•To Kill a Raven•

1. Moving

     The jailhouse had been torn down a few years after the infamous execution of Sally Face. All of the prisoners had been moved across the town, to the new and improved one. The belongings of the prisoners had been taken with them, but the junk that belonged to them still rested where it was put. 

     The prisoners weren't the only people that had been moved. 

     As the last moving vans rolled away from the Ravenlock Apartments, the sibling duo stared out of the window sadly, holding their most prized belongings tightly in their hands. 

     For Alex White, that was her phone and cat. Alex was a thin girl with boyish hair, dyed maroon. Her eyes were a curious light brown, appearing gold in firelight and under the stars. She always wore black jeans and an oversized puffy jacket that used to belong to her dad. She also wore old converse, so worn out the bottoms were falling out. 

     For Jason White, he held a Nintendo Switch. He also clutched a snake plushie tightly. He was shorter than his sister, with black hair and elfish features Normally he was very excited and a prankster, but the second the news of the siblings' parent's death hit his ears, he became unhappy and quiet. He had icy blue eyes and pale skin, and always wore gloves and a hoodie, with a pearl bracelet hidden on his wrist.

     Emotions had built up in the older sister, so when Binx jumped out of her arms again, she snatched him up by his tail and forced him into a blanket, where she wrapped him up tightly. Jason looked at his older sister, a judging expression on his face.

     "You do know that hurts him, right?" he said, looking at Binx.

     "Shut up or I'll hurt you, Scrub." she replied and turned on her phone. She dismissed the notifications that had built up, and clicked to her newest downloaded app, Tomb of the Mask. She plugged in some ear buds, turning up the catchy game music all the way.

     "Grandma, Alex is listening to music." Jason yelled to their Grandmother, who turned around, despite being the one driving.

     "WHAT?!" she shouted back. 

     "I said, ALEX IS LISTENING TO MUSIC!" he yelled louder.

     "ALEXA IN LETTERING TWO FONT?!"

     "NO, ALEX IS LISTENING TO MU-" Jason was cut off by Alex throwing her empty Burger King cup at him. 

     "Nothing Grandma." the girl told her. Grandma waited until Jason had looked away, and winked at Alex, who smiled. 

     - - -

     The apartments they were staying at resembled the Ravenlock Apartments, but of course, didn't have the famous raven-shaped lock for the door knob. Alex didn't mind. She assumed it was haunted; late at night she swore it once blinked at her. No, these apartments had completely normal doorknobs. They were called Lakeside Apartments- a classic name, and a lake was actually next to it. 

     "I assume the moving vans that dropped off all those boxes for room 12 belong to you?" the clerk at the front desk asked Grandma, who looked confused. 

     "Locks for a broom that belongs to Jews?" she asked, confused. Alex stepped forward. 

     "Sorry, out Grandmother lost her hearing aid batteries, and our Grandfather is a mute. Yes, those would be ours. Have they already been taken up?" she asked.

     "Wow, aren't you a mature young lady. Yes, the boxes are already up there. How old are you? 17? 18?" the clerk asked.

     "15 and a half. And thanks, it's the trauma." Alex said blandly, turning away and leading her family to the room. 

     The boxes were neatly set against the walls when they got there. Alex had labeled what was what with her favorite neon blue paint pen. The moving men seemed to be very helpful, as the boxes were lined up according to where they went. Fragile things were on top of the other boxes, and all sixteen boxes were there. Alex had counted.

     "The large furniture will arrive shortly. Your grandfather and I will unload, we could use the movement. Go meet the neighbors, children." Grandma said and went to the first box, labeled 'Alex's Room'. 

     "Wait Grandma, um.. Are you sure you don't need help? I'd be glad to stay." Alex mumbled, looking at the boxes. 

     "Say it again?" Grandma leaned to Alex, and the girl repeated what she said. "Oh no dear, we have enough help already. I used to lift heavy grates as big as horses when I was your age! I'm sure a few small items won't be harmful. Go ahead and meet the neighbors." Grandma shoved Alex out of the door, where Jason was already waiting. 

     "You can just hide in the closet if you're that scared to meet the neighbors." he said, looking up at her. 

     "No, I should. Come on, I'll make up an excuse as to why we're looking around. Probably that our cat got loose." she went to the first door on their floor that seemed to be occupied. She knocked three times. The door opened to reveal a girl, appearing Alex's age, with light brown hair and glasses. She wore a grey hoodie and had her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, with sweatpants and a blank face.

     "Oh, hello. Are you the new kid?" she asked, looking Alex up and down. "It's nice to have another person to talk to. Stephanie and Caroline get boring after three conversations. Don't tell them I said that." she said, and Alex blinked.

     "Uh, sure. Um- have you cat a seen- a mean.. Seen a have- Uh.." Alex was stuttering over her words, and Jason sighed.

     "Have you seen a cat? On wait, nevermind. Doesn't matter. Come on, Alex." She walked away, but Alex stayed there.

     "Uh, hi, and yeah. I'm new." she never stuttered when she lied, but why had she that time? "I'm Alex White. That's my brother, Jason. Who are you?"

     "Jocelynne. Jocelynne Bourassa." a voice called out to her from somewhere in the apartment, so she turned around. "Anyways, nice to meet you Alex." the brunette walked back inside, closing the door. Alex stood there awkwardly until Jason stuck his head from around the corner. 

     "Come on Alex! There's a cool guy over here." he called, then disappeared again. Alex followed him. He walked into an open apartment and Alex blinked, following him.

     "So anyways, tell me about that bathtub you stole from Home Depot." Jason said to a dark-skinned man with dreads. 

     "Oh yeah, It was awhile ago. So me and my friends were..." the guy began. Alex zoned out, but she heard chicken, monster truck, and chain. "And yeah, I got a bathtub." the guy grinned, and Jason nodded. 

     "Cool! And the chicken lived?" he said excitedly. 

     "Sure it did, little dude." the guy said, finally noticing Alex. "Is this your sister?" 

     "Yeah. I'm his sister." Alex mumbled. "Who are you?" 

     "Call me Tim." he said, extending his hand. Alex shook it, noticing how rough his hands were. Usually a good sign.

     "Come on Jason. Let's go greet the others." Alex started out of the room, and Jason said bye to Tim, hurrying after her. Alex found room 15 and knocked. A man with blond hair and tan skin answered, barely cracking open the door. 

     "What." he growled.

     "Hi, uh, I'm Jason and this is my sister Alex. We're looking for a black cat h-" Jason started, but the man cut him off.

     "Haven't seen one. Go away." he tried closing the door, but Jason put his shoe in the crack. 

     "Well, what's your name? We gotta know." Jason inquired, looking at him curiously.

     "You kids really are annoying. Fine." the man opened the door further. "I'm Travis. But Mr. Phelps to you. Now go away." he slammed the door in their faces. 

     "He seems cheery." Jason muttered, walking away. "Let's go help out with unpacking. I don't want to meet anyone else."