The town I live in used to be a nice, quiet and peaceful place to live. I was and for the moment still am a dishwasher at one of the nicest restaurants in town. I loved my job as I only worked part time during the day and all my co-workers were extremely friendly. Even the chef was nice, though less so at night.



It wasn’t until a recent hostile buyout did I discover the town’s darker secret, though I wasn’t sure if it was a recent thing or if it had always been there. I was there on the day it happened, a regal looking woman wearing a white suit with hair to match walked into the restaurant when the owner was there and claimed that she now owned the place and to scurry on out. I heard a scream then watched as a rat ran out of his office. I later found out that this was one of the nicer outcomes.



The witch, they never told us their names, entered the kitchen and made a quick assessment of us, fortunately we were able to keep our current forms but then she explained the ‘rules’ to us. That we had to move into witch operated residences and had to take up a witch approved vice. Failure to do so would result in well… lets just say we had no choice but to obey.



That’s when I found out how many witches there were. Ms White (what I named the new boss) owned half the businesses in town. Ms Terra was the landlord of all the residential buildings. Ms Greed, she was one of the vice lords and ran the casino and racetrack. The Doctor, she ran what was equivalent to drugs, instead it was potions and they were addictive though the effects could be random, turning you into different objects, granting the ability to fly, etc. the problem was you never knew how long they’d last. Ms Exotic, she was my vice lord, she ran the strip clubs and brothels.



The witches also had mortal underlings who were granted powers by the witches and left to run things for them. It was a good gig while it lasted but the witches treated the town like a game to compete over and when you’re top dog, there’s always going to be a target on your back. Still it was a highly sought after position and those who made it to the top position were cruel and terrible people.



At first I didn’t know if it was a blessing or a curse to be privy to this magical underworld. Though I quickly learnt that those who were unaware weren’t immune from the witch’s or their proxy’s wrath. I think that’s why they kept it secret from most people, so they wouldn’t be too afraid to complain or lash out. I had seen my fair share of customers end up as farm animals. Though knowing about it also had its drawbacks, as the other vice lords were always trying to snip customers. Thanks to a shapeshifting potion and some magic oils I was no longer able to enjoy my vice as well as I used to.



Still I wasn’t changing it, I had seen what potions could do to people, like flyers falling out of the sky or being turned into food and pecked eaten by a bird as well as some other horrible behaviors. Even though they didn’t target me as much, gambling was worse, a former neighbor lost a huge bet in the races and was stuck as a horse until he won back the money he owed. Though I later found out through others that he was too scared to win as other gamblers threatened to send him to the glue factory if he didn’t throw the races.



At the moment I was running a large debt with my own vice lord and if I didn’t pay it within a week I’d find myself learning how to pole dance or worse. The problem was I was also struggling to pay rent as Ms Terra had put it up again this week and I still had to get the stove fixed. Failing to pay rent didn’t get you kicked out, but your new roommate might want to exterminate you, especially if they were new to this world. I also knew better not to ask for something to get fixed as that usually meant you were the one to replace it. I was just lucky I got free meals from work.



I was stressed to the limit given my current situation, I knew I had to keep paying rent but in doing so I’d find myself in a profession I’d rather not get into. I even tried asking for more shifts at work but the current proxy was very strict about that. Hours were hours, except for the free overtime we were forced to do. The man was on a power trip. I watched one of the waitresses go from 18 to 80 in a blink of an eye because he found her service to be too slow, even though it was the kitchen staff’s fault (though we were immune to most backlash).



I wanted to get back at him and that’s when I was given my chance, not only would I be able to get revenge on him but my money troubles would also be over. It was a day before my debts were due when she approached me. I knew immediately she was one of the witches, I hadn’t personally seen once since Ms White took over the restaurant. She radiated with the same power and she had an intoxicating scent, she could tell me to do anything and I would do it in a heartbeat. Luckily for me the task she gave was one I was willing to carry out even without what I assumed was a hypnotic suggestion.



The witch I had encountered was The Doctor and she knew my current predicament and as this was a game to them, they were always taking out each other’s underlings. My task was simple, I was to slip a potion into the current restaurant manager’s food without being caught. She didn’t tell me what it did or what would happen if I failed or if I succeeded.



When my next shift started, I had only until the end of lunch to carry out my assigned goal otherwise my debt to Ms Exotic would be due. I was panicking as it was 5 minutes until closing when the manager finally decided to order food, probably so he could punish another poor waitress. When the food was ready to go out I didn’t know what was his so while the other kitchen staff were distracted I sprinkled a little bit of the potion on each plate of food.



I soon learnt what the potion did and that I was likely meant to fail in this task and get the wrong target. As the manager of the store had several other underlings with him, including the casino boss, the realtor managed my property and Ms Exotic’s star employee (saved for the richest of clients). All of them had been turned into frogs.



Given such an attack, the other witches were out for blood. Everyone in the restaurant was questioned and transformed. Until it was my turn, that’s when the Doctor congratulated me in front of the coven and bragged about her victory and named me her new prime underling. This gave me protection in the moment and I went from dishwasher to potion master in a day.



My reign as the head underling lasted a single shift as my food had been spiked and I found myself on the floor. I was picked up and put in a box and was gifted to Ms White, who promptly put me around her neck before turning the person who gifted me into a bird. She then congratulated me on a job well done.