Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Claymore

The Horse of War

John watched the creatures in horror for as they drew closer their grotesque features became clarified. Their skin was yellow in tone; their bones struck out at odd angles making them appear like evil spindly pincushions. John raised his hand to the sky and plunged down into the demonic fray of monsters, hacking anything his sword would take out. As members of his army fell beside him, John’s human half began to tire; so he summoned the beast within and submitted to the forces of darkness, allowing his demon half to kill the creatures as he made his way to where the two horsemen sat enclosed in their bubbles.

The longer he stayed in his demonic form the more his human half remained repressed as John gave into blood lust and became a killing machine. As he gazed upon one of the horsemen in his bubble, John barely noticed the look on his face as he sliced the horseman’s head off. Roaring in victory John turned to take down the next horseman, but just as John approached the bubble, the horseman blurred out of focus and was gone. John threw back his head and screamed and then his heart froze in terror for try as he might, John could not regain his human half for he had become a full Yoma-a demon.

Sherlock stared down at his brother and for the first time in a long time he felt helpless. A crash from downstairs brought Sherlock around to the present and he ran downstairs to see what had happened. Lieutenant Lestrade stood in the doorway, blood oozed from a large cut above his eye as he stood before Sherlock. Once Lestrade got his breath back he spoke, “Sherlock….Sherlock another horseman has attacked London. It is the horse of war, the whole world is now at war, Sherlock this is the end…the end of everything and I want to die with my friends. Sherlock did you hear me?”

Sherlock nodded wordlessly and found that he just didn’t care anymore for John must be dead…he must be. He looked back at Lestrade and said, “Lestrade…Greg…come upstairs, we will all face the end together,” Sherlock whispered as he turned away from Lestrade and headed up the stairs.

John looked around in confusion, “Where am I?” He thought as he rolled out of the street, narrowly avoiding a tank as it bore down on him and as he gazed around him John realized where he was he was home in London. Ignoring the panicked cries of the people that ran down the street, John made his way to 221b Baker Street.

Sherlock was a third of the way up the stairs when he heard Lestrade cry out in fear and then he heard a gun going off. Jumping down the stairs Sherlock grabbed the harpoon he had hidden under the stairwell and came to Lestrade’s aid. Lestrade had emptied a round of shots into a hideous creature’s abdomen; they slowed the creature, otherwise it appeared as if it hadn’t been affected at all. The creature turned to watch Sherlock’s approach and Lestrade took the opportunity to stab the back of the creature’s leg with a knife he pulled from his belt. The creature moaned and fell to the ground just as Sherlock reached it. He held the harpoon above the creature and was about to plunge it into the creature’s neck when something stopped him.

“Kill it,” Lestrade screamed, “Kill it Sherlock.”

Sherlock looked into the creature’s eyes and then faced Lestrade with such a look of devastation on his face that Lestrade stopped screaming. “Sherlock what is it?” He whispered.

“I can’t kill the creature because its John…John has become a full Yoma-a demon.” Sherlock said just before he passed out.