Chapter Three: Crows Attack

Nobody knew or understood what was actually happening. It was in a blink of an eye that crows started to crash onto the glass window one by one, falling to their death and leaving a trail of blood behind them. Students started to get up, moving away from the window and staring at the sight with shocked looks.

“What the hell is happening?”

“Can they break the glass?”

“What should we do now?”

The questions were frantic, and all followed each other. Over the loud cawing, the birds’ constant collisions with glass, and the constant screams and shouts of the students, no one noticed, or saw the glass of the windows cracking. However, Lorraine did. It took her a couple of seconds to even comprehend what was happening. The memory of her previous dream was playing in her mind on repeat. She knew the glass would not hold them off for long.

She barely took a few steps away when the glass shattered into millions of pieces falling down on them. Lorraine made a move to protect her face. Once the crows gained entrance, they began to circle around her. She stared at the sight with wide eyes and started waving her hands in the air to keep them away from her. But they were resilient in their attack. Their small beaks were nipping viciously at her, and her flailing hands were not holding them off.

Bates had helped the students outside. Judy refused to leave though, shouting at Bates, yelling at him that Lorraine was still inside, and they had to help her. However, Bates knew that the young girl wouldn’t be able to do much. He gave a look to Aiden, which clearly ordered him to go help Lorraine.

Meanwhile, Lorraine was still struggling, and she tried to scream or yell for help but to no avail. She didn’t know where her voice had gone. Suddenly and out of nowhere, she felt an arm wrapping around her waist and a body sheltering her from the attacking birds.

She looked up and saw Aiden holding her body close to his and sitting them on the floor. They held each other’s gazes, but she was surprised that his face didn’t give away any pain, confusion, or fear. His face was just stoic, which unnerved her a little more. As sudden as it happened, it all ended. The crows flew away. It was like it was some sort of a planned attack.

“An attack on me.” The thought managed to petrify her even more.

Aiden pulled away from her, standing up with strange grace. He straightened his shirt, while Lorraine only sagged right where she was. She felt like she couldn’t move a muscle and her mind played what had happened. She was staring blankly, she couldn’t even blink.

Bates, who had re-entered the class, gave a nod to Aiden, whose jaws clenched for a split second. “He will help you to the infirmary, Ms. Dawson.” Mr. Bright said then narrowed his eyes towards Aiden before leaving the class.

Aiden looked down at her then leaned down, wrapped his arms around her and carried her bridal style. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat then said, “I… I think I can walk”. She stammered her words and struggled in his arms a little so he would just let her walk. However, her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

He carried her all the way to the infirmary without saying a word. Lorraine was not sure if she found the silence unsettling or oddly comforting. When they got to the infirmary, there was a nice middle-aged lady. The second she saw them, she jolted off her chair and exclaimed, “Oh dear! What happened?”

Aiden placed her on the bed, “She has several wounds on both her hands and she might be in shock”. He explained with a stoic expression on his face and a monotonic voice.

She got the kit, then turned to Lorraine, “tell me what happened”

She started tending to her wounds while Lorraine told her the tale of what happened in history with a trembling voice. She was done by the time she finished telling her what happened. “Dear God! What in the world is that? How did that even happen?” She shook her head and went to put the kit back in place.

Her questions were met with silence, so she continued, “People need to pray more. It seems that this town is going back to its dark days. I went to church this Sunday and there was barely anyone there. Father Gregory doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact.” Her disapproval was clear in her voice, “I will make sure to tell him what happened with you, maybe you would like to join us next Sunday?”

“What do you mean the town is going back to the dark days?” Lorraine inquired softly, these words seemed to be the one that stuck to her mind the most. It could be because Lorraine was never really the religious kind of girl. She believed in the possibility that a God might exist; there was nothing to deny the fact but nothing to prove it as well. So, she liked to keep an open mind to anything.

She couldn’t help but think that the elder woman was exaggerating. The words ‘dark days’ sounded just too morbid for a small town. In fact, the woman seemed to be a bit unhinged, but it was a healthy kind of curiosity which Lorraine had. “It’s just stories, you shouldn’t listen to nonsense like that” Aiden said beratingly.

The nurse scoffed in disapproval, “You young people, believing in nothing and thinking you have control over everything”. Aiden resorted to a silent death glare only for her to shake her head. She turned to Lorraine, “Perhaps you should call your parents so they can get you, if you’re not feeling well”

She shook my head and started getting off the bed, “No, I’d rather stay. It’s only my first day.” It wasn’t out of love for school, but she wasn’t sure her mother would be able to pick her up, and she didn’t want to burden or worry her on her first day at the hospital.

She shrugged, “Suit yourself, your wounds are not really that deep. But it’s better to rest after that shock you had”

They left the infirmary together. Lorraine tried to start a conversation; she hoped that if she managed to get him talking, she’d be able to lure him into telling her about the town and elaborate on what the nurse had told them, “What do you have next?”

He gave her side glance and after a second, he mumbled, “Literature AP”

“Me too, let’s go together”

“Seriously” he said with an annoyed sigh. Aiden wanted, no scratch that, he needed to be away from her. He needed to go to Bates and talk to him. “If what happened earlier was only the beginning, then I fear what might happen later.” He thought to himself. He knew crows don’t just attack people; it wasn’t a coincidence nor was it random. He knew it all too well.

Lorraine could understand that he was some sort of an introvert, or as per Judy’s words, weird, but she knew it didn’t justify giving her an attitude. She scowled before her steps came to stop, “You know you don’t need to be rude”.

Aiden only turned and arched an eyebrow at her. “Look if you want some idle chatter go find someone else, I’m not interested”. The coldness of his glare could have turned her to ice if it was possible.

She snorted, “Why would I ever want to even talk to you?” She crossed her arms over her chest, “I just want my questions answered”

Aiden turned away from her and started walking away, “I have no answers for you”. She glared at his back, before following behind him. They were the last to reach the class. Lorraine noticed that there were only two available seats in the middle of the class. They sat down and the class started. The teacher didn’t even seem to notice her presence or perhaps he deliberately ignored it.

When lunch time came, she decided that she would spend it googling the new town. But that didn’t go as expected for the moment she entered the cafeteria Judy was in her face with frantic questions about whether she was okay or not.

“I told Mr. Bright to help you, I really tried to, but he wouldn’t let me and pulled me out of the class”. Her eyes scanned Lorraine’s body to check for her injury and she noticed the bandages covering her hand. Judy’s eyes lingered on them before saying, “I can’t even begin to understand what happened there” she let out a breath, “I mean honest-to-god crows just decided to gather and attack the living hell out of you!” She exclaimed the last part in obvious bewilderment.

Lorraine fidgeted with her bandages and absently said, “Believe me when I tell you, I cannot believe it either”. She tucked a strand of her long black hair behind her ear, “I wanted to ask you about something”. When Judy gave her a questioning look, urging her to talk, Lorraine continued, “The nurse said something really weird”.

When she told her what the elder woman said, Judy rolled her eyes and waved a hand in the air like she was just about to say something ridiculous, “It’s just old stories” Her demeanor changed, “How about I tell you on the way to the others? They’d love to meet you.” Lorraine nodded her head hesitantly but allowed Judy to pull her into the direction where her friends sat.