Even the spirit world likes to throw back a cold one once in awhile.

It is 10:30 am on the road of Crows, it is a gloomy cloudy morning with a slight drizzling rain that softly beats down on the pavement in front of her car, as she makes her way east towards Brighton, near Junction 26. Her name is Sandra Kinnard, and she has heard some wonderful stories about the amazing wildlife that lives here on Crows Crossing Road, she is especially curious about the birds in particular, and even a dreary morning such as this cannot curb that curiosity. She has driven all of the way from the big city of Covington, a distance of two hundred miles, three hours behind the wheel, for one opportunity to photograph just one perfect Crow. Ahead she spots a likely candidate, perched on a wooden post amongst the remnants of a barbed wire fence that once descended down into the empty field that lye green and still beside the woodlands. She takes her eyes off of the road for a mere second, and a large man running in the rain enters into her peripheral vision. She slams on the brakes to avoid hitting him, she looks up and the man has disappeared. But the Crow has landed on the front fender of her vehicle.

Past Imperfect.



January 25th 1972.
No one ever really knew what had brought former heavyweight boxer Joey “Poppy” Pappas to the small town of Brighton in the fall of nineteen seventy two. He kept to himself mostly, and could often be found jogging outside the city limits along Crows Crossing Road, Though most of the adults that understood who Poppy was, they knew why he talked with a slow seemingly deliberate slur, and why he stammered a bit from time to time. Most of the high school kids just thought he was mentally retarded and often found ways to amuse themselves by harassing the simple giant, with their childish name calling and taunts, mostly Poppy was just trying to get in a little jogging and would just smile at them and continue on his way giving little thought or attention to the tantrums of youthful hooligans.
It was true that fighting in the heavyweight division for thirteen years had made him a bit slow in the thinking department, but Poppy still knew the difference between right and wrong, and if you were a man and a young lady needed help you gave it to her. Period. It is on a cold drizzling late afternoon when Poppy finds himself jogging once again along Crows Crossing Road, in the distance he sees a single car pulled off of the road near the trees, as he draws near he can tell that there are two occupants in it, one of them lets out a scream that immediately draws his attention, he approaches the vehicle to see a young man holding down a girl in the back seat trying to force himself on her. Poppy, without a second thought opens the door and yanks the young man from the vehicle throwing him some twenty feet into the weeds. The boy is stunned to see him, and even more stunned to hear him speak.
“That’s quite enough son, the little lady said ‘No’ so its no.” go home and sleep off that booze that’s got your head on crooked boy, before ol Poppy turns your spoiled behind over his knee.”
He helps the young girl from the vehicle and wraps her up in his coat, allowing the boy to get in the car and return home, while Poppy walks the girl back to Brighton.

Revenge.



For all of his sixteen years, Chad Telfa’s parents had rarely told him no, High school jocks of the area usually got whatever they wanted, and Chad Telfa was team captain of both of the boys varsity football and basketball teams. He always got what he wanted, right up until the time he ran into Joseph “Poppy” Pappas. Jennifer McClendon wasn’t even on the cheer leading squad, and Chad Telfa’s only interest in her was the fact that she was another boys girlfriend. But now something else had Chad Telfa’s interest. Revenge. Revenge on Poppy. He sees Poppy walking down the street carrying a sack of groceries, and along with two of his friends attempts to taunt the ex boxer. He ignores them until the vehicle rolls to a stop, and Chad Telfa gets brave and gets out , he strikes Poppy but doesn’t even budge him. Poppy grabs him by the shirt and lifts the boy off of his feet. now looking him square in the eye.
“Boy.. You’re heading to a bad place, and you best straiten yourself up before you get there.”
He embarrasses Chad Telfa in front of his peers, and instead of heeding the older wiser mans warning the youth becomes even more angry. And now begins to plot his revenge. One night later he and two other male friends are driving on a rainy afternoon on Crows Crossing Road, they have been drinking and partying all afternoon, and it is here that Chad Telfa gets his chance at revenge. Ahead in the misty light rain Poppy is out for an evening Jog, an angered Chad Telfa has decided to put a scare into him, and steps on the gas, but the alcohol and the slippery pavement impedes his judgment and his car strikes Poppy doing 55 mph. he is thrown some twenty yards into the grass beside of the road, not realizing that Poppy is dead he turns the heavily damaged car around and begins to cheer, the three drunken teenagers continue back onto Crows Crossing Road. But Chad Telfa doesn’t realize that he is now driving on the wrong side of the road and around the next turn, he pays the price, as a fully loaded logging truck hits his damaged vehicle head on, killing all three boys instantly. The car is thrown aside as the logging truck slowly screeches to a halt. The truck driver gets out and sees the vehicle laying on its side beneath a billboard for a local church. On it there was written but a single word.. Repent.

Scratch © 2007.

It is an early spring morning that Brad Peppers and Jerry Cooley, find themselves traveling along the northeast end of Crows Crossing Road. They are parallel to the Saddle Horn river, in fact the Saddle Horn is the reason for their visit to the land of Crows. They have heard tales of the legendary Trout and Bass fish that call the Saddle Horn home, and they have high hopes in stealing a prize or two, from its freezing depths. It is on this morning that Brad Peppers is driving as his life long friend Jerry Cooley is relating to him a highly regarded fish story as Brad Pepper’s truck approaches Bane’s Bridge, he sees in the distance a man standing on the side halfway across. He cautiously moves the truck around him as the man shoot a menacing glance at Jerry Cooley, when they reach the opposite end of the bridge Brad Peppers looks into the rear view mirror to see the man climbing over the guard rail of the bridge as if to jump. He slams on the Brakes and yells to Jerry, “He Jumped!” both men get out of the truck and look back in disbelief, a light rain begins to illuminate the two lane blacktop of Crows Crossing at Banes Bridge, both quickly run to where the man took his almost certainly fatal plunge into the Saddle Horn.

Bane.



It is at the time of late winter early spring of nineteen hundred and thirty nine, and the fifteen miles that separates the two small townships of Settle and Colville are experiencing some unseasonably warm weather for the time of year. The grass seems to roll into spring early as its green hues return in preparation for summer, along with the early bloom of the wildflowers that grow along the lengths of Crows Crossing Road. It is here along this fifteen mile strip that Melford Bane calls home. He is a sullen withdrawn drifter that lives between the two townships and can often be seen walking from Colville to Settle and back, searching for food and a nights shelter. While the citizenry of both townships seem to tolerate the drifter for the most part, and even though he is anything but unruly, he is often looked upon by many individuals with great disdain because of his unkempt appearance. His hair is long and dirty and he seldom finds the opportunity to bathe unless it is in the freezing waters of the Saddle Horn River. It is in the early evening in late march when Jennifer Walken is driving several children home from evening services at the Colville church, she is three miles from the turn bridge where Crows Crossing switches the raging Saddle Horn from its right hand side to its left. The storm clouds seem to appear from out of nowhere and within seconds she finds herself driving in a heavy down pouring rain, just one mile behind her, there are two other vehicles on their way to Settle. As she approaches the bridge in the distance she can see Melford Bane walking in the opposite direction, she tries to slow down on the treacherous bridge when disaster strikes. Her brakes do not respond and the large motor coach that she is driving veers out of control, and careens over the side of the bridge and into the raging Saddle Horn. Both cars behind her stop and people are frantically trying to decide what to do. Melford Bane without hesitation, leaps over the guard rail and into the waters of the Saddle Horn River to give aid to Jennifer Walken. Slowly one by one Jennifer and the children are pulled to safety, each time with Melford Bane returning to the waters to pull another child from its clutches. The last time he dives into the freezing waters, Melford Bane is never seen again. At least, not while in the world of the living.

Present Water.



The water is high here, it almost reaches the bottom of the bridge, cautiously, Brad Peppers and Jerry Cooley slowly look over the edge of the guard rail, along its edge they can clearly see the hand print left by someone who appeared to be hanging onto one of the girders down the side of the bridge, someone who had long since grown tired of waiting for someone, anyone to pull them free from the dangerous currents of the angry Saddle Horn. This is Banes Bridge, a place endeared by Crows of all kinds. A place where human character and unquestionable courage still dwell, and still serves as a reminder to all residents here, that it isn’t what’s on the outside that makes a person worthy of respect. Its what every good crow knows, here on Crows Crossing Road.

Scratch. © 2007

First Glance.



Aaron and Annie Morrison Always loved the birds that live here on Crows Crossing Road, they would come from as far away as Smithville where they lived some one hundred miles, just to watch the Crows, and sometimes when the rare occasion would arise they would even try to photograph them. On this spring morning they have followed a particular bird into the deep woods, it is unusual looking and the couple have never seen another one like it, its feathers as black as deepest night, adorned with a strip of white or silver feathers trail along the center of its small head all of the way to its tail feathers. They follow it until it comes to rest in the center of what was once a settlement, they are at first distracted by the ruins, there were several small houses or cabins that once stood here, but now all that remains are the stone foundations of every single structure. Annie Morrison follows the Crow out past the remains and stops when she sees it land on what looks like from a distance a small stone wall, it isn’t until she gets closer that Annie realizes that it isn’t a wall at all but one of the largest old water wells that she has ever seen, and when the young woman hears the first cold distant scream coming from inside of it, it stops her in her tracks.


Blood Ties.



There wasn’t many people left of the original ten families that settled here in the fall of 1901, the Minors in fact were the only ones who could seem to make a living off the land for their young family. Abraham and Celeste, Minor had fallen in love with the isolated setting in the woods, and some four years later they were still there with their daughter Michelle and young mute son Joshua. It was in the spring of 1907 when Abraham Minor first made the acquaintance of a middle aged drifter named Michael Grendel along the dirt trails of Crows Crossing while he was hunting rabbits for the evening meal. Grendel seemed friendly enough, and needed work, so the trusting settler invited him back to his home where Grendel agreed to chop firewood, in exchange for the meal he was to receive. For five weeks he stayed in the settlement with the family building and mending fences, chopping fire wood and tending to the chores while, Celeste Minor schooled the children, and Mr. Minor was away hunting.
It was at the end of the fifth week when Celeste Minor became slightly sick and sent the children out to play in the yard while she rested. It was the same day when young Joshua happened into the woods and found Michael Grendel on top of his naked sixteen year old sister Michelle, startled they both jumped up and tried to tell a scared Joshua to be quiet, but he ran into the woods, with the pair on his trail. When they’d caught up to him they found him lying on the ground with his head on a large rock, the boy in his haste had tripped and fallen, when his head had hit the rock it broke his neck and he died there within seconds. Scared of not only being discovered as lovers, but as the cause of the boys death, the pair make a drastic decision. They dump the young boys body into the water well, and decide to run away together before the father returned from his hunting trip.

The Waiting Woods.



Michelle Minor in all of the time she had been stuck in that settlement had always dreamed of bigger and better things for herself than what the woodland settlement provided her. That along with the fact that helping her father and mother care for younger mute brother wasn’t exactly her idea of fulfillment, was all the help Michael Grendel needed to coax the young beauty away from her family. They were four miles into the woods before they stopped to rest, it was still daylight and the couple knew that the father was still out hunting and the mother was more than likely still resting, it would be hours until suspicions were raised as to their whereabouts. They lay on the ground Michelle was on top of him and the coupled shared a feverish kiss , out of the corner of his eye it was the first time that he’s spotted the strange looking crow with the streak of white feathers watching them closely. He stood up and Grendel nervously chased it away.
“Did you see that creepy bird?” he asked of her.
“Never mind that stupid bird get back down here with me.”
He lay back down next to her and they continued kissing. until he looked up again to find the same bird watching them, he jumped up again and chased it away, but watched in silent awe as the bird circled around and landed once again in the same exact spot. It is then that a spooked Michael Grendel becomes convinced that they had forgotten something.
“Was there blood on that rock where he hit his head?”
The two sit in silence recreating the entire ordeal in their minds.
“If they find blood they will get the law involved, the constable and his men will come looking, if they catch us we will both go to prison.”
They decide to press on, all the while the Crow continues to follow them, now more spooked by the strange bird than ever they find themselves running through the woods Michael Grendel is running a full ten yards ahead of her, until out of nowhere she hears a shot ring out and he falls dead on the ground. Through the clearing in front of her she sees her father appear with his hunting rifle in hand. He had been hunting all day in that area and was following a deer when Michael Grendel had blindly run into the path of a bullet intended for the animal. She kneels sobbing uncontrollably over the body of her deceased lover, while her Father puts his arm around her to console her, as the Crow watches in silence.
“Honey… It was an accident.. Honey?? What.. Are you doing here?”

Scratch.. © 2007.