Chapter Six : 

Three In The Morning /

I was awoken by some awful noise, a cross between screaming and... Growling, like I'd imagined a monster would sound. The glowing numbers on my alarm clock said 3:00 A.M.. I slowly got up out of my bed, and stepped as quietly as possible across my room, to the window. Now there were only two moons in the sky, both flooding a blood-like gleam over everything. All I could see were the dark blue treetops swaying, reddish pink clouds floating in the sky, and the long grass stirring. 

The noise was now softly fading, and a low bass-like noise replaced it. I could feel vibrations coming from the ground; it even affected the house. I wandered downstairs and then outside, confused. I had no idea what was going in general, much less about what was going on right now. Then I heard it again - the scream-growling. And whatever it was, was getting closer. 

I ran and hid in the cluster of bushes that grew in front of the deck, waiting. My breath caught in my throat, and as I drew in more air I had to remind myself that I needed to keep quiet. The rocks underneath me were very uncomfortable, but I wrapped my arms around my knees and stayed put. The noise was so close now, whatever it was had to be right in my front yard. 

I peered carefully through the leaves of the bushes and my eyes hurt because of what I saw. 

A creature at least ten feet tall stood in front of the path leading to my house. It was clothed in black feathers, with skinny and abnormally long limbs, a long dragon-like face, fangs so big that it couldn't fully close its mouth, and eyes that glistened blue. Two black horns sprouted from its head. On its wrists and ankles were shackles, and small lengths of broken chains. Around its neck hung a thick chain necklace, with a sign on it reading "Orpheus." As it turned to look up at the sky, I saw mangled wings attached to its shoulders and back. From its mouth came the horrible noise.

But now that it was so much closer to me, it wasn't just screaming and growling. I could hear crying and pain in the chaos coming from its vocal cords. As I sat there, terrified, I couldn't decide what to do. 

After it had gazed at the sky long enough, it turned back to my house and treaded up the path. In a few seconds, its had reached my porch, right above where I was hiding. It wasn't making the awful noise anymore, and instead it was humming something... Something beautiful, not like what spilled from the TV screens, but real music. And surprisingly, its humming was soft and gentle. 

It reached out with long bony fingers to open the front door, and then it swiftly stepped inside. It couldn't have been in there for more than fifteen minutes, and I waited silently the entire time until it wandered back outside. It faltered as it walked back down the path and away from my house, leaving behind a few black feathers that were swept up in the breeze.