She stared out of her window at the bright, piercing sun. She really never wanted to leave this place. She surveyed the garden. Just as she would have imagined. The green tomatoes just turned red. It just had to be today.

     “Come here, Shelby!” She heard one of her parents say, “It’s time to get everything we own.”

     There was a strange tone in his voice as he said this, like there was an unknown secret between the two, blocking her view like a two way mirror. The birds chirped innocently outside, and she watched as a blackbird and a hawk sat together on a line. Oddly, the hawk wasn’t looking for prey. They just stared out the window at her, and then solemnly flew away, away towards where she would soon be headed. Shelby heard a rustle downstairs. It was pretty big.

     “Mom! Dad! Is everything alright?” She asked.

     “Yes, honey,” her father replied, “we’re just packing away some of the boxes in the basement. Can you help us?”

     And so Shelby did. They put everything, all of their most dearest possessions in a plain cardboard box. Before they left, there were a total of three boxes weakly secured on the top of their blue Ford Falcon Futura, looking like they’d tip over any second. Strangely, they stayed right where they were as they drove through the countryside. Shelby looked at the last view she’d ever seen of her house while chewing on a tomato she hastily picked from her garden. As she said her goodbyes, Shelby noticed that she left her window open. The blackbird she saw earlier flew into her room and came out holding a piece of paper in its talons. Shelby yelled at the bird, but it kept flying away as if it were unaware of any other humans being present. It cawed once, and disappeared through the trees. The car passed through a total cement tunnel, the only border Shelby ever knew. The car was in total darkness for a few seconds, and then the windows erupted with light. The other side really was brighter than theirs. Thick woods surrounded the area and many woodland creatures glanced at the strange antique car as it drove through the road. The grass whirled in the wind, a promise of a new future.

     Many miles later, it became dark in the sky. The sun had tucked itself into its bed beneath the horizon and the day was gone. It was as dark as the feathers of a blackbird. They drove for a few miles more before coming up to a sign in the distance.

     “Hey, mom,” Shelby started, “What does that sign say?”

     Dad lulled the car to a slow stop, the sign right behind us. Mom jumped right out of the car, paced over to the sign, looked at it for a second, and came back into the car.

     With an excited grin on her face, she exclaimed, “It says Raven Field, California. We’re so close to our new home!”

     Shelby let out a sarcastic, “Yaaaayyyy.”

     She hated moving.

     The old car passed through a few fields with farmers working in and out. It was odd, though, because it was midnight. The car went through about 2 miles of fields and then entered a dark, thick forest. The barely enough light to see provided by the moon was instantly gone as soon as the car entered the forest. Shelby heard a caw, like some sort of raven. At that exact moment, the headlights stuttered, flickered ominously, and then, somehow stayed on.

     “Well, that was close!” Exclaimed her father.

     Then the headlights went completely out. They wouldn’t come back on. Now Shelby was starting to get scared. She hasn’t seen much, as she’s only ten, but this was by far turning out to be one of the worst nights of her life. She heard cawing again, but it was much closer this time. Swooping sounds came from outside the vehicle. Suddenly, the headlights came back on. To show a raven of gigantic proportions diving down. At its current angle, it would hit the car. They all screamed, and right before the bird hit, Shelby was able to call 911 and quickly say help. There was an unmistakable sound of metal hitting a projectile, and everything went black.