The New Horsemen
Page 8
CHAPTER 14 – WANTED
Warren went through the entire day of school, but did not see Kimberley or Louis anywhere.
It was unusual for both of them to stay away on the same day. He tried his best to play it off as just mere coincidence, but the police presence at the school because of the events from the day before made him uneasy. He could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. To make matters worse, he could feel the eyes of the authorities on him the entire day.
While walking through the halls, on lunch, and even while sitting in class, he could feel the police watching him, scrutinizing, and even studying him.
During their break, Warren walked up to Victor’s group, who, as usual, dominated the corner stands.
“I need to speak to you…” he said boldly, ignoring the eyes that had all locked on him.
Warren and Victor walked onto the playground, as Warren looked back to ensure that nobody was following them.
“What’s wrong…?” Victor was actually concerned, which stemmed heavily from the fact that his friends aren’t a group that Warren would approach very easily.
“They’re watching us…”
“Who…?” Victor exclaimed, “Are you talking about my friends? Don’t mind them. They’re good guys but their all crazy”
“No…” Warren said with frustration, pulling the jock to face in the same direction as him, “The police… they’re watching us. Every now and then, I see one or two of them creeping somewhere near me or pretending to speak on their radios near me”
“So, we’re the prime suspects again…?”
“I guess with this being so close to what happened to Faith, they think one of us is going around killing people…”
“I have enough to worry about with Justice taking out Death” Victor complained with an air of despair, “Now I still have to worry about the feds following me”
“To make matters worse, I haven’t seen Kim or Louise at school today…” Warren continued in the hushed tone, “I think something might be wrong”
“Do you want me to go and check?” Victor offered, I could be back before the next lesson”
“Yeah…” Warren agreed, noticing the police patrolling in a wide radius around them. He could tell that they were trying their best not to look his way, to avoid suspicion, “but make it quick… go to the toilet so that it doesn’t look weird when you suddenly disappear”
“Brb…” Victor patted him on the shoulder before making his way back to the main building which had the closest bathroom.
CHAPTER 15 – GONE
Victor galloped through the streets on his horse, ignoring the cars that appeared to be standing still at the speed that he was travelling.
Barely waiting for the horse to stop, he leaped off but stopped in his tracks when he noticed the police car standing in front of the open gates of her house. He walked past the car, noticing that it was empty as he strolled into the front yard.
It wasn’t the largest of houses, but her parents were doing quite well, so it certainly wasn’t the smallest.
He walked in through the already open door and side stepped into an archway to the right that led to the stairs. Reaching the top, he peeked either way down the hallways when he noticed her parents standing in front of her door, staring into the room. Her mother’s cheeks were rosy red with fresh tears still rolling down to her round jawline and converging at the tip of her chin. She was the splitting image of Kimberley, despite the age difference. She did well to keep in shape and has tried many products to keep herself looking young and beautiful. The biggest difference between them, besides a few minor wrinkle lines, was that her mother was more voluptuous than she was, though not by far. She was very rarely ever seen in anything other than a skirt that reached just above her knees and a blouse that showed off just enough cleavage to still be appropriate in a workplace.
Kim’s father on the other hand was a bit brisk with a beer belly, a result of all the times he would get home from work, grab a beer and fall down on the first empty couch. He had slight afternoon stumble that outlined his chin and his hair was starting to grey thanks to the stresses that came with being a businessman.
Victor walked up to them allowing his armour to disappear into a fine dust around him. Suddenly a policeman appeared from the room. He wore rubber gloves and carried Kim’s schoolbag as if it were diseased… as far from his body as his arm’s reach would allow.
The policeman walked past him and down the stairs. He peeked into the room to notice another officer rummaging through her drawers.
He stood calmly beside them, uncertain about what to say. The pain on their faces was horrible to watch. He looked at Louis, who had now dropped to the floor and had his arms crossed around his knees and his face buried in his forearms.
“What happened…?” Victor finally asked, fearing the silence.
The question only caused her mother to begin sobbing more as she stared back into the room.
“Kim is missing…” Her father finally responded over his wife’s head.
Victor stared at him for some time… he struggled to comprehend the thought that she had run away. This was so unlike her… Of all the possibilities running away was not in Kim’s nature.
“The police believe that she was taken against her will…”
“… but who would…” Victor stopped… his mind raced… the question started before he had time to think about the possible answer.
Victor raced back to the school on his stead, weaving through the cars and jumping over bonnets. He reached the school fence that allowed for a good view of the playground, the same fence that Warren was waiting at.
“And…?” Warren said as Victor got within earshot.
“She’s gone… Kim’s gone…” Victor announced much to the surprise of Warren, “She’s been taken and I have a good feeling that Justice has something to do with it”
“What are we going to do about it?” Warren asked sternly
“No, not we… me!” Victor corrected him, leaping over the fence with barely any strain or effort, “You don’t stand a chance against him… I am going to get her back…”
“Do you even know where he is keeping her?”
Victor remained silent for a second, “No…” he finally responded, all excitement drawn from his voice.
“This is why you need me with you…”
“You made your choice…” the pent up anger that Victor had been holding in over recent weeks in regards to Warren’s choice all seemed to come pouring out as he jabbed Warren’s chest with his armoured index finger on every syllable, ignoring the oomph’s and owes that followed each poke, ‘… you chose to abandon your powers, you chose to abandon your responsibilities and you chose to abandon us… now you are a liability… a burden. I’m going to get her back, and you, you’re gonna wait here”
Warren did not notice the other school children, who could not see the other person in the conversation and thus have come to the logical conclusion that he is insane and is speaking to himself.
“I made my choice… that was my choice…” Warren didn’t understand this feeling. A few months ago, he would have never had the courage to speak to Victor in this manner. “I will ask the sisters to give me my powers back”
“I already asked them…” Victor said, his voice back to its regular pitch
“What did they say…?”
“That it’s never happened before. Many have given up their powers, but none have gotten it back”
His horse phased through the fencing as if it didn’t even exist, stopping between himself and Warren. Leaping onto his stead, he turned to Warren from atop his horse, “Just go home, bro. I need to go to the sisters in order to find him”
Victor galloped off into the distance.
CHAPTER 16 – ONE LAST LESSON
Conquest burst through the doors and into the Hall of Fate. Marching up to the sisters, he shoved Charon aside as he stepped up to where the sisters were sitting i
n their stone thrones.
“Where is she…?” he demanded from them with clenched fists as if ready to fight.
“Not yet…” the sisters responded in unisons as they usually do.
Confused, Victor responded, “What are you talking about? He has her… and every second that we waste here, is one more second towards him killing her”
“He wont kill the human” Charon interrupted, “It would ruin his vengeance. He’ll use the human as bait, if not anything else… therefore, you need one more lesson”
“We don’t have the time to train”
“And that is exactly why you need the training” Charon responded, “You don’t stand a chance with your current skills… there is one last thing that I need to teach you before you come face to face with him”
Realising that there was no hope, Victor hung his head in defeat, “… and that is?”
“Something that I know Justice will use against you, and therefore, you will need to get him first, otherwise you will not succeed in saving the human”
‘Fine…” Victor agreed, though his voice was still as aggressive as a growl, “... What do you want to teach me?”
“Not here…” Charon replied, disappearing into a ball of cloth that imploded, but his voice still echoed through the chamber, “On our usual training grounds”
“Is he serious?” Conquest said in frustration.
“Yes” the Moira Sisters replied
“That was rhetorical” He walked through the large doors mumbling, “This is what I get for teaming up with ancient grandmas”
CHAPTER 17 – THE COUP DE GRACE
Victor galloped up to Charon, who calmly waited.
“Now that you’re here…” Charon spoke slowly, his legless body floating just inches off of the ground… a sight that had lost all of its shock value to the teenager, “Each Horseman is linked to an element”, ignoring the dumbfounded look from his one man audience, he continued, “War was the unpredictable and uncontrollable flames. Famine was the ever providing Earth. Death was the eternal Darkness. And finally you… you are Water… for water conquers all. Water is the giver of life, and therefore controls all life”
“I don’t see the purpose of this…” Victor demanded, getting impatient that he was here, instead of being out looking for Kimberley, “Are you trying to say that I can control water?” the annoyance radiated in his tone.
“That is but half of your ability…” floated in close to him, staring him directly in the eyes, “You can also summon water at will”
Victor began laughing, but his laugh was more cynical and sarcastic than an actual laugh. The fact that it was forced was painfully obvious.
Charon took this opportunity to press his index finger against Victor’s forehead. The teenage horseman was sent flying backwards off of his horse. He crashed to the grassy ground. The weight of his body combined with the weight of his armour ensured that he left a trail as his weight ripped the grass from its roots. He slid to a halt. Unconscious, his eyelids flickered as if there was a bad dream hiding behind them.
Victor woke on the floor. It took him a few moments to clear his blurry vision. “What did you do to me?” he asked as he stumbled to his feet like a man on a pub crawl.
“Helped you advance your abilities tenfold with no effort”
“Why couldn’t you do that while we were practicing to summon our horses? Maybe Warren wouldn’t have left”
“No…” Charon responded, “Because there is no substitute for experience. This advances your abilities, but not your will, you will have but no direction and no control. There is no substitute for experience. Training hardened you and revealed War to himself and to us. Now, use your new ability…”
“But how would I go about doing this?”
“Focus… Without focus, you wont be able to use it, let alone control it”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t be calling out a name or something?”
“Let’s start off simple… focus on that tree” Charon pointed out one of the trees that lined the border of the school field, “Now think of it as a liquid… as water”
Victor stared at the tree with determination. He couldn’t focus on anything other than the possibility that Kim might be in danger. He stared and stared, but nothing seemed to happen. Everything stayed the same. With a grunt he shook his head in defeat. He couldn’t focus on anything right now.
“Maybe we should start with something smaller” Charon said. He held his arm out in front of him, with his palm facing down. Suddenly a stone slowly rose from the ground and into his grasp.
Charon gave the pebble to Victor, who held it in his palm, staring at it blankly.
“Focus…” Charon repeated.
“I am focused…” Victor snapped back at him. But before he could say anything further, the stone exploded into shrapnel of water that shot into all directions.
Victor stood there, with his wet hand still open, and a smile that stretch from ear to ear. “Did you see that?”
“Now…” Charon said, unaffected by the events before him, “Focus on the tree… and that tree only”
Victor turned to the tree with his usual confidence and vigour. He could feel the tree bending to his will, the molecules changing to his thoughts. He could feel the energy flowing from himself and the tree. Though he couldn’t explain it, he felt something leave his body and stretch out toward the tree.
Suddenly, all the leaves turned into water and dropped to the ground… landing on top of Warren, who had just entered the field area in search of Victor and Charon. Warren stood dead still, with his shoulders in, trying to grasp what had happened, while Victor laughed as he realised what exactly had happened.
“What just happened?” Warren said, analysing the bare tree as he continued passed it.
“I’m so sorry…” Victor could barely contain his laughter.
“I want to help…” Warren said when Victor finally stopped laughing, “I want to help save Kimberley”
“You are no longer a horseman” Charon interjected before Victor had a chance.
“I know…” Warren replied with haste, “… but Victor will need to take care of Justice and save Kimberley… at least with me there, I can save her. You will be the distraction”
Victor looked over to Charon, who remained completely still. Though he had no eyes, it was obvious that he was staring directly at Warren. “He has a point” Victor finally broke that silence that was starting to bother him.
“Then so be it…” Charon announced, “Should Conquest agree, then you may accompany him to save the human”
“Dude…” Warren said, waiting for Victor to respond, “I may not be a horseman, but I can still help out”
Victor just stared at him, unchanged. Not saying a word. A thousand thoughts running through his mind. He wanted to say no. But he knew that wanting Warren to feel the weight of Karma was not as important as ensuring that Kimberley is safe. Slowly his frown turned into a smile.
“Justice will be on the roof of Valerie Heights” Charon interrupted, before imploding and completely vanishing.
“Then, let’s go…” Warren said
“No…” Victor interrupted, “… not until you agree that you will grab Kimberley and then get off of the roof as fast as possible while I handle Justice”
“Yeah, yeah…” Warren said with a roll of the eyes like a spoiled teenager.
“No…” Victor demanded, “If I don’t stand a chance against him, you’ll barely last a minute… You get Kimberley and you get off of the roof as fast as possible”
“Okay…” Warren just realised how serious Victor was, “I agree that getting Kimberley to safety will be the top priority”
Victor stared at him with a deadly looked that could scare away the boogeyman. Suddenly the edges of his mouth curved up, he could no longer contain the smile. “Welcome back to the team” he said
“Well, for now” Warren said as they made their way off of the grounds.
Conquest pushed the elevator button as Warren watched the floor counter above head.
“So…” Warren finally broke the silence, “Are you sure that he is here?”
“This is where Charon said Justice would be” Conquest explained, hitting the button one more time impatiently.
“How do we know it’s not a trap?”
The doors pinged opened, “We don’t…” Conquest had the confidence contrasting that of a man walking to his death as he stepped into the elevator.