I woke up in a dark, damp basement, and I could feel the cold metal against my skin. Upon opening my eyes, I realized I was chained to the stone wall. Panic set in as I noticed Kevin, Salina, and Terrin chained beside me. "What's going on?" I asked.

Three old ladies with black cloaks and white skull makeup answered my question. They were stirring a cauldron with boiling water, and the smell was nauseating. 

“We are the Death Witches,” one of the ladies said.

"Death Witches? You mean, like witches who worship death?" I asked, feeling a chill run down my spine.

The lady nodded with a wicked grin. “That's right, dearie. However, we also eat the living to worship death.”  

“And you and your friends here are our next feast.” the other lady added.

Salina let out a scoff. "You really expect us to believe that?"

The other lady spoke up, "Believe what you want, little girl. But you'll soon find out the truth when we're done with you."

I felt a sense of fear and unease wash over me. "We have to get out of here," I whispered to my friends.

 I tried to think of a way out, but my mind was blank. The room was dark, and the only light came from the cauldron. Stone walls surrounded the room, and there were no windows or doors.

"Listen," said Kevin, his voice low. "The witches are probably expecting us to try and escape, but what if we give them what they want? What if we pretend to be willing sacrifices, and then when they let their guard down, we strike?"

We all looked at him, impressed by his cunning. It was a risky plan, but it might just work.

"How do we convince them?" Terrin asked.

"We'll have to act convincingly," I said. "We'll need to play along until we get a chance to strike."

We all nodded in agreement, and then we waited. It wasn't long before the witches finished preparing the cauldron, their cackling laughter echoing throughout the room. It seemed that they were pleased with themselves because they knew we couldn't escape.

"We've decided to be your willing sacrifices," Kevin said, his voice steady.

The witches looked at us, their eyes narrowing suspiciously. They suddenly smiled as though they were delighted that we had given up.

"Very well," one of them said. "But don't try anything funny, or you'll regret it."

We all nodded in agreement and put on our bravest faces. As the witches approached us with their claws, we suddenly jumped up and kicked them. After knocking them off their feet, we grabbed their keys.

Terrin unlocked our chains, and we ran as fast as we could, with the witches chasing us. We knew we had to keep running until we found a place to hide. Luckily, we found a storage room filled with old wooden crates.

We hid behind them, listening to the witches' footsteps as they searched for us. After a few minutes, the footsteps faded away, and we knew we were safe for the time being.

We quickly came up with a plan to escape the manor. Terrin suggested we find a back exit, and Salina said she could use her knowledge of plants to help us navigate the surrounding forest.

We ran through the manor, careful to avoid any more witches. We finally found a back exit and ran into the forest. Salina led us through the dense underbrush, and we eventually came across a stream.

We followed the stream until we reached a dirt road, where we found an old abandoned wagon. The four of us climbed inside and rested, exhausted but thankful to still be alive.

However, we heard the cackling of the Death Witches getting closer and closer. I was getting anxious; we needed to do something fast. 

Salina found some barrels of salt and told us to spread the salt around the wagon.

I stared at her, confused. “Salina, do you really think the salt will keep the witches away?”

Salina pulled one barrel from the wagon. "It's worth a try. Salt is known to protect against supernatural beings."

"I don't know if I want to risk it. Maybe I should transform and fight them off."

“Jessica, you can't just go around transforming into a werewolf whenever you want,” said Kevin. “The witches might be stronger than you.”

I grimaced. “But what if the salt doesn’t work?”

“Don't worry,” said Salina. “If the salt doesn't work, we'll fight them together.”

After we spread the salt around the wagon, we all stood inside the salt circle, and I could hear the witches getting closer. I gripped my fists, ready to fight them off. But to my surprise, the witches didn't come any closer. They were screaming and backing away from the salt circle. The salt seemed to be working.

After a few minutes of trying to get closer, the witches finally retreated back into the manor. We let out a collective sigh of relief, and Salina suggested we should leave the area as soon as possible.