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The Raven sat quietly, their mind beginning to wander. It’s times like this, when the sentient shadow begins to grow bored, so they begin to reminisce on their life. To remind themself why they’re here, silently observing the scene from the shadow of a bookshelf, that’s in the secret basement of a lab.
They had been formed back in the 1350’s in Europe, along with many other sentient shadows during the Black Death. They had gained basic knowledge of their existence from a fellow shadow named Crimson, who’s main form was of a woman wearing regal clothing with a detached head. The Raven had been told that they had to roam to keep the negative energy of the Mainside at a minimum.
And roam they did, they had an interest in medicine, treatment, strange happenings, and sharing his knowledge; no doubt because of the event that triggered their creation. They traveled all over, and learned many things, and made fascinating discoveries as the humans evolved over the years. They even met other human shadows from around the world.
Yet over the years, they still had not found their name. It’s alright though, they just dubbed themself ‘The Raven’ for the time being.
So why, if they had a love of traveling, learning, and teaching, did they decide to stop?
Well one of the reasons has to do with an incident that happened at a school an hour or so away from where the Raven currently is. You see, other shadows know when a new shadow is about to form. It’s just a gut instinct, so that a “shadow of the past” can share the basics on what the new shadow needs to know to exist.
The Raven was there in 1959 when the police were called. The tragedy claimed 2 lives, one of which being the shooter who the police had to stop before anyone else got hurt. The Raven watched the body bags get zipped closed and taken away.
They were there when the new shadow was formed.
The Raven picked their own temporary name for a few reasons. One of which being, the mask made him look like the bird.
So when the little girl giggled and called them the “Crow Man” they were slightly annoyed. Ravens were much more sophisticated than crow were. The audacity of her (even though, deep down they found it funny). They shared the basic information and was ready to be on their merry way, except for one little thing.
This new shadow was an anomaly. For some reason she could not pick a main form, therefore making her unable to shift into any other form And the shadow could do nothing about it.
The Raven had never experienced this issue before. So they promised to help figure out the problem. The other shadow didn’t feel like traveling around as much as they did so she elected to stay around the school, and have them visit her.
That’s been the arrangement ever since. Neither of them have figured out the problem, however the shadow did figure out her name before they did. Lucky seemed very fitting.
The Raven would have appreciated Lucky using their actual temporary name when meeting her new human shadow friend, because now 2 shadows call them the Crowman and that’s 2 too many. (Like they’ll ever have the guts to tell the 2 to stop.)
The Raven paused, they were getting sidetracked.
The second and third reasons why they’re here are connected. Not too long before Lucky met River, The Raven had watched a woman from the shadows, she was a widow who lost her husband and a week later found out she was pregnant. She worked for a superhuman agency doing missions, which grief caused her to keep trying to focus on her job.
That same focus is what doomed her, as on the last mission she was allowed to be included on, she was infected by a virus created by a superhuman that killed himself before they could get the antidote. Luckily the team couldn’t pass the virus on to anyone, so they weren’t quarantined for long, but the virus was slowly killing them.
The only known cure that would get rid of the virus, would also kill the unborn child. The woman, Ms. McCoy, was not going to lose the last living connection she had to her husband, and refused treatment. She’d find another treatment.
Which leads us to Wilson Valley, a big name corporation that loves money. They make all sorts of medical treatments, and tech products, you name it. After many other appointments and every result being the death of her child, she found herself here, getting interviewed for an experimental treatment that won’t. Wilson Valley was her final hope.
Ms. McCoy never knew she walked past the Raven one day. She never knew they followed her around in the shadows also trying to find a way to save both.
The Raven followed her to Wilson Valley. The Raven watched her tell her story hoping to be accepted to get treatment that wouldn’t kill her child. The Raven also unfortunately got to witness Wilson Valley lie to her face and could do nothing about it.
There’s a rule with sentient shadows. You don’t interact with the humans unless a human shadow says it’s ok. And even then it’s your own judgment after you get the ‘okay’. And seeing how Ms. McCoy was an expert with levitating and not shadows, meant The Raven could not interact. Helping try to research was bending the rules enough.
They couldn’t do anything to prevent Ms. McCoy from being accepted into an experimental treatment, guaranteed to kill the baby. Mr. Wilson sat through the interview, saw a grieving soon-to-be-mother who was desperate and only saw piles of cash.
After all, if a mistake happened that “accidentally” caused the death of the unborn baby, the worst he would be facing is a lawsuit. And Mr. Forrest Wilson knew the best lawyers.
The Raven dreaded the day Ms. McCoy walked in to receive treatment. At least the team assigned to her case had a heart and tried multiple times to talk her out of it. She wouldn’t hear it. The team was surprised and worried that they didn’t hear anything from her the next day, after she left the office
2 weeks later she went back in for a check up, the treatment was a success, and much to everyone’s surprise the baby was still alive.
The Raven watched as Ms. McCoy kept coming in periodically for checkups on the baby, at this point they knew it was a little girl.
Of course The Raven wasn’t the only one intrigued by this turn of events. Mr. Wilson himself was also extremely interested in why this baby was alive. And if he could find that reason, could he make a profit off it?
He had the nerve to approach Ms. McCoy and ask to buy her daughter. Of course, she refused, and the Raven would be lying if they said they didn’t do anything to make his day worse. But an angry woman and many hot drinks spilled on him, was not going to deter him from getting his hands on the child.
Cue October 27, Lucky had just introduced the Crowman to River, when they all felt a slight shift in the atmosphere, and they were reminded of 1959. A new shadow was going to be making an appearance, and the Raven had a pretty good idea of where it was, too. They took their leave, but unfortunately didn’t make it to Wilson Valley in time to see Ms. McCoy had just given birth, but the baby wasn’t making a sound.
The nurses rushed the baby away to make sure everything was ok. The nurses also didn’t want the little girl, who was clearly alive and staring directly at the one holding her with her father’s mismatched eyes, to see what was going to happen next.
The Raven arrived just in time to see Mr. Wilson had put a gun to the helpless, disoriented and distressed Ms. McCoy’s head and pulled the trigger.
It didn’t take long to find the baby, and they were shocked to find out that the girl was a shadow manipulator, a human shadow. They could sense it.
The Raven, for the second time in their existence, got to witness a new shadow come into existence. But for some reason it merged with the baby.
The Raven was at a loss for words, because here’s yet another anomaly.
So the second reason? Guilt. And regret. They couldn’t help Ms. McCoy, but they for sure can and will do what they’re able to be there for her daughter.
Which leads back to today, almost 3 years later. Currently, The Raven is observing the toddler play with her toys in the middle of the room from the shadow of the bookcase. The room located in a secret lab located underneath Wilson Valley.
“I’m telling you, dude. This basement is haunted.”
“Oh, for crying out loud!”
The Raven shook their head. Thankfully Mr. Wilson decided to make the team responsible for Ms. McCoy the only ones responsible for the baby as well, to make sure any and all info on this was kept on the down-low.
One of the researchers forced Mr. Wilson to honor Ms. McCoys wishes and name the child Everett. Mr. Wilson wasn’t happy, but had no choice but to comply.
Bless the research team’s hearts, they care and are doing everything they can to give this child the best that they’re allowed to, while also doing their job, but geez! It’s like they have no brain sometimes!
Reason number 3, Everett McCoy herself.
Everett was strange from birth, no doubt about it. The past 3 years the team has noted the obvious, yet they’ve missed so much. They currently think the drug reaction to what her mother took is the reason. The Raven can guarantee that they’re wrong. There’s something more than just those drugs and the reaction at play.
To be fair, Everett hasn’t given them the ok to make themself known to the team so it’s not the Raven’s fault that the team hasn’t picked up on Everett silently trying to communicate with themself for nearly the past 3 years.
Have you ever had a newborn baby stare directly at you and keep eye contact while you move around, as well as know when you move to a different shadow when they definitely shouldn’t be able to sense your presence yet? Well, the Raven can answer yes and tell you it’s unnerving as hell.
One time, the researchers saw Everett staring at random objects in the room in a loop. What they didn’t pick up on, was that if you take the first letter of each of the things she looked at, it spelled out ‘Hello’.
What was just a year old’s random arm motions was this baby, somehow already knowing ASL and she was fingerspelling names and signing ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’
The researchers saw random objects floating and things falling off a wooden table in the same room as her. What they missed was that her shadow had a third arm that was shaking the shadow of the table leg and lifting the shadow of the objects in the air.
And then? Everett started trying to communicate with the Raven in front of the researchers. It started out with just staring at them directly. Which would be easy for the shadow to just note as coincidence, like the researchers noted as spacing out and staring at walls, except for when she started waving and pointing at the Raven. Understandably, the research team started freaking out. Then anything bird related started being moved to different locations. And only the bird related items.
Everett’s favorite stuffed animal was the black bird.
However the most obvious things? The Raven knows the drugs aren’t the reason she’s acting this way because Everett confirmed this information by blinking Morse code towards their location after they were thinking about it.
There’s also the fact that the researchers are always having to pick books off the ground, or rather one particular book: The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe, also known as the book that inspired the sentient shadow’s temporary name.
Not to mention the little smile that appears on her face every time one of the researchers remark not remembering bringing the book down here.
So it’s clear, that Everett wants them to talk to her. The Raven just doesn’t know how, why, or what to talk about. How does a sentient shadow talk to a stubborn little girl that’s refused to make a sound for nearly 3 years?
The Raven watches Everett, who’s currently sitting on the ground, playing with her stuffed blackbird, facing towards the bookcase, as the 2 researchers in the room argue about if the basement is haunted or not.
“Just let it go, Zack. Eevee’s turning 3 soon, she’s not communicating with the dead.”
“You don’t know that Christopher!!! You haven’t been here to witness all the freaky happenings that take place!”
A third researcher entered the room, “Guys come on. No arguing the existence of the paranormal in front of the toddler. Zack, go put Everett down for a nap.”
“You got it boss!” Zackary nods and moves to crouch next to the little girl, “They’re no fun. But he never said I couldn’t talk about the ghosts directly to you, did he?”
“Don’t you dare-“
“You talk to any spooky specters today Evie?”
Apparently, right then, Everett had enough with the subtle hints. She looked directly at the shadow cast by the bookcase, pointed, and proudly exclaimed, “Spec!”
The Raven stared at the toddler pointing directly at them, with a mixture of shock and awe. Of course, this little girl would be the one to figure out their name. And judging by the grin on her face, she knows what she did, too.
‘Alright Everett McCoy. Fine. You have my full attention.’
A shocked Zackary went pale and the third researcher, Scott, quickly left the room stating, “Her first word is in response to if this basement is haunted or not? Nope, sorry. I’m not dealing with this today.”
Christopher rolled his eyes as he picked the toddler up and placed her in her bed and then had to lead Zack out of the room.
“I told you Chris! I told you this was some Sixth Sense shit!!!”
“Goddammit! Shut up!”
Spec waited for the researchers to leave the room before exiting the bookcase shadow and quietly walked over to Everett, who was giggling at them.
The shadow expects this response, and shakes their head as they think to themself, ‘I guess you’re telling me you want me to stick around, aren’t you?’
What Spec doesn’t expect is for the toddler to reply, “Mmhm!!”
However they both shared a laugh as they heard outside the door, “Chris!!!! She’s talking to Casper!!! What do we do?!”
“Zack, for the last time, shut the fuck up!!!”