Faithless

Chapter 2

Some time after twelve in the morning, I rose from my bed and walked downstairs.

The state my mind was in was a distant, faraway one; it felt as though I were dreaming when I walked out into the front yard in the middle of the night. My body sluggishly dragged itself along, almost tripping several times as I unlocked the front door and headed outside. The cool fall air moved straight through me. I was so distant from my own actions I supposed this had to be a dream. My body stopped in the middle of the street, staring out into the grand dark nothingness of the neighborhood. It was always far too quiet to be comfortable here.

A crow fluttered down in front of me and looked up at me with its beady, red eyes. It was the same one I'd seen at the park earlier that day, distorted and strange, like a ghost. My instinct was to wave it away, as I often did with crows, but my arms felt so heavy that I could hardly lift a finger. I leaned forward slightly, narrowing my eyes at the bird staring up at me. Then, suddenly, it lifted itself off the ground and landed on my shoulder, its sharp talons digging into my shirt.

I turned my head just so I could see it out of the corner of my eye. "What... are you... doing...?" I said, my words slurred and my mouth barely opening.

The crow stared at me for another moment, before opening its beak. "It's nice to meet you, Jay." It tilted its head slightly as a deep, layered voice came pouring from its mouth. Its voice was not unlike the robot, HAL 9000, from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, that I recalled was one of Jared's favorite films. So many times I'd come home to him watching the tape again.

I smiled, a difficult gesture in my sloughing body. It most likely hardly resembled a smile at all, and maybe appeared more like a grimace. With a pained chuckle, I asked, "What do you... what do you want with me?"

The crow maintained that same silence once again before answering my question. "I want to give you a gift." It looked up at the sky and exhaled a quiet breath, white air hissing out from its beak, and I wondered if it was indeed that cold. If it was, I couldn't feel it. "The gift of power, freedom, immortality. Doesn't that sound amazing?"

"Sure," I sighed. "That would be nice."

The crow looked back at me, with a slight head tilt. "There is just one thing I need from you." It leaned forward, the tip of its beak lightly touching my cheek. "Nourishment."

"Oh... so you want me to feed you...?" I smiled again. "That's easy."

The crow dipped its head, in a nodding motion, and then turned to fly off. "It's a deal then. I will see you again, very soon." Before I could say anything else or properly process what happened, the crow flew away, disappearing into the night.

I woke up in bed the next morning, cold and starving. And for a moment, I was ready to dismiss the events as a dream. But when I noticed my socks covered in dirt and the holes in the sleeve of my shirt, as well as a feather caught in my hair, I wondered if the dream was real.

I lifted myself out of bed and just prepared for the day ahead. While my appearance wasn't particularly remarkable, most guys at my school didn't let their hair reach their shoulders. As far as I knew, Lucas and I were the only ones who had our hair this long. And while I liked it that way, it was quite the inconvenience to brush it every morning and actually worry about how it looked. I was short, lanky, and terrible at sports. I was better at understanding them than actually playing them and so I ended up sitting out at every gym class. It's also what made it so easy for Darren to mess with me. He was taller, better built, and if I remember correctly, one of the more muscular students at our school. He participated in team sports and was a heartthrob for many of the girls there. While I'm usually not one to judge someone's type, I can say that the girls who had the hots for him likely had a few screws loose.

As I tugged my brush through my hair, I found more feathers caught in the dark knots. I gingerly picked them up and examined them, a slight frown on my face. Even if it was real, and a crow sat on my shoulder, there wouldn't be as many feathers as I'd found caught in my hair. Or maybe I was wrong, and for once my logic didn't work in this case. With no other choice, I ignored it and got dressed in my uniform.

When I headed downstairs, I found Dahlia at the front door, complaining to Jared about how she found it unlocked when she got up. But their conversation ceased as soon as I arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

Dahlia smiled at me. "Good morning Jayden! Breakfast is ready if you're hungry." She offered me breakfast every morning, and most mornings I wouldn't take it. I was often just too impatient and I preferred to get to school earlier so that I could avoid the crowds when the bell rang. But this morning, my insides were buzzing with a kind of hunger that I couldn't ignore, clawing the inside of my stomach.

"Yeah," I muttered, "That sounds nice."

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? Come have a seat, then."

I followed Dahlia into the dining room, where the table was already set. I often questioned her ability to get up at six in the morning and have breakfast ready by seven. She was really committed to the model of a mother who was always there, cooking and cleaning for her children while her husband was out at work all day. Not that I cared, it was more of an observation. I practically inhaled my breakfast, which was simply eggs, bacon and toast, but I ate it as though I'd been starving for weeks. And while it did little to satisfy me, this was all I was allowed, for the other plates were for Daisy and Jared.

So I shoved some food in my backpack and rushed out the door, my mind buzzing incessantly.