"Black Bird" Part Two

 

17 Days Until Halloween

 

“Black Bird”

Part Two

Original Story By: Stacey L. Bolin

Music to set the mood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E3zNHd936c

 

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.

 

 

"Black Bird"

 

 

21 days until Halloween

 

"Black Bird"

Original Story

By: Stacey L. Bolin

Copyright: 10/10/14

 Music to set the mood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E3zNHd936c

 

Kim Logan, a women in her mid thirties sat upon her back deck, enjoying the morning sun and the refreshing taste of a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The morning was quiet and peaceful, when she was suddenly startled by a bird as black as night, that flew down and perched itself on the deck railing right in front of her. "I hate you! Shoo, get out of here...scram!" she yelled out trying to get the bird to flea. At that very moment she suddenly remembered why she hated black birds and what happened on that day many years ago.  

***

            It was a cold wet rainy school day in late fall for younger brother Matthew who was 8 and sister alley, who was 6, but for Kim who was the oldest of the three and had just turned 15, had been complaining of a sore throat and her cheeks looked flushed. To her mother it appeared she was showing symptoms of a pending cold, but she didn't have a fever. None-the-less her mother decided it was best that she stay home so that whatever it was, would resolve sooner than later.   Kim was never one to miss school as she truly enjoyed it and hanging with friends, but she was feeling achy and knew that rest, quiet, and chicken noodle soup was always what Doctor Mom ordered, and she didn't mind taking the day to rest. Her favorite thing to do, when she stayed home from school was to lie on the couch that was in front of the picture window. She loved the feeling of the sun rays upon her face as she watched television, but today she would have to accept the feeling of warmth generated by the woodstove across the living room.

She got her pillow and her favorite blanket from her bed and wished her brother and sister a good day at school as they rushed out of the house to the waiting school bus parked in front of their driveway. Her mother waved good-bye to them at the door. It was her everyday routine before she too was out the door to work. Her father was a traveling business man, that spent more time on the road than at home, but with the new-fangled technology, he'd do his best to send his love through Skype at least twice a week. She sat up on the couch to see her mother wave to her before getting into her car. As she waited to see her mother pull out of the driveway, she was distracted by a black bird perch upon the wrought iron fence that framed their yard. How strange it was to her, to see any animal out in the pouring rain, but the old oak tree with a few remaining leaves on it was probably just enough to shelter it. She tried to imagine what it could be thinking about, never realizing that as she pondered her numerous thoughts, he mother had left without her noticing.

The sky was a cold dark gray and the sounds of thunder rolled in from a distant place as it worked on its arrival near her home. She stared at the Black Bird, "Why don't you fly out of the rain?" she thought. She could see the rain drops falling from its black beak. How strange it was, that it just sat there, almost like it was watching her watching it, from the window. The heavy rain make its feathers look glossy black that made it hard to determine where exactly its eyes were on its head. The wind began to pick up and tree leaves and debris tumbled across the lawn, some getting stuck against the fence, while other small pieces found its way through and out onto the road. The thunder grew louder with each flash of lighting that brightened the sky. Still the Black Bird stayed firmly perched on the fence in the heavy wind and rain.

It wasn't like Kim to allow her to be so caught up in something, unless it was a school project or while reading a book. Something about this soaking wet Black Bird was causing her to feel unsettled and almost fearful. "This is crazy...It's just a bird! You've seen birds a thousand times." she muttered to herself still peering out the window afraid to look away. Some how she felt that she wasn't watching it...it was watching her, but how? But why? She decided to turn and look at the clock on the wall, wanting to know what time it was and was hoping that when she'd turn around the creepy Black Bird will have flown away. She was in disbelief when she saw that this "Staring Contest", had lasted more than two hours and knew that it would be gone when she looked back out of the window.

She was relieved when her feeling was right, it was gone - then bam, she jumped back onto the floor. A bird had flown and hit the picture window with great force, but the glass remained intact. Her heart beat a mile a minute as she tried to catch her breath. She sat there for a moment. "Was it dead?" she wondered. Slowly she crept back onto the couch and then ever so cautiously peered over the top of the couch to see out the window. The Black Bird was now perched on the railing of the porch. It was at this moment, that she remembered an old tale that her late grandmother had once told her. That birds are drawn to energy and sometimes a home is filled with such an abundance of loving energy, they fly right into the glass, never seeing it there, causing them to fall to the ground, shake their head for a moment and then fly off to do something new.  But if a bird breaks through a window and dies, it would mean that someone in the home would die soon. She had asked her mother about this story that was told to her and it was met with a simple smile and a comment that grandmas mean well.

As she looked at the Black Bird, she watched has his eyes turned from black to hell fire red, then he 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 time 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.

To be continued....