Shadow Souls

Chapter Forty-One

When we've finished eating, Finn takes Zoey home so she can meet up with her friends. He promises to meet me in an hour and Paige drives me back to my house, reminding me to be extra careful and stay out of the backyard. Now that we think the thing after me was a demon, we were going to need to be more careful.

While waiting for Finn, I decided to spend some time working on actual homework since I missed out on even more assignments today. I really don't want to end up falling behind just because I'm being stalked by some paranormal shadow, and I'm pretty sure that excuse is up there with 'the dog ate it' and won't work to stop me from failing. Okay, maybe my priorities are a little out of focus.

However, with Ty's help it doesn't take me too long, and I end up finishing with time to spare. So, I grab a book from my shelf and go down to the living room to wait for Finn.

As Tyler and I are laying on the couches, both reading, we are startled by a loud thud on the side of the house.

"Did you hear that?" I ask, looking around.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what it could be."

We wait a few seconds, and when we don't hear anything else, we shrug it off.

Until it happens again.

We both toss our books aside and stand up to search for what could be the source, when we see a bird fly straight into the back window and fall to the ground.

"Oh no!" I start for the backdoor to make sure it's okay but am stopped by Tyler's voice before I can open it.

"Alice! You can't go out there!"

He was right. I wasn't even thinking. That might be exactly what someone or something is hoping I would do. It could be trying to lure me outside right now.

I go stand by Ty in front of the window and look down to see the poor little bird, lifeless and caked with blood. Two others lying not too far from it.

"They must have been the first two crashes," I tell Tyler with a shaky voice.

I watch the lifeless birds, all three unmoving, hoping to myself that this was just some freak accident and nothing more. That maybe this isn't something more sinister trying to get to me like Paige said it would.

Then I hear Tyler shout, "Oh shit!"

I look up just in time to see a fourth bird flying straight at me. It makes contact with the glass at full speed, never slowing or even trying to alter its course. Then we both watch helplessly as it falls to the ground with the others. Its beak shattered and covered in blood.

"What the hell is happening?"

"Maybe you should call Paige," Tyler suggests.

"Good idea."

I turn to grab my phone, ready to dial her number, when he shouts at me to get down. I drop to the floor right as dozens more screeching crows fly straight into the window and to their deaths. There are so many, they even manage to crack the glass.

I am crouched on the floor completely in shock, so when my phone rings I freak out further and drop it, forgetting that I had even been holding it at all. Slowly I crawl over to where it bounced, still unwilling to stand up just in case there is a second wave of winged devils on a kamikaze mission, and answer Paige's call.

Before I can even say hello, she is already talking at me. "Oh my god Alice! I just had another vision."

"There wouldn't happen to have been birds involved would there?"