When Blackbirds Fly

Chapter Ten

I'm shaken awake by Ian, who looks like he's just seen a ghost. Although, at this point, it wouldn't surprise me if he really had. I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Merle, get up. We have to leave," he whispers frantically. Suddenly I feel wide awake.

Not questioning what he says, I get up as quickly as I can and pick up my backpack, along with the empty water bottle Zero had given me earlier. Ian helps me put the backpack on before beckoning me to follow him.

Silently and swiftly we run through the undergrowth, the trees casting eerie shadows all around us. I wonder what Ian could have seen that would make him this afraid. We make it to a clearing where Audrey and Zero are waiting. Ian and Zero share a quick nod with each other before taking off farther into the trees. Audrey and I follow close behind.

"What's going on?" I whisper as quietly as I can.

"No time to explain." Zero whispers back. "It's right behind us. We need to be extremely quiet." Not even bothering to look back, I continue to jog beside the others.

I lose track of how long we've been running. In time I begin to get a little winded. The others seem worn out too. We slow down the pace a bit, running for a few more minutes before slowing down yet again.

"Okay..." Zero breathes, coming to a complete stop. He hunches over, putting one hand on his knee and holding up two fingers. I bend over as well, trying to catch my breath.

"What happened?" I manage to say.

"W-wendigo." Ian coughs out. Everyone falls silent as the word falls from his lips. I sit down and hug my sides. A wendigo is a humanoid creature from an old legend. It supposedly eats humans for a snack. I shiver thinking about their long, twisted horns and sharp teeth.

"But I thought that wendigos were just a folktale. I didn't think they were real." I marvel quietly, moving to sit on the ground.

Audrey shakes her head. "They're very real."

"The proof was right behind us." Ian vouches. Suddenly I'm glad that I didn't look behind me. "If we had made so much as a peep, I'm sure it would have found us."

"Guys." Zero inserts. "We should get moving soon. I have a feeling that won't be the last creature on our tail."

"Just...can we just sit here a little longer?" Audrey asks, her face still pale.

"No objections here," I respond. Ian nods his head fervently. I can't help but smile at his antics. Zero plops down beside me. Following suit, Audrey and Ian sit down in front of us. Conversations quickly resume.

"What a day."

"No joke."

"Before this, I'd never have thought I'd get attacked by a monster teacher, run away from home, and then get chased by a wendigo through the woods."

"I mean, does ANYBODY expect that to happen to them?"

"I guess not, unless you're a seer."

"Couldn't be me."

"For real."

"Wish I could relate."

The five minutes of peace are short-lived. As we sit there, talking to each other I get a strange sense of sadness looking around at my friends. It only lasted a moment, but for a few seconds, we almost seemed like normal teenagers.

Word Count: 545

I got my inspiration for this chapter from a project I'm doing with my friends. A while back we got together and formed a group called Mantra Studios. Our current goal is to write, film, and produce a movie based on the Wendigo. I think it's going to be fun partially because I get to die in the first half of the movie (although this might just be my weird side talking).     :)

-RS <3