Dark Keys of Uncomplacency

Chapter 2: New Castle

After three weeks in the new house, Allison and her family were pretty much settled in. Her father started working about three days after that unpleasant day moving in.

Her mother had the house decorated, from top to bottom. No room went untouched in their new home. Walking through the front door, you could see the dining room table covered with a white linen tablecloth, with the fine china sprawled out on the table. Walking further into the house, you could see the kitchen, with its handcrafted granite countertops and state-of-the-art appliances.

"Tell your brother to come inside, dinner's almost ready", said Diane, removing a tray from the oven.

"Ok mom", said Allison, lying on the couch, only half paying attention as she continued to scroll on Instagram. Every time she saw one of Lisa's pictures, she had to abstain from double-tapping the screen. It had become so customary over the years, to just 'like', 'comment', or 'share' anything and everything she posted.

"Hey, did you hear me? Your father will be home any minute now. I'd prefer we're all at the table and not dunking our heads in the sink, when he gets here", said Diane, referring to Julian, after his one-man baseball practice sessions.

Just as Allison rolled off of the couch to go yell at her brother, Julian came storming in. "Hey guys! Come look at this", he shouted, letting his aluminum baseball bat fall to the floor. "A defenseless squirrel just got snatched up by this gigantic falcon, it's like watching 'Nat-geo' in real time!" But with the baseball bat falling to the ground and creating a series of metal clanks, Allison and her mother lost him at 'defenseless squirrel'.

Allison, still curious about what Julian was stammering about, shoved her phone into her back pocket and strolled over to the front door. "Let's go see what you're talking about", she said with a sarcastic smile on.

Julian grinned and replied, "Right this way".

She followed him outside as if they were about to miss an ice cream truck pass down the street. For some reason seeing a predator in its natural habitat took priority over the lasagna their mother had been cooking in the oven.

"I think it went over here", said Julian pointing towards the backyard. Allison followed Julian along the stepping-stones he was hopping on. She made sure to stay close to the side of the house.

Even the side lawn was slanted and because the sprinklers were just on a few minutes ago, it'd be very easy to slip down the hill.

"I think I see it in that tree over there", yelled Julian from the backyard.

Allison caught up and quickly followed his gaze. "Where?" she asked. The maple tree was relatively short with thick, arm-like branches that hung relatively low. It was covered with large, verdant leaves, making it impossible to see anything.

Allison walked right under the tree and before Julian could point out the falcon again, she saw it—about 12ft. up in the tree, a fully-grown falcon with brown, black, and silver wings—picking at an infant squirrel. It clutched the squirrel with its talons as it mutilated the squirrel with each cold and calculated jab of its head.

Not satisfied with the ground-level view, Allison began to climb the tree, one branch at a time as if her life depended on it. With each successive move up the tree, she got closer to the occupied animal.

She encountered no problem scaling the old tree, with its branches so close together and the tree's coarse bark providing ample grip. As Allison reached eye-level with the pompous-looking bird, she tried her best not to startle it. It was still hacking away at the little squirrel, not intending to leave any remains behind.