Black Feather Falls (COMPLETE)

Calm (30)

London, England
3:30 am
Chad's House

There's a brimming silence that elapsed through this mansion, encroaching so violently upon all its inhabitants. My eyes waver across the massive kitchen, as I sip, rather nonchalantly might I add, this glass of orange juice. The wind bent snow pelted incessantly at the windows of the house and the branches of trees which fenced it clouted against the windows, satisfying my heart with a twisted sense of calm.

I'm perched atop the grand grey granite island, centered haughtily in the kitchen. I'm wearing Ian's pajamas; red and black checkered sweatpants and a fleece Mickey Mouse black shirt that was quite young for me. My hair fell over my face as I tried to drink my juice in peace, annoying me in ways I couldn't begin to describe. I flung it over my shoulder, cursing myself for not wrapping it when I had the chance. I have a culture of thoughts residing longingly in my mind trying to burst at the seams of my skull. I'm honestly too tired - just way too tired for any of this.

On the counter was a half-read newspaper article. I opted not to read it, as the front-page title alone was ridden with horror. It seems that there has been a drastic increase in murders and strange occurrences worldwide. Apparently, these gruesome things began a couple of years ago – but let me stop thinking about this. I've had my fill of darkness and evil for a lifetime. Earth was only consistently getting worse and there was nothing I could do.

The entire house is swathed in warmth from the heater that's been working double time due to the unforeseen blizzard. The dark hardwood floor glistened as the stove light illuminated both it and the cabinets. Everyone is asleep, including an extremely confused Chad who was almost electrocuted to death (Jana's discharge was stronger than she thought). His confusion and surprise came from witnessing us randomly appear in his living room out of nowhere. Lucky for us, he was the only one at home.

As my legs dangled over the counter limply, I began to think about how abnormal everyone treated this whole ordeal. There was a fifteen-minute period of normalcy where we all looked exactly as we should - confused and displaced - even more so than Chad. During these fleeting minutes, all the feelings of fear and worry that should've been plaguing us, plagued us. Then, after those painfully exact fifteen minutes had past, and the shock had worn off, we grew inert; as though we weren't all collectively mere seconds from our deaths. I know not who Ariel is, but I owe her my life. I'm unable to process her striking resemblance to me. If only I could meet her once more and thank her properly. Oh, how I wish. The last thing I recall was enacting the spell after the attack from The White Raven. My feeble mind can yet fathom how we summoned such a creature, nor can I tell whether it was all a dream. Either way, Ariel and the raven saved all of our lives.

Israel, guided by Jana who'd been to Chad's house more than any of us, carried a half-awake Dana up to the third floor and rested her in the guest room. Somewhere between then and now, Dana, who'd also been here before, raided Kira's (Chad's sister) closet for sleepwear, ate, showered and went back to bed.

Jana then took me to the other guest room on the western wing of the mansion where I placed a still recovering Zahra to rest. Jana never went back downstairs after that; she went up to the fifth floor to her room and drifted off into slumber. Chad then guided me and Israel to our respective rooms, somehow, he knew that all his questions weren't needed tonight given the looks of sleep deprivation knitted into our faces. Zachary showered and vanished somewhere in the house during all the commotion.

I slid off the counter and opted to retire to my room but the legion of stairs I had to climb to reach it was most certainly not worth it. I stood at the foot of the stairs and followed them with my eyes until I paused at its peak. I stretched, unleashing a yawn of ungodly proportions and hissed my teeth. My phone dinged - oh, it's Charity. I haven't heard from her in such a long while .... not since she broke up with me.