A Haunting We Will Go | Thrilling & Bone-chilling Short Stories pt.2

The Harbinger

"Something wicked comes."

"Oh quit it! You and your goddamn superstitions." I winced at my own harsh words. 

My grandmother caressed the horseshoe pendant she wore around her neck. Her milky eyes hadn't strayed from the window. I followed her gaze. The birds circling outside her cottage had appeared seemingly out of nowhere only minutes ago.

"You know what they call a group of crows?"

A chair squeaked, drawing my attention to the kitchen where Grandma and her flighty sister were seated at the table. My great-aunt sipped her tea. "A murder."

I rolled my eyes, pulling away from the window. "You don't even know if those are crows."

Aunt Mildred studied me, eyes unnervingly sharp. It was rare she was lucid these days. "There's a flock of black birds outside and you're questioning what kind they are?"

I frowned. "It's just some birds—"

"Christ Pattie, what have you been teaching this girl?"

Grandma finally dragged her eyes from the birds. "Blame my daughter, she's the one whose been sheltering the girl."

"You rely too much on your good luck charms and superstitions. When has an omen actually brought you bad luck?" I reasoned.

Mildred dug into the pocket of her ratty cardigan, withdrawing a rabbit's foot, so old there was hardly fur left on it. "We aren't foolish enough to walk around without our charms. You'd be smart to accept your grandmother's gifts."

I flashed a guilty look at Grandma. Every Christmas, every birthday she gave me some sort of good luck charm, hopeful I would carry one of them. I'd held onto the rabbit foot as a child, until my mother informed me it was a real rabbit's foot. Then I'd cried and buried it in the backyard.

"I'm sure it's nothing."

Mildred snorted. I looked back out the window and paused. The birds were gone. 

I frowned, growing uneasy. Now who was paranoid? I looked at Grandma, about to address her when there came a thud behind me.

My grandmother's face turned ashen; Mildred cursed under her breath.

Another thud sounded. I tensed. Hesitant, I glanced at the window over the sink. 

My breath caught in my throat as I noticed red splatters on the panes. Something black flashed outside. I gasped as another thud sounded.

I rushed to the window, eyes widening in horror. The crows were circling. Every few seconds, one would break away from the frenzied swarm, diving towards the window. The impact so hard it broke their skin, and necks.

"What the hell?"

"I warned you."

I glanced over my shoulder. "Mildred?"

I turned to face my aunt. My mind struggled to make sense of what I was seeing. Mildred slowly rose from her chair. She didn't brace herself against the table, her legs didn't tremble as they normally did in her old age.

Grandma had gone still. Mildred approached me, her gaze menacing. "Mildred? What's going on?"

Black pooled from her pupils like ink blots, consuming her eyes. "I warned you," she repeated.

Chills ran up my spine at the unearthly voice that escaped her cracked lips. She smiled, flashing rows of jagged white teeth. The crows continued to slam against the window, more incessant, their caws desperate, as though they were trying to break inside.

Black veins fissured along Mildred's jaw, climbing up her temples. Red lined her eyes, blood running like tears down her pale boney face.

I gasped, skirting the kitchen, keeping as far from her as possible while simultaneously making for the door.

"You should've listened," the demonic voice coming from Mildred's deformed face jeered.

"Who are you?"

"The question you should be asking is, What am I?"

I'd made it to the fridge, the doorway was just on the other side of it.

Mildred, or whatever she was, advanced slowly, like a cat who had cornered its prey. "There's a reason your grandmother tried so hard to get you to accept her charms..." I inched closer to the doorway. "She knew this day was coming."

"What are you talking about?"

"Why do you think you never knew your grandfather?" Mildred pressed.

I paused, perturbed. "My grandfather?"

I'd never put much thought into who my grandfather was. Grandma'd never mentioned him.

Mildred smiled, her mouth too large to be considered human. "She'd wanted a child so badly..."

I shook my head. "No... she wouldn't..."

"What? Make a deal with the devil?"

I froze, gaze flicking up to meet Mildred's depthless black eyes. I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat. "The devil?"

Mildred nodded, that wicked grin never wavering. "She regretted it of course, but it was too late."

"She wouldn't do that."

"Why would I lie to you, child?"

I flared my nostrils, fighting back tears. "What was the deal?"

Mildred tilted her head. "Your mother's life in exchange for her firstborn's."

My eyes flicked to my grandmother. Tears were sliding down her wrinkled cheeks. All those years I'd made fun of her superstitious tendencies, thrown away every charm she'd given me... she'd been trying to reverse her mistakes. She'd been trying to save me.

"What if I make a new deal," I said, struggling to sound confident.

Mildred cackled. "A new deal won't override the one your grandmother made."

I jumped as thick black liquid suddenly spurted from Mildred's chest, splattering my face, staining my shirt.

Mildred gurgled, black blood oozing from her mouth. My grandmother grunted as she pulled the fire-poker from Mildred's chest. Our eyes met. "Run," she yelled.

There was a snap as she ripped off her pendant, tossing it to me.

My hands shook as I cradled the horseshoe. "Never take that off, you understand? So long as you wear it, you'll be protected," Grandma said sharply. "Go!"

Tears breached the surface, blurring my vision.

My grandmother's face softened. "I'm sorry."

Mildred straightened, somehow recovered from her wound. My grandmother stabbed her again. "Go!"

Without another moment's hesitation I finally heeded my grandmother's words. I ran.

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