I was walking through the park.

The day was coming to a close, and the sunlight cast golden rays through the trees.

The park was normally full of people at this time, but I took advantage of the serenity to order my thoughts on my way home from work.

I was lost in said thoughts when I saw a tall thin man dressed in all black. He looked slightly out of place. He was wearing a suit, but the style was old, as if an old photograph that had come to life. The handlebar mustache helped complete the effect. Although, I thought he might be an old hipster that took it to the next level.

He was a ways off, but there was another thing odd about him. He was surrounded by birds. As walked along the path, more and more large black birds were landing in the grass next to him. The trees were filling with them too. At first, I thought they were crows, but they were far too large. These were ravens.

He was getting closer and closer. Just as he was about to pass me, he finally noticed the peculiar avian situation around him.

“Ah, a Murder of Ravens,” he said.

“I think it’s actually called a conspiracy of ravens,” I said, “a murder is for crows.”

“Is that so?” he asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. He just kept walking.

The ravens didn’t follow him though. I kept walking along the path, and the birds wouldn’t move. I got the eerie suspicion that they were watching me. Hundred of eyes looking at me.

The farther I went the denser the number of birds there were. They were flying too. And, they kept getting closer. Before long, they were nearly hitting me as I walked. In fact, I thought it was getting darker, but it was just the number of ravens in the trees above me.

The first peck hit me in the back. I felt a sharp pinch between my shoulder blades. And, then my leg.

They started cawing. All of them. All at once. It was deafening. My skull rattled from the noise.

“Awk, Awk,” the entire park started up. The trees were filled. The grass was black. Feathers filled my vision. I was spitting them out at that point.

And more pecks. All over my body. I fell to my knees. My hands were bleeding.

Suddenly, they cleared a small path in front of me.

Revealing the man in black.

He smiled. “I told you,” he said, “a murder of ravens.”

And it all went dark.