The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

As the Crow Flies…
by Rie Sheridan Rose

“Do you have any idea where we are going?”

“Map says we are almost there.”

“And where is that exactly?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Do such places exist any more?”

“Have faith.”

She gave a bark of laughter. “Faith? I lost that a long time ago.”

He spared her a glance. “Don’t talk like that.”

“Why not? World fell apart—just like they always said it would. Maybe if they had found the cure sooner… Maybe if those who did recover hadn’t turned later… Maybe I’d be able to have a little faith. But they didn’t, and they did, and I don’t.”

“There’s the church. Let’s get inside and rest a bit.” His voice was soft and kind. She’d almost forgotten he could be that way.

He parked the truck beside the little brick church. It was a picture postcard—red brick with white trim. The cross on the side was unfamiliar to her, but it gave her comfort none the less.

She stumbled getting out of the truck, and he was immediately by her side, helping her into the church. 

Inside was a simple room rising two stories. It looked like it used to be a house, converted to the purpose. The upstairs windows had been replaced with stained glass, and the little light filtering through the clouds outside cast muted patterns on the floor.

She felt a sense of peace lift her heart.

“It’s lovely.”

“I told you. Safe.”

She moved to one of the polished oak pews and sank down upon it. She closed her eyes and let that peace fill her.

She felt the pew shift as he sat beside her.

“Do you know the legend of the crow? That they will provide you with a guide to the spirit realm?”

“I think I saw the movie,” she replied, feeling the corner of her mouth turn up. It felt good to let go of all the stress and fear for a moment.

“It’s true. They will show you the way.”

Her eyes flew open at the shock of the pain. She blinked, staring down at the hilt of the knife sticking out of her side. “What…?”

“Follow the crow,” he whispered. 

She felt herself slipping out of her body, rising through the muted colors of the windows, through the slates of the roof, to the cloud-streaked sky above the little church.

A lone crow soared above her.

And then they were two.

Fiction © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Skellyman

“I have always preferred the supernatural in tales of horror, the knot between life and death. Rie Sheridan Rose’s Skellyman is cool and creepy. Her first horror novel is a chilling read.” — Charlee Jacob – Stoker winner, Best novel, “Dread in the Beast”

Brenda Barnett is trying to cope with raising her four-year-old daughter all alone after an accident tore her family in half. As she and Daisy go for a much-needed treat, the little girl spots a Skellyman on the corner.

This pivotal encounter leads to a wave of mounting terror as Brenda’s life begins to come undone around her. Who is the Skellyman? Why does he keep appearing? Can the sympathetic policeman Brenda turns to stop the madness before it is too late?

And why does Daisy insist that her dead brother is trying to tell them something important?

Available on Amazon!