A Hero's Death: Aris Crow Vampire Legend

by Rachel McClellan

  Time to go.

  20

  I pressed my ear to the closed dressing room door. All I could hear were the sounds of an excited audience as the next two fighters battled each other. I slipped into the hall and hurried to the staircase.

  Before descending the steps, I wiped the blood away from my eye with the back of my hand. It was a deep cut, but should heal by tomorrow. The problem was the swelling in both of my eyes. I had to lift my eyebrows just to get my eyelids up enough to where I could see. I pulled the ski mask over my head as I trotted down the stairs, grimacing as it slid over several cuts and bruises.

  As far as I could tell, the basement was still empty except for the two men and Oz. I snaked my way through the half-built walls and plastic sheets hanging from the ceiling. Before I rushed in to take out the men, I peeked in on Oz. His head was slumped forward in the chair, as if he were sleeping. The two men were still at the table, laughing and slurring their words. Empty beer cans littered the floor and table.

  I decided a surprise attack would be best. Both men had revolvers sitting on the table next to a stack of cards. As soon as I attacked one, the other would start firing. Maybe I could eliminate them at the same time.

  I turned around and searched the open space until I found a pile of two-by-fours.

  After picking one up, I quietly returned to the plastic enclosed room. I held it horizontal just in front of the sheet separating me from them. If the men hadn't been so wasted, they probably could've seen my dark figure.

  Measuring my aim, I adjusted the board until I had it right where it would connect to their heads at the same time. I sprinted through the plastic, taking it with me, and before the two men knew what was happening, the board crashed into their heads, knocking them both out cold. The sound was loud enough that Oz's head came up.

  He squinted as if his vision was blurry. "Who's there?"

  I quickly zip-tied the two men's hands behind their backs, then went behind Oz to untie him. "I'm getting you out of here."

  He swiveled his head around to try and look at me. "Aris? What are you doing here? You're going to get yourself killed."

  "Just shut up. You're out of here. Then you're getting your sister and leaving the city."

  The ropes fell free. I helped him to stand. He stumbled but I caught him.

  "Leave?" Oz repeated. "We can't leave. We have nowhere to go."

  I ran my arm around his side and helped him walk. Something had been done to his leg, making him limp severely. "Don't you have an aunt or uncle you can call? There's got to be somewhere you can go."

  "There's nowhere. Seriously. Besides, Amy's medical treatments are here."

  "We'll figure something out," I said, unsure what that something would be. For now, they would have to go to Ironwood.

  By the time we reached the stairs, he was able to walk a little better, but still needed my support as he hobbled up the steps. "Where are you taking me? It's not like we can just walk out the front door."

  "I'm going to drop you out of a window and you're going to run back to your apartment. Grab Amy and pack lightly. Go to that Mexican restaurant where we met before. I will meet you there soon."

  I stopped at the top of the stairs and listened to sounds beyond us. Nothing out of the norm. I looked at him. "There's a bathroom on the other side of this hall with a window. Ready?"

  He nodded.

  I opened the door and made sure we were alone before we darted across the hall. I helped him into the bathroom and closed the door behind us.

  He looked in the mirror. "Man they jacked me up good. I look almost as bad as you."

  "I have to ask, did you say anything about me?"

  He turned on the sink's faucet and splashed some water on his face. "They wanted to know who you were and how I knew you. I told them I met you a couple of weeks ago when you gave me a bunch of money and told me to give it to whoever needs it. I also made up some bullshit story about you being obsessed with Jonas Crow. I denied knowing anything else. I don't think they believed me, though. It's a good thing you came when you did."

  "Thank you for keeping my secret." I opened the window and glanced down. Several tall shrubs were directly below us. "This might hurt."

  He came next to me and followed my gaze. "What's one more wound, right?"

  "I'll lower you as far as I can, but you'll have to jump the rest of the way."

  "Let's do this." He slid backwards out the window, feet first, until his stomach rested on the windowsill.

  I grabbed onto his hands and leaned out as far as I dare. It wouldn't be that much of a drop with me lowering him, maybe five feet, but landing onto that bush wasn't going to feel good. "Ready?"

  "Do it."

  I let go of his hands. He landed in the bush and flipped over onto his back, grunting. A second later he scrambled out of the shrub and onto his feet. Before he disappeared, he saluted me and limped into the darkness.

  I watched him for as long as I could. There was still a chance he could get caught by one of the security guards wandering the grounds or by a security camera, but I had to trust that Oz knew what he was doing. His nickname was The Eel after all.

  Stepping away from the window, I returned to the hallway. As soon as it was clear, I hurried back to the dressing room. I dropped onto the bench breathing heavy. As I reached up to pull off my mask, the door opened. I quickly tucked it under my leg just as Victor and two of his bodyguards walked into the room.

  Victor smiled. "Hot damn, son! You did well tonight! For a while there, I didn't think you had a chance, but then you unleashed your inner beast. It was incredible to watch! You made me a lot of money tonight."

  I picked up my duffel bag and, as I turned to stand, I slipped the ski mask into the bag without them noticing. "It felt good to fight again."

  "And I bet it will keep on feeling good. I want to hire you as my prized fighter."

  "I already have a job."

  "You can do both."

  I met his gaze. "I don't want to do both."

  His left eye twitched and his fingers wiggled like he wanted to punch something. I don't think people told him no often.

  "You will fight for me again," he ordered.

  "When I choose to."

  "Do you have a family in the area?"

  I couldn't believe he went there. I took a step toward him making his two guards draw closer to me. "Are you threatening me?"

  Victor laughed. "Of course not. I'm just trying to get to know you better. You breeze into town, take out my strongest guy. I'm sure you can understand why I want to know more about you."

  "It's just me," I said. "And I'm going home. I have a headache." I stared hard at him, waiting to see what he would do.

  He rubbed his jaw like he was thinking hard. He wanted me to stay, no doubt. Probably because he wanted to show me off downstairs. But he recognized if he pushed me too hard, I would never fight for him again.

  He shrugged. "I expect you at work on Monday. Don't think because you're injured, you can skip out."

  "I will be there."

  He wouldn't move out of the way, so I walked around him and out the door. I tried to appear casual, even adding a small limp to my step, but as soon as I hit the front door I picked up my pace.

  I had only walked a few blocks, when the hairs on the back of my neck lifted. I turned around and scanned the crowd of people. Some walked toward a destination, but most were just standing around as if waiting for a different life to find them.

  The sensation of being followed continued to plague me, but I continued on. Victor had probably sent someone to find out more about me. I needed to lose whoever it was. I couldn't have them following me back to Oz.

  I turned the corner onto a less busy street and slowed up. Glancing back, I managed to catch a glimpse of a shorter man in a beanie. I had seen him in the crowd earlier. He matched his pace to mine.

  I reached the end of the block and turned right, sprinting quickly around the nearest building and
into an alley where I could wait for the man. As soon as he passed, I fell in step behind him, back several feet. In a few moments, he will have realized he lost me. Sure enough, when he turned the corner and didn't see me, he jogged ahead. I turned the other direction.

  It was difficult not to run from Pigtown toward Oz and his sister, but nightlife was raging on the streets. I kept my head down and walked quickly through the crowds, barely missing a bottle of alcohol as it was thrown from an open door. I glanced that way at a couple arguing. I hurried past and within a few minutes was outside of the worst of it.

  Reaching the restaurant, I peered through the large window, but didn't see Oz or his sister. My heart pounded and my breathing quickened.

  Where were they?

  21

  I looked up and down the street, but when I didn't see them, I pulled out my phone and was about to dial his number when I noticed a text message from Oz: Amy's sick. No go on restaurant. Come here.

  Exhaling a breath I'd been holding, I pocketed my phone and jogged to his apartment building. After climbing the fire escape, I found Oz in Amy's room sitting on her bed with his hand pressed to her back. She was dressed but leaning over and breathing heavy. A bucket sat at her feet.

  I rapped on the window startling them both. Oz opened the window.

  I slipped inside. "Everything okay?"

  "What are you doing out there?" Amy asked in a breathy voice.

  "We have to go," I said.

  Oz flashed me a death glare. "Don't you think we're trying?"

  I glanced down at Amy. "Would you let me carry you?"

  "I guess, but I still don't understand why we have to leave."

  "I told you," Oz explained. "It's not safe here anymore."

  "But why? Your vagueness is super annoying."

  "Let's go," I said. I swung my duffel bag to the side of me and scooped her up. She was light in my arms, almost featherlike.

  "Whoa, easy there," she said. "Slow movements are best unless you want the rest of my dinner all over you."

  I headed for the door trying to be as careful as I could. I stopped at the entrance. Someone might see me leaving with them.

  "Oz, unzip my bag and grab my ski mask," I said.

  He did as I asked and pulled it over my head.

  Amy looked up at me. Her brown eyes grew big. "You're the Crow everyone has been talking about, aren't you?"

  "You can't tell anyone," Oz told her.

  She slowly nodded her head and stared at me, mouth agape.

  I opened the front door. "I'm going to move fast. I will try to be as gentle as possible."

  "Don't worry," she said. "The last thing I want to do is barf on a superhero."

  I didn't take the time to correct her as I hurried down the hall. I almost took the stairs, but thought better of it. That much jostling could make her ill.

  At least we were alone in the hall this time of night, but I sure hated waiting those few precious seconds for the elevator to come to us. Victor's men could be on their way right now.

  The elevator doors opened. The small space was cramped and barely fit the three of us. It jerked as it moved down. If Victor's men didn't find and kill us, this elevator surely would.

  As soon as we were on the street, I headed toward the nearest underground entrance. It was only two blocks over behind a small restaurant.

  "Can you lift that?" I asked, motioning toward a square metal grading.

  Oz bent down and dipped his fingers into small holes on each side. It took some straining, but he finally propped it open.

  "You're kidding, right?" Amy asked. "I am not going down there. This is messed up."

  "Sorry, sis," Oz said. "It's the only place we're going to be safe."

  "In a sewer? I think I'd rather take my chances up here. My friend Sue said monsters live down there."

  "Nothing of the sort," I said. "Unless you consider me one."

  I paused at my words, realizing there might be some truth to my statement.

  "You're the furthest thing from a monster," she said. "I guess it's okay, but can you try not to get anything on my jacket? It's my favorite."

  "You got it." With one hand, I cradled her to my chest and slowly made my way down the ladder to the tunnel below. Oz came in after us and repositioned the manhole. I tore off the ski mask and tucked it into my pocket.

  "I can't see a thing," she said, a hint of fear in her voice. "I wish I had my gun."

  I chuckled.

  Oz turned on his cell phone screen, illuminating the space only a few feet in front of us. "We'll be there soon, I think."

  "Where's there?" Amy asked. "It's cold down here."

  "My home," I said. "It's warmer there."

  I wrapped my other arm around her to try and provide some warmth. She was only wearing a light jacket. I probably should've warned Oz to pack warmer. Maybe I could sneak back in their apartment later and grab more clothes.

  "That's so sad that you have to live down here away from the sun," she breathed. Her head dropped to my shoulder. "I'm tired."

  "You can sleep," I said.

  Oz glanced back at me, his expression sad. I hoped I wasn't making a mistake bringing them down here. It probably wasn't the best for Amy, but I didn't know what else to do.

  It didn't take us long to get to Ironwood. I walked straight to my post office home and laid Amy on top of my bed. Oz tucked the blankets around her and unzipped his bag to pull out her medicine and clothes. He even had a picture of their parents that he sat on a nightstand. I admired that he tried to make this place feel as much like home as possible.

  "What have you done?"

  I turned around to face Roman's wrath. "I had no other choice. Victor's men are going to come for them."

  "Get them a bus ticket and get them out of the city. They should not be here."

  Oz cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, sir, but there's nowhere for us to go. And my sister is very ill. We can't travel far."

  Roman's mouth pressed into a tight line, and his eyes lowered to Amy who was sound asleep.

  "It's true," I said. "Besides, they will be safer here. And it's just temporary."

  His expression gave nothing away, but by the tension in the air, he wasn't happy.

  "I heard you fought well tonight," Roman said. "Everyone is talking about it."

  "I did what I had to do."

  "Victor will be watching you closely now. He's noticed you. You're going to have to be more careful than ever."

  "I will. "

  "You guys have a first-aid kit?" Oz asked.

  "Are you hurt?" I asked him.

  "Nothing major, but I think you could use some stitches on that cut above your eye."

  "You're injured?" Roman's voice was one of astonishment.

  "The man I fought," I said, finally having a moment to think about it, "he was different. He was as strong as me and at one point, his eyes flashed yellow."

  "What did you say?" Roman said, his voice louder than usual.

  "He wasn't normal. He was like me, unnaturally strong and fast."

  Roman shook his head. "The part about yellow eyes. You saw this?"

  "Just a flash of it. What does it mean?" I asked. When he didn't answer me, I added, "Roman?"

  "We should train," he said suddenly.

  With the way I felt that's the last thing I wanted to spend my energy on. "No. I have to get back out on the streets. There are still several locations I want to hit. Tonight will be a good time for that. Victor will be busy trying to figure out how Oz escaped."

  Behind the old counter, I grabbed a white box from a shelf and handed it to Oz. "I'll be fine, but you can use whatever you need in here. There's pain reliever. If your face feels anything like mine, you'll want to take some."

  "There will be retaliation," Roman warned. "You need to prepare yourself."

  "Retaliation?" Oz looked at each of us. "What's Victor going to do? He doesn't know who you are, and I've disappeared."

  "You don't kn
ow him like we do," Roman explained. "He will hurt anyone he thinks might be associated with you in an attempt to draw you out."

  Oz's Adam's apple moved up and down. "What do we do?"

  "You stay here," I said. "I will have to fight back just as hard."

  I walked behind the wooden partition to change my clothes and prepare to go back out onto the street. Everything on my body still hurt, but I was used to pain. Roman had made that so.

  "You won't be able to win if you keep fighting as you are," Roman said to me across the partition. "These men are like vermin. They must be stomped out permanently, not thrown into a cell where they will only be released later. I understand that now."

  "You're wrong," I said, as I looked into a mirror to reapply makeup to my tattoo. I could just barely make out the black crow beneath the covering I had applied earlier. "The police are finally arresting people, and judges are sending them to prison. My father's way is the right way."

  There was silence on the other end. I walked out to see if Roman had left, but he still stood near the doorway. Oz was sitting on the bed staring down at his sister.

  In a quiet voice, Roman said, "Your father is not who you think he was, and it's time you knew the truth."

  "I know who my father was." I glanced at the board littered with his praise. So many news clippings of all the many good things he had done for the city. Hundreds of criminals arrested and many of them still behind bars.

  "Your father killed people," Roman continued.

  I pulled on my black jacket and grabbed my ski mask. "I'm sure when he had to, but he was not a murderer."

  "You need to change, Aris. You won't win this war otherwise."

  "You don't know what you're talking about." I moved toward the doorway. Roman blocked my way. "I need to go."

  He remained still, and I wondered if I was going to have to physically pick him up to move past him, but then he stepped out of the way. "Speak to Kristen. Tell her you want to know the truth."

  "Why are you suddenly saying shit—" I glanced back at Amy, ashamed I'd cursed in front of her— "crap like this?"

  Anger churned inside me, bringing on a familiar heat that wanted to destroy everything around me. I didn't like that it was directed toward Roman, but his timing seemed awfully suspicious. He’d had years to tell me if there was a different truth about my father, but he wanted to tell me now? I couldn't help but think it was all in an attempt to get me to turn into a vampire.