Flash of Light

Prologue

   It was storming outside when Corvus came home from dinner with his family. A biting chill raced over his skin as he exited the car and entered his house. The bad feeling he had since he woke up that morning was growing stronger as he opened the door to a dark hallway and headed up the creaky stairs to get to his room on the second floor.

   Removing his shoes, he opened one of his drawers and changed into a pair of pajamas. Going through his night routine, Corvus said good night to his parents and plopped down on his purple bedspread. Fear and unease were coursing through his veins making him unable to sleep. His eyes darted to his window which looked out on the graveyard surrounding his house. Looking at the forest at the edges, he noticed a figure by the furthest corner he could see. It started to move towards the house, flickering in and out of existence with each step. Corvus was frozen in fear, unable to do anything as tears welled up in his eyes in fear and confusion. Every bone in his body screamed for him to run, that something was wrong, but Corvus was paralyzed in place. His unresponding body started to shake violently causing him to close his eyes in an attempt to control himself. A flash of light bled through the his eyelids. In confusion, he opened his blue eyes.

   A thing stood there. It could've been a man other than the fact it had a glowing aura and empty, dark eyes. He was dressed in a white shirt, a dark vest, dress pants, black shoes, and a pair of gloves. Shoulder length black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and a scar wrapped around his neck.

   Resting his hands on a cane he pulled from thin air, the man leaned forward with a smirk on his lips. "Aren't you a cute little thing?" came his deep, echoey voice. The man's smirk widened when he saw Corvus attempt to keep a distance between them. "Ah, ah, ah," he taunted. "You aren't allowed to go just yet. You are vital for my plan."

   "W-what plan?" was all the fourteen year old could stutter out.

   "Don't worry about it." Without a warning, he lunged at Corvus. He lifted the smaller boy off the bed by his neck. Corvus did his best to struggle out of the strong grip by was unable to remove the hands. As his body stopped listening tohim, he realized that he couldn't have screamed even if he wanted to. The storm was too loud to hear anything. As his eyes closed, he wondered what would happen to him. Just as he got the thought in his head, he gave one last gasp before losing himself in darkness.

~ ~ ~

   The light pitter patter of sleet was the first thing Corvus heard when he came to. His throat and lungs burned, and he could feel a slight stutter in each breath he took. It took a minute before he found the strength to push himself out of his bed. Corvus stumbled into the bathroom, limbs feeling like they'd fall off any minute.

   Looking into the mirror, he couldn't believe his own reflection. Deathly pale skin replaced his normal slightly tan and made the dark circles from too little sleep pop out. A pair of dark blue eyes showed instead of his own pair of sky blue. The most terrifying feature was a dark bruise covering his neck. Without a doubt, anyone would be able to see he had been strangled.

   He was startled out of his thoughts when his older sister knocked on the door. "It's nearly time for school, and I need thebathroom so hurry up." In fear of her asking questions, he rushed through anything he needed and got to his room in record time. Throwing on his uniform of a white polo and khaki pants, he pulled on a thick jacket and a black scarf before going downstairs. Nearing the kitchen, the smell of food caused his stomach to turn.

   Corvus' mom turned around from her spot by the coffee maker at the sound of footsteps only to freeze at the sight of her son curled in on himself and his new appearance. "Sweetheart, are you feeling okay? You look pale."

   "I'm fine," responded Corvus in a slightly scratched up voice.

   "Are you sure? I can call the school if you need."

   "I'm fine. Just, just tell Jay I'll be waiting outside." He slipped out the door just seconds before she could say anything else or make him eat something he wouldn't be able to keep down. Outside, trees were being blown by strong gusts of wind. Or that's what it looked like. Corvus couldn't feel the wind pressing against him. All he could feel was a bone chilling cold flowing through his body.

   Jay left the house after ten minutes, shocked by what her mom had said about her little brother. Her mom even said he didn't eat and had been sitting outside in the cold. She gave Corvus a look of concern. His body would shake at random intervals, and his fingers were the only other part of him that moved, fingerspelling something into the air. Jay's own body was violently shaking in the cold air while wearing two jackets, so she called out to him immediately.

   "Hey, it's time to go." He gave no sign that he heard her, so she tapped on his shoulder. His whole body tensed up at the gesture, and he quickly moved away.

   "Yo, are you okay? What was that? You're never this jumpy," Jay said, worry growing even more. Muttering an 'I'm fine,' he stood up and started walking to Jay's car. She gave him one last glance before joining him in the car and getting them both to their respective schools.

~ ~ ~

   Corvus' friends were really concerned about him, but he was able to easily brush it off with the lie he had been telling all morning. Miles was a lot more persistent than the rest, but eventually the subject was dropped. An old friend- turned-bully decided to pick on him even more than normal after seeing Corvus a lot jumpier than normal which didn't help matters.

   It was a long, draining year that year. Hiding his secret, starting high school, and trying to not stand out as the creepy graveyard kid took away a lot of Corvus' energy. Adding insomnia to the mix as well as other sleep disorders weren't fun to deal with, but before anyone knew it, a year had passed. As soon as two new kids moved in, a sense of unease grew over the small town.

Something bad would happen, and it was happening soon.