How To Capture The Crow

Chapter Thirteen

Weeks pass and I can't get Raven out of my head. I've searched all over looking for her, the church, the loft in the city, everywhere I've seen her or might've thought she'd gone. She's gone; I fear the worst happening to her. Images of her dead in the forest creep into my head and I force them out as soon as they come. I hear the clock ticking on the wall and I focus on its hands as they slowly jump forward.

*Tick*

"It's been 20 days." I say to myself running my fingers though my hair that's tangled and uncombed.

*Tick*

I stare at the floor boards. They are blood stained besides my best efforts to clean them.

*Tick*

I can feel my heart throbbing in my chest as I think about her being dead.

*Tick*

I sit on the floor and feel the cold breeze slide in the cracks of my broken window that I've nailed boards to cover up the opening with.

*Tick*

"It's been 20 days!" I say loudly remembering that she'll be back at tonight's full moon.

The next few hours are a blur to me, I can only remember the feeling of panic and the rushing colors of a sped-up movie. Tying up different traps and making makeshift cages around my home. I dig through my home looking for things to restrain her when she comes back. If... she comes back, I think to myself.

"What am I doing?" I say to myself aloud and hold my head. "She's not some kind of animal, I can't just capture her. Then what, what am I going to do?!" I say feeling stupid and shaking my head wishing the motion will push some sense into me.

The sun begins to set, and I wait staring at my front door. Stroking the silver knife in my hand and then putting it on the coffee table.

She won't hurt me, I think to myself as I stare at the knife. Then I grab it again and put it in my lap. What if she does... I think to myself second guessing my every move.

I get chills up my spine and hear foot steps behind me. I stand up and turn around as Raven enters through the back of my house.

She stares at my front door, the nets made of torn sheets, the trip wire made from fishing line that was supposed to be triggered once she walked inside the front door. Finally, she studies me the knife in my hand, the tangles in my hair, my home in shambles.

"Hmm," She takes a breathy exhale and digs in her back pocket getting out a cigarette and lighting it with a chunky black zippo lighter.

She flicks it shut and walks over to the trip wire my eyes following her until she holds the cigarettes bright red cherry to it burning it in half, the clunky sheet net flops down on my living room floor in front of me.

"I..." I stammer.

She shakes her head no slowly and puts her finger to her lips as if to shush me. Then taking a deep drag of her cigarette, she makes her way over to the chair sitting across from me and exhales the smoke, filling my living room with a gray fog.

"Do you know why I'm here?" She says with her raspy voice staring at me with her light blue eyes.

I can feel my heart sink and I shake my head no, but not because I don't know why she's here, but because I don't want it to be true.

"Because you're a killer, Emma" She says and takes another puff of her cigarette.

"He was going to kill you if I didn't stop him." I say and frown my eyes filling up with tears at the thought of being called a killer.

She shakes her head no again and puts her cigarette out on my table and walks towards me. I quickly stand up holding the knife in my hands.

"I didn't mean to kill him, I just wanted it to stop!" I say holding the knife up at her and backing away into my hallway.

"This isn't about him, Emma" She says slowly walking towards me.

"What...?" I say my heart beating faster and my face twisted in confusion.

"Your mother" She says, and I stop walking and stare at her.

"Don't... Don't bring her into this!" I say in anger gripping onto the knife and pointing it at her.

"You killed her, Emma." Raven says stopping at the end of the hallway, her face shadowed in the darkness, her silhouette frozen in place.

My world feels like its spinning and I hold my head again with the knife still tightly in my grip.

"No..." I say and shake my head closing my eyes tightly and crying.

"No!" I scream and run into my bedroom.

I quickly slam the door locking it and hear Ravens fists bang against it soon after.

"She was begging you to stop, Emma!" Raven says her voice louder now.

I slide my back against the door holding my head and screaming.

"No! He killed her!" I feel my sanity slipping and flashes of that night keep on flooding in.

My hands are covered in blood, my step father screaming at me to stop, the knife cutting into my mother's flesh.

"No!" I shake and cry uncontrollably.

Memories of Raven her eyes, her mouth moving slowly speaking the words, I only kill criminals. All the walls of my world come crashing down and I can see it. I can see me sitting there with my back against the door. Watching myself as I fall apart.

What's happening... I... I did it... I killed her, I think to myself.

"Do you see it?" Raven says her voice echoing in my head.

"Yes..." I say softly my eyes swollen and my body numb.

I quickly inhale and then gasp as I feel something sharp come out of me. I look down to see a blade in my chest and then slowly it disappears behind me, sucking its way out of my back and through the door. My mouth tastes of blood and I gag as it drips down my chin.

Suddenly the bedroom door opens, and I fall backwards laying still on my back looking up at Raven. She cleans off the blade in her hand by wiping it on her pants leg and then kneels beside me stroking my hair out of my face.

"I... I loved... you." I whisper choking on the blood laced around my teeth.

"I know..." She leans in and kisses my lips, my blood entering her mouth as my life slips away into the darkness.

"Goodnight, Emma." She whispers in my ear, her raspy voice the last thing I hear.