The Crow: Retribution
By THE Xenomorph (aka Xenomorph666)
The Crow is © James O'Barr
Garou and all other W.o.D. related articles are © White Wolf Publishing
All other Characters are © me and their Real life counterparts
Hunters and Skull Cowboys
I had ignored my guide's little worry. It wasn't my place to worry about that anyway, my worries were of those who had killed me and my friends. It was raining now as the bird and I found a shelter. I began sifting through all of the papers soaking in all I could about these killers. She had surprisingly detailed information about them. All of them reigning from different "tribes" as the paper described it, all of them exceedingly deadly.
I was drawn first to the twins, I almost wanted to grant the woman her wish, but it was my vengeance, not hers. And I wanted to work my way up the food chain, to bad according to this they were their bosses' fetish. My first target was one Fredrick McCain, the red haired one, he was a well known serial murder who had never been caught, he was known as the "New Nightmare" because his victims were always shredded, and gee I wonder why?
Thankfully for me the guy was also a drunk, and I mean drunk. When I had tracked him, partly in thanks to the bird, he was busy downing twelve bottles of hard whiskey and he must have broken a previous record because when he was finished the bartender and the bar groupies were all cheering. I was just smiling through the portal like skylight. Too easy.
After he left the bar he started down the street, he was definitely wasted as he walked from side to side and wobbled. I followed him over the roof tops; I was not going to let him catch my scent. As I followed him though I noticed a young hoodlum with a rather determined look on his face follow my target. It was all to clear what his purpose was, he wanted Fredrick McCaine dead.
It appeared that I had some competition now, however brief it would be. I took a leaping dive off the roof and into an alley ahead of them and let Freddy-Boy pass, when the hoodlum came by I yanked him into the alley.
"He's mine." I hissed as I tossed the young man to the ground.
"What the hell!" The young boy looked up and shouted. "LEECH!
"Leech?" I asked. A split second later a flaming crossbow bolt was protruding from my chest. "You mean vampire." I pulled the bolt out and turned to its owner, but there were three.
Three men dressed in trench coats carrying large swords on their backs. One was wearing a black trench coat that almost matched his skin, his sword drawn and ready. The other two were white, typical Aryan white guy with ponytails and an anger problem. Only one held a crossbow and another flaming bolt was loaded.
"What the hell are you supposed to be?" The crossbow wielder asked.
"Me?" I laughed. "I'm just your average walking corpse…" I didn't finish as the other bolt was in my chest. "Jeez, man…" I pulled it out like the last one. "You got anger problems, you know that right?"
"Only when it comes to vamps and wolves." The black guy spoke.
"Well when I see one I'll let you know, but for now this walking case of corpse-ful vengeance would like to rip the werewolf's head off!" I said with a little more exaggeration than I had meant to.
"Corpse-ful vengeance?" The last spoke and pushed his friend's crossbow down. "What would bring a corpse from the dead to seek vengeance?"
As if to answer his question the bird landed on my shoulder.
"How about him?" I pointed to the bird and the men soon backed away in fear. "What you're afraid of the bird?"
"No kid, they're terrified of me." I spun to see a decaying cowboy who was looking at the guys. "Boo!" The men and their little errand boy all ran in fear.
"Jeez, I was just getting to like those guys too." I sighed.
"Trust me, you'll learn to loathe them soon enough." The Cowboy said. "Call me Skull Cowboy."
"Ok, you're Skull Cowboy, and I'm going to kill the werewolf." I pointed to alley's exit.
"Kid, you got more on your plate than most you know that right?" Skull Cowboy asked.
"Let me guess, the bird's right." I smiled.
"You don't seem troubled by that." Skull Cowboy said.
"I don't think much could trouble me right now." I sighed, "But just for kicks when the shock of this whole situation wears off and I'm left hunting other people's problems; how do I get back to Mitch and Alisha?"
"Simple answer is you don't not until the powers that be say you can." Skull Cowboy sighed and sat down as several rats escaped his side. "Long and complicated answer: You wait until the right moment which will probably only present itself at the end of time and end it all."
"Wow…" I blink. "That is complex and long."
"Did I mention you have vampires, hunters and a few evil werewolves hunting for you?" Skull Cowboy smiled.
"That could have been useful earlier." I shouted.
"Just keep in mind the crazy one is the only one you can trust." Skull Cowboy nodded his head and vanished into the shadows. "Oh and my boss is cursing up a storm because you're delaying his favorite show with this whole ordeal."
"Well you can tell your boss he can kiss my pale dead ass!" I shouted at the fading Cowboy.
A gun cocked behind me after that. I spun to see two of the ugliest bastards I had ever seen, this is including the ugly bastards that had killed me mind you, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"So I'm guessing your parent's are a pair of Mack Trucks?" I giggled.
"Hands up punk." The left ugly one spoke, he wasn't particularly amused by my joke.
"Or what?" I asked right before a bullet made its way through my skull. "Ok, that's getting to be an old joke right about now. First flaming crossbow bolts and now bullets…"
"I said hands up." He growled again.
"And I say: get the fuck out of my way." I snapped my head back up, the bullet hole healed completely. "Or prepare to get hit with the ugly stick… again."
"I'm so going to enjoy this." The other ugly came dashing up to me at an insane speed, but my arm flew out at a matching speed and knocked him into a wall.
"What do you know?" I admired my hand. "Didn't even break a bone." I heard the ugly guy adjust a shattered jaw. "Well of mine anyway."
A sudden shriek from the other one alerted me to a giant sword poking through its chest which vanished as the ugly guy vanished into ash. The person who had stabbed him was my Freddy-Boy and he was smiling like a maniac as he tore into the other one. When he was done he stood up and gave a crazy little laugh.
"Thanks fer sendin' them hunters me way." He said drunkenly.
"Awwww, did you hurt those guys." I whined. "You know I kinda liked'em, you know except for the whole mistaking me for a vampire part."
"So whut tribe you of, whut gripe you got wit me?" He turned to me, jaundiced diseased eyes. I remembered those eyes clearly.
We stood there for a few seconds before the bird landed on my shoulder. Then he laughed once more. "What's so funny?" I asked.
"You Corax?" He asked drunkenly. "I swear you guys come at the weirdest damn times."
"You mean you don't remember me?" I asked.
"Should I?" He asked as he sat on a turned over crate.
"One year ago…" I let the idea linger.
"Nothing." He grunted.
"Mitsu's Resturant…" I let the idea linger a little longer.
"Nope…" He looks a little worried. "Last year's been pretty much a blank since…" He recognizedme.
"Hi." I gave him my most psychotic smile.
"This ain't possible…" He stuttered. "Not even them leeches can bring the dead back like this."
"No, but magically inclined birdies can!" I chirp happily as the bird flies off my shoulder.
"I'll rip you to pieces!" He begins to change his form.
"Really! That's and old trick! I want something new!" I shouted as I delivered a jaw shattering kick to his protruding face. He snapped back up, a dazed look of confusion on his face.
"How'd…" He stumbles. "Not possible!" He broke for the alley's entrance.
I took a running kick at his back side, it sent him to the ground where I picked him up and tossed him into a wall, it shattered and he fell through into another bar, completely transformed. I could have sworn it was identical to the St. George too. It even had its own group of werewolves to great me.
"What the hell!" A large brown werewolf cursed as he transformed. "Are you fucking retarded or something?"
"Apparently." I said as I blinked and then ran for what I could consider my unlife, with a at least fifteen to twenty werewolves chasing me over the rooftops and through the alleys of my lovely home city.