Some more magical mayhem.
Muscle Witch
The town had been nicknamed Bones because every person that went there was basically drained of all their muscle, leaving just skin and bones. At least that's what they say. Supposedly everyone survived even though many were an inch from death. The hospital a few miles from town was constantly packed, and the doctors could never figure out why. Word spread about the incidents, but people never believed such a thing could happen, so they kept going there. And the cycle would repeat. Again this was just stories, but apparently about five hundred years ago, a witch lived in the town. She had become bored with her mundane life and sought out a source of power. She started experimenting with spells and potions until one day she found a spell that transferred nearly all of a man's muscle to her, nearly killing him. The growth in stature and strength was intoxicating and became an addiction. She started stealing from the homeless, leaving nearly dead bodies littering the streets. Her physique began to mutate from a skinny little red headed girl into a physique that would make the blacksmiths green with envy.
Others noticed this and began to whisper. One night, a man who was leaving a bar, noticed the witch walk around the corner of a building. He followed at a good distance, creeping into the shadows. He noticed her standing over a beggar about two blocks away. She looked around quickly, then raised her hand above the beggar. A dim green light went from her hand to the beggar who immediately dropped to the ground, motionless. The man's eyes widened. He waited until she walked away before running to the town hall to reveal his discovery. Eventually a mob formed and broke into the witch's home while she slept, knocking her out, before stripping and binding her. The people were in awe of her physique. Bodybuilders didn't exist back then, but she would've surely won any contest she entered. Bulging biceps the size of softballs, shoulders wider than a doorway, rippling pecs bigger than the biggest bosom in town, legs that could squeeze an anvil in half, and even a midsection that looked like a brick layer's wet dream. Which made their scheme even more brazen- this woman surely could've taken on a good number of them at once. But concentrated sleeping potion made it so no violence took place.
They found it very strange that a witch did not have any defenses set up against intruders, and that they were able to take her so easily. But they did not dwell on it. They took her bound body and threw it into a hole that opened into a deep cavern. Using an explosive powder they discovered in the witch's house, they caved in the cavern, which caused the ground above it to settle in an avalanche of dirt and rock. The townspeople were able to escape harm, but the witch would not be seen again. Some of them questioned if what they did was right, but others reminded them that she had been practicing magic on humans- a strictly forbidden act. Everyone celebrated the witch's death, thinking they were free of her. But their problems would only get worse.
Back in modern times, David Litwick and his friend Ryan were on vacation, traveling the country. One day, Ryan noticed an unmarked town on the map, just a little ways from where they were currently driving. When they stopped for gas, Ryan asked the cashier about the town, and got bombarded with a story, and a warning to stay away from the town. So naturally, after he relayed the story to David, they headed for the town. They had to see if the rumors were true. After about a half hour of zig-zagging through pothole filled asphalt and dirt roads, they came upon the town. Or what was left of it. It looked like an actual real, live, ghost town. It was tiny- there couldn't have been more than a hundred people living in it at its peak. Every house was rotting and falling apart and the buildings were crumbling. Abandoned cars sat rusting in driveways. Even the grass was brown. It was depressing, but cool at the same time. How many people actually got to see a true ghost town? They decided to park the car and walk around.
"Dude, you think anyone left money in these houses?" Ryan asked, scoping out the area.
"I don't know- but I'm not too sure I'd want to go into those things. They look like they'd fall down if you blew on them hard enough."
"Ah, come on man! Let's at least check one out. We'll find the most sturdy looking one."
"Alright, but if it starts groaning too much we're getting out." David said, as they walked down the middle of the street.
They found an old home with fading blue paint about two blocks down. The paint was peeling, and several windows were broken, but the overall structure seemed to be holding together. And the roof was still on, unlike several of the homes they had passed where there were either giant holes in it or the roof had caved in entirely. Ryan ran up to the porch. David was still hesitant, but followed his friend through the front door. The inside of the house was more or less normal. There was a thick layer of dirt and dust covering much of the furniture that had been left behind. And it was quiet. So quiet. David found it eerie how the only sounds he could here were the bugs and birds. To have a whole town and not hear one other person besides themselves was crazy. That was until a few seconds later. Just as Ryan had started to rummage through some drawers, the whole house began to shake. The ground rumbled for almost a minute before stopping abruptly.
"What the hell was that?" Ryan asked.
"Earthquake? Let's get out of here, just in case." David said, watching the ceiling, to make sure nothing was going to fall on his head.
Right before they got to the door, the rumbling and shaking returned with fury. Everything started to fall over, chunks of wall and ceiling fell around them as they could barely stay on their feet. David grabbed Ryan and pulled him forward before he fell backwards. They grabbed the doorframe and wobbled onto the porch, as the whole thing started to lift off the ground! It started to split down the middle, boards and nails flying through the air.
"Jump!" David yelled.
They dove off the porch onto the ground, rolling clear of the destruction. The rumbling had gotten so loud, that it had become hard to hear anything else. They got to their feet and jogged a good distance away before turning around. Both houses on either side of the one they had just left were also starting to rise off the ground. In fact, as David looked down the street in both directions, it looked like ALL the houses were beginning to move. Earthquakes didn't tend to push objects up. If anything they pulled them down. So whatever this was, it sure as hell wasn't natural.
"David, what is that?" Ryan pointed at the flesh colored mass that was rising out of the ground over the width of at least three houses.
"It looks like skin. But there's no way. Nothing is that big."
