Crow

Ch. 2

To her dismay, the footsteps behind her stepped into the grass and picked up their pace as well. She started running now.

She had never exactly been an Olympic runner, but her fear practically gave her wings. She shot through the trees, weaving in and out between their trunks in an attempt to lose her pursuer.

It wasn't working; it was as though they knew this forest even better than Echo did.

She felt something slither around her ankle just then, though it had probably only been a tree root. Whatever it had been didn't matter to her; the only thing she cared about was the fact that it had tripped her.

A million different scenarios from murder movies flashed through her brain as the ground got closer and closer. Suddenly, it was as if someone had grabbed her by the arm and snatched her back to her feet before she could hit the ground.

Echo stumbled, momentarily shocked as she steadied herself and kept on running. She glanced over her shoulder, almost stumbling again when she caught sight of the scene behind her.

A huge flock of crows had appeared out of nowhere, blocking her view of whoever had been chasing her. Out of curiosity, she wanted to stop and get a closer look, but her legs kept moving in front of her as if they had a mind of their own.

So she kept running. She ran on for what seemed like miles before she finally got to her house. Echo threw open the door, slamming it shut behind her. Moments later, she found her mother humming and chopping vegetables in the kitchen.

All of the day's events that had happened until that point came rushing back to her at once.

Before she knew what she was doing, Echo had dropped her bag and was running across the kitchen to vault herself into her mother's arms. The older woman jumped a little in surprise, her stainless-steel kitchen knife clattering loudly onto the tile floor beside them.

Maybe it was because of the recent death of her friend, or maybe it was the stress of the chase that took place afterwards; but Echo suddenly found herself crying into her mother's shoulder without the ability to stop.

Between broken sobs, she managed to choke out everything that happened. Her mother stood stock-still, frozen in shock. After a few moments, she began to stroke her daughter's hair; whispering soothingly into Echo's ear as they slowly walked towards the couch.

Her mother wrapped her in a large quilt, rubbing her shoulders as they sat in silence. Despite the warm blanket and having her mother at her side, Echo kept shivering.

After all, the cold wasn't the source of her shaking.

***

Outside, a crow sat watching them from a low-hanging branch of an oak tree.

He recalled how he came across Lunette on the roof of the school earlier, speaking with a white snake that was coiled leisurely around her wrist.

"-and we'll have to act pretty soon by the looks of it. " Lunette had been saying. The snake bobbed it's head, leaning forward to hiss something into her ear. She gave an exasperated sigh, "We've been over this, Inahkt. We're moving the plan along because Echo's birthday is coming up in two months, of course! We need to take care of her before then."

The crow, who had already shifted into a human, creeped up silently behind them. However, before he could get close enough, the snake saw him and alerted the fox demon. Though she immediately whipped around to face him, he was already charging at her.

He threw her backwards into the railing, feeling the metal bend and creak underneath the sudden pressure. Lunette's fingertips turned into claws.

She slashed them across his left cheek, along with any other exposed area she could reach as his hands closed around her throat. The snake was nowhere to be seen, but he wasn't exactly sure that was a good thing.