Blacken Read online

  The knowledge that someone actually went missing recently since she came into town kicked the investigation into a new gear. Avie wanted to find something, anything, that could make sense of why people disappeared. It took a few weeks, the Dewey Decimals going through both natural and supernatural elements, trying to cover all bases.

  They were running in circles; all the information blended together and didn’t go anywhere. Any time they discovered something that looked as though it could lead to an answer of some sort, came up as a red herring, leading them back to square one.

  The pair were no closer to any answers than they were at the beginning.

  “I know these things take time, but shouldn’t there be more? Should we have found something after a month of searching?” Her head rested on the table after pushing a manila folder to its other side, “Maybe it’s why so many people accepted religion as an answer. This shit is frustratingly confusing.”

  The librarian came to sit down beside her, “I know it’s tough and I know it feels impossible, but we’ve got all the wrong answers out of the way, the right one has to come soon. Once it does, we can figure out a way to stop what’s been going on.”

  She leaned her head on his shoulder, “You always know what to say. I hope we can find out more, I just have to be patient. I guess, overall, I’m worried that it will happen to me too.”

  “That’s why there’s more priority now, you’ve felt the hum again and we don’t know what that means. We won’t rush anything, you look exhausted. You should really go home and get some sleep,” the blond was idly rubbing circles into her back as he spoke, causing Avie to feel the wash of sleep kick in with all its power.

  “I suppose you’re right. It would help to rest up for work tomorrow too.”

  She got up to leave, throwing on her coat for protection against the chilly air. The temperatures once again dropped near freezing in the mountainous September atmosphere, gracing her every time she stepped outside.

  “If your boss isn’t in, I might be able to run you some food!” he called out after her.

  Avie waved back at him, “Here’s hoping! Have a good night, Owen!” With that, she walked out of the library and into the night, seeing puffs of her breath as she shuddered, drawing the coat closer to her body.

  The walk home was going to be a long one.

  It was back.

  The same call she felt to draw her into town, the same pull that hummed in her blood and whined in her bone marrow picked up its frequency in the small hours of the night. Familiar vibrations woke Avie from a dead sleep, causing her to shoot upright from her bed in a panicked state. She clutched at her heart, the bass baritone of the buzzing affecting the center of her circulatory system harshly.

  She gasped for air, sweating, desperately trying to crawl out of the mulberry satin sheets and onto the cool wooden floor—all the while focusing only on the vibrating in a feeble act to calm it down herself. It was worse, it was way worse this time around.

  Avie couldn’t take this. There was something else, something she was supposed to do or find; nobody else had the forceful hum continue after they moved into Blacken, but here she was, continually suffering.

  Finally, after resting on the cooling wood beneath her, her body accumulated to the shock, allowing her to breathe without it catching in her diaphragm. The woman wasn’t taking any chances of another harsh attack like this to happen again. Promptly, she staggered up on shaking knees and all but threw on her violet coat before rushing out of the door, shoes hardly hanging on.

  The unexplainable phenomenon of Blacken, an all-encompassing drive to move; to seek. Most seemed to think the town itself was the driving force, even Avie in the first few weeks. It was naive to think that it would stop as it did for others.

  No, she knew better after having her body under the powerful vibrating strength long after moving to the town.

  It wasn’t a phenomenon of the town.

  Something else was calling, and she had to find out what.

  CHAPTER 5

  The bitter night caressed her exposed skin, her body shivering upon walking out of her small apartment and into the streets.

  Instinctively, Avie wrapped her arms around her frame to keep her core warmer if only a fraction. The young woman was disoriented, the drumming in her veins occupying her thoughts. She had to steady herself before starting to move forward.

  Picking a direction at random, she started walking, turning down different streets to see what course her body may lead. It was just like when she was coming into Blacken; her body was her compass to where she needed to be led.

  A fleeting voice of reason attempted to break through the overwhelming obsession to pursue, telling her to go to Owen first.

  Of course, the thought was pushed away as soon as the pressure lifted a tinge when Avie turned down a set of streets, leading out of the town and towards the line of trees. It relieved her, the affliction lessening becoming her only interest.

  Into the forest… Was she being led to where she had her accident?

  She could very well get lost if she went through the tree line, unknowing where she could end up while being turned around and around by this thing in her body. However, she also didn’t want to continue to feel like this; to have the vibrating wrack her body, to have people she knew disappear never to be heard from, to be unsure of her fate if she was destined to be missing as well...

  Avie took her chances, and she dipped into the line of trees to enter the woodland.

  It was so dark, the only light she had was the moonlight above her, helping only slightly in its half phase as she tripped over roots and fallen branches. The cacophony in her simmered down the further she went, common sense instead taking its place to course through her.

  “What the hell am I doing? I should go back. What if I run into a bear? What if I run into worse?” A mountain of ‘what if’ scenarios rushed into her mind, all the while her legs carried her further into the woods, contradicting her want for safety.

  Up in her own mind between the vibrations and her paranoia of the forest, she almost didn’t register until a few steps in that she waltzed into a clearing. Her face scrunched in confusion, taking in the new surroundings with her adjusted eyesight.

  There was, what looked to be, a small abandoned manor in front of her. It stood tall, narrow, and foreboding—absorbing the night around it. Only a few speckles of moonlight trickled through the trees and patched its worn wood, the dwelling easily camouflaged in the nature surrounding. It was an odd sight to see, but not unheard of. Yet Avie never heard anyone mention anything about it, not even Owen. She absentmindedly wondered if he even knew about it as she cautiously took steps towards the looming building.

  It had seemed the perfect area for whatever supernatural activity happening in the little town to take place at. Either that, or a serial killer’s hideout.

  Avie twirled the ring on her finger, eyes darting for any possible movement. She had to figure something out while she was here, she came all this way and if the sensation did keep coming back at this intensity, it would drive her mad. Or what if she was chosen next?

  For some semblance of safety, the woman grabbed a small bough at her feet for protection; figuring it was a decent sized bat if anything got too close.

  Her teeth chattered. Still, she approached the front door, a shaking hand reaching out for the handle. Please be locked. Please be locked. Please be locked! Avie was terrified to enter, the unknown inside outlined all kinds of danger, yet she couldn’t stop. Her rational mind and determined mind fighting out in an exhausting war.

  The handle turned under her touch and the door opened for her.

  The wood squeaked on rusting hinges, opening inside to reveal the dark space. Avie cursed for not having the foresight to have brought a flashlight with her, the moonlight having to make do once again as it streamed through the windows.

  Jade eyes accommodated after a few long minutes of standing in the doorway. She took not
ice of a few graffiti tags and dusty open cans of food strewn about in the entrance, it looked like a few squatters had taken refuge in the past. A broken banister held the small staircase beside her, she was almost certain she may fall right through the steps if she tried them. Hesitant step after hesitant step was taken, the branch clutched tightly against her body.

  The place definitely seemed abandoned, Avie couldn’t see any signs of inhabitants in the darkness as she moved through the level of the manor. She certainly didn’t want to announce herself, choosing only to blend into the creaks and moans of the wood, the lack of light perhaps a blessing in disguise. Moving through the living space, old furniture had been covered with sheets, books stacked all over and overflowed in the bookshelves. A grand fireplace stood to her right, reaching up high and mighty, drawing her sight to where almost every inch of the roof beams above her were covered with dust and cobwebs. She could feel as though she was close to a discovery for the source of drumming inside her, so close yet just out of her grasp.

  It had to be here! It just had to...

  Reaching the other side of the living room, a straight shot through the manor, she entered the kitchen, leading to a back door. There was a dining room adjacent that she eyed cautiously, unsure of the darkness emanating from it. Avie really didn’t have the ability to explore the other levels of the house; her heart in her throat with apprehension at just exploring the main level. Her rational mind won over her.

  She opened that exit with no hesitation, ready to leave the creepy atmosphere the place gave off. Back outside, Avie rested on the door after she closed it, heaving a sigh of relief as the adrenaline had a chance to calm down.

  At the back entrance of the abode, what would have been a garden in warmer weather lay there in its abandoned ruins. Wire branches of the hedges enclosed the yard, their skeletons serving as a decent barrier of privacy even in the season. A large broken bird bath sat in the center, groups of dianthuses surrounding the faded stone—a short walk away from the small shack amidst them. Curious, she took the chance that her answer resided there instead.

  Avie took a few steps toward the fountain and froze.

  There was something in the periphery of her vision. Movement. A hunched figure there on the outside of her sight lines. Dare she turn to see it?

  Her head peeked slowly, eyes following the path, hesitant to look. Her feet firmly plotted to the soil, frozen in place while crippling fear occupied like ice in her veins.

  Eyes locked onto a flurry of wings, stretching up taller than any man she had seen. They blocked out the moon in the distance. Avie noticed a heavy-set man laying at the figure’s feet, his look more than likely mirroring her own; pure shock at seeing such a thing, soaked in awe. The ginger man must have been taking up all the creature’s attention, away from her nervous footsteps attempting to lurk away from its massive form.

  Avie couldn’t take her stare off of it. Fingers went numb, unable to support the heavy wood in her hands, they trembled and let it fall to the peat beneath her.

  The noise caused the mass to sharply turn towards her, giving the woman a glimpse into large, deep red eyes, glowing in the low light. The moment their eyes connected, the breath knocked out of her, a gasp following with raised shoulders as she struggled to comprehend what exactly she was seeing.

  Fight or flight kicked in and she was able to get her legs kick started with adrenaline to get the fuck away from that thing.

  Would she be so lucky that it wouldn’t abandon the man already entranced at its feet? Or was Avie as doomed as the day she first heard the town’s—no, this creature’s call? It was an entity, a form beyond this world, she was sure it was the being that called her blood and bones to the town of Blacken. To it.

  She looked back and cursed her bad luck. The thing with its massive feathered wings had indeed chosen to run after her. Its witness.

  Her body ran for the tree lines, she couldn’t outrun it, the only way she could possibly think of escaping was to hide, move under guise of the darkness and the canopy the trees could produce. Confuse the thing, get it off her trail enough for her to get home, get to safety, get to Owen to tell him what the hell was going on.

  Storming into the forest, she zig-zagged through the trunks and roots, hoping to stand a chance of making it out alive. Flying faster than she’d ever imagined her feet could take her, she ducked and weaved in her limited vision, getting to keep some distance between her proverbial cat and mouse chase.

  Her knee gave, causing Avie to fall, bowing behind a particularly large tree trunk.

  She stopped herself from crying out with great strain, hissing silently while crawling out of sight, she took in the area around her. Quaking hands covered her mouth, a breath was held in morbid anticipation, listening, waiting.

  It was close, attempting to locate where she had disappeared on her trail, or were hiding. She couldn’t hide, it would find her. She was sure it could smell her.

  Without making a sound, she deftly took off the warm jacket, exposing her skin to the harsh mid-September. She could feel hot tears stream down her cheekbones as she silently prayed to be allowed to escape alive.

  The woman steeled herself, rubbing the damp earth over her arms and through her hair, hands balled tightly clutching her jacket after her rushed mud bath. It was closing in, there was no time left.

  With all her might, Avie threw the jacket to her left, hearing the giant move towards the noise, giving her the opportunity to run right; thankful that the dark cover was seemingly enough that her trick worked. She ran on light feet, mind hyper-fixated on running fast and quiet; it would have been almost impossible with the dry leaves licking her sneakers, but because of the rain fall earlier, she was thankful for the stroke of luck with the tri-coloured foliage too damp to crinkle under her step.

  She had to be close to being back into town by now, it felt like running a marathon, hours ticking by instead of minutes as she gasped for breath with burning lungs, refusing to stop. Avie stumbled and fell forward, somersaulting down a small hill and into the hard glow of orange lights illuminating a road, a street, housing…

  Out of the fucking forest.

  She laughed, shaking and crying, hands clutching at the roots of her scalp.

  She made it.

  But she wasn’t completely safe, still having to get out of the immediate area.

  Her legs started to fiercely shake, using all their strength to sprint at such a pace for so long. The adrenaline wore off, leaving her steps in agony while Avie needed to keep going, to get to Owen. Owen would know what to do, how to keep her safe, how to make her feel better.

  Owen, Owen, Owen.

  She needed Owen.

  Trembling, Avie huddled her arms over her torso as she wobbled on screaming muscles, just trying to move, placing one foot in front of the other took all of her will power. The little blue house came into her vision, she started to count the steps.

  25… 26… 27… 28…

  The thing in the woods staying in the back of her mind as her vigilance mingled with pain and cautious optimism. Owen’s familiar house was right there, right in front of her…

  147… 148… 149…

  She spammed the doorbell, fingers frosty red and nails scorching blue. After waiting for the feeling of eternity, warmth opened the door. Owen in his scraggly bedhead with an accompanying shabby brown robe opened enough to reveal tacky sailor pajamas. It was the most comforting sight even as he berated her in the lateness of the hour and her choice of wardrobe in the weather.

  She could only smile, finally safe.

  The last of her strength left her, leaving Avie to collapse on the front door stoop, him barely managing to catch her before the impact could. Owen picked her up in his arms, taking in the frigid temperature of her body, skin covered with scrapes and caked with dirt.

  “Holy shit, Avie... what happened to you?”

  “I need. To use. Your shower…”

  At the very least, she thought if she co
uld wash off her scent, there would be no more trail, no horrendously tall cryptid smashing through walls to capture the human that cost them their privacy and possibly a meal. However, once she moved into the bathroom, the idea of having a shower didn’t work, Avie couldn’t stand for that long, so instead decided to take a long soak with scented products much different than her own.

  The hot water soothed her muscles, the whine still reverberating throughout her. The young woman rinsed out her hair, the masculine scent masking the honey one she previously applied. Avie thought about what she had seen. The eyes of the dark figure terrified her. She felt as though she interrupted something she really was not supposed to see, let alone escape from. The dark red burned into her retinas, creating a snapshot memory every time she closed her eyes. Once again filling the tub with clean water, the woman soaking in its comfort as she sat and processed.

  The redhead couldn’t describe it, but she felt the overwhelming block in the back of her throat to not share the information she bore witness to.

  But, why though?

  She should be telling Owen what happened out there in the woods. Avie should be telling any person who would listen so they could stop what was out in the forest. But she couldn’t bring herself to think about attempting to do that. It sounded crazy to her, and she was the one to bear witness to the thing with feathered wings. How could she possibly convey it properly? This was way beyond the scope of her ability of understanding. Her energy was zapped, leaving her beyond the point of exhaustion, her body hardly able to control the motions of cleaning up, let alone converse over the situation she experienced.

  Avie went out there for answers, and, well, she may have got a fraction of one. She was lucky this time, how could she keep that luck to find out more? Would Owen run in with gusto at the mention of something not human in the woods? He very well might without a second thought to his safety.

  Twisting her hair to dispel extra water, she figured she was too tired to think clearly about what happened, and that she could ponder and explain more in the morning. She came out with borrowed PJ’s, toweling her damp hair. Owen started a warming fire, still crouched adding firewood before he took notice of her entrance.