* Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own The Crow or its characters (i.e. Eric Draven) or anything else associated with it. James O'Barr and the nice people at Miramax do. The only thing I own here are any and all new characters and the plot. *

*insert random words* = internal monologue

[Insert random words] = the raven's thoughts/voice

insert random words = memories

Chapter 2:

Boy Meets Dead Girl

"I wish they'd shut that damn club down!" Nathan muttered to himself and scowled at the floor, "Don't they have any respect? People have to work in the morning!"

He sat up and reached for the phone. He wasn't going to call down to the club complaining, he knew that was pointless, and the police in this part of town were worthless. Hell, half of the force was probably down there partying with the drug lords anyways. Instead he called his best friend, but after three rings the answering machine, rather then Daryl, picked up.

"This is a machine that picks up telepathic brain waves. Think about your name, number, and message and I'll think about calling you back." Ok so Daryl Walker wasn't among the more creative people in the world.

"Damn it!" Nathan grumbled slamming the receiver down. He rolled onto his back again and looked up at the ceiling, willing for the pulsing beat surging from below to stop. But apparently, they listened to telepathic pleas to shut up as well as vocalized.

After a moment of listening to the pounding of the band's bass, Nathan Gallagher pulled his six-foot frame out of bed. Muttering to himself he pulled on a pair of jeans and a black tee shirt and headed for the door, grabbing his jacket on the way out the door.

As the brunette passed apartment 304 he paused and frowned. The bright yellow crime scene tape that usually blocked off the doorway was torn down. As a matter of fact, it was completely gone. Shaking his head, he continued on lost in thought. Maybe they had finally found someone to rent the place. Probably somebody from out of town. They'd have to be from out of town, who ever rented that apartment. There were few people who were willing to live in a place where such a brutal murder took place. Near the top of the stairs, Nathan paused again to scan the collection of photos that covered the stair well. They were pictures of the various bands that had played at the club while it was still in its glory days, before it had become the center of one of the biggest drug circles in the city.

"What a pity," he thought shaking his head. He ran his hand over the signed photo of the three young girls that formed a band known as the White Demons. "They would've gone far."

Pulling himself from his musings, he turned to continue on and collided with another body.

"I'm so sorry," he said embarrassed as the girl jerked away from him. She dropped her head down and shook it as if in pain.

"Hey are you alright?" Nathan asked reaching out for her.

"Fine," her soft voice answered as she pulled further away from him. It wasn't until the woman glanced up that he realized how beautiful she really was, or would've been had she not been wearing a painted mask of a harlequin. She was a couple inches shorter then he and wore tight black jeans and a black, mid-drift with a floor length, black leather, duster jacket. Her wet jet-black hair hung limp in three ponytails against her painted face. In the middle of her forehead a single black diamond glinted dimly in the poorly lit hall.

"I'm sorry, I'm such a bonehead" he continued to apologize.

"It's alright" she finally acknowledged him fully, "No harm done" She smiled slightly making her makeup look almost sinister before breezing by him and continuing down the hall. She paused at apartment and glanced over at him one last time. Smiling, she headed into the abandoned apartment. With a frown creasing his brow, Nathan continued on his way. He couldn't help shake the feeling that he had seen her before.

Once outside in the cold air, the night's tears chilled him to the bone. He took a quick glance around, turned up his coat collar and headed off towards Brian's, his favorite hang out.

"What a weird night" he thought sloshing through the runoff.

"Hey! Look at what the cat dragged in!" Brain exclaimed when he saw his friend approach the counter of the quaint little restaurant, "could you have least left Lake Erie outside?" The little man's face twisted into a teasing frown. Nathan smiled.

"Some one up there ain't happy" he replied taking a seat.

"The usual?" Brian asked.

"Yep"

"Alright one hot dog, heavy on the onions."

Nathan laughed and settled in.

Just as Brain was handing Nathan his food, an extremely loud explosion shook the tiny restaurant.

"What in the blue hell was that?" Brian demanded. Nathan shook has head.

"I dunno, but I'm about to find out." Nathan took off out the door to see that the night sky was ablaze. The pawnshop on the corner was an inferno.

"What the hell?" Nathan murmured as another, smaller, explosion rocked the already damaged building. As he watched in amazement, a figure emerged from the inferno holding what looked to be a shotgun aimed at the sky in the right hand and a guitar in the left. As the silhouette moved it became clearer. It was a woman wearing a leather duster. And her hair was pulled back in three pony tails. She seemed to have seen him and was heading his way, a huge smile plastered on her face and a raven sitting on her left shoulder. Nathan gapped at the girl in astonishment as she moved closer to him.

"I can't believe this," Nathan murmured, "It can't be her!" Police sirens made the presence known somewhere in the distance. The woman paused and glanced in the direction of the shrill scream then darted off the in the other direction just as a final explosion rocked the ground. Dumbfounded, Nathan watched as the girl disappeared into the darkness.

~*~

Nathan stood before apartment 304 mulling over the night's events. According to the police, nobody should've been living in the apartment; it was still considered a crime scene a year after the ghastly murder. Yet, Nathan was sure of what he had seen. He had stood just a few feet away and had watched the black haired girl go into that particular apartment. The police had looked at him oddly when he had told them where he had first seen the woman, but they nevertheless took down his description of her. Nathan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had lied to the police when he had given them her description. Why he had, he wasn't quite sure. But something poked at him from the back of his mind. Something deep down told him the keep them off her trail until she had done what she had come here to do.

"I wonder," Nathan murmured aloud as he stood starring at the golden numbers attached to the door of 304. Curiosity pushed him forward and he slowly pushed open the warped door and entered the apartment. To his amazement the apartment was spotless.

"This can't be" he muttered wandering further into the room. "This place should be trashed" A tattered and torn couch was set against the opposite wall. A TV and a few cabinets stood against the wall to his left and to his right sat shelves lined with various broken and whole fantasy figurines. The two doors to the left were closed tightly, bullet holes and blood still evident on the wood. To the right stood the entry way to the kitchen and the woman with three pony tails. Nathan's heart raced at the sight of her.

"I could never stand a messy home," the slender figure said as she emerged from the shadows of the kitchen.

"W—who are you?" Nathan stammered backing away.

"The better question would be, who are you and what are you doin' in my home?" the woman asked folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the wall.

"I…was…just…wait! Your home? The police told me no one lived here anymore."

"Since when do the police in this shit hole of a city know anything?" she asked nonchalantly, "this is my home, or at least, it use to be." The woman gazed around, her painted face emphasizing the slight downturn of her mouth.

"But how? The last person to own it was murdered a year ago. This place is still considered a crime scene."

"Crime scene eh?" she snorted, "Yeah it was a crime scene alright and they did a damn good job of destroying the place for me." Nathan just stood and stared in amazement. She picked up the head of a crystal wizard and starred at it wistfully.

"They broke everything. Most of it was worth more then their lives," she muttered throwing it aside.

"I still don't understand," Nathan murmured.

"Join the club cuz neither do I," she replied going to the window and looking out at the tired old city. He continued to watch her, torn between amazement and pity. Whatever it was this girl was put through, it was bad. She glanced up at him then dropped her eyes sighing.

"The night we died," she began, "all I could feel was the pain." She paused a moment as if contemplating something before continuing. "And the fear. I remember I kept asking where Phoenix and Lila where. But he wouldn't answer me." Nathan moved closer to where she stood, watching as she spoke. Her eyes were trained on the floor, but he could see the tears that stung her eyes, begging to be let loose.

"I don't understand," Nathan repeated quietly, "if you died then how come you're here?" She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"Listen, I don't understand this any more then you do OK?" she replied getting a bit frustrated, "But the point of the matter is that I'm back and those sonsofabitches will pay for what they did." Nathan shook his head. He was having a heard time swallowing what she was saying and it was obvious.

"You don't believe I'm dead do you?" she asked with a small smile. He shook his head dumbly.

"That's ok, cuz I didn't believe it at first either." She disappeared into the kitchen and returned a second later with a steak knife in her hand.

"But I am dead. You want me to prove it to ya?" she asked turning the blade on her self.

"Wait! No!" Nathan yelled. But before he could get to her she drove the silver blade into her liver up to the hilt. She grimaced as pain surged through her body but stayed on her feet. Pulling the knife from her small frame, she held it out to Nathan as evidence of her immortality. Nathan stood in shock but much to his amazement and horror her wound began closing in on its self. The blood congealed and oozed back into the gaping hole.

"H-how?" he stammered. But before she could answer a raven swooped into the room and landed on a shelf high in the corner.

The girl jerked her head toward the creature and just stared. Suddenly the girl put her fingers to her temples and squeezed her eyes shut. Through the birds distorted view she saw her first victim. The dirt bag was walking down the middle of an empty street in a drunken stupor.

[Come, we must go]

The girl nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Nathan, said grabbing her arm. She quickly shook his hand away and waited for the scenes that shoot through her mind to subside.

"Where are you goin'?" he asked still somewhat dazed.

"I have some unfinished business to attend to" she returned looking up at the bird.

"Who are you?"

"You know the answer to that question already so why ask it again? Though come to think of it, I never got your name."

"Nathan," he replied, "Nathan Gallagher."

"Nathan Gallagher," she said with a small smile, "Well if I were you Mr. Gallagher, I wouldn't be caught coming in here. Or leaving here for that matter. It may cause some unwanted trouble."

"What do you mean? Unwanted trouble?" She didn't reply but rather retrieved her skateboard from beside the TV.

"Fine, don't answer that. But at least tell me this, why did you blow up the pawnshop?"

"I had my reasons," she said after a moment, "now I suggest you leave."

"No."

"Fine, suit yourself. If you get hungry, there's fresh food in the kitchen." With that she left, leaving him standing alone in a dead woman's apartment more confused then he had ever been in his whole life.

"Which way?" she asked her feathered friend once she outside the apartment complex.

[This way. Come]

~*~