The Birds Novels & Stories

I silently prayed for the strength to say the right words and offer her some comfort. I could hear low whispers coming from the kitchen. As we entered the only thing that caught my attention was the 3 Phoenix birds on the table. I had somehow forgotten that I had found one and now there were three in the kitchen. Each one was a different color. One was silver, one was black, and the last was a deep blue. I felt a chill run through my body as I realized the significance of the three Phoenix birds. They were a sign of something special. They all turned to me and squawked as they fell to me, lowering their heads as if bowing when they raised their heads the Blue one spoke

The soft whoosh of wings, as nocturnal birds took flight. Just when despair gripped him, a faint glow appeared on the horizon. Kris's heart lifted – dawn was breaking. Clouds, tinted pink and gold unfurled like wispy brushstrokes across the sky. The moon, now a silver crescent, hung low. Birds stirred, their morning songs swelling: Robins trilled, their melodic voices soaring. Sparrows chirped their staccato calls punctuating the air. Finches sang, their sweet, warbling notes filling the forest.

Summer read an article she found for her plushie. A second later, she put her tiny finger on the screen. "Look! This is a picture of one of the birds. It looks cute. Why should I be afraid? Is it a bad bird?" Summer scrolled the screen a little with a frown. Her eyes swept over another paragraph. "Sparrows are often found in agricultural areas, rural areas, and even urban areas. They are one of the most common types of birds found in cities. It's no wonder that many people like them. Moreover, their role in the ecosystem is as pest control and seed dispersers."

“How’d you even find this place? It’s supposed to be off every map and then some.” Nara just grinned. “Blazewood told us.” Which, okay, sounds crazy, but her face was dead serious. “Not Kael’s mind-controlled birds. The wild ones. They’ve been watching all the weirdness. They know which side they’re on.” Right then, more of those black birds started landing on the rocks around them, staring at the humans with a look that was a little too sharp to be normal animal curiosity. You could almost believe these birds had seen centuries go by and remembered every minute.

"Please, just let him go." She didn't have a gun. She didn't have a sword. She had a whistle. She put it to her lips and blew. SCREEEEEEEE. The sound was lost in the thunder for human ears. But high above, in the swirling vortex of the storm, the flock heard it. The Carrion Birds. Mutated by generations of chemical runoff and atmospheric toxins, these weren't normal vultures. They were aggressive, blind scavengers that hunted by sound and the scent of necrotic tissue. And right now, the roof of the Sterling Tower smelled like the biggest buffet in New York.

Damon Birds. That's what pulled me from sleep. Not the harsh crow of ravens or the territorial screech of hawks, but actual songbirds. Cheerful little things chirping away like the world hadn't gone to hell yesterday. Sunlight streamed through the window, warm on my face. For a second—just one stupid second—I forgot where I was. Forgot everything. Then reality crashed back, and I remembered. Wood Pack. Robin's territory. My missing eye.

I no longer wanted to get Irene’s fake love anymore. At the birthday party, Irene stared at our chat irritably since I did not answer her. She turned around and instructed her assistant. “Why is Theo not here yet? Go and look for him.” Her assistant’s phone buzzed, and after reading the notification, his face fell. “Ms. Anderson, look at the video online! Mr. Smith’s mother’s hospital ward is on fire!”

Mandy York, my girlfriend, was practically a migratory bird that always flew away during summer. Every year, during July and August, which were the hottest months of the year, she would fly off and disappear from the face of the earth. She said that it was because her company gave her a special project abroad that required absolute secrecy from her. She was also not to contact anyone during that period of time. Even when I got into a car accident last year and lay in the ICU for two months, she never called to ask about me. Plenty of times, I had comforted myself and endured the harsh summer alone. One day, I accidentally saw the social media account of a friend of mine living abro