Ch 1: Dear Crow

Drive. Crest. Seven. Rope. Midnight.

There was a house in the middle of the woods. It was an old log cabin with only a single road leading up to the driveway. Outside were two cars, one green and old, one blue and new.

Lights flickered inside, fluorescent and pale. A single bulb swung on a wire as a gust of wind swept through, casting shadows down the rock-covered forms it housed.

Only two remained whole. One stood tall as if expecting the effects of the faint blue mist that hung in the air. The other crouched, clawing at their throat. All around the pair were scattered bits of stone, some in the vague shapes of appendages or features that were once human. Silence dampened the air.

Then, cracks began to appear in the tough facades of the figures. The standing one was the first to break free, shell falling to the ground. When it did, the man staggered and leaned against the wall, coughing to free his lungs from dust but still keeping a smile on his face.

The other was ultimately more violent. When the plates of rock fell, they were smoking faintly, and the man beneath was panicking, clawing the rest off of him. Finally, it fell away from his face, and he gasped for breath, simply laying on the floor.

He blinked his eyes open after a moment to see the other leaning on the wall, and his breath caught in his chest. Finding that he was able to move, he did so, trying to push himself away. When he did so, his hand brushed against the rubble on the floor, and he froze, knowing exactly who had caused these other people to die.

As if noticing him for the first time, the smiling man glanced over, smile fading for only a moment. "That's unexpected," he murmured, leaving his perch on the wall. He seemed much steadier as he kneeled down beside the terrified man. "Tell me, detective, did you ever believe in a higher purpose for yourself?"

Shaking a bit, the detective just stared up at him, flinching when the other put a hand on his face.

"Just a shame," he added, "that you'll never find out what makes you special."

The detective jerked his head away and struggled to stand. "W-what did you do, Barlow?"

Barlow let him find his footing and stood with him, tilting his head a bit. "Please. Haven't you seen the news lately?"

Seemingly in a cold sweat, the detective tried to catch his breath and didn't respond, simply staring at the criminal before him.

Barlow nodded once. "I'm going to kill you, you know that?"

"...yeah." The detective said in response, his hands clenching into fists. "Yeah, I know."

"You expect to fight me? I've been trained to wield my new powers, and you-"

The criminal, for all his monologuing, didn't get very far, as the detective just hauled off at punched him in the face. Barlow was somehow not expecting this and dropped to the floor, stunned for a moment, long enough for the detective to step forward, kicking him in the head once, twice, several more times until the criminal ceased to move.

Still trembling, the detective took several deep breathes as the wind outside began to howl. Finally, it evened out, and he looked down at his enemy. "What did I do?" he whispered to himself.

He crouched down, checking for a pulse and breathing a sigh of relief when he found one. Steady and slow, while the detective's heart raced.

He backed up a few steps, pulling out his phone and hitting the speed dial.

Two rings, and someone picked up, voice sleepy and fragmented by the bad reception. "Ugh. Highcliff."

"It's Temp."

"Temp?" There was a shuffle and tired groan. "What… why're you calling, man?"

"W-working that smuggling case. Caught up with Barlow."

"Wait, seriously? Did you go after him?"

"Yeah."

"Why the hell didn't you call me?"

"Sorry."

"Did you go alone? You could've died!"

"Y-yeah. Sorry."

There was a pause as her partner caught onto the note in his voice. "Temp, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No. No, I think I'm fine." The detective glanced down at where Barlow lay, unconscious and bleeding. "Barlow isn't. He's gonna need an ambulance."

"Shit. Okay, where are you?"

"Cabin out in Reynold's Forest. It's the only one the road goes to."

"Okay. I'll send someone. What about the buyers?"

Temp felt his throat close up in disgust at the scene at his feet.

"Temp?"

"Sorry. Not here."

"Damn. Well, that's too bad. You're sure you're okay?"

"Always am. Let me know when you're close." Then, he hung up, staring down at Barlow, the shifting glow fading from his eyes.

Hey everybody. Quick author's note here. Thanks for reading. I've written fanfiction before but I got a new computer and can't remember my password to my old account, so here it is. R&R is always appreciated. It's getting to be summer so there will probably be consistent updates then. Also, canon characters will be introduced in the coming chapters, but it won't center around them. This mostly just takes place in the AoS universe, so there will be less interaction with the main characters of the show. Hope no one minds too much. Thanks again. ~nahmanjayden