Before he knew it, his watch alarm beeped 1:45. Heero slid off the tree he'd been sitting in and jumped to the ground. He had 15 minutes to get to the Hall. Sliding his arms through his jacket, he took off at a run.
A few minutes later, his heart started to pound. Heero gritted his teeth in irritation. Only six minutes of jogging and he was already out of breath… He stopped to rest for a while, hoping that his heart rate would go back to normal soon. Taking the opportunity to look around, Heero was surprised to find himself in front of a cemetery.
He narrowed his eyes. His heart-pounding…would it have anything to do with the cemetery? No… It wasn't as if though he was superstitious or anything… But then why did his heart start hammering as soon as he was within range of the graveyard?
A while later, his heart had stilled and he took a careful step forward. A gasp ripped out of his throat as his heart started to act up again. Though he was reluctant to accept it, he knew there was something within the gloom of the cemetery. And he was the one to find it out.
Taking in a deep breath, Heero pushed the metal gate open and walked into the yard. He shivered. Superstitious or not, there was something ominous inside. He looked around him, but the only thing besides the various tombstones and crosses was a huge tree. From the looks of it, it had been dead for a while. 'How fit, for a decaying tree to grace the garden of the dead,' he thought wryly.
He walked down the half-hidden dirt path. Keeping his eyes wide for anything out of the ordinary, he examined the smaller paths that lead from the main road to the tombstones that lined the cemetery. He was a row off the last one when a raven cried somewhere nearby.
Heero looked up at the sky. A bird with jet-black feathers flew overhead and landed on a branch of the tree. It cocked its head and stared at Heero. "Craw!" it cawed, showing its gray tongue. He glared at it. Lifting its wings, the raven suddenly swept out of its perch and headed straight for Heero. Startled, he took a step back. The bird missed his face by an inch.
"Damn." Heero picked up a stone, ready for another attack. The raven turned around in midair and hovered for a few moments. Then, lowering its head, it plunged.
This time, however, it didn't go for Heero. Instead, it flew low over the ground of the last path. When it came back up into the sky, it was carrying something white in its beak. Heero threw his stone. Whatever it had in its beak, the raven probably had no right to it. The rock struck the bird square between its wings, and it let out a squawk, dropping the object in the process.
The raven turned around and stared at Heero indignantly. He picked up another stone. The bird let out a last caw, then turned and disappeared in a flurry of wings.
As soon as he was satisfied that the bird was gone, Heero walked over to where the object now lay, gleaming in the afternoon sun. He picked it up. Two dark holes stared up at him, and he almost dropped it in his surprise.
He caught hold of himself and gave himself a mental slap. 'It's just a skull.' Bringing the bone up to his face, Heero examined it more closely. How strange. It wasn't a human skull at all, but more of an animal's. A dog's, probably. The question was, what in the world was a dog's skull doing in a human's graveyard?
On even closer examination though, skull was too wide to have belonged to a dog; a mastiff, maybe, but definitely not any type of dog seen around that part of Earth. Maybe the lab could find something out… Carefully, he tucked the skull into a bag he had brought with him and walked out. The convention was going to start soon.
A few minutes later, his heart started to pound. Heero gritted his teeth in irritation. Only six minutes of jogging and he was already out of breath… He stopped to rest for a while, hoping that his heart rate would go back to normal soon. Taking the opportunity to look around, Heero was surprised to find himself in front of a cemetery.
He narrowed his eyes. His heart-pounding…would it have anything to do with the cemetery? No… It wasn't as if though he was superstitious or anything… But then why did his heart start hammering as soon as he was within range of the graveyard?
A while later, his heart had stilled and he took a careful step forward. A gasp ripped out of his throat as his heart started to act up again. Though he was reluctant to accept it, he knew there was something within the gloom of the cemetery. And he was the one to find it out.
Taking in a deep breath, Heero pushed the metal gate open and walked into the yard. He shivered. Superstitious or not, there was something ominous inside. He looked around him, but the only thing besides the various tombstones and crosses was a huge tree. From the looks of it, it had been dead for a while. 'How fit, for a decaying tree to grace the garden of the dead,' he thought wryly.
He walked down the half-hidden dirt path. Keeping his eyes wide for anything out of the ordinary, he examined the smaller paths that lead from the main road to the tombstones that lined the cemetery. He was a row off the last one when a raven cried somewhere nearby.
Heero looked up at the sky. A bird with jet-black feathers flew overhead and landed on a branch of the tree. It cocked its head and stared at Heero. "Craw!" it cawed, showing its gray tongue. He glared at it. Lifting its wings, the raven suddenly swept out of its perch and headed straight for Heero. Startled, he took a step back. The bird missed his face by an inch.
"Damn." Heero picked up a stone, ready for another attack. The raven turned around in midair and hovered for a few moments. Then, lowering its head, it plunged.
This time, however, it didn't go for Heero. Instead, it flew low over the ground of the last path. When it came back up into the sky, it was carrying something white in its beak. Heero threw his stone. Whatever it had in its beak, the raven probably had no right to it. The rock struck the bird square between its wings, and it let out a squawk, dropping the object in the process.
The raven turned around and stared at Heero indignantly. He picked up another stone. The bird let out a last caw, then turned and disappeared in a flurry of wings.
As soon as he was satisfied that the bird was gone, Heero walked over to where the object now lay, gleaming in the afternoon sun. He picked it up. Two dark holes stared up at him, and he almost dropped it in his surprise.
He caught hold of himself and gave himself a mental slap. 'It's just a skull.' Bringing the bone up to his face, Heero examined it more closely. How strange. It wasn't a human skull at all, but more of an animal's. A dog's, probably. The question was, what in the world was a dog's skull doing in a human's graveyard?
On even closer examination though, skull was too wide to have belonged to a dog; a mastiff, maybe, but definitely not any type of dog seen around that part of Earth. Maybe the lab could find something out… Carefully, he tucked the skull into a bag he had brought with him and walked out. The convention was going to start soon.