Whispers Fall Silent.
Life passes.
For true believers.
Love is eternal.

Heaven holds a place..



It is 6:30 pm at junction thirty three of Crows Crossing Road, James Osgood and Lila Peterson have been driving all of fifteen hours to get to Newport City. With just one hundred and fifty miles to go they decide to stop and get something to eat it begins to rain as they sit in the Mercedes, they are both young and very much in love with each other, in spite of all of the objections of each ones family and friends. They have decided to elope and get married in Newport City, where James uncle Larry has promised him employment, and they will begin their new life together. The rain is falling harder as the gas station attendant warns James about hazardous road conditions, James swears that he will be careful and the young couple drives away. they don’t speak a word between them for several miles, when Lila places her hand on James inner thigh, and smiles knowingly. Finding it difficult to concentrate the young mans foot slowly pushes hard down on the gas pedal, out of the corner of his eye he sees something flying towards the windshield of the Mercedes, and he abruptly slams on the breaks. Shaken, he sees to Lila and she says she is alright so he gets out to see what has happened. In the middle of the rain storm across the road he sees a lone Crow, perched almost defiantly on a broken down fence post staring right at him. James stammers. “Man!! You scared me fella!! What are you doing out in this rain anyways? You better find some cover your gonna take sick!” he returns to the car where Lila is waiting they both laugh nervously before going on. Three miles later and she has her hands on him again, and this time he is struggling to pay attention, but failing miserably. The throttle is pushed harder when the second bird comes flying at the windshield, once again forcing him to slam on the breaks. This time when James leaves the vehicle, he sees the bird perched on a road sign, and as he moves almost right in front of it , his heart almost stops when young James realizes it’s the same bird as before.

It cocks its head to one side and ruffles its feathers at the falling rain, and James slowly backs away. Back in the car he stomps on the gas.. Lila is concerned, “Jimmy? What is it? What’s wrong? He stares at the Crow in the rear view mirror. “It was the same bird Lila. The same one as before.” he slowly increases his speed. “we have to get to Newport City now.” the rain falls harder. He is up to 70 mph driving conditions quickly deteriorate, and around the next bend, James has no way of knowing that a logging truck has jackknifed in the middle of the road. He slows down to take the bend but not nearly enough to stop in time, and when he sees the jackknifed truck he slams on the breaks and pulls hard on the steering wheel. The Mercedes turns to sharply and begins to rollover several times before coming to a complete stop on its side, he feels nothing as he rises to his feet. he doesn’t see Lila right away and moments later the fire truck and ambulance that were already en route to the jackknifed truck arrive to the scene and begin to try to administer aid to Lila. But as they finally cover her face James tries to scream when he realizes that she is dead, the rain falls harder now, they load the second body, and he sees her standing there. Now he is more confused than ever but nonetheless relieved to see her. They come close to each other and watch silently as the wreckage is removed and the road is cleared. Above them in a tree amidst the falling rain sits a lone Crow who silently watches them try to understand what has happened. just two young people that wanted to start a wonderful new life together, and now they would be together forever here on Crows Crossing Road.



Scratch © 2006

It is twelve pm on the road of Crows, and Lester Cavanaugh has been hitchhiking through the area when he comes across the small community of 4000 people known as Badders Bluff. It offers little in the way of tourism to travelers, but the one café that sits on the side of the road on the way out of the small township, offers a warm place to eat and drink hot coffee on a cold rainy day. To Lester Cavanaugh it is the very thing he needs at the moment, so he enters and takes a seat at the far end of the counter, he places an order for a sandwich and a hot cup of coffee, aside from a chatty waitress named Thelma, he is presently the only patron in the café. Thelma and he strike up a conversation and she wastes no time in giving him a brief history lesson of Crows Crossing Road and Badders Bluff. Perhaps Since the time of prohibition, the two most haunted places in the whole country. Lester Smiles politely as Thelma relates to him a story from that time, a time of young love that ends horribly in the tree covered hills just past the town limits. Lester will not be smiling long.

Screaming Bloody Moonshine..



Welcome to the newly formed township of Badders Bluff population 800. It is in the fall of nineteen hundred and twenty nine, it is October 3rd of that year when a beautiful young lady of the vicinity named Amy Clay, makes the acquaintance of a handsome young high school boy named Tyler Heldon, and although the teenagers form a fast friendship, it soon becomes obvious that their backgrounds and families would get in the way of any budding romance. The two of them come from two very different backgrounds and when it is discovered that they have been keeping their relationship a secret the parents of both forbid them from ever seeing each other again, Amy’s father is the local sheriff and watches her closely, but has little time nor patience in communicating with his wife and daughter, as he busies himself with the tasks of tracking down and stopping the flow of illegal liquor that has been in his area for the past year. He has found people in possession of what is called moonshine on several occasions, but has yet to find the source of its flow. It is Friday afternoon at the home of Amy Clay, her mother is away playing bridge with her friends, Amy is packing a small bag of clothes, she and Tyler have decided to run away together. They are going to meet outside of town and travel along the tree line so they won’t be seen by passing autos, they know that it will be past dark before any serious suspicions are raised. When Amy reaches the edge of town she proceeds to the place where she knows Tyler will be waiting. When arriving the two young lovers share a passionate kiss before embarking on their journey together.

They travel for the first hour along the tree line so they will not be spotted, three miles from the city limit’s the pair decide to head further into the woods, to find a place to rest, when Tyler Realizes that they have found their way to Milo Hattley’s property, he knows that the dangers that now surround them. Milo Hattley guarded his land and property fiercely, and has been known to actually shoot at people that trespassed here. It is nearing dusk when the Happen upon the strange looking apparatus hidden deep in the woods of Milo Hattley’s property. It starts to rain when the young teenagers first realize that they have found a still, and they have now put themselves at a terrible risk if Hattley had discovered them. They turn back towards the path that bought them there and begin back down the way they came, when Amy hear the terrible sound that she at first believes to be thunder. But when Tyler falls face down into the rain soaked leaves, she realizes that he is bleeding terribly from the back and is not moving, behind her she sees the hulking form of Milo Hattley moving towards her through the trees with his shotgun in hand, he is reloading when Amy tries to revived the now deceased Tyler. She knows that her love is dead, and if she has any chance of survival she must try to run, she is screaming now as Milo closes in on her. One hundred feet from Tyler’s body, he cuts her down from behind with his second blast from the shotgun, Milo Hattley buries the bodies of Tyler Heldon and Amy Clay together in the same shallow grave there in the deep woods of his property. Ten days later a search party being led by Amy Clay’s father while looking for the missing teenagers, happen upon the still of Milo Hattley during a brief confrontation Sheriff Clay shoots Milo Hattley dead. The bodies of the two young lovers are never found.



As Lester makes his way along the deserted stretch of road, in spite of the thick clouds and billows of distant rolling thunder, the afternoon rain has briefly stopped. He thinks it is a bit strange the way the birds here do not seek shelter from the stormy weather, the Crows seem to follow him along the road and see his every move. And as Lester Cavanaugh walks along, the clouds slowly become fewer and fewer, and he stops to watch a peculiar ray of sunlight that has escaped and fallen down into one area of woods up on the mountain side. He ponders a new sound that rings almost like thunder but slightly different, once and then seconds later twice. He pulls the collar of his coat up around his neck, as the ray of light disappears back into the clouds, the thunder falls silent as the rain returns, and Lester speaks to the Crows. “That was a little too close for me guys.. See ya.” he tells them, and the Crows watch him walk away, each Crow knowing that the thunder never falls silent for long, here on Crows Crossing Road.

Scratch.. © 2006.

It is the rainy season on Crows Crossing Road it is near the mountainous area near the twenty forth turn where Jake and Ansel Cabbot have stopped to scope out a hunting area. They have ventured into the deep woods about a half of a mile in, there is mist and fog mixed with drizzling rain, it is difficult to tell if there is any sign of legitimate game because of the conditions, two steps further, and Jake hears the first screams coming from the deep woods up on the hillside. It raises the hair on the two brothers necks, but they come to believe that someone is in trouble, so the make a decision to proceed up in the tree infested hillside, never dreaming for a second what waited there hidden just out of sight. Away from the light.

Leonard.



October twenty sixth nineteen hundred and thirty eight, near turn twenty four, three miles from Templeton’s general store and gas station. Lies the cabin home of Bernard Lawrence and his young son Leonard and his daughter Annabelle, Lenny and his sister have no mother and throughout the entire area Bernard Lawrence is known as a brash two fisted alcohol swilling bully, and the only food and care for the small family is provided by the hunting and parenting skills of thirteen year old Leonard, he cooks, he cleans, and he cares for his little sister all the while being constantly beaten on a daily basis by his drunkard of a father. It is seven pm in the evening and as per usual it is raining . Leonard knows that his bastard father has been away at Templeton’s gas station and general store doing mechanical work all day, he also knows that the money made would be spent on liquor. And Bernard would come home and take to getting mean with his children because they were in his opinion the one thing holding him back. But this time, things would be different, because young Lenny has had enough, so to protect his nine year old sister he has taken her to a neighbors house two miles down the trail where she would be safe, leaving Leonard to deal with daddy in his own way. He waited for two hours past twilight and then he could hear Bernard lumbering up the walkway to the cabin, drunk off of his ass. He kicks the door in only to be met by silence, he bellows for Leonard and Annie to get their asses in there to feed him, but when neither comply he becomes angry and slowly moves through the cabin knocking over objects as he goes, stopping at the back porch, where Leonard is waiting.

He has a long piece of timber in his hands, and he is crouched below the porch when he strikes the first blow hitting Bernard in the right knee. The older bigger man rears back and bellows in severe pain. And it is then that Leonard realizes that now he has to see it through. Now there will be no turning away from this. He runs but not too fast, so that Bernard can follow him as he leads the way into the dark woods, and Bernard does. deeper and deeper into the woods Lenny leads his father until he has him confused as to where he is, he is stumbling down the path yelling out Leonard’s name cursing him, Leonard however has planned it all so very carefully and has lead his father to where he has a hunting knife hidden, and is waiting to make his next move. he comes up behind the older man stabbing at him two times, the second time raking the knife across the side of his belly cutting him open. Leonard runs deeper down the path and the wounded but very enraged father still follows. He stumbles and falls. Now bleeding badly, “LENNY!! You little Bastard!!” The rain falls harder now, his angry shouts echoing through the trees through the down pouring rain. “Lenny! You think this makes you a Man? You ain’t never gonna get rid of me! Not now.. Not ever!!” he has stopped right where Leonard wants him to, on a Thirty five foot cliff overlooking the rapids of the Saddlehorn river. he stumbles but does not fall as Leonard has hoped that he would, instead he stands almost defiantly bleeding slowly to death while taunting his young son, Leonard can not stand anymore, he comes at him on a dead run down the path still wielding the bloody knife, and almost to the very edge of the cliff he leaps at his father violently stabbing him as they both fall over the edge and into the rapids of the Saddlehorn river. Young Annabelle Lawrence never sees her father or brother Leonard again.


Crow painting "Against The Wind." by Sherries Cherries..

Jake and Ansel Cabbots hunting excursion has been rudely interrupted by the screams of a man in the deep woods. They move closer to try to pinpoint the exact direction of the strange screams, and when they see the figure of a bloody man standing on the cliff they begin to have serious question’s concerning their own courage, and when the ghostly figure turns and begins to move towards them they beat a hasty retreat back down the trail the way they came. they reach their vehicle several minutes later and don’t even stop to check it over before they jump in it and speed away , neither one of them even notices the old bloody hunting knife sticking out of the spare tire in the back of the truck, with the letters L.L. carved into the handle.. The rain is still falling here, It will be a long wet season, for the true hunters that wait here on Crows Crossing Road.

Scratch.. © 2006.

Jimmie and Ritchie Little are brothers, Jimmie is twelve and Ritchie is eleven born only a year apart the two young siblings have always been as close as two young brothers could possibly be. Their family moved to Jasper County just seven months ago to the Northridge housing development, they live one mile from the west side of Junction 35, and Although they are still relatively new to the area, they have heard others speak of the local legends, of a lake hidden back in the woods up on the hillside, across the haunted stretch of highway called Crows Crossing Road. The stories have it that the lake itself is haunted as well, by the ghosts of people that disappeared into its murky waters to never again be seen, the two Little brothers, have heard stories of another type regarding Lunar Lake as well, fish stories, big enough to make two curious young boys more than willing to tempt fate. it is early in the morning, and they are almost all of the way through the two mile path that leads to the Lake. Almost to the edge young Ritchie sees the fog rolling around the water, and almost immediately he begins to think about the stories that they were told.. About two other boys almost the same age, that went fishing on one cold foggy morning and were never seen again, they too were there against their parents wishes, they too even back in nineteen forty nine, didn’t believe in the stories. Jimmie reassures him that they are going to catch the biggest fish either of them had ever seen.. Neither of them wonder about the curious way the fog seems to separate to almost magically reveal a dock that goes out over the murky water for at least fifty five feet, they don’t even think twice as the young brothers slowly follow it to the edge of Lunar Lake..



They get almost all of the way to the end of the dock when they hear out in the fog what they think is a big fish splashing about twenty yards out, immediately all fears disappear at the prospect of catching a whopper, and now giggling, the two boys feverishly begin to unpack their gear with hooks bait both make a great first cast and are now sitting at the end of the dock, young Ritchie innocently has both feet dangling inches above the water, seconds later they can both hear something stirring in the water beneath them. Jimmie immediately feels that it is no longer safe. “Ritchie.. Get your feet up here now.” the younger brother looks puzzled but has no time to react when something in the cold icy waters grabs him by the ankle and tries to pull him into the Lake, he screams for his older brother and Jimmy Sees him being drug into the water and reaches out to grab hold of his brother with all of his might he pulls against the unseen enemy for what seems like hours, until finally Ritchie’s shoe comes loose, forcing it to release his ankle, now crying the boys both jump to their feet and on a dead run head to the end of the dock and soon find themselves back in the woods running towards Crows Crossing Road, at the roads edge, something odd catches Ritchie’s eye and he stops running in almost amazement to look at it, “What??” Jimmy asks him.. “What is it Ritchie?” they both look down and there on the edge of the road is Ritchie’s missing shoe, that only moments ago was pulled off of his foot and into Lunar Lake. They both look around to see if anything followed them from the woods, but all that they see is a lone single Crow that sits perched on a road sign. it cocks its head slightly to one side and studies the young boys as they turn and head for home, it raises its wings against the foggy morning sky, and as its body ascends into the cold morning air, it soon disappears from sight.

Scratch. © 2006

It is two Am on the path of Crows, Jason Gatsby travels it alone this night, or morning such as it is, Jason’s job as an advertising executive has pulled him from home. This year he will not be able to spend his tenth year wedding anniversary with his beautiful wife because of job demands. They have been arguing over the phone as he drives, both are upset. He tells her that he is sorry just as the front left tire blows on his sports car, so he hangs up and pulls over to the shoulder of the road. There are no other cars at this hour, and the moon is hiding behind a thick row of clouds that have engulfed the dark early morning sky. He opens the trunk and takes out the spare tire and a small jack, it is then when he sees the first one. She is a beautiful young woman dressed in a glowing white dress, the image is as faint as a whisper but unmistakable. Now completely consumed by his curiosity, he moves closer to her, he doesn’t feel fear, but a sense of terrible sadness overcomes him and he falls to his knees. She is searching the woods along the roadside about twenty yards in for something or someone that he cannot see.



Moments later he sees the second one, this is a young male, and as Jason Gatsby watches him from across the road, the terrible feeling of sadness intensifies, two of them separated by Crows Crossing Road. It is then when an idea comes to Jason, he goes to the car and takes out his flashlight and falls inline directly in front of the female, he softly begins to talk to the male while flashing the light on and off repeatedly.. “She’s over here buddy!” suddenly as if on cue the male stops and turns to face Jason Gatsby, and then begins to walk slowly towards him, and for the first time in years Jason Gatsby can feel his own heart beating inside of his chest, and he knows that he is alive. The male apparition passes by, within three feet of him and pauses slightly to look directly at Jason before continuing on. the female has now seen the male and has begun to walk towards him and when the couple appear to stop and reach out to touch each other, Jason Gatsby has an epiphany. They pause to look at him before disappearing together from view.. Jason rises to his feet and quickly changes his flat tire, and when he starts the car he finds himself stopping once again twenty feet later. He takes the cell phone from his pocket and calls his wife, and when he hears her voice it calms him. And as they talk he turns the car around and heads for home.. “Honey?…. I love You..”



Scratch © 2006.