was pressed against the prickly hedge. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep them from being scratched or poked up. Her left cheek received a long scratch and she finally let go always released. Quinn could not tell which. Ears did not have a golden pocket watch when she fell away from the bush. His sister screamed another word Quinn didn't know as tears of rage fell to her now open eyes. She stormed back toward the house and Quinn, not wanting to be left alone near the bushes, followed her. The siblings went inside, Ears sobbing in Quinn's island by shock. His little hawk hardly handled the emotional sea so that had just rocked him. He had been elevated

11:31by his incredible discovery of the pocket watch, then dumped back down when it was stolen so shortly after. Ears were wrong, honey. Shush called out from the living room couch. She and Neil were both sitting there staring into their phones. Shusha didn't even look up when she called to her daughter. As she kicked off her shoes by the door, Ears yelled, we have got to do something about that old hag across the street. Ears, that's no way to talk about the elderly, Neil said. His rectangular glasses slid down his nose slightly and he didn't bother to push them up. Ears ended the living room to speak to her parents face to face or at least face to back of hand wrap the run-phone. Quinn almost followed her but after he had set aside his metal detector and sat to take off his shoes he couldn't bring himself to stand up again. The low place in the floor felt like where he belonged. Ears said, well that's sweet elderly lady just stole legit treasure from your son. What does that Nick you want to call her? Neil finally pushed up his glasses but didn't take his eyes off the screen in his hands. I'm sure there was some misunderstanding. Is understanding? Really?

12:31She wrapped it straight out of his hands. I don't think there was a whole lot to I don't like the tone you're taking Trisha had managed. Oh my god, you too are worthless. Ears stomped her heel as fresh tears welled in her eyes. Both of the phones in front of her with a beaty camera lens eyes lowered. Four human eyes no-glowered at her. She left the living room and Quinn saw her return to the entryway with her jaw set in firm determination. Ears I get back here you can't talk to us that way Neil said. Even Quinn heard how pathetic his father sounded and it made him mad too. Why were it his parents angry? Why was it up to assist her to protect him? Ears was already putting her shoes back on. What are you doing? When whispered to her from the comfort of the lowly floor. I'm gonna get it back here said flatly. Please don't. I don't want it that bad. Really? Ears were wiped out tears and pierced through his lie with her sharp green eyes. Okay yeah, I want it back but I don't want anything bad to happen to you. Oh please, nothing bad's going to happen to me. She's just a little old lady. Then,

13:33loud enough for her parents to hear, she added just a little old ag. The four-neil Trisha could respond. Ears went out to the door and slammed it behind herself. Quinn, are you still over there? Neil asked from the couch. Yeah Quinn answered weekly. Is your sister telling the truth? Did you find something out there? Yeah, Dad, but that lady, good for you, kiddo, Neil interrupted, apparently hitting his limit for faint interest. Quinn opened the front door and stepped onto the porch to watch his sister. She had already gone around the hedges and was now striding down the sidewalk. At first, Quinn didn't know where she was going. Shana Mayor's house was directly across the street from their own. But then Quinn noticed Shana at the old hag sitting in a rocking chair under the shadows of her front porch. Her eyes were closed as she rocked back and forth. She held something small in her hands that she struck gently. It wasn't the watch he didn't think. He couldn't really tell from so far away but the way she touched it was too loving for an inanimate object. Ears continued down the sidewalk for half a block, then made a sharp turn and trotted across the street. Quinn realized where her sister was doing and suddenly felt afraid for

14:37her. He glanced at the old woman in the rocking chair, then back at his sister and back again. He really wished he could see Shana better. He wanted to know if her eyes were actually closed because he felt watched. An idea struck him. His birthday present last year had been a pair of adjustable binoculars. He had used them constantly for weeks, then set them up on his clothes at shelf and never touched them again. At least he knew where they were. Quinn checked on his sister quickly so she was analyzing the toll fence around Shana Mayor's property and went inside. Error is that you? Trisha asked. Just me, mom, little Quinn replied. His mother said nothing. Quinn ran into his bedroom, threw open his closet door, and kicked the small footstool he kept nearby in front of his high enclosed. Even on the footstool, he had to stretch his arms to their fullest length to reach the dusty binos up on the shelf. He knocked them down with one hand and caught them in the other. Then he doubted back out of the room and out the front door once again. Quinn realized once he was stationed back in the porch that all Shana Mayor would know something was up if she looked across the street and saw a boy pointing a pair of binoculars

15:39directly at her. Then he remembered how well the old woman had been able to hide herself behind the bushes. He hadn't known she was there until she spoke to him directly. Quinn ran across the yard, jumped over the sidewalk, and knelt in the grass right next to the hole he had dug to find the pocket watch. He found a good place where two of the hedges potted near their bases and they down on his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows. First, Quinn checked on his sister. She'd scaled the fence and was now quietly trying to lower herself down on the other side. It didn't appear to be going well. Something hidden behind the fence must have been an obstacle. Error started shimming along the fence to find an easier way down, and Quinn shifted his focus to the old woman in her rocking chair in the porch. When he swung the binoculars back in Shana's direction, he first landed on her hands folded in her lap. She was still stroking a little bird. Quinn recognized the bird sort of. He knew what an eastern gulfage looked like because he had learned about the state bird of Iowa in school. This bird looked exactly like one of those except, from meat to tail, as fair those were black. The blackhenge's beady black I seemed to

16:39be trained on him. Quinn slowly raised the binoculars until he had shown his resting face in view. She was, indeed, closing her eyes while she rocked. She may have even been asleep. Sleeping or not, she didn't seem to have any idea what was going on just a few yards away in her backyard. Error had just jumped off the fence and disappeared back there. Quinn's heart sank as he realized he wouldn't have any idea what was happening to his sister until she came back over the fence. She had successfully vanished, which was good for her, but stressful for her little brother. He could, however, keep an eye on the old hag, Shana. He swung the binoculars toward the old woman again, and this time, stopped dead on her canyone face. Her eyes were suddenly open. Her gray irises magnified to six times their real size, filled Quinn's view. He held his breath and decreased the magnification just slightly enough to see she was looking directly at him with a hard, hateful expression that deepened the wrinkles around her thimorph. The wrinkles writhed like a dozen dying worms until her pale lips were turned up in an insidious smile. The blackhenge launched out of the old woman's lap and disappeared from the binoculars

17:42before Quinn could even lower the binoculars. The bird was pecking at his hand mercilessly. While shooting his eyes, Quinn tried to wiggle backward to get away from the bush and rise to his feet. The bird wouldn't let up. Warm blood trickled down the back of Quinn's hand under his jacket sleeve down his forearm. The young boy shrieked and screamed until he heard the front door open behind him. What in the world? Niels ordered narrowly monotone voice rose to a nearly excited pitch. Quinn rolled away from the bushes, and the blackhenge shot away from him like a bullet. Neil knelt by his son in exam and his bleeding hand. What was that? A bird? Neil asked his whimper in child. Quinn ignored him. He fumbled around in a grass for the binoculars and returned to his knees once he had them in hand. His dad looked on and day's confusion as Quinn scanned the old woman's property for any sign of his sister. This time, he did so from further back so he wouldn't be as easy to spot or so he told himself. Quinn could find no sign of his sister across the street. He hadn't seen her since she dropped off the fence, and she hadn't reappeared anywhere. As if her disappearance weren't stressful enough on

18:43its own, the old woman had vanished as well. Her rocking chair continued to roll back and forth on its own as if the witch, this was the first time Quinn thought of her as such, had gotten up in a hurry. Quinn, will you tell me what's going on? Where is your sister? Neil asked. Yeah, dad, where is she? Quinn thought to himself. He had to make a decision about what to say aloud. If he told his father where he had gone, she would most certainly be punished. This was, of course, preferable to getting butchered and boiled by the witch if that's what Sean and Mayor really was. However, if Sean had not captured her, Quinn had no doubt that father would make her go back and confess her transgression to the old woman and apologize. Quinn had to give her a chance to get out on her own. It was the only way to keep the father from getting involved in something he didn't care to understand. I don't know, Quinn lied. It was the biggest lie he had ever told his father and the most consequential lie he would ever tell. I think she just went for a walk. So what are you spying on, Neil asked. Why do you suddenly care, Quinn silently wonder? Birds, he replied. Neil said, I would have thought you'd be

19:46playing with your new toy out here. It cost a lot of money, you know. He stood and brushed nothing off the knees of his jeans. Quinn continued to strain his eyes through the lenses of the Bino's hoping to catch a glimpse of his sister. A flush of colour in the window, a shimmer of hair, anything that might show him a sign of life. Neil left his son there by the bushes. He had his phone in his hand before he even got inside and didn't look back even once. One major disadvantage to peering through the binoculars is the elimination of peripheral vision. Quinn thought he was doing a good job of scouting the field as he watched for his sister or the witch, but a gentle hand on his shoulder caught him completely off guard. He dropped the binoculars as he twisted away from the hand and shouted, stay back. Relax, creeper, it's just me. Error beam down at him. Swinging from her hand, reflecting the adolescent rays of the sun was the golden pocket watch. How did you get it back? Quinn asked, astonished. He had never admired his big sister more. Well, look, it's not stealing if you take something that already belongs to you, right? A Murphelgren parted her lips slightly. Error, you stole from the witch? The W era laughed. That's hilarious.

20:54I've always thought she could be a witch too. I guess if the shoe fits. What shoe? Ask Quinn. Error rolled her eyes and tossed him the pocket watch. It's an expression. It just means a few and I both think she seems like a witch. Maybe she is. Quinn looked nervously over his shoulder in the direction of Sean's house and Error laughed again. Come on, let's go get some breakfast. Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing. Victory Lane? Yeah, it's even better with Chumba by my side. The Mundane Sunday came to an end and Little Quinn prepared for bed as he always did. He brushed his teeth, filled the glass of water to keep by his bed, put on his pajamas, and said goodnight to his parents and sister. Teerer, he gave a big hug and whispered thank you. They both knew what for. It was sitting on Quinn's nights to next to the glass of water. He and Error had figured out how to wind it and now it ticked elically in a dark. Quinn found it soothing. He fell asleep to its rhythm. He awoke to the same rhythm.

21:58Tick tick tick. Only now it sounded more like tap tap tap. The sound was bolder and rounder and it was not coming from his bedside but across the room. The tap and kept perfect time with the ticking pocket watch but it was clearly coming from something else. Quinn held the now cold pocket watch by his ear to his, ticking distinctly and insurer, he wasn't fooling himself or still in the marquee haze of a dream. No, the tapping was certainly had a unique origin. Quinn slipped out of bed, sliding out of his covers as his feet landed softly in the bedrooms thick carpet. Tap tap tap. Quinn rubbed his eyes and looked around as they adjusted. Tap tap tap. It was coming from the curtain. Tap tap tap. Behind the curtain. Tap tap tap. Too tired, too foggy to really feel afraid, Quinn groggily pulled the curtain aside. He only pulled it halfway before being snapped to follow up by a bony finger outside tap tap tapping a thick, long finger nail against the glass. The curtain still blocked her face but Quinn could see the frizzle of the witch's hair glowing in the moonlight like an aura and an angelic hailer. Don't scream, little boy, chin and mayor, the old hag from across the street, commanded. Don't cry and don't

23:02run. Quinn could not have done any of those things even if he had wanted to. His legs were locked in place trembling. He could not cry or scream because his throat had become a narrow, tube only wide enough to let an enough oxygen to keep him conscious, and even that, only for now. To Quinn, who had never been truly scared for his life before, it felt he had been placed under some black magic curse. I would hurt you, she said earnestly. I only want what's mine. Her finger and nail tapped once more, then remained in place. Chinas slowly dried it across the crystal line surface of the glass. The curtain buckled. As the witch said her finger across the glass, the curtain inside followed its lighting open to reveal Shayna mayor's horrible leathery face. Her uneven yellow teeth appeared luminous at behind the glass as she bit her lower lip and grinned. Her eyes shifted from Quinn to something behind him. He knew what she was looking at was that looking back. Put it back where he found it, and I'll return what I had taken from you, little boy. With this final instruction, she raised the boony finger with which she had tapped on the glass to her lips, backed away from the window, and vanished into the moonlight shadows. Quinn,

24:02feeling he had been released from the witch's bell, dotted forward and shut the curtain with one swift tug. His breath returned in rapid and even bursts. He ran back across the room, devoned to his bed, and yanked his covers over his head. There in his cocoon he sobbed. When he had no tears left to cry, he wondered why that horrible woman was doing this to him. Why had she buried that pocket watch in the bushes if she still wanted it so badly? What did it mean to her? One particularly ominous question kept him in sleep repelling suspense. What had she taken from him? Somehow, some way Quinn fell asleep. He wasn't aware that sleep had overtaken him until he woke up. Some life-rained as dark curtain, looking brighter than usual. Quinn panicked, looked at his digital watch, the gift from error. It was nearly eight o'clock. Why hadn't his parents woken him up for school? He shimmied into a pair of jeans that lay on his floor, pulled a t-shirt off a hanger in his closet without really looking at it, and grabbed the top pair of socks from his dresser drawer. Claude, he barrelled out of his room and into the kitchen where he found his mom also dressed, sipping a cup of coffee at the counter as she scrolled on her

25:03phone. Mom, what didn't you wake me up? I'm late for school. I'm bothered, Tisha glanced up at him, then back down at her screen. It's spring break, honey. You don't go back to school until next week. She said, oh, Quinn stood still for a moment while this registered. His heart slowed down, and a feeling like a warm blanket came over him. No school for a whole week. And he had his brand new dig finder to pass the time. He still had to hold back how to explore. But then the joeful blanket was ripped off his shoulders. There was one thing he had to take care of before he could enjoy anything else. But he didn't want to do it alone. Is he a rep yet? He asked. His mother cursed. She dropped her phone on the counter and sat down her coffee. Sorry, honey, now I'm going to be late. You still have to work? Cran asked. Afraid so. What about that? He's already gone. Quinn watched his mother scurry through the house, gathering her shoes, her purse, her card again, which she had left draped over the chair. She took one last sip of coffee, kissed Quinn on the

26:04forehead, and hurried at the door. Quinn was left in the quiet house alone, besides maybe his sister. He went back toward the bedrooms to check on her. If Ira had remembered spring break, which Quinn was sure she would have, she was probably sleeping in. He hated to wake her up, but he didn't want to delay returning the pocket watch, and he didn't want to go outside by himself. He knew that which would be watching, waiting. He knocked on Ira's door to see if she was already awake, but she didn't answer. Quinn cracked open the door and peeked inside. His sister's curtains were open, and sunlight lit up her empty bed. Her room was a mess, even worse than usual. It smelled powerfully of nail polish. Quinn always hated when his sister painted her nails because the burning scent lingered on her for hours after, but never this strong before. Err, he called into the room loud enough for her to hear even if she was somewhere else. No answer. Next, he wondered if maybe she had already left too. Maybe she had gone to hang out with some friends. But this early? It wouldn't be like here or anyone she usually hung out with to be up before 9. Plus, when Quinn went to check

27:05by the front door, her shoes were still there. She had other shoes, of course, but she usually only wore those on special occasions when she dressed up. Quinn didn't know why his sister would have dressed up before 8am. Then, Quinn realized, Ira couldn't have gone anywhere because his mom would not have left him alone if she hadn't thought Ira was home to keep an eye on him. At the same time at which he had this thought, he noticed a bottle of purple nail polish overturned on Ira's vanity. It had spilled all over the surface and down one side. Why she hadn't right to the bottle or cleaned up the mess, Quinn couldn't even guess. He waited and listened for his sister to show up for almost an hour. At the morning crept by, Quinn grew nervous, not for Ira, but about the pocket watch. He worried if he delayed much longer the witch might come back to visit him again. He hated the thought of going out to the bushes alone, but he hated the idea of that hideous woman coming to the house while he was all alone much more. So, feeling small and weak, Quinn retrieved the pocket watch from his nightston, slipped into his tennis shoes, and went outside. Shauna Mayo was rocking in her chair on her porch again. She smiled wickedly as Quinn stepped out onto his. She bit her lower lip as she had behind the

28:07window. Her black fin interested in her cup tan while she stroked its little feathers with the other. Quinn held up the pocket watch to show her his intention. The witch nodded toward the bushes. Quinn found a hole from which he had dug the pocket watch yesterday. The turn dirt had dried and become grey. His spade still lay beside it. He picked up the spade and started digging. At first, the dirt came out easily, but then the tip struck something hard like clay. Quinn thought he must have dug too far since he hadn't unearthed any clay the day before. He pulled the spade from the dirt and saw the tip as a muddy red color. Using his hands, Quinn scooped his dirt out of the hole. Towards the bottom, his finger brushed something soft and cold. The clay he thought. He reached in with Botan's for one final big scoop before he would drop the pocket watch in and be done with it for good. As he pulled up, he heard something snap like a twig or a brittle root. He looked into the hole. Quinn stumbled back and vomited. Across the street, the witch cackled. This was her way of returning what she had taken from Quinn. She didn't stop laughing, even as Quinn ran back inside and slammed and locked the door.

29:10Chayne and Mary had apparently anticipated that her retaliation against Quinn Harris and his burglings sister would unravel the shroud, shiv, constructed around her evil deeds. Along with Iris' body in the pocket watch, various other evidences of missing men, women, and children from across the state were unburied from the earth below those bushes. Those bushes grown in blood, but evidences of little use without the culprit. And Chayne and Mary, the hag, the witch, vanished before Quinn even called his mom at work. Perhaps she or Harris was her final victim, one lost her ought to show the world what she was capable of. Or perhaps, more likely if you ask me, she's feeding the bushes somewhere new. Tyler Reddick here from 2311 Racing. Victory Lane? Yeah, it's even better with Chamba by my side. Race to ChambaCasino.com. Let's Chamba.

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