17 Days Until Halloween
“Black Bird”
Part
Two
Original
Story By:
Stacey L. Bolin
Music to set the mood
As she looked at the Black Bird, she watched as his eyes turned from black
to hell fire red, then flapped its wings and crashed itself over and over into
the picture window. Kim threw herself from the couch back onto the floor, the
wind screamed in unison with the thunder as the rain beat heavy on the roof.
The Black Bird squelched and hissed as he flew hard against the window several
times until the raindrops that found their way onto the window began to turn a
bloody red color.
"GO AWAY!" Kim screamed, "GO AWAY!" The Black Bird
continued to slam the window over and over as the storm outside grew, with each
hit the blood smeared the window until a small crack began appear...it was only
a matter of time.
Slam, Slam, blood spattered with each forceful hit as the sounds of the
glass cracking intensified. She grabbed the blanket and pillow she had on the
couch, and did her best to cover her entire body to protect herself. Just as
the blanket and pillow gave her a feeling of temporary refuge, the Black Bird
crashed through the picture window. She felt the Glass, wind, and rain, fall
upon her. The Black Bird Screeched and flew through the room in a full devil
induced rage. It flew without caution as it slammed and smeared blood on the
walls. She felt it hit her several times as it made it way aimlessly around the
room and could hear it knocking over things and tearing apart the fabrics on
the couch and chairs. Then in an instant the sound of breaking glass and a
heavy thud to the floor was all she heard over the howling wind and rain.
She waited a moment, and then slowly peered out from under the pillow she
had placed over her head. "The Black Bird, must have found its way
out." she sighed a breath of relief. She was careful as to where she
stood, as she got up, knowing that the room was filled with broken glass. As
she slowly tried to make her way out of the living room towards the kitchen to
call for help, she heard the cawing sound of a bird. She cautiously turned to
see the Black Bird next to their entertainment center lying on a framed picture
that had fallen and its broken glass all around it.
The thought of what her grandmother had said, about birds crashing
through windows and dying, meant someone in the home was going to die, never
crossed her mind as she stood waiting for it to gasp for its last breath. She
was filled with anger at the mess it had caused. The once beautiful walls
covered in blood stains, the lamps and decorations destroyed, the couch tour by the birds sharp talons, and the rug
ruined by the wind and the rain. One Black Bird had done all this damage. She
remain standing as she watched the Black Bird twitch and then the hell fire red
in its eyes turned to a glazed gray black. It was dead.
She went into the kitchen to call her mother at work to let her know what
had just happened. You could hear the concern in her mother’s voice as Kim told
her what had taken place. The call didn't last long, as her mother had
instructed her to stay out of the living room and that she was on her way home
to take pictures of the damage - maybe their insurance would cover it. But the
one thing most important of all was when her mother said in a worried voice,
"Do not touch that animal leave it lie. I want proof it was all because of
a dang bird."
Kim, sat in the kitchen eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, when
she heard her mother pull into the driveway. The car doors shut as her brother and
sister exclaimed in unison as they quickly rushed up to the house to get out of
the storm, "Wow who broke the
window!?"
"A bird broke through the window,' said their mother, "so when you go into the house,
please stay out of the living room. I think your sister is in the kitchen.
Please ask her to get you both a snack."
Kim's mother just stood in the living room doorway, completely shocked at
the sight that met her eyes with each glance around the room. It resembled more of a horror scene from a
movie like "Nightmare on Elem Street," or better yet, "The Texas
Chainsaw Murders." She had called the insurance company to report the
damage, to which they replied, they would need proof that it was a bird that
caused the damage. She was glad to know that Kim had left the Black Bird alone
so that she could take a photograph for the claim and the extensive damage that
had been done; otherwise it was going to be a hard sell to explain this.
She took one picture after another, until she finally came to where the
Black Bird had taken its last breath, upon a broken picture frame. A strange
feeling began to well up in the pit of her stomach as a cold chill raced up her
spine. Something was wrong. When she took all the pictures of their unwanted
guest, she pushed the bird to one side to flip the picture frame over. Panic
and sorrow cocooned her as she stared at the torn, bloody picture that had been
of her husband that had been on the entertainment center where the rest of the
family pictures had always been displayed.
"Strange" she thought to herself, "The rest of the
pictures don't have a mark on them, and had not been moved according to the
dust that was gathering on and around them. “Again, her stomach felt strange,
nervous, ill, something, but she just couldn't put a finger on it.
She made the necessary calls to the insurance agent, and they immediately
came out to the home so that they could make arrangements to get a carpenter
over to cover the broken window, until it could be replaced. The cleaning of
the home and the replacement of the damage or destroyed items, that would take
a day or so to schedule a cleanup crew and get the necessary monies
dispersed. Even the deductible of $1,000.00 was easier to deal with, than the
thousands of dollars it would have cost without insurance, for all the repairs
that one good sized Black Bird had caused.
Her agent took all the pictures of the damage, but felt a shroud of sorrow and death looming as he stepped through the room, I did his best to hide his concerns and went out his way to show compassion as Kim's mother walked with him in disbelief. When they were finally done, they both walked out into the kitchen to where all three kids where sitting around the table. It had been a long day for Kim, but somehow she managed to stay calm in front of everyone. The insurance again remarked to Kim, how
happy he was that she had not been hurt in all of this. But had she? As the storm continued to rage on, the
carpenters had hammered the last nail to secure a large sheet of plywood over the
broken window.
"If you need anything Ma'am, please contact me. This is my direct number." said the insurance agent.
"I will, and thank you for coming out so quickly. It's not easy trying to get things done when my husband is out of town, especially when unexpected events take place."
"I understand Ma'am. Again, if there is anything you need, please contact us."
"Thank you," replied Kim's mom, as she walked him to the door.
They managed to refrain from going back into the damaged room. They ate their dinner and then went upstairs to their rooms to get ready for bed. Kim and her family realized that it was getting late, and no
matter what had happened, it was over and it was time to get some rest. Nothing
more could be done until morning and the worst was behind them…or so it
seemed at that moment.
Join me tomorrow for the conclusion of "Black Bird" and delve into the hallows of the evil that awaits. Until then - I'll blog ya later.