The Crow-A Second Chance

Chapter Two

Had Sarah gone to the cemetery some minutes earlier, she would have seen her friend Eric and a figure that resembled a cowboy but if he had been through hell and back. Instead, she was met by the crow, flying from the darkness and perched itself upon Eric's tombstone. In its beak; was Shelly's ring. Top Dollar had taken it from her in the church and had lost it during the duel between him and Eric on the rooftop. The bird dropped it in her palm. "Thanks." The girl smiled, holding the ring preciously in her hand.

Giving her one last look, the crow took off and flew over her head, back into the cover of night. Had she looked closer, perhaps she might have seen the bird fly over to a dark figure huddle between a small group of trees, watching. Maybe if she looked back during those times when she felt like she wasn't alone, (but not scared,) on her walk back to her home, she might have caught sight of a silent shadow following her. If she had looked up at the bleak night sky, she would have seen a large crow flying above her, all the way home.

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By the time she woke up, Darla was up; busying herself at the stove, the smell of eggs and bacon filled the air. The sight of Darla-no, her mom, making breakfast for the two of them was a picture that the young girl was not familiar with. At least never with her own mother. There were times in the past when she had stayed over with Shelly and Eric in their apartment. Tears stung her eyes at the thought of those memories; waking up to a plate full of warm food, the smelling of burning as Sarah learned to cook, (Which at first often ended with the smoke detectors going off.) the food fights, the feeling peace within herself. The feeling of what a normal life might have been like for her, a life with a family that cared and love her. The two had been like parents towards her, Shelly like a mother teaching her how to cook basic recipes, cleaning up cuts and scraps she gained from skateboarding. (Well, most of them were from practicing.....) Fussing over her to make sure she ate enough and insisting on that the young girl went to school.

Eric would walk her home, making sure she was safe until she reached the door. Sometimes he teach her to play on his guitar. When she would mess up a chord or had difficulty remembering what position her fingers were supposed to be in, staying ever patient, he would slowly show how it was done until she got it right.

She recalled the times when Eric would be performing at some of the local clubs, he would invite her to watch with Shelly backstage as he and his band played. She would also sometimes be allowed to watch them rehearse, Eric had introduced her to his fellow band mates; all of them would watch out for her and even occasionally be allowed to perhaps play on the drums or Eric's guitar. During all those times, Sarah had felt like she finally belonged somewhere, that there were people out there in the world that showed and taught her even though the world could be a dark and cruel place that had no room for love and kindness, where you had fight to keep your place in the world of horrors, there was always a light somewhere within it. Like being lost at sea, somewhere there would be a lighthouse to keep the sailors safe from crashing into rocks. To guide them to safety. That what Eric and Shelly were to her; a lighthouse. Guiding her through the darkness and lighting a path where no rocks lay. But then, the light had gone out, leaving her lost in the storm, no one to lead her to safety.

And just then, just for a moment, after a year had passed; the light had been rekindled. It had only been for a couple days, yet to Sarah it had felt like a lifetime. She knew he would not stay forever; he had told he couldn't be her friend anymore. The beckon's light was short-lived, yet it had given her a new sense of courage and hope. She once again saw the world has she use to when she was around Eric and Shelly. Not entirely, but now, after all that had passed; the world didn't look so dark anymore.

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The gunshot wound Albrecht had suffered was luckily not fatal the doctors had said. "A narrow escape," She was told by a nurse. "Any closer to the heart and....." She gave a weak smile. "With plenty of bed rest, he'll be up in no time." She knew the lady, Lisa; her name tag read, was trying to be positive, but when adults addressed her like a young child, it made her feel small and belittled. Like she didn't understand what was going on. She had seen enough things kids her wouldn't know half about, she didn't need Lisa to hide the nitty gritty details. She planned on visiting him everyday whenever she could til he was discharged. "I'll bring you hot dogs." She told him. That had made the police officer smile.

Sarah wasn't sure why she went there, old habits maybe. For a year she had dealt with the loss of her friends, a year for the habit of taking short cuts that would lead to the apartment complex to die away. The pain she felt whenever she had to pass the derelict building had lessened, but never fully disappeared. Now it felt like an old scar being reopened. The memories and emotions of the past couple days washed over her like a tidal wave. Part of her wanted to run in, climb the stairs all the way to the sixtieth floor go into the apartment. Part of her desperately wanted find Eric in there, waiting for her. Or for the whole thing to be a terrible nightmare and find both Eric and Shelly there as normal. Like a bad dream....

But she knew that was just a dream, a fantasy. Eric was gone for good now, Shelly too. It had been a miracle, something she didn't think was possible. And yet the impossible had happened. But that was all over now, he wasn't coming back, again. Yet something inside of her, a small voice in her head kept pushing her to go in. To sneak inside and look. Placing her skateboard on the road, Sarah took one last look at the building before turning away, skating off into the early evening's embrace.

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Perched on top of a broken piece of window frame, a pair of beady black eyes watched as the girl turned away from the apartment. The bird cocked its head to where the dead man stood. He too, watched the girl leave.

You could have talked to her

Eric said nothing.

Isn't that want you wanted? You work for her kind now. Nothin's holding you back

The man scoffed. "It's not that easy."

Course it's not. Nothing ever is with you lot

It preened it glossy black feathers with care, running its sharp beak along its wing; the one that had been shot.

"If I go to her now," He tore is gaze away from the city and gazed at the crow. "It'll only cause her more pain and confusion." He wanted to talk to her, hug her and tell her he could be her friend again. For now. He wanted to go down to her when she entered the building. He had spied Shelly's ring hanging round her neck again. It had brought a small comfort to him, knowing that a piece of them was with her. Always.

So you plan on staying in the shadows forevermore then?

It shook and ruffled its feathers.

Eric looked back to the city rooftops, the cry of sirens filled the air, people shouted, even the faint sound of live music from a bar of sorts could be heard. Detroit's creatures of the night were waking up from their slumber. "No, not forever." He said. "Soon....." Giving the dead musician a final look; the crow opened its wings and took off, gliding effortlessly into the night.