Author's Notes: Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy the first chapter of my mini-episode-like-story of The Crow: Faltering.
Thick smoke enveloped the figures of two weary searchers as they wandered through the woods looking for any sign of the missing woman.
"Where are you?" mumbled one of the search rescuers. He sighed in frustration.
The search dogs yanked on their leashes, barked and ran, but no matter how close the rescuers thought they were getting to the woman, everything turned into a dead end. No one knew what to do.
The search continued for hours, but the young woman was not found, not until a mysterious man came out of the forest...
"I can find her," the mysterious man stated quietly, more for the benefit of the rescuers than for himself.
He knew they looked upon him with disdain, for the clothes he wore were black – marked as a color of the devil by those who just didn't understand certain things. Ironically, he was everything but the devil – a saint, a hero… people called him many things, but never the devil.
He raised his hands out in front of him in friendly greeting, just in case one of the officers or searchers spooked and decided he was the kidnapper.
The searchers and officers gave each other the same questionable look. How was this man supposed to help them find a girl who had been missing for over 48 hours? It just wasn't possible – how would he know where to look?
The mysterious man took a few steps closer, eyeing the searches cautiously – He didn't want – or need – any surprise attacks.
"I want to help find her," he stated somberly. "I don't think she is dead, but I believe she is injured."
But what he couldn't tell the others was how he knew this pertinent information. "Please believe me when I tell you that I can help."
Again, the searches looked at one another, and finally a police officer came up to the young man.
"Listen," he said somewhat impatiently, "We've got a lot of people trying to find her. If this is some kind of prank… we don't appreciate it."
The mysterious man nodded his head in agreement and understanding, "Yes, I am aware of the situation and the seriousness, but I know I can find her. Would I be allowed to search in the woods for her?"
The cop gave the man a 'no-foolishness' look.
"Listen, I happen to walk through these woods daily for exercise," the man fibbed. He couldn't very well tell them he could see through his guide's eyes – his companion, the crow - and would be able to easily find his way through the woods.
The police officer finally nodded his head in agreement, and shook the man's hand in thanks. He let his façade fall from his face, as he showed his true worry for the young woman. "I am grateful for your help, but it's hard to pick out sincerity among people sometimes, especially when, no offense, they happen to dress…. Well…" He motioned toward Eric's clothes, but made no more of an attempt to criticize the man for his taste.
"Hey, Harry!" The officer motioned to one of the rescue workers to come over,who had just arrived on the scene.
When the rescue worker had reached the officer as asked, the officer proceeded to introduce him to the long-gone mysterious man. "Harry, this is…."
The officer trailed off as he noticed the absence of Eric.
"Alrighty, then…," the officer scratched his head, turning to Harry, "He was just here… he was going to help with the search… anyway, if you see a guy in all black, don't freak out. He's one of the good guys, I guess…"
The searcher nodded his head, patted the police officer on the shoulder in a comforting way, and left to resume collecting his things to head out into the woods.
Meanwhile, Eric ran through the woods, knowing he had little time to find the young woman before her injuries could not be healed.
After about 30 minutes of running through the woods, he found the young woman in a heap by the stream, her upper arm bleeding from a severe wound inflicted by what looked like a knife, and a nasty gash on her forehead, probably from stumbling to get to the creek and hitting her head on the scattered rocks.
Images of Shelly flashed into his head, making him stumble over the rough terrain.
Eric could also sense his strength faltering, unsure of the cause. He knew that if he didn't make it out of the woods fast with the young woman, then he doubted he would be able to have enough strength to get himself back to the road with the searchers and try to get their help.
How would he lead them back to the injured woman without giving away his secret? They would never believe him.
Eric squared his shoulders. He decided right then and there that he would make it back with her in his arms. He failed Shelly, but he would not fail... "Meghan." The whispered name seemed to echo in his mind and on his lips. This woman was important and he seemed to have some kind of connection with her. Eric slowly approached her, already ripping the bottom of his shirt off for make-shift bandages to stop the bleeding from her head, arm, and any other open wounds.
"Meghan," he called softly.
"Meghan," he tried again. She moaned softly, but did not open her eyes.
"Meghan, if you can hear me, I am a friend. I'm going to get you to safety, but first let's get you some water."
Eric cupped his hand, and dipped it into the water, hurriedly dribbling some water onto Meghan's lips.
She parted her lips slightly, licking the refreshing droplets of water from her lips.
"Okay," Eric said, "Now, I'm going to sit you up just a little so you can have some more water."
Meghan didn't respond, but Eric knew she needed more water before he picked her up to hike back. He then gently raised her back from the ground a couple of inches, watching her face intently for signs of pain. She grimaced a little, but he knew that was probably from the shock of moving her off the sharp rocks.
Eric again dipped his hand into the water, cupping it, and then moving quickly to Meghan's mouth. She drank greedily, not having had water, Eric guessed, in more than 24 hours.
After Eric was sure that Meghan had enough water not to make her sick, but enough to hold her over for their hike, he wrapped the make-shift bandages around her arm and her forehead. Then he gently scooped her into his arms.
She moaned once more, but again, Eric sensed it was from the shock of movement. "You'll be safe in a few minutes," Eric muttered to Meghan as he began the hike back toward the road swamped with the rescue workers and police officers.
Eric continued to talk quietly to Meghan, as he looked occasionally for guidance from the crow flying through the trees, leading them back to safety. Finally, after being gone for nearly two hours, an exhausted Eric stumbled along the road, carrying the young woman in his arms.
"Can someone help her," he weakly called to the couple of police officers standing watch of the forest.
When no one noticed him, he tried again, "I've got the girl," Eric loudly repeated.
Eric, feeling like all his strength had been suddenly drained from him, sank to his knees with the girl in his arms. He was afraid this would happen, but he was relieved his strength was leaving him now, and not back at the creek.
He looked down at Meghan, and again, images of Shelly dying swept through him, making his emotions ragged. He didn't want to put Meghan down on the dirty ground – god knew she had had enough time lying on the ground.
So, Eric continued to hold her, reminiscing about Shelly, until a police officer laid a gentle hand on Eric's shoulder to alert him to his presence. "I'll take the girl," he said gently.
"No," Eric refused, shaking his head. "I'll carry her to a stretcher…." The police officer wanted to argue, but one look at Eric erased the idea from his mind.
"I have to finish this… I have to be the one to make sure she's safe."
The police officer nodded his head again, confused as to the young man's determination, but then placed his hands supportively on the girl's back, helping to lift her, so that Eric could regain his feet.
He was more than exhausted, but he had to see this woman through to complete safety. He couldn't save Shelly… he was too late. But now, he could make sure Meghan would be alright.
His first few steps were a little precarious, at best, but he was able to meet the man with the stretcher, gently placing Meghan on her back and whispering words of encouragement to her.
The paramedic gave Eric a sweeping gaze, concern etched on his face not only for the girl, but for Eric as well.
Eric smiled, trying to silently persuade the man that he was unhurt, and all was well. Eric knew that he probably looked like hell, but nothing that the paramedic could offer would help Eric.
Confusion crossed Eric's face as he thought about the day's events. Everything seemed fine until this morning... what had changed? And why did his strength fail on him so quickly, here on the road, and at such a crucial moment? If he hadn't been able to bring Meghan back to the waiting paramedics… Eric shook his head, trying to erase the thought.
All of a sudden, black began to appear at the edges of Eric's vision, narrowing it; blurring it.
He saw a nearby police officer reach out to him, as he once again fell to his knees.
There was something terribly wrong with him, but he didn't know the source. Things were not looking good. He needed to get away from here and the curious stares from the rescuers and officers! What was he going to do?
Eric knew he would be out in a moment, so he hurriedly took his wallet out of his back pocket with shaking hands, and found Officer Albrecht's card.
"Please," Eric gasped. He handed the card to the officer, then put his hands on the ground, trying not to fall over. "Please," Eric tried again, "... Contact him. He... knows me... No ambulances. Hurry." Eric fell to the ground, rolling to his back, and stared at the darkening sky. It looked like it was going to rain...
He prayed that Albrecht would get there in enough time before a paramedic decided to load Eric into an ambulance, realizing that Eric was no ordinary man... quite the opposite.
Unbeknownst to Eric and the various group still crowded on the street stood a lone figure in the brush, watching with narrowed eyes at Eric as he contemplated what his next move would be in this game that everyone else referred to as "life."
Author's Notes: Please R&R. So, I guess I need some motivation to finish this story - hopefully, I'll be able to... I would love to know what everyone thinks, and let me know if I did anything stupid! (I would like to fix my mistakes). Alright, and also, if you have a story, I would love to read it! So, let me know through your review. Thanks!