The Crow: Final Judgement

by Nightstrike90

Tommy was the happiest man in the world. He had a fiancée whom he loved with all his heart and would die for without thinking about it. When he woke up floating down The Canadian River, he had no memory of what happened. All he knew was that he was dead, and someone was going to pay.

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A HUGE FAN OF THE CROW SO PLEASE ENJOY MY TAKE ON THE STORY! AS ALWAYS, I OWN NEITHER THE CROW NOR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT! ENJOY!

The first thing I felt as I awoke was an overwhelming sense of sorrow and dread. I began to pull myself out of the Canadian River, fighting the current long enough to reach the shore. As I drug my body up the sand and dirt-covered shore, looked back at the water confused. "What the fuck is going on?" I thought to myself as I got to my feet and began looking around at my surroundings. I was in the middle of the wilderness still in my clothes, not far from the spot where my uncle and I use to go fishing when I was a kid. I attempted to start walking but was immediately forced back to the ground as the flashes of memory began to hit me again and again. I saw myself with my fiancée Alexis as we walked through the cemetery we usually frequented. Neither of us had ever really feared death but rather had always found it beautiful and peaceful. We walked to our favorite grave, a couple who had been married 60 years and died on the same day in 1986, and held each other as we looked at the grave. "Will you love me for 60 years?" She asked coyly as she looked up at me. "Only 60?" I said back to her as I kissed her beautiful lips.

I screamed and cried in anger as the memory faded from my mind, allowing my body to release from its contortion and freeing my muscles to move again. I looked around for a moment, still crying when finally I noticed him. Sat on a hollowed-out water-soaked log was an abnormally large crow staring at me. I recognized him almost right away, this was the same crow that had followed me for years, always sitting outside my home or workplace waiting for me. I had taken to leaving him food and he to leaving me small little "Gifts" as I called them. Coins, pieces of glass, metal fragments, anything that caught his eyes with shine would be left in the same spot as his food had been, but what was he doing here I wondered. "Tommy," I heard a voice say as I looked around terrified. "Who- Who's there? Who said that?" I asked as I shivered from cold and fright, seeing no one. "I did," The voice said again as my eyes fearfully fell on this crow. "Yes, me," It said again without moving its beak. I immediately dropped to the ground in fear and began trying to get back but I stopped as I felt a pair of cowboy boots in my hands behind me. I slowly turned to see a man clad in a long rawhide duster, western-style clothing, a red bandana tied to his neck, and very old-looking boots standing above me looking down. "Easy kid," The figure said as he extended a skeleton hand to help me up. I stared at his hand for a moment before finally taking it and allowing him to help me up. "Wh- Who are you?" I asked terrified as I slowly turned and looked at the crow again and then looked back. "A friend to some, an enemy to others," The figure said as he lowered his hand back to his side. "What's going on? Where am I?" I asked still scared and shivering. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news kid, but you're dead," The figure said as he lit a cigarette. As the fire illuminated his face, I could see his face had absolutely no skin but was completely skeleton. "What the hell are you?" I asked confused as he threw his match into the river. "I'm a messenger, sort of a guide to lost souls," He said nonchalantly as he took a drag and blew the smoke in my face. I coughed slightly as it took off guard and looked at him again. "I can't be dead, I'm still here," I said confused as I looked around to the forest and river. "Hey, I'm not here to convince you kid, I'm here to offer you a deal," He said. Seconds later the crow flew past me and landed on the shoulder of the figure, staring at me. "Wh- What deal?" I asked as I slightly cowered from his gaze. The figure took a long drag off his cigarette and threw it in the river, then spoke. "It doesn't happen very often but every once in a while, a soul like yours has been so wronged that you deserve revenge," The figure said.

I noticed his eyes beginning to glow a strange white color as he talked, "These crows are my messengers, they call to me when a soul is ready to depart, but apparently this one," He said motioning to the one on his shoulder, "Likes you. He says you've been good to him for a long time and he won't let you die so cruelly without retribution," He said chuckling slightly. "Wha- What are you talking about?" I said confused, starting to grow a little less afraid. "How did I die?" I asked looking down at my bullet-ridden chest. "What! What the fuck!" I said hysterically as the wounds began to heal themselves. "What the fuck happened to me, man!" I screamed hysterically as they healed completely. "Can't tell you," The figure said as he lit another cigarette and started walking toward a nearby horse, the crow departing him and landing on my shoulder. "That's up to you to find out," He said, getting on the animal. "Wait, where are you going?" I asked confused as he took the reigns in his skeletal hands. "I've got more souls than you to ferry to the other side kid," He said turning the horse and lightly spurring it. "You've got 12 hours to make things right. After that, time is up," He said as he departed. The figure continued a little farther, but suddenly stopped and turned his head back to me. "One more thing, don't concern yourself with the problems of the living. Do not interfere with them, only those who wronged you," He said very sternly. "What happens if I do?" I asked confused. "Someone else asked me that 27 years ago, you don't want the answer," He said as he continued. "Wait! Where do I go!" I yelled as I started walking toward him. "12 hours! Get to it kid," He said as he disappeared into nothingness.

I stared into the black night as he faded and simply dropped to my knees. "This can't be happening!" I yelled as I punched the ground over and over, feeling nothing. I looked at my shattered bleeding knuckles and watched them heal. "I'm sorry Tommy, but it is," The crow said from my shoulder. "But why? What did I do to deserve this?" I asked as I looked at it. "Nothing, that just the way it goes," It said back. "Why did you bring me back?" I asked slightly mad as I stood up and began walking. "Because you are a good person and what happened to you wasn't right," It said still looking at me. "I don't even know what happened to me!" I said loudly. "We'll get to that, first you need to prepare yourself," It said as it prepared itself to fly. "And how do you suggest I do that?" I asked annoyed, wondering what it was doing. "Just let me do the driving for now kid, now hold on and don't look down," It said as it took off into the air. I watched him for a second before I felt myself absorb into him. I was immediately filled with the sensation I was flying and I could see more clearly than I ever had before. "Is this what it's like for you all the time?" I asked telepathically as we flew. "Yup, It's not all roses though kid, but you'll find out for yourself," It said back. As we flew I tried my best to remember what the fuck happened to me but I couldn't. All I knew was that something had happened to me, I was dead. I could only hope that my dearest Alexis was still alive, if nothing else, that would be enough.