Chapter Six
The sun nestled behind a line of trees, and I watched the three musketeers jog up the hill with Chris hot on their trail. Sitting on the porch steps, I admired their impeccable fitness. I wanted nothing more than to participate in their daily run, but Chris insisted I relax today and take notes.
As I stared at the crow statue sitting on the bottom step, the monument was grim resting on a platter that had the initials ‘J.E.’ carved on the back. I was about to study the statue further when I realized I’d left my notebook at the poolside. The last thing I needed was for Blue, Tre, or Kevin to get their hands on my private workout journal – I’d written plenty of notes about them, amongst other things.
Without a second thought, I ran into the basement to the indoor swimming pool and found my journal resting on the floor beside my usual chair. The pen was clasped between the pages, so it was fair to assume no one had perused through them.
I took the notepad under my arm.
On my way to exit, I was boggled by the incredible sound of water splashing. The commotion was most definitely coming from the pool, and I quickly spun around to make sure what I was seeing and hearing made sense. After I dropped my notebook on the floor, loose papers sashayed in the air, back and forth, and landed on the ground.
As I carefully followed the noise, ready to see what was waiting on the other side, the same feeling of being watched came over me. I neared the edge of the swimming pool, in order to confront the spectacle. While browsing over each end of the natatorium, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. No one was here. No ripples met the surface to validate the splash I was hearing. I moved closer to the edge.
As soon as I looked down and saw a dark, anonymous figure floating beside the wall, I didn’t know what think. The figure was the size of a vase, facing up. I studied the wings made out of stone, wings that shouldn’t have been floating. With a slow cautious step, I leaned forward and saw the same crow statue I’d seen on the porch steps. Its weight should’ve made it sink straight to the bottom. But lo and behold, it was here drifting on the surface.
“What the? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Before I could blink, the crow’s eyes opened. Large, black wings flapped against the water. Its mouth dropped into an enormous shriek. “Gronnnkkk!”
I fell backwards and landed against the papers. Grabbing my sheets and throwing them back inside the notebook, I bolted for the exit. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” I expected the bird to fly over me and make its presence known, but as soon as I fled to the door, my hand turned over the knob, and a new, unusual silence settled over the room. The bird’s cry had stopped, and so had the splashing. There was nothing chasing after me.
I paid close attention to my chest going up and down. If the shoe prints weren’t real, or the girl inside the mirror, or the whisperings I’d heard in the woods, then this wasn’t real either. I was just gradually losing my mind.
With a fierce determination, I stomped right over to the exact spot where I’d been standing . . . where I looked inside the pool. My reflection was here, but the bird was gone. Great. I couldn’t believe I’d witnessed an inanimate object floating inside of Chris’s swimming pool. A blob of cement literally stared at me, introduced itself, and flapped its wings like a real live bird, then disappeared into the realm of nothingness.
“This cannot be happening.”
I sprinted upstairs, straight out the front door. The crow statue was sitting on the porch step where it’d been the whole time. It hadn’t flown to the pool and back again. Something like that would’ve been impossible. Everything else seemed to be spinning out of control.
Seeking comfort from the sky, I proclaimed. “What is happening?” I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts.
The Time Stopping People Page 11
