The Crow + Sweeney Todd

From the Grave

"Any deaths today?" One of the guards of the prison in Botany Bay, Australia asked.
"There always are," the other one smirked as he went through a list of criminals that was clipped to a board. "We'll have the prisoners dig up graves for the bodies tomorrow morning. I hate the stench of rotting flesh. It's disgusting."
"You've said it," the other guard laughed while swinging his baton around. "Well goodnight, officer."
Botany Bay went to sleep. The sky was black and a storm was brewing. Thick rain clouds formed over the prison as lightning strike the ground and thunder roared the air. Hardly anyone got any rest.
Especially the dead.
A pile of lifeless corpse were thrown into any empty room; waiting for morning for their graves to be dug.
A pile of dead bodies; the blood stopped running through their veins. Their hearts stopped pounding; their lungs stopped taking in oxygen.
Just a stack of the deceased; their names forgotten and faces washed away.
Morning finally rose, yet the storm clouds were there to stay. Rain poured down mercilessly; beating down on the living prisoners. They all held muddy shovels tight in their hands as they dug up holes to fill up with their fellow inmates.
"Faster, you sacks of shit!" An officer ordered as he would shove some of the prisoners in the mud puddles. "These bodies aren't gonna bury themselves! Before you know it, that'll be you we put in the grave!"
The holes were ready to be filled. Each inmate grabbed a corpse as if it were just a bag and tossed in the hole.
A short man took hold of a pale arm. The arm led up a shoulder, that led to a torso, that led to a neck, that led to a head.
Across that lifeless face was a blank, emotionless expression. The corpse had black, matted hair that curled all around his head. His lips were white as snow and very dry.
The man felt sorry for the corpse. The corpse was no other than Benjamin Barker. The short man knew he was innocent. Benjamin didn't act like the other inmates; he wasn't brutal, harsh, or cruel. He was just an innocent man who got unlucky.
"Toss him in the pit or I'll toss you in there with him!" The officer commanded; spit flying from his mouth.
The short man, shaking in fear, threw Benjamin Barker's body into the muddy pit and began shoveling dirt on top of the corpse.
None of the dead men received a tombstone. They received nothing that marked their name. Once they were in the ground, that were forever forgotten. They were just another unlucky inmate.
Benjamin Barker was then locked out of sight; he lied underneath the earth to never be seen again.
~
The world carried on. Day came after night and night came after day. But in time, the family of Benjamin Barker became destroyed. His wife, Lucy, had poisoned herself with arsenic. The feeling of being devastated and ruined suffocated her and led to suicide. But unlike her husband, she was given a proper grave with a proper tombstone.
With her death, it left her defenseless child Johanna. It was no shocker that the demented Judge Turpin took the orphan under his tattered wings. But in time, order had to be restored.
~
This big black bird hovered over the prison.
It had been almost five years after the innocent man's death and eight years since his imprisonment. The bird flapped its mangy wings as its solid black eyes locked down on the piece of ground that was once pulled up.
As the sky released it's rain, the bird swooped down to the mud pile.
The grave was created improperly and disrespectfully; just another thing to piss off the unrested soul.
The majestic crow flew down to the ground and found itself a piece of cement to perch itself upon. The bird cocked it's head and it's eyes lowered down to the human-sized covered pit.
It's black beak then went down and pulled up the bits of weeds and dead grass. Mud was flinging left and right.
As the thunder clapped, the earth began to shake and it's skin was being peeled back by a dead force.
The crow jumped back and watched as the the ground began breaking open.
A ghost-white hand then shot up from the ground and grasped the mud around it. An arm followed the hand along with another hand and arm. Together, the two arms helped rise the living dead. A skull then peeked from the grave and up came a torso with it.
The corpse's hair was a ratted, black mess. His eyes were sunken deep into his head and his complexion was intensely pale.
The limp body staggered out of the grave; slipping on the mud and losing his balance several times. It's been years since he's used his legs.
Benjamin Barker rose from his mangled tomb and hugged his body to keep warmth. The rain came beating down on him; washing away the sludge and dirt. He stripped away from his tattered prison shirt and looked around his surroundings.
Questions flooded his mind.
As he scanned the area, his almost black eyes fell upon the large crow that was perched upon a piece of pavement.
He cocked his head in bitter confusion as he watched the bird slowly fly towards a cemented building more inward of the island.
Benjamin then felt obligated to follow the crow wherever it led him.
His mind was racing through all the thoughts of him being lost and where he was. He couldn't regain a single memory of whatever happened before rising from the ground.
The crow continued flying; turning around every now and then to be sure his man was following.
Benjamin followed unknowingly, which led to one side of the prison. The crow cawed and flew to the nearest door and pecked at it.
Benjamin glanced at the crow in confusion, then at the door.
The crow cawed in again in frustration. Benjamin jumped in fear and went for the door.
The door was surprisingly unlocked and opened with ease. The crow immediately flew inside the dark room.
The room he entered was barley lit. It was the front of the prison. Where the officers and guards kept themselves along with weapons and tools.
Benjamin stumbled around the room; running into the walls and lockers.
To prop himself up, he found a muddy shovel leaning against the wall. His hands fumbled around to reach it and the second he made contact with the wooden handle, his mind shot back to the past.
His vision then filled with the sight of a black and white scene. He saw a fast paced montage of the shovel being used to dig up a hole in the rain. Next thing he saw was his very own body being mindlessly and carelessly tossed into the abyss and covered back up with the earth.
Benjamin violently released the shovel; throwing it the ground and creating a loud ruckus. He breathed heavily as he attempted to comprehend what he saw.
"...That was me," he whispered to himself; staring off into the blackness. "There's no way. I'm here. Not in that pit."
The crow made a screeching sound that grabbed the attention of the man as it continued to fly down a hall and sit on top of an open locker.
Benjamin trudged that way; looking to his left and right, trying to think what that flash back meant.
He approached the open locker and looked inside. There he found a plain black shirt with the words 'Botany Bay' stitched on the back. Benjamin hesitantly reached for the shirt and slipped it on. The second his skin made contact with the fabric, his vision was overridden with the sight of a flashback.
It was another black and white fast montage. He could see a man wearing the shirt while locking the cell of a man. The man was Benjamin.
Benjamin immediately opened his eyes and took a deep breath.
"...I was imprisoned here, but what did I do?" He whispered again to himself. The puzzle pieces were coming, but coming very slowly.
His eyes then looked down and he found a pair of thick black boots. He then looked down to his bare, dirty feet.
He didn't hesitate to snatch the boots and slip them on. They were a size too big, but it'll have to manage.
"...Where you leading me?" Benjamin asked the crow; at this point it wouldn't even surprise him if the bird talked.
But the crow didn't talk. All it did was continue to fly down the hall.
Benjamin sighed and followed it; his loud boots echoing behind him.
"Hey you!" A voice thundered from behind the man.
Benjamin stood frozen. He knew they'll kill him... again?
"What are you doing outta your cell?!" The officer questioned while approaching Benjamin. Benjamin had his back facing the officer; he placed his hands up to surrender in fear of being shot.
"You gonna answer me?" The officer asked while getting closer. He then read the back of Benjamin's shirt.
It read Botany Bay.
"You're not an officer," the man pointed out.
"...Yea... I just..."
"Save it!" The officer spat. "Inmates who leave their cell get consequences."
The officer then grabbed Benjamin's shoulder, which sent another vision through his eyes.
This time he saw the officer holding a pistol. The barrel of the gun was aimed at Benjamin. The officer pulled the trigger which released a speeding bullet which plunged into the abdomen of Benjamin.
Benjamin then nearly jumped out of his boots; breaking free from the officer's grip. Almost feeling that same pain he felt years ago.
"You did it," Benjamin whispered to himself. He then turned around to face the face of his death. "I know that face," he added. "Remember mine?"
The officer just stared at the man. He looked horrible. He looked like something hell just spat out. He looked like something death took a blow to. The officer shook his head.
Benjamin then raced to the officer and pinned him against the wall with strength he didn't think he had. The idea of revenge took over his thoughts.
"Of course you don't. You're just a mutt who follows the commands of its selfish owner."
"What are talking about?!" The officer argued; trying to break free from Benjamin's lethal strength. The officer then managed to slip his gun out of his holster. He was capable to aim the gun into the side of Benjamin and he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
A bullet was launched and dug through the skin of Benjamin. Benjamin howled in agony... but the pain didn't last.
Benjamin staggered backwards and clutched at the wound.
"Now you wanna head back to your cell?" The officer started; aiming again at the man.
Benjamin watched with his very eyes the bullet wound beginning the seal up as if it never happened. Skin plastered over the wound like a band aid. He smirked to himself and glared up at the officer.
"My cell is probably already given away to another innocent man. Another man who will be put to the grave by your system," Benjamin hissed.
"You're off your nut, shit-for-brains!" The officer aimed this time for the heart and fired the weapon.
Benjamin went flying back into the wall behind him. The bullet tore itself through the shirt; creating a hole and into the man's already dead heart.
This time, the officer witnessed the wound heal faster than a second. His eyes widened in disbelief and his mouth created an O form.
"Surprised? I am too," Benjamin chuckled and snatched the firearm out of the officer's hand.
Through the gun, he could see all that was murdered or injured with it, including himself.
"Now tell me. How the hell do I get off this island?" Benjamin demanded; the barrel of the gun pressed against the temple of the officer. "Because I'm pretty sure the whole magic healing trick doesn't work on you."
The officer took a hard swallow and choked on his words.
"Come on spit it out, I know you know."
"The ports... but they're guarded, you'll never get far," the officer choked out.
"For a man whose already dead, I think I'll get far," Benjamin again smirked and simply pressure pointed the officer into an unconscious state.
He then stood in the empty hall; going over the holes in his shirt and the vanished fatal wounds.
"I don't understand," he muttered to himself. "I should of been dead."
He was then interrupted by the loud noise of the crow. The crow then flapped its wings and continued down the hall. He only assumed it was the exit.
He held the gun tight in his hand. He was unsure of how many bullets he had left, but he wasn't real worried about it.
As he listened to the only sound of his boots clicking against the pavement, he tried to comprehend what was going on.
He started outside... six feet in the soil. Now he's inside miraculously surviving terminal bullets.
The crow soared through the long hell that led to another set of doors. The doors led outside which was back into the rain. Benjamin curiously stepped outside and looked out onto the open land. Across the land led to the vast ocean and a port full of ships and small boats. The ocean and ships weren't the only thing in sight. Guards walked up and down the wooden boards of the jetty.
"Great," Ben muttered to himself. "More imbeciles."
The crow then took off towards the port with Ben racing behind with speed he never thought was possible. He snuck behind a medium-sized boat and waited for a good time to snatch a boat and leave.
His vision was once again overridden by something that wasn't a memory or some type of flash back. It was what the crow itself was seeing. Through the bird's small eyes, Benjamin was capable to see the broad open jetty. He saw about three guards walking up and down it; talking to one another and cracking jokes about the prisoners.
Ben's own vision came back and finally slipped out of his hiding position and into a new one; closer to his key boat.
The crow also got closer and perched itself on top of the boat Ben was aiming for.
"How does a bird find itself out here in the middle of no where?" A guard questioned his coworkers while laughing at the dirty mangy thing.
"Probably came aboard one of the ships when they were docking in inmates," one of the other guards answered; ignoring the bird and carrying on with his work.
Ben only chuckled and mimicked their conversation.
"You hear that?" The guard snapped as he got in a tense position.
"It was probably the stupid bird. You need to calm down or something. Nothing happens in the night shift," the other one assured.
"Nothing happens huh?" Ben then grew impatient and walked out onto the jetty for all to see. The crow then flew over and landed itself on his shoulder. Ben glanced over at the bird and smirked.
"You break outta your cell?" The guard asked while slowly approaching the dark figure.
"I broke outta my grave," Ben corrected with a simper.
"Wise guy huh?" The guard snapped back and pulled out his baton.
"Me? Wise? Oh please, don't make me laugh," Ben again retorted.
"Just walk on back to your cell and I won't use force," the guard offered; inching closer and closer to the man.
Ben then lost his smile and turned quick on his heel; acting as if he was returning back to his cell.
"What's your name anyways? I'll be sure they punish ya tomorrow morning."
"Barker," Ben simply stated; his back still facing the three guards and he kept slowly trudging away from them.
"...Didn't a Barker die a few years ago," one guard noted to the other two.
"I dunno, I don't keep up with the records," the other guard riposted.