Shadows of the Damned - The Legend of Stinky Crow

Caw, Caw!

For nearly fourteen years his mind had been
soaring miles above, but Elliot Thomas was
still stuck down on Earth, in the boring town
of sinchester.

Alone in his tree house, he glued feathers to
his wingsuit, readying himself for the day he
would join the phoenixes and quetzalcoatls
in the sky.

"Dinnertime!" cried his mother from their
house across the yard.

Elliot sat at the center of the table.
A TV dinner was challenging his BO as the
the dominant smell in the room. On his left, his
mother yammered about her day at the ER.
On his right, his father was absorbed in his
smartphone.

As for Elliot, his eyes were fixed on the
ceiling fan, the most fascinating personality
within a ten-foot radius.

In homeroom the next day,
Justin Shmakovski threw a crappy paper
airplane at him.

Within seconds, Elliot had built a superior
vessel. He stood up on his chair and swiftly
launched the Papierflieger at his
unsuspecting enemy.

Zoom, splort! The marvel of paper aviation
lodged itself in Justin's tender eyeball.

"Mr. Thomas!" bellowed their teacher. "Go to
the principal's office!"

Later that day, Elliot was cooing quietly to
himself as he bought a candy bar in the
lobby.

Casey Wichtitz was smoking nearby and
sneered at him. "Why don't you go jack
off at some bird porn? I bet you do more
fapping than flapping!"

"Fuck you!" screeched Elliot, as he ran for the
door.

It was dark out by the time Elliot meandered
home. On the sidewalk, he passed a gaunt
man who stared at him intently desperately,
even.

The man opened his mout and said,
Hooveewaaah! Ooveezah!

Elliot had planed to eat his candy bar
tonight, while he finished his masterpiece,
but he instead held it out to the man.
"I know what you mean," he replied.

The schoolyard was packed the next morning
as Elliot's classmates waited for first bell.

Caw, caw! As one, the students turnedtoward the gate and saw Elliot dressed head
to toe in his wingsuit. After a moment of
shock, they burst into laughter.

But they were already far below him. He
swooped through their midst and into the
school. Caw, Caw! He bounded through the
halls, zigzagged up the stairwell...

Cawww! The school let out a collective gasp
when they saw Stinky Crow on the roof.
With a triumphant snap! he spread his
wings... and a moment later, he had leapt.

The next two seconds were the most
beautiful of elliot's entire life. He could feel
their eyes upon him; he was flying, and their
awe was keeping him aloft.

Ten minutes later, as guidance counselors
wiped bits of Elliot off sobbing students and
the police struggled to piece together
thestory you are reading now, Elliot's teacher
looked down at the wreckage of the boy on
the pavement, and never forgot what he
saw.

One bloody hand had formed a peace sign.
The other was giving him the finger.

THE END