We're Not Like the Others
By Minastara
Italics – past events or memories
'Italics' – thoughts
BoldItalics – Eric's visions
Chapter 1: An Intuition
He felt like he was losing his mind. As he sat there, looking at the broken window, in an apartment filled with broken dreams. He couldn't feel her anymore. He knew that her spirit must have moved on, leaving him stuck alone in this plane.
He also knew that she didn't have a choice in the matter. Shelly would not leave him. Ever since Shelly came back and returned the Crow to his body, he has felt this emptiness. A hollow feeling where Shelly's spirit was always with him. As he strummed the cords of his guitar, he poured his sadness into it.
"That's some depressing stuff you got there, Eric," Sarah said as she came to sit next to her morose friend.
"If you haven't noticed, my whole situation is depressing," he said, never looking up from his playing. "What do you want, Sarah?"
"Nothing. Just wondering if you wanted to go to the movies with me. Not like last time! It's PG-13, I swear," she quickly explained.
"Sorry, Sarah. Maybe some other time," he said, still not looking up from his playing.
"What is up with you, man!" she yelled, venting her frustration. Eric finally stopped and looked up from his guitar.
"Nothing is going on, Sarah. What makes you think that?" he asked, setting his guitar on its stand and went to gaze out the window.
"You've been acting down right weird, even for you. I mean you haven't left this loft in two months, Eric! Everybody's worried."
Turning to look at the young girl, with a raised eyebrow, Eric asked, "Oh, yeah, who?"
"Shea, me, even Daryl. We're all worried about you," she responded. Eric returned to looking out of the window, his back turned to Sarah.
"I think you should go back to school, Sarah. Thank you for coming to check on me, but I'm fine."
"No, you're not! Just because Shelly is gone, doesn't mean you should waste your life away. Shelly wouldn't—"
"Sarah! Leave!" he shouted, harshly, leaving no room for her to mistake his command. At first, he thought she would argue with, but then he heard the shifting sound of a backpack and skateboard.
With a quiet 'Fine, then,' and a door slam, Sarah was gone. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Eric looked down at the darken fingernails and knew that the Crow part of him was close to the surface. That part of him that fed on emotions like anger, despair, and channeled it into violence, a weapon.
It wasn't the fact that Sarah had mentioned Shelly that had brought forth the Crow in him. No, it was the fact that Sarah was right.
Something was wrong with him and it was facing him in the mirror. The Crow was becoming uncontrollable. With Shelly gone, the Crow was coming through more often. That was the real reason he had cut himself off from those around him. The tiniest burst of anger seemed to set it off. He was afraid, afraid of what he might do to the one who incurred his anger and he couldn't regain control in time. This brought to mind his little visit from the Skull Cowboy just three weeks ago.
The sound of bones rattling was the only warning Eric got before the Skull Cowboy, emissary for the other side, stepped forth out of nothing.
"How's it going, brother? All's well I hope," the dark man asked with the ever-present smile on his face.
"You know damn well everything's not okay. Where is Shelly, Skull Cowboy?" a Crow possessed Draven grabbed the man by the front of his dark coat.
"Shelly's gone, man. She made a deal. To save your birdie hide, she had to stop waiting in the in-between," Skull Cowboy explained. He felt the hands loosen from his jacket and watched the Crow persona give way to the man that was Eric Draven. Eric dropped to his knees, as if the weight of such knowledge was too much for him to bear.
"Wha-what? She's gone?" he stuttered.
"Sorry, man. That was the deal. And as I see it, you have two choices. One," he flicked up one of the skulls on his bracelet. "you can stay here on this mortal coil and cause all kind-s-s-s-s of mischief when you crack." He flicked up another skull from his bracelet, "Or two: find another reason to remain in control, reconnect." When he received silence at his suggestion, he shrugged. "Fine, then. It's your soul, but I must ask: Who do you think the first victims will be?" He turned around, walking towards the door. Eric thought about that for a second. It was easy to picture the destruction and death the Crow could visit upon others. It thrived on the discord, and just to taunt him, it would go after the people he cared about. Sarah…Shea…Albrecht…
"How do I do it? How do I reconnect?" Eric asked, his voice softened by this revelation.
"You're a smart boy. I'm sure you'll figure it out," Skull Cowboy said without turning back to Draven. "Now, I must go. Lots of souls to check on. And Eric, tick-tock, my brother, tick-tock." His voice fades and with the rattling of bones, he vanishes, leaving Eric once again alone in his thoughts.
And here he was three weeks later still with no clue as to how to stop the Crow from taking over completely. He had no idea how to 'reconnect' as the Skull Cowboy had suggested and he had just made a mess of things with Sarah. He knew she was only trying to help, but he knew there was nothing she could do.
'As soon as this is squared away, I'll make it up to her,' he thought. Just then his spirit guide, his crow, cawed at him, dropping something onto the dirty floor. Eric knelt down and saw that it was a small earring. The bird cawed at him again and Eric picked it up. As soon as he did, his mind was assaulted by various images and emotions.
Masked men, there were two, pushed their way into a house. The first thing Eric sensed was the woman's fear as she struggled with the men. A man ran from another room and tried to stop them. One of the masked men shot him. The woman screams. The man with the gun holsters it and tells the other man to take her to the car. The other man knocked the woman out and drags her to the car, as commanded. The vision stops as the woman's earring fell to the ground.
Eric jerks out of the vision and looks at the crow. The crow caws once more and then flies out of the window. Eric grabs his jacket, and heads outside, making his way to his bike. 'Perhaps Sarah was right. Maybe getting out is just what the doctor ordered.'
To be continued…