Crowchild, Novel

Ch. 5. The Calling

I “awoke” on train tracks as I heard the whistle howl as the train barreled towards me, there was nothing holding me down, but still I couldn’t move. I felt every ridge, every imperfection, every sputter of the train’s wheels as it cut me in three. I lay there as the train passes, my skin stained red with the explosion of blood, my heart racing as it beats in my hand. With this intense pain I feel numb, numb to all sensation, I need to feel something. I elegantly shove my heart back into my chest cavity, doing my best to pull myself together, all my shredded bones and mangled flesh stretch out to bring my body back to its “normal” form.

I see the shadow beast snarling and standing over my corpse, I watch terrified as it dissipates to a dark mist and forces its way into my head like a parasite, and I’m the host. “If you disobey, you pay.” The words rung in my ears like nothing I’ve heard before, the voice stronger and louder than ever. “I haven’t done anything! Why are you doing this to me?” I say, the voice comes back saying, “You are getting stronger, and with every collected soul, so do I, but soon enough I won’t be able to control your rage. This is when you will need me most. Your thirst for blood will grow, and you will want to kill more and more, but your job is to only kill those who must die. I’m here to make sure you don’t go on a killing spree out of blood lust.”

“Cut the power hungry bullshit, who or what are you, and why are you here, do you serve any purpose other than entertaining your twisted sense of humor?” I ask, expecting a large rambling about the demons troubled childhood and how Satan never appreciated him… boohoo.

“Seriously, I’m in your head asshole, do you really think your thoughts are safe? If I can control your dreams, only a matter of time before I am strong enough to control you.”

“Just get on with the who, the what, and the why already.”

“Very well. I, among others like me, were created by your people thousands of years ago. We were made to take control of Death, to become Death, but some of our spirits were unruly, and become power hungry, there was no order in place. Due to this chaos, the elderly Death was reinstated to create order amongst demons. Now our jobs are to take care of dying souls and destroy those not deserving of life, however our main purpose is to find a soul strong enough to become Death.”

I am bewildered, but so awestruck, “So am I supposed to become Death?”

“Honestly I hope you do, if not, that means I have failed, which would cause your death, and more importantly my punishment”

“May I ask how I wouldn’t become Death, do I have an option to be normal.”

The voice responds with a strong “No” then a pause. “You were never normal in the first place so you cannot be what you never were to begin with. If you were normal Death wouldn’t have cut your father that deal and you would live your normal unbearably pointless in comparison life without a mother.”

…

“But to answer your question, as I already said, I am not the only demon of my kind, and it is our goals as the messengers of Death to find a new more suitable Death. There are many people around the world like you, killing thousands and healing at most any injury. Unfortunately for you, you are not immortal, some injuries and under certain circumstances, I cannot save you.”

“What?”

“I mustn’t explain farther, it would compromise your training. Now get up!”

In all this explanation and confusion I had forgotten where I was on the train tracks, before I had the chance to get up, the claws of three crows dug into my skin and lifted me into the air. It was then I realized I had no idea of where I was, no sense of direction until I knew which way was down. That was when I was plummeting to earth from far higher than I had thought the crows had flown me. All I saw below me was the vast calm blue before penetrating the water, my legs nearly shattered with the intense impact.

 I came to in the middle of the ocean, no idea how I had gotten here or what “here” is, I could only see blue in every direction. I just swam towards the sound of music, I heard drum beats in the distance, then violins, I must be close to dry land, this can’t be a demons trick.