52
We all turn, bug eyed, mouths gawping, and watch where it goes and then crap ourselves and almost die of simultaneous heart attacks, squealing in unison like feeble girls, as the entire flock of black ravens shoot right across the truck, like a black swipe. Skimming the roof, blocking out the light, and windshield, so we’re drowned out by a bizarre loud noise of beating wings and zooming air, impossible to ignore. Visually we follow it to the right, exposing a very grimy, overgrown and barely visible dirt road between unkempt trees. Almost obediently we all crane our necks to stare at the dense undergrowth in stunned silence, poised and watching as we all attempt to calm our breathing and ponder what this just meant.
“I think we follow the birds now?” Meadow points out, clutching her chest and fanning her face to recover from the heart failure we all experienced. Those damn birds, I swear if I catch one I’ll wring it’s scrawny neck for scaring us like that.
“I don’t wanna.” I almost whine, all my senses on edge and now I’m the one freaking out with the insane animal behavior that almost made us crash.
“You come all this way to chicken out now? What kind of Luna are you?” Carmen smirks at me, seemingly much braver than I am, and throws the wheel to the right as she puts the pedal to the gas again, pushing us on to follow the dirt track. We start to bounce and sway over the uneven terrain as she crawls us slowly and the truck groans and crunches in protest at having to mount grass. She slows right down as we inch onto the overgrown road that might not be all that great for a heavy slow truck with crap suspension.
“It’s okay. We’re safe in here, remember. The rune symbols!” Meadow tries to ease my worry, catching my hand in hers and squeezing it reassuringly as I reach out and catch hold of the dash to steady myself, while I blanche at her.
“It’s HER spell, she wrote it! … I’m sure it doesn’t do shit when it’s up against her.” I point out sternly, fear lacing my tone with hostility, and even Carmen gawps at me this time. Her eyes widening before she moves to that familiar eye roll and exhales haughtily.
“For the love of god. Who arms themselves with magical safety nets that were sewn together by the person they are about to drop in on and might not be happy about it? … We do, that’s who. Masters of intelligence here! Why did I ever agree to this.” She scoffs, snorting at how stupid this plan seems to be as she slows down further to hit rough and rocky road under the overgrown grass, and the truck starts swaying so wildly that it’s impossible to hold on. Getting harder to inch forward at all as the wheels catch in ditches and spin before kicking us back out amid a spray of flying mud.
“I don’t want to be the one to say this but…” Carmen starts and Meadow finishes
“We have to go by foot. We can’t risk the truck getting stuck here. We have to go back at some point, so we need this.”
“Really?” I spin on her and raise my palms in shocked panic, my voice three decibels higher as my heart suffers a spasm of crazy beats. “Why can’t we go find a place to wait out the night. It’s getting dark! Who knows how far down this path we have to trek and then still find her and get back again. This doesn’t seem smart or brave, or needed…. or something Colton would ever approve of!.” I practically wail it at her. I know I’m the Luna, but with all things tactical, then Meadow is the one I trust most to decide on a course of action. Colton made her his beta for a reason, but seriously though, right now, I wonder about the sanity of this Chica. I may have once killed a bear and trekked alone for weeks, but that was before I became tired, pampered, and scared of fog spells and lurking witches!
“We can hyper speed, get as far as we can and if it looks like the birds are taking us further and it’s getting dark, we come back and call it off until morning. It’s not like we’re incapable of holding off a vamp or two. We are bad ass bitches, Chica, we can hold our own for a short stretch of running.” Meadow seems amused by my reluctance, talking to me as though I’m her child and continues to squeeze my hand as though coaxing a toddle. I glare at her and try so hard to remind myself that I am the one who’s meant to be in charge here, braver, fiercer , and I need to stop wussing out.
“Ughhhhh, can we just go. Sitting here isn’t doing anything!” it’s Carmen this time, also looking at me like she’s disappointed in my fear, and I screw my eyes shut to calm my racing heart and nod.
“Okay…. But if it feels wrong, or it gets too dark…” I plead and Meadow nods before I finish my whispering, shaky demands.
“I know, okay. I don’t plan on being reckless. I plan on us getting home in one piece to break that damn curse. Stay alert, if it feels wrong, we come back. I promised Cole I would always protect you and I don’t plan on letting him down.” The softness in her eyes, the appearance of mist adding shine as emotion makes her voice tremble, almost ends me. My heart swelling with the mention of him and the genuine love I see in her face.
“Right. I’ll go first. It’s not like I have anything to go home for.” Carmen jumps out without hesitation, not waiting for my permission, like it even matters, and we follow using our own door. I feel like I’m dragging a dead weight after sitting for so many hours, and my apprehension isn’t exactly making me limber on my feet.
Meadow locks the truck with the keys Carmen hands off and we turn and stare at the trees where the birds seem to be patiently waiting on us. It’s unnerving and they are all quietly staring this way, all forty of them, like miniature models of fake birds, with that one larger especially jet black one in the center and looking like maybe he’s the leader of the bird crew. That little asshole who scared us half to death. I have my eye on that one for sure.
“You ever seen that movie, Birds?” Carmen asks flippantly, before swiping up a long blade of grass and wandering ahead first as though this is a casual ramble in the woods between friends. She picks out a path to lead and we shift and walk behind her, intrigued by this sudden pop quiz of movies.
“No, what happens?” I ask innocently, aware Meadow is right behind me as we walk in a line and she’s checking behind us every few steps, on high alert and watching for any possible danger.
“They kill and eat people in flocks much like that… peck out their eyes, brains…. organs… it’s kinda gross. Evil little bastards.” She shrugs, again with the deadpan tone of indifference and I gawp at her back and seriously wonder what kind of wrong goes on in this girls head.
“Way to make us all feel at ease, Puta!” Meadow chirps in, a tone of ‘really?’ while pushing me to walk faster with a little lumber shove and Carmen almost gets run over as we start to pick up speed.
“Just saying, watch the little shitheads. Never turn your back on a flock of angry birds.” She seems to be taking delight in raising my blood pressure to the highest level possible and Meds shakes her head at her, a low growl of shut up wavering subtly.
“Yeah well, I doubt birds have any real effect on angry werewolves. Now run… we ain’t got all day.” She snaps at her, trying to end this conversation and I get another aggressive jab to my spine to hurry me onward. I eyeroll at Meadow’s sudden pushiness and throw her back a snarky glare to tell her to be less handsy, but yet still obey.
Carmen breaks into a run as commanded, then stops abruptly, and I collide painfully, right into her back and then Meadow into me, letting out muffled cries and protests as we tumble into an ungraceful heap. Falling over one another clumsily, and then groaning as I scrap my palm and knee on the rough terrain.
“What the hell.” I whimper and pull a stray thorn out of my finger, casting an angry narrowed frown at Carmen for her stupid halt.
“Meadow, ravens can’t hyper speed and we are following them…” she points out with that superior tone that I know will make Meadow want to punch her in the throat, and I throw Meadow back an ‘oh, she has a point’ kind of look. There goes her fast run plan and getting there and back at speed. I knew we should have waited in the damn truck and now we have to rely on following birds who can only move at natural speed.
Almost as if on cue, they scatter from the trees in a clapping of wings, a rustling of leaves, where they have been waiting and head further back in the direction they are leading before landing on trees in the near distance. Urging us on and we hesitate for a moment, looking up at the disappearing sun in almost synchronized unison, sighing that we may not get another chance, and move to follow without question.
