The Birth (The Black Wing Book 1) (24 page)

“You be safe.” he returned.

I went back to the porch and watched him drive through the gravel. Kinoki jumped on the porch rail and watched him drive off. She seemed to have already missed Jeremy. I opened the front door and called her in.

“Come on Kinoki, tomorrow will be a new day.”

S
erenata calls me in an alarming voice. The sky is still pitch black, the clock reads 1 a.m. I yawned at my disturbed sleep. I asked Serenata what was wrong and suddenly felt a cramp, similar to menstrual pain. The discomfort is slim, it subsided after I sat up.

“Lola, are you finally awake?”

There’s terror in her voice, Serenata must have had a nightmare. I told her I’m awake, and ready to console her fears. Last night she wouldn’t stop talking about the Elite and Avalon. It only makes sense she would dream about them.

“What’s going on?” I said with an uncontrollable yawn.

Now there’s a sharp pain began rising on my lower back, I need to stop sleeping in wrong position.

“You don’t feel it? We need to go outside!”

The moment I turned my head to the window, the dark forest flashed with a blinding light. The cabin is beginning to shake, I hugged the mattress to keep myself from falling. The quaking gradually faded and the sporadic illuminations have disappeared. I slowly got off the bed and went to the closet, I pulled out my wool cloak and button it up to my neck. Downstairs, I slipped into my mountain boots. Kinoki welcomed me, from underneath the sofa, her fur is puffed up. She’s just as scared as Serenata. I readily went to the porch, the entire forest is enveloped in a fog. It’s so dense, I can’t even see the ground below.

This isn’t the first time, I felt a sudden earthquake. This one is just as similar to the crash from Avalon’s
catarelia
. I stretched over the porch rail and looked up at the sky. The stars haven’t moved, and there’s no angelic view of showering meteor rocks. The only visible thing, is the vapor leaving my lungs and evaporating towards the sky. Everything looks normal, that moment, the ground is starting to shake. It’s not as strong as the rest, this one is just minor.

“What’s happening?!” I yelled.

“I-I don’t know.
”
stuttered Serenata
.
“I’m not grown like mother, I can only hear. All I can do is tell you if a Lenur is near. They always make me shiver.”

I don’t have time to come up with excuses, this phenomena can only mean that the Elite is here! Everything will be alright, as planned, the Elite will assume Serenata died from miscarriage, I should be okay. I rubbed my belly, without pause. It will be okay, we will be fine.

A powerful earthquake returned, my hands almost slipped when I gripped the icy porch rail. An arresting flash is instantly illuminating the north side of the forest. The white light is growing weak, then came a sudden blast. I covered my ears, shrieking with terror. Neon rays of silver, blue, yellow and magenta shot into the sky.

“Serenata!” I cried. “What’s going on?”

“Mother.
”
she wept
.
“She’s in battle with an Elite!”

“Are we safe?” I asked “Isn’t this Ebon guy supposed to protect us?”

“I don’t know.” she answered. “I usually feel him, but right now, I don’t.”

Avalon is fighting for us, fulfilling her role to protect us from harm. I don’t know how she’s capable of fighting with the condition she is in, but it’s clear that something. A blast of wind no nature could create brushed the pine trees aside. The haunting sight is convincing enough for me to go back inside. I then remember the haunting confession Avalon said. She was able to locate me the moment my breath left my lungs. Could this Elite do the same?

“It’s not safe to be outside.”  I whispered.

I gripped the hand rail again, something slippery almost took me off my balance. There’s a strange sludge on the porch, but it’s too dark to see. I walked over it and flipped the porch light on. Heavy drops of blood, puddled on the floor. With a pounding heart, I looked for a bloody trail, but I can’t find a source. There’s no bodily wounds on me. The cramp from earlier came back. I grunted, my cervix tighten and a trickle of warm blood slid between my legs. My heart nearly stopped. This red mess is coming from me.

“This can’t be happening!” I cried.

“What’s wrong?” fretted Serenata.

The north side of the forest brought another thundering tremble, grumbling its way toward the cabin. The pine trees are shaking, it’s like they’re also afraid. The hair on my back went up like a magnetic charge.

“Someone is coming.” warned Serenata.

I watched the north side of the forest, waiting for a sign of hope or warning. The lights have stopped flashing, did Avalon win?

Like a field of barley wheat brushing aside, the trees are swinging by a nameless force. The branches are cracking, even the proud western hemlock is effortlessly snapped off. Little by little, it’s growing closer towards the cabin. I went inside and locked the door. Hoping to camouflage with the night, I shut off all of the lights of the cabin. It will also help me see better through the window. The only place with biggest view of the north area is through the kitchen window Jeremy enjoyed looking through. Before I made that move, I have to do something about this bleeding. Before I had the chance to go upstairs to get my cell phone, Serenata alarmed me.

“It’s here.” she whispered.

I paced to the kitchen, and looked outside, my breath quickly fogged up the window. My life has turned into a horror movie, a killer is searching for a helpless prey, in a cabin miles away from civilization. How cliché.

Huge thuds resonated in the forest. As far as I know, dinosaur have been extinct for millions of years. A small figure is standing on the front lawn, just outside of the forest. I feel silly for thinking it was going to be a giant alien. When the figure turned towards me, the humor in me died. In one look, my legs almost jolted from my body.

This black phantom is watching the cabin. This dark being should be masked by the thick fog, but not even the fog wants to touch it. Instead, the fog is passing around it, making this dark figure easier to see. There’s no illustrations on his body, no eyes, no face, no hair, and no clothes. It’s just a moving silhouette of what looks like a man. He took a single step, and the ground quaked. The tremors we have been feeling is coming from this…thing. I’m left baffled, Avalon has silver hair, blue sky eyes and pale skin. This individual doesn’t even resemble the Lenurs Avalon revealed to me. Because of a cold planet like Osois, all Lenurs have pale skin, and white-silver hair. Why is this one so different?

“Is it mother?” squeaked Serenata.

“I don’t know who it is.”

More heavy steps trembled the cabin, a pot hanging of the ceiling rack fell hard on the floor. This dark creature is growing close, strangely, he’s looking at our direction.

“That’s not Mother!” she yelped. “We have to leave!”

She’s right, undeniably, it’s a Lenur, and worse—an Elite. The black figures face slowly cranked like a doll, gazing towards the kitchen. I ducked. I covered my mouth to keep myself from screaming. He’s coming for sure—I may have to leave! First, I need to know where he is. Little by little, I sneaked back to the window—the Elite is no longer in the yard.

In the blink of an eye, the black phantom re-appeared on my window, staring at me. I held my breath. The cabin is a story high, how is he up here—what is he standing on? We silently observed each other, the Elite’s breathing is deep and corrosive, and he’s indeed a male Lenur. He wheezed, struggling to breathe. The windows fogged up when he exhaled, but when he breathed in, the fog disappears. There’s no slight details on his face, except what looks like blood oozing out of the area his eyes belong. It’s likely that Avalon caused this, she probably plucked out his eyes. Even so, I don’t know whether to move or not. Blind or not, he can sense me—somehow.

The Elite’s breathing worsened, Earth is having no trouble poisoning him. This is my only advantage against him. Suddenly, the Elite gradually hovered to the next window in the kitchen. Nothing is holding this guy’s weight, he’s levitating! Over and over he circled the cabin, watching me in every window.

A familiar jingle caught my attention, and my heart sank. Kinoki never went back inside the cabin. My cat is about to lose all of her nine lives!

“What’s going to happen to Kinoki?” I whispered.

“She should be okay.” replied Serenata. “Mother once told me that harmless creatures are ignored by us Lenurs.”

Avalon barely recognized Kinoki, this Elite should react the same way. Kinoki will be safe, that’s good, but I can’t say the same for myself—I’m not a cat. The Elite gave up circling the cabin, his body is slowly returning to the ground.

“It’s looking for us.” whispered Serenata. “It won’t be long before he finds the entrance to this place.”

Of course he’s going to do that, but I don’t know if I should hide inside the cabin or leave. What’s worse is that I’m stranded, my truck is back in town—I’m trapped!

The stomach pains came back, aching with each breath I take. I can’t let this Elite catch us, I literally have to play hide and seek with a killer alien! I closed my eyes listen for the bells on Kinoki’s collar. If the Elite is not threatening her, then my very social cat must be following him. I have no other better options, this is the only way I can get a close proximity of the Elite’s location.

“I’m scared.”

“We’re going to get out.” I whispered back. “I just need to get my cell phone.”

This is a new line of problems. I left my cell phone charging in the bedroom drawer. I will have to go upstairs without getting caught. When I picked up Kinoki’s bells just outside of the kitchen, I rushed towards the living room. Little by little I made my way up the stairs, the older parts of the floor creaked with each step. Lucky for me, the hallway is momentarily protecting me. I marched down the hall, went towards my bedroom, and snatched my cell phone. That very moment, I kept myself from turning back. Something is peering into my bedroom window. I held my mouth to keep myself from screaming. The dark muffled sound once again fogged my window. It’s the Elite.

“Ahar’s leenors, seeiyun.”

His voice trembled my window, he’s speaking in their language.

“He said, let me see you, human.
”
whispered Serenata.

Like I’m going to let that happen! The Elite turned around and slowly went back to the ground. I took this time to put on a heavier coat for the cold. It’s not easy moving around the cabin in complete darkness. To get around, I have to map out the cabin in my mind. My only sense of direction is the moon’s light and Kinoki’s jingling bells. When I made it downstairs, the Elite is no longer in sight. The usual gust of wind picked up, trembled all of the windows in the cabin. Kinoki’s bell collar is now useless to me. I have to blindly decide which way to go. My only exits out of here, is through the front door and the kitchen door. The only deciding factor of which way to go is with the Elite’s location.

A very familiar sound of nails is scratching the front door. It’s Kinoki. She only claws the door, when she wants me to let her inside. The porch creaked, my suspicions are true—she’s not alone.

The doorknob is rattling. I ducked like I was dodging bullets, and huddled towards the kitchen. I unlocked the back door and waited for the perfect time. The rattling stopped, the front door knob creaked, and I equally opened the kitchen door. Our doors corresponded and opening at the same time. With a grace I never possessed in me, I slowly shut the door. Gradually, I went down the steps until I felt the moist ground. I backed far from the cabin and hid behind a honeysuckle bush. The fog from here is so thick, I can barely get a clear view of the cabin.

The cold isn’t helping the throbbing pain on my back, but I have no time to complain. The living room lights blink on, and suddenly went off. The lights in the kitchen did the same thing, they blinked on and went off. Every room in the cabin is systematically blinking on and off. He’s looking for us, but for what reason? Avalon was confident the Elite will not hunt us down.

“What are we going to do?
”
said Serenata.

I hushed her. All of the lights in the cabin blinked on at the same time and remained that way. Kinoki leaped on the kitchen window, her small face is looking towards me. She’s waging her tail sensing I’m nearby, she looks spirited, oblivious to my situation. Suddenly, she looks behind an approaching shadow, Kinoki’s ears flattened low. Her teeth chattered at the dark shadow. For some reason, the Elite has unexpectedly made Kinoki angry. The moment she hopped off the window, all the lights died, and every window shatters.

My fingers shook as I dialed 911, a monotone operator answered. In desperation, I gave her my address, and my early signs of premature labor. After every pause for breath, I’m trying to sound as calm as possible.

“911. What’s your emergency?” she repeated.

“I need help.” I answered. “There’s someone in my home. I live in the Okanogan—”

“Hello? Is there anyone on the line?” she said.

“Yes!” I replied. “I’m here—!”

The call ends. In frustration, I dial again, another operator answered, incapable of hearing me.

“Unless you have an emergency, do not prank call us!” she warned.

The Elite is intervening with my phone calls. I shouldn’t be surprised, this has happened before. After I called the Search and Rescue, Avalon prevented them for locating us. My icy fingers dialed anyway.