The Crows Are Watching: A Short Story

 

May 4th 

The job at Talon’s Plain was a complete wreck. We should have known better than to rob a train headed to goddamn military town. And the state bonds that feller told Mitch about was nothing but bullshit. That damn train was carrying nothing more than a couple dozen dollars worth of gold and a bunch of trigger happy hillbillies. Isaac, Mitch and I made it but the guards got Leonard. Poor bastard will be hanged for sure. We barely managed to escape the law by jumping off and riding south into the canyons. We didn’t manage to really take anything of value so we’re not expecting to get chased beyond that. Mitch’s horse had taken a bullet to the leg and finally gave up on us halfway through the canyons. We had to continue on foot, Perry is a strong horse but not strong enough to carry three men. We will camp up here tonight and go back to the hideout as soon as we can. I don’t know the region around here but we should be able to find our way once we reach Trinidad River which should be just past these canyons. 

May 5th 

These goddamn canyons are a maze. I have never seen anything like this. Every path we take we end up in a dead end. We are stuck down in these rock walls with our only point of reference being that back where we came from there are men that want our asses hanging which at this point I’m not sure we could find even if we tried. Isaac managed to catch some snakes for eating. The boy catched and killed them snakes like it was apples. He must be getting it from his indian mother because it sure as shit it ain’t from his hillbilly father. I never thought I’d miss that fool. Anyhow we have food for now but we’re going to need water soon. By Mitch’s calculations we should have left the canyons by now. I am starting to worry.

May 6th

A murder of crows has been following us. They stand looking down upon us from these damn rock walls as if waiting for us to die to come and feast. There are a lot of them. More than I’ve ever seen together. I counted twenty seven but Mitch insists there are at least forty. This means that either I forgot how to count or one of us is starting to lose it. We need to find water. Isaac says that it might rain soon from looking at the clouds. I hope he’s right, but I also hope this rain doesn’t catch us at night.

May 7th

The goddamn rain caught us at night. We barely managed to keep some ambers alive to not freeze to death. The rain seems to have died down a little since morning but it still keeps going. But this might be the best thing that has happened to us. We managed to fill up our canteens and after following the path of water we finally made it out of those damn canyons and arrived at what should be Snake’s Plains. Trinidad River should be a day away from here by foot. I insisted that we should rest here at the mouth of the canyon until tomorrow. It is a long walk through open plains, under direct sun. But Mitch seems less than enthusiastic about my proposal and wants to leave as soon as possible but Isaac and I refused to leave until we rested. Mitch, he is acting in a way I’ve never seen him act. He always presents himself like a refined and wise gentleman, even if behind that confidence and wisdom was nothing but a quick hand and pretty words. I’ve known Mitch since I was 16 and at some point I even saw him like a father or an older brother, him and Leonard both. This life seemed so romantic at first, but as I grew I realized that they were no great men of books and stories, they were criminals killing and stealing to survive. But I’m not better than them. We are all bad men at the end of the day. I should talk to the boy’s mother when we get back to camp. Maybe he should go to the city and get an honest job. Riding with bandits ain’t precisely where a nineteen year old boy should be. I’d know that.

May 8th

We finally headed out into the plains. Mitch seems a little calmer now but he did mention something that worries me. He told me that the reason why he had been so uneasy was because of the crows. He told me that they talked to him. I hope that’s the sun that’s making him talk crazy like that because fifty-six is still too young to be losing your marbles. We saw a horse and tried to tame it. With it and Perry we’d had two horses and we could’ve quickly left this damn plains. But the horse was a wild one. It kicked Mitch and broke his right arm. Mitch killed it in one shot but then he decided to upload the rest of the revolver on the poor animal. This is very uncarasteric of Mitch. Sure he kills but I’ve never seen him so upset, so angry. We stopped him from pulling out his repeater and wasting more bullets. Isaac and I manded to bind his arm but now that Mitch has an injury we really need to get out of here soon.. We decided to skin and eat the horse at least the part that Mitch hadn't turned into a bloody mess. Now I’m a God fearing American not a goddamn Canadian so I had my reservations about eating the horse. But I had little choice on account of only having eaten half a snake in the last 4 days. I hope the Lord above forgives me for what I’m about to do. Eating a horse, like some depraved animal and I thought killing men was the worst I’ve done.

 

May 9th.

The crows are back. All twenty-seven goddamn crows are back. I’ve counted them many times. Twenty-seven. Mitch is not okay. He has been shaking all day. He just stares at the ground and shakes. They’ve been awfully quiet, the crows. Now that I think about it they haven’t ever cawed. Not even once. They are just following us. They fly some, then they walk some. Always behind us, always looking at us. I talked to Isaac. I told him that if anything were to happen he should take Perry and ride away. He nodded and didn’t ask anything. “If something were to happen”. I don’t even know what I meant by that. I just know that I meant it.

May 10th

This has to be hell. Mitch is dead. So is Isaac. We was walking down the plains this morning close to noon probably. The sun was high. Everything was washed out by a white dazzling haze. Mitch suddenly grabbed my arm and cried. He told me to make them quiet. I was confused. Everything was quiet I didn’t understand. He got on his knees and begged me and Isaac to make them quiet. “The crows” make them stop. The crows were quiet, staring at us. But they were quiet. Mitch stood up yelling and started shooting at the crows. They started aggressively cawing and batting their wings. “Damn you devils. Leave me be!” Mitch yelled “Damn you. Damn you. DAMN YOU!!!” He repeated time and time again. I told Isaac to leave but the boy was sitting there paralized, shaking. The cawing became louder and louder and then it started. At first a couple, then the rest of ‘em. The crows jumped on Mitch and started pecking him. He fell to the grown crying and flailing his arms around. The birds peck his hand first. They stripped his skin off and then his meat and tendons. You could hear the mushy and bloody carnage. The tendons snapping, the feet kicking but over all that a yell of pain. A yell so loud I crumbled in fear. The yelling. The yelling lasted for not very long as Mitch's voice broke soon after. But he kept trying to scream but only a gasp of air came out. It was clear to hear now, the feasting. Around this time Mitch stopped struggling and looked at us. After the crows finished with his hand they started pecking his face, now expressionless staring at us. They mutilated his ear in a matter of seconds. They pulled and ripped his wrinkly face like it was chewing gum. They peck one of his eyes. With the other he kept staring at me, emotionless. By the time they were finished you could see all the white of his skull drenched in blood. He had no face, just bone. He was still breathing. But not for long. He died at some point soon after. Isaac said something “how could only three birds do all this?”. Right as he said this, the birds stared at me and Isaac and started to get closer. The boy pulled his revolver and blew his head out before they got any close. Most of his brains landed on me. When his head hit the ground three big discharges of blood came out of his skull one after another and then a constant stream. I knew I was dead at this point. A single crow walked up to me and stared into my eyes. Then it… it spoke. “Have you been a good man?”. I did not know what to do. “How many lives have you taken Mr.Cronwall?” I fell on my back, frozen. The creature jumped on my chest. It said “Twenty-seven lives Mr. Cornwall. You have taken twenty-seven lives. Mcclanahan ranch, two hands that were preventing cattle from being stolen. Morgan’s Village, a shopkeeper, a clerk and a policeman. Yellow Groove, four escorts defending a wagon and a driver. Saint Richard, an old lady that got robbed. Saint Richard, a bank guard and five policemen. Eagle’s peak, a merchant who refused to give out his cargo. Red Pass, three bounty hunters. Rabbit’s Hollow, a young couple that saw something they shouldn’t have. Talon’s plain, a shopkeeper. Talon’s Plain, one train guard, three passengers defending themselves. So I will ask you again Mr. Cornwall. Have you been a good man?” I remained quiet. I understand that I am not a good man. The bird has been standing on my chest for hours now. The sun is coming down. I know that nothing good awaits for a man like me after death. I only regret not being able to save Isaac. Huh. Isaac saw three birds. I didn’t know he had killed anyone other than his father.