Young Writers Society

I’m not sure what the future holds, so I am going to make an account of past events while I still can. I’m sure any possibilities of doing this in the future may be naught. This text may prove that I'm an insane individual, but at this point, it doesn’t matter anymore.

This whole situation I found myself in started to unravel a few weeks ago. It was a little after midnight when I was lounging in my old hammock, lazily taking in the sparkling, animated stars, which were in contrast to the peacefully static environment that surrounded me. I decided to divert my attention from the sky overhead to the tree line that surrounded my home. The trees were moaning from the soft winds passing through their appendages. Amongst the branches of a towering, but long decayed tree, I spot a small, blocky silhouette. I had never noticed that type of shape in my part of the woods before, so I focused on the figure. From the minuscule amount of moonlight that was shining down upon the figure, I assumed that it was an owl.

I’ve never seen an owl in person, so I studied it for longer. I studied it for so long that I started to lose track of time. It felt as if I was staring at this thing for days. This owl was like a black hole, a vacuum of attention, taking everything that surrounded it into its own being until all that was left was the bird and its ego. Suddenly, the owl let out a piercing “CooCoooooo!” When I reeled back from the call, I witnessed two orbs of light being emitted on the figure. They were eyes; the eyes were bright enough to light up a portion of the figure. This revealed the figure to be, indeed, an Owl.

I couldn’t really make heads or tails as to what was happening, but I still kept my gaze fixed on the nocturnal creature. Its eyes then proceeded to turn from a yellow glow to a green one. The owl’s eyes quickly turned back to a natural hue and fled its post. As the owl ducked into a sea of trees, its prior post seemed to bend back to its original shape, sounding as if it sighed in relief. The owl’s magic was lifted from the scene.

I was still in awe of what just transpired, my mind racing to deduct a reasonable explanation. However, I simply couldn’t. There was no possible way anyone could just explain how the owl’s eyes illuminated in such an unusual way. I simply figured that this owl had to of been some paranormal creature or some apparition. It was not too difficult for me to accept this, due to my superstitious nature. As I came to this conclusion, I noticed the warm colors of the morning beginning to take over my senses. As rays of sunlight bounced off my face, I became overwhelmed with a feeling of exhaustion and collapsed back onto my hammock. I had a day off from work that day, so thoughts of leaving my hammock never crossed my mind. I’d be able to ponder over what I saw in my dreams.

When I woke up, the sun was closing the gap on the western horizon. I had a sudden urge to get a cup of joe from the local coffee house. My cravings made me feel as if I could crush steel under my fingertips. I sped down to the coffee house, dead set on the sweet taste of French Vanilla.

When I arrived at my destination, I parked my car and walked over to the shop. However, while I was walking, a small paper caught my attention. This faded slip of paper was decorated with the slightest hint of green. It was a dollar bill. I thought back to the green I saw in the owl’s eyes last night and assumed that it had to of been a sign. I quickly went over to pick up the slip. Before I was able to, however, the wind started to pick up, giving the dollar a chance to evade my clutches. I gave chase though. I wouldn’t allow for some random chance and circumstances prohibit me to obtain my guaranteed fate. After a minute in full sprint, the dollar became stuck to a tree and I caught up, pocketing the bill. When I studied the bill, I was dumbstruck to find that it was a Franklin.

I secured the bill in my wallet and went back to finishing my previous goal of getting my fix of caffeine. I decided not to tell anyone in the coffee house of my find. After I got my drink, I drove home.

With the extreme luck that I was blessed with that day, I figured that maybe, just maybe, the owl had something to do with it. It seemed ridiculous, but that owl almost appeared as a divine omen that night. All I knew was that I wanted to see the creature again.

I would continue to lounge in my hammock during the after hours, waiting for my new ally to return, and it did. Not only that, the owl bestowed me with another vision, all without waiting an eternity to receive it.

That night, the owl’s eyes flashed with a set of colors that seemed to form some sort of structure. The random set of colors and shapes confused me at first, but I deducted that the image was some type of symbol or logo. The day after that, I invited some of my work friends to go out for some drinks. I told them I would be able to cover the cost of their first few orders. Due to the lure of free drinks, they agreed quickly. When night came, we met up at the bar. When we entered, my friends noticed a football game proceeding on a TV screen in the back. I didn’t pay it any mind. They commented that the game was one-sided. Apparently, the losing team has been on a losing streak their whole season. They also stated that they were so sure that the leading team would win, that they would bet on it. I glanced up at the TV for a second and realized the logo I saw in the vision was sported by the losing team. After realizing this, I challenged my friends to the bet. I put all of the money I had on me in favor of the losing team. All of my friends obliviously bet on the leading team. Let’s just say I left that bar with more than when I entered.

I can’t go into great detail on all of the other examples, because know I’m running out of time. I just need to make it very clear that I am one-hundred percent sure that the owl has precognitive abilities. There was no way the bill, nor the bet was a fluke.

Everything was proceeding smoothly until four nights ago. I proceeded to lounge on the hammock as I have been, waiting to be enlightened by the owl’s wisdom. It honestly became a routine at that point. When the owl showed itself again, my mind, body, and soul became focused on its blank eyes again. I was expecting another reading guaranteeing good fortune or another woman (don’t worry about it), but that didn’t come this night. When those eyes started to animate, I could feel the air being sucked from my body, the energy being drained from my muscles. Then, the owl gave its final forecast. The forecast was as clear as the blazing sun and the resolution was of a higher quality than any camera money could buy. The forecast lasted for so long but only took a second to complete. I witnessed two arms draw a pistol from the body they were attached to. The arms quickly fired two rounds without hesitation. A third arm enters the frame by falling to the floor, stretched out. The arm shakes for an instant, then becomes limp moments later. The forecast ends.

With adrenaline rushing through my veins, I rush back into my home as quick as I could. I didn’t pay attention to what that owl did afterward. I immediately made my way to my bedroom, bunkered down far from any windows or entrances. Somehow, someone somewhere was out to get me. There was no possible way the gunman could have been me. I would never wish to take another’s life, especially in the cold manner which the forecast suggested. The gunman seemingly acted without a second thought. I couldn’t let anyone get me. I wouldn’t let anyone get me. If I go outside, I would be in danger. If I showed my face anywhere, I would be in danger. Waiting out any danger was the only thing I could do. There was no way I could challenge fate head-on. I could only evade it and hope that God has mercy on my pathetic soul.

And so, in my house, I stayed. I dared not sleep. If I slept, I would be defenseless against any possible burglar or assassin. I thought that staying avoiding sleep would be my best option, if only I knew how that could come back at bit me later. I continued living in this horrid way for days, until tonight. While I was huddled in my bathroom, waiting out the storm, I heard a knocking on my front door.

I prayed to all of the deities I could think of that the person would just leave, but they didn’t. Somehow, they opened the lock on my front door and proceeded into my shelter. “Maybe it's just a burglar. I’ll let them take all they want, as long as they don’t take me.” Then, they started calling for my name. My heart sunk through my chest. They were after me, oh God. I scuttled out of the bathroom quickly and tried to grab anything I could find to protect myself with. I pulled out a derringer that I keep in my night stand. I bolted back to the bathroom and locked myself inside, turning all of the lights off in the process. The intruders had to of heard me, and called my name louder. They even started to ask where I was. This was it. There’s no going back. I heard the footsteps walk into my bedroom, I heard them rummaging through my room, searching for me. Then they made their way towards the door. My heart was beating out my chest and I could feel the sweat pool up from underneath my pistol. My breathing was heavy, painful, and loud. The intruder had to of heard. I know they did. They called out, “Oh my God! Are you okay in there? No one has seen you for days. Please come out!”

I didn’t open the door. I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t in control of my body anymore, a sleep-deprived man breaking under his own fear was. My body ran on auto-pilot as a machine. The intruder, progressively screamed louder and louder for me as they struggled with the door. I help up my derringer, ready to send whatever is on the other side of the door into oblivion. Then, the door was busted down with a punch from the intruder. As the person behind that door stepped in, I succumbed to being a sleeping slave, a slave that must obey their master of fate.

“BANG!” “BANG!” I pulled the trigger until the derringer wouldn’t fire anymore. A man that used to call me his “friend” fell to the floor. He barely had the time to reach out to me in a plea of mercy, before drifting into an everlasting night.