Still trying to find his breathe, Warren leaned back against the cold wood when he heard whispers creep out from the crack of the double doors. There was something unnatural about it. This wasn’t simply someone whispering inside, this seemed as if the door itself was whispering something to him. He quickly pushed himself away from the wood so that he could turn around and get a better look. It was incredibly tall. Taller than any other door in the school. It seemed almost out of place compared to everything else in the school. It light mist leaked through the edges and around the hinges. There was something about it that seemed compelling. He needed to know what was on the other side. He had never been through these doors, though he couldn’t recall having ever noticed them before this very moment. The doors were heavier than expected. Just trying to push one took almost all of his energy as he leaned forward with all of his weight. The heavy door creaked open on the rusty hinges allowing a thick puff of mist to explode out into the open air. Standing in the doorway, he felt an uncomfortable feeling as he surveyed the room. He had never been in the school library… or any library for that matter. Any information that he needed was conveniently placed on the internet for his leisure.
It was unbelievable that a public school could be host to a library of this size, let alone have enough books to fill all the shelves, but yet they somehow managed. The books were packed tightly on the shelves.
It suddenly occurred to him that the reason he had ended up at this location was to get away from Victor. He turned around, glancing passed some the kids that still stood around when his eyes locked onto Seth looking back at him with murder in his eyes. Warren hadn’t realised that the Goth was also chasing him up until this point. He wasn’t even sure why. ‘As if I didn’t have enough to worry about with a muscle bound titan chasing after me already, now I still have to worry about a bloodthirsty Doberman on my scent?!’ Warren thought to himself as he contemplated what to do next. With the crowd dying down, he finally found his original pursuer frantically peeking through a classroom window, covering either side of his eyes to avoid having the reflection distort his vision. Warren quickly grabbed the door in preparation to close it, but Seth slowly raised his hand and pointed a very lazy index finger directly at him, his eyes deadly and unblinking. Warren closed the door with greater desperation, which proved just as difficult to close as it did to open.
The noise from outside was now muffled by the thick doors, and very quickly gave way to the weight of the silence
“It smells like old books in here…” Warren spoke to himself as he ventured further into the old library.
Pillars of light poured in from the unreachable windows that lined the edges of the ceiling. He reached out to one of the beams of light, which was reflecting off of the dust particles, making it that much harder to see all the way through. The wooden floor beneath his feet groaned painfully through the silence. He hadn’t even noticed the nerdy looking slender girl that was sitting at one of the desks with her nose in a book until he was forced to look around to determine who he was bothering with the squeaking floor. He recognised her. She was far from being the most popular girl in the school, but she could easily be considered the smartest. It took Warren a few seconds to remember her name… going as far as straining his eyes, but he remembered… Faith… Faith Carestia. She was a straight A student. She would spend every free moment available in the confines of this musty old place. She had almost become a myth thanks to how few people actually see her.
Some people even believe that she left the school. Breaks, free lessons, even substitute classes, Faith was in this musky old place. He had to admit that he could see the appeal: incredibly quiet, incredibly empty and carvings on the curved ceiling was interesting to follow when bored enough. Whether it be natural or a result of the solitude, Faith’s skin appeared to be as pale as the moon in a dark sky. She had slightly reddish hair and freckles over her cheeks. Despite her social standing, he had to admit that she would have been a perfect fit for the role of Snow White in the ‘Scarlet Apple’ play that was a drama inadvertently turned into a comedy. Though not malnourished in any way, she was incredibly thin and taller than most girls.
Warren could feel her eyes follow him over the top of her book, through the round spectacles on the bridge of her nose. Warren felt out of place. The roaring silence magnified every sound, including his footsteps. He grabbed a random book from a nearby table and opened it at a random page, just to appear busy as he walked between the many shelves and the tables.
He continued deeper into the library, but there was something about the girl sitting on her own that was compelling him to look her way. It felt like a physical force that was pulling him in her direction. Soon the compulsion became greater than anything, and he felt himself slowly turning her way. To his surprise, she was also staring at him with cold green eyes shrouded behind the reflection on her thick round spectacles. Their eyes locked on one another, neither one wavering. He hadn’t realised it, but somehow he had stopped walking, and was now just standing in the centre of the path, staring at the girl sitting at the desk and few feet away from him.
Suddenly, the large doors that he had come through swung open with a bang. He felt his heart leap to his throat as he jumped and spun around, already knowing who it was. Without saying a word, Victor marched down the hallway, grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground with little effort.
“Wait…” Warren pleaded, “How’s bout I interest you in some good literature?” he raised the book that he still clutched in his hand, revealing the title as ‘Ethan Frome’.
“How’s about a rip your head off instead?” Victor growled back at him.
The teacher at the receptionist desk leaped from her chair, causing it to fall over, and slammed her palm on the stack of books that stood precariously almost 2 feet tall, like a makeshift jenga tower.
“Hey…” Faith’s voice rang through the empty room like a church bell.
Everyone froze. All eyes were now focused on the nerdy girl who sat there with her arms folded.
“Sit down…” Faith continued.
“It’s fine… We were just leaving…” Victor said, releasing Warren’s collar and pretending to dust the shirt of his intended victim with unnecessarily hard pats, despite the umph’s that came from him.
“That wasn’t a request…” Faith said sternly and nodded at the chairs across from her.
Victor stared at her carefully. There was something about this girl. He couldn’t explain the feeling, but her words were compelling. His heart rate increased for every second that she stared at him. Like a parent waiting for a response from a child that had been misbehaving, her eyes never blinked and her intensity never quivered. The perpetuity of every second caused his mind to drown in its own thoughts. Even the clock that hung high up on the brick wall sounded like a drum beating against the intense silence that fell upon the group.
“I have to get to class now…” the teacher behind the main desk said calmly, “Will you be fine?” causing the girl to break her gaze.
“Yeah… I have things under control” Faith responded. She sat back quietly and folded her arms once more.
“I also have to get to class…” Victor said with just enough sarcasm to be noticeable.
“You may leave when I am done!” her voice remained stern and strong.
“And why should we listen to you?” Victor interrupted
“Because I am the only one that can help you”
“What are you talking about?” Victor asked calmly
“Have a seat, and I will tell you everything that you need to know”
Victor very reluctant moved the chair out from under the table before taking a seat.
Though he didn’t know why, Warren also sat down, purposely leaving a chair open between himself and his nemesis.
“That includes you…” she continued, staring passed the pair in front of her, at one of the shelves facing them, “… Seth”
Both warren and Victo
r looked around quickly. Neither of them had realised the Silent Goth enter the library. Warren strained his causing a small wrinkle between his brow, when he saw it. Between the books, two eyes staring back at him.
The eye vanished and Seth slowly walked out from the side of the book shelf. He slowly walked to where they were sitting and took a seat next to Warren.
“Okay…” Victor said as Seth sat down, “Start explaining…”
“It is not that simple…” Faith said calmly, leaning forward in her chair, “Where do I even start?”
“You are wasting our time”
“You have a destiny…”
“Really…” Victor exclaimed rather sarcastically, “You really gonna give the destiny speech”
“Fine” she shot him an annoyed looked, before continuing, “There are things about this planet that not many people know of”
“She’s lost her mind… let’s get out of here…” Victor stood up quickly when she spoke again, stopping him in his tracks…
“What if I told you that walking out of that door right now would mean that you are dooming the world to an eternity of darkness and death?”
“You really don’t like making sense…”
“People dying everywhere… some destined to die over and over… innocent blood running through the streets like rivers… dark creatures roaming the streets in search of human flesh to feast on”
“I think that sounds pretty bad…” Warren interrupted, watching Victor as he just stared at her.
“You act like you know everything, but you are just a crazy little girl with a wild imagination” Victor said, this time stepping out from behind the chair.
“Victor Matalo…” she said quickly as he turned to walk away, “If you leave now, then you will never know what this is about and you will never know why exactly you are such a great sportsman”
“Great genetics…”
“Yes…” Faith responded, “… do you truly believe that?”
Victor just remained quiet. He couldn’t think of anything to say further. He turned and looked at her.
“You say that I don’t know anything…” she said, having toned down to sound more serious yet friendly, “… then why would I know that you have a great fear of spiders? That is something that you have never told anyone out of fear that they might know your kryptonite”
Victor’s face turned sour fast, “Have you been spying on me?”
“No Victor” She continued, “There are things about our world that only a few have the privilege of knowing”
“Then stop messing around and just tell us…”
“You must be Conquest…”
Victor’s anger immediately turned into confusion. He couldn’t understand what the she was trying to say to him. His eyebrows folded together in the centre of his forehead.
“Seth o’Lim…” Faith continued, ignoring the blatant look of confusion from Victor, “The silent Goth. Lost both your parents in a single car accident. Lost your uncle the same year and then your girlfriend the following year to a mysterious illness”
Seth’s deep black eyes focused on Faith like a laser sight, but he still didn’t speak.
“Wait… wait…” Victor interrupted, “How do you know these things about me and him?”
“For he is Death…”
“What are you talking about, woman?” Victor exclaimed, “You are not making sense”
Faith stared at Victor, who was watching her, waiting for an answer. She ignored him and looked over at Warren, who seemed confused and concerned.
“Finally…” Faith continued, “…we get to Warren Milito. Unfocused; untidy; untamed; sporadic and an uncanny ability to spark rage from even the calmest of people! You have War in your blood”
“What are you talking about…?” Victor demanded, launching himself from his chair again.
Faith said nothing. She reached into the pile of books next to her, and drew from it a book that had Four shadowy figures on it, each saddled on top of a Horse. At the top of the book was the single word, ‘Revelations’. She slid the book across the table to Victor, who took it into his hand before sliding it back across the table.
“What does this have to do with anything?” Victor asked smugly.
“It has everything to do us…” she stopped to correct herself, “… everything to do with you. There are plenty of things in there that you probably should know about”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
Faith smiled slightly, “At the beginning there was earth, and on earth there was mankind. But there were also a group of Warriors created to bring upon the apocalypse when the time was right. They would be judge, juror and executioner. Great warriors with amazing gifts… like your ability to view things slower during an intense match”
“How do you know about that?”
“That’s your warrior reflexes kicking in when you are distressed”
Victor grunted, “You are one tablet short of a full medicine cabinet… I’m outa here” Victor stood up and walked out back out of the large wooden door that he had come through.
Warren looked around to see if Seth would also leave, but the Goth was no longer sitting in the chair. He looked back at the door just in time to hear it slam shut.
“What about you…?” Faith asked, staring at Warren who was still sitting down quietly, “Aren’t you also going to storm out and label me as insane?”
“I… I can’t believe a story like that. Nessie sounds more believable” Warren walked to the door, “I’m sorry”. He peaked out to determine if the other two were possibly waiting outside the door before bolting off, puling the door closed behind him.
As soon as the door was closed, Mr. Berns appeared from one of the aisles, staring at Faith, who was still watching the door, maybe in some hope that one of them would return.
“Were you successful…?” he asked in a stern, yet bland tone.
“No…” she responded, “They didn’t believe me. In fact, they think I’m crazy. They’ll never believe any of it now”
“I disagree…” he responded, sitting directly ahead of her, “You couldn’t have done any better with the three of them together. They would never believe anything while all together, for fear that the others may ridicule them”
“Then how is that a success?”
“It is a success” Mr Berns said, his voice as calm and soothing as ever. He stood up from the chair ever so slowly, “You have planted the seed. Now, leave the watering to me”
CHAPTER 3 - REVELATIONS
With his next lesson more than halfway through, Warren found himself paying as little attention to the leaves dancing outside the classroom window he’d been staring at for half an hour, as he did to the lesson about some Civil War somewhere. He couldn’t help but consider the possibility of what faith had told them. He always imagined that he was destined for something greater than just a high school punching bag. He knew that it seemed farfetched, but something about it just felt right… like finding that one puzzle piece that you needed to complete the picture.
Before he knew it, the lesson had come to an end. The bell rang, shocking him out of his meditative state. The children huddled around the door, trying to make their way out into the already crowded hallways.
Warren eventually made his way out of the school grounds through the endless sea of children that poured into the street. He had lost Luis along the way yet again. This had become such a common occurrence that he has resorted to calling his friend a lost curious puppy. He chose to ignore it and allowed the currents to push him out of the gates, when he finally managed to step aside in order to wait for his friend.
Standing on his toes, trying not to fall over, Warren bobbed and weaved to see over the waves of children, when suddenly he noticed Victor walking directly at him. Victor’s deadly stare did not waver as he elbowed his way through the crowd.
Panicked, Warren began his slow escape through the teenagers that barely seemed to n
otice him, let alone his desperate attempt to get away. He pushed kid after kids aside as he tried to keep his head low. But as he continued trying to make his way through his school colleagues, the people became noticeably more difficult to move out of his way.
He began looking around frantically… nobody was moving. The cars all stood still in their lanes and the blue cloudless sky was littered with stationary birds, mainly pigeons, still airborne.
Warren managed to push his way out of the crowd and into the street.
There he was, standing in the street, everything around him entirely motionless. He looked all around in amazement, but everything was completely stationary… until Victor appeared from the crowd as well, with Seth close behind him.
The New Horsemen Page 2