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‘Jesus Christ,is that freaking clock going backwards?’
It is the last day before the summer break.
And the clock in the classroom decides to mess with my mind.
Has time stood still?
Has the second hand frozen in place?
Finally the school bell rings and i race outside.
Summer vacation is my favourite time of the year.
Six weeks without homework and teachers.
Six weeks of sunshine and fun.
Three of my friends are waiting for me by the school gate
Kyle Coogan,Brian Jones,Dennis Steele and i have been friends since
kindergarten.
But next year we will be going to different high schools.
So this could be the last break that we spend together.
My name is Charlie Osborne and i am twelve years old.
I am almost a teenager but not quite.
If this is to be the last summer break i get to be with my friends.
I want to make the most of it.
My friends and i are just like any boys our age.
We like to go swimming,fishing and camping out in our backyards.
Sometimes we will collect tadpoles and pick blackberries.
All the normal boy stuff.
Today we decide to explore the bush land behind Kyles place.
Sometimes we will come across a kangaroo chewing on grass.
Or a goanna climbing up a tree.
But this time we see something different.
A black crow is on the ground running around in circles.
It has a broken wing and cant fly away.
I tell Kyle to go back to his house and get a box.
Maybe we can look after this bird until its wing heals.
Kyle looks at me like i am crazy ‘Fuck that it is only a crow’
He bends down and picks up a rock and throws it at the crow with all of
his might.
He misses but Brian and Dennis also start to throw rocks and stones at the crow.
Rock after rock hit the target and the bird falls to the ground.
They keep on throwing until that bird is dead.
I cant believe that my friends just did that.
But they are laughing and giving each other high fives.
I cant do anything for the bird so we run towards a water hole.
Up in the trees about twenty black crowes watch as the boys run away.
They fly from tree to tree following the boys as they wander down the
dirt track.
The crowes all have two things in common,they are all black.
And they all have murder in their eyes.
After a few hours of swimming and skylarking around we decide to head home for something to eat.
All except Kyle who decides to stay behind and do some more swimming.
We wave to Kyle and tell him that we will be back in about an hour.
Kyle strips down to his underwear and dives in head first.
As he swims and splashes around he doesn’t notice the crow’es gathering in the trees
above.
He continues to swim for a while but soon becomes bored.
So he decides to rest up and wait for his friends.
He spreads out his towel and starts to bake in the sun.
One of the crow’es lands on a branch just above Kyle and sizes up the situation.
Than without warning in lands on Kyle’s face with talons extended.
Kyle screams out in panic and tries to fight back but he has been taken by surprise
and he soon tires.
And before he knows what is happening both of his eyes are plucked out and swallowed
down whole.
By now Kyle is hysterical as the crow attacks his face.
Soon he goes into shock and offers little resistance.
The other crow’es descend onto Kyle and start to strip the flesh from his body.
Kyle’s body shudders as the black birds have their way.
They peck and claw at his body until he is nothing but a pile of bloody bones.
After lunch i meet up with Brian and Dennis and we make our way back to the water hole.
When we arrive Kyle is nowhere in sight.
All we see is his beach towel and his baseball cap floating in the water.
Beside the cap floats a single black feather.
We run home as fast as we can to get help.
My mother calls the police and we wait for them to arrive.
The area around the water hole is cordoned off and the police send for divers to
search the bottom.
And soon Kyle’s body is brought to the surface.
There is a gasp from the onlookers when the body comes into view.
His mother tries to run forward but is held back.
How has Kyle’s body been reduced to a skeleton in such a short time?
Was he attacked by a pack of wild dogs or is there a madman on the loose?
The police hold a police conference and tell everybody that until an autopsy
is performed.
It is best for people to be on their guard and for all of the neighbourhood kids
to stay indoors.
Brian Jones is home bored out of his mind.
It has been a week since Kyle was killed by who knows what
Brian feels sorry for Kyle,but it is summer break he needs to go out and play.
So he decides to sneak out and see how Dennis and Charlie are going.
He climbs out of his bedroom window under the cover of darkness.
Dennis only lives a few blocks away,so he will hang out for a while.
His parents want even know that he is gone.
As he walks under a street light he senses movement over his left shoulder.
When he looks back something slams into his face.
He staggers around in bewilderment with a bloodied nose and cut cheek.
Another black crow swoops down and attacks Brians face and neck.
Brian shit;s his pants and runs away in shock.
Straight into the path of a semi trailer.
The driver cant bake in time and he hits Brian full on.
The truck skids to a stop a hundred metres down the road.
The driver jumps out and races back hoping for the best but fearing the worst.
And the worst it is,
He cant believe that what he is seeing was once a living human being.
He looks away and vomits up his dinner completely covering a single black feather.
Dennis Steele is in his room crying into his pillow.
First Kyle was killed and now Brian.
Why are his friends dying?
It is school holidays we should all be having fun not cooped up inside.
When will his parents let him outside to fucking play?
Dennis knows that he has just said the F word out loud but he doesn’t care anymore.
All he wants is for things to go back to normal again.
So that everybody can start to feel safe again.
Everything is getting to be too much for Dennis.
His nerves are shot to hell and his stomach is playing up.
And for the fifth time that day he makes his way to the bathroom.
He pulls down is pants and takes a seat waiting for nature to take its course.
When he hears a noise coming from the water below.
He looks down between his legs and sees a black bird heading for his scrotum.
He tries to jump up but he isnt quite fast enough.
The crow pecks open his ball bag and his testicles disappear down the throat of that
crazes bird.
His screams could be heard from twenty five miles away.
Inch by inch Dennis is pulled down into the toilet bowl.
His bones creak and crack and finally break as he is swallowed down into the sewers.
As Dennis enters his watery grave his parents are frantically trying to kick down the bathroom door.
And when they finally do all they see is a broken toilet
.And a single black feather.
Holt fucking Christ on a crutch.
I cant believe it.
First Kyle than Brain and now Dennis.
Who or what is killing all of my friends?
As i sit with my parents watching some TV i remember the cops telling them about finding a black feather in Dennis bathroom.
My mind goes back to that day at the water hole.
Surely it cant be about that?
Do crow’es have good memories like elephants?
They say that elephants never forget but what about crow’es?
I tell my parents that i need to go for ride.
They try to stop me but i am gone in a flash.
I jump on my bike and race back to that waterhole.
And i soon arrive at the spot where we stoned that crow to death.
So i am so nervous my goose pimples have dimples.
I sit down in the middle of the track and wait.
All of the leaves in the trees shake and fall to the ground.
Soon i am surrounded by a green carpet and a thousand naked branches.
Is the devil coming to take me away?
Or are the black crow’es on the warpath?
I am guessing the latter but i don’t really know.
Soon the sky is full of black wings and an eerie silence.
Then twenty black birds land at my feet and start to do a war dance.
Or maybe it is a rain dance? One can only hope.
But the sky i clear there isn’t a cloud in sight.
So war it is.
One of the crow’es rushes in and attacks my left foot
I look at that crow as it grabs my little toe and tears it from my body.
And it flies back up into the trees with my twinkie in its mouth.
As i am distracted another bird attacks my other foot and another toe is swallowed
down.
It looks like these crow’es are going to kill me very slowly
Toe by toe bit by bit.
The remaining crow’es continue to walk around me in a clockwise direction.
What body part will they attack next?
‘God don’t let it be my eyes i don;t want to be blind’
And Jesus don;t let it be my willy.
I haven;t had sex yet please don;t let me die a virgin.
While i have been sitting in the dirt thinking another bird has flown in and taken a chunk out of my ear.
I don’t dare to fight back because i know that if i do the birds will go into a feeding frenzy.
So i cover my nuts with both hands put my head down and pray.
And through the pain i try to relax and hopefully the crow’es will fly away and leave me
in peace.
And not pieces.
But no such luck.
Another chunk is taken from my body
Blood is pouring from deep groves and starts to pool on the ground.
I pray to God and whisper goodbye to mum and dad.
But you know what ? Fuck that.
I jump up and scream at those fucking birds.
I tell them that i am sorry that their friend died but enough is enough.
I close my eyes and count to fifty and when i open them the birds are gone.
I turn back and start to limp home.
Than the crow’es are back.
These freaking birds swoop down in attack mode.
And they attack my head with venegance tearing out my hair strand by strand.
Holy fucking crap i am getting scalped by a bunch of birds.
Or should i say a murder of crow’es.
I cant see a thing as my blood streams down my face.
I wait for another attack but it doesn’t come.
I wipe my face with my shirt and scan my surroundings.
There isn’t any sign of the crow’es.
I pick my self up ans wander towards home.
Than a crow lands on the track just in front of me
He is obviously the ring leader.
With his chest puffed out he struts around like a peacock.
I look down at that black bird and once again i apologise for my behaviour
I will never ever harm another crow as long as i live.
The crow looks up at me with disdain.
Than he flies up and lands on my shoulder he walks over to my bleeding ear
and whispers ‘Don;t forget i know where you live’
THE END.
