Two's a crowd - Pt.2

pt.1

"Dad, mom- mom- she's not breathing" I hear her holding back the tears in her voice. I ask what happened and whether she called 911. She had. I wanted to know what happened, but nothing. She just repeated.
"I just don't know- I don't know" I' ve yet to have a single conversation with Wynona, but this? I'm not ready for this. Yes she's Dales daughter and I remember her, but she's a stranger. I don't have his memories. Am I supposed to just show up there mid-transformation? I'm a monster.

Yes, that's how I'd have thought if I were human. But no. Crows are empathetic. Before I even had human thoughts reconsidering the insanity of this situation, I had already told Wynona that I'd be there.

New york subway is great for us freaks. No one gives a shit what you look like. And though Dale's emotions are crushing me, I feel a bit at ease because I can, at least for the moment, stop masquerading. I sit down to eat some peanuts. The subway train is loud and dirty.

I didn't know exactly where I was going. I was moving as if by trance. The body knew where it needed to be.

I got off at 145th St. Sreva, Dale's wife, must live nearby. Though I don't know where. I walked towards the Harlem river - quite mindlessly. On the way I see a child walk by with a doll. The child's tattered beanie is loose-fitting. The air warms up as I walk past. The doll's eyes glittered irresistibly. And the face - the face felt familiar. I crossed streets and found that I was walking down Bradhurst Ave.

My phone rang, Wynona again. "Dad, they took her. They just came here and took her" Who took her? Why don't humans just say things. Crows spoke so much more eloquently. "The men in masks, they said things. I don't know. It wasn't english." What masks? Where was she now? "I don't know. Weird masks. I'm home - still home… They didn't even look at me."

I found myself at an unmarked door. With iron bars and pointed crosses on it, It didn't look right in Harlem, but it felt right. The door opened with little resistence, was it unlocked? Inside, there was a hallway of rooms, and a narrow stairway leading upstairs. The doors were all painted a bit differently. Though the same red, they had variations in the application and opacity. Some were painted with visible streaks in brushwork, others were only partially painted. But near the end of the row, by the stairway, was one door that seemed to radiate - all painted and bright. That's where I needed to be.

I'm not sure why I knocked on the door. Habits, I told myself. Even before I got there, I already smelled that it was the right one. I tried opening the door, and sure enough it was open. I walked in, and felt enveloped by nostalgic smells. Even before I saw anything, I smelled a person in there- Wynona. I called out for her.

A young woman came out of the hallway closet. She was wearing Sreva's clothes, but her slick black hair and golden eyes were the furthest thing from Serva's. She ran towards me, as if for a hug. I pushed her back and held her at arms length.

"Who are you, and where is Wy, and why the fuck are you wearing my wife's clothes" I couldn't help myself. Dale's emotions ran high. Although I had been calm and making my way through New York, there was a pool of emotions bubbling inside. There was a brief pause. "You have 4 seconds, there won't be a 5th"

"It's me Wynona" The woman - who so obviously was not 6- said.

"What kind of sick joke is this? Where is my daughter" The words just flowed.

"It's really me dad" How did she know it was Dale? I should be transformed right now. She should be seeing a crow.

"Something happened when the masked men took mom" Yes, obviously. But aren't you going to mention the crow head? It's still here. What, do I have to Caw at you for you to realize? Hello? Half Human- Half crow monster here.

"After I called you, I went out cold. I couldn't move. And when I woke up I was…like this". That checks out, no one else would've known that Wy called me. And then came the crow head.

"I don't look like me, I don't sound like me, what's happening to me?" I have to admit, it annoyed me a little that she'd ignored my crow head. But I had a feeling whatever brought me into this human body was related to this too.

I bring her closer and give her a hug, crow head and all. She feels like Wy. Dale's emotions are calmer and happy now. The hug continues for a second too long and the doll's face came back to me.

It was Sreva. But how?

I pushed Wy back and fell to the ground. It was pitch black again in my mind. I only saw one figure. There it was standing. The child I'd walked past. The beanie tattered and loose came off. It was Wy but at the same time it wasn't. She had tiny horns. Her eyes closed. She stood still, grasping the doll tight. Her eyes opened, as if matching mouthes.

" ψ ☠̶̩̳̎̉ ̵͉̟͉͌̈́̐̀͘͜ͅψ̴̟̜̥̙̝̠̰͋ ̸͔̹͇̰͓̅̉̈́̀͑☠̴̘̩̖̜͎͖̏͆̿̉ ̴̡̧̙̽⛥̶̬͚͛̇͘ ̷̗̘̘̈́̋̍͘ͅș̵̼̥̱͌ͅu̶̱̳̘͍͎̅̊̃͛̕͝r̸̨̘̦͔͌n̸̛̳͇̬̯̅́̅̾̔o̶̧͔̎͋̀̕ ̶̺̲̻̝̗̀͆͠d̸̳̬̩̬̺͊ͅõ̸͎̺͍̋ṁ̴̞̤̘̍͊͝ͅį̵̹̲͚͔̈́̄ń̵̠̰̈́̊̅̚͠͝á̵̗̦͇̥̭͈͕̓̄̋̕ ̵̠̩̳̬̮̹͚̉f̵̗͉̙͙͔̍̽ȃ̶̬͈̲͖̱̒̿̈ͅǔ̸̧̒̀͠ͅs̷̢̪̉͋ţ̷̼̹͝ͅé̴̦͙̯͙̾ͅ ̸̛̐̈́̆̋̈́͜ṽ̷̖̦͂͠á̸̞̑́̓̕s̸̜͌͊̇̓ ̸̝̟͊͂̒͊̃n̵͚͎̺̟͆͘͝o̷͍̲̯̯̣̼̮͑̆͗͐͐ ̵͕̦̝̋̾̑ ̵͖͖̔̑̃̈⛥̴̢̣̰̰̖̊ ̶͚̜͂☠̵̧̛̗͉̲̮͗ ̷̰͒̈̏͂ψ̶̧͕͖͚͈̐ ̶͙͈̫̻̯̦̪́̐̒̈́͠ψ̴̰͙̈͂͆̅̕ ⛥ "

It hurt to listen. I wanted to scream. This voice was unreal. I looekd a the doll's face, Sreva's face. And I saw tears in her eyes. It wasn't a doll. Was it really a person? How.

The child that looked like Wy,opened her right eyelid, and inserted the doll in.

" ψ ⛥ ψ ☠ ψ ☠ ⛥ C r O W. ☠ ψ ☠ M E eT Again S-O-oN ☠ ψ " The other eye spoke.

Her mouth opened, to reveal a solitary gold eye. Illuminating the darkness and throwing me back to reality. Back to the room with Wy. Seconds before I'd fallen onto the ground. Wy moved her hands to my neck and face. I pulled back from the hug to Wy's screaming.

She saw us, with my crow head, reflected in the hallway mirror.

Ah shit.