Free First Frost by Liz DeJesus

vines were ablaze within moments. Rose was free, but it was short lived. As soon as Rose got up, Lenore leapt and landed on top of her knocking them both on the ground. Lenore tried to claw Rose’s eyes out, but she grabbed the evil witch’s wrists, and they struggled with each other for what felt like an eternity.
    Bianca grabbed the shovel that rested on the fence and hit Lenore on the back. She howled, but kept her attention on Rose. The hatred she had for Bianca’s mother oozed out of her. If she hadn’t been thrashing as she was, Bianca was certain she could touch the feelings that surrounded Lenore. Bianca was ready to strike her once more, but all of a sudden she was blinded by a bright green flash that knocked her back several feet.
    Bianca landed gracelessly on the ground with a heavy thud.
    “Not bad, little one. But I don’t have time to play with you anymore,” Lenore said.
    Lenore muttered a spell under her breath and opened a portal. A swirl of shadows sucked up what little light there was available.
    “Find the spell book and you will get your mother back, though I can’t guarantee she’ll be in one piece when you do,” she said as she dragged Rose by her hair.
    “No! Wait! I don’t know where it is,” Bianca shouted. She tried to stand up, but her legs gave out. She was still trying to recover from being thrown several feet in the air.
    “Find it,” Lenore snapped.
    “No!” Bianca shouted as she struggled to walk toward the portal. It closed before she could go through it and save her mother.
    “Oh, God. What do I do? What do I do?” Bianca muttered.
    She lost all sensation in her legs. She fell to the ground, unable to do anything except breathe. The night felt colder, the crickets seemed to mock her. She looked up at the sky and the stars laughed at her. They no longer seemed to wink at her playfully like she had always thought as a child. Everything just seemed wrong, distorted, and ruined, as though she were in an alternate universe.
    Then she heard a little tinkling sound. It took her a moment to realize that it was her cell-phone ringing. Her fingers were numb as she pulled it out of her pocket.
    “Hello,” she said as she flipped it open.
    “Hey, B. Did you wanna come over and watch the rest of 30 Rock ? My mom bought popcorn and I think there are still some Sour Patch Kids from the last time you were here.” It was Ming.
    “Ming, I can’t…I can’t go anywhere right now.” Bianca didn’t even know how to explain what happened.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Mom…Mom’s been kidnapped.”
    “What? By who? Have you called the police?”
    All of these were valid questions, only Bianca didn’t know how to answer any of them.
    “I can’t call the police. They won’t find her. I don’t even know where to start looking for her.”
    “Umm…have you seen CSI? They can find anyone.”
    “This isn’t a TV show, Ming,” Bianca said, trying very hard not to scream at her friend.
    “Sorry, just trying to help. Why would someone kidnap your mom? She wouldn’t hurt a fly,” she said.
    “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Never in a million years, did Bianca think she would ever have to use that sentence.
    “I’m your best friend. If you can’t tell me, who can you tell?”
    Bianca remained silent as she thought about whether or not she should tell Ming everything.
    “Helloooo? Bianca? You still there? I can hear you breathing.”
    “Fine. You wanna know what happened?”
    “Yes, please.”
    “A witch took my mother. A freaking evil witch took my mom and told me she’d kill her if I don’t give her a spell book. And to top it off? I don’t know where the stupid book is, so my mom may as well be dead!”
    Her confession was met with silence. “Hello? Ming?”
    “Sorry. Yeah…umm…I’ll be right over.”
    “Okay, but come alone,” Bianca said.
    “Okay.”
    Bianca looked at the spot her mother had vanished from. There were black singe marks where Lenore