Flight of the Raven Pt. 01

"Yes we do," Tony replied, looking happier for some reason. "And we get to miss fifth and sixth periods to watch the eclipse!"

Right, the eclipse. Damn, I'd almost managed to forget the sense of foreboding I'd had in the pit of my stomach, since my talk with Mum this morning, but now it came rushing back with a vengeance. I didn't know much about the eclipse. It had been on the news for the past few weeks, but I hadn't paid it any attention.

I decided to see if Tony knew anything more about the eclipse.

"Tone, what's this Eclipse supposed to be anyway. All I really know is that it's pretty damn rare and is supposedly lasting for an entire day?" I asked Tony, hoping he'd know more about it than I did.

He did. Lot's more.

"Well, I'm glad you asked Luke! I've actually been following the reports of the eclipse since they started appearing on TV. I think it must have been a few months ago now. I love stuff like this to be honest." He stopped after saying that and started scratching the back of his neck embarrassedly.

Yea, the guy was a complete nerd.

"Basically, you're correct that it's 'damn rare'. Astronomers have confirmed that the last time we had this alignment would have been exactly ten-thousand years ago -- to the day. For us, the eclipse will occur at ten minutes to three GMT time; obviously it's going to be at different times depending on what time-zone you're in, but it should affect everywhere in the world which also makes it really special. Mercury will cause the eclipse and it's going to obstruct our view of the sun for precisely twenty-four hours. However, it won't be a full eclipse as Mercury isn't large enough to fully obstruct our view of the sun; so we should have a kind of dusk for twenty-four hours." He smiled shakily.

"That's pretty damn lucky for us to be honest. Because of the eclipse lasting for a full day, if it had been a total solar eclipse like we get maybe once every twenty years or so, we'd basically be back in the stone age after it ended. The total eclipses we get only last for a few seconds or minutes and often only occur for a small area of the world." He paused, looking at me and pushing his glasses back up his nose. "That's another reason this one is so rare." Another pause. "It's going to effect the world. The entire world will either be in twilight, or in darkness for twenty-four hours Luke! It's incredible just thinking about it!"

"Wait." I stopped him, "How exactly will the whole world be affected. Only half of our planet's axis faces the sun at any one time. Surely while half of the world will see the eclipse. The other half might not see it for up to twelve hours later if they were on the night-side of the sun when the eclipse occurs." I took a breath, "And also Tony, I just had a thought. How does the eclipse last for twenty-four hours exactly. I mean, surely Mercury will have to get into position between us and the sun; so why doesn't it just keep moving after it reaches the point which will cause the eclipse. How can it obscure the sun for so long?"

Tony smiled at me, looking impressed. "That's exactly right Luke! I didn't know you were into this kind of stuff too. Well, in answer to your first question, yes only half the world will actually get to see the eclipse occur. What I meant was, because it will last for twenty-four hours the whole world will be able to see the eclipse. Though you're quite correct that some places won't see it for almost twelve hours after we do. As we'll be lucky enough to see the actual eclipse occur!" Tony started looking even more excited. "And that brings us to your second observation. On a purely scientific basis the fact that it will last for twenty-four hours is the most amazing part of the eclipse. It's very complicated and tedious to explain in full so I'll have to be brief I'm afraid. Lunch just isn't long enough to go into the minute details."

Well, at least he wasn't going to go into full lecture mode. I still remember the 'Halo' conversation from yesterday.

He paused, looking embarrassed, perhaps he too remembered yesterday.

Shaking his head, Tony continued. "So. All the planets in our Solar-System rotate around the Sun because of gravity right?" It was a rhetorical question. "The Sun is bigger than us so we get pulled towards it. This causes us to spin in a circle around the Sun due to the force of the pull. Well, the exact same thing happens to everything in our Solar-System, including Mercury. Now the part that has many scientists completely up in arms about all this is that they can't quite explain why the eclipse is going to last for so long. All they know for sure is that the Earth is slowing. We're spinning with the same velocity so our days and nights are the same length, but we're moving much more slowly around the Sun. Many astronomers have calculated that by the time we are directly in line with Mercury, for the eclipse, we will be travelling at a speed that will keep us both parallel; causing the eclipse to last for twenty-four hours. After which time our speed will have increased to such an extent, that Earth will once again see unfettered sunlight. A lot of people understand 'why' the eclipse will last for so long, but no one has been able to figure out 'what' is causing our planet to slow -- especially not in such a precise manor. The speed will put us parallel to Mercury and the Sun perfectly for exactly twenty four hours, it's baffling." He looked at me, slightly flushed from his long speech. "Does all that make sense to you?"

I nodded, urging him to continue.

Tony obliged. "That's most of the technical stuff to be honest. The only other thing I can think of is the name and its origins. Many religious people agree that this eclipse has been foretold in the 'Book of Reckoning'."

Tony raised his hands to stop me as I tried to open my mouth.

"I don't know if they're right or wrong either Luke. All I know for sure is from a documentary I watched sometime before Christmas. It explained how the book is kept in the Vatican's most secure vaults with all the other priceless religious artefacts. The program said about the passage which predicted the eclipse. I don't really know the words, but it basically dates when this is going to occur and calls it 'Hell's-Warning' -- I'm not too sure about the connotations of the name. There have been a lot of high-up religious guys on TV recently and they're all saying different things about it. To be honest, I didn't really pay much attention to any of them. I prefer to deal in facts, not religion." Tony smiled sheepishly again and raised his arm to scratch the back of his neck.

The bell signalling the end of lunch stopped him and we both groaned.

"Well, thanks for telling me man, you sure know your stuff Tone." I smiled at him warmly as we began packing up our half eaten lunches.

The guy may have been shy, but boy did he have a lot to say about some topics!

We zipped our bags up, each of us slinging them onto our shoulders, and started walking out the now nearly deserted cafeteria.

Luckily, we didn't bump into 'KFC' on the way to our Geography class. Unfortunately, the feeling that was clawing its way up my stomach was in full force once more.

I followed Tony as he pushed open the door to room 4-B and sat down next to him near the back of the class.

Geography passed in a blur. I wasn't paying attention to our teacher at all. She was in total lecture mode about long-shore drift, or something similar. I was staring out the window, remembering the look in my mother's eyes. This made me drift in and out of the explanation -- over and over again -- as my mind replayed the conversation with my mother.

I needed to find out what my mum was afraid of. The feeling in my gut wasn't lessening and I wanted answers.

Unfortunately so did our teacher, Miss Jones.

Miss Jones' first name was Cathy. She looked to be in her early-twenties, had medium length, brown hair done up in a tight bun, a grey blouse and a long, black skirt clung to her tall, slender frame. Warm, hazel eyes and an open, delicate face completed the stunning image.

Of course this open, friendly face had a very annoyed look plastered over it and was directed towards me.

Ah, maybe she had asked me a question. I really had no idea either way. "Erm, sorry Miss Jones, but I didn't quite catch that." I said to her, deciding to test the waters and hoping that she had, in fact, been talking to me.

She had. Her face lost some of its annoyance and was replaced with mirth. "Well, Mr Raven, perhaps if you point your head towards the front of the class, and not out the window, you might be in a better position to hear my questions when they are directed your way?" Cathy gently mocked, causing the class to jeer at my plight.

Hargraves pupils were fucking bastards. Most people would laugh, sure. However, not many school children would give you the finger, or jeer at you for getting mocked by a teacher. This wasn't the case for these pricks. All but Tony were finding my situation the height of amusement.

"Ah, I'm really sorry Miss Jones." I paused, "What was the question?" I asked. I knew it was a risk, but she would likely ask me her previous question anyway. Best to appear polite, I thought.

Cathy smiled a little, shaking her head and asking. "Can you please summarise 'Long-Shore Drift' for the class Luke. I've just spent the last twenty-five minutes explaining it to you all, and I would hope that at least some of you can remember enough to summarise." A pause, "After all, it's only been a few seconds since I finished the explanation..." She said the last bit with a cringe.

I knew how she felt. Teaching at this place to kids like these must have been a real drain for her.

Well, at least I wouldn't contribute too much to the 'draining'. "Long-Shore Drift consists of the transportation of sediments along a coast at an angle to the shoreline, which is dependent on prevailing wind direction, swash and backwash." I stated fluently and clearly for Cathy and the rest of the class to hear. I hadn't been listening to her, but that didn't mean that I was a complete idiot.

The looks I received from the class were worse than their earlier mocking. They made me rethink if I was indeed an idiot or not.

However, Miss Jones seemed pleased. She beamed at me, happily exclaiming. "That's right Luke! It looks like you were listening after all."

Well, if that's what she wanted to believe, who was I to spoil it for her. I remained silent, smiled and nodded to her.

Cathy looked down at her watch and grinned. Looking up at the class she spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. "It's almost half past two. Don't forget that after this you're all to report to the gym to watch the eclipse. Mr Hardy is having a TV wheeled in there so that we can see the news report about it live, while we also watch it for real. There will be a register so please don't use this as an excuse to try and go home early. Honestly, this is a once in a life-time event that hasn't occurred for ten-thousand years. So please give it the

respect it deserves and go straight to the gym when the bell rings. No dawdling in the corridors just because you're missing 5^th and 6^th periods."

As if on cue, the bell signalling half-past two and the end of fourth period began ringing. Causing a huge rush of students to block the door trying to be the first ones out.

Tony and I packed our things with less of a rush and began walking out behind the others on their way to the gym.

Cathy smiled at me as we walked out the door, as if in thanks for having a brain. I totally understood where she was coming from. Hargraves pupils are a whole nother level of stupid compared to most school kids. I'd been here a week and already felt dumber. I wondered why she taught here -- I suppose she must not have had a choice.

Most of the pupils were doing exactly what Cathy had implored them not to. They were standing around in packs, dawdling, trying to avoid going to the gym until teachers began to usher them in that direction.

We followed behind them closely. Tony checking his watch regularly as if afraid we'd miss the eclipse, if he didn't keep track of the time every few seconds.

Stepping through the open double-doors to the gym I was reminded of why I hated Hargraves so much. The place was a complete dump. Squeaky wooden floors that were covered in dust, crudely painted lines forming the edges of poorly dimensioned courts like basketball and netball, walls that must have been white originally and a huge row of tall, dirty, sliding-glass doors looking out onto the football pitch outside. At least the doors were all open so I wouldn't have to watch the eclipse from behind a veneer of filth and stains best left undisturbed. There was an old TV too at the front of the gym, on a trolley like object, facing the crowd of students silently, like a sentinel, waiting for instructions.

Tony and I took up positions near the back of the crowd and waited quietly.

Mr Hardy was standing stiffly next to the TV. He was in his mid-forties and had short black hair that was stuck to his head with too much gel. He was slightly taller than me, on the cusp of being overweight, had a big, grey-black moustache and piercing, hazel eyes.

When the last pupils were herded into the gym and a pair of teachers closed the doors, Mr Hardy began addressing the crowd.

"As you all know, the eclipse will be occurring just a few minutes from now. I will have you all marched back to periods five and six if you can't behave. Your teachers and I decided to end your lessons early today so that you could watch the eclipse. It's a once in a lifetime event and we didn't want you all to miss it. We also felt that it would be beneficial to your education to see it first-hand."

I hoped I wasn't the only one who found that amusing.

"While you're here, I will be leaving this TV on the news channel. There is a special report that will be covering the eclipse live from Paris. It's dangerous to look directly at the sun until the eclipse is in position. So I ask that you refrain from looking outside until the broadcast tells you to." Mr Hardy continued.

Groans were heard from the crowd of students.

The Head was not amused. "None of that! Or I'll have you all back in your classrooms before you can blink. The broadcast will be in English and will include many scientists, astronomers and even the Archbishop of Paris, Vingt-Trois André, will be present."

He paused, raking his eyes across the room, as if daring someone to laugh. No one did. Shame. "You will watch the eclipse on the TV, no one is to go outside until we are told it is safe to look at the eclipse without eye protection." he checked his watch "We only have a couple of minutes before it starts. Apparently, it should only take a few seconds for the eclipse to be complete. After that you will watch the news report, hopefully you might learn something. There is to be no chatter until after you leave the gym. I don't particularly want to hand out detentions, but I will if you ruin this experience for the others."

With that he scraped a hand across his head, sticking his hair more firmly to his scalp and turned the TV on.

The pupils were eerily silent after the threat of detentions and the TV's volume had been set to max so even Tony and I, near the back of the room, had no problem hearing the reporter. Although Tony probably couldn't get a good look at the screen, being as short as he was. I however, had no such issues and could see the screen quite clearly.

"In a few seconds we should start to see the outer hemisphere of Mercury as it begins to eclipse the edge of the sun." a tall, beautiful, female reporter in a bright red coat, with long, flowing blonde hair was speaking directly into the camera. The Eiffel Tower a distant blur over her left shoulder.

"Now please remember to wait for us to tell you when it is safe to view the eclipse with the naked eye. It can be dangerous looking at the sun without eye protection. The camera lenses we're using have been designed with this in mind; so enjoy the show on your screen until it is safe for you to view the real thing." The female reporter continued monotonously, clearly reading from one of those digital scripts that was likely showing her exactly what to say.

Hopefully, she had brains too and wasn't all for show, or this was going to be a very boring broadcast. At least for some of us, I thought, after noticing most of the males in the crowd nearly drooling.

"There it is now!" She pointed to a dark line that was just starting to appear at the outer edge of the sun. the camera zoomed in until it was clearly visible, a dark line slowly making its way across the sun. It then zoomed back out, keeping the reporter in the picture.

"Wow! That's incredible!" The female reporter exclaimed, blushing when she realised she was still on camera. My hopes for an intelligent reporter were dashed beyond recognition.

After only a few seconds the eclipse was almost full, prompting the camera to fully zoom back in.

A black, bottomless hole was eating the sun; clawing its way across the once bright, fiery orb, as it covered more and more of the sun. The light was sucked into the coal-black circle -- causing the sky to darken -- becoming a shadowy, blood-red hue.

A few more seconds passed until the ebony circle was directly obscuring the sun. Then it stopped. Suddenly. Like the huge gears of some industrial beast unexpectedly losing power. Grinding to a complete and total halt.

It was jolting to witness such an inexorable force cease so fully and with such finality.

The edges of the sun could still be seen reaching out with a faint red glow, desperately, like a dying god trying to give light to its people once more.

Once more the camera focussed on the flustered looking female reporter -- who looked distraught at having to speak again so abruptly.

Ha. Hopefully, they hadn't had time to write her dialogue with which to spew out at the camera.

Apparently, they hadn't. "Wow. Erm. Err. It should now be safe to view the eclipse with your own eyes! But don't go away! We've got many respected scientists and astronomers who will be telling us more about this eclipse in just a little bit. As well as the Archbishop of Paris, Vingt-Trois André, who will briefly explain the important religious aspects of this event."

Mr Hardy interrupted the broadcast by stepping in front of the TV. "Right, you heard the reporter. All of you start moving out to the football field. Please keep the doors clear once outside to allow the others a good look at the eclipse too. Miss Jones, would you mind leading them out please?"

It was more a command than a question. Cathy seemed to realise this as she simply nodded and complied. Walking out the doors of the gym to the field -- hundreds of students following in her wake.

I wondered how many were using the opportunity to check out her butt.

A few seconds passed before Tony and I reached the doors leading outside, having been near the back of the crowded room.

I wondered why I heard so many gasps from outside. We'd seen the eclipse on TV, surely it couldn't look too different seeing it for real.

But when I stepped outside, a cold wind blowing against my face, these thoughts abruptly ceased.

The sight above me was so majestic in its intensity, it stole my breathe away. Looking up, I saw a blood-drenched sky, I witnessed the murky, red glow emanating from the orb of floating darkness and I watched wisps of scarlet flame curling around the edges restlessly; illuminating the city with a soft, crimson light.

I could feel my eyes begin to water, having never seen such a beautiful sight. It was like being colour blind your entire life and suddenly waking up one day -- able to see the world as everyone else does.