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See a Need, Fill a Need 
by Selah Janel 

The woods enveloped Gray in a cold, faded world of nothing. I shouldn’t have returned. It was far too late for the thought to have weight. He’d let his childhood village beckon him back. He’d taken the gold. He’d walked through the near-empty lanes with no one to greet him.

Now, Gray was alone with the woods and the ravens.

The birds perched covered the once-bustling village. He’d dispatched as many as he could before taking to the woods with bloody sword. There was talk of a curse driving the villagers out. It was why he’d returned— that and the gold. As a man for hire, he couldn’t be picky. See a need, fill a need.

Nothing existed but the bare trees, his forced breaths, and the mocking croak of a raven. They’d rushed, as if they were fighting to impale themselves first on his blade.

For a moment, Gray swore he heard the tune the neighbor girl used to croon when she swept the front path, then another bird fell from his handiwork.

Things shifted and larger, meaner birds started attacking, ripping his skin with beaks and talons, tearing at his beard. He couldn’t aim, couldn’t hide, so he ran. He fled deep into the forest to escape the onslaught.

He hadn’t realized he’d dropped to his knees until the wetness of the ground registered through his pants. For a moment he stared up through the branches that caged him into the terrible place and into the eyes of a single, arrogant bird that considered him with a smug, triumphant tilt of its head.

Gray couldn’t look away. His mind fumbled for a bit of the old tales of curses and came up blank. His mind grew fuzzier with the cold and the dull rustle of branches and wings.

He started and came back to himself, leapt to his feet and found he leapt too far. He was higher than before, and staring down at the ground.

Staring into his own eyes.

He swung his sword, but was only able to wave dark, feathered wings. He screamed and found he didn’t have lips and couldn’t form words. The pained call of a raven tore through the heavy solitude at his doppleganger.

No, his own body.

Gray’s face smirked up at him. Strange sounds escaped the human mouth, as if it was testing out a new tool and finding that it would serve the need quite well. When Gray’s own voice reached his ears, the inflection and tone were wrong. “We thank ye for your contribution, human.”

What the hell are you? He demanded, but could only croak in panicked bursts.

“Now don’t think too hard about it. Otherwise ye might do something stupid, like run yourself onto a blade like so many of your kin have.”

Dread shivered over Gray’s bones and he hopped across the branch. No. Surely I didn’t… The realization of where the missing villagers had gone was too horrible to contemplate. His gaze flit to the forest floor where he’d cut down the bird that had imitated his neighbor’s favorite tune, stomach turning at the thought that it was his old friend.

“Think of it as see a need, fill a need. I’ll be off now. Time for my lot to make our way and spread our numbers.” The smile on Gray’s human face was meant to be friendly, but reflected pure malevolence. “If you let it happen, you’ll forget soon enough. Or fling yourself at the next hired man who comes through. ‘Tis up to you.” Gray’s human hands hefted the sword and patted the bag of gold on his belt curiously, as if he wasn’t sure what they were, but appreciated their shine.

Gray flung himself toward his old body, but the creature who had switched them was too adept and he was too new with his wings. He ran himself into the ground, and pain slashed up a wing. Broken. The thought was dull and the capacity for thought lessened by the moment.

“Stupid fool, like so many other stupid fools. Our time has come, and ‘twill be far easier than we thought,” Gray’s former voice chortled, as his body headed back toward the village, whistling the song that had been his and his neighbor’s. Once he’d thought he’d marry her. Now, he could barely remember her.

The raven hopped with his broken wing, unsure and lost, looking for shelter or the inevitable as night descended and snow began to fall.

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Fiction © Copyright Selah Janel
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Selah Janel:

Candles: A Christmas Tale

Christmas is a season of hope, but also brings the dark of midwinter. The holidays are stressful at the best of times, but when the zombie apocalypse comes out of nowhere, Jamie and her makeshift family struggle to find hope during the season. Unable to forget the mistakes of her past, she struggles to be grateful for the good things that are left in the strange new world she and her sons struggle to survive in. Little moments make for bright spots, though, and with the help of a fellow survivor, maybe she can find just enough light to cling to.

Available on Amazon!