For this one, you must persuade a witch to retire so you can take her place.
SWAMP WITCH (any gender, mid teens through late forties)
I'm not going to turn you in. You're done. Nowhere to go from here. You can retire. You have committed the ultimate feat of evil.
It's not your witchcraft. That's not ultimate evil. I can understand the witchcraft. That's just a way of life. And witches have to eat. I eat burgers, you eat soup. My burgers come from cows. Your soup comes from kids. Fine. To each their own.
What's evil is your disguise.
I always liked you, Ms. Callagan. You were my favorite part of the carnival. So simple. So kind. Always helping me. Always putting aside the cleaning. When I dropped my ice cream, you put down the sponge and you got me a new cone. When I scraped my knee you put down the mop and got me a bandaid. And when the haunted house made me cry...
When the haunted house made me cry, you put down the broom and comforted me. You told me it wasn't real. There were no monsters. There were no witches. There. Were. No. Witches.
I believed you. It got me through my childhood. Your lie.
Your LIE is the ultimate feat of evil. There ARE witches... there's just no Ms. Callagan.
So you can retire. You've turned my heart black. It's now time for me to spread the darkness. My turn to deceive the world. You'll go into the swamp and never return. You'll only eat from the swamp or the passersby. The world is no longer yours. It's mine.
If you want to test me, go ahead. I still won't call the cops. I can do worse things to you. You've shown me a world without limits.
Copyright 2016 by Matt Haynes.
If you would like to use this piece, please credit: "Courtesy of Matt Haynes and The Pulp Stage"