Exit Salida

The Hutchenson's were an unknown family to basically everyone in the town
Everybody knew their name, but nobody really knew who they were, or what they were about
There were myths floating around that maybe they were secretly witches, and that everyday they would cast spells and cause misfortune to others
This wasn't true of course, but it was fun for the townsfolk to speculate on what was happening at the Hutchenson's place
The townsfolk were pretty sure that the Hutchenson's had children, it was speculated that there were five children but no one knew for sure
The tax collector and the postman were likely the only two human beings to ever see the Hutchenson's in person
Maybe a few of the children in the town caught a glimpse of Mrs. Hutchenson while they were playing games to see who could get the closest to the Hutchenson's house
Some children told their parents that Mrs. Hutchenson would sit at the window and cast her spells, but the elders of course rejected this notion entirely
Still, the witch trials that went on seemingly each month made it hard for the children and even some parents to deny that something fishy could be going on with the Hutchenson's

It really is a shame that the only time any of the townfolk ever got a chance to know anything about the Hutchenson's was the night they all smelled the smoke
Each towns-person left their cottages to come and see what it was they were smelling
It was probably another forest fire, they thought
They had plenty of those each year
After all, they were living in a dense forest, and sometimes the campfires spiraled out of control
It didn't take long, however, for them to notice the billowing grey clouds rising endlessly from the Hutchenson's plantation
Some of the townsfolk stood by and watched in awe, while others ran to help
Perhaps they were only running because they were anxious to finally see the Hutchenson's for once in their lives, to see if maybe they really were witches
But no one was exiting the mansion
Through the windows the townspeople saw nothing but a bright orange glow, and the front door remained shut

Inside the Hutchenson house, Timothy Hutchenson was banging repeatedly on his locked door, clutching onto a small teddy bear that his grandmother had knit for him
He was a very small child, so small and so young that he did not even know how to unlock his own door
It was for this reason that his mother would lock him in his room as punishment for disobeying
It was simply time-out, truly
Or at least, that was the intention
But on this night, it was Timothy's puzzle to solve
He needed to learn, and he needed to learn quick, for the entire time the fires were raging, nobody came to open his door
He banged, and he banged, and eventually one of the small golden door hinges came a bit loose
Timothy pulled and pulled on the golden door handle, but it was too hot for him to pull any more than once at a time
After about twenty-two pulls, the lock came loose
Perhaps it melted away, or perhaps it was just a faulty lock
It didn't matter to Timothy
He ran to his mother's room so that he could leap into her arms and hug her as she carried him out
Upon opening the door, however, a blast of heat and flame exploded from the room
Timothy fell to the ground, his face now badly burnt
He knew what he had to do now
Forgetting about the chance to reunite with his family, timothy ran to front door to escape on his own
"Run to the exit door, Timmy," he thought
"Run, run, run to the exit door"

The townsfolk outside witnessed the front door finally lunge open, but flames engorged all they could see inside
They all watched as a burning, squirming child fell face first onto the gravel in front of the house
Run to the exit door Timmy
Run, run, run to the exit door