Mika N.
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The Raven Witch
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A loud crash echoed through the surrounding area. Glass shards flew from their place in a small shop window and clattered to the warm pavement a few feet away. Moments later, a man dressed in an old shirt and torn jeans climbed out with a small wad of cash in tow. He wiped the sweat from his brow and took a moment to look over his prize. He froze upon hearing sirens blaring down the street. The man, Gregory, chuckled and took off in the opposite direction. He made a sharp right and dashed into a dark alleyway. Aside from the rewards he held, the thrill of the chase was his favorite part of a robbery.
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Slinking further down the dimly lit alley, Gregory made sure to step around the overturned trash cans, lest he cause a disturbance and give away his position. Rats scurried from underneath his feet, retreating to their sanctuaries in the torn open bags of waste, bottles and cans. Upon reaching an opening, Gregory scanned the open streets carefully. Police cars have blocked off most of his usual escape routes, so he decided to head in a new direction. He slipped out of the alleyway and dashed towards a large wooded area just on the outskirts of the town. He could hear the rush of a small river, the only barrier between him and the woods.
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Gregory jumped in without hesitation, kicking his way to the other side. He pulled himself out without much struggle, though the ground from the night’s previous rain made him lose his grip a few times. Once he reached the woods, he let out a small chuckle. “Another successful escape. The cops might be losing their touch.” He takes a moment to wring out his shirt, as the cold water was beginning to bite into his skin. A loud squawk made him jump and he looked up at the tree behind him.
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A rather large raven sat perched quite comfortably on one of the lowest branches of the tree. It tilts its head towards him and stares relentlessly. “What are you looking at?” Gregory grumbles at the bird. The raven simply stared at him a moment longer before taking off towards the trees beyond. Gregory shrugged off the odd encounter and headed deeper into the woods. The sun began to set further into the horizon. Gregory shivered from a cold breeze that blew through the trees. The excitement of the robbery had worn off, and his gut twisted with a sense of guilt. He had done it again. He had committed a robbery, the third one within the last month. While the money he stole, and the thrilling chase appealed to him, Gregory knew he had to make a change. Not for himself, but for his young daughter.
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His daughter was only nine years old, but she was a smart child. Gregory feared the day that she would find out that her father was a criminal. He knew he had to stop. Yet, something deep within his mind pushed him to continue his string of crimes. It felt as if something was clawing at the back of his mind, telling him to steal, to feed its hunger. The sound of flapping wings followed by a loud squawk made Gregory jump. “What the hell?!” He narrowly dodged the raven that swooped over him, mere inches from his face. It landed a foot away from him, accompanied by a few other ravens. “Why are there so many damn ravens here?”
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The black feathered birds stared at him intently, their beady black eyes unblinking. Pushing down the creeping sense of unease, Gregory pushed onward, deeper into the woods. Time drawled on as the sun finally set. Rays of red and orange light that glimmered through the canopy of trees disappeared, leaving the man shrouded in darkness. He knew he couldn’t go back for a while; the cops would still be searching. So, Gregory settled on finding a place to stay for the night. Perhaps he could stumble across a decent tree to sleep under; one that wasn’t infested with ravens.
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However, that option seemed to dwindle as he trudged through the damp grass and weaved between overgrown trees. Wherever he wandered, there were ravens watching him. Some would swoop down and land unusually close to him, but most would gather onto the trees surrounding him. The deeper he travelled into the woods, the more ravens he would see. Gregory grew more restless by the minute and he moved at a quicker pace, stopping only once he reached a small clearing.
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Located on the opposite side of the clearing was a small wooden cottage. Calling it a run-down shelter would be a kind statement. The wood covering its exterior was faded and rotten; Gregory was surprised the whole structure managed to stay standing for so long. Various plant life from vines to overgrown weeds covered every crack and crevice of the old cabin. After a long pause, Gregory approached the abandoned home and cautiously peered through an opening in the one of the boarded windows, only to be greeted with a pitch-black interior.
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Gregory sighed and shifted his focus to the door, which was cracked slightly ajar and tilted at an angle from a broken hinge. He pushed the door open and it creaked in protest. Light from the rising full moon spilled into the entryway of the cabin. Gregory stepped inside; the floor squeaked under his worn shoes. At first, he took notice of the few pieces of furniture he could make out in the scarce amount of lighting. A table with a single chair, a cabinet and a small bed, all of which appeared to be as old as the cabin itself.
Gregory took another step forward, squinting his eyes to see what else was inside. There was a large quantity of feathers scattered all over the decayed wooden floor. A single squawk made his heart jump and he froze. He could see them; dozens of beady black eyes staring back at him. The ravens did not move, neither did Gregory. He could only move his gaze upward and there, lurking in the back of the cabin, he saw a figure.
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The cabin door slammed shut behind him and he shrieked. The ravens jumped and squawked loudly, fluttering onto the bed and table. The tall figure moved underneath a single strand of moonlight that pierced through an opening in the cabin’s rooftop. Gregory stared at the figure in the light, who stared back at him unwaveringly.
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The figure appeared to be a female, though whether she was human, Gregory could not decide. She wore a long black sleeved dress that dragged across the floor when she moved under the light. Her hair was shrouded behind a hooded black cloak and her face hidden underneath the mask of a raven. Her dull grey eyes held a look of hatred within them. Gregory took a step back, “Who are you?”
The masked woman did not respond. She simply stared at him, her ravens mirroring her burning gaze. Gregory swallowed a lump in his throat, his body trembling from a cold rush that crept up his spine. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something familiar about this woman. Something echoed in the back of his mind, a story or a song that he heard long ago. The tale of a cruel woman who snatched away those who sparked her ire. Gregory knew it couldn’t be true. It was just a bedtime story; a legend that he and countless others in the town had heard for generations.
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People did go missing in his hometown often and it was no secret. Most of the townsfolk, including Gregory himself, simply did not pay much attention to the matter. After all, the town was notorious for its level of criminal activity, so it wasn’t difficult to imagine the occasional citizen disappearing once in a while. However, once Gregory shifted his gaze to the dozens of ravens that surrounded him both inside and outside of the cabin, he realized with a sense of horror that those missing people were here all along. Countless people who wandered into these woods, either from curiosity or the need to escape, were never seen again. Yet, they were still here; trapped in the bodies of ravens to accompany this woman. The Raven Witch.
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Gregory’s heartbeat quickened as he stumbled back. He looked at The Raven Witch, who had not moved an inch, nor had her glare softened. “Please, let me out.” Gregory spoke in a trembling voice. The Raven Witch remained silent, though her eyes had narrowed, and her bluish lips pulled back into a scowl. Gregory drew in a shaky breath, but no words would come forward.
The Raven Witch extended a clawed hand out to the criminal and her expression turned neutral. Gregory stared at her, perplexed, until he felt a strange tingling sensation just underneath his skin. The tingling turned into an itching that rapidly spread throughout his body. Gregory grimaced and scratched at his arms but froze as soon as his fingers brushed against the tiny feathers that sprouted from his skin. He rubbed at his arms furiously, plucking out as many feathers as he could, but more grew in their place.
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The tingling soon turned into a slow, progressive pain that spread throughout his body. His spine arched back, and he let out a howl of agony as his arms began to twist and bend. Gregory’s vision became blurred from the tears that spilled from his eyes. He forced himself to stand and stumbled towards the door. By the time he took his third step, his knees had snapped and twisted backwards. He fell face first into the rotting wood of the door.
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His breaths had grown ragged. Feathers scattered around him. Gregory pushed himself up. He banged his hands against the door, hoping it would give way. The flesh and bones of his fingers had fused together as he thrashed against the door, crying out for help. His heartbeat became so erratic that his vision grew hazy. “Please, I want to see my daughter! I want to see my little girl…” He couldn’t finish his plea to The Raven Witch, as his lips became too hardened and stiff to speak. Gregory collapsed after one final shove against the door.
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A few minutes later, he woke up with his torn shirt clinging over his face. Dazed and confused, Gregory flailed his arms about until he was free of the shirt’s heavy fabric. Feathers and claw marks littered the floor. Gregory looked up and blinked. The door was suddenly much taller than he remembered. Looking down at himself, he realized that he was a man no longer. His body was coated with large black feathers, his feet had become scaly and his arms replaced with a large pair of wings.
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Gregory tried to scream, but instead, a loud resonating squawk escaped from his beak. He heard something move towards him and cocked his head. The Raven Witch slowly approached him, and the other ravens followed suit. Gregory’s feathers ruffled in alarm and he jumped back, squawking at them angrily. He had to go back. He needed to see her again. Gregory paused. Who did he want to see? It was someone important, no doubt, but his mind had become fuzzy.
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He needed to get back home. To where, though? Where was home? He scuttled back as The Raven Witch knelt down in front of him. He remembered that he was worried about something…or someone. Why? Why was he so desperate to leave this place? He hesitantly hopped onto the woman’s arm, clutching the fabric of her sleeve. She didn’t seem to mind.
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The Raven Witch gently brushed her claws through his sleek feathers, and the raven wondered why he was ever worried at all.