Last Witch Standing

chapter 2





Sixteen Months Earlier

Christmas Morning, December 25, 1971

Earth



“Sh! Quiet!” Dan Edwards said to his sister, Katie. They crouched in the hall, peering through the white balustrades of the stairway, trying to get a peek down at the Christmas tree below.

“I am!” Katie answered.

The Christmas lights lit the room. Dan could see the cookies they had left for Santa on the coffee table were gone, only crumbs remaining on the plate he and Katie had set out the night before. He had been there.

A door opened down the hall.

“Hurry.” Dan herded his little sister back into the bedroom. He jumped into his bed, and pulled the covers over him. Katie just stood in the center of the room, in her nightgown, staring at him.

There was a knock at the door. “Come in,” Dan said.

Keith Edwards peeked his head in. “Ready?”

Dan hopped out of bed. Katie grabbed his arm and their father led them down the stairs. Their mother was already in the living room and smiled at them as they entered. She must have seen us on the stairs.

A Big Wheel was in the corner by the tree, a pink bow wrapped around each handle.

Their mother put GOODYEAR’S Joyous Songs of Christmas LP on the phonograph.

“Santa Claus arranged your gifts like this.” Keith Edwards pointed towards two stacks. “Katie’s here, and Dan’s there.”

“I know you two are anxious to see what Santa left, but let’s get some pictures first,” Patricia Edwards said. In her right hand she held a Polaroid Colorpack II Land Camera Dan and Katie had picked out, with their father’s help and funds, for last year’s Christmas gift.

Katie stood so close to Dan as their mother snapped pictures with her Polaroid that he almost lost his balance and tumbled backwards into the tree. He took a deeper stance and put his arm around her. Their mother had to adjust the front lens knob to refocus before she flashed a final picture.

“Okay, kids. Let’s open your presents.” Their father took a seat on the reclining chair by the fire.

Katie tore the wrapping paper off the first gift.

“Katie, dear, I think the Big Wheel is yours,” Patricia Edwards said.

“Okay.” Katie looked up, then returned to removing the paper from the next present.

“What do you have?” her father asked.

“I don’t know.” Katie turned the box in her hands.

“Here, bring it to me, and let’s see.” Her mother drew yellow cloth from the box. “It’s a sundress.”

“It’s pretty.” Katie brought it to her father to examine.

“Beautiful,” he said.

Beside Dan lay a desk set. Pens, a notepad, a stapler and a container for paperclips. It would come in handy for his projects. He was always having to go downstairs to use the stapler in his father’s study. He reached for the next package. It was heavy and came up to his chest as he kneeled and began removing the wrapping paper.

Requires assembly. That was always good news. Dan was good with his hands and liked building things. He tore the paper diagonally across. On the front of the exposed box was a picture of a radio controlled P-51 Mustang. Gas powered. Perfect. He couldn’t wait to show his best friend, Jimmie.

No BB gun this year. He could always play with Jimmie’s.

Ring, ring. The telephone call. The one his father got from an old army buddy every year since Korea.

Katie sat staring into the window of an ant farm. Dan knew this would keep her busy for a long time – and out of his hair. Within a week the colony would be filled with ant tunnels. She was fascinated by anything to do with science and experimentation and her Christmas gifts reflected this. No dolls for her.

Dan helped his mother collect the used wrapping paper. Katie was too preoccupied with her presents to notice as they gently pulled a piece from under her foot. “Mom, I’m gonna run next door, see what Jimmie’s got,” Dan said after they had cleaned up the living room.

“Okay, don’t be too long. We’ll have breakfast soon.”

The Sanderson’s curtain was open. Jimmie saw Dan coming and met him at the gate.

“What ya get?” Dan asked his friend.

“A pellet gun,” Jimmie answered.

Dan halted. This was too much. On the other hand, if Jimmie was occupied with his new pellet rifle, that would be more time for Dan to use the BB gun.

The rifle was a Sheridan pump, the model advertised in Boy’s Life magazine. One look and Dan knew it was well made and would easily outshoot Jimmie’s Red Ryder BB gun.

“I got a scope for it,” Jimmie said.

Dan held it in his hands and admired it. The stock was of deep, finished rosewood and the barrel of heavy gunmetal. This was not a toy.

“Try it.” Jimmie dug a pellet from his pocket. “Only one pump. My Dad has to build a trap for it. It goes right through the backstop.”

Jimmie showed him how to load a pellet and pump it. Dan took aim at a Coke can and fired. Plink! The can flew off the stand. The recoil was less than the BB gun and Dan could tell it was far more accurate. At least as accurate as the .22 rifles he shot at summer camp.

Dan was met by the smell of pancakes when he returned home. His father dozed in his reclining chair as Mrs. Edwards worked in the kitchen. Katie was pushing a train car across the floor, yelling, “Choo choo”. Beside her lay an opened B/O Railroad train set.

She looked up when Dan entered. “I wonder how much this engine can pull.”

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t try too much, you could break it,” Dan cautioned.

“Kids, wake your father,” Patricia called from the kitchen. “Breakfast is ready.”

Katie ran to their father and grabbed his leg near the knee. “Time to get up.”

He smiled down at her and let Katie lead him into the kitchen.