The crow - Brianna Lamusga (recommended ebook reader txt) 📗

The leaves crackled beneath my feet, glancing downward I found that only a handful were illuminated by the glow of the moon. A fog seemed to creep out from behind the darkness and settle at my ankles. The moon, full and ominous, hung just below the cover of clouds that were grayed to blend in with the sky.I turned to see my house just past the hill, I was only in my backyard, the forest lined the outskirts of my property. I turned back, taking in the trees as they bended just slightly from the wind and coldness that had just begun, as it does, in August. The barren trees that only held a few leaves in spite of the weathers angry outbursts, shielded the forest floor from the slight light creating a seemingly endless darkness. As I watched the wind blow the leaves up in the the air a shiver passed through me from the cold and I turned just slightly, ready to walk back. Just as I was leaving, a soft voice floated to me on the breeze "Ashley..." The voice was haunting and drawn out to end the "y" with a hissing sound. My feet stooped mid-motion fear glued me in place. My spine tingled a warning but as much as I wanted to, I couldn't make my feet move! How had I even got here? I couldn't quite remember, "it was something that called me out here" I thought slowly, "Yes I remember!" I yelled in my mind "I was watching the moon and the light seemed to make a path and I wanted to walk down it.." The path was gone and only fear remained in its place. I struggled a ragged breath out and turned back towards the voice. The only way to beat the fear was to prove that it didn't exist. Ever since I could remember I had been hearing this voice, guttural and hissed, it scared me when I was younger but now frozen in place, that same fear washed over me. I had to find out once and for all if the voice was truly there or if the voice was only made up in my mind. I stepped into the forest line and crows began to caw quietly at first but then louder as I went deeper into the trees. The path was obvious but shadowed so I couldn't see very far in front of me, only the hints of outlines through the fog. I stopped, hearing the flapping of wings above me and glanced up. A crow cawed close to my ear and I quickly looked for the bird. I saw no birds, but I could hear them above all else and their wings always flapping so close to me. Silence suddenly overtook the area and momentarily I was filled with the last minute butterfly's as I knew this was the apex of the scene. I waited for something to come out and try to hurt me but nothing did. Instead a soft flutter turned into a hum of a beating and a shadow's outline grew before me. My eyes adjusted slowly to the new figure and I took in the new image set before me. A man probably in his early 20's with a sculpted body and eyes that were deeper than any sea I had seen. The most appalling of all features on him was his wings, largely protruding from his back up and over his head drawing your eyes directly there. The wings were black with a sheen to them feathery and bird-like. "I.." I began but found I could not form words well. "It is alright, I am not here to harm you." I stepped backwards almost falling down. He caught me by the arm and pulled my forward whispering ever so quietly in my ear "Would you Wish to fly with me?"The question caught me off guard but before I could say anything he whisked me up by the back of my knees and held me like a child as his wings unfurled beside him. He lifted into the sky and smiled down at me I yelled above the sound of air rushing past us "Who...what are you?!" He only answered by saying "Soon my dear, you will come to understand that the next time we meet you will be the one flying." Panic fluttered in my stomach as the world suddenly started to grow dimmer. The light slowly faded and was replaced by a memory I had almost forgotten. I was 5 and she was 7. Before the cruelty of the world took her away, we played many games and the one we were currently playing was tag. "Dana!" I yelled to my sister "You can't catch me!" Dana came running towards me and we both ran at the highest speed our little legs could carry us. We ran right into the woods and I tripped on a root slamming into the ground and getting cut on a branch. I cried because the cut was hurting but Dana came right up and helped me up slipping a hand around me to keep me steady. Just as we cleared the forest line Linda, my mother, came into view but she was yelling something. "Dana! It is always you putting poor Ashley into danger! All the time! I can't turn around for one minute without something happening!" Dana was so angry at her because she blamed her that she ran straight into her bedroom and slammed the door. I came up only shortly after and told her that I thought mom was wrong for saying that at all. The flashback slowly faded with me pinky-swearing my sister that I would always remember that I would fly higher than the rest with her one day. Slowly the images faded and darkness overcame me.

My eyelids were weighted and I didn't know where I lay exactly. I slowly rolled open my eyes and stared at my bedroom. Somehow last night I must have gotten back into my bedroom. That is; if last night ever happened. "Who would believe me anyways?.." I whispered with my teeth gritted, knowing the full truth of my statement. I sighed touching my forehead as if it weren't my own. I sat up and glanced groggily at my alarm clock finding the time reading 10:00am. As I glanced back around my room it suddenly dawned on me the beneath the time it didn't say it was Sunday, like it should, but rather that it was Thursday! I quickly threw of my blanket and tore down the hallway downstairs into the kitchen where my mother sat eating her breakfast. "Mom!" I yelled, exasperated, " Is it Thursday?!" My mom glanced up at me and nodded only slightly. My mother was a beauty of her own, she hardly aged and at the age of 40 she seriously looked only 20! Same went for my dad as well, it's odd actually if you think about it, I have always wondered myself. Sometimes when I was younger I used to think they were vampires aside from the whole "they need to eat actual human food, they go in the sunlight, and crosses don't effect them" I believed they were. I suppose I proved they weren't when I cut my hand when I was five and even though I was bleeding they didn't seem fazed by that matter. My mothers blue eyes stared up at me her blond hair as shiny as ever. She reached a slender arm towards me and said "You have had a fever since Monday morning of 104." She was a doctor so things like running a temperature that should be deadly wasn't really part of her worry bracket considering she knew how to fix me right up. I frowned brushing off her hand and turned to the fridge because my stomach growled. "Mom, isn't that high of a temperature.. deadly?" I said slowly pouring myself some cereal. "Yes, but not when you have a doctor for a mother, I brought your fever back down but it refused to stay down and kept returning until it finally subsided." She always told sicknesses, or anything that happened really, as if it were in a story, moving from start to finish. I sighed again "Mom" I began "Have you called the school yet?" I went to BBCHS, Browner Buck Community High school. The name suggests that it would be a college but instead it is a high school. I don't know where they got the name but I never liked it one bit. The school was a shabby old school but it was a 4 story building so there were many places that someone could hide in. When I was younger I always imagined going to that school and playing hide and go seek throughout the whole building. Of course I don't play hide and go seek although I think I would still find it fun. "Yes I called, you should stay home today, then go back tomorrow, you will feel better." I frowned but looking at the time, I knew that I had already missed 2 periods, and figured she was right. I finished my cereal and trudged back into my room, curling up in a ball and thinking about the dream I had last night. There was a tapping at my window momentarily and I froze wondering who or what it was. I turned expecting to see something frightful like the man who was in my dream last night, only he was sweet and I doubted he would ever harm me. Instead of anything outright creepy or disgusting, I found there was a crow lingering on the windowsill, tapping its beak against the glass. I took a step forward and it cawed staring straight at me. Again I felt a tingle roll down my spine and froze looking at the bird's eyes. The glossy back eyes of the crow shifted to my door and it flew off without warning. I jumped back and fell on my butt but then realized how stupid I was for even being scared. "I got scared over a bird?" I said aloud and shook my head. "Man, I really need a hobby." The door opened and my mom looked down at me on the floor and made a questioning face but didn't say anything. She only walked away headed to her room to get her things and leave for work. The bird put me on edge for the rest of the day, it made no other appearance and I found myself shaking my head often when I stared expectantly out the window. My father walked in as usual at 5:00 p.m. on the nose. He wore a suit and tie and set down his briefcase beside the coat stand. I ran in and hugged him giddily, he always told me exactly what I