“You’re a young man. They won’t be around forever. At some point, this new country is going to have to consider electing someone that didn’t have a starring role in the Revolutionary War.” He lifted his tankard and sipped it.
“Maybe, but politics is a dangerous game and I’m not sure I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life.” I shook my head and reached for my tankard.
“Well at least get a wife, settle down, maybe have a few children.” He let out a sigh. “If she doesn’t do it for you after a few years, you can get some slaves like Jefferson.”
“I’ll never own another human being.” I shook my head angrily.
“Human? They’re no more human than the witches in Salem.” He chuckled and shrugged.
“Speaking of that...” I was anxious to change the conversation away from slavery. “What have you heard about the two women that live on Melody Lane? A child went missing last night and some of the locals are saying they’re witches.”
“They did move here from Massachusetts.” He tapped his fingers on the table. “Do you really think we could have witches in Washington?”
“I don’t know. It is a bit suspicious...” I lifted my tankard again.
The congressman had more important people to attend to as the party picked up and I walked outside to indulge one of my favorite new pastimes—smoking sweet tobacco from some of the southern plantations. The smoke filled my lungs and made my head spin when it mixed with the alcohol in my blood. As the night wore on, the group was getting fairly intoxicated and the conversation shifted to the supposed witches.
Congressman Campbell was really laying on thick with his slurred speech, hyping up the terrible things he was convinced they were doing behind closed doors. When he brought up the missing child, he got a fairly big rise from the crowd. They were growing rowdier as the conversation got more intense. I could tell that a lot of the people in the room were really buying into the theory about witchcraft. I wasn’t entirely convinced, but my opinion wasn’t going to carry much weight in a room full of politicians. I picked up another tankard of stout and leaned against the counter as I listened to them. The alcohol was definitely sending me over the edge and I felt a version of myself surfacing that I had never felt before.
“We should burn their house down.” My words passed across my lips before they even registered in my mind.
“What?” One of the men looked at me with a bewildered stare. “Are you serious?”
“Why not? They burned them at the stake in Salem. If we burn down their house, they’ll have to leave, right?” I looked around the room.
“I like it.” Congressman Campbell smiled. “Let’s do it!”
Watching the room immediately buy into my idea made my stomach twist into a knot, but after the words had been said, there was no taking them back. I finished my stout and the group started to pour into the street. It was the worst version of a bad idea that I had ever uttered. There was no way to box the depravity of the crowd. They were screaming obscenities and gathering weapons for the trip to Melody Lane. I felt a torch being put in my hand and saw Congressman Campbell with a grin spread from ear to ear.
After everyone was prepared, we started marching across town with the night sky providing very little light for our journey. I held the torch above my head as we approached the house on Melody Lane. I really didn’t want to burn the house down, but I had incited a riot with my words. I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice. I hoped there were no casualties. If we could just set fire to the house and send them on their way, it would be the best outcome.
“How does it feel to be a leader?” Congressman Campbell walked up beside me. “You turned the crowd to your side with barely more than a sentence.”
“It doesn’t feel very good.” I looked at him as the confession was followed by a long sigh. “I didn’t think they would actually consider this.”
“You need to throw the first torch. People will remember this forever. Just think, one day they’ll be telling this story to their grandchildren.” He winked and pushed me towards the house.
“Burn it down!” I heard a voice scream out behind me.
My thoughts boiled in my brain as I stepped up to the old wooden shack with my torch held out in front of me. I didn’t see any movement inside the house. With any luck, they weren’t home—unfortunately that seemed unlikely. The crowd chanted behind me and I poised the torch behind my head. I closed my eyes and threw it as hard as I could, hearing an immediately crackle as it impacted the house. A cheer erupted behind me and when I opened my eyes I saw the roof engulfed in flames. The rest of the crowd started to join in and they surrounded the house while I watched it burn. Even if the supposed witches were able to get outside, they would face an angry mob of people.
As the fire spread, I started to see movement inside the house. They were definitely home and two emerald eyes appeared at the window. I swallowed guilt as I watched panic engulf them. The woman was young—barely more than a teenager. She ran towards the door, but before she could open it, one of the people in the crowd threw a torch at it. The dry timber started to burn on contact.
I can’t do this. I can’t watch them die.
“Burn, you fucking witches!” A cackle from a drunken slur echoed through the night, which was followed by a loud cheer.
“God, please forgive me.” I looked around the crowd and then started walking towards the door.
“Alexander is going to kill them with his bare hands!” The voice belonged to Congressman Campbell.
“Bring them out into the street so we can watch them die!” Another voice screamed out in support.
I pushed my way into the door and jumped across the part that was burning. Smoke immediately filled my nostrils and made my eyes sting. I had no idea what I was going to do when I did find them. If I took them outside, the crowd would kill them. I wondered if I could bring them out and show they were suffering, which would prove they weren’t really witches.
I looked around the smoke-filled room and I could hear the wood cracking from the heat. The torch I threw had burned through the roof and landed in the kitchen. The fire was spreading fast from that location. I covered my mouth with my hand and pushed into the main part of the house. I didn’t see any sight of them, so I started down a hallway that didn’t appear to be burning.