Neon Ravens

By CJ Knight

It was a Thursday when the first arrived. The raven sat perched on top of the ‘Welcome to Violet Hollow’ sign as Sheriff Mary Ellis drove her cruiser into town. It sat black and still, as though carved from obsidian. The only hint it lived was the turn of its head as the cruiser passed by.

Mary chalked the black eyes of coal tracking her movement as just another strange moment in the weird town. Violet Hollow seemed to attract strange.

As Mary pulled into the station parking lot the second raven eyed her from the roof. When she stepped out of the cruiser, the third raven hopped toward her boots, cocking its head expectantly, as if waiting for her to speak.

“Okay.” Mary gave the raven a wide birth as her boots crunched the gravel of the lot. “That’s new.”

The raven opened its beak as Mary passed by. “Caw. Caw.” Notes rising and falling in an echo. A frown drew across Mary’s brow. Some sense of deja vu or memory. She shook the feeling away.

Deputy Lyn Stine pushed backwards through the station door balancing two coffees in her hands. “Morning Sheriff. You seeing the homage to Edgar Poe out here this morning?”

Mary accepted one of the coffees. “They follow you in this morning too, Stine?”

Lyn gave her head a shake as she sipped her own coffee. “Nope. They were here waiting when I arrived.”

Violet Hollow was a place where fog crept and left like a living thing, owls gathered in perfect circles on telephone poles, and dreams displayed an annoying habit of bleeding into morning conversations because multiple people experienced the same dream.

For Violet Hollow ravens weren’t that unusual.

A flash of neon caught Mary’s eye. It came from the dark windows of the long abandoned diner across the street. A fuchsia glow pulsing like a heartbeat. A neon sign Mary had never seen before. ‘Is This Just Fantasy?”

“When did that go up?” Mary stepped forward toward the diner.

Lyn followed her gaze, and almost dropped her coffee. “Sheriff…That place hasn’t been open since before I was born.”

“I know.”

“Caw. Caw.”

Mary turned back toward the station roof. Perched on top were too many ravens to count.

Lyn’s eyes remained on the neon sign across the street. “That place doesn’t have electricity.”

“I know.” Mary’s eyes remained focused on the ravens. Simultaneously, their heads turned toward the diner. Their wings rustled like the pages of book caught in a gust of wind.

***

That night, Mary dreamed. Repeating hallways. Identical in every way, lined with peeling wallpaper. The air smelled of pine needles and the pages of old books. Mary couldn’t see the ravens, but she heard them. “Caw. Caw.” At the end of the final corridor the neon sign buzzed like an insect. ‘Is This Just Fantasy?’ The glow failed to illuminate the darkness. Shadow engulfed the light. A raven landed on her shoulder. It’s beak brushed her ear. The raven’s voice, no more than a whisper. “Find the girl.”

"Mary’s voice came out as an echo in the void. “What girl?”

The neon light flickered, and the dream hallway rippled in flashes of black and fuchsia. Mary woke drenched in sweat. Her room in darkness.

***

Three years Mary performed her duties as Sheriff in Violet Hollow. In that time serious crime was a rarity. A drunken brawl, some minor damage, and a missing cow constituted a busy month. On that Friday morning, things were different. Renae Voss burst through the station doors a mess of panic and frantic tears. A crumpled photograph clutched tightly in her fingers. “It’s my daughter, Lily! She’s missing!” Renae crumpled to the floor. “She wasn’t in her bed this morning!” She held the photograph out for Mary. It showed a pretty girl, aged about fifteen. Her blonde hair in tight curls, a mischievous spark in her blue eyes.

Mary crouched down beside Renae. “When did you see her last?”

“Last night.” Renae fell forward. Mary caught her. “She left the house to take pictures. Lily loves photography. She wanted to get some pictures of the neon sign.”

Mary’s body tensed. “What sign?”

“The neon one in the diner.” Renae dried the tears in her eyes with the sleeve of her coat. “Is this just fantasy?”

“Sheriff?” Lyn had been listening.

Mary felt the knot in her throat forming. “Renae, show me exactly where Lily saw the neon sign.”

Renae raised her finger and pointed to the diner across the street. The window was in darkness. No neon sign. No glow. Just darkness.

***

Violet Hollow’s diner, once the pride of Main Street, now sagged lie a corpse propped upright on rusty beams.

Mary and Lyn approached with caution, as if sneaking up on a living soul. “Caw. Caw.” The raven landed at Mary’s feet.

“Point taken.” Mary tried the door finding it locked. The raven perched itself on the diner window and pecked franticly at the glass. “Okay. I get it!” Mary raised her boot and kicked the door. The door collapsed from the rotten timber frame. Mary and Lyn were greeted by darkness. Mary flicked her flashlight on. A narrow hallway stretched out before her. She knew it was too long for the building to house. The wallpaper, Mary knew this hallway.

“Mary.” Lyn’s voice tiny. “This is impossible.”

“Nothing’s impossible in Violet Hollow.”

The pair entered. The hallway never bent, and seemed endless. Finally, after what felt like miles, Mary could see it. The neon fuchsia glow. ‘Is This Just Fantasy?’

Lyn gripped Mary’s wrist. “Where the fuck are we?” As they continued Lyn’s grip on Mary’s wrist tightened. The hum of the neon buzzed with excitement as if sensing their approach. A shadows shifted beneath the sign. Mary raised the beam of her flashlight, revealing Lily Voss, sitting cross legged on the floor, staring at the sign.

“Lily!” Mary knelt down beside the girl. “Can you hear me?”

Lily’s eyes were unblinking. Her lips parted. “It asked me to choose.”

“Choose what?”

Lily’s pupils dilated wide, her eyes black as a raven’s. “Reality of fantasy.”

“Sheriff! We have to leave!” Lyn was shouting, but her voice seemed far away.

“Lily.” Mary grabbed her by the shoulders. “We’re getting out of here. Do you hear me?”

Lily’s eyes blinked once, and for a fraction of a second, a heartbeat, her eyes looked human again. “It won’t let us leave.”

The buzzing from the sign grew to a deafening roar, and exploded in a burst of violet light.

***

Mary opened her eyes. No sign. No hallway. No diner. Branches curled and twisted overhead. Mist curled around her boots. The full moon hung low in the sky. Lily stood beside her. Lyn was nowhere to be seen.

“This place isn’t real.” Lily tugged at Mary’s sleeve. Dozens of ravens landed on the damp ground forming a ring around the pair.

“Why are we here?” Mary could feel dozens of black eyes waiting.

One raven spoke. “Choose.”

Whispers drifted through the branches “Stay in the fantasy, Mary. Stay here and never face the real world again.” The neon sign flickered to life between the branches. ‘Is This Just Fantasy?” Mary could feel comfort and warmth cuddling her like a blanket. A world where she would no longer bear responsibility, suffer from fear or failure.

Mary stepped forward. Lily tugged at her sleeve. “Don’t! If you say yes, we never get to leave!”

Mary stared at the sign. The promise offered. The ease of surrender. She could feel her lips forming the word of acceptance. Mary felt the squeeze of Lily’s hand. “No!” Mary locked eyes with Lily. “We choose reality!”

The neon flared once and vanished. The forest dissolved around them.

***

“Sheriff! Sheriff! Wake up!”

Mary woke to see Lyn kneeling above her. Lily was beside her breathing steadily. Around them was the shell of the diner. No sign or hallway. Just dust and reality.

“Are we back?” Lily sat up with a start.

Mary nodded. “We’re back.”

Lyn slumped with relief. “What the hell happened?”

Mary didn’t answer. Her eyes were on the raven perched on the diner counter, watching them. When she met its gaze, it flew into the shadows and vanished.

.