The Crow: Fragile

Disclaimer: Please read chapter one for the disclaimer.

Summary: Please read the first chapter for the summary.

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~::-|-::~ One Year Later ~::-|-::~

Tap… Tap… Tap… … … … Tap… Tap… Tap…

The incessant tapping startled me awake. Who was calling at this hour of the night? It was pitch dark and I couldn't even see my hands in front of me. Where was I? Certainly not in my nice warm bed with my Mosi curled up next to me.

Awaken, child. Awaken from your slumber…

I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see. What happened? I was blind! "Who are you?" I asked the voice. "What have you done to me?" I was scared. My eyes didn't work and there was a strange person in my bedroom. "Answer me!"

Awaken from your slumber, Raven-child. It is time to rejoin the world.

"Where are you?" I called out, noticing that my voice seemed to echo bluntly around my head. "Who are you?" I raised my hands to my face, only to have them knock against wood. I felt my hair stand on end as I felt the wood above me. "Oh my God…" I whispered. "I've been buried alive." Laying my palm against the wood above me, I pushed as hard as I could. It didn't budge. I chewed my lip and pushed again. There! I felt the roof above me give way a little. Not much, but a little. I pushed again. The wood creaked under my hand and a shower of dirt, mud and water rained down upon me as I opened the wooden door as far as I could. Opening my eyes after the deluge had stopped, I frowned. I could see… but they weren't my eyes. How could they not be my eyes? I raised my hands to my face and felt my eyes. I tried not to scream when I felt just fleshy hollows there. Where were my eyes?!

You have no eyes, child.

The voice echoed around my head. I bit my lip. Although I was frightened, I was strangely curious. "If I have no eyes, how can I see?" I asked the voice.

You will see the world through my eyes, Raven-child. Come.

I twisted my body to point my face toward where my head had been. Through the strange eyes, I saw a crow perched on the headstone. It cocked its head to one side, as though studying me. It seemed to beckon to me as it took off and began to fly towards the gate of the cemetery. As quickly as I could, I got up out of the coffin and dragged my weak body out of the hole. "Wait! Please wait!" I called hoarsely to the crow. I watched as it landed on a headstone a few dozen feet away. I felt dizzy and weak. Letting my head fall to the ground, I fell asleep.

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I awoke a little later. I don't know how long I was out, but it was long enough. I felt rejuvenated of strength and ready to follow the crow. I looked about. The crow was now a few feet closer to me, settled on a headstone, watching me. As I got up, it flapped its wings and took off. I ran after it, keeping pace with it, which surprised me. I'd never been a very athletic person, but here I was keeping up with a crow and feeling like I was racing the wind and winning easily!

The crow led me through a myriad of alleyways and shadowed areas of the city until we finally came to an apartment building that looked run down and uncared for. The crow landed on the step, cawing as if to urge me to go inside. I was apprehensive of this building. I knew I'd seen it before, but couldn't place where. Cautiously, I made my way up the stairs to the front door. Tentatively, I pushed open the door, letting the rotting wood swing open with a slight creak. Seeing the door to the ground floor apartment on my left, I studied the criss-crossing of police tape over the door. Trying the door, I found it unlocked and it swung open easily. I ducked under the police tape and walked into the house.

As I walked across the threshold, I was overcome with a powerful vision. Was it memory? Was it a premonition? I couldn't tell. All I knew was that it had caused me to fall to the floor, curling into a foetal position.

"Get off me!"

"The little Injun bitch can fight!" Cruel laughter echoed through the house. "Oooh, hey Viper, here's a little sassy one for you to have!"

"Let's just get this job done, Taipan. You know the bosses don't like to be kept waiting!"

"Get off me! Leave me alone!!" Raven struggled to get free. "I have money! Cash! Anything you want, just please! Let me go!"

"Hear that, Viper? She wants to buy us off." The one called Taipan sneered, bringing his face close to hers. "What we want, little birdie, hasn't got a price."

"What do you want with me?" Raven was fighting back tears of fear, rage and anguish. "I don't know you! How could I have done anything to you?!"

"Easy, sweetheart." The one called Viper cooed, drawing a ten inch long hunting knife from his belt. "You were born." He grinned evilly at her. "Taipan! Hold her head still!" The other man's strong hand wrapped around her head, keeping her still. Viper brought the knife close to her eyes, moving from left to right. "Eenie, meanie, miney, mo…" He said in a sing-song voice, Raven's frightened eyes looking at his face. "Looks like the left eye is first to go."

Raven let out a blood curdling scream as Viper dug the knife into her eye sockets and carefully removed the eyes. She was still screaming when he brought his hands away, wrapping the eyes gently in a soft cotton pouch and putting the pouch in his coat pocket. Taipan lifted Raven's shirt and used his own knife to gouge a message into her stomach. Raven's screaming had stopped, but she whimpered and moaned in pain as she tried to get away from the sharp weapon.

"You guys haven't already…. Ah shit!" Another voice, a new voice. "I told ya not to do it until I'd gotten her on the cross! Christ, you guys are impatient!"

"Well you took too long marking the sign on the floor!" Viper growled. "Not our fault, Cougar."

"Don't use my name, you idiot! She could identify us."

"So the fuck what?! She's gonna die anyway. She won't be able to tell no one!"

Cougar muttered as he dragged something heavy across the floor. Raven couldn't see and was too consumed by pain to really know what was going on. Her head rolled back and she fell unconscious.

I awoke with tears running down my cheeks. I hurriedly wiped them away and looked at the crow. "Why am I here?" I asked, somehow knowing the bird wasn't going to answer me. As I had assumed, it just coked its head to the side and stared at me with it's brown eyes. My brown eyes. Our brown eyes. Getting up, I stumbled toward the bedroom. Reaching the bureau, I opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a shoe box. Pulling out my face paints, I looked in the mirror as I carefully applied it to my cheeks. I circled my eyes with heavy and thick black eyeliner and trailed it down my cheeks. Applying my black lipstick, my hand worked with a mind of it's own as I drew messy black lines at the corners of my mouth. I turned away from the mirror and looked at the crow, perched on the bedpost.

"How do I look?" I asked. The crow flapped it's wings as if in appreciation and cawed, before pecking at the bedpost. "Good…" I murmured, getting up and going to the closet.

Minutes later, I stood there, dressed in black leather pants, a black leather vest, fishnet gloves, black motorcycle boots and a long black leather trench coat. The crow alighted from the bedpost to land on my shoulder. It cawed softly at me. I nodded and walked out the door.

As I exited the house, the crow took off from my shoulder and flew east. I knew that I must follow. The people who did this to me must pay… I thought. And pay they will. They will regret the day they murdered Raven Cuervo.