Blood and Water (Part 2)

The wind gently blew through Sarah’s hair, soft strands of golden brown hair falling in her eyes as she approached her house. She squinted her eyes at the flock of crows sitting in the yard, staring back at her expectantly. She walked up the empty driveway, several pairs of black eyes following her intensely the whole way. One of the crows cawed as she reached for the brass doorknob, startling her and causing her to jerk her hand away from the door. The crow stood tall, defiant and brave with its head thrown back in confidence. Sarah glared at the black birds, who continued to look at her intently.

Sarah reached for the doorknob again, determined not to let a single caw scare her so much. She had just barely touched the warm surface of the metal when three crows appeared out of thin air in front of her, flapping their wings fervently. Sarah fell back in surprise, tripping over her untied shoelace and falling to the ground. Her hands hit the ground first, grasping the rough surface of the concrete.

“Well, fuck you too,” she scowled at the three birds standing in her doorway. “Do you want food? Is that what you want?”

The crows continues to stand and stare at her, unmoving, as if they were waiting for a revelation.

“Fine. I think I still have some food in my bag you can have.” Sarah opened her backpack and started digging around until she found a bag of goldfish under her notebooks.

“Here,” she said, opening the bag and tossing it into the yard, its contents spilling on the dry grass. “Eat that and let me get inside.”

The crows cawed and rushed toward the food, with the exception of a few that continued to watch her. Sarah tied her loose shoelace before standing up and attempting to open the door. She sighed as her hand failed to turn the handle open.

Locked?I thought Jay was still home. Why would the door be locked?

Longing for the relief of relaxing and avoiding the completion of her homework, Sarah reached into her pocket and grabbed her blue house key, sliding it into the lock and opening the door apprehensively. She turned back to look at the crows again, but they had vanished. All that remained to suggest they had ever been there in the first place was a few black feathers scattered across the lawn. Sarah turned back to the house, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. She swallowed hard as she tried to forget the scene, as well as the events of her day.

Stepping through the doorway, she was greeted with a strange silence. A dark entry hall awaited her. Papers were everywhere, and several pieces of furniture had been knocked over. One of the flower pots had fallen and broken, leaving the lilies and soil that had been inside trampled on the ground. There was a red smear on the staircase; it looked like blood.

“Jay?” Sarah called, her voice wavering.

A thud came from upstairs, followed by yelling and the sound of people running. Her uneasy feeling returned. Worried for her sister, Sarah threw down her bag and ran up the stairs. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins as her eyes began to glow red. Upstairs was in almost as much disarray as downstairs. It looked like someone had been fighting.

“Jay!” She yelled, opening every door, hoping that her twin would be in one of the rooms.

Sarah turned a corner and was knocked down by something large, furry, and warm. She heard heavy breathing as the creature moved to stand over her. She scrambled back and stood up, only to find herself looking at an overly excited grey and silver dog. It took a step forward, tail wagging. Sarah growled, baring her small fangs. Her eyes flashed red again. The dog dropped its gaze and backed up.

“Sarah!” Sarah looked up to find Jay standing at the end of the hallway. Relief washed over her. “Sorry, don’t mind him,” they said, pointing to the dog. “Lucian, come here.”

The dog, Lucian, looked at Jay, tail wagging once more. He turned and padded happily over, nudging Jay with his muzzle,enough to nearly knock them over. Jay turned to Sarah, who was still eyeing Lucian suspiciously.

“Hey, what’s up with your eyes?” Jay asked, taking a step forward. “They look kinda red. Have you been crying?”

“They’re fine, and so am I.” Sarah said, hiding her face until her eyes returned to their natural color. “What’s up with the dog?”

“Uh, one of our neighbors got a new dog. His owner didn’t want to leave him alone while they went to work, so I volunteered to watch him.”

“And you brought him here?!” Sarah exclaimed, frustrated.

“N-no!” Jay stuttered. “I, uh, left the door unlocked and he got out. Did you know he can open doors? He’s really good at it, too. Anyway, he got out of our neighbor’s house and I was chasing him around for a bit.”

Sarah folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “That still doesn't explain why he’s in our house.”

“Well, I, uh, came here to get something to try to get him to come back, but he followed me inside the house and started running around! I’ve been trying to catch him in here for a while, know. That’s why downstairs was such a mess, and why I didn’t respond right away when you called my name. I was busy with him. Wolfhounds are really hard to catch, you know.”

“Whatever you say, Jay.” Sarah was still suspicious of them, but decided to let it slide. Jay wouldn’t actually lie to her, and she knew that. They just had a bad habit of omitting parts of the truth.

“Anyway, now that I’ve got Lucian, I’m going to bring him back home.” Jay rushed past Sarah, Lucian hot on their heels.

Sarah walked over to one of the large windows facing the street, careful not to step on anything. She peered out in time to see Jay and Lucian make their way down the driveway. Just before they moved out of sight, Sarah could’ve sworn she saw Lucian stand up on two legs and walk like a human would.

Don’t be ridiculous, she thought to herself. You’re just seeing things because you’re stressed.

Sarah went back downstairs to grab her backpack. Once at the bottom of the stairs, she looked at the disaster that had been left behind. It looked like a tornado had torn through the house, not a dog. She noticed that the couch in the living room had been knocked over, dark red paw prints staining the gray fabric.

I should probably help Jay clean this up…I know mom’s going to be home soon, and she wouldn’t be very happy to see this… Sarah glanced at the mess one more time. You know what? No. Jay can clean this up themselves. Their mess, their problem.

Backpack in hand, Sarah climbed up the stairs, the bloody paw prints burning in her mind as she walked. The comfort of her familiar room was within reach. Her footsteps felt heavy as her head ached at her situation. Everything’s a mess, she thought to herself. I’m seeing things, I feel dizzy all the time. Nothing feels normal anymore. Not even coming home.

Sarah was greeted by familiar yellow walls and smiling posters. She took off her shoes, carefully placing them on the metal rack next to her door. She tossed her backpack onto her bed before sitting at her desk. She swept her arm across the surface, pushing pens, brushes, paper, and assorted paints to the ground in order to make room for her computer. She reached into the drawer on the left side of the desk and pulled out a small grey laptop and a pair of white and pink headphones. She put on the headphones and opened her computer. Music immediately started playing.

Alright,” Sarah said to herself, yawning from a long day, “Let’s see if I can get some work done.”