7 An Endless Flight Cycle

The ground was soft like clouds and the sun was warm, it shined heavy upon Evelyn where she still laid in the sand; she was tired and alone, so that was a gateway for her demons to come through.

As the sun shined on her, her mind began to argue with sanity then decided to drift away to a place of insanity.

"Evelyn, where are you?" Dorothy's voice called, "Get up, they want to meet you."

Evelyn sat up weakly, "Dorothy?" She asked in disbelief but she let the knowledge crawl in that this was a dream, "Who wanted to meet me?"

Dorothy grabbed onto her sister's arm then helped haul her up, "The Ravens!" She finished to explain in short then ran away in an attempt to be chased by Evelyn.

"Wait for me!" Evelyn shouted, eventually following her sister in a run.

The faster they ran, the longer it took her to realize they were running through the woods in familiar terrain where they met that man, "Are we almost there?"

Dorothy giggled up ahead as they made it up ground on a hill that appeared unfamiliar to Evelyn and so she wondered how even Dorothy could know this odd place she knew none of them have been to; yet, Dorothy stopped then pointed towards the only tree on the hill that looked to be dying, "What is that up on that branch, sister?"

Evelyn followed where her sister pointed to look up in horror at a noose that was dangling down over three gravestones with the names of the witches she heard about so many times in Salem, immediately her eyes watered, not knowing what else to say until she heard a call from a bird, "It's just a raven."

"No, it's not-" Dorothy argued.

"Yes, it is." Evelyn said, her voice rattling like dry bones by the sight of the eerie looking noose, the ash tree she now knew about and the presence of this hill being the gallows.

Suddenly, an unkindness of ravens swarmed around them like a tornado of black feathers as they flew and called to them their song of death, "Dorothy, what is happening?"

"The ravens are here!" Dorothy cheered happily, dancing in circles and clapping her hands with joy, "Miss. Clark, Mrs Alexander and Mistress Wilmot are here flying around us, they are hungry for revenge on them all!" Dorothy laughed.

"Revenge, revenge, revenge!" The ravens called with human tongue that made Evelyn understand their rage while also growing closer to Evelyn to tear at her clothing in their beaks then also drawing blood on her shoulders and cheeks.

Until only a few moments stopped where the ravens became soundless along with Dorothy's cheering that Evelyn could hear a soft whisper in her ear, "Stop the hanging of the ravens."

Like a bottomless pit beneath her feet, a door opened under Evelyn to pull her downwards through the earth with a blood curdling scream.

"Stop it, stop shouting!" A man's voice demanded, "Open your eyes now!"

"If I open them I'll fall deeper!" Evelyn cried, still falling in her nightmare.

"No you won't, if you do I'll catch you no matter what. Please open your eyes." He said kindly to her.

So, Evelyn opened her eyes to stare with uneasiness at the man, "It's you, the man from the woods!" She screamed, backing away in what she found she was sitting in was a bed, "Why am I here and what happened-" She stopped after feeling a stabbing pain in her head again.

The man got up from his knees to stand above her with a saddened expression that revealed no sense in talking about burying Mistress Wilmot, and so he sighed then sat on the bed in silence, "While you were resting here, I got word that your sister had passed away not too long ago. So, how did it happen according to your knowledge? In Salem, an innocent lady is being accused of murder to your sister."

Evelyn stopped feeling fear for this man, instead she felt the pain of regret coming into her heart, "You are the only one that knows my sister and I came into the woods just a few days ago, and because coming into the woods is forbidden I couldn't say anything to help her even though I would have…" She sadly said, her eyes trailing down on the bed covers away from the man's face that she originally tried studying, "Who are you and why does this concern you?"

The man awkwardly smiled at her, "I am Pascoe Wood, I live in the woods in hiding from the people in Salem; and yet, I indulge myself in so many of their troubles nowadays because there are so many unmended struggles that need mending or else this colony will fall to ruins. Such as now, Salem is being lead by the judge."

Evelyn knew very well and so she nodded in agreement.

"So, I bury those that were wrongly accused of crimes they've never committed because no one in Salem will."

"Is that why you know about my sister and what happened to Lydia Jane because you were going to bury her?" Evelyn quickly asked him with anxiousness.

Pascoe became silent again but he shrugged his shoulders back after realizing he wouldn't know how to answer that, "Lydia Jane has not been sentenced to death, instead now she is being held in prison for two months until her death."

Outside the house there was talking between two men as they started to near closer towards Pascoe's cabin that it made Pascoe hop to his feet then quickly grab a bag for supplies, "Take the back way then run straight down this hill, take a right, slide down that ditch you fell in before then you'll find a trail back to Salem near the church." Pascoe warned her, handing her the bag then helping her walk towards the back door, "Run as fast as you can, do not be seen or else they'll hang you too."

Evelyn grabbed the bag with shaking hands that opened the door in front of her, she then ran away into the woods and out of Pascoe's home until she looked back at him closing the door then turning away inside to not be seen again.

Pascoe Wood, thank you for helping me.. She graciously thought, running faster and faster just like she did in her dream, following endlessly after her shadow that she saw was running in front of her, I'll be there soon, Lydia!-I promise!

The ground under her sloped downwards which unnerved her once again twice already, inside her dream and recognizing the ditch her and Dorothy fell into before.

With desperation not to be stopped by the same pit, she got to her feet then started running again until she saw the old roof of the church above the tree branches in front of her.

Finally in Salem Evelyn stopped to lean against the wasting away church in exhaustain, "I'm back, Lydia..I'll find you and stop this all."  Evelyn vowed tiredly, feeling nothing but peace and quiet that made her close her eyes in tranquility until a gut-wrenching call of a raven came into restore her delusions of peace once again, to tell her there was nothing left of that feeling anymore.

"Hello there." A boy said behind her.

Evelyn turned around to see Benjamin staring at her with confused eyes and a bundle of sticks over his shoulder that nearly dangled off, "Benjamin." Evelyn said cautiously, then looking around towards the woods to see if she was followed, "Where did you come from..?"

Benjamin smiled, "A place." He answered without any other explanation that that, "Why, where did you run off to before? I tried looking for you by the bay but there was no sign of you anywhere."

Evelyn sighed tiredly in relief from not being spotted in the woods by Benjamin, because she cared of what he may think of her; besides her interactions with Betty Swan only a few hours ago Evelyn guessed, Benjamin had been the only kind soul to her that had no opinion or care to her aunts accusations, and so she smiled for the first time in what felt like forever, "Why were you looking for me, Benjamin?" She asked, toying with him.

"I was hoping we'd be friends, Evelyn, we're both outsiders here and with what's going on with these trials there just really isn't a better way to feel more protected than to help each other out through all of this." Benjamin said with a comforting way that made Evelyn feel welcomed to her new companion.

"She's out again." Mrs. Bailey said across from them, talking to a lady in violet, "The governor must have sent her to go food shopping again in our market."

The lady in violet snickered in response, "If it weren't for the governor's money she's holding we would had denied her kind much sooner."

Evelyn and Benjamin watched the two callous ladies howl their enjoyments which left Evelyn clueless about what they may be laughing at, and so she asked Benjamin.

Benjamin folded his arms, proving to be cross, "Ursula Seymour, a black women." He said, pointing towards a  rounded woman born with coal dust like skin that also made a roof over her hazel brown eyes, "She's the governor's first slave, they enjoy to pride her around anywhere and everywhere; most the time I've seen her, she comes out of the governor's house whenever they need something because they rather show how well behaved she is."

Once Evelyn saw Ursula marching in the trail between the ladies and them, she saw how Ursula kept her head high as she gripped the shillings she carried in her hand that was undoubtedly given to her by the governor, which made a wave of disgust wash over her because it was disturbing to see a horrid person like Joan Bailey be right.

For some reason Evelyn wondered why she didn't see her before, but now that she did she couldn't help but admire how strong she was because Evelyn knew how unsubtle Mrs. Bailey and the other lady were when Ursula came past them until she stuck out like a sore thumb in the sea of pale folk around her in the market.

"After the next election we won't be seeing her black face anymore around here once we get a new governor." Mrs. Bailey said coldly, "For now the ladies return to their ill husbands and attend him with care, Miss. Fanny."

The lady in violet nodded her head, "Yes, Mrs. Bailey." Fanny answered to the shrewd woman, toading on to her with a legitimate smile.

Eventually the two deviants in strolled away, swaying their gowns in the frozen grass beneath their slippered feet.

Again, Evelyn had no idea who anyone was and so she slowly lifted her pointer finger to the lady in violet for Benjamin to explain; so, just as guaranteed, Benjamin began to explain.

"She is Fanny Rusch and she is possibly the closet daughter Mr. Bailey will ever get in this world." Benjamin said with a tangy sigh.

Evelyn dropped her arm down, "Why?"

Benjamin tilted his head down to stare into her black eyes, silence going by between them until he opened his mouth, "Weren't you heading off to the jailhouse?"

Almost so strange and yet so true, a sudden crash of trauma hit Evelyn to make her remember what her purpose was to begin with for heading back into town.

So, quickly but with furtive stepping on the cold, solid ground in her damaged shoes she revealed by lifting her black dress, she scattered away from Benjamin to only wave away then disappear behind the cabins.

Now, leaving a confused expression on his face again, Benjamin stared lifelessly where Evelyn disappeared from behind the cabins to only shrug on his shoulders the bundle of sticks, then walking away towards a cabin with a chimney.