The Raven

Chapter 1

Not far from the little Town of Jericho nestled in the woodlands of New England there's an old castle surrounded by ancient deep rooted trees, with their strong branches and their calming perfume, their oxygen that enriches the air. The once upon a time castle now known as the Nevermore academy, the safe haven for students to grow and embrace their abilities whatever they may be. Now reader be warned the school we are about to enter is no ordinary school, this has been home to all types of outcasts for over 200 years, but don't take it from me.

***

Larisa Weems sat at her desk rubbing her temples as she took a deep breath. Running a school full of outcasts was hard enough on it's own, she really didn't need this lunatic killer lurking in the woods and the sheriff stuck up her rear end. The woman exhaled and turned her attention towards the roaring fireplace, the flickering of the flames dancing on the dimly lit walls. Today had been exhausting, the sirens thought it would be a good idea to use their powers to get the Gorgons to turn the wolves to stone which did not sit well with the wolves who retaliated in typical wolf fashion. And Weems was the unfortunate soul who had to solve the problem, all she really wanted to do right now was have a nice relaxing bath then curl up in bed and sleep for the reminder of the school term. That however was not possible as the pile of papers on her desk was not going to sort itself out. No Larisa Weems was not getting an early night tonight.

The woman made herself a cup of coffee, deciding it was definitely a must if she was going to complete the papers tonight. Granted they could easily be done through the week but the very Time officiant Principle Weems could not go to sleep with unfinished work. She'd been the same way as a child, the minuet she was given work she'd already set it in her mind that work would be completed before she went to bed, and the same thing still applies to this day. She headed back to her office, took her seat at her desk and turned her lamp on. The sun had long set and nearly everyone in the school was sound asleep, lost in their dreams.

Larisa was well into her paper work and was quite certain she'd finish it all by 11:30-12:00.
Her hand glided along the paper, she took in every word before signing her name where required and moved onto to the next part. She glanced at her watch, 11:06. A smile graced her lips, if she kept it up she'd finish her paper work by 11:30 after all. Twenty four minutes later and with a happy sigh the principal of Nevermore finished the last of her paper work. She pushed away from her desk and turned towards the window, glancing up at the moon.
She took a deep breath and exhaled enjoying the moonlight that shone brightly through the window, a bright light however caught the woman's attention.

***

Somewhere in the forest with its centuries-old trees with sprawling limbs that guarded the darkness, their tall never ending height blocking out any sunlight that dared try to break its way through. Their bark was mottled and splotched, damaged and scraped, each mark hinting towards their hidden stories of years gone by. Uneven tangled moss dangled from their rotten boughs, droplets of rain from the early morning still drip slowly to the  ground. The animals had all scurried into hiding, sensing something peculiar was underway.

A low grumble echoed amongst the trees followed by a blinding light which lit up that part of the forest and would surly damage any prying eyes within feet of the unexplainable light. A body appeared and fell to the ground with a thud and just like that the light vanished, leaving a limp body on the soggy cold forestry floor. No animal dared move nor make a sound.

All was silent.

The tall outline of the tree's stand tall like the noble black knights protecting their queen against the harsh winds that howl into the night. The limp figure sprawled across the cold ground moved for the first time since it's mystic appearance nearly an hour ago. The figure slowly sat up, brushing strands of its curly black haired birds nest from its face. It, was a woman, a woman who had no right being alive.

***

Larisa Weems awoke the next morning despite having hardly slept a wink last night. That spark of light in the woods puzzled her, and first thing this morning she'd inform the sheriff and have the surrounding land thoroughly searched. The safety and wellbeing of her students was the upmost importance to her.

"I want every inch of this land inspected, we can't take any risks-"
"It was probably one of those kids messing around, who knows what they're capable of." The sheriff, a tired looking man with what was left of his once dark hair now speckled with grey. His chin was rough and unkempt, like he hadn't shaved properly in days, his blue eyes were dead. They held nothing of the excitement and determination they once had many years ago.
The taller woman took a deep breath though kept her smile in place
"My children were all in bed, not one of them stepped so much as a toe out of those gates last night. So instead of assuming it's one of them how about you do your job and check the perimeters." With that Principle Larissa Weems marched away and headed straight to the school to gather her children in the hall. She daren't tell them of her sightings last night, no they needn't worry about, as long as they were all safe that's all that mattered.

The sheriff and his team had spent over half the day checking the lands and found nothing, and the sheriff was dreading reporting back to the principal of the school, though glad no one turned up dead at least.
She thanked him for his cooperation despite not fully satisfied with his answer, something else was out there and she knew it. She'd just have to keep a better look out from now on.