Amidst the bustling market square, the air was heavy with the warmth of a hot summer day. The market felt more alive than ever. Frank stood at the heart of this vibrant chaos, while I was somewhat close to him, walking around trying to pick up anything I could. Frank’s eyes scanned the crowd while I tried my best not to run into someone. Frank’s sleeves were rolled up in an attempt to fight against the heat.

In the middle of all the hum of voices, rumors whispered like the breeze through the stalls. Frank’s eyes darted from one corner to the next, and his ears were listening to everything. I came to his stall just to check on him.

He immediately started speaking.

"Did you hear?" His voice was filled with excitement.

I silently encouraged him to continue.

"There’s talk of a sighting. His words came in silence, like he was sharing a precious secret. "A hooded figure, moving on the outskirts of the forest past midnight. Some say it is a demon, and others started talking that this is The Crow."

I came at the same time as Frank did; I was trying my best, but I still didn’t hear anything worth hearing. Mrs. Philly lost her ring, Mr. White bought a new shaving cream, and many other things that were very boring to listen to. The only thing I could somehow connect with Isaac was the disappearance of Mrs. Carlsen’s dog, Lucky.

"The forest, you say?" I tried to piece the puzzle together. It could be anyone passing through. But maybe we should check on it; in these times, one can never be too cautious."

"Well," Frank continued. "That is not all."

I looked at him confused, wondering how can he gather so much valuable information like this.

"There are whispers; those kids right there." He pointed a finger at some fifth-graders. "They were talking about a meeting of shadowed figures in the abandoned building near the woods. They claim that some type of ritual will be held."

"We have to check these things. But before that, we need to gather more information."

"Agreed. But we need to be very cautious."

Our eyes met, a silent pact of mutual support passed between us.

"Let’s split up again," I suggested, scanning the crowd for potential people to spy on. "We’ll gather more information that way."

Frank nodded. "I’ll go and check with some other traders; they are also full of gossip."

The possibility that the cloaked figure was The Crow was slim, but the building near the woods was probably Isaac’s new playground, and we had to find it somehow. But where do I start looking? Each face, each hushed conversation, held the potential to reveal an important piece of the puzzle. I approached a group of traders, exchanging hushed words; they hadn’t noticed me yet.

"Then I saw some strange symbols next to it," one of them whispered. I couldn’t understand what he was talking about, as I had just joined them.

"That’s terrible; who would do such a thing?" the other one added.

"I have no idea, but when I catch that Satanist son of a bitch, that will be the last of him."

"What happened?" I had to ask if maybe one of them would give me the answer I was looking for.

"This is no conversation for a child; get out of here." The guy with the mustache raised his voice at me. I had to leave without an answer.

I found some nice shade under an oak tree. The loud sounds of the market seemed to fade into the distance, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I had to rest for a bit; my feet hurt like hell. I closed my eyes, allowing the warm breeze to play with my hair.

I did this for too long today; my head felt like it was going to explode.

I leaned back against the bench, watching the blue sky above.

All I could think of was whether all these unnecessary informations will be stuck in my head for ever, or if there was a way to forget them. If I only knew.

Why was it so hard to forget something you want to forget, but the things you want to forget are stuck with you, they are always there. I didn’t want to remember the victims I tortured, I didn’t want to see their faces every time I closed my eyes.

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I closed my eyes, I felt tired and worn out. And then I saw it.

In a small room with only a light in the middle of it, there was another person tied up. His face was all bloody, and he had a smile carved on his face. His eyes were swollen, he was probably crying. I didn’t know how, but I knew that he was there for two days, I could feel his pain. He was hungry, scared, tortured for hours and he just wanted to end it, just to die already. He knew that he is going to die. That demon that was doing this to him should just finish this already because he can’t do this for any longer.

He couldn’t stand his laughter, those eyes looking through his soul. On the desk next to him, with the bloody tools that he used for the torture, are some of his personal belongings. A camera, he came here to take some pictures. He loved doing that in his free time, he never thought about the possibility that this hobby of his could put him in danger one day. An ID card showed that his name was Samuel Robertson, he was only 19. I could walk around him, the room felt similar, like I was there once. A shadow came and passed through me, and took the camera. It started taking photos of Samuel.

"Good thing we put a smile on that face, don’t you think? You have to smile when I take pictures of you."

And then it left, for a long time. For me, it felt like years standing in that pure pitch darkness. For Samuel, it felt even worse.

Then I heard someone coming down the stairs. It approached him slowly, stood in front of him, watching him. He took the camera and smashed it on the floor, and then he started jumping on the broken parts. I don’t know how I found myself there, I was looking at Samuel, I could sense his every emotion and thought. And I felt that he knew that the end is approaching.

When the shadow took the knife, Samuel knew that this was it, he always had good intuition, even that day when his kidnapper hit him on the head, he had a weird feeling about him, but that time he didn’t listen to his guts, and now with one simple hand movement, his guts were on the floor, and then he couldn’t see in one eye.

With his second eye, he fixed his focus on the shadow.

"Oh….," he thought. "That is why it became so dark."

The shadow was eating his eye. And then everything became dark for Samuel.

I jumped up from the ground; people were passing by; I fell asleep under the shade; and I had no idea how much time had passed. But that wasn’t important now. Why did I see all that? Was this also real? The same way I watched my mother being tortured and killed in my dreams last time, now I see another person. But this time, it felt more real.

I didn’t tell anyone, not even Theo and Leigh, about my dreams and the things I saw. Maybe telling them now would be a good idea, if I don’t say anything, they could be in a lot of danger. But what if I say too much? I was afraid of that the most.

I got out of the shade, and headed towards Frank. On the way there, on the right side of the market, there was a big commotion. I felt the need to go and investigate.

"For one week, the world has had no idea where Samuel Robertson is." A person was reading from the newspapers, everyone listened carefully. When I heard the name I felt like someone punched me in the gut.

"About a week ago, Samuel was invited to travel to Brezoville, where the famous serial killer The Crow purged the lands of this small town. He went there to share his passion for photography by leading an informal, weeklong workshop with local photographers. According to local sources, Samuel went to take some pictures of the "cursed" forest. When asked if he was going to be alright because he could get lost, he answered that he found a tour guide. That was the last time he was seen. …….." The person continued. I didn’t listen anymore. I couldn't.