Shadow Angel: Volume 1

Human

The Raven wasn't sure how it happened. All it remembered was eating the flesh off Cody's deceased body until nothing was left. It could also recall the sudden pain in its body before passing out. The next thing it knew, it woke up to find a pair of human arms and hands in front of it. With a gasp, it examined the hands, moving them around slowly. At that moment, the Raven noticed the arms were attached to its body. It looked around until it turned to its left to find a broken mirror that was near the stairs. It crawled up to the mirror, and as soon as it got closer, it looked at its reflection and gasped in shock at what it saw.

It was no longer the Raven Eldritch. It was now a human who was a spitting image of Cody.

As it--no--he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he pushed himself onto his knees and thoroughly noted every detail it had. This new body had slightly tanned skin, and he was thin but not too skinny. He had unkempt dark brown hair that reached his shoulders; the Raven remembered that Cody tied his hair in a short ponytail nowadays. However, the detail that stood out to him the most was the eyes. Cody's eyes were grayish-blue, but these were golden yellow. Then, there were the ears, nose, and eyebrows, which he looked at as the right hand touched the right ear.

The Raven wasn't sure how to feel, nor know how it was possible. All he could do at the moment was stare at his reflection and slide two fingers down the right side of his face. Then, he stood on his feet and saw even more details on his body. The Raven noticed an oddly-shaped dark mark on the left side of his chest. He also noticed how long his arms and legs are and counted how many fingers and toes his hands and feet had.

As soon as he was done analyzing his new body, the Raven looked back at the bodies scattered all over the room. With a somber expression, he exhaled from his nose before turning to the pile of bones that used to be Cody. Walking up to them, he went on one knee to pick the skull off the floor. The Raven became tense as he looked at it, but he pressed it against his forehead and began to sob. As he did, his eyes began to flood with the strange water that trickled down his face like wet paint.

Suddenly, the Raven's eyes snapped open as he felt a sharp pang in his head. Dropping the skull, he hissed in pain and placed both hands on top of his head, squeezing it. He tightly gritted his teeth and rapidly breathed in and out of his nose, his forehead now pressing against the floorboards. Then, he heard screams that sounded like cries for help from children. He didn't know what was happening to him and initially wondered if he was going crazy. That was when he heard a familiar voice: Cody.

"Don't worry, guys! I'm coming!"

When he least expected it, a scene flashed within the Raven's mind. He saw Cody running into the building with an ax held tightly in his grasp. As soon as he was inside the house, he almost fainted at what he discovered. Cody found the blond boy pinned to the floor with the blade, Hunter. Then, he found the two girls leaning against each other on the wall, Tammy and Arlene. Cody looked up at the stairs and gasped when he found the dark-skinned boy, Emir, lying on them.

As Cody looked around, he counted the bodies and noticed that six other orphans were missing. He was about to go search for them when he heard the sound of running footsteps. Upon hearing them, he turned to a nearby doorway and saw a little red-haired girl appear, Porsha.

"Porsha!" Cody called, getting the red-haired girl's attention.

"Cody!" Porsha said as she sobbed.

"Porsha, what's happening?!"

"A monster killed Nina and Jake in the living room! I couldn't-"

Before she could finish her sentence, something sharp pierced through her back and protruded from her chest. Cody watched in horror as the girl gasped when the blade was pulled back by whatever was behind her. Then, Porsha fell lifeless on the floor, her body between both sides of the doorway.

"Porsha, no..." Cody whimpered at the sight of the now-dead little girl.

Cody suddenly heard a low growl from the doorway. He slowly looked up and saw a large hand with scissor-like fingers grabbing the doorway's wooden frame. Cody nearly dropped his ax as soon as the hand's owner emerged from the darkness. Coming out of the doorway was a tall and sickly-thin humanoid monster with gray skin and blood-red eyes. Its feet have a pair of long toes and its arms were extended enough to reach the floor. On its face, there were six visible holes where the nose and mouth should be. Standing before Cody was a Scissor Eldritch.

In a dark voice, Cody said, "It was you. You killed them."

In response, the Scissor Eldritch growled and tilted its head to the right.

"You killed them." The boy tightened his grip on his axe. "They were the only family I had, and you killed them!"

The Scissor Eldritch hissed.

"I won't..." Cody clenched his teeth and angrily shouted, "I won't forgive you! They were just kids and you killed them! I'll make you pay!"

With tears in his eyes, Cody yelled as he charged at the Scissor Eldritch. Once he got closer, he swung his ax at the thin monster, who swiftly dodged the attack before it could be struck. This confused Cody, for the Scissor Eldritch disappeared in front of him. But then, he looked up and saw it clinging to the ceiling as it stared at him. Before the boy could do anything, the tall beast lunged at him, pinning him to the floor as its claws were blocked by his ax. As Cody pushed at his ax, the Scissor Eldritch's fingers on his right hand were reaching his left cheek. Then, the claws touched his skin, slowly grazing his face with three scars. Maintaining his glare at the skinny creature, he kicked it in the abdomen, pushing it away.

Cody jumped back onto his feet, watching as the Scissor Eldritch stood up as well. "I'm not afraid of you!" he shouted.

As a reply, the Scissor Eldritch hissed and charged at Cody once more. As the latter did the same, he swung his ax again. But then, the thin beast smacked it out of his grasp, and it slid on the floor before hitting a wall. Cody was about to run up to retrieve his ax when he suddenly felt something pierce through his left side. With wide eyes, he slowly turned his head to find one of the Scissor Eldritch's fingers through his left side. At the sight of it, Cody became stiff and he began to feel pain in that area.

Once the Scissor Eldritch pulled its finger out of Cody's body, it walked away as the boy fell to the floor on his back. As soon as the thin beast exited the orphanage, the pain became too much for Cody to handle, and he passed out.

With that, the scene was over.

The Raven didn't know what that was, but that entire vision made him feel a fiery sensation in his chest. If what that scene in his head showed him was true, then the Scissor Eldritch killed Cody and everyone in the orphanage. Looking back at all the corpses in the room, the Raven sharply inhaled and stood back up. Then, he walked up to the exit, even though he slightly wobbled when he started moving. But as soon as he was on the porch, his body was struck with cold air, and he trembled and wrapped his arms around his torso. This confused the Raven, for he usually didn't mind the frigid weather. But when he turned back to Cody's bones and the pile of his clothes next to them, he immediately realized how vulnerable human bodies can be.

Walking back into the house, the Raven reached for the pile of clothes and grabbed the pants first. Looking at the pants, he raised an eyebrow before turning to the broken mirror. Then Raven glanced back at the pants and slipped them onto his arms, but he huffed and shook his head. Removing them off his arms, he placed them on his head like a hat and looked at the broken mirror, only to wince at his reflection. With a sigh, he took the pants off his head and glared at them. Then, he looked back at the mirror once more and put them in front of his legs and waist. With that, his golden yellow eyes lit up as he learned where the pants go on the body.

Soon, the Raven slipped the pants onto his legs and even buttoned and zipped them closed when he discovered the button and zipper. After that, he picked up the coat and wore it on his torso. Then, he grabbed the pair of boots and slipped them onto his feet, humming at how soft they were inside. Once he was done getting dressed, the Raven looked around and spotted the ax on the floor. Upon seeing it, he approached it and picked it up.

Finally feeling ready, the Raven walked out of the orphanage and began his search for the Scissor Eldritch. He didn't know this, but he wanted revenge.