Mockingbirds

Chapter 3 - Roy

Roy's not sure what he makes of God.

He figures that he's gotta be real. There's been too many things to happen around him that he couldn't chalk up to coincidence. Not to mention that Mom would tell him the tales: the starchild flying into the volcano, the lady in the river Innah. All those gods are bound to exist.

But any shred of doubt in Roy's mind that God, one with a capital G, exists is quickly washed away when he sees the daughter of Jed Darby and the brutal irony of his situation sets in. God's not just real, he's got a sense of humor.

"Um, hello?"

The girl has steel in her eyes, but for a brief moment it flickers. It seems like she just registered what's going on right now. The claw that is her left hand remains up, however.

"If you could get off of me I'd appreciate it."

"Why would I do that to an intruder, Jester?"

Jester? Oh, right. He never really got Jed's whole card obsession. The guy had to know he was psychotic, with the whole card game aesthetic on everything.

"My name's Roy, kid. And I don't want any trouble."

Her lip quivers. She's never done something like this before, has she? Roy thinks to himself. For what it's worth, she's doing a great job.

"Well, Roy, if you don't want any trouble, you'll get up and get out."

"Again, hard to do that when you're standing on top of me."

That seems to make enough sense to the girl, because after a sigh she rolls off of him. The feathers and talons subside, giving way to a typical human arm. She sits on the other side of the room, up against a dresser, and for the first time Roy gets a good look at her.

She looks like she's been mauled by several squirrels. Twigs and leaves coat her messy red hair. Her pink flannel shirt is stained with dirt, and grass stains line a pair of torn up jeans. Simply put, Roy's never seen someone so rich look like they need a change of clothes as badly as this girl right here.

"So, you're a druid?"

She gives him a quizzical look. He opts to clarify.

"I knew a guy like that. Weird guy, but pretty interesting. You can turn into animals?"

That makes more sense to her it seems. She nods her head.

"If that's what you call it. But that shouldn't matter because you should've been out of this house five minutes ago."

Roy sighs, and starts to get up. But as he does, he can see the girl's eyes soften. There seems to be a question in her mind, something she's dying to ask. But if she doesn't have the words, Roy's not going to give her the time of day. He's broken into rich houses before: none of them had a bird lady as a bodyguard, and he's not ready to be food.

"Wait."

He pauses, somewhere in between sitting and standing.

"You know about my mom, right?" She's asking as if it's an obvious question, and yet, her eyes betray her with a small glimmer of hope. Her mom?

Oh.

Roy is well familiar with Angie Mae Ellis, queen of the Darby gang. A wicked mind sharp enough to knock the soul out of someone's body. Literally. He had met her in a large meeting area with his gang (at the time) to find the location of her husband. The gang had wanted to kill Jed Darby, and he needed to keep up appearances. It wasn't until Angie Mae had punched a man and his heart stopped beating that he realized that all of this was more than he bargained for. In retrospect, that really should have been the first sign of what was to come.