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The Crow - "Rest"
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Another night, another rooftop. It seemed I was out almost every night now. This night was different. I was on the roof of my own building, hoping to catch a glimpse of my new mark. Jared. The story that Cris had told me earlier in the day still haunted me. I knew what had happened the night that Jared died, and it weighed heavily on my mind.
Jared and Cris had gone on a call, one which involved drug dealers suspected of murdering Jared’s older sister, who’d been a vice cop. Jared and Cris were posing as buyers and were supposed to meet the dealers in a warehouse. The minute the dealers showed themselves, Jared pulled his firearm and started to shoot. It was all Cris could do not to get caught in the crossfire. The situation had come to a head when Jared had one of the drug dealers backed into a corner, wounded and at gunpoint. The dealer couldn’t have been older than fourteen or fifteen, and Jared was prepared to shoot him at point blank range. Cris had drawn his gun, and begged his partner, his lover, to lower his firearm.
But Jared wouldn’t.
Cris fired. Jared died. End of story.
Now…now he thought Jared was back and there was no doubt in my mind that he was right. So I’d decided to watch from the roof. My gun rested warmly against my thigh, reminding me of its presence. Almost against my will I removed it from the holster, checking the clip to see how many shots I had. Full clip.
“This is how you greet an old friend?”
I turned and leveled the gun at the figure that had somehow managed to sneak up behind me on the rooftop. Smoothly I removed the safety on the pistol, never moving my eyes from him. His short hair was the same disheveled mess it had always been, his handsome face paler than I remembered it. “Jared. You’ve come back for revenge?”
He grinned and shook his head, showing me his own firearm. “Retribution.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”
“I loved you, Sara. I did. You were like a little sister. But if you stand in my way I will kill you.”
I blinked once or twice, forcing the tears from my eyes. I would be damned before I let him play my heartstrings to my own downfall. “I won’t let you hurt Cris. You’ve already done enough. Your death was your own fault and you goddamn know it was.” I was happy that tonight I was without the earpiece. I didn’t want Cris hearing any of this. All I wanted to do was fire at the empty shell of Jared that stood before her, over and over, for every day that Cris had suffered the guilt and pain of what his partner had forced him to do.
“I’m sorry about this, Sara. I really am.”
Suddenly I heard the familiar caw of a crow and I realized that I had let my guard down. I turned in time to see the bird land, it’s beak snapping forward, digging into the soft skin on my cheek. I screamed involuntarily and dropped my gun, bringing my hands to my face in an attempt to tear the bird away from my face before it reached my eyes. I finally managed to grab the creature, tearing it away and snapping its neck. I glanced around, horrified that I was alone on the rooftop. “Cris!” I crouched down and grabbed my gun, then tore off towards the edge of the rooftop, taking a flying leap off and landing with practiced ease on the fire escape. I quickly ran down the escape, stopping on the third floor and shattering whatever window was accessible, pushing myself through the shards and quickly finding the apartment door. When I got into the hall it took me a minute to figure out where I was. When I got my bearings I ran, faster than I had ever run before, down the hallway. I reached the door, tried the knob, only to find it locked.
Why now? I threw myself against the door. Once. Twice. On the third time I felt it give a little, and on the fourth solid slam, it swung open. I almost walked right into Cris, whose back was to the door. Across from Cris was Jared, his gun raised to fire at the person I loved most.
Without thinking I threw Cris down out of the way as the sound of gunfire exploded in the small apartment. I leveled my own weapon and opened fire. I didn’t care if I was shot. With every round released from my pistol I took I stepped forward, until I was standing over Jared’s dead body and firing my last round into the unrecognizable pulp that had once been his face. I hadn’t realized it, but my face was wet with tears and my breathing uneven. I dropped the gun and turned toward Cris. I wanted to see the relief on his face that we were safe. I wanted him to take me in his arms and tell me that I did what I had to do.
But I would get neither. My heart felt like it stopped in my chest when I saw him.
He lay on his side, his glasses askew on his handsome face, his chestnut hair having fallen over his brow. Blood was pooling around his prone form, having already soaked through the front and side of his shirt. He tried to push himself up but failed, his bright blue gaze meeting my own gaze. He’d been shot. Somehow Jared had managed one clean shot, and that was all he needed.
No. I ran to Cris, dropping to my knees and moving to cradle his head in my lap. “Oh Cris, I’m so sorry. Hold on, all right?” I reached for the phone, the sting of tears at the back of my eyes. But his hand came up to cover mine and bring it back down to his chest, where he placed it over his heart and shook his head. “What’re you doing, Cris?” I asked, confused and trying to deny what this gesture meant. “I have to call for an ambulance.”
“Everything’s going to be all right,” he murmured, sliding a bloody hand up to gently brush my face. “You’ll see.”
There it was. The comfort. I saw it in his eyes. I saw the sadness, the resignation. But I also saw something that I hadn’t seen in a year. That stern resolve, a hint of the old Crispin Maclean. I smiled through my tears, trying not to sob when I spoke. “Promise me something, Cris?”
“What?” he asked, his gaze clear and questioning.
“Don’t come back,” I replied, my voice breaking with a sob. “I couldn’t do it if it was you. I couldn’t do it.” All I wanted for my friend was to rest in peace. It was what he so rightly deserved. “Just rest.”
He smiled and nodded. “It’s a promise.”
And then he was gone.
And I was alone.
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END
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