The Scarecrow Counts to Twelve
horrorEveryoneWren decides the scarecrow only has power while it stands. So they grab the gas can from the shed and a box of matches. "If you can't point, you can't choose," Wren whispers, and starts climbing the fence with the can sloshing in one hand.
Wren douses the scarecrow in gas and strikes a match. The flames roar up fast. But as it burns, the fire doesn't make smoke, it makes a sound, like a hundred voices crying out at once. The straw turns to ash, and eleven shapes made of smoke rise up and drift toward Wren.
What happens next?
1 ways forwardThe smoke shapes circle Wren once, then sigh and float up into the sky like they've been waiting years to be let go. The fire dies. Where the scarecrow stood, there's only clean ground and quiet. Wren walks home, and the crows follow, singing the whole way. The empty houses won't be empty for long.