This fic is dedicated to the memory of Sophie Lancaster: an innocent young woman who was brutally murdered for the sole reason of that she was of the gothic subculture.
Rest In Peace: May the Crow guide you safely to your eternal reward in Heaven.
"Ed!" her assistant shouted from outside her dressing room. "Ed, you're up in five minutes!" He pounded the door again. "Ed!"
"Stop calling me that!" Edana Shope called out from inside; she was sitting at her makeup table, playing solitaire: a little ritual she always did before playing: if she won, then she believed it meant that the gig would be a success. If she lost, then she believed it meant that there would always be something bad to happen; the last time she had lost, her boyfriend, and the band's lead guitarist, Luis de Vega, lost his guitar, only to find it half an hour after their scheduled start time, broken in half.
Almost… she said mentally, playing the cards. Damn! She gathered up the cards from her lost game and put them back in the box. She rose from her chair and looked in the mirror one more time: her black straight hair was down; her contact lenses were safely fit in her deep green eyes; her makeup and eyeshadow were all applied perfectly; her ring-piercings under her eyes were there, as were the tiny tear-shaped crystals she always hung off of them; her black tanktop with skulls and roses on it was lint-less and wrinkle-less, and her black rosary she always wore was safely around her neck; her black boots were zipped up; and her tight purple jeans (which she spraypainted herself) brought out the shapeliness of her butt, to her satisfaction.
"Here's to hoping to God I don't accidentally pull a Janet Jackson tonight." she joked to herself. She kissed the little crucifix of her rosary, did the Sign of the Cross, and walked out of her room.
Backstage, Edana met with the other four band members: Lukas, the bassist; Shontel, the drummer; Will, the keyboardist; and of course, Luis, the guitarist.
"Equipment?" Edana asked.
"Good to go." Will replied, "Game?"
"Lost." Edana said.
They all groaned.
"Just don't jinx us TOO badly!" Shontel joked.
"Hey! It's not me, it's the cards!" Edana replied with a dignified tone.
"Next up in our repertoire…" the announcer onstage began.
"Here we go!" Luis said. He leaned toward Edana and kissed her. "For luck."
"Thanks." Edana said with a smile.
"Give it up for…RAVENHEART!
The curtain parted, and there were the five band members, all in their places. Edana looked at tonight's crowd. The band always performed on Wednesday and Friday nights at Club Lioncourt; Friday crowds were always bigger.
They began playing. Edana took the microphone close to her mouth.
"Quoth the Raven!" she shouted.
"NEVERMORE!" the audience shouted back.
Finally the others began the intro, and Edana began singing:
"One Twenty-four.
The day of death.
A day of screams, a day of tears.
A day of fulfillment of long-lost fears.
The day they left, one by one.
The day they left…forever."
The band increased their power as the chorus began:
"Don't put them down!
Don't fall asleep!
Don't hide your eyes!
Don't turn away from here.
My friend: Keep them here with me."
The audience cheered, as the band powered down to their normal rate. Edana put the mic to her mouth and began the second verse:
"You used to be my perfect friend.
But now you're just a plague that won't end.
How could you do this? How can you sleep,
Knowing your treachery cuts me that deep.
The day they left one by one.
The day they left…forever."
Chorus:
"Don't put them down!
Don't fall asleep!
Don't hide your eyes!
Don't turn away from here.
My friend: Keep them here with me."
The band powered up even more as they went into a bridge:
"But I know you don't care for them.
Never had! Never will!
How could I trust you?
YOU! KILLED! THEM!"
Then they returned to the chorus.
"Don't put them down!
Don't fall asleep!
Don't hide your eyes!
Don't turn away from here.
My friend: Keep them here with me."
The band slowed their beat and softened their sounds, as Edana sang the last verse.
"Ooh, keep them here with me.
Ooh, keep them here with me.
Keep them here…
Don't put them down…"
The song finished with Edana holding that last note, and the keyboarder finishing with a sweet-sounding arpeggio.
The audience cheered. Many clapped, others shouted, while others gave the devil horns symbol.
Edana walked to the edge of the stage and extended both hands forward. From the way back, the bartender passed fived beers down the crowd. She caught the first two and tossed them to Luis and Lukas, caught and tossed the other two to Shontel and Will, and caught the last one for herself, as she opened it and took a large gulp.
After they had finished their drinks, they returned to their places. Edana put the microphone to her mouth and said, "Quoth the Raven?"
"Nevermore!" the crown shouted in reply.
"No." Edana replied, "Ca-caw!" The audience laughed at her mock-raven call. "One more?" The crowd cheered in affirmation. She looked back at the band, and nodded at Will. He began playing a slow somber tune on the keyboard with the piano-voice. Putting the microphone to her mouth, she began singing in a soft voice:
"Standing stones and fallen people
lie forgotten in the ground.
Towering spires and mythic steeples
sing their praises without sound."
Will continued playing the accompanying melody, as Edana closed her eyes and let the music take her. After a few more seconds she began the second verse:
"Sculpted angels, broken crosses
stare in silence at the sky,
as I brood and count my losses,
wishing, hoping just to die."
Then they began the chorus:
"How I wish that I could leave; leave this body far behind.
How I wish that I could soar; just my spirit and my mind.
But I don't know you…
And I can't trust you…"
The crowd clapped in applause, as the band started the third verse.
"Mighty crypts and scattered ashes
whisper softly in the wind.
Yet I suffer whips and lashes,
wondering hourly how I sinned."
They began the chorus again:
"How I wish that I could leave; leave this body far behind.
How I wish that I could soar; just my spirit and my mind.
But I still don't wish to die.
I know now it was a lie.
I don't ever want to leave.
O how I have been deceived."
Then she sang the final part:
"How I wish that I could stay, if not just for one more day.
How I wish that I could land, and escape your greedy hands.
Why o why did I believe? Look what I have now received:
An eternity of fire: Go to hell you filthy liar!"
"For now I know you…
And I don't trust you…
For now I know you…
And I don't trust you…
For now I know you…
And I can't trust you…"
Will continued playing the piano, finishing with a soft, final chord.
The crown broke into applause, as the remaining members stood and took a bow along with Edana and Will.
"See you on Friday!" Edana yelled, as they retreated backstage.
"See?" Luis said as they returned to the backstage area, "No problems! It was all superstition!"
"Shut up! Who knows, one of us might get run over by a car on the way home!" Shontel answered.
"Dude, shut the hell up!" Edana said playfully, "We kicked ass out there tonight, with or without the cards' help. We did good." She looked at Will. "Nice work."
Will smiled in reply.
"So has anyone heard anything about old White Angel?" Lukas asked.
"White Angel" was the slang name they gave to Mayor Santos: a hardcore conservative who has seemed to make it his life's mission (or at least his term's mission) to rid their city of the "dark, morbid, and negative influence of the local goth scene: In the last year and three months, Santos had already found ways to have five of the major goth clubs closed down or put out of business from mysterious "anomalies in their tax statements" which would yield visits from the IRS and ultimately, foreclosure or forced leasing.
"Thank God he seems to have taken a break." Luis replied, "On the upside, he's recently diverted his attention to gangs in our city now. That's a fresh restart, if you ask me."
"Anything that doesn't put us, or any of our kind in the proverbial- or sometimes even literal- crosshairs, is a fresh start." Edana commented.
Shontel loaded his drum supplies onto the cart he always pushed it in. "Well, I'm gone. Good job y'all, and I'll see you around!"
"Yeah I'm going too." Will said, packing his keyboard and folding up the stand.
After the two members left through the back exit, Edana and Luis looked at Lukas. "Going, too?" Luis asked.
"Yep." Lukas said, slinging his guitar over his shoulder on the strap. "Ed, I'll see you in class tomorrow."
"Don't call me that!" Edana said toughly, "And yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."
Lukas exited through the door, leaving Edana and Luis alone.
"Well." Edana said mischievously with a smirk, "Just the two of us…alone."
Luis returned the smirk and pulled Edana to him and kissed her. His hands travelled down her back, to her butt…
"No, not here." Edana moaned, "Back at the apartment." She kissed Luis lightly on the neck. "C'mon. Let's go."
"After you." Luis replied, opening the door; Edana went through, as Luis closed it behind them.
They walked through the back alley of the club, to their car.
"Yo!" a voice from up ahead called out.
Five men came up to them. They were all dressed in stereotypical "gangsta" style clothing.
"This is the club." The leader of the gang said offhandedly, before looking back at the couple before them. He surveyed both of them from head to foot. "Freaks."
Luis heard that word. "Did you just—" Luckily Edana had a better temper than her boyfriend, and she put a hand on his shoulder in assurance.
"And what about you, slut?" another gangster said derisively to Edana, "What the hell you think you are, wearing that rosary 'round your neck? Everyone knows you're nothing but a little devil-worshippin; ho!"
"I am a Catholic." Edana replied calmly, "I am a Catholic, the same as any Catholic in this world: I am a follower of Christ Jesus and a believer of His message of love and tolerance."
"Catholic, huh?" another gangster replied, "Well that makes you even worse. Y'know, you Catholics are as good as shit at our Southern Baptist Church; you and all your statue and Mary-worshipping and your pagan rap!"
"So you're double evil, bitch!" the leader said mockingly, "Dress as Satan's slut, and you go to his Church as well!"
"You shut up about her!" Luis shouted, taking a step toward the five men. But in a quick instant, the leader brought out a switchblade and pointed it at his throat.
"You wanna step back, playah?" he said dangerously, "I don't want none of your satanic germs on me."
Luis stepped back carefully, and Edana put her hand on his shoulder again.
"It'll be alright." she whispered.
"You!" the leader barked at Edana, "C'mere." He had a smile that could not mean anything good for them.
Edana slowly approached the leader. He twirled the switchblade between two fingers as he said, "Strip."
Luis stepped forward and grabbed Edana by the shoulders from behind, which only angered the gang leader. With a wide horizontal slash he caught Edana on the left shoulder. She let out a yelp of pain and clutched at the lengthy but shallow cut.
"You son of a bitch!" Luis rushed the leader, only to be backhanded by another gangster, punched several times in the gut, and pushed backward.
"I believe I told you to do something, ho!" the leader shouted, now angry. "STRIP!"
Edana stood straight again. She had no choice: it was obey or Luis gets hurt more.
Hating herself every second of it, she began stripping. She stripped until she was only wearing her bra, panties, and rosary.
The gang members all let out catcalls and wolf whistles. The leader pointed at her throat with his knife.
"Take the rosary off. You've desecrated it enough."
"No!" Edana replied with firm resolve, "I'll strip, I'll subject myself to these humilities, but I will NOT take my rosary off!"
"The rosary…" the leader answered, "…or those sexy panties of yours." The gang let out even more sexual jeers.
"Edana." Luis said to her as he got to his feet, "Please. It's not worth it."
She looked at him. "Yes it is, Luis." she told him, "Yes it is. If Christ could do it, I'll do it for Him." Then looking back at them, with tears of shame forming in her eyes, she slipped her dark-violet panties down.
The gang reaction was stronger than ever. The leader was now smiling ear-to-ear. "Now give 'em here." He said, holding out his hand.
Edana picked up her discarded underwear and handed it to the leader and to her disgust, he began smelling it before tossing backward at his gang. "Now…" he said, "Come closer."
"Edana no!" Luis shouted.
A gunshot, followed by a scream of pain from Luis, who was now on one knees, holding his right kneecap with both hands.
"Luis!" Edana cried as she turned her back on her assailants to go to his aid. But the leader grabbed her by the hair, pulled her backward toward him and put his blade to her throat. "Did you just disobey me, slut? NEVER! DISOBEY ME!" He spun her around and slapped her hard across the face, and she fell to the ground. He kicked her in the side and she curled up.
"BASTARD!" Luis shouted in fury, running to the leader.
But Luis only ran into his switchblade. Eyes widened, he fell forward into the leader's arms. The leader looked at Edana, who was looking up in horror.
"Watch this, slut." He said. With that, he stabbed Luis several more times. Then, he pushed Luis back into the alley wall, and cut open his shirt with the knife. Looking down at Edana, he smirked and said, "Hope you didn't eat anything back in that club!" Then, he stabbed Luis just below the neck and pushed the blade as deep as it could go. Then, to Edana's horror, he began pulling the knife downward with the blade still in him. He was trying to dissect him alive!"
Luis let out a loud scream, but was quickly silenced when one of the gangsters stuffed Edana's panties in his mouth.
"There!" he said, "Your last supper!"
The others laughed as the leader continued pulling the blade downward; on a couple occasions blood splattered into the leader's face, signifying the slashing of a major blood vessel. Finally he withdrew it and made several more punctures into the torso, before proceeding to the eyes.
Edana shut her eyes, but she could not shut her ears to the muffled screams of Luis, whose eyes were being gouged out by the leader's switchblade. The first eyeball came out, and the leader severed the nerve it hung from with the knife. Blood now streamed down his face from the now-empty socket, almost like crimson tears. But the leader spared the other eye, saying, "I'll let you watch what we do to your little whore!" He motioned to his gang, who approached her. He called one of them over to hold Luis up, as he made his way over to Edana.
They forced her onto her feet, as the leader approached. Looking back at Luis with a malicious stare, he took his knife and thrusted it into Edana's vagina. She let out a scream that was muffled by the hands of a gang member. The leader kept pumping the blade in and out of her; blood was cascading down her legs and her screams became even harder to keep muffled. Luis was also letting out muffled cries.
Finally the leader stopped, then proceeded to cut out Edana's eye; he had cut out Luis's left eye, and now he was cutting out Edana's right eye. She let out more screams. Finally the leader stabbed her in the throat. The gang let her go and she fell to the ground, as did Luis when the gangster holding him let him go.
The group then split in two groups and each group began kicking and stomping on their fallen victims. Cracks and snapping noises could be heard from time to time, indicating a severe injury or fracture.
When they had finished, the gangsters scraped their shoes on the ground trying to get all the blood and, in Edana's case, vomit, off.
The leader stood over Edana's limp form. He bent down, and cut the rosary off her neck with his switchblade. "Slut." he said hatefully.
With that, the five of them left the alleyway.
Luis crawled over to where Edana was. "Baby…" he moaned, "Are you alive?"
Edana moaned in reply. "Where's…my rosary?"
"They took it." Luis said.
Edana clutched her right eye socket, now empty. "Why?" she asked to no one in particular, "Why would they do this?"
"Isn't…it obvious?" Luis struggled to say.
Edana rolled over onto her back and looked up at the night sky; the stars would getting blurry and were slowly fading away.
"God…" she said weakly, "Forgive them…"
Edana Shope closed her eyelids, and ceased to breathe.
"Edana…" Luis said, shaking his beloved's body. "No… God please no…" He began sobbing and held Edana's broken body.
He let out a loud, anguished cry. Surely someone heard that one?
The rain began pouring hard. In a matter of minutes there was a small flood in the alleyway.
In Edana's jeans, which were now floating in a small puddle, her deck of cards spilled out and began flowing down the temporary river, into a drainage area. The cards began pouring out one-by-one. Just then, as the Ace of Spades was about to fall into the drainage hole, something small and black, faster than the human eye swept down and grabbed it before retreating back into the air.
Quoth the Raven…
CA-CAW!