Author’s Note: There was a lot wrong with the original finale. I had copped out on so much of the story and all of the possibilities and I had resorted to boring lines that didn't develop characters at all. Plus, I wanted to revisit the theater that was mentioned before and I was able to add a little bit of what happened to Dylan before meeting his demise with the Crow.
This story was originally posted as part of the Summer Season (2015) of the same name.
Dylan was in the locker room at the gym, trying to sweat out the gross stuffy feeling he had been feeling after Cody had removed himself and Michael from his memory. He felt like something was missing, but this feeling would pass, especially with the workout endorphins running through his body. Weight clattered around him from the other bulky men in the gym, but Dylan was enjoying his solitude as he finished up a jog and went to change.
With a locker on the farthest wall, he was hidden from the rest of the room, which was good for him in that he enjoyed not receiving stares, but not-so-good since a creature had been stalking him.
The thin arms of the Crow crawled out from behind Dylan who was oblivious as we opened up the lock on his locker, the dial clicking as the correct numbers were selected. Once open, the Crow attacked, slamming Dylan into the door of his open locker. With his face exposed and held against the metal, the Crow pulled apart his gasping mouth and entered his new host, choking sounds echoing off the tile as he cut off his airway. The last of his legs disappeared and Dylan fell to the ground, barely missing the center bench on the way down. His convulsions were sharp and quick as the Crow changed his anatomy to become his own, destroying the old Dylan and replacing him with the enemy.
"Ahhh." He pushed himself off the ground and stood in front of the creaking door of his locker. He stretched, raising his arms and puffing out his chest to get used to the new skin that had once been inhabited by another creature. With one final crack of the neck, he began his hunt.
Michael climbed out the window with the Crow right behind him, his leg caught in his grasp. On the other side, I pulled Michael out, scratching Dylan's hand as Michael stumbled through. Dylan's destroyed the window and stepped through, spitting on the glass cuts to make the worst of the injuries heal before pursuing.
Michael was surprisingly limber and he jumped off the scaffolding with ease, falling into my arms on the ground. I would lingered in the moment longer, but fear caused my legs to jolt into action. We ran towards the street, turning back to see Dylan landing on the pavement and staring us down. Michael was running just behind me as we ducked into another alley, we reached the end and we had two options. Michael chose for us, grabbing my hand and turning towards the theater he had taken me inside of before.
Most of the doors inside of the building had been locked and even though Michael had the keys, it would waste too much time. The Crow was already destroying the entrance with brute force. We had made it to the stage, running across the open space to the other side only to find ourselves at a locked door. We turned to see Crow walking through the space, only visible by the light from the roof and turned to each other. Michael grabbed my hands and rushed towards a small cabinet that had the shelves removed. We hid inside, our bodies pressed together in what could potentially be the last intimate moment we would ever have.
"I love you," I whispered, not giving him a chance to speak before pressing my mouth against him. When we parted, I covered his mouth, looking through the crack in the door, "but I have to do this. I'm going to wait until he is far enough away and distract him, go hide. Please be safe. I need it." I looked at him with tears welling in my eyes and he had already been sobbing.
The crow passed the cabinet and I stormed out, stumbling into the dark space to get his attention. As the Crow looked towards me, Michael ran in the opposite direction going through a stage door and into the backstage area where costumes and props had been stored, gathering dust from the theater's closure.
"Hello, friend." the Crow lied, an evil grin spreading on the once innocent face of Dylan. With one quick gesture, he shoved me back, my body crashing through the wall and into the back offices. Quickly, I crawled out of sight and hid under a desk, frantically looking around me for something to use as a weapon.
“Come out, come out wherever you are.” Dylan’s voice was creepy with the Crow in control and as he stalked, the lights began to flicker. He had gotten stronger since being on earth, and since he consumed two lives already he was feeling the high.
"You know, I don't even want you 323," He said, sneaking into the office I was in. The crunch of the carpet had given him away, but I feared he already knew my location, "I've been going after Michael this whole time, with you in the picture it's really sent off signals on my radar. You've somehow made him stronger." I had no idea what he was telling me, but as he moved around the room he clicked his tongue, the sound getting louder as he reached the desk. The impact with the ceiling destroyed the desk as he threw it from above me, debris falling down as my hiding spot was revealed.
"Stop!" I yelled, my hands at my ears as the electricity in the room crackled. He picked me up by the neck and smiled.
"You're just an appetizer." He threw me back into the stage, sending my body sliding across the floor with a metal piece of debris jamming itself into my arm. I crawled away with my one un-injured arm and managed to create a trail of blood across the MDF flooring. In the darkness, I saw a shadow sneaking around the hanging curtains and along the wall of ropes. Michael hid behind one of the velour drapes and mouthed something along the lines of "move out of the way."
"You chose a really nice body." The Crow grabbed my injured arm and I yelled as he lifted me up. I got one punch into his gut before he snapped my arm back and shoved the metal rod farther through.
"Leave us alone." I grunted, a stream of tears running down my face and a splatter of blood on my cheek.
"No can do. You're just too delicious for me to leave wandering around the planet you were abandoned on. No one will miss you, not even the thing you befriended on this planet. Just tell me where he is and we can get this over with." His grip had moved to around my neck and started to tighten. My body was beginning to lose air and I need to get out, starting to make an exit through my mouth, but the Crow covered the orifice, leaving me scrambling underneath the skin.
"Leave him alone!" Michael screamed as my eyes started to turn red.
“There you are! So, nice to see you!" He dropped me and took a few steps forward. Michael backed up into the fly system and hesitated, waiting until he was in the perfect spot.
"Heads." Michael said, making a stupid theater joke before lifting the lever.
"Oh no." The metal rod with old lights creaked above us and from the darkness it landed square on the Crow, his body flattening on the stage with a gruesome crack.
Both Michael and I stared at the pinned husk and I managed to find footing.
"I love you too." Michael immediately went in for the kiss and his arms held on so tight I felt like I was going to snap in half.
"Ow!" I yelled as he squeezed, the rod deep inside of me.
“I’m sorry.” He managed to say behind the tears.
"No I'm sorry," I said, wiping away the tears, "but I need you to go. I'll finish here and meet you at the apartment."
"I can't - "
"Go." I stepped away and stood over Dylan. Michael nodded, gathered himself and started to leave. He stepped through the hole in the wall towards the back offices and turned until I couldn't see him anymore. At this point, the pain was so immense that I almost couldn't feel it anymore. I fell to my knees next to Dylan and tried picking him up, looking for any sign of the Crow. There was blood everywhere, but still there was nothing despite my scavenge into his body. He was gone.
The lights had stopped flickering in the building, which helped with the massive headache that had washed over me from the fight. I stepped through the hole in the wall, looking towards the destroyed office before finding my way out.
At the entrance, Michael was standing with his face towards the closed door and his hands trembling on the handle. At first, I felt a warmth come over me which allowed me to ignore the pain, but the hope dwindled into hopelessness and my stomach twisted inside of me.
“Hello, 323. Your boyfriend was delicious.”
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