Artemis held the golden book close to him. The rain that flooded him soaked his hair and buttoned shirt, but that didn't matter to him. This book could make it all better.
Was he insane? Yes, he was definitely driven insane. But by who? Why wasn't he dead? He didn't know. He should have been dead. He should have died a long time ago.
Thank gods Holly was with him at all times. Only that was before. Holly was gone. Butler was gone. Foaly was gone. No1 was gone. Every single person he loved and held dear was gone.
The men had him surrounded. They all wore ceremonial robes and cloaks that covered their faces, but he memorized them all. Too much had happened not to remembered how much pain each and every one of them inflicted on him.
The man in front of him lifted what seemed to be a gun and pulled the trigger. A small but sharp stake, tipped with pure silver, ran into Artemis's stomach.
A cry of pain escaped his lips. The stake was cold and crude, as if crafted by the devil's hands. Blood stained his buttoned shirt. All of his suits had become tattered or burned away, just like his home. All that was left was this snow white button-up shirt.
The endless rain poured even harder. With the might he had left, Artemis pulled the stake out. He cried out, but no one cared about the pain he felt. No was there to care about him anymore.
"What do you want from me?" Artemis yelled out shakily.
"You damn fool, Artemis. Don't play games with us. You know what we want, you've know it all along." the leader said casually.
It was true. Artemis knew exactly what they wanted, but why they kept torturing him was beyond him. They already had what they really wanted. Or was it just his spilled blood that they urged themselves to see?
Artemis slowly struggled to crawl to the sidewalk and out of the alley. The men, interestingly, watched and let him attempt escape. He had left the precious book behind in the alley, the book with crisp, golden pages that held the answer to all of Artemis's pain.
Artemis laid on his back on the dark sidewalk. The small city seemed to have started to flood, but he couldn't care less.
Artemis's dying eyes spied a man slowly walk from the opposite street to the one he was laying on. Pain and anger shot through Artemis's eyes as he saw the man come, even though he was still far away.
The man was wearing a large fedora on his head, almost like Indiana Jones or a cowboy. He wore black leather pants, leather boots, and leather gloves. His tan trench coat reached his knees.
"Help me…" he whispered to the man. "Help me!" he yelled out again, without any answer. He heard a few snickers from the alley, but all he could do was shiver unstoppably and uncontrollably.
The man stopped next to him, but did nothing. "Who…who are you?" Artemis called out to him.
"You know who I am." the man said simply, before walking away. Artemis laid there, angry and defeated.
"Crow!" he called out. "Crow!" but the man didn't answer.
Artemis sobbed away as the man walked away. More and more laughter from the alley tortured him.
"Crow…" he whispered. His voice went low and he laid there, motionless.
He had done it. He had kept his oath with his final breath.
