Where The Raven Sits

WTRS Chapter 5

Kadie shouted, the sound muffled by her pillow. The green fabric was uncommonly warm against her face. It was wet with sweat and smelled like she had been coughing on it for hours. Lifting her head, she pushed the offensive smelling cushion away. The sun was out, shining brightly through the window. In the tree outside sat a nest that she wasn't sure was ever there before. The room was warm. The clock blinked ten in the morning. Kadie hadn't slept in that late for a while; she had spent so many years getting up for work that sleeping past eight o'clock made her body stiff. But she felt well rested and awake. There were no aches anywhere, she didn't feel tired, and energy was already beginning to flow through her. At first she thought it was adrenaline, but it was more the type of energy that came with a strong energy shot.

Kadie got up, walking around her room and touching things to make sure they were solid. Satisfied that every item was real, she put on a pair of pants and her slippers and went upstairs. Her dad was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking his coffee and reading a comic book that looked like it should have fallen apart ages ago. He looked up and greeted her as she came in. But he didn't smile. Her dad always smiled when he saw her in the morning. Watching him carefully, she went and poured her own drink and sat down across the table. The strong smell tickled and burned her nose. It didn't help either as she drank it down; she was already awake and alert and not really sure why she had gotten the mug to begin with.

No, she told herself, I need it. It's coffee. She continued to stare at her dad, contemplating his lack of morning cheerfulness. Maybe the demon tricked me. I could still be asleep and this is some weird, twisted dream world. With that on her mind, she was almost afraid to take a sip.

"What time was I born?" Kadie questioned.

"Trick question," her dad said. "You were born on a plane as we were crossing from Nevada to Utah. We're not entirely sure which zone we were in when you popped out. I still say we should have dropped you out of a window to see where you landed." He put the comic down. "I'm guessing he came to you as well?"

She nodded. "It kidnapped me and made me promise not to tell anyone. I didn't want to, but I don't think it was going to let me leave that place if I didn't."

"I had to make the promise, too. He even laughed at me when I told him I'd already talked to the cops. It was a fun chat." Her dad stopped talking when his wife entered the kitchen. "Just enough fresh coffee for you, love. I'll make another batch right before I leave."

"Just the coffee?" Kadie's mother looked around the counters. "No one made breakfast?"

"You only got up a moment ago; you haven't had time to make it yet."

Mom's going to haul off and smack him one day. Kadie admired the shade of red her mother's face had turned. It almost matched her nightgown. Would Mom believe us if we told her about the creature? She glanced over at her dad who shook his head at her. Why not? Does he really think we can't tell anyone?

"Mom." Kadie turned in her seat to look at her mother. "Last night...."

What the heck?! I can't talk?! What's going on?!

"Last night what, Kay?" her mother asked as she pulled out a pan.

Kadie tried to work her mouth. She tried to get words out, but nothing came.

Her mother turned around. "Well?"

"I think what she's going to say is that she heard the same strange noise last night that woke me up," Kadie's dad said, sipping from his mug. "The one that spooked me so much."

"The one you woke me up for?" her mother frowned. "Then made a big deal about but couldn't describe? I swear you two are going to make me think I'm crazy by not hearing strange noises in the middle of the night."

"You're crazy for marrying me," her dad teased.

"That can be fixed," her mother warned.

While her parents had their exchange, Kadie was trying not to freak out. She had found her voice again, but at the price of giving up talking about the creature. She gave her dad a panicked look. He made a hand motion that was a clear sign for her to calm down. How did he expect her to do that?! How was his head not spinning or falling off his shoulders as he tried as desperately to talk about the thing as she wanted to? Cutting open hundreds of bodies and brains could not have prepared him to keep his cool when monsters were around.

"Kadie and I are going to go out for a while," her dad said to her mother. "We're running low on food so we'll pick some stuff up on the way back. Make a list for whatever we need and as soon as Kay is ready we'll head out."

Her mother simply nodded and went on cooking. Kadie could feel the attitude wafting off of her. She'd be afraid to eat anything her mother made while in that kind of mood. So Kadie excused herself, downing the rest of her coffee and returning to her room to wash and get dressed. It took her longer than normal as she stood in the shower thinking about the creature and the spell it put on her. How many other people knew about it, but couldn't say anything? If the police went after it, could it stop them? Was it watching her right then? Kadie hurried and finished washing. When she was out, dry, and fully dressed, Kadie sat on the edge of her bed for a long moment, staring at the floor. Too much was going through her mind. Too much was bothering her. She couldn't remind herself enough that there was a monster running around free; a strange beast that could jump into people's dreams and make them do what it wanted, like make promises. But...why was the only thing it wanted a promise? Why didn't it kill her or make her do anything else? What kind of thing was it? All of that bothered her and she couldn't believe that her dad didn't seem as troubled as she did.

Finally Kadie made her way back up to the main body of the house. Her dad waited for her by the front door, holding the folded shopping list. It hadn't occurred to her until just then to ask where they were going, but some part of her already knew.