Chapter 10: Raven

Find the flag. That's my priority. I flew around in the treetops, searching for the guy's flag. I had no idea where they would hide it exactly, but they were boys, they were stupid enough to hide it in an easy spot. 

            The guy's flag was maroon with a single stripe down the middle.  It was the same for the girl's as well.  I hated the colors, they made the academy look like a dorky prep school.  Then again, it was sort of like that.

            As I flew, I spotted the white stripe from the flag. It sat on a stump, in plain sight with no one guarding it. This could be easier than I thought! I swooped down and landed stealthily, keeping an eye out for any boys.  I hopped onto the stump and grabbed the flag in my mouth.  I smiled inside. A victory for the girls.

            As I prepared to take off, a shadow swooped down in the moonlight. The bird was larger than me for sure. I saw the white head and knew exactly who it was; Derek. I squinted my eyes with rage as I pushed off and flapped hard into the air. Derek knew I would do that because he rammed me with great speed. I coughed the flag out of my beak as my body swirled down to the leafy ground.

            I hit with a splat. Black feathers flew and I lost my focus in the change.  I returned to human form.  My attacker did the same.  I sat up, rubbing my head and trying to regain my breath.

            "Caught you," Derek grinned as he held out a hand. I took it graciously and he pulled me up.

            "I would have made it too." I protested as I brushed the dead leaves off my back and out of my hair. I needed to get it cut soon.

            "You heal up good?" Derek asked curiously as he wrapped his arm around my waist.  I was a little stunned by the gesture, but I didn't pull away. We started walking away from the flag that jus laid in the leaves. I turned my head to stare at it pitifully one last time. Damn. I would get hell from the girls if they knew I was so close to winning the game.

            "Yeah," I replied. "I feel great right now."  We arrived at the tree line. I could see the border from where we stood.  Guards still patrolled it. I sighed inside, thinking I could make an escape from here.  "Why'd you bring me here?" I questioned, a little confused as to why we were here

            "I needed to talk to you." Derek replied coolly, no hiccup in his voice.  I eyed him suspiciously.

            "You're not going to woo me and then tag me at the last minute?" I asked him, quite suspicious at what he wanted to "talk about".

            Derek looked at me with surprise, "I never would have thought of that. Besides, I wouldn't do that to you."

            I stared at him for a moment and then shrugged my shoulders. I believed him. "So why here of all places? Aren't there cameras everywhere?"

            Derek chuckled, "This area has no cameras. I know where are the cameras are since my father has a blueprint of where they all are. I snuck a peek at it a couple times." I smiled. Derek had a dark side to him. I liked a guy like that.

            "Ok, What did you want to talk to me about?" I wanted to get the ball rolling so I could sneak back onto the guys side and steal that flag for the win.

            Derek grabbed my arms which startled me, and kissed me. I was utterly shocked.  He pushed me against a tree.  My head whacked the trunk, feeling the thick bark against my back. I pulled back for a moment and Derek stared me with confusion and panic.

            "Question?"
            "Shoot."

            "Why did you tell me that you wanted to talk to me when you really wanted to make out? You could have told me that we were going to. I could have freshened up on the way."

            Derek laughed while I was still in his arms, "Camera was behind me. Decoy." I smiled and then pulled him back to me. We kissed like crazy.

            "I've missed you," Derek managed to say in between kisses. I clawed at his thin, black teeshirt. The teeshirt was so thin that you could make out the lines of his stomach.

            "So-have I" I mustered. He brushed his hands down my back and then through my hair. I ran my hands through his hair and then clamped my hand on the back of his neck lightly, trying to hold on and steady myself.

            "My dad is getting suspicious" Derek continued the conversation as we kissed. His lips moved fast, but tenderly on mine.  It was like out lips were doing a dance of some sort. It made my head spin and I had to grab a handful of Derek's shirt just to steady myself.  I did not want to go all the way tonight.

            "He can kiss my a*s." I could feel Derek smile as we kissed. He pulled me down to the earthy floor. I pushed him back, "I don't want to go all the way."

            "I won't. I promise." I looked at him and I could tell he was telling the truth. I leaned in and kissed him softly.  He responded. His lips softly kissed back. He outlined my lips by kissing them and then crept down to my neck and kissed it very lightly.  Shivers sped down my spine. I didn't want it to end.

            Then the scream happened.

            We immediately broke apart, giving each other a foot of space. "What the hell was that?"  I asked him shocked, but I knew he didn't know either.

            "I don't know, but come on!" He yanked me up and we both changed. We flew through the trees looking for what had happened. Then I saw it. I swooped down and changed as I hit the ground.

            Whitney sat in a pile of blood. Next to her was a body. I couldn't tell in the darkness who it was exactly but it looked like a male. Whitney stared at in shock. Blood was on her hands and a smudge was on her mouth.  No. She couldn't have done this.

            "Whitney!" I screamed. She looked up, a bewildered look in her eyes. She had no idea what happened. More people flooded the area.

            "Good god! What happened?" Derek exclaimed. Teachers began to flood in as well. Principal Williams came as the head.  He saw me and glared as usual and he gestured for Derek to come over to him. We acted as if nothing had happened between us.

            "What happened here young lady?" Williams said sternly to Whitney.

            "I-I-I…" She started but she honestly didn't know what happened. Her body trembled with fear.  Whitney's hands shook.

            "WHITNEY!" Rhett screamed the most bloodcurdling scream ever. I didn't think he ever had it in him. He ran over to her and embraced her. She crumpled into his arms like a doll and bawled her eyes out.

            "Get her to the infirmary." Williams ordered a couple guards. They nodded like robots and grabbed Whitney like a prisoner. She screamed and kicked and Rhett tried to do the same, but their efforts were useless.

            "Don't take her!" Rhett screamed but the guards did not show emotion. They were trained not to show emotion anyway. I wouldn't want that job.  They dragged her away. Flora had arrived along with a few of the boys that were on our side of the playing field.

            "Everyone go to your dorms! The game is finished!" Williams ordered and people began to disperse.  A boy took Flora's hand and led her away, trying to shield her wondering eyes away from the gruesome sight. Rhett had ran off after Whitney and her captors.  Betty was nowhere to be seen and Jane had trotted off, listening to Williams's direct order.  I scanned the crowd for Chelsey, but she was nowhere to be seen. I was one of the last students to leave when I noticed something in the shadows. It was on four legs, blood dripping from the muzzle and red eyes shone in the darkness.  It looked like a cheetah but I couldn't be sure. I changed to my raven form and flew toward it. It ran, but I chased. It dodged and then disappeared. I stopped, landed and changed again.

            "What were you chasing?" Derek's voice sounded behind me. Damn, he had followed me. I was too easily followed. I didn't like that.

            "I don't know. I thought I saw a demon in here, but it's gone now." I stopped and turned to face him. "Why'd you follow me? Wanted to finish that make-out session?"
            He chuckled, "Another time perhaps. Come on, we need to get back to the dorms." Listening to his father. Darn, he was acting like a goody two shoes. I liked the reckless Derek.

            "What if I wanted to finish?"

            He smirked and shook his head, "Even if I wanted to, my dad isn't too far away."

            "This is why we need a hideout. A make out hidey hole." I smirked at what I had said.

            "I'll think about it. Now come on." He took my hand and guided me out of the forest and to the dorms. As we got closer, I noticed Flora talking to someone. The figure pulled her into a goodnight kiss. I couldn't get a good look at the guy to see who exactly it was.

            "Looks like Flora has some explaining to do."

            "You do too."

            "Ha. Ha." I pulled him into the shadows and kissed him. "Night sweetheart."

            "Same to you too." Instead of kissing me back, he hugged me. "I'll see if I can squeeze some information out of my dad about what happened."

            "Ok." I actually liked the hug. It made me feel safe. We broke apart and I walked out of the shadow on my own as an eagle flew into the light of the moon. I watched in awe.

 

Author's Note

ignore grammar