Chapter 21: Whirl

Chapter 21
Whirls

The three of us stared up at the sky blotted by black wings. Plumed feathers slowly rained down. The crows were dead. Those black wings belonged to something else, something else whose incessant shrieking cut to the bone. People gathered around to see what was in the sky. All eyes were on that black mass. My fingers clenched on my phone.

Then they struck. They dived down. A murder of Rocs, so many that they blotted the sky, shot toward the park. Screams and panic. People turned to run.

Grace reached for her lipstick. We were so focused on what we would do that we failed to see what others did.

Christopher ran from us.

“Come back!” I yelled.

He didn’t listen.

“Brat!” I chased after him.

He ran toward the murder of Rocs as people ran from them, ran against us. People pushed and shoved to get away. No one seemed to care that a little boy was pushing past them toward the center. No one cared that I shouted out for them to stop him.

Blood in the air. Red and black talons. The people screamed as the Rocs dug at them. I would call them innocents, but they didn’t stop Christopher.

But no Rocs attacked Christopher. Even the Rocs that attacked other people fled if Christopher was close. The little boy kept running.

And then he fell. Someone bumped into him and knocked him down. The person didn’t even look back. I punched that person as they ran by.

“Out of my way!” I didn’t recognize my voice. It was dark. Guttural. It was furious. It was full of emotion. It felt unnatural. It was unnatural.

The people forded. I arrived at Christopher. He was okay. No one trampled on him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yah. Just had the wind knocked out of me,” he smiled.

“C’mon, we have to get out of here!”

“You get out of here then!” he stared at me.

“You can’t fight these things!”

“Trust me, okay?” He got up and began to run again.

I bit down on my lip.

I ran after him.

“What are you doing?” he said as he turned toward me.

“I’m not letting you go alone.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“‘Just ‘cause I don’t know you doesn’t mean I’ll turn my back on you. The world’s hard enough as it is, so we gotta watch out for each other.’”

“Doesn’t sound like you,” the little boy raised a brow at me.

“No. It’s something someone else told me.”

He smiled.

We pushed through the people and then there was blackness. A wave of wings and dread. I grabbed Christopher and turned to shield him. But they forded around us.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I said I could take care of myself,” Christopher smiled.

I stared at him, and I understood. “You’re too trusting,” I scolded. “Don’t go around telling people you have an Aspect!”

“I didn’t,” he smiled. “You know because you know.”

He seemed to have all the answers.

“Anyways, you’re a good person, Hank.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You wouldn’t be here with me otherwise.”

I furled my brow.

“I told you. I’m good at reading people. And that strange gust of wind brought my kite to you two.”

I looked at his kite’s spool.

“Well, here we go!” he shouted.

He sent his kite upwards, and a vortex of wind spun into the sky. A great blast of wind swept across the field – cool and crisp. The Rocs were caught in it and spun out of control. And then, it was over. The Rocs crashed into trees and the ground, bubbling into pitch.

Grace then ran toward us.

She grabbed the both of us, and we ran from the park. We ran to my apartment, and we shut the door behind us.

Text and Images © Jonathan Lee