Part 2 (1/2)

The rest of the day was more fun than I thought it would have been, and we even got chance to do some food shopping.

I decided to make my famous lasagne. Libby looked lost following me down the aisles as I looked for all the ingredients I needed. I also picked more food for the rest of the week, already having some idea what I was going to cook. Libby just looked happy at the thought of not having to cook anymore and I say cook in the loosest sense of the word.

By the time we got back to the house it was already getting dark, but if anything the falling night seemed to enhance the beauty of the surrounding scenery. I had really wanted to go exploring but that would have to wait until tomorrow. Although I wasn't scared of the dark, I knew the idea of walking around a place I didn't know would be a stupid idea. It was just so peaceful. If it hadn't been freezing cold I could have sat out, staring at the mountains for hours. They fascinated me. Every time I looked, there was something different about them, the colours, the shapes and the smells of the air seemed to change with them. Just then the wind picked up and Libby looked impatient at me while I lingered.

”Sorry, I'm coming,” I said rus.h.i.+ng to the door with arms full of shopping bags.

”I'll put the dinner in the oven, you go and relax.” Libby said with a wink.

As we had lost track of time I had agreed to save the lasagne until the next night, and as I hadn't prevented Libby from buying any frozen meals, that's what was on the menu tonight.

We had lunch out at the mall so I was still full from my burger and chips, or fries, as they say here. The girl at the counter had looked truly confused when I ordered; thankfully Libby had come to my rescue.

”You nearly ended up with a bag of crisps,” she had teased.

After our mammoth shopping adventure, Libby had taken a long detour to show me the town and although it wasn't big it had taken longer than we had expected, taking the long roads winding in and out of the wilderness. That's when I gave in to burritos from a packet, Frank's favourite apparently.

I carried all my bags up the two flights of stairs. I had done well today, ok well everything I had bought was a shade rather than an actual colour but I bought some warm tops, all long sleeved of course. I had bought a new pair of jeans, two sweaters and most importantly, a warm black jacket. It was a long coat down below the knees with a warm interlining and had long sleeves that were more like gloves as they had a hole you could put your thumb into. It had a big hood that hung nicely when down and above all it looked water proof which was a must as Libby had told me how much it rains here.

It was fully dark outside my cosy window by the time I got out of the shower and dried my hair. I pulled on some warm sweat pants and an old t-s.h.i.+rt that I was using for pyjamas and a chunky woollen throw to put round my shoulders. I had put my long fingerless gloves on as soon as my arms were dry. This was mainly for my benefit, along with others. I hated any reminder of the incident, so therefore tried to hide any evidence that would remind me of the h.e.l.l I had experienced.

My sister's face, whenever she saw my gloves, was one of deep sorrow and regret. She tried to hide her feelings but I knew her too well although I appreciated it all the same.

I decided that I was tired enough to get some sleep without the fear of dwelling on the past. I had to confess that the shopping trip had taken it out of me, which was always a good thing.

I had already heard Libby and Frank go to bed so I tried to tiptoe downstairs to get a drink before bed. I didn't want to put the light on in case it woke them, which made getting down to the kitchen all the more difficult in the dark.

I was just about to knock into the cupboard at the bottom of the stairs, when a sudden flash of lightning lit up every window in the ma.s.sive hall illuminating my way. Of course it also scared the life from my bones and I froze, too terrified to move, with my hands clamped around my mouth so as not to scream. Then it came five seconds after the light, the loudest bang and crack of thunder I had ever heard. I put this down to the location, as it must have echoed off the mountains because it seemed to go on for what seemed like minutes. I remembered something vague from my childhood, about for each second after the lightning strikes, that the waiting for thunder represents a mile. So therefore the storm was five miles away. This was somewhat comforting.

It wasn't that I was scared of storms normally but being in an unfamiliar house in the middle of what seemed like nowhere didn't appeal to me. In fact storms kind of fascinated me. The power of them was so immense. I used to like to think of them being created in anger by the almighty Zeus, forged by his own hand to be sent to the underworld, ruled by his brother Hades. This was to be a warning of his impending wrath towards his treacherous brother living in the pits of h.e.l.l.

I nearly ran into the kitchen and turned on the light before the next angry blast of light could erupt. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge as I noticed that a heavy downpour of rain had now added to the night's stormy weather and left quickly, trying to glide up the stairs without making any noise. I took two steps at a time. Amazingly I only stumbled once and considering the steep uneven steps to the attic that were consumed by darkness, I thought that I did pretty well not breaking something.

Once inside the comfort of my own room and seeing the warm glow of my bed lamp I felt as if I could finally breathe. I got my cold body into bed just in time before the next eruption. The explosion of light and noise indicated to me that the storm was now right above us. And Zeus was most definitely very angry tonight! This was by far the worst storm I had ever heard. It seemed to last forever. I didn't know whether it had finished or not by the time I finally fell asleep but when I awoke suddenly to the strangest sound, I didn't know if it was thanks to any noise the storm produced. Wide eyed and breathing heavy I lay waiting for the sound again.

It sounded like something was trying to scratch their way out of my window. Half in between sleep and consciousness, I tried to make sense of the noise, coming up with explanations in my mind as to what could be the cause of this irritating noise. My mind led me to a more familiar sound that our family cat used to make when she jumped up to my window ledge. Puddy, our big grey pet cat used to scratch at the frame to get my attention, so I would open the window for her to come into my room, in the hopes that I would share my bed with her.

This thought quickly had me sat in an upright position, frozen, staring out into the darkness. The noise hadn't been something trying to get out but more importantly, something was trying to get in!

I sat waiting for the noise again hoping to G.o.d that it had only been part of my dreamy state and that I had imagined the whole thing. But then I heard it again and nearly jumped out of my skin. The clawing had become more erratic sounding, more frantic to enter my room and get to me.

My heart raced, it felt as if it would burst through my chest like the thing in the Alien movie. I still couldn't see what it was and knew that if I put my lamp on it wouldn't help, the only thing left for me to do was to get out of bed and walk over to my window to get a better look. The problem was I wasn't sure that I wanted a better look.

It was getting louder now and I did think about waking up Libby and Frank but then what if it had been nothing or was gone by the time I got back to the room. They would think I had finally lost it. And I feared the nut house more than anything else. Well almost anything.

I decided that I had been through worst things and that I would brave it. It was just harder to get my legs to agree with my mind's decision. My body and mind refused to co-operate with each other.

Finally I got to my feet and stood very still, waiting for the noise to begin again, wondering if I would ever be able to get back to sleep, not knowing what it was. I had to find out even though I was terrified. I still needed to know. But as I crept forward taking a deep breath with every step I took, the vision started to get clearer. The clawing was so violent that the gla.s.s sounded near to shattering at any second. Suddenly I was beyond all fear, and ran over to the window as fast as I could tripping over the clothes I had left on the floor, then falling into a heap on the window seat. This put me face to face with the creature trying to get inside.

Two huge black wings battered against the window in frustration as the thick set of claws on each foot looked deadly enough to rip through skin like a hot knife to b.u.t.ter. I sat staring at this enormous bird trying to destroy my window. I was fixated, I couldn't move, it looked like a raven only more the size of a giant eagle. Its feathers all looked as if they had been pushed backwards, it was so scruffy and not like the usual majestic birds I had seen on TV. Oh no, this one looked b.l.o.o.d.y possessed! What had come over this creature to want to behave this way? It looked almost demonic, eyes bulging with fierce hatred that glowed in the darkness it seemed to own, the look of a killer that had finally found its prey.

Just then a great scream rang through the dark sky.... no not a scream, more like a roaring howl. I had never heard anything like it before. It sounded part animal, part man and part... something else. The bird heard it too and pus.h.i.+ng from the window's frame, made off in flight towards the direction the noise had seemed to come from but it was hard to make out in the night sky.

My mind raced as I still sat at the window looking for any explanation as to what just happened. Had it even really happened or was I still asleep?

When I had been taking my medication I would often hallucinate, seeing strange things but even then I was sort of aware that the reason at the time was due to the drugs in my system. This was not the same at all. Whatever had happened, one thing I knew for sure was that it had been real, for one reason I could taste the metallic taste of blood in my mouth where I had bit my bottom lip in fear. This was a hard thing to accept but there was no other reasoning behind it. I was clearly awake, as my sleepiness had soon worn off due to panic.

My mind wandered through any explanation I could think of, none of which made any sense. I finally crossed the room towards my bed, when I stopped dead as something important hit me, the memory of the look on the creature when it too had heard the same blood curdling sound that ripped through the forest.

Its master was calling...

Chapter 3 - New Friends.

The rest of the week went relatively quickly and well, more importantly, without any more crazed bird incidents. But still, it didn't keep me from wondering what the h.e.l.l had happened?

I had been for numerous walks and hiked as far as I could until I was sure I knew the area, so I wouldn't get lost. I had even arranged to meet up with RJ at a coffee shop in town, to get to know each other before the big night at club Afterlife. After all, rock music isn't the best way for a first ”let's get to know each other” date and as I kept getting reminded, I really needed to meet some new friends, hopefully before I started college.

The week hadn't completely gone by without some progression towards this new life I was trying to create. I had landed myself a job at club Afterlife as a waitress thanks to Frank's connections. And even better, without an interview, all I had to do was show up for my first s.h.i.+ft next week. Libby was still getting round the idea of course, not wanting me to push things too soon but I was strangely optimistic.

I really did need a job, besides from what I had heard from Frank, its where most of the...I quote ”kids your age” hang out. So at least I would meet people there if the RJ thing didn't pan out. Luckily I wouldn't have long to wait to find out as I was due to meet her in about twenty minutes.

Libby had been kind enough to offer to drop me off as she wasn't back in work for another week, she had booked time off to help me settle in and show me around. She had even been hiking with me as this was a pa.s.sion of hers and Franks. She showed me the best spot to go on a clear day, unfortunately it had been cloudy and raining that day but it was still an amazing view. A brilliant place for a date, she told me and then went into one of those stories I had heard a million times already. It was about the time Frank had surprised her with a romantic picnic for their anniversary. But I listened as if I hadn't heard it time and time again. She continued all the way home, not leaving out one tiny detail. I loved that smile she gave, whenever she spoke about Frank, it was nice that she was so in love. I was happy for her. But it also had me wondering if I would ever find a love like that?

”Slow down, I'm not late Libs!” At this point I thought I wasn't going to make it, not in one piece anyway.

”What, I'm doing the speed limit!”

”Yeah right, around the bends maybe, see that thing there, next to the gas, it's called the brake, maybe you should think about using it once in a while,” I teased.

”You just chill out about my driving and worry about meeting the Goth.”

”What...I'm not worried!” I didn't even convince myself with this statement.

”Ok then, why did it take you longer than me to get ready this morning? Plus your room looked like a bomb went off and the clothes were the shrapnel.” This was true; it was a complete disaster zone.

It wasn't that I was worried but more apprehensive. It had been years since I had to do anything like this, it felt like first grade all over again. The panic was more down to not knowing what questions were going to be asked, it felt like a test that I hadn't studied for...h.e.l.l I didn't even know the subject. There would be your usual, where are you from? Why did you move here? These I could deal with but it was the more personal questions like Do you have a boyfriend? Have you ever had one? The normal boy talk, that always comes up in these types of situations.

It wasn't that I couldn't answer these questions. It's just that my reactions that followed were the problem. I wasn't good at lying! I would just have to stay calm and relax, after all she was a Goth, she might not be into boys, she might be one of those 'it's all about the music' types. Ok, highly unlikely but one could only hope.

In the end I chucked on a pair of old jeans that had seen better days, a pair of trainers that had the same problem and of course a long sleeve top that was grey with thin black stripes. My hair was wrapped up tightly into a twist that was held securely by a large clip made of metal, which had a b.u.t.terfly on one side and a rather large point on the other. I had bought this from a Christmas market last year thinking it would serve two purposes. One, with it being made of metal it would be strong enough to hold up all my long thick hair, and two, more importantly, it would also be useful as a weapon. These days you never knew when you would need protection.

We pulled up in the parking lot right outside the main doors as it had started to pour it down with rain.

”Well, good luck, I have some stuff to do but I'll be back here in about an hour...ok?”

”Yeah ok, no problem, I'll meet you here.”