*Greg's POV*

" Form a line!" I yelled at the scrambling villagers.

While I was in the church helping put the white silk down the aisle the smell of smoke filled my nose.

At first, I thought that someone was making a small fire to finish the food for after the reception but then small wisps of the smoke began to snake into the church.

" Fire!" People began to yell outside.

Ava!

I ran as coast as I could out of the church. And what I saw when I got out will haunt me forever.

I followed the hord of people towards the fire.  The smoke was racing into the sky, they looked like branches of a tree the way they were waiting around. And the red hot flames is the bark.

My house, the house where Ava was getting ready was ablaze.

" Chanelle where is Ava!" I yelled.

" We think she's still in there." She sputtered coughing out some of the smoke.

No!

I grabbed a bucket and filled it with the well. Everyone in the village formed a line and one by one we passed the buckets and threw them onto the fire.

Tears threatened to pour as I filled the buckets. First losing my wife to sickness and now I could possibly lose my daughter to flames.

" Maybe she got out Greg." Father Lanik suggested as he passed the buckets up the line. 

" I pray she did father." I chuckled back a sob.

Please God let my daughter be safe!

One by one the buckets were passed down and thrown onto the flames. And slowly but surely the flames began to die.

It looked like the fire was contained upstairs. Not a single flame was heading down.

" One more bucket!" The man at the front of the line yelled.

I hastily filled the bucket and passed it down the line. Everyone passes up with care so that not a drop of water was spilled. It reached the top of the line and I watched as the man threw it onto the last of the flames.

Everyone cheered as the water squashed the life out of the last flames.

I rushed past the crowd and onto the house.

" Ava!" I called out while I carefully went up the stairs towards her room where she was getting ready.

My call received no reply.

" Ava!" I called again.

Father Lanik soon joined me in the house.

I reached out to grab the door handle but the flames heat it up and the hot metal knob signed my hand.

" Damn it!" I yelled in pain.

" Are you alright?" Father Lanik asked. 

" Yes, take a step back in going to have to kick the door down."

Holding onto the door frame I kicked the door and it fell to the ground with a bang.

Ash from the fire flung was flung into the air as the door impacted with the floor.

Tears began to flood my eyes at the sight before me.

Everything was chared. The curtains and the sheets in the bed were burned so badly they are falling apart. The air stank with ash and burn. But no burnt flesh, I know all too well what that smells like. 

When I was ten our house caught fire and my grandmother burned to death. Erasing that smell from my memory Is something that can never be done.

" She's not in here." I sighed with relief.

" How can you be sure everything is so badly damaged?" Father Lanik asked. Covering his nose he stepped into the room with me.

" I don't smell burnt flesh." I replied.

" Oh, your grandmother." He sighed.

He like everyone remembers the night my house burned and my grandmother died.

" Yes, she's not in here so that means she got out. We need to search the whole village she might be hurt."

" Let's get going."

The whole village rushed around searching frantically for Ava.

" Ava!" I yelled.

Father Lanik rushed over to me out of breath.

" Have you found her?" I asked.

We've been searching for what feels like forever and I'm getting desperate.

" No, but that's not all," he sighed," Gareth's missing too."

" What?" I gasped. I was so focused on finding Ava that I didn't even realize that Gareth wasn't here.

" Nobody had seen him since before the fire."

" What the hell is going in here?" I yelled in frustration.

" Mr. O'Connor!" Susan yelled as she frantically ran to me.

" Yes, Susan."

She stopped In front of me, completely out of breath.

" Ms. Wagner said she saw something."

" We're really gonna listen to the town wackjob." Jake one of my coworkers chuckled.

Ms. Wagner is well like Jake said, the town wackjob. She lives behind the bar and has worn the same dirty dress for years.

" My daughter and Gareth are missing. If she has some information that can help us then yes we will listen to her." I snapped.

" Okay sorry." Jake mumbled.

" Where is she?" I asked Susan.

" By the church."

" Let's go."

We rushed over to the front of the church where Ms. Wagner along with a group of people waiting to hear what kind of madness she might mutter today.

" What information do you have?" I asked Ms. Wagner.

Her wrinkled face contorted in pain as she pushed herself up. Last month she had a bad fall and still hasn't completely recovered.

" As the fire started I saw two birds fly out of Ava's room and before that I saw Gareth going into the woods with a girl who I know isn't Ava." She explained.

" What kind of bird?" I asked.

" Finch I believe. They caught my eye because they are not native to this part of the county. And I've seen a similar bird going into her room at night for a while now."

" What would a bird not native to this area be doing her?" Father Lanik asked.

" Unless it wasn't a bird." I growled.

" What do you mean?" Susan asked.

" Remember when that warlock changed himself into an old man and his bird into a dog."

" Yes."

" I thought the jacket I found in Ava's room belonged to someone in the village but what if it belonged to that warlock. He took Ava and a friend of his took Gareth." 

Gasps rose in the crowd.

" Why would they take them?" Father Lanik asked.

" Probably to do a spell. We all still remember the morning where we found many of our women and children dead."

They lowered their heads in sadness.

" Witches took my daughter and Father Lanik's son. They must be stopped before they take any more of our children!" I yelled.

" Yes!" The villagers yelled.

" The time of the witches is over. Let's take back our land. Let's burn the witches!"

" Burn the witches!"

" Burn the witches!"

" Burn the witches!"