“So, why do we have to go with a group into the forest?” Shoes scratched through the stones and the metal bench underneath us creaked. The cafeteria door swung open too hard and hit the wall behind it before squeaking shut again.
He averted his eyes and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. “The teachers say it’s for safety. That way, if someone gets injured, one can stay whilst the other runs for help.”
The cold milkshake slurped through my straw, ice rattling around the mason jar. I gave a small nod. Looking across the concrete court, heat rays made it distorted, and the trees shimmered eerily as everything else stood still.
“Actually, there’s more to it.”
Scuffed shoes ran across the hot concrete and a cheer rose from the players. Bang, the basketball hit the backboard causing the weathered pole to rattle. Spinning around where we sat, the benches groaned. A boy stood leaning against the unoccupied basketball pole, on the other court, with arms crossed and dark hair covering his eyes.
Marcus tensed, his face reddening with rage. “Were you spying on us?!”
The other boy grinned. The pole let out a groan of relief as he moved off it. The jacket slung across one shoulder swished as he sauntered towards us. “No, not spying, this is a shared space. I just overheard your conversation.”
Marcus’ fists clenched on the table, knuckles turning white.
“What do you mean, ‘there’s more to it’?” I asked quietly. Marcus glared at me, saying, stop encouraging him. My interest was piqued.
“There’s a creature that lives in there, in those trees.”
The stones crunched as he jumped up from his seat and the bench groaned as it was thrown backwards. “Those are just stories to scare the year sevens into listening!”
“Are they?” His raised eyebrow and amused smirk implied he was enjoying this.
“What stories?” Starting to feel like I was missing out on an important conversation, the mason jar clinked as I placed it on the table.
“I’ve heard things and word spreads quickly through this school. So, in turn, everyone has heard things.”
I looked between Marcus and the other boy. Marcus’ jaw was clenched. The boy still smiled as he glanced at Marcus and then winked at me.
“Would you be brave enough to venture in with me? If they’re just stories, then you have nothing to be afraid of.” The gentle breeze blew his dark hair across his face as he stared at me, expectantly. His eyes flickered and he was off across the basketball court.
“Hey! Wait!”
Marcus looked at me for a second and I was off before he had moved. As I scrambled up the hill, rocks tumbled and dust stirred through the air. My hands scraped the hard dry surface as I stumbled. Marcus had raced after me, but the other boy was there first, offering a hand to help me up.
“We shouldn’t be doing this…” Marcus muttered, his shoes scraping the ground as he reached the top. “We don’t have time and we’re going to get caught.”
As I looked back down the hill, I could tell that no one had noticed as we made our way into the trees. Or they just didn’t care too much, too hot from the sun’s heat and too occupied with the game.
“Caught by who? No one’s going to tell and the Deathbird will probably catch us first.”
We all went quiet, and Marcus and I stared at each other. “It has a name?”
“Do you have a name?” Marcus snapped.
“Dray is my name.” He sounded uncertain when he said it. Like it was a new word to him.
“Is that, like, a nickname?” I asked.
He looked over his shoulder and smirked. He seemed to be full of secrets.
Looking ahead, we seemed to have reached a point of no return. The school was seen no more, shrouded from view by the tall eucalypts. If we left Dray now, we would more than likely get in trouble for doing so. The trees offered little shade, their dried leaves hanging sadly from drier branches. The heat beat down on us, but Dray didn’t seem too fussed. Marcus’ eyes kept skirting the area, a feeling of near panic radiating off him. Perhaps he believed more in these stories than he let on.
“Say.” Marcus jumped as Dray spoke but quickly regained himself. “I have a bow hidden in one of these trees, I can go and grab it if you’d like.”
“A bow?” I wasn’t as surprised as I should have been. He seemed like the kind of guy to have such a thing, but it was still strange.
He nodded. “They’re not hard to make and no one else knows it’s there.”
Marcus scoffed. “Yeah, go and grab your bow, perhaps it’ll keep away the scary bird.”
“I never said it was a bird.”
No one spoke. Dray still had a smirk on his face, but he seemed dead serious. Marcus stared at Dray.
“I won’t be long,” Dray said. “Stay here and don’t move.”
The dry undergrowth crunched as he walked away. I watched as his dark hair and dark coat receded into the trees until I could see him no more, the trees swallowing him in their shade.
“Like we’re going to stay here, come on.” Marcus started to walk away but I didn’t move. I looked to where I had last seen Dray.
“I think we should wait…” A wave of uneasiness came over me. It was too quiet.
Clenched fists turned white at Marcus’ side. He clenched and unclenched them, clearly not knowing what to do. For a moment I thought he was going to keep walking, but then he turned back. “Fine, we wait, but I’m not taking the blame if we get caught.”
There was a rustle behind us, and the bushes moved. I half-expected the trees to be blowing in a breeze, but there was nothing. Marcus tentatively took a step forward
“Marcus!” I hissed, but he held a hand up to silence me.
“Dray, is that you?”
Please be Dray, please be Dray, please be Dray.
“Dray, this isn’t funny, I’m going to walk out of here!”
A whoosh came from behind us, causing us to spin in circles trying to find the sound. Pointlessly.
“Run!” A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the trees, seeming to make them sway in the breeze. “Run!” It was Dray’s voice. “Run! Get out of here!”
The noises were too much. Dray’s screams, the strange rustling and bustling sounds that turned to screeches, Marcus’ crashing through the bushes as he turned and ran. It all seemed to be getting darker and dizzier and darker…
“Come on!”
Marcus was back in front of me, holding out a hand I grabbed his hand tight and stumbled after him. I stumbled and tripped too many times, not used to running through the bush.
The noises followed. The noises got louder. Louder and louder, they became, shrieks and cries and Dray’s screams -and then, a little girl calling out through the trees.
“Help me!” I recognised her little voice, her desperate pleas. “Help me!”
Tripping and landing hard on the ground, I couldn’t get up. With eyes round, I looked around. “Maggie?! Maggie, where are you?!”
“She’s not here!” Marcus reached for me again, but I scrambled away from him, forcing my shaking legs to hold me up.
“Yes, she is!” I cried. “Didn’t you hear her!?”
“Help me!”
“It’s coming from behind us…”
I turned, running back the way we came, running towards Dray’s screams, running towards Maggie’s screams, running towards the darkness.
Something swooped over us, something like a bird A scream echoed through the forest, a bloodcurdling screech so loud that I dropped to the ground and squeezed my eyes shut and clamped my hands desperately over my ears. But it didn’t stop.
“Marcus? Marcus, where are you?!” I cried into the darkness. “Where are you?!”
But no reply came from the darkness
More and more flew by me, stirring up the darkness into dizzying shapes. Their cries were earsplitting, mind-shattering, too awful for me to comprehend. Tears ran down my cheeks and my mouth opened in a silent scream.
The Deathbird. It was real.