West Park Asylum

Paths appear and vanish in the middle of clearings while the rustling of wings are heard throughout the branches. Ian and Rich catch glimpses of the ebony birds that are hiding behind the leaves, but it is never more than a ruffling of feathers. Squirrels bound throughout the underbrush with several screeching at the intruders before running away. Faint footprints can be seen in the every dirt road, none of them of someone barefoot like Dawn. Every trail that they follow turns out to be a dead end at a clearing. One wrong turn leads them into a patch of thorny bushes that forces them to backtrack. Nursing a few cuts on their hands and arms, the pair stop at a moss-covered oak to rest.

“How long have we been out here?” Ian asks, checking the sky for a glimpse of the sun. He can see it to his left even though he swears it had been on his right a minute ago. “I think we’ve been turned around so much that we lost track of everything. Maybe this was a bad idea and we should head back.”

“I agree, but I don’t know which way we’re supposed to go,” Rich says while looking through his camera. A shadow flickers across the lens, causing him to yelp and let the machine hang from the strap around his neck. “Did you see that? This place is just wrong. The birds are hiding in the trees and remaining silent. Every rodent seems to screech or snarl at us. Tracks stop in the middle of nowhere. I get the feeling that people aren’t wanted in the forest, so let’s pick a direction and keep walking. Forget the paths and just walk until we hit Raven’s Hold or the coast.”

“Let’s rest for a bit and calm down. You’re too jittery to go anywhere,” the younger man politely points out, nodding his head at his companion’s shaking hands. He takes a seat on the ground, pausing briefly when he gets the sensation that he is in danger. “That was strange. For a second, I was afraid that I’d get sucked into the earth and fall forever. Maybe we should keep moving and remain on the lookout for Dawn. I’m going to try calling for her again. Dawn! It’s Ian and Rich! We’re out here looking for you!”

“Could you have given me a chance to stop you?”

“I’m only yelling. At worst, the orderlies find us.”

Snapping twigs and rustling bushes come from every direction while the faint echo of Ian’s voice returns. His words become louder until their volume forces the two men to cover their ringing ears. A buffering gale strikes the area and takes the shouting away, leaving the trees silent and still. The shadow of a bird passes overhead, but remains in the sun to prevent anyone from clearly seeing its form. In the animal’s wake, a chill ripples through the forest and leaves a layer of frost on the leaves. The icy coating and the eerie stillness vanish after the terrified men blink a few times.

“I assume you saw all of that,” Rich whispers, not wanting to restart the strange events. He gets closer to his friend and squats down, making it easier to talk in a low voice. “I don’t know what’s going on here. All I know is that we have to get out of here now. Dawn can take care of herself if she’s even still in the forest. It took us so long to reach the trees that she could have come out in a spot that we didn’t see. Your heart is in the right place, but this was a ridiculous idea.”

“Is that a hoof print?” Ian asks, ignoring his friend’s warnings. He crawls over to a marking that resembles a horseshoe. “Do you think-”

Aggravated and nervous, Rich pounces on the other man to cover his mouth. “No. Ghosts and demons are one thing, but I am not going to believe that a unicorn is wandering the island. One of the patients who escaped into here might have left the prints around the forest. Dawn snuck in here at one point, saw them, and added the unicorn to her hallucinations. You can’t really believe such a creature exists.”

Ian angrily shoves the sweat hand off his face and gets to his feet, standing over the sweaty man. “No, but prints wouldn’t last in the dirt for so long. It’s rained since I got here and the branches aren’t that tightly knit. All I was going to ask is if you thought someone is playing tricks on the patients in here. You just said that some people escaped into the forest, so what if they’re still around? They could use this place to mess with any of the patients that come in and they’d definitely know how to screw with Dawn.”

“I see where you’re going with this, but it wouldn’t work,” the older man replies, accepting a helping hand. He checks the sky and points to the east before taking the lead. “The problem is that it’s not that big. The winter would be a nightmare since they’d only be wearing these thin clothes. I guess they could eat some of the wildlife and I’ve seen berries. Might be some drinkable water around here too. Okay, so it the idea isn’t entirely unbelievable. If we’re in trouble with Dr. Rutherford then we can suggest this to minimize our punishment. Still I’d prefer to get back without being seen.”

Not wanting to argue, Ian obediently trudges behind his friend and keeps his eyes out for suspicious tracks. After a few minutes, he sees four gouges in an oak and stops to take a closer look at the damage. Turning to whistle for Rich, the noise gets caught on his lips when he sees that the other man is nowhere to be seen. Ian listens for the sound of footsteps, but all he can hear are fluttering wings and buzzing bees. Not wanting to wander off, he runs his fingers along the deep marks in the tree and is surprised to pull a curved claw out of the wood. The black hook reminds him of an eagle’s talon, which reminds him that he has seen such birds flying above the forest. Yet he can only imagine the size of the animal that could damage an oak and shudders at the thought of what it could do to a human body.

The faint sound of crying catches Ian’s attention and he tosses the talon over his shoulder, the item forgotten as soon as it leaves his hand. Knowing that he is making a mistake, the young man follows the noise through the trees. Black forms flicker among the branches and every motion releases a gentle rain of ebony feathers. Ian is careful to avoid every pointy rock and thin twig, which grants him a silent approach to the pond. Instead of stepping out of the trees, a warning goes off in his mind and he crouches behind a thick maple. A metallic taste is in his mouth and his heart is beating hard in his chest, but he continues to ignore the visceral signs of fear.

Standing at the muddy shore of the pond, Dawn has her hands clasped to her chest and is sobbing. Frogs are hopping around her bare feet while a trio of turtles stare at her from the murky water. Perched within the trees, hundreds of fat ravens wait patiently for the young woman to talk. A few of the ebony birds have dead squirrels and mice clenched in their feet, the tattered meals eventually dropping to the forest floor. A hot wind whips through the clearing and brings a group of vivid butterflies with it, the insects gathering around Dawn. With a relaxing breath, she lifts her hands to her shoulder and gently strokes the nose of a creature that is not there.

“I’m glad you came back,” Dawn coos before giving a kiss to the unicorn’s cheek. She wipes a few tears from her eyes and gazes at the ravens, her eyes briefly pausing on where Ian is hiding. “I made a big mess and I don’t know if I can go back. People might be dead. At the very least, Grace is angry and I will be punished. I miss my bed. Pottery class was fun too, so I’m not ready to go away. Yes, I love you too. Do you think you could undo what I did?”

The wind grows incredibly hot and the pond bubbles, cooking the turtles in their shells. A chorus of caws erupt from the trees and the birds take to the air. Obviously annoyed, the flock circles the clearing and dive to tear the wings off the helpless butterflies. The twitching insects are snatched up by the frogs that leap into the water where they pop like overfilled balloons. A horrid stench rises from the pond and it takes all of Ian’s strength to avoid throwing up.

“I’m sorry that you’re angry!” Dawn shouts in a pleading voice. She suddenly turns and reaches out as if to grab the unicorn by the horn. “No! Don’t take him away from me. I’ll be good from now on. Okay, not good, but I’ll be more careful. I’ll give you a new toy if you fix things. Not even everything. As long as I can go back to Raven’s Hold because I don’t want to go away. Thank you. I know what to do. Do you still love me?”

The ravens return to the trees, but the biggest one perches on the branch above Ian’s head. It stares down at him with piercing yellow eyes that seem to eat at his mind. With an anxiety attack looming, the young man sprints away from the pond and crashes through the trees. He has no clue as to where he is going and only wants to get away from the ravens. Branches seem to reach down and slap Ian in the face to leave burning cuts on his skin. Bramble bushes tear at his pants while he struggles to breathe and remain conscious. The sound of flapping overhead drives him to run faster through an icy rain that falls from the cloudless sky.

Ian bursts out of the forest and is immediately tackled by an orderly whose friend is gently subduing Rich a few feet away. The bald man is quietly giving up and doing whatever he is told to do, which includes not looking at his friend’s outburst. Ian’s eyes widen at the sight of the needle, which plunges into his thigh and gives him the soothing sedative. With his muscles relaxing, he tries to mumble about Dawn and the ravens, but all he does is drool. Another attempt sends a shot of spittle into the face of the orderly who casually wipes the bodily fluid from her face.

Before the injection can have its full effect, Ian sees Dawn in the distance and he thrashes on the ground. The young woman is happily skipping and dancing toward the building, a random cartwheel feeling like she is taunting her fellow patients. Nobody seems to notice her flashy approach, including those she passes by. As Ian passes out from the sedative and exhaustion, he watches Dawn stop at the door to the common room and blow him a friendly kiss. The young man can swear the sound that comes out of her mouth is a cawing raven, but he is unconscious before he can be sure.