Crow - The Awakening by Michael J. Vanecek Read Free Book Online

"Happy?"
    "Oh yeah!" Steven held his hands up. "Thank you so much."
    "No prob." The teenager sat back on his bike again and donned his helmet. "Now, are you ready to lose again?"
    "Again? I beat you last time!" Steven put the thumb drive in his backpack, zipped it up and put it on.
    "Only because I slipped." He fumbled with the helmet clasp.
    "Excuses, excuses. See you at the creek." Steven sprinted back into the forest toward their favorite creek, disappearing into the underbrush. The creek wasn't far off, but while Brandon had to ride around on the trail, Steven preferred to take the shortcut through the brambles. Even the densest of thickets seemed to give way to him as he passed by.
    "Hey, that's cheating!" Brandon started his bike and swung it around on the dirt road, spraying dirt, and zoomed off down the road, slipping through the turns as he tried to get to the creek before Steven did. As he rounded the last curve and gunned it for the final stretch, he saw Steven swinging from a low branch by the creek.
    "You cheated," he yelled over the sound of his motorcycle as he pulled up.
    "You snooze, you lose." Steven grinned.
    "Jump it," Brandon goaded him. Steven had tried a few times over the years to jump the shallow creek and managed to fall in every time. It wasn't wide - more of a ditch than a creek, but it was just on the limit of Steven's ability to jump. Brandon could probably jump it, but he was nearly four years older, too.
    "I don't know. I didn't make it last time."
    Brandon made a chicken noise, then jumped his bike off the eroded bank of the creek, forged across the shallow brook, and scooted up the other side. Steven tossed his backpack and staff to Brandon then eyeballed the creek. The other side was tantalizingly close and this had been a personal challenge for him for a while now.
    "While I'm still a kid!" Brandon teased.
    "Hold on!" Steven backed a few yards away from the bank, then focused hard on the other side. A phrase came to mind from a movie he had watched at Brandon's house, something about there being no spoon. He launched himself, running as fast as he could. His last step was right on the edge of the bank, and he pushed off screaming loudly. For a bare second he was flying, weightless in the air. All too soon, though, the ground came back. He reached out with his feet, sensing that he just might make it. He was actually a few inches short, his feet hitting just below the ledge of the bank. He flailed his arms wildly and Brandon reached out and caught one, pulling him up onto the bank.
    "Ah, man. So close," Steven said as he looked down into the creek.
    "You almost made it. I bet you will next time." Brandon looked impressed. The years of watching him fall into the muddy creek were almost gone now.
    Steven caught his breath for a moment, wondering if he could try it again, then remembered the thumb drive. "Oh, I need to get going."
    "Yeah, I figured you had a project. Hope the file works for you." Brandon knew about Steven's hunt for his parents and how hard it was with his godparents being so strict about computers.
    "Thanks!" Steven put his backpack back on and picked up his stick. "Maybe next time I won't fall asleep waiting for you to get to the creek."
    Brandon made a face, then waved as Steven rushed off into the forest again. He could never run through the woods like that. It was hard enough taking his bike through the wildlife trails, especially where it got dense. His friend seemed impervious to the undergrowth and slipped through it with ease. Gunning his motorcycle, he raced down the bank, back onto the fire road, and off to his own adventures.
    As Steven trotted deeper into the forest, the diversity of trees narrowed to primarily tall pines. They towered overhead like immense spires that reached far into the heavens. He slowed down to soak in the ambiance. The energy of the forest was intoxicating. Every little beetle crawling on the bark, lizards scrambling up the branches, chipmunks