Headless

  “Slow down! I can't breathe!” she gasps out.

  “We have to keep running, come on!”

  She shakes her head no, pulling her hand away and slides to a stop in the mud, bending over to rest her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Amir slides to a stop a few feet in front of her, and turns back, first checking on her, then looking past her. The Horseman is nowhere to be seen. Amir instinctually looks to the tree line, trying to see if anything, or anyone, is moving.

  “Kat, we have to get out of here, now.”

  “We can't go anywhere that way, remember? Harold said this place is a peninsula. There's no way to get out of here that way. We have to go back over the bridge!”

  The realization of what she's saying is setting in. He lowers his head, frustrated. She stands upright, still breathing heavily, but not seeing white spots any longer. He nods, as he catches his breath as well. Amir looks around, still trying to see where the Horseman disappeared too.

  “Where do you think the others are at?” She asked, turning from him to look at the town.

  Why hadn't any of them popped up? Amir knew the answer, or at least felt he did, but he didn't want to say it to her. Not right now. Surviving was all that mattered. He took another glance around, and spotting a barn, grabbed her hand and takes off for it.

  “Come on, let's move!” he pulls her along towards the barn.

  “Alright, alright!” She gasps out as she's jerked in his direction.

  The barn door creaks open slightly. A pale orange glow seeping in through the door crack from the fire, and Amir pulls Katerina in through the gap, and closes the door. After a moment, the flashlight on his phone lights up, and they peer around the barn. Old farming equipment, dried out bales of hay and dust fill the room. Even after all these years the barnyard smell still reeks through the air.

  “Here, hold this,” Amir extends the phone to her, and she takes it. She looks down at it, and holds it up as he starts moving around. He grabs an old piece of wood, and places it in the metal hooks at the edges of the door, locking it off. He steps back, and reaches behind himself, not looking where he's grabbing, but Kat sees him reaching, and extends her hand out to meet his, as he backs away from the door. He takes the phone back from her, and looks around, leading her behind some of the hay.

  “Let's turn this off,” he whispers, shutting off the cell phone light.

  They both sit there in silence. The rain pounding off the wood is the only sound filling the air. Kat breathes through her nose, staring into the darkness and waiting for her eyes to adjust. She could have sworn that was Dougie she saw. But why would he throw an axe at them like that? Why would he set a building on fire? She didn't understand, and she couldn't fully comprehend what was going on. But it seemed Amir was just as confused.

  “Who do you think that was?” She asked, looking in his general direction in the darkness.

  “I really, truly have no idea Kat.”

  “Well, it's none of my friends! It's too big, and you said it wasn't Doug.”

  “Not anymore.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Amir shook his head. He couldn't have seen what he thought he did. But that didn't change the fact he was certain whatever, or whoever that was, wasn't the same guy that drove them to Sleepy Hollow that evening.

  “Amir!” She raises her voice, snapping him back to the moment.

  “I don't know who it is. Maybe it was the Horseman Harold was talking about? Maybe this place really is cursed?”

  “You're kidding, right? A ghost killer? Are you high?”

  “Irrelevant, but probably still a little bit. That fucking thing came walking out of a burning house, through flames. And not so much as a burn. Completely unfazed. So either they're wearing really expensive flame retardant, or it's not a fucking human being!” Amir raised his voice a bit.

  “You don't have to yell at me. Jesus,” she whispered.

  She rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the hay. Amir sighed, lowering his eyes to the ground. He started to say he was sorry, but it was pointless for such a trivial thing in this instance. Emotions were running high, and the only thing that mattered was that both of them stayed alive. She looked over the hay, towards the door as they hid there. Were they going to have to wait all night? Would someone see the fire or smoke and come to help? Doubtful. We're in the middle of nowhere, she retorted to herself.

  “I don't want to be here,” she exhaled sadly.

  He rested a hand on her shoulder, and nodded. He felt very much the same way, but was trying to hide whatever fear was hiding beneath the surface, so he could be supportive for her. Thunder filled the air outside the barn, so loud that it vibrated the building around them.

  Kat jumped at this, and pulled back into Amir's arms who held her there, and they sat, in the dark and quiet, with only the storm to keep them company. He rubbed her arm gently, trying to be as reassuring as possible. An indeterminate amount of time passed, but it may as well have been forever. Amir had actually dozed off, sitting there. She was fighting to stay awake herself, staring at the door. The rain continued to pound and its rhythmic sound was enough to make anyone want to take a nap.

  She yawned, stretched, and stood up. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark by this point, and she could see relatively well inside the barn. She examined things as she walked around it quietly.

  “What the hell is going on?” she groaned silently to herself, as she placed her hands on her hips in frustration.

  Her eyes came to an old scythe on the wall, and she looked back at Amir who was still asleep, and she reached up, pulling it down. She examined the old rusty tool, and worked to pull some cobwebs off it. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. A hand grabbed her shoulder from behind and she jumped, turning and swinging the scythe.

  “What the fuck!” Amir yells, ducking.

  She came within centimeters of removing his head. He fell back on the dirt, and slid back from her a bit. Kat gasped, and dropped the scythe putting her hands to her mouth. Amir looked at her in shock and fear.

  “Oh my God, I'm so, so, so sorry. It was completely an accident!”

  “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “No! I didn't know who you were. I found this,” she motioned to the scythe. “And then you snuck up behind me. And, and...” she stumbled back to the post she pulled the scythe down off of and leaned against it in shock.

  Amir leaned down and picked the scythe up. He couldn't stay too mad at her. She was just defending herself. He rested a hand on her shoulder, as she began crying, trying to console her. He knew she didn't mean too, and after the initial problem of almost being decapitated had passed, he was able to move on. He gripped the scythe tightly in one hand, and hugged her head tightly as she sobbed softly into his shoulder.

  Rustling caught them both off guard. Amir holds a finger to Kat's lips as she startles, looking around in the darkness. The sounds are coming from the back of the barn. Amir holds the scythe up and back, ready to strike, as he steps slowly towards the rustling. Kat clings one hand to his shoulder, walking alongside him.

  “How did he get in here? Is there another door?” She whispers.

  “Shh. Just stay behind me, it's alright,” Amir responds, not taking his eyes off their destination.

  They come to the fence, and Amir reaches forward, pulling the gate open. Amir jumps in, and the horse neighs, being startled. Kat gasps out, seeing the animal, and they stare at it in confusion, as it snorts back at them. Kat reaches up and touches its mane, petting it. The horse shakes its head, and she flinches away.

  “It's okay, buddy,” she whispers to it. “Where did you come from?” Amir takes a step back, and she pets it again. “It's weird...”

  “What is?” Amir whispers, looking back at the door.

  “The poor thing is ice cold. Like it's...”

  “Dead?” Amir looks back over his shoulder.

  She looks from him to
the horse, and for the first time notices it's red eyes. She gasps, flinching back away from it. The horse neighs out loudly and clops its hooves into the dirt. The animal's sounds are deafening at such a close range. Kat raises her hands to her ears, muffling the sound and Amir grabs her arm, pulling her away from the animal.

  Only a couple moments pass, and banging starts at the front barn door. Heavy, hard pounding. Violent and rage-filled. The entire old barn seems to vibrate with each hit. The wood of the door cracks, but so far the cross beam holds. This is only for a moment longer, as the cross beam splinters and shatters at the center, the Horseman kicking in the door from the other side. Rain pours in from outside, and the Horseman stares in at them. Lightning flashes and for the first time they make out Dougie's pale head on the body.

  “Doug!” Kat yells, stepping forward. Amir catches her by the arm. He stares the monstrous mercenary down, noticing the black veins, the black eyes, the pale skin. Something is very, very wrong. This is too good for some make-up job for a prank. “What are you doing? Let go of me!”

  “Look...” Amir nods at their attacker.

  She examines it for the first time, and the Horseman reaches up, pulling the head from its shoulders, the black ooze attaching it at the neck to the body receding. As a gap forms between the head and body, the Horseman curtsies, before placing the head back on itself.

  Katerina turns, throwing up, as Amir's breath quickens. This can't be real. It was just a story; an urban legend. Neither of them were prepared for the reality standing before them, and neither were prepared for handling such a threat in any way shape or form. Amir grabs Kat, holding her up.

  “Stay with me, alright. Listen, I need you to focus. Are you listening?”

  “Yeah,” she nods.

  “When I distract him, I want you to run. Run as fast as you can back towards the bridge, alright?”

  “But what about y --”

  “I'll catch up to you. Got it? I'm just going to distract him long enough for you to get out of here. Are you ready?” She looks from him to their attacker, and lowers her eyes to the ground, nodding. “Good...”

  CHAPTER XXIII

  He may very well be the bravest man she'd ever met. This – thing – whatever it was, seemed incredibly strong, and resilient. And truthfully, if Dougie didn't survive the Hessian's attack, she wasn't sure how Amir would fare. But she trusted him. She knew that much, at the very least. He cared about her, and he wouldn't let anything happen to her without a fight. Kat knew she had found someone special, just by his selflessness, alone.

  “Alright, get ready...” he whispered, never taking his eyes off the Horseman at the barn door. “Go!”

  He was the first to move, as he told her to run. The scythe spun in front of his body, as he turned towards the Horseman. Amir swung the scythe, at full length, and the Horseman used its axe to block the attack. She ran out into the rain. It drenched her immediately, and Kat couldn't help but notice the way the thick mud pulled at her feet, making each motion twice the effort it would have been otherwise.

  This didn't stop her, though. Hell, it didn't even slow her down. She was going to run until she couldn't run anymore. The Horseman had never even paid attention to her leaving; Amir had caught its interest. The Horseman pushed the young hero away easily, and Amir swings again with the scythe, trying to fend off the expert swordsman.

  “Why won’t you just fuck off, already?” Amir growls, swinging again.

  The Horseman catches the scythe handle near the base of the blade, and raises his axe, splitting the long handle in two. Amir stumbles back, and looks down at the tonfa type weapons he now has. He spins them around, and swings the wood one. The Horseman blocks it, but this time Amir catches him off-guard with a spinning kick to the gut, sending the mercenary stumbling back.

  Fighting styles had changed since the Hessian's heyday. He turned the axe blade, lashing out at Amir's neck, who ducks, and delivers a vicious hook across Dougie's possessed face, and the Hessian turns with the blow, bouncing back immediately. Amir delivers another shot with the wood stick, and lifts the scythe up, sticking it down into the Horseman's foot. The mercenary rears back, and Amir pulls the blade out, spinning it and cutting the mercenary's neck.

  Black ooze spilled from the Hessian's neck, and Amir grinned, believing he'd won. This victory would prove short lived however, as the ooze began to roll back up in on itself, and seals shut at the wound, as if it never happened. For the first time a gleam of emotion crosses the Horseman's face, as it smirks, turning it's pitch black gaze on Amir.

  “Mother fucker...” Amir concedes.

  The facial expression returns to emotionless, as the Horseman becomes the one to attack. Spinning and swinging the sword, Amir struggles to keep up with his speed and strength, deflecting swing after swing. Amir drops the wood half of his weapons, and catches the handle of the axe, burying the scythe half to the handle in the Horseman's rib cage. The Horseman flinches, grabbing at the scythe handle. His other hand pushes the axe down closer to Amir's face, who let's go of the scythe to reach up, and hold the Horseman's hand with both of his. Hessian’s strength was incredible.

  Amir tried to kick it again, but there wasn't enough room between them to move his leg. He was basically relegated to tapping the Horseman's shin with his toe. The Horseman grabs Amir by the throat, turns slightly, and yanks him towards it's body. Amir gasps out, his eyes going wide. He looks down, and finds the broken scythe handle stuck in his abdomen. He looks back up to make eye contact with the Horseman as the monster pulls itself off the scythe blade, black ooze dripping from the rusted metal.

  “Go fuck yourself,” Amir groans, spitting blood in his face.

  The Horseman blinks at this insult, and rips the scythe handle from Amir's gut. He throws it behind himself, the blade sticking into a wood pillar. It draws back the axe, turning the blade over in his hand, and swings upward. Amir groans out. The blade cuts with such force, and so sharply that there was no blood initially. Not until Amir's body split in two. His eyes still looking around, as one half of his physique slid down the other, before both halves slosh to the ground in a bloody pile.

  The Horseman cracks his neck, looking down at the scythe wound to his abdomen, as it heals up. The Horseman shakes the blood from his axe, and turns towards the barn door, where rain still pours in. The wind has picked up considerably, slamming the boards of the building together. The sky filled with flashes of light, and thunder echoed, but was barely louder than the pounding rain and wind at this point.

  The mercenary makes his way out into the storm, blending into the shadows and a whistle echoes back to the barn. The horse bursts from the pen, wood splintering everywhere, as it answers it's master's call.

  There's only one left.

  Katerina runs through the trees, as fast as she can, while still adjusting to the darkness before her. She left the main path in hopes that the trees would shield her from the torrential rain. To an extent, she was right. But the wind whipping through the branches may have been worse, overall. They lashed out at her in a tirade of violent snips, and cracks, catching her clothes, and cutting her flesh. These minor wounds are nothing compared to what she knows could come though, so she continues to run.

  The only thing pounding faster than her feet in the dirt, is the heart in her chest. Her breathing comes in short bursts, as oxygen struggles to reach her brain at this point, between the fear, the adrenaline and the physical exertion. Time came to a standstill in her mind, as she felt her feet give out from under her. Her toes had caught something, and her line of sight quickly found the dirt. Her chest caving in as she hit the ground, her back arching up and over her head as she felt her muscles contort in a way they weren't designed to move.

  “Son of a bitch,” she mouthed, spitting out dirt as she tried to catch her breath. The air suddenly came rushing back to her lungs as she rolled over on her back, staring up at the dark sky. Rain dripped down on her as she laid there in the dirt. Her hip ached, her sh
oulder pinched, and lower back throbbing. She was also sure she managed to break bones in her ankle she didn't know existed. She attempted to sit up. “Ow.”

  Just let it come, she thought. Being dead had to be less painful than this. But that thought only lasted a couple moments as her survival instinct took back over. She managed to sit up, and reached out, trying to find what she had caught her foot on. She found whatever it was to be soft, cold, and large. Kat worked to pull her phone from her pocket, and turn the light on from the cellphone. Old man Jenkins' body lies there on the ground. She gags and covers her mouth, pushing away from the corpse.

  “Jesus Christ!” she screams out under her hand, and that quickly, she's up and running again.

  Any thought of pain subsided as she ran. Her muscles burned as she moved, but the motion stretched them out, and the receptors in her brain blocked what would otherwise have her lying around in bed for at least a few days. There would be time to rest when she was long, long, long away from here. Her thought momentarily went to Amir, and hoping he was right behind her. Maybe he had taken the long way along the path? He was alive, she was certain at least.

  This train of thought was quickly followed by sunny beaches, fancy cocktails and a sexy bikini as she could only dream of getting away from here. She looked over at Amir in her vision, both sitting on beach chairs, and he smiles back at her, reaching out to hold her hand. They lean over to kiss one another, and she slides to a stop, being shook back to reality.

  Tina's impaled headless, nearly naked form sticks out even in the darkness as her soft white skin picks up just about any light that hits it. She stares at the body, holding the cellphone up, using the light to see. She cries out, as she works through who it could be in her mind.

  “Oh God, Tina...” She gasps, fighting not to cry. “I just want to go home...”

  She gags, bending over and dry heaving. However, she keeps backing up. Getting out of here remained the priority for her, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized there was no way to help her friend. As this realization came to the forefront, she began running again. The next thought that hit her was that perhaps this is the reason she hasn't seen any of her other friends.