The Crooked Man

Promises Are Meant To Be Kept...

I burst through the double iron doors and ran out on the roof, where I saw Ryan standing there, his back to me. "Ryan?"

"Scott...? Why are you here? I told you not to come for me. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"I came to get you, Ryan, your my best friend. I'll ask later, but for now your coming home with Lucy and I."

"No, just forget about me...Just leave me alone."

"Hey, Ry-" I said taking a step forward.

"STAY AWAY!" Ryan yelled pulling out a gun. He put it to his head, letting the barrel of cold metal rest against his temple. Tears streaming down his face.

"...Ryan?!"

"I-I'm hopeless. I keep looking...but I see nothing. I keep walking, but I get nowhere...I'll never ever be happy. I'm...I'm a crooked man. No matter what that's what I'll be, and those are the only things I'll have...!" A fading man with soppy black hair, a crooked, bleeding smile and bloody hands appeared behind Ryan. His bloody hands held my friend tight, a hand across his chest and another on the gun. Yearning for Ryan to pull the trigger.

"Ryan?! That's...?" I shouted as he became distant, eyes blank, almost dead.

"There was a crooked man, who walked a crooked mile. He found a crooked sixpence, against a crooked stile. He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse. And they all lived together in a little crooked house. But the crooked man was sad, and so he had a thought. Why should he be crooked, when the others they were not? Everything was worthless, he heaved a great big sigh, and went and found a rope and hung it to the sky. Upon a chair he stood, his eyes were blank and dead. Without another thought, he went and hung his head."

"Ryan? What are you saying? Ryan, are you still with me?"

"Now the story's not yet over, for this tale is myth-ed and old, go hide under the covers...There's something not yet told..."

"Ryan, snap out of this! Don't let him control you!"

"There was a crooked man, who had a crooked smile,and if you lived his life, he'll send you through a trial. He lives for your torment, make it full of strife, and he wont be content..." Ryan cocked the gun and looked up at me with pleading eyes. "Until you take your life..."

"RYAN!!" I ran over to him and punched him in the face as hard as I could. Again, and again, and again. "Get away from Ryan you damn monster!!" The monster dissipated as I hit Ryan. It started to fade away. 

"H...hey....ow...hey s-stop...." I kept punching. Over and over and over. "HEY STOP! THAT HURTS YOU MORON!"

"Ryan! You back with me?"

"Hey it's not like I went nuts alright? I've been sane all this time!"

"Like hell! If that's something you do sane I'd have to beat you up every time I see you!" I said taking a deep breath. "Now you better have a good explanation for all this stuff you've been doing, Ryan."

And he did. He told me everything. About Elizabeth, his Mother, and this crooked man.

"So you believe in the monster? That's my occult fanatic."

"It's not fanaticism. I always tell you and Lucy that I 'see things' don't I? You guys never believe me!" I paused and thought for a moment. "I think I met Elizabeth, and definitely your mother."

"Mom, maybe but Liz wouldn't be here."

"Hey Ryan, listen people's consciousness...they kinda stick around in places. So you've had it pretty close to your Uncle Mark, right? Shattered dreams, obviously family issues...After you moved in that house I got a strange feeling. From you...from the house. I guess his consciousness and your were a perfect match."

"So, he's calling me?"

"Yes. And your unconsciously responding. Meaning he can control you, take your body over at times, I guess. Some people are soft, have a good heart, good life. Those are the ones who get taken advantage of the most." I lit a cigarette as we talked. "So, what do you think of a guy who's the spitting image of you? Hate 'em or like 'em?"

"I...I don't know..."

"Perhaps both, same as him...Think back. The crooked man tried to kill you, drag you with him...But weren't there also people who relied on you?"

"...What?" Thinking back to his mother, Elizabeth, even I. There were people who needed him. I could see the realization in my friends eyes.

"He hated you, but he also liked you. He thought he could share his suffering with you. He was seeking your help..."

"No. That's not quite right." Ryan retaliated. "He wasn't seeking my help. In a way the crooked man...he helped me. Got me back on my feet..."

"That's again the two of you being similar." I put out my cigarette as Ryan had made a quizzical noise.

"What is it Ryan?"

"I found a piece of paper in my pocket, an address. To...my uncles home, currently mine. I guess that's what Liz meant by going back to the beginning. I'm going. I have to find him."

"Ryan, what if something bad happens?"

"I have to, or the crooked man will never stop following me. I also promised Elizabeth. I promised her I'd take care of him so she could rest in peace, and promises are meant to be kept. So I'll go..." He got up and walked calmly to the roof exit where I had entered.

"Ryan, wait. You better come back safe." He turned to look at me. This time, it was my eyes that were pleading. "I don't wanna make plans to go to my best friends funeral."

"I know, Scott, don't worry."

"Goodbye, Ryan." I said hugging him and shaking his hand.

"It may be 'so long' or 'until next time' but it's never goodbye, my friend, it's never goodbye."