That was a lot of build up to a lot of nothing. Bottom line, I didn't see it in my best interest to meet the freaky bird in the woods at night all alone. Go figure. So, I stayed right there in my room for the night. It wasn't as if they would swarm me in my room. I had a solid chunk of glass protecting me. Which seemed stronger in my mind.

That night I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, dreading my existence, when I heard a tap tap tap on my window. Would you guess that I didn't even have to get up to know who was likely at my window.

Not tonight. This wasn't real. I was not about to indulge a bird. This was insanity. I didn't have to sit there and be bullied by a crow. He could tap the window all he wanted. I wasn't available. As far as he was concerned, I was sleeping. Come on, I had class tomorrow. And I had tests due. I needed my sleep. Not that I would be getting any. My brain was hyper fixated on this whole debacle.

Tap tap tap.

I could live with this. I could ignore him. He didn't know how much I tuned out already in life. Even I didn't know what all I had missed in life. I was too busy ignoring it.

Tap tap tap tap tap.

I rocked onto my side and put the pillow over my head. I wasn't going to give in. If I stayed awake suffering all night, I was not about to open that window.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

I had to leave my room. There was only so much I could handle, okay. It was that kind of annoying like a loose tooth. Where you know it's there and you just have to... touch it. My curiosity was eating away at me. Plus, I had never had a mob bird on my case before.

I went out of my room into the bathroom. I hid out there for what seemed like an hour before going back into my room. All was quiet. I sighed in relief. Freedom. Silence. Peace.

The next day, I woke up feeling worn to the bone. I would have liked more sleep, but that's what you get when a bird is harassing you. I also definitely noticed the number of birds on my way to school had significantly increased. Hanging out in the trees and the powerlines.

"You notice the birds, too?" Phil nudged me. "There's somehow more of them?"

"Yeah." I tried my best to laugh. To play this off like I wasn't in fear for my life. But just below the surface, I was having a minor meltdown. Surely, the sweating wasn't obvious.

"Is that weird?"

"Oh, so it's a big deal when I mention birds, but it's okay when you do it? Talk about a double standard." I scoffed, but I quickened my pace.

By the time I made it to school, I was feeling burned through with all their glares. The day was fairly normal. Nothing necessarily stood out. I wasn't stopped by the men in black. It was a decent enough day. That was until I went into the bathroom before study hall.

I was washing my hands when I heard the familiar gangster voice.

"Long time, no see, kid."

I flung myself around to see a very angry looking crow sitting on top of one of the bathroom stalls.

"You!" I gasped in my shock. "But! How did you get in here?"

"I can get into anywhere I please." His tone was threatening, "Including into that skull of yours."

"You can't be here!" I hissed at him, "If anyone sees you-"

He cut me off. "No one's gonna find out. Are they, kid?"

I felt flustered as well as a bit agitated. "What do you want from me? I know you want my hands, but what does that mean? You can't just expect me to rush to help you in the forest without knowing what I'm getting myself into."

"You know what they did to Martin?" He cocked his head.

"No?"

"Wanna find out?"

I folded my arms, "Are threats the only thing you know how to say?"

"Hows about this?" He flew over to the sink to be closer to me. He was far too close for my comfort. I took a step away. "We try this meetup one more time tonight. Same time. Same place. Except this time, if you aren't there, you get to join Martin."

"You must be a hit at parties." I pouted. "What did I do to end up stuck with you?"

"You think you're special?" He scoffed. "Typical main character syndrome. You humans are all the same."

"Your words are always so cruel. Who hurt you?"

"Same time. Same place." He repeated. "No more games."

"I expect some answers." I pointed at him. "You owe me that much."

"I owe you nothing, kid. Now go play school. I'll see you tonight."

I walked out of the bathroom, not certain of how he was going to get out of there. But I didn't really care. Let him get caught.

As the day passed, I had plenty of time to think. What could he possibly need a human for? What could I do that he couldn't? Well. Plenty of things. But why couldn't he go to anyone else? Why was I the one blessed with his harassment? Could he really follow through with his threats? Would he really make me disappear? I did wonder what happened to Martin, but I wasn't trying to be the next one escorted out.

Did the men in black know that birds could talk? Is that why they were trying to keep us away from them? To avoid a grand scale panic? I wished I could actually speak to one of these men and get real answers, but I didn't want to go around poking any bears.

If only I could have told Phil. Maybe I could. At the very least, I could tell him where I was going tonight just in case. That would likely make him ask questions, but I couldn't risk it.

I decided to write him a letter:

Phil,

I am going into the woods tonight out by Sherryl Lawton's place. Following the creek down. No particular reason. Don't ask questions. I'm happy in life. I have plans to return before bedtime. I will definitely be attending school the next day. We will walk together like we always do. If that is not the case, do inform the authorities that I may have gotten lost and carry out a search for me. Thanks.

I gave that to him as we parted ways, and I went into my house. I wanted to pack a survival bag, but I didn't even know what all a survival bag entailed. I also thought I should leave a letter for my parents just in case I didn't come home. But they couldn't know I was leaving or that wouldn't let me go. Eh, Phil would handle it. I was sure.

I went onto Fiddler. It had been a few days since I had last checked up on them.

HawkwardMoments: I am going to get more answers tonight. Hopefully.

BirdsEyeView: Catching another drone?

FowlMouth: You wanna catch these hands, man.

SweetTweet: How?

PheasantSurprise: I made a trap, too. I'll catch one.

BirdFlew: I shoot them down as often as I see em. I'll eventually have a body.

HawkwardMoments: Anyone see any crows around lately?

FowlMouth: Yeah. Duh. They're everywhere.

JustWingIt: Hello, guys! I'm new and happy to be here! I have been monitoring the birds very closely and I've come to the conclusion that they are actually just regular birds! Imagine that! Nothing outstanding at all! We shouldn't mess with them. We especially shouldn't be shooting them down! ):

FowlMouth: Who invited this idiot into the chat?

SweetTweet: The more the merrier.

JustWingIt: Nice to meet everyone! Why don't we all go around introducing each other? I'm Jason Gelshire! Local bird watcher! Who do I have the pleasure of chatting with today?

FowlMouth: This dude can't be serious right now.

BirdsEyeView: Exactly what a plant would say.

SweetTweet: I like him!

JustWingIt: Say, how about you, HawkwardMoments? What's your name? How do you plan on getting more answers?

I immediately felt uncomfortable with this guy. Did he seem nice? Sure. But the thing about living in small towns was that everyone tended to know everyone. Which meant I should know him. Except I had never heard of a Jason Gelshire.

HawkwardMoments: Where did you say you were from, Jason?

JustWingIt: I've lived in the local area for my whole life! Love it here! Love the birds even more! Just happy to be here, really! Tell me more about you and your plans, please!

Not going to happen.

HawkwardMoments: Are you some kind of spy?

BirdsEyeView: They've infiltrated our safe space.

SweetTweet: You guys. Chill.

I checked the time. It was about time for me to head out. If I was going to make it on time, that is. Not that he told me the extent of where I would be walking to. I closed out of the tab so my parents wouldn't see it. Then grabbed my survival bag. Which consisted of a few snacks, a pocketknife, a flashlight, some rope, and water. Fooling to be so prepared? I would have been a fool not to be, in my opinion.

I snuck out my window and began my cold walk through the snow. Jeez. If my parents found out about this, I would never hear the end of it. Hopefully, I wouldn't be gone for too long. Night had already descended. I didn't want to take out my flashlight too soon. The less attention I drew, the better. Especially from the ever-vigilant men in black. I passed a few on my way south. They still wore sunglasses. At night. What a bunch of weirdos.

I got to the shed, leaving my trail in the snow the whole time. Anyone would have been able to follow me if they wanted to. I did my usual look around. It didn't look like any of the men in black had followed me.

I looked at the trees. They seemed so grim. Like the bare branches were long, boney fingers ready to snatch me up if I got too close. I had come this far. No turning back now.

I marched onward. This was when I took out my flashlight. I would have fallen half a dozen times just trying to get into the place if I didn't have some amount of light to guide me. I did my best to walk in a straight line. I had never been back in these woods before. Especially not at night. I never had a reason to. I wasn't entirely sure I even had a reason to now.

I wasn't sure how long I walked for. All I knew was my feet and face were numb from the cold. If a bear took off with me, I would just be dead. I should have brought some kind of protection. I didn't think about that.

Finally. I found the creek. It was mostly dried up and partially frozen. The rocks that littered the bottom looked extra slick. I hoped that he wouldn't expect me to cross this at some point. I turned around to check my surroundings again. I still didn't see anyone. Not even a very bossy crow. I couldn't see town from here. I was in the thick of it. And about to get deeper.