𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚍

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙾𝚗𝚎

A large crow swooped down and perched on top of the illuminated lamppost, its black feathers glistening in the warm yellow light. The bird focused his small beady eyes on a young man who had just sat down on the bench beneath him. The two of them stayed there for a while with the bird staring at the man and the man staring into the darkness before him. A loud female voice then broke the silence of the early morning.

"Tom? Tom, where are you?" She called. Squinting her eyes she jogged up to the spot where Tom was seated. "Tom, thank God You're okay," She said, placing a hand on her chest. "What are you doing all the way out here? And at this time of night?"

Tom looked the woman in the eyes and said nothing. She sat down beside him and leaned back.

"I am sorry for upsettin' you, Mary," He spoke in a low tone. Tom opened his mouth to say something else but the loud caw of the crow interrupted him. Mary's eyes shot wide open and she whipped her head around to where the crow was perched.

Growing up on a farm Mary didn't usually mind crows, sure they were pesky but that's why they had scarecrows. The only time she truly hated them was when there was only one. One crow meant someone was going to die.

"Tom we have to go," Mary said, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the way she came. Tom resisted Mary's grip and shook his arm free.

"Nuh-uh. I just made a new friend. I can't leave Randall."

"Who's Randall, Tom?" Mary questioned hesitantly.

"Him," Tom replied, pointing to the large crow.

Just then, the crow dove toward the ground and morphed into a human.

"C'mon, Mary. Join us." Randall said. As Mary started to back away Randall and Tom started convulsing. Then baby crows slowly pecked their way out of them.

Just then a scream split through Mary's ears and woke her with a start. It took Mary a while before she realised that it was coming from her. As the scream slowly died down, Mary felt how dry and raw her throat had become. Mary slowly stepped out of bed and walked over to her kitchen. She opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of water, drinking it greedily.

Mary made her way over to the living room and sat down on her crisp white armchair. Mary switched on the tv and flicked through the channels until she found her favourite morning news channel. Right as the commercials came on, her phone rang. Mary looked at the screen and saw that it was her friend Maggie's name on the screen. Mary had met her about a year ago while attending the same college. Since they had both grown up on farms, they had more than a bit in common. Maggie had recently dropped out of college to help her parents on their farm.

"Hey, Maggie! How are you and the others doing?"

"We're all good here. How 'bout yourself?"

"Oh, y'know, same as u-" the sound of the emergency alert system cut her off. "Um, Maggie, I'm gonna have to call you back," Mary said, hanging up before Maggie could reply.

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