Randal struggled to lift his empty right hand toward the reinforcements. Hand shaking, arm red, dripping blood, the soldiers readied themselves for anything. Randal pulled the trigger of a gun not there and a couple of the men nearly fired their autos.

Ran smiled at this. Drops of perspiration visibly covered his forehead; his vision blurred. His arm fell to the stone floor.

The Special saw a deep black crow fly into his vision and land. Then another one. And another. More birds amassed into one dark blackness. He smiled and his body floated with the birds.

Randal passed out.