53 The Birds (2/2)

This version of Luna didn't possess the radar function Joshua had later added in his soul world, however, it was connected to a satellite used for the GPS function. Luna used it to survey the area and began giving them directions and warning him of incoming attacks. Thanks to that, they slowly made their way toward the exit of the forest. Furthermore, Luna was programmed to contact emergency services if its user was in any form of danger. Streaming footage straight from Joshua's eyes, the local police department was notified. If the situation wasn't so dire, Joshua probably would have paid good money to see the reaction of the police department regarding a crazy bird attack.

Unfortunately, the number of birds was multiplying like crazy. As they were nearing the entrance of the forest, they realized they weren't out of the woods yet. A whole murder of crows was waiting for them, blocking their path. Joshua slowed down and looked at his friend. Age was catching up to him and he couldn't run much further. He was already several meters behind Joshua.

”Don't worry about me, Joshua. Get out of here!”

”You know I can't do that!”

Joshua watched in horror as a group of crows were about to strike the old man from behind. He didn't have time to duck. However, to Joshua's relief, they ignored him. Instead, they were charging straight at Joshua.

”Whaaaaaaaa!” he yelled as he ducked, barely avoiding the charge.

'They're after me?'

Indeed, now that there was some distance between them, the crows were ignoring his friend. Seeing this, he ran further away from him and as he expected, they followed him.

”I don't know what I did to Alfred, but they're after me. Help should be here soon, just stay down and they'll ignore you. I'll find refuge in the shack!” he yelled at his friend as he was running.

Thus, he ran in the opposite direction. By the time the shack entered his field of vision, his body was full of scratch wounds. He had been running for a while so his speed had dropped and even with Luna's help, it became more difficult to dodge the birds' assault. Using his last strength, he sprinted until he reached the door and slammed it shut after entering the place. The only light in the place was a small window which he quickly covered with the shelf, as he saw crows were already trying to break the glass. He also blocked the door with a chair. Only then did he feel a bit at ease.

Joshua felt extremely tired, fell on his butt and took a few deep breaths. He kept an eye on the outside via Luna's footage. The place was being swarmed by crows. He heard glass shatter as the birds broke through the window and saw the shelf tremble. Actually, the whole building was trembling as the crows were relentlessly slamming into it.

Unsurprisingly, Joshua was terrified. This whole situation made no sense at all. At least they left his friend alone, but he was becoming more skeptical about surviving until help arrived. And he would be proven right. It didn't take long for cracks to appear on the wooden door and on the shelf. The strength those birds were deploying was ridiculous. He had no way out, no matter how much he thought about it. Well… Actually, there was one thing he could do.

Soon, a few holes were formed in the door by the repeated bird attacks. One by one, they stormed into the place, surrounding Joshua on all sides.

'This is it, hu. Well, Luna's in good hands. I did my part to help the human machinery forward at least.'

As the crows stormed him, he executed his last plan. And then? Darkness.

At least, that's what he thought. Instead, he found himself floating in the air. He opened his eyes and saw he was still inside the shack. However, he was no longer in his body. He looked downward, the crows were busy devouring his corpse.

'Good thing I didn't feel any of that. So ghosts are actually a thing? Maybe I should go haunt a dictator or two.'

Joshua had overwritten Luna's security protocol and created a short circuit of the chip inside his brain, killing him instantly. Of course, only Joshua was capable of something like that, normally a maneuver like this was impossible. Still, Joshua chose to die instantly rather than to be eaten alive by a bunch of crazy birds.

The crows kept pecking at his corpse for a few minutes. When they were done, his body was in a sorry state. The crows exited the place, leaving him alone. Finally, although a bit too late. He suddenly heard some gunfire. The police had finally arrived and shot several rounds, scaring the birds away. A couple of them entered the shack. They were all wearing a helmet and some body armor. When they saw the state he was in, they all gasped. One of them even vomited. His corpse was soon covered with a drape.

A few minutes later, his friend entered the place, sat next to him and cried for a long time. This made Joshua happy in a certain way. Apart from his family, not many people would cry over his disappearance yet someone he genuinely cared about did.

While looking around, he overheard two middle-aged agents talking.

”A report just came in. A massive flock of crows was seen flying away from the city. We lost track of them.”

”Jesus, man I've never seen a case like this. What do we do in such a case?”

”We've sent out a warning through all the official channels. If they've struck once, they might attack again. Ideally, we find the flock and eliminate them.”

”I dunno, buddy. We've been partners for over twenty years, and I tell you. This must be the work of the Devil!”

”The Devil huh? Maybe, but what would he want with me?” Joshua said out loud.

”I'm no Devil, merely a God,” he heard a voice say behind him.

Joshua's expression froze and he slowly turned around. A massive black bird was standing there, observing him.

”Good Day, Lockman,” the bird said.

Joshua took a few steps back. He didn't know what this thing was, but it was clear it was related to his death. He thought of running, but it's not like he had anywhere to escape to.

”You know, I'm not an expert in socializing, but even I know you usually greet someone before murdering them, not afterward.”

The crow cackled in response.

”I suppose that's a fair point. Our partnership might have started on the wrong turn. My apologies.”

”I'm not a vulgar person, but you know where you can shove that apology of yours?”

”Things didn't go as planned. You pulled quite a stunt there. Such a waste.”

”Me pulling a stunt? Is this some kind of joke?”

”Not at all, you're the kind of person I need. I spent quite a lot of resources locating someone like you and even more traveling to this world.”

”All of that to murder me? What did I do to you to piss you off like that?”

”I told you, I'm a God. More precisely, a God of Knowledge. And I'm not angry at you. I'm always looking for exceptional individuals. They are far too few of them. While painful for the target, devouring someone alive allows me to acquire their memories. You wouldn't have really died though, I would have turned you into a core to be part of me.”

”Alive? You mean…?”

”Yes, by killing yourself like that, the process failed. Worse, you caused irreparable damage to your brain, it's unusable!”

Joshua grinned.

”I'm not sure what you mean by turning me into a core, but seriously, I'm glad you failed. Who the hell do you think you are?”

The crow shook his head.

”Your insolence doesn't matter. I've already invested too much into you. You will work for me willingly in the end. It's a longer process, but I will refine your soul into a core. I'm sure someone of your talent will be glad to meet the other cores.”

A black aura surrounded the crow. Before he could react, it was launched at Joshua, and wrapped itself around him.

”Let me go, you birdbrain!”

The crow ignored him and opened some sort of portal behind him and went through it, dragging Joshua along with him. Ignoring his protests, he continued talking.

”You have a lot of potential, but your soul is currently too weak to be of any use. I will place you into a soul-feeding room. You will remain there until you have grown powerful enough to be worthy of me. Do not worry, the process is painless and will be extremely beneficial to you.”

”You think I'm just gonna accept to work for you after what you've done?”

”I suppose you won't. I will alter your memories of today's event. I told you, in the end, you will work for me willingly.”

A feather detached itself from the crow's body and planted itself between Joshua's eyes. It appeared he was losing conscience as the memory became blurry before disappearing completely.

###

Catherine and Joshua remained quiet during the whole scene, acting as the spectators they were meant to be. Still, as the scene went on and Joshua progressively remembered the true events leading to his death, he trembled more and more. Catherine wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind, which calmed him a bit. They waited patiently for the show to end. Finally, they found themselves back in the rune lab. Joshua was still trembling and buried his face in his hands. Catherine waited for him to say something.

A few moments later, Joshua put himself straight and looked at her. He was grinning, although it felt more like a self-reassuring thing.