The Raven and the Hawk - Episode 1

Episode 1

5.7.11

Raven

She stood among the desert life, lost. Home swirled in a black hole of a lost memory. In spite of the heavy heat seeping from the soil, cold tears froze on her face. The desert was ablaze with a deep red heavenly fire. Cacti stood, silent, like ancient soldiers awaiting a war. Or maybe the end of time. They flourished in the ancient dirt, the tiny sediments from millions of years past, eroded from the surrounding red mountains. The mountains themselves caught the sunset rays, absorbed them and emitted the light to the surrounding desert.

A whispering called from far away, from the mountain shaped like a giant bell. She paused, listening, straining to understand. The sound reminded her of millions of insect legs scuttling across rock . . . rushing deliberately towards her. In an instant, the whispering turned to a ferocious wind that battered dirt and rocks against her skin. It tore her clothing, got tangled in her hair. It would bury her. She would become part of the desert forever, lost.

She hugged herself tightly, weeping.

And suddenly, a light shone down through the dust storm and she realized that this was not a sunset at all. It was a sunrise. The light touched her toes and traveled to the top of her head, bathing her in the warm rays. But it burned! Her pale skin turned red and blistered. Run! She thought, desperately. Run! Find darkness! She turned to the towering mountains and ran. The wind tugged her backwards, grabbing her with grainy fingers.

Then he was there. Too far away to see clearly, but close enough to feel . . .

Raven awoke from the dream confused. Her throat was filled with sand and something was holding her so she could not move. It took her a few panicky seconds to realize she was only tangled in her own bedsheets. The sand in her throat was just a plain old sore throat from her cold. Perspiration dripped off her skin and her heart was racing dangerously fast. Raven held her pounding head, closed her eyes, and waited for her breathing and heart to slow. The darkness of her bedroom was cool and comforting after the intense heat in her dream.

Even as she thought about it, the dream faded away until all she could grasp was the fear. Nothing more. Disgusted, she threw her comforter aside and got out of bed. The clock read 4:00 am. She was beyond sleep now. And hot. Why was it so hot?

Raven pushed open her window. The humid air was heavy and still a little too warm fall. She held her hand out into the night, letting the foggy humidity flow between her fingers. As she inhaled the night's perfume she convulsed into a coughing fit. After it passed, she threw on a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt and crept into the hallway. The grandfather clock ticked annoyingly, too loud in the quiet house. She passed the clock and paused at the door on the left. She quietly pushed the door open a little and peeked in on Scout. He was sleeping in a tight ball, his blond hair falling over his face. Raven smiled as she watched her brother. He was special, a surprise really. Raven had been adopted when she was six years old. Her parents had tried for many years to conceive a child, without success. No one expected Raven to be anything except an only child. But then Christopher Aaron came along, a biological baby for her mom and dad and the sibling Raven had always hoped for.

"Raven? What's wrong?" Scout sat up and rubbed his eyes. Raven had given him the nickname, Scout, after reading To Kill a Mockingbird.

Raven approached his bedside and hugged him. "Nothing. I can't sleep."

He yawned. "I had a nightmare."

"You did? What was it about?"

"People were taking you away."

"What people?"

His blue eyes widened as he stared into her face. "People like you."

"What do you mean?"

But Scout had already fallen back to sleep. She kissed his cheek and tucked him in.

She wiped a film of sweat off of her forehead. Maybe a cold shower would help.

In the shower, Raven stood under the cold water until she was shivering. The water whispered as it shot out of the shower head. Whispered . . . like insects . . .

An image of her dream overpowered the harsh white tiles in the shower, and Raven stumbled. The dizziness swept over her so quickly, she collapsed.

A desert. A red desert. A feverish heat brought a renewed layer of sweat to her already damp skin. She closed her eyes and the vision washed away in a blur of red. Slowly, the dizziness passed. Raven turned off the water and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel, which still held the fresh scent of fabric softener.

After she dressed she stood in front of the mirror, brushing her long black hair. As she gazed at her face, she felt troubled. Maybe it was remnants of the dream, but she was suddenly acutely aware of how odd she looked compared to her brother. In contrast to the tan skin and fair hair of her family, Raven was bone white pale with large dark brown eyes speckled with red. The older she got, the redder her eyes became. Compared to her family, Raven looked exotic. Being from a closed adoption, Raven did not have any information of her heritage, and she suspected it was not American.

The house creaked and settled, leaving her in silence again.

Too quiet.

Much too quiet. She could hear the clock again.