Black Feather: Episode XVI
"Disorder"
Trene City Residential Block LD1-RB/04
12:39 p.m., 03/10
Roads were clean. Swing sets were gently nudged by a noon breeze. No one on the sidewalk, no vehicles roared near or far. Not a soul in sight. A quiet neighborhood...
Iris walked along slowly, gathering her courage. For the first time in five years, she was going to see her parents again. A faint childhood habit prevented her from stepping over any cracks in the sidewalk.
She stood on the front porch of her home. The garden azaleas whispered with the wind while the grass blades shivered. Iris pushed the buzzer. No answer. She pushed it again. No luck.
A large ring knocker with a lion's visage glared at Iris. She held the knocker, lifted it up, and struck three times. This time, the door did open. A little...
Iris noticed that the lock was broken. She pushed the door open. It was dark inside. Dark and untouched...
She took a cautious step forward. The floor creaked. A familiar smell mixed with dust wafted against Iris' nose. The old three-legged stand was lying on the floor, it's Victorian lamp lay shattered near the fireplace. Cracks streaked across the corners of the marble coffee table. Wood boards covered the ancient windows with beams of light flowing in from the gaps. Iris stepped on something. It was the family portrait. She picked it up and stared longingly. Her father sat to her right and her mother to her left. Their hands were placed on her shoulders. Young Iris had her hands on her lap; they all smiled peacefully. She placed the portrait on a nearby chair, where her old, tiny doll lay. She held it up to the light. Its features welcomed her to reminisce...
_____________________________
"Daddy, Daddy! Look what I got!" Young Iris waved the doll in the air, withdrew, and hugged it tightly.
"Do you like it, dear?"
"I love it! Thanks Mommy! You too Daddy!"
"Hahaha. You're welcome, honey........ you're..... wel...... ..... come...... hon.....ey....." Her father's voice fleeted back into her distant memories.
_____________________________
Something caught her eye. Iris dropped the doll, as if enchanted by the object. A puff of dust swirled as the doll lightly pounded on the floor.
There was a vanilla colored note on the dinner table. It was partially covered with dust and the paper wasn't eaten away. "Maybe it's new..." she thought. Iris took it in her hands and unveiled it.
"Painted skies...
Deep in your eyes...
From His pyre of lies...
A new raven shall arise..."
The message puzzled her. But, this was not the time to solve it, for suddenly, the entire house stirred and rocked. The ground quaked, then stopped. It quaked again. Now, it came again and again, off and off...
The note vanishing from her grasp into faded memories, and not noticing, Iris rushed outside. She gasped.
A kilometer ahead of her was a giant insectoid. It resembled a spider, only its 'skin' gleamed in the sun and a heavily serrated mouth drooled on the front of the body. Its twenty-meter long limbs lifted its body, facing the sun. Its saw-rows off teeth stirred, singing a piercing shriek which shattered the neighborhood windows. Iris cupped her ears with her palms. It stopped.
A pillar of light was released from its mouth. It sailed right past Iris as she shielded herself. It landed a kilometer away and incinerated all objects in its ensuing blast.
A cluster of bloodshot eyes unraveled above its mouth.
Iris caught its glimpse.
"Disorder"
Trene City Residential Block LD1-RB/04
12:39 p.m., 03/10
Roads were clean. Swing sets were gently nudged by a noon breeze. No one on the sidewalk, no vehicles roared near or far. Not a soul in sight. A quiet neighborhood...
Iris walked along slowly, gathering her courage. For the first time in five years, she was going to see her parents again. A faint childhood habit prevented her from stepping over any cracks in the sidewalk.
She stood on the front porch of her home. The garden azaleas whispered with the wind while the grass blades shivered. Iris pushed the buzzer. No answer. She pushed it again. No luck.
A large ring knocker with a lion's visage glared at Iris. She held the knocker, lifted it up, and struck three times. This time, the door did open. A little...
Iris noticed that the lock was broken. She pushed the door open. It was dark inside. Dark and untouched...
She took a cautious step forward. The floor creaked. A familiar smell mixed with dust wafted against Iris' nose. The old three-legged stand was lying on the floor, it's Victorian lamp lay shattered near the fireplace. Cracks streaked across the corners of the marble coffee table. Wood boards covered the ancient windows with beams of light flowing in from the gaps. Iris stepped on something. It was the family portrait. She picked it up and stared longingly. Her father sat to her right and her mother to her left. Their hands were placed on her shoulders. Young Iris had her hands on her lap; they all smiled peacefully. She placed the portrait on a nearby chair, where her old, tiny doll lay. She held it up to the light. Its features welcomed her to reminisce...
_____________________________
"Daddy, Daddy! Look what I got!" Young Iris waved the doll in the air, withdrew, and hugged it tightly.
"Do you like it, dear?"
"I love it! Thanks Mommy! You too Daddy!"
"Hahaha. You're welcome, honey........ you're..... wel...... ..... come...... hon.....ey....." Her father's voice fleeted back into her distant memories.
_____________________________
Something caught her eye. Iris dropped the doll, as if enchanted by the object. A puff of dust swirled as the doll lightly pounded on the floor.
There was a vanilla colored note on the dinner table. It was partially covered with dust and the paper wasn't eaten away. "Maybe it's new..." she thought. Iris took it in her hands and unveiled it.
"Painted skies...
Deep in your eyes...
From His pyre of lies...
A new raven shall arise..."
The message puzzled her. But, this was not the time to solve it, for suddenly, the entire house stirred and rocked. The ground quaked, then stopped. It quaked again. Now, it came again and again, off and off...
The note vanishing from her grasp into faded memories, and not noticing, Iris rushed outside. She gasped.
A kilometer ahead of her was a giant insectoid. It resembled a spider, only its 'skin' gleamed in the sun and a heavily serrated mouth drooled on the front of the body. Its twenty-meter long limbs lifted its body, facing the sun. Its saw-rows off teeth stirred, singing a piercing shriek which shattered the neighborhood windows. Iris cupped her ears with her palms. It stopped.
A pillar of light was released from its mouth. It sailed right past Iris as she shielded herself. It landed a kilometer away and incinerated all objects in its ensuing blast.
A cluster of bloodshot eyes unraveled above its mouth.
Iris caught its glimpse.