BLACKOUT; JR [1]

6.3

It must have been at least half an hour before Andy actually accomplished anything with the magnet, but he got there in the end. Andy was hard at work while the rest of us did nothing but watch him. I was laying on my bed, next to Felix.

"This is a very powerful magnet." Andy stated, tinkering with it. "Exposing the security footage in an alternative magnetic field will remove all data." He explained, trying to get us to understand. We had no idea what he was doing, but we trusted him enough not to question him about it.

Felix sat up, eyeing Andy suspiciously. "That's pretty anti-establishment of you, Andy." He said. "We'll make a Goth of you yet." I snorted at this, and Felix looked accomplished at the fact that he'd made somebody laugh.

"Yeah, that's great but how are we going to get into the police station so we can erase all the footage?" Sam asked, his question stumping Andy. But before he could reply, the door swung open.

It was her. The witch lady.

"Maybe I can help." She said, as casual as ever. She'd walked in without any form of invitation, while we stared at her, practically in a daze. The woman looked frazzled, but I think that's just how she looked all the time. She still had the beads in her long wavy hair, and she was dressed the same. I tilted my head as I stared, trying to find something that was different about her appearance.

"Creepy..." Sam mumbled, sharing a distressed look with me.

"What are you doing here?" Felix asked her urgently, to which she rolled her eyes.

"You need an adult to help get you into the police station." The way she spoke made her seem even creepier, she was so nonchalant about her being here.

I looked at the open door, and suddenly I had a strong suspicion that she was waiting outside, searching for an opening that could justify her rushing in.

I coughed awkwardly. "But the crows." I said lamely, dumbly pointing a finger at the door. Andy made a muffled noise before he dumped packets of microwave popcorn onto the small table in front of him.

Sam chuckled at the scene before him. "Dude, we found a stove, not a microwave." He noted.

"It's not for us."

Felix stood up, moving to close the door, but leave it open just enough to be able to see the situation outside. As he stared out, he sighed. Then he shut the door again, pitching his new plan.

"Get the popcorn." He ordered. Sam was there first, practically throwing a packet at each of us. It didn't take the rest of us long to figure out his plan, and the four of us were behind him in a second.

"On three." Felix mumbled. With our popcorn at the ready, he pulled the door open a little further. "Three." He jerked the handle toward his stomach, allowing us to throw the popcorn seeds out into the grass by the door. Then he shut it, letting us listen to the birds for a few seconds before smiled at us nervously. "Let's go!" He shouted, full of adrenaline. He ran outside, dashing through the birds with us following him. He went straight to the cover of the trees, the safest and closest shelter. We didn't stop running until we found the dirt track that would take us to the road.

"So, why is the creepy lady helping us?" Sam asked in a low voice, his face right next to my ear. I shrugged, visibly stumped. I jerked my arm out, practically shoving Felix's shoulder.

He turned, his eyebrows coming together in annoyance. I glared right back at him. "I don't know." He hissed, walking faster just to get away from us.

"Maybe she likes us?" Andy suggested in a flat voice. He sounded like he didn't believe his own words.

"As if." I scoffed, mumbling under my breath. Sam then smirked, looking from me to Phoebe.

"I don't know." Sam quipped, his eyebrows raised in a suggestive way. "I am pretty irresistible." His smirk never went away.

"As if." I repeated, smirking right back at him. He shoved me playfully, pushing me straight into Andy's side. He shoved me back toward Sam, the cycle repeating once more. The giggling turned Felix and Phoebe around, but their expressions were the complete opposite. Our little game made Felix smile, all the anger in his face had dissolved. But Phoebe scowled, rolling her eyes and turning away from us with clear disgust.

"Get a move on, airheads." She ordered, speeding up herself. Apart from the attitude, she didn't seem particularly awful. She was helping us, so I had no issue with her at this point in time. We needed all the help we could get.

"Phoebe, what's the plan? How are you going to get us inside?" Andy asked, opening up new conversation topics.

"The plan is for me to talk, while you say nothing." She barely turning her head to look at us while she talked. "Wanna practise?" This time Sam snorted.

"What exactly are you going to say?" Andy asked, not at all affected by her remark.

Now she turned, the scowl still there. "I talk, you say nothing." She repeated. "How hard is that?"

Andy looked offended, rightfully so. "She really is weird." He whispered to us, his lips set in a frown.

"I heard that!" Phoebe shot back, the annoyance clear in her voice.

There was more screeching in the sky, and it was clear that the crows were back. All I did was point at the sky, but my silent action seemed to get the point across.

"We should run." Sam noted, no longer dragging his feet. We all then hurried to Phoebe's van as fast as possible.

Phoebe got to her car before us, and didn't say anything to me when I jumped in the seat beside her. The three boys got in the back, and Felix brought the door closed with a loud bang.

"What is it with these creepy crows?" Sam yelled, looking out the window and cowering at the same time. It was so loud, we all had to shout at each other.

"Another attack?" Felix cut in, his knees digging into the back of my seat. I was about to turn around, but a crow crashed right into the window beside my face. I screamed, but it was muffled because of my hand, which instantly rose to my face.

"It's like the bees, right?" I asked nervously, taking in a sharp breath.

"Right." Felix mumbled, finally moving his knees away from the back of my chair. Then he pulled out the talisman, twisting it around in his hands.

"What will happen if we can't get to Jake in time?" Andy asked, looking to Phoebe for an answer. There was no verbal answer from her, but the look on her face said it all.

"He'll be fostered out, probably." Felix informed, he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry.

Sam's face mirrored mine. "We can't let that happen!" He yelled, his eyes wide with fear. I stared right back at him with nothing to say.

"He's our friend." Andy added in a low voice, which made Phoebe turn around for the first time since we'd gotten in the car.

With a sarcastic smile, she placed her hand over her heart. "I feel touched." She said, her words laced with sarcasm. Then her scowl returned. "By nausea."

As she started the van, the crows didn't stop following, just circled us as we made our way into town.