Krähe by Charles Bedlam (bts book recommendations txt) 📕

Krähe said to her, leaning on the stone balcony. “What are you thinking about?”
“You must be crazy to truly believe you can rid Nocturne of all it's crime,” she said in her Russian accent. “It is madness. You are mad.”
“That may be so. But I know that because of the people that I can stop, there are innocent people that can sleep easy tonight. They can rest. I know you don't care for living people, but it's the principle of the thing. It's about having life and protecting it.”
Aleena turned to face him, her dark red eyes staring at him. “No one was there to protect me.”
“Aleena, I would have protected you if I'd have been there. And you know that.”
The two stood in awkward silence for a few moments. Aleena had turned to look at the city once again. Then she said, “I know...”
Aleena levitated to his eye level. “Fighting crime is taking a toll on you, Derek. You need to be more careful. You're no good to anyone if you're dead. My scythe can only give you so much protection.”
With those words, Aleena floated through the glass doors and into the house. He followed after one last look at Nocturne. He lied down in his bed and put some soft R&B music on. After about five minutes, he drifted off to sleep.
A lot of people in the world dream. Many dream about their fears, others about their hopes. But what do heroes dream about?
Krähe's dream was very much a pleasant one at first. He was making love to Red, a beautiful raven haired villain that he had come to blows with many times in the past. In his dream she had mounted him, her red lips, ever so tempting. Even though she was his enemy, he couldn't help but accept her lust. Her green eyes stared into his as she began to climax. He reached up to grab her breasts. She grabbed his wrist as he did so and smiled a devious smile at him.
In a split second, her head tore apart and in its place a mutant wolf head grew. It was Loupo, Red's pet. But it was too late. Luopo bit his head clean off and spit it out next to his body. The nasty wolf girl laughed a horrid laugh and he awoke with a start.

The first thing he saw was Aleena staring at him from the end of his bed.
“Another nightmare?” she asked, stone faced.
He sat up in bed and swung his feet around to the ground. He didn't want to answer her. He didn't want her to know that he was afraid of anything. He got dressed and picked up his scythe and went into his kitchen to eat. He turned on the news. Nothing interesting seemed to be happening. It was a peaceful morning in Nocturne. Derek decided to go for a walk around the city and just observe the people.
He packed Krähe's suit and mask in a duffel bag and went to open the door.
“You'll transport the scythe to me when I need it, won't you?” he asked Aleena. She appeared before him.
“I will.”
He nodded to her and left. He descended six floors and kept going. On the eighth floor of the apartments, he met someone familiar, in the hallway. It was Stephanie. And she was crying.
“Did he put you out again?” Derek asked her.
“It's just... He doesn't really...,” she stuttered through each word.
“Call the police, Stephanie. Don't let him keep doing this to you. How many times does this make this year?”
“Three.”
“No, it's seven. Seriously. Do something or I will.”
Derek walked away from her. He felt guilty about not breaking in and just beating him to a bloody pulp, but the truth was if she didn't stand up for herself, she would never learn how. He descended the building and stepped into the streets. It was drizzling. He pulled the hood of his coat over his head and walked toward the corner store.
He went in and picked up a few things. While he was browsing, he noticed the man at the register staring him down. He probably thought that Derek was going to steal something. Derek felt sad by this thought. The man behind the counter sat at a strange angle. At first it didn't make sense, but then Derek noticed the 12 gauge shotgun position directly in front of him. If something happened, he would be close to his weapon. It's too bad that the man didn't know that Derek wasn't going to rob him. It's too bad that he couldn’t know that he was the Crow of Nocturne. Derek paid for his items and left.
It was raining harder when he left the store. Derek ducked into an alley to try and find some cover. He walked down. He figured he'd go to a cafe and get something warm to drink. As he silently moved through the narrow alley, two men stepped out in front of him. He stopped and turned to go the opposite direction. There were four more men blocking his path.
“This really isn't a good day for me,” Derek said.
The men chuckled and drew weapons. It really wasn't a good day for Derek, but it was about to become an even worse day for these thugs.
Derek exited the alley, leaving the motionless bodies of his six assailants in his wake. He arrived at the cafe and asked the clerk for a hot chocolate. He sat at a table and looked out at the rain as he contemplated his dream. He couldn't get what it was for, but he knew that he'd have a run in with Red and Loupo soon. He finished his beverage and returned to his apartment building. By this time, the sun was going down. Derek was angry. He didn't want to fight Red, but he knew he had to. Aleena was making life at home very dreary. He dreaded going back. But he had to. There was something inside of her that he was trying to reach out to.
He climbed the creaky stairs of the building and near the eighth floor, he heard a familiar sound. Sure enough as soon as he stepped up the last step, Stephanie was sitting across from her door, sobbing into her arms. He knew he shouldn't, but his body moved for him. He quickly walked to her door and banged on it.
“What the fuck do you want?!” Stephanie's boyfriend spat as he opened the door.
Derek grabbed him by his collar and punched him in his face. He went flying back and Derek went right after him. Stephanie's boyfriend tried to regain himself, but Derek wasn't having it. It truly wasn't fair; all of the villains and criminals that Derek had fought. This man didn't stand a chance. Derek picked him up by his neck and slammed him on the ground, knocking him out cold. Stephanie rushed in.
“What did you do?!” she screamed. “Why would you do this?!”
She looked up at him with tearful eyes, then down to her boyfriend.
“If it had been another day,” Derek said. “You'd be the one on the floor and I might not have been here to help you!”
He turned and started walking. She stopped him, but he didn't turn to face her. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his back.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “Thank you so much, Derek.”
“Call the police,” he said before leaving her room.
Feeling a bit less tense, Derek made his way to his room.
“Watch the news,” Aleena said before he could even cross the threshold.
He went to his couch and sat down. There was a new report on. The anchor was frantic.
“Here I am in Nocturne National Park where police are engaged in a gunfight with the mutated villain known as Loupo! The police received a call from a young woman claiming that the deranged man-wolf was attacking people in the park. The police arrived on the scene just ten minutes ago and are already on the defensive. None of our brave police officers can get in close enough to take down the monster.”
Without a word, Derek quickly suited up, took up his scythe, and ran up to the clock tower. He climbed out of the hatch and swung over to the park as fast as he could. He arrived within minutes to find the police unable to attack Loupo due to a hostage situation. He had a young woman clutched in his massive hand. His green eyes glowed in the darkness.
The woman screamed for help and Krähe knew that if he didn't get to her in time, Loupo would bleed her all over the park. She wore a tattered coat and hoodie. She looked homeless. Poor woman. He had to save her. He swung clear over the police and took Loupo down with a flying kick to his chest. He dropped the woman.
“Get someplace safe,” Krähe told her as he prepared to face Loupo.
He immediately got back to his feet and lumbered toward Krähe. Scythe at the ready, he charged the wolf. He narrowly dodged a claw and was able to strike him in the back of his neck, sending him flying again. Before he was out of range, Loupo turned on his heels and slashed Krähe across his chest. Krähe fell back so that Loupo would follow. However, Krähe stopped short and, with great speed, whacked Loupo across the face, sending the beast to the ground, unconscious.
Satisfied so far, Krähe went to check on the hostage. She was cowering by a tree, holding her head, terrified to look up. He knelt down beside her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She didn't answer. He put his hand on her shoulder to turn her over. Loupo could have injured her. As she turned, a swift and hard punch came at the Crow of Nocturne. Krähe fell back, dazed. Before he could gather himself, Loupo wrapped his massive arms around him, lifting him off of the ground.
“I can't believe you, of all people, fell for that,” the woman said in a seductive voice.
She stood up and removed her layers to reveal her black and red corset, skirt, fishnets, boots, gloves, and her signature red cape. Her black hair fell down her shoulders and her bloody red lips curled into a smile. Her evil emerald eyes stared at him with joy.
“Very clever, Red,” Krähe said to her.
“Now my love, it's time for you to die.”
She walked up to him and kissed his cheek. Then with a hit to the temple, knocked him out.
When Krähe awoke, he found himself kneeling on a wooden platform in the middle of a lake. He was facing away from the shore. The river was miles across and in the darkness of the night, he couldn't see the other side. His hands were bound behind his back and he had cinder blocks chained to his feet. His scythe had