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The Horseman (13) : Fog is not uncommon in the latter half of the year, so it’s no surprise that Destiny City has been plagued by it. Historically, it has never brought anything good. Walls of white so dense that a deep breath feels like drowning, the rolls across the city in the late hours of the night like a herd of stampeding horses. You can hear them, too–the gallop of hooves. You can’t see it, but you hear a single horse, massive. Trotting behind you. If you speed up, it speeds up. No matter where you go, it follows. Sometimes, you can feel an icy breath on the back of your neck. It’s uncomfortable and unnerving, and there’s the distinct feeling of being followed by some sort of predator. It’s worse, if you run. It chases you. If you look behind you, you’ll see nothing but a dark, swirling mass, and sometimes the glint of a large blade. It’s terrifying. There’s no way to fight it, but if you’re lucky you can hide. If it catches you, you feel a painful sensation around your neck before the horse and its dark rider disappears into the night. Your heart feels like a bomb in your chest, and when you are somewhere safe you may find a deep, red mark on your neck, as if someone attempted to lop it off. The injury will fade after a few hours, but unfortunates may find a strange mist lingering outside of their window, accompanied by the sound of hooves and horse whinnies. The horseman cannot be interacted with; he does not speak, he does not have any form. He is simply hunting.
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The movie had been fun, a good comedy that was just enough to of a romp to turn the brain off and laugh. The dinner after was pretty good too. Not exactly Michelin star worthy but it also wasn’t fast food. It was a nice dinner with a good friend. Really the whole friend ‘date’ was a great one, then again hanging with Cliff was normally like that. It hadn’t changed ever since they were kids and Abby had grown out of wanting to shove his head in mud because he was a ‘stupid boy’. Like a lot of the boys back then. She was very glad he had grown out of that age.
Abby hummed as they walked back down the sidewalk towards the campus, just enjoying the chill autumn night. After the heat of the summer it was a welcome change. “How’s your homework load so far? No nightmare teachers right?” She asked absently before skipping ahead a few steps and turning around to face him, walking backwards. A smile flashed across her face as she watched the fog swirling and eddy around them from her rapid action.
Abby hummed as they walked back down the sidewalk towards the campus, just enjoying the chill autumn night. After the heat of the summer it was a welcome change. “How’s your homework load so far? No nightmare teachers right?” She asked absently before skipping ahead a few steps and turning around to face him, walking backwards. A smile flashed across her face as she watched the fog swirling and eddy around them from her rapid action.
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He was also very glad that he’d grown out of that age, and that she’d grown out of the age where that was what she wanted to do to him and every other boy in existence.
Cliff glanced over at her as they went, wondering about their evening friend “date”…thing. It’d been a good time, it always was with Abby, but now that they were older and there were plenty at school who whispered in his ear about this, that, and the other regarding their friendship, he sometimes couldn’t help but wonder about other things when it came to her. Not that he spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about it, but the point was more that he did think about it at all.
He curled his lips up into a smile as she started to hum. The dorm wasn’t too far now, so it wouldn’t be too much longer before they had to say good night. He wasn’t so fond of the idea, but there wasn’t much to be done about it so he let the thought come and go, and instead considered her question with a little hum of his own.
Her little skip and turn pulled him out of his thoughts for a second, and his smile grew as his eyes settled on her.
“No nightmare teachers, and the workload is…a little tougher than I imagined. Not impossible, but I can feel a little strain between school and sports.” The brunette shrugged at that. “I mean it’s always been there, but it feels worse now. More at stake, maybe, so it might be that and the pressure of maintaining?”
Nodding to her, he thought to ask as well. “What about you?”
Cliff glanced over at her as they went, wondering about their evening friend “date”…thing. It’d been a good time, it always was with Abby, but now that they were older and there were plenty at school who whispered in his ear about this, that, and the other regarding their friendship, he sometimes couldn’t help but wonder about other things when it came to her. Not that he spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about it, but the point was more that he did think about it at all.
He curled his lips up into a smile as she started to hum. The dorm wasn’t too far now, so it wouldn’t be too much longer before they had to say good night. He wasn’t so fond of the idea, but there wasn’t much to be done about it so he let the thought come and go, and instead considered her question with a little hum of his own.
Her little skip and turn pulled him out of his thoughts for a second, and his smile grew as his eyes settled on her.
“No nightmare teachers, and the workload is…a little tougher than I imagined. Not impossible, but I can feel a little strain between school and sports.” The brunette shrugged at that. “I mean it’s always been there, but it feels worse now. More at stake, maybe, so it might be that and the pressure of maintaining?”
Nodding to her, he thought to ask as well. “What about you?”
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Abby made a sound of agreement, one of understanding, she knew that he was in a bit of a tighter spot then she was. “Because of your scholarship?” She turned around and once more walked normally next to him, not really noticing that the fog was getting thicker each second. Unlike her, Cliff didn’t have a parent that would for the college. Since her dad worked for the theater department she got free tuition, or damn close to free. That wasn’t the case for him. While she couldn’t do anything about that she could at least try to help ease some of the stress from the classes. “Did you actually space out your classes this semester? Add in a few easy ones?” She glanced over at him with a raised brow.
That had been what had nearly swamped her in her first semester. Piling in all her harder classes, trying to get them done with, had damn near sunk her. If her advisor hadn’t corrected her misstep, and if she wasn’t as stubborn as she was then Abby might have been in a much different situation when it came to her GPA.
The faint, distant sound of hooves had her turning to look behind them. She frowned as she realized just how thick the fog had gotten. It was like a wall. An obscuring wall of white. Turning to face forward showed her the same kind of fog shrouded landscape. They were in a small-ish bubble of light from the nearest lamppost but the rest was just white. It was a real visibility hell. Abby rubbed at the back of her neck, feeling the first pricklings of unease crawl up her spine. Was something out there? “Cliff?” She asked uncertainty, maybe her years of being a senshi were making her mind over react.
Then again…
Maybe not.
That had been what had nearly swamped her in her first semester. Piling in all her harder classes, trying to get them done with, had damn near sunk her. If her advisor hadn’t corrected her misstep, and if she wasn’t as stubborn as she was then Abby might have been in a much different situation when it came to her GPA.
The faint, distant sound of hooves had her turning to look behind them. She frowned as she realized just how thick the fog had gotten. It was like a wall. An obscuring wall of white. Turning to face forward showed her the same kind of fog shrouded landscape. They were in a small-ish bubble of light from the nearest lamppost but the rest was just white. It was a real visibility hell. Abby rubbed at the back of her neck, feeling the first pricklings of unease crawl up her spine. Was something out there? “Cliff?” She asked uncertainty, maybe her years of being a senshi were making her mind over react.
Then again…
Maybe not.
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He had noticed the fog rolling in and wondered if it’d gotten that late, though he didn’t think too much about it beyond that. Apparently, his sense as a senshi had dulled quite a bit over the years of non-use.
“Yep.” It never made sense to him to sugarcoat the more difficult aspects of his life, or life in general, though over the years he’d learned who he could trust with the more private struggles he had and who he couldn’t, as well as how to maneuver himself out of conversations and situations that required outright lying, though he’d become a bit more comfortable with at least white lies over the years. A necessary evil, he called them.
“And yeah, it was one of the first things my counselor warned me against–trying to do too much. I thought we came up with a good plan, but I think I’ll probably take one less class next year just to see if it’ll be a little better.” He shrugged again and glanced over at her with the usual smirk. “We’ll see. Who knows, by then maybe I’ll be adjusted enough that I won’t have to.”
He was hoping that would be the case, actually. He liked keeping busy.
Cliff was about to say more when he heard the sound of hooves as well, and it was only then that he felt the unease creeping up on him as well, and he glanced around but he had a sense that there was someone…or something…out there. “Let’s walk a little faster, Abs,” he said, hand going to hers if only to ensure they didn’t get separated.
A quick glance back and he finally saw…something. A black, swirling mass and the glint of a ********, we should probably run.”
“Yep.” It never made sense to him to sugarcoat the more difficult aspects of his life, or life in general, though over the years he’d learned who he could trust with the more private struggles he had and who he couldn’t, as well as how to maneuver himself out of conversations and situations that required outright lying, though he’d become a bit more comfortable with at least white lies over the years. A necessary evil, he called them.
“And yeah, it was one of the first things my counselor warned me against–trying to do too much. I thought we came up with a good plan, but I think I’ll probably take one less class next year just to see if it’ll be a little better.” He shrugged again and glanced over at her with the usual smirk. “We’ll see. Who knows, by then maybe I’ll be adjusted enough that I won’t have to.”
He was hoping that would be the case, actually. He liked keeping busy.
Cliff was about to say more when he heard the sound of hooves as well, and it was only then that he felt the unease creeping up on him as well, and he glanced around but he had a sense that there was someone…or something…out there. “Let’s walk a little faster, Abs,” he said, hand going to hers if only to ensure they didn’t get separated.
A quick glance back and he finally saw…something. A black, swirling mass and the glint of a ********, we should probably run.”
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Abby just gave him a look, she knew how bad classes could get. Add in extra curriculars like soccer and it gets that much harder but Cliff was a grown man… sort of. He was at least old enough to make his own decisions so she wasn’t going to press him on it. Not on this. It was his life, not hers afterall. He would learn one way or another. Abby just hoped he didn’t burn out or get hurt somehow.
Even as the fog got thicker and Abby turned her entire attention to the feeling of being watched, she still kept the easy pace they were walking. It wasn’t until Cliff grabbed her hand right before he glanced back as well and suggested they run. Considering she saw what he did she didn’t even hesitate, she took off running, Cliff alongside of her. They didn’t get very far before she saw the distant glow of what she assumed was one of the dorm buildings… and the faint sounds of chattering of other students.
“s**t,” knowing that running into a crowd of civilians was just a bad idea she came to a stop, tugging at Cliff’s hand before letting him go. “We have to take a stand. We can fight, they can’t.” Abby didn’t even hesitate, she moved as fast as she could and before more than a few heart racing seconds passed Ellicott stood there in all her Super senshi glory. She was turning to face the danger that she could hear approaching rapidly, but glanced over at Cliff. “Two against one. The odds are in our favor.”
Even as the fog got thicker and Abby turned her entire attention to the feeling of being watched, she still kept the easy pace they were walking. It wasn’t until Cliff grabbed her hand right before he glanced back as well and suggested they run. Considering she saw what he did she didn’t even hesitate, she took off running, Cliff alongside of her. They didn’t get very far before she saw the distant glow of what she assumed was one of the dorm buildings… and the faint sounds of chattering of other students.
“s**t,” knowing that running into a crowd of civilians was just a bad idea she came to a stop, tugging at Cliff’s hand before letting him go. “We have to take a stand. We can fight, they can’t.” Abby didn’t even hesitate, she moved as fast as she could and before more than a few heart racing seconds passed Ellicott stood there in all her Super senshi glory. She was turning to face the danger that she could hear approaching rapidly, but glanced over at Cliff. “Two against one. The odds are in our favor.”
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The teen came to a skidding halt just beside her, and he glanced between her, the still thickening fog, and the lights–and students–just a short distance away now. She was right, he knew she was right, but that didn’t mean he was thrilled at the idea. All this time back and he still hadn’t powered up because…
Well, he wasn’t really sure of the “why” yet but things were hard enough now without acknowledging the responsibilities of being a senshi.
The galloping hooves in the fog got louder still, and he let his concerns go. Right was right, and he couldn’t bring himself to be so much of a coward that he would knowingly bring some unknown, not to mention probably dangerous, thing into a gathering of students. He could sort out his thoughts, feelings, obligations, and priorities later. For now, he knew what he had to ******** me,” he muttered as he slipped his pen out of one of his jacket’s inside pockets. For all his concerns, he had started keeping it on him knowing what was possibly in store for him in DC. As soon as he wrapped his fingers around it, he willed his phrase in his mind and could feel the magic enveloping him for the first time in a long time.
Unfortunately for Abby, though, Cliff did not re-emerge from the white light. When it faded, he was just…gone.
Well, he wasn’t really sure of the “why” yet but things were hard enough now without acknowledging the responsibilities of being a senshi.
The galloping hooves in the fog got louder still, and he let his concerns go. Right was right, and he couldn’t bring himself to be so much of a coward that he would knowingly bring some unknown, not to mention probably dangerous, thing into a gathering of students. He could sort out his thoughts, feelings, obligations, and priorities later. For now, he knew what he had to ******** me,” he muttered as he slipped his pen out of one of his jacket’s inside pockets. For all his concerns, he had started keeping it on him knowing what was possibly in store for him in DC. As soon as he wrapped his fingers around it, he willed his phrase in his mind and could feel the magic enveloping him for the first time in a long time.
Unfortunately for Abby, though, Cliff did not re-emerge from the white light. When it faded, he was just…gone.
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She was ready for a fight. She was prepared for a fight. She figured Cliff would be too, standing there next to her as a senshi. He hadn’t even hesitated once she had realized they needed to face whatever magical BS was following them.
But between one moment and the next he was gone.
“What the?” All the senshi could do was gape at the empty space her friend had been standing. It wasn’t until the loud whinny of a horse had her whip back to face the real danger. She saw the swipe of a blade, the glow of some unholy eyes, and did her best to throw herself out of the range of the creature. She felt stones dig into her hands but also felt the bite of the steel around her neck, a painful burning sensation. And then the horse and its rider were gone. The pain in her neck was fading, and only the fear, confusion, worry, and ache in her hands and knees persisted.
She climbed shakily to her feet and absently noted that not only was the fog thinning, but she couldn’t sense Urda at all… Knowing she was losing her cover the senshi powered down, at just the right time too as a group of college kids came stumbling past drunkenly carousing. Abby ignored them and moved as quickly as she could back to her dorm, sending Cliff a quick question mark text. What the hell happened? What happened to him? What the ******** was that horseman? And why had it felt like she had been struck in the neck?
It wasn’t until Abby was washing her face off in the tiny closet of a bathroom in her dorm that she saw the deep, red mark on her neck. Like a necklace had been violently yanked off… or someone had tried to cut her head off. Shivering she quickly crawled into bed and did her best to ignore the tendrils of fog that licked at the window or the distant sounds of hooves on pavement.
She had no clue what had happened but she did know that Cliff would have a bloody large amount of explaining to do! “I knew I should have shoved his head in the mud all those years ago,’ she muttered before yanking her blanket over her head.
But between one moment and the next he was gone.
“What the?” All the senshi could do was gape at the empty space her friend had been standing. It wasn’t until the loud whinny of a horse had her whip back to face the real danger. She saw the swipe of a blade, the glow of some unholy eyes, and did her best to throw herself out of the range of the creature. She felt stones dig into her hands but also felt the bite of the steel around her neck, a painful burning sensation. And then the horse and its rider were gone. The pain in her neck was fading, and only the fear, confusion, worry, and ache in her hands and knees persisted.
She climbed shakily to her feet and absently noted that not only was the fog thinning, but she couldn’t sense Urda at all… Knowing she was losing her cover the senshi powered down, at just the right time too as a group of college kids came stumbling past drunkenly carousing. Abby ignored them and moved as quickly as she could back to her dorm, sending Cliff a quick question mark text. What the hell happened? What happened to him? What the ******** was that horseman? And why had it felt like she had been struck in the neck?
It wasn’t until Abby was washing her face off in the tiny closet of a bathroom in her dorm that she saw the deep, red mark on her neck. Like a necklace had been violently yanked off… or someone had tried to cut her head off. Shivering she quickly crawled into bed and did her best to ignore the tendrils of fog that licked at the window or the distant sounds of hooves on pavement.
She had no clue what had happened but she did know that Cliff would have a bloody large amount of explaining to do! “I knew I should have shoved his head in the mud all those years ago,’ she muttered before yanking her blanket over her head.
