The Storytellers

Prologue

Normal days suck. Today definitely did not suck. There are those people who think that everyday is different and that there is no such thing as 'normal' and I agree with them to a certain poi. Today, though, was....strange. First off, there were birds. A lot of birds.

~

"Sara!" screamed my sister as she ran up the stairs. "Have you see the birds?"

I was lying on my bed, reading when I saw Mary's little figure run into my room. Setting my book down, I sat up and turned to face her. She had just turned seven today and she's been getting excited about everything for the past week. I have no idea how many times she told me she was having a 'slumber party' tomorrow for her birthday. Mary ran over to the window and opened the curtains.

"No, why?" I asked. While staying in my bed for most of the day, I haven't really had the chance to look out of the window. No, I'm not lazy. It's only ten o'clock and I'm reading a good book.

Mary points out the window with a stubborn look on her face. I sigh and walk over to the window. My jaw dropped. There was a flock of about 50 birds sitting in our yard. The strangest part was that it was a mixture of a bunch of different types of birds. There were ravens, robins, and cardinals included in the flock. I start to zone for a second, letting my thoughts wonder. Mary questioned, "Why are they all here?"

I shook my head. Honestly I had no idea why there were so many birds just sitting in the yard. They didn't even seem scared. If anything they seemed angry. I was tempted to walk out there and see how soon they would fly off. It was the middle of October and leaves covered the ground so I assumed that it might just be migrating birds. I took my phone out, took a picture, and sent it to my mom. She might know why the birds were acting so unusual. Something about them felt wrong. I grabbed Mary's hand. "Come on. Let's get your birthday breakfast."

While Mary was sitting down eating her pancakes, I checked my phone to see if Mom had replied. There was. I reply, of course. She was still busy at work. I thought it was ridiculous that my mom had to work on weekends. Yeah, I understand that she's a single parent, but I can work too since I'm seventeen. Except for the fact the I'm the one who has to watch Mary and with school, I don't have the time. At least I get the chance to work at the bookstore down the street sometimes.

Mary noticed me looking at my phone and spoke up, "Are you getting the bad feeling again?"

I glanced at her from over my phone. She sat up straight in her chair and with wide eyes, stared at me with interest. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and muttered a yes.

She laughed and shook her head. "You're weird."

"Well, it's been proven that your body can sense something happening before it actually happens. You should trust your instincts," I defended.

"Nerd," she mumbled.

I ignored her comment and walked into the living room so I wouldn't have to listen to her laughing at me. It was true though. I did have a bad feeling in my gut. It usually happens right before something bad happens and so far it hasn't failed me. I was telling the truth about the instincts. You may notice something out of the concerned of you eye that you usually wouldn't pay attention to, but it stays somewhere in the back of your mind. At the moment, it's the bird that are driving my senses crazy. As I started to sit down on the old plaid couch we had, a single black feather floated down to the ground just outside the window. Any normal person would ignore it. Me on the other hand...

With two large steps I was standing at the window. I stared out the open yard for a few seconds before I realized that the birds were gone. No, not gone, only out of sight. I unlock the window and lift it up. I turn around, sit on the sill, and lean back so that I can see the top of the roof. Sure enough, the birds were there. There were much more than last time and they covered most of the roof. They still had that angry gleam in there eyes, but they didn't move. They stayed there patiently waiting as if they were waiting for a plan to go into play. The sight was mesmerizing. I couldn't take my eyes away and they stared straight back at me. Every so often one of the birds would ruffle their wings and it would start a chain reaction of birds ruffling their feathers. Seconds later it would stop and the silence continued. The scariest part was that you could see the intelligence in their eyes. They knew what was happenings and they knew what was going to happen.