Where The Raven Sits

WTRS Chapter 4

Kadie stood in the middle of her room, staring at the wall. It was blank with the exception of an old family photo. The hard, cold wood of the floor cooled her soles as she stood there feeling the scuffs and cracks on her toes. She could hear the washer in the next room, muffled by the thick basement wall. Still, the strong stench of laundry detergent stung her nose, causing the ticking sting she was used to. Kadie was surprised she was alive enough to experience the lazy familiarity of her surroundings – she had expected more than her dad coming home, kissing her mother, and telling her dinner smelled good. The car was never brought up; her mother didn't even seem to consider asking about it. The rent was another matter, but her dad merely waved a hand and said Kadie had given it to him. Kadie hadn't and was wondering why her dad felt the need to lie about that. Was it because they had gone through enough already; she was grateful if that were the case. He had gone to bed unusually early, leaving her with no chance to talk to him about their experience. So she had decided to do the same. A good, long, sleep would help her racing mind.

"What I need is to forget about what happened today," she mumbled to herself. "Yeah, that's it. My car getting stolen was the only thing that happened. That had to be it. I probably dozed off at the café and had a nightmare. I'll get some real sleep. And then wake up and see what I can do about my car."

Getting undressed, Kadie crawled under her covers, pulling the blanket over her head. The softness of her bed was comforting and gave her something new to think about. It smelled like honey and peppermint, the special perfume blend her mother sprayed on things she thought smelled bad. Giving the pillow a squeeze, Kadie closed her eyes. It took a few minutes, but eventually she began to drift off. Her body sunk further into the mattress. Every muscle in her had been tense, wound up tighter than a ball of yarn. It was almost a glorious feeling, falling asleep. Stars winked at her through the open window and the moon hid behind the clouds to give her some privacy. It was more peaceful than usual with even their neighbor skipping their nightly drum practice. The only thing to ruin it was the strange peach colored hue that peeked beneath the cracks of her eyelids. It was intrusive in its prodding, and no matter which way she turned her head it wouldn't go away.

What the heck? Kadie glowered into her pillow. Did they amp up the street lights or something? Opening her eyes, Kadie was met with a strange, pink nothingness. It stretched onwards forever, darkening and bending at the horizon. It was the same when she looked up; there was nothing but vast sky in an unnatural shade. This is a weird dream. Kneeling, she placed her hand against the ground. Her fingers sunk into to the soft surface. It felt like hot jelly.

"This is weird," Kadie mumbled to herself. "Oh! Gross! It's still on my hand!" Wiping her hand on her nightshirt, she looked around again. She was almost sure she had felt or heard something like a throbbing sound. "Okay, dream or nightmare? Standing in a bowl of strawberry pudding with a heartbeat, I think. It smells like goo. Do dreams smell? I heard you can smell sulfur in nightmares, but nothing about this place is scary." Kadie rubbed her temples, cringing as the continuous throbbing began to make her head hurt. "I really don't want to go through this right now." Trying to wake up, she pinched herself. It hurt, but nothing changed. She walked around in a circle until her legs ached. "Wake up! If this wasn't a dream I'd swear I was going crazy."

"HA! There it is," a voice boomed from all around, shaking the floor. Kadie screamed, dropping down and covering her ears. "Sorry, I'm not used to this." Everything rippled and shimmered and when the voice spoke again it wasn't so loud. "Oh, get up, it wasn't that bad."

Staying where she was, Kadie uncovered her ears. This is some weird dream. It has to be. It's a stupid one.

"Look," the voice went on. "The only reason I brought you here was to ask you a question and...well, bind you into a promise. But we'll start with the question." The floor in front of Kadie wavered and rose, turning from the peach colored jelly into a full on creature. It was a broad monster, standing around ten feet tall. Its body was stone grey with rivets running along its arms and it had a mane of pitch black feathers instead of hair. The center of its chest had an opening the size of a child's fist. The hole glowed lightly, making the cracks and chipped skin around it more noticeable. The creature leaned down, blinking its beady black eyes at Kadie as it inspected her. "You hit me with a rock, by the way. I don't think you understand the irony of that."

Kadie's eyes traveled to the creature's head where it looked like something had bashed its skull in at the left temple. She was sure she had hit the guy in the back of the head before he turned into the monster. And she knew she hadn't hit him hard enough to do that kind of damage. She moved back away from the creature as it moved closer. Her reflection shown in the glasslike depths of its eyes.

"You are a nightmare," she said firmly.

The creature laughed. "Yeah, I guess. But there's not much either of us can do about that. Give me your hand."

Kadie stared at the offered claw. The grey skin was calloused and broken. Could skin look dangerous? That one did. Leaping up, she swatted the limb away and ran. Gaining any type of speed was a struggle as she sank into the soft ground. She only got a few feet before the creature caught up. It grabbed her by the back of her shirt, forcing her to sit. She struggled against it, even contemplating taking the shirt off. But quickly she realized that if it caught her again it would be touching her bare body, and that was something she really didn't want. With no other options, Kadie held still, waiting to see what the creature would do to her. It surprised her by letting her go and walking around to sit in front of her. It was close enough to touch, which made Kadie lean away.

"Thank you," it said. "Come on now. Give me your hand. Quickly."

"No." Kadie glared harder, hoping it would have some effect. "You'll probably eat me or something."

"I'm not a cannibal. Hand. Now. This 'nightmare' can end faster if you participated."

"Why don't you just take it?" Kadie crossed her arms stubbornly. She wasn't sure why she was being so belligerent to something that could probably easily kill her. "If you brought me here then you can obviously do whatever you wanted with me."

"You are the most annoying.... Knock it off," the creature said, exasperation playing in its voice. "We only have a small amount of time before your consciousness is trapped here. Do you want to stare at nothing but this ugly place for the rest of eternity while your body is a vegetable? Because when I'm not holding all this together, you'll just be wallowing in a vortex that'll warp your mind until you're frothing at the mouth."

Kadie paused. The image disturbed her. "You're bluffing."

"Do you really want to take that risk?" The monster nodded when she reluctantly took his hand. "Your dad handled this way better than you." It held her hand firmly. "Now stop trying to hyperventilate and answer me this: did you tell anyone about me?"

I can scare it. Kadie reasoned. If it thinks I told a bunch of people I can make it think it's in danger and leave.

"No." She jumped. That hadn't been the answer she tried to give. "I mean...no. I didn't tell anyone."

The creature nodded. "Good. Nice try, though. There's no lying here. That was step one. Step two: the promise. I'm going to need you to agree that you can't tell anyone, binding you to silence."

"I'm not agreeing to that!" Kadie snapped.

The monster sighed. "You know, your dad did it because he feared for your safety. What do I have to threaten you with to get you to do it?"

Dad?