The fence gate opened onto a crowded lawn, policemen and medical examiners swarming all around; the streets weren't any better, reporters and news vans were placed all around the house–each one with the slogan of a murderous mutants out there.
A young woman stood in the walkway of the gate, a small frown upon other heavenly features. She shifted her blond, blue streaked hair out of the hat she was wearing–all of it really was a bother. She gazed down on the rotting body, abandoned on the blood soaked grass; her eyes glanced up and stared at the neighbor, her frown seeming to grow deeper.
She returned to the main sidewalk and followed along to the neighbor's house; in a swift motion she was kicking the door down and striding in. Her eyes surveyed the scene that surrounded her, cold gaze analyzing the entire room.
"What the fuck did you do?" An elderly man shouted, coming down the stairs.
She ignored him as she approached the center of the living room and–sliding a glove over her hand–she swiped her finger along the hard wood under the chair. Crusty, as she'd expected. Ha. She knew what it was, and she knew exactly how it got there.
"Bitch, I'm talking to you."
Again, she ignored him and grabbed the chair that lay atop the spot she was examining. Their eyes made contact as she pulled the chair to the wall, as if it weighted nothing. She watched the grown man's jaw clench in fury, but brushed it off as she strode past him. Her gloved hands travelled across the wall of the stairwell as she made her way to the second floor, stopping to stare at the door, which obviously led to a room.
She pressed her hand against it, pushing it open slightly; her gaze examined the room as she noticed something on the ground. She bent down, lifting it with the gloved hand, and staring at the photo on the school ID that she had picked up.
Ryden Lang, it read.
She pulled out a small plastic bag, sliding the ID card in it, as she left the room and traveled down the stairs of the awful house. When she hit the bottom of the stairs, the elderly man was yelling at a policeman about how incompetent they were with dealing with 'useless detectives'. She ignored him once more and approached the cop, saying nothing as she tapped the cuffs hanging from his belt and left the house.
She rolled her shoulders back and forth, removing a lollipop from her pocket and sliding it into her mouth as she gazed down once more at the body from the drive way. Her stare fell upon the police and medical examiners scattered throughout the lawn, her mind moving them into position and her eyes falling onto the dirt next to fence. Her gaze wandered over the foot impressions as her frown softened a bit.
She walked around the fence once more and crouched over the body, eyes sliding over the body first before reaching the head. The policemen and medical examiners watched her silently, confused as to the role that she should be playing in all of this. Her gloved hand traveled along the blood trails on the head; she pinched the chin, shifting the head to look at her for the sole purpose of her examining his eyes. She stayed like that for moments, the medical examiner wanted to say something but didn't for the weird feeling that he was receiving from her.
She released the head and turned to leave, as she had another destination to be in. A car stopped in front of the house and she opened the door to the back, getting in with an exasperated sigh. The car eventually stopped in front of the Sentinel Services' Headquarters, but instead of making a move to leave the car she stared at the building's front doors.
She notice the driver release of impatience, causing her to roll her eyes and exit the car, with a last wave of the middle finger before fully closing the door.
Once again, she was left staring the building in front of her. As her frown turned into a pout, she slowly walked to enter the building. Her body tensing at the uncomfortability that she always seemed to feel in this building, but she was on a mission so she would save all that baggage for later.
She sighed in relief, seeing the office of the man that she had to speak to. Tap. Tap. Tap. His eyes looked up to meet hers, confusion seemingly to overtake his entire gaze. "Can I help you?"
She strode in, completely ignoring his question, and taking a seat in the chair across from him. "Have you ever heard of the story of Jamison Crowe or better yet The Scarlett Crow?" Her melodic voice rang out, causing the man to raise an eyebrow at her.
He opened his mouth to say something, still confused as to who this woman was, when she tossed her badge onto his desk. "Well, the story goes like this: a child was born back in the times of legend and lore, with beautiful blue-silver eyes. However, almost like a spell–or perhaps a curse–the child lost his sight. And as such of the ways of his people, he was to be offered as a sacrifice for the deity of his people."
She picked up his coffee cup and took a long drink, her eyes never quite leaving his. "According to a diary from an ancestor of mine, though, the gods did not want the child to be sacrificed and so each god gave the child a gift: a power, per say." She explained, clearly intent in finishing her anecdote, whether he wanted so or not.
"The last god–whom the child was supposed to be sacrificed to–gave him a special gift; a gift of sight. But this sight was different; this is his only commonly known ability right now. With this ability he borrowed the sight of other people, or his will possessed their sight, or–terrifyingly so–if their eyes met his, he could completely take over their minds."
"Spooky." She muttered, stretching her legs across the other chair. "And so Jamison Crowe became The Vessel of his people; that is until the Europeans decided to explore the sea and found this special land untouched by time; hell broke loose when their feet hit the ground. Basically, Jamison was brought to Salem as a harlot for the men that wanted to experiment, ya know? Then he tried to show them what he was capable of, and he was sent to be burnt at the stake. When the torch hit the ground, and the fire consumed poor Jamison, The Scarlett Crow was created. Long story short, Jamison Crowe cast aside his humanity to become a very murderous and blood thirsty serial killer; he almost ended up eradicating Salem."
"Now," she said waving off imaginary smoke, "It was believed that he was going to live forever, but alas, he died. Such a poetic death, too." She muttered the last part, looking out the window behind the man in front of her. "His daughter, who was known as The Dragon, ripped his heart from his chest and ate it."
The young woman continued to stare at the man, who was absolutely drowning in confusion. "Okay, so why are you telling me all of this?"
She pulled the plastic bag with the ID and tossed it in front of him, "Because another Crowe was born."
His eyes stared at the picture on the ID and, almost as if a lightbulb when off in his head, he looked at the pictures taken from the gas station and the school parking lot. He looked back at the woman with a look of both fear and confusion, "What does this mean?"
She arched her eyebrow at him, and a cruel smiled slid over her features, as she stood up.
"It means that we better pray he doesn't learn about his powers."
•••
A frown was placed upon a young angel's features as she watched the young male, who just committed a grave sin, sleep. Her hand slid out and briefly touched his face, "No wonder he likes you."
She pulled away and returned her sight to the rising sun; the twisted humor that seemed to always reside in her eyes was no longer there–now it was as if her eyes contained the foreboding for a tragedy.
Do you really want to play a game with the boy?
Her eyes looked to a tree that was both still in the night but also in the day, and upon the largest branch sat a crow. Its red eyes contained such overwhelming wisdom, it caused the girl's hand to shake at just a glance. "I had to." She whispered, her lip shaking as she glared at the bird.
Did you?
"Yes."
You're scared...Of me? Or the true potential of the boy?
"Wha -"
That boy has such a dangerous future, and yet you still want to play with his fate. It's almost as if you want him to surpass you.
The bird released a noise so loud, it almost seemed like it was cackling at her. "He will never surpass me. I am the Dragon, no being can surpass me!" The bird cocked its head at the girl's outburst.
You are no dragon, you are simply a crow–as is that boy you sent away. Ah, you do realize where you sent that boy, right? Or were you too focused on trying to escape?
The girl's hands flew to her mouth as tears filled her eyes, and her body began to tremble with the realization. "You wouldn't dare, Jamison!" Her hand–outstretched to the crow–shook frantically as she stared at the it; she could only watch it smile at her in such a wicked way.
I thought the same thing of you, daughter. Like you said...Game on.
The night faded as the sun kept creeping to encompass the compound; the bird faded to shadows as the light hit its beautiful wings. The girl just stared, trembling, at the tree. She took a sharp inhale as she fell back onto the roof, a noise to her side bringing her back to reality.
She cocked her head to stare at the boy sleeping next to her, "Wake up." She commanded.
His eyes flew open to meet her dark ones; a silver circle appeared in her iris as her pupil slit. Andy's eyes became a reflection of her own,
"Forget the boy you hold closest to your heart." And with that she launched back onto her two feet; with one last peak at the boy, she smirked before launching off the compound, into the forest that surrounded it.
Ryden's P.O.V.
My eyes open slowly to see the night sky, a smile gracing my lips as I cock my head to look at Andy. But where Andy should be is only the night sky, I sit up and look to my other side; again the night sky. A yelp escapes from my lips as I spin around and stare at the night sky; my arms fall to my side as I form a small circle.
"Eternal night." I whisper, falling onto my knees. "I just want to see Andy." I whisper once more, and almost as if the stars were listening to my command, they began to circle and form a mirror that had a sleeping Andy in it. But that Dragon Bitch also lay across from Andy. 'Forget the boy you hold closest to your heart'.
"Huh?" Was all I could muster as I watched Andy forget me.
"A-Andy." I sobbed out, my hands touching the mirror in front of me.
Ryden.
Sobs continued to rack through me, as I mourned over the loss of the memory that the love of my life held for me.
Ryden. You're stronger than this.
My head snapped up, the disembodied voice seeming to relax me and give me a weird sense of confidence. "B-But how can I-I be when h-he forgot about-t me?"
We've all lost one close to our hearts one way or another, but our blood is different and you know that. You can make him remember you again, Ryden; you're a Crowe.
"I-I don't understand." A gust of air hit my face, causing me to fall backwards. My eyes looked up to see a giant Crow with beady, red eyes staring down at me.
You are one of mine, child, and with every new generation, we grow stronger. You, unfortunately, will be the last of us. But as such, the crow's head seemed to come closer to my face, you're the strongest of the Crowe bloodline. Now, you need to break the barriers that keep you in my world; shatter everything that keeps you here and...escape. Go to the one you love. Just remember that the dragon is just a crow hidden in fire.
My lips parted slightly as tears fell down my face, and the crow seemed to smile as it once again became part of the shadows. I peeked over my shoulder to stare at Andy on the roof–mine.
My fist slammed against the mirror, shattering it and sending the stars back to their homes. However...I was still stuck in this world of eternal night. I slammed my hands down on the non-existent surface below me, as a scream rampaged throughout my body.
A shaky breath escaped my body, my eyes coming to rest on a single spot in this endless night. I could feel my eyes begin to glow, tears stampeding down my face. "Help me, Crowe!"
As the words escaped my mouth, the giant crow formed in front of me and then changed into a human form. My mouth hung only loosely as I stared at my own face; the eyes were such a pale silver that it made them haunting. "Do you know the cost that the gods will take if I help you?"
A tear slid down my cheek and, as I internally accepted the cost of his help, my hands came to rest upon his cheeks. "I do."
A tear slid down his own as he let out a small laugh, "And are you okay with losing it?"
"Yes." The ghostly words escaped my mouth.
"Then, forgive me." He whispered as he pushed his lips against mine–it was weird at first but it only took a moment before I began breathing in his essence. His powers were soon filling my totality, his mind was joining mine. He smiled against my lips, "This is my first time kissing a boy."
A quiet laugh rolled off my tongue as I pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Goodbye Jamie." I whispered as he collapsed against me and became stars once again; my eyes returned to that single spot. A tear traveled down my cheek as I felt godly hands reach around me and cover my eyes.
"Shatter." With that word, the hands pulled back, traveling through my body; taking both my sight and my tears with them.