"Fire" part II (Long live Furia) By Ben Goode 2017 (c)

The paranoid and frantic villagers had gathered in the town square at dusk.

They held fiery torches which glowed ominously.

They chattered loudly among themselves excitedly to attend the gruesome ritual they had come to witness.

There were prepared stakes and wood piles surrounding them, ready for the regular burning of the witches the village conducted. They had already tied and bound, several women on them, who screamed out for mercy.

The crowd mocked the women, throwing rotten vegetables and fruit. A magistrate and two guards appeared on a platform. The magistrate held up his palms as if indicating to the crowd to be silent.

"Settle now my good people. We must conduct this justice swiftly. The devil is in our presence in these vessels of evil. These devil whores who have demonstrated their satanic ways in the way of witchcraft. Tonight they will rejoin him in hell, as they are sterilized by fire from our presence."

Suddenly the crowd murmured loudly in surprise, and parted fearfully as a dark cloaked figure emerged from behind them. "Release the women, or it is you who will be sterilized!"

"Who are you to question justice? But perhaps another spawn of Satan.Guards seize this intruder!" The magistrate ordered.

Several armed guards emerged out of the crowd and headed directly for the mysterious figure who stood unmoved. But suddenly the figure dropped their cloak to reveal their identity. The guards stopped in their tracks as they realized who they were dealing with.

"Furia!" The magistrate turned to flee, but fell off the platform. The guards looked at each other, and shook their heads. They jumped off the platform, and fled themselves.

Furia had engaged in battle with several guards, as the crowd panicked and fled in different directions.

But as quickly as the guards came, Furia cut them down skillfully with her customized blades.

Nobody seemed to be able to match Furia's wrath, as she battled her way to the captured women.

And soon nobody was left to stop her releasing them.

She cut their ropes, and freed them from the stakes.

The grateful women stood before her, and praised her.

But Furia silenced them with a simple gesture.

"You were accused of witch craft, and sentenced to death like my mother and sisters before me. But unlike them, your lives have been spared. You will join me on this night, Salem will see more than one woman's scorn. And there will be hell to pay. We will stand together, and show them what its like to be afraid!" Furia cried out to them, and they cheered as they raised their fists in defiance.

Not far away, two people emerged from what seemed to be a time porthole. Doctor Garran, and his associate Doctor O'Grady. They observed the women from a safe distance.

"This is not what is supposed to happen in this time period Doctor Garran. Nobody rescues these women, or stops the slaughter of the witches of Salem. You have interfered with history, and broken the laws of time!" Doctor O'Grady shook his head in disapproval.

"I wanted Fire to have a purpose, and hide her away from the future, this is where her technology can be safe. I let her choose her path here. And she has chosen to do this. To defend innocent lives, from the madness of this time. She even changed her name to Furia. And she has made her mark as Joan of Arc did before her. I am proud of her cause. Perhaps our future will be better for it. We need more people in history to look up to. Mankind has a lot to answer for in it's wrong doings. And this is just the beginning!"

(To be continued).