The Thousand-Eyed Crow (#Wattys2020)

Chapter 1 (Creatures from Beyond the Veil)

"It happened again," the second figure said, as soon as their eye snapped open.

The wind outside whistled against the bare, dead trees, and the few birds that were around chirped, but in a way that was pleasing to the ear, and not overwhelming in the slightest. Where they lay in their bed, the sheets felt soft, and the mattress gave way around their body, but it snapped back into position instantly as it should. Everything around them felt correct, solid. Even the strips of bright light streaming through the dark windowpane and thick blinds was a welcome sight.

"I don't get why I always have to be so useless in these things," the first figure replied with a sigh, stretching their left arm out before reaching for their prosthetic beside them and clicking it into place. "But I'm sure we'll learn this thing's name at some point. Maybe after we get our skin melted off a thousand times we'll get a prize."

Rolling their eye, the second figure sat up, retrieving their prosthetic leg from the ottoman and re-attaching it. They felt around on their nightstand for their left eye, placing it back in the socket with a small pop.

The first figure grinned as they slid themselves into their wheelchair before gliding over to the closet to search for something to wear.

"I love being able to see out of both eyes again," the second figure said wistfully as they slid out of bed as well, the metal of their right leg tapping unevenly on the polished wood floor. They limped over to the closet and stood beside their sibling.

"Oh, I'm picking something up again..." they said, glancing out of the corner of their eye at a shadow that had manifested behind the closet. The electromagnetic sensor in their left eye started pinging, indicating that there was something there. "Mom?"

"Kallias!" said the first figure, smacking their sibling's arm with their prosthetic one. "Whoever is there, please kindly fuck off. I haven't even had breakfast yet."

The shadow seemed to only increase in size, beginning to vibrate to a point where Kallias saw that the entire area around the closet seemed to vibrate, too.

"You made it angry, Caoimhe, you fucking idiot!" Kallias hissed, taking a step back.

"There's literally nothing there you weirdo. When you're done talking to yourself, come and help me with breakfast. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try getting dressed," Caoimhe announced as they grabbed some clothes and rolled away, leaving Kallias alone with the vibrating shadow figure.

Swallowing the lump in their throat, Kallias eyed the shadow. "I hope you'll excuse my sibling, they're a bit skeptical on account of the fact that they aren't very sensitive to... beings from other realms."

With that, the shadow seemed to shrink a bit, returning to its original size. The vibrations ceased, as well. It glided across the pale green surface of the wall, and Kallias followed it with their prosthetic eye. The figure stopped at the foot of Caoimhe's bed.

"What's the matter?" Kallias asked it, stepping toward it but still retaining their distance. Their heart beat hard in their chest, but their face betrayed nothing that could indicate the increased adrenaline pumping through their system. They knew enough about this sort of thing from the time spent poring over documents on the occult than to show any outward signs of fear. "Could you tell me why you're here? It's only polite."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the figure grew larger and larger, a black stain crawling up the wall next to Kallias's bed like mildew, before instantly shrinking down into itself and vanishing without a trace.

Caoimhe blinked, tapping their prosthetic eye a few times and rolling it around in the socket, but there was no trace of the shadow figure. All that remained in its stead were strips of burning sunlight filtering in through the window. Knitting their eyebrows together, Caoimhe stroked their chin before trekking down the hall to the kitchen.