Crow Posts And Vibes

What should have been a twenty minute drive to the loft was ten minutes of tense silence, save for the squeal of tires and the roar of the engine. Every traffic law, which were usually mere suggestions in this city anyway, was ignored completely, blocked out of Moe’s mind by a red haze of grief-fueled rage. When he slammed the brakes, everyone knew that they were there, nothing else would have made him stop.

“Moe-“ Brion started, hoping to calm him down before they made their way to the scene.

The slam of the door was all he got in response. Everyone else clambered out of the vehicle as quickly as they could and followed Moe to the police line. The rain pelted all of them, but no one paid it any mind. One of the cops walked up to the group just as Moe went to lift the police tape.

“Hey! You can’t come in here!” He shouted, jogging the last few steps to the line.

“The fuck I can’t!” Moe shouted back. “That’s my best friend’s window.” He pointed to the obviously shattered frame several stories above him. “And someone here is going to tell me what the fuck happened and where my love birds are.”

The nickname slipped without registering to Moe. The rest of the band winced and watched the cop carefully to gauge his reaction. Mostly they didn’t care who caught on to their group’s closeness, but caution was exercised around cops.

The cop, thankfully, seemed to miss the look in everyone’s eyes in favor of keeping his focus on the obviously angry man in front of him. “I’m sorry sir, but this is a closed scene. We’ll have a press statement tomorrow. Please go home.”

Moe moved to take a step toward the officer, but a strong, steady hand on his shoulder stopped him. Tex pulled him back a little. “C’mon. They’re not going to still be here. Sarah said they’d taken Shelly to the hospital, remember?” His voice was gentle, even a little pleading.

Sarah’s eyes were glued to the road just past the police tape. The sheet-covered body was gone. Only blood and an outline, both running as the rain tried to wash them away, remained. “He’s really gone..” she said, barely more than a whisper.

Brion heard her and followed her line of sight. He sucked in a breath and bit back tears when he saw. He stepped over to get between her and the scene, blocking her view. He started quietly, “Hey, hey, you don’t need to see that.” He hugged her close. He let his voice get loud enough for the rest of the group to hear him. “Let’s get back to the van. We’re no good to anyone if we all get sick from the rain.”

The five of them piled back into the van. The tension had lessened but silence, save for half choked back sobs, gripped the inside of the vehicle. Moe didn’t start the car yet. He sat with a white knuckle grip on the wheel, biting back the urge to scream. Tex, who had been so adamant that surely what Sarah had said she’d seen couldn’t have been real, was finally hit with the reality of it. He stared out the side window, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene despite the tears running down his face.

Brion was the one to finally break the silence after far too long. “C’mon. Let’s get to the hospital.” He was shaking. He hugged Sarah close and leaned into Gunner, who was doing the least to hold back the sounds of his grief. “Maybe Shelly’s injuries weren’t as bad as they looked?” He squeezed Sarah a little tighter.

No one responded, but the van roared to life, cutting through the deafening silence. They pulled away from the scene quickly, though with less screeching of tires and protesting machinery this time. The quiet lasted well past when the loft and the police lights around it had faded into the rest of the city.

They pulled into the hospital visitor’s lot and walked to the lobby without a word. The rows of chairs were packed with worried faces, people who cared about those hurt by Devil’s Night’s “festivities”. Despite the crowd the place was quiet, somber. There were a handful of hushed conversations, but no one dared to be the raised voice that would cause someone to miss a call to see their loved one. The cheap seasonal decorations, Jack-o-lanterns and bats and autumn leaves, felt like prying eyes as the group approached the front desk.

The woman at the desk looked up with tired eyes but a gentle smile. “How can I help you this evening?” She looked over the group, but didn’t seem to speak to anyone in particular.

Brion found his voice first and stepped forward. “Hey, we were told that a friend of ours, Shelly Webster, got brought here. We’d like to see her if we can.” He fidgeted in place as the woman began typing.

“Could I get your names please?” She asked.

Sarah, Brion, and Gunner quickly responded, but Tex glanced at Moe, “What we go by or actual names?” He kept his voice as steady as he could. It was a simple question, but a potentially dangerous one.

Moe’s eyes didn’t meet his. He seemed to be glaring at one of the cheesily smiling bats on the wall.

She glanced at the group again. “Whatever the person you’re visiting would have written for the file, though you will need to use your legal name on any required forms.” She paused before clarifying, “I’m checking for prior authorization for visitation. It’s not always done, but I doubt all of you are family members, so if you’re in the file it should be easier to get you in.”

Tex nodded before responding with both his and Moe’s names.

The typing resumed. After an eternity of minutes she looked up at them. “She has you all listed as expected visitors, which is perfect. I wish more people would think ahead for cases like this.” She glanced at the screen again. Her gentle service smile faded as she read the screen. “Unfortunately the visitation policy for the ICU is no more than three at a time, but we can go ahead and get you set up if you’re okay with being in the waiting room for a while.” She began shuffling some paperwork to give them.

Brion nodded vigorously. “Of course, thank you so much.” He took the offered stack of forms and passed them to Tex, who began passing them out.

The polite smile returned, but there was now a sadder edge to her expression. “Go ahead and sit down and start filling those out. Someone will be around shortly to take you to a more private waiting room.”