As the Crow Flies

Chapter 1 “Elora”. My name rolled off their tongues like they were spitting out poison, thick with disdain and hatred. I had no idea why they hated me so much, I’d never met them. When I woke up this morning, it was the same hellish life I’d woken up to every day for eighteen years. A father that hated me and a mother that was an empty shell of a woman were the only people in my life. I’d dropped out of high school last year and looked for a way out of a type of life that I didn’t think could be any worse. Didn’t think....I never did. That’s how I ended up chained in the corner of a rancid smelling room surrounded by three of the largest, scariest men I’ve ever come across, and I’d experienced the wrath of my father on more occasions than I could remember. I’ve never been scared of anyone other than him before. How did I get myself into this mess? … “ELORA!” His voice thundered down the basement stairs and my eyes immediately widened ‘what did I do now’ I wondered to myself. “ELORA! Get over here NOW!” He roared again. I lifted myself off the old mattress and combed my hair with my fingers, slowly shuffling to the foot of the stairs. I peered up and saw my father’s looming figure in the doorway above, arms tightly folded in front of his chest. He was an intimidating man and always managed to make my blood run cold. I should be used to it by now, it’s been this way for as long as I can remember. Living in the basement offered me some protection from the daily abuse, both verbal and physical. I could never do anything right, and always managed to screw up even before breakfast, sometimes before I woke up. I’m sure my parents saw every breath I took as one of my many mistakes. “What could I have possibly done now?” I ask with a tone I knew would earn me a slap. He glared down at me trying to make me regret opening my mouth, and I glared back up to him. “So this is what you want for your eighteenth birthday, to insult me and earn a locked door and to go hungry for the day?” He snarled with a grim smirk. I wanted to roll my eyes, but resisted the urge, as pushing him further than I already have would surely earn me a punishment that might interrupt my day's plans. Today was the day I would finally leave it all behind, I’d run and never look back. They had no hold on me anymore, and there was nothing worth staying for. I forced myself to apologize,” I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” I mumbled. He looked mostly satisfied with my submission and turned to gesture out the door, “Today is your final birthday with us, I want your things packed and you gone by the evening. We don’t want to hear from you ever again.” He turned to see my expression. My jaw dropped, and I couldn’t stop a smile from forming. My plans to run wouldn’t be ruined at all, in fact, they were holding open the door for me to leave. Before my thoughts went any further, a sharp slap met my face and I hit the floor. I looked up in time to see a boot headed for my gut and quickly lifted my legs to block it. He yelled as loud as he could, shaking the window panes, “Are you so glad to be kicked out of the only home you’ve ever had? What will you do with yourself, who will feed you, clothe you, and protect you..” I sharply interrupted him “Protect me!?” I asked incredulously, “Protect me from what!? Yourself? All you’ve ever done is force me to do your bidding and use me as a punching bag! Am I glad to be leaving this hell hole, you ask? You bet your ass I am!” With that, I scrambled away from his next kick as a response to my outburst, grabbed a bag I always kept packed, and ran out the basement door into the yard. I walked quickly, not knowing where I was going, not caring where I ended up. ‘Anywhere was better than here’ I thought. I could still hear him yelling to come back for my punishment, but I didn't even bother to turn around. I was done, for good. … I don’t know how long I’d been walking, but my legs felt like rubber as I found a stoop in the city to sit on. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky bright shades of purple, pink, and orange. ‘I won’t rest long’ I said to myself. I could feel the need to nod off, but needed a safer place than out in the open like this. I considered my options and remembered a church nearby that sometimes let the homeless sleep on the pews. I stood after a few minutes, aching in my calves as I did, and turned to head towards the church. I took but three steps before darkness took my vision. What is happening!? I tried to muffle out a scream as I realized a bag had been placed over my head, but a solid hit to the gut cut my breath and I couldn’t make a sound. I felt myself get lifted and dropped on a hard surface. The sound of a car door sliding shut told me I was on the floor of some sort of van. I kicked my legs wildly and tried to free myself from the strong arms around me. Another fist to the stomach and I gasped, pausing to catch my breath and curl my legs up to protect me from another hit. I was ready to start kicking again when I heard the van start and begin moving. Voices came from my left and I tried to hear what they were saying over my own pounding heart. “This was the easiest catch of the day!” A gruff voice laughed. “You’re not wrong,” responded a deep voice close to me, probably the one hitting me. “Are we sure she’s the one?” “Yeah yeah she looks just like the picture!” A higher, more nasally voice responded from the front again. All of a sudden, the bag was ripped from my head, a bit of my hair with it, causing me to curse in surprise. I looked around me quickly, looking for any way to escape. The inside of the van was bare aside from the giant man next to me, holding the bag that must’ve just been over my head. A skinny face was peering from the passenger seat and holding a photo, comparing it to me. The large man next to me snatche the picture out of his hand and roughly grabbed my chin to turn my face towards him. He held the little photo close to me and looked back and forth, searching for similarities I assumed. He gave a nasty smirk and handed the photo back. “It’s definitely her.” His bass voice seemed to reverberate off the inside of the van, the deep, threatening tone matching his terrifyingly large physique. Dark tattoos wound around biceps as big as my head and his eyes looked nearly black as they glared over at me for staring too long. I quickly shifted my gaze to the skinny one in the front. His beak-like nose and icy blue eyes were uncomfortable to look at. He had deep acne scars in his cheeks that looked like bright red freckles and his dirty blonde hair was unkempt and falling into his face. He sneered at me and looked at the driver. “Hurry up man, I don't like the way she’s staring at us!” It almost came out as a whine more than a demand. “Who are you and where are you taking me?” I said, surprising myself with how strong I sounded in comparison to the quivering fear I felt inside. “Shut up, you filthy Malum!” Growled the huge man nearest me. ‘Malum? What the hell is a Malum!?’ I wondered to myself, now even more confused. The van drove for ages and I lost count of the left and right nbnjccjccvturns hours ago. There’s no way I’d be able to find my way out of wherever they are taking me. We finally came to an abrupt stop, causing me to slam my head into the side of the van. “Ow! Bastard!” I yelled. All three just laughed quietly as the van door slid open. Outside there were two lines of armed guards standing with their backs against a long chain link fence topped with barbed wire. Looking out and ahead, I saw a huge tan building that nearly blended in with the brown desert around it. As they dragged me out of the van and put me on my feet, two of the guards grabbed either side of me by the arms and started leading me down the path towards the building. I looked around, trying to get some idea of where I was and was struck with shock as I saw lines of people on the other side of the fence, looking at me with weary eyes as I passed by. ‘Is this some sort of prison?’ I pondered what could’ve possibly ended me up in this predicament. The only thing I could think of is my parents somehow ordering these people to capture me, but that didn’t make any sense. They wanted nothing to do with me and couldn’t wait until I was out of their lives, which they knew I was willingly planning on achieving. Why would they put forth any effort to do something with me after kicking me out? Nothing was adding up and I needed to figure it out quick if I was going to get out of this mess. We were getting closer and closer to the large silver door way, guarded by yet another pair of armed men. “What is this place?” I asked with a weak voice, betraying my fear. A half grin and squinted eyes was the only response I received as we walked through the immense doorway. Bright lights illuminated a cold, polished concrete floor and black walls framed a large central area that looked like a main desk at a hotel, but much less inviting. A thin man with scars on his face stood up from behind a shiny black desk. He was clad in a dusty blue, military-esque uniform with a cold stare. Brown eyes were the only truly human looking thing about him, although the warm color was tainted with a cold, hating stare. “Welcome to Tenebris Locus.” His voice echoed off every wall, startling me at the volume. “What is this place?” I repeated my earlier question to him, as he was the only one to speak to me thus far. “This is a place to teach all Malum where they belong.” He snarled back. “What is a Malum and why am I here!?” I challenged back, less afraid and more pissed off at the confusion I was feeling. The slightest bit of surprise passed across his face. “YOUR kind is a Malum. Those that were born cursed and wrong. Those that possess qualities that are a threat to humans and risk destroying the world. You are going to try to tell me that you have never known this about yourself!?” His upper lip curled in disgust and frustration as I opened my mouth to respond. “I have never heard of a Malum before and I am just a normal person! What do you mean risk humans!? I don’t understand anything that’s happening!” He seemed to realize I had genuinely no idea what was going on as he motioned for someone else to come to him. A woman I hadn’t noticed before appeared beside him out of nowhere and began talking in a quiet voice to him. Her silver eyes flashed towards me and her blonde hair seemed to reflect light from every angle. Tight lips painted red showed a disapproving expression and her eyes narrowed as they both turned towards me and the man began to speak again. “You are a supernatural being.” He said quietly. “You possess powers that need to be contained and controlled for the safety of all on this planet. Including yourselves.” He looked at me, his dark eyes peering into mine and searching for something. “Miss Freilin will show you to the examination room, here we will assess you and establish the strength of your powers. You will then be placed in a category and level, this will determine your treatment.” With that, the blonde woman motioned to the guards to leave me. She stood in front of me, peering down her nose like I was an insect. “Follow me.” She stated, her smooth voice like icy steel in the echoing room. I reluctantly followed close behind and my thoughts raced about everything I’d just heard. Powers? Malums? Supernatural beings? This all sounded like the craziest dream I’d ever had, and I needed to wake up. We reached a steel door with no window and went into a small, dark room where the three men from the van were standing in one corner, and I was led to the opposite corner where a single chain was fastened to the dirty concrete floor. I panicked as two of the men came my way, realizing I would be chained in a corner with them. My heart pounded as I quickly looked for escape, and my face fell as I realized there was not one. I’m going to be chained in this small room and tortured… This was all I could think. What did I do to get into this mess? I panicked as the cold cuffs tightened on my wrists. I looked up in time to see Miss Freilin’s cold gaze from the doorway as she smirked and shut the door, leaving me alone with my captors.