With my head bowed low, I sat and listened to the night sounds of the islands. A few island birds squawked noisily, looking for leftover scarps on the streets before disappearing in a huff again. In the distance, I could hear the flapping of sails as the merchant ships lay calming in port, the only interruption the intermittent voices of sailors calling each other and the thumping of cargo boxes on the ground. My attention was interrupted with the marching past of guards, they were carrying something heavy as I stood up and grasped the rusted steel bars in my hands. For a few solid hours, I watched them carefully as they started assembling the structure; hammering planks and boards together. When they brought out the rope and slung it over the top wooden bar, I smiled grimly to myself and knew exactly what it was. There was no mistaking the ominous sight of a hang man’s noose.
I was to be executed in the morning.
Turning away in disgust when I saw them test the rope on a straw doll, I closed my eyes and shook my head. It was a pathetic way to end a life I thought to myself. A limp body on a rope, kicking for all she was worth but all for nothing; just waiting for the crows to feast on her flesh. Who would have thought I would end up like this?
“Oh honey, why do you want to give up now?” a melodic voice drifted up from behind my shoulder as I spun around. A thin, tall woman with silver grey hair and dressed in ghostly white robe was sitting behind me. Her face was taut and she had a sadness about her, one that came of seeing many a horror over the ages. I couldn’t explain it but there was something about this woman that I instantly trusted, a calming and comforting aura that I had never felt before in my life.
“Who are you?” I asked, climbing down from the bars and looking at her intently.
She sighed and smiled introspectively to herself. “I am and I will always be. I am the conduit to Death and the shield that protects humanity against my sister, but you can call me Famine.” She held up a bright red apple in her hand and watched it wither away till dust.
“I don’t understand, what are you doing here?” I tried to make sense of it all but failed.
“The Four Horsemen are watching you with keen eyes and I couldn’t let my sister win the bet so easily now could I? You need to know that there is someone in your corner taking care of you.” Her ghostly appearance faded in and out of reality. She was old, almost as old as time itself. I could feel her energy ebbing around me, steady yet gentle in her ways.
“It’s too late and there is nothing you can do anymore.” I replied glumly, sinking down on the cold stone seat below me.
“Oh child, you cannot lose faith now. You would not believe how many times I’ve screwed up Death’s plans over the eons and ages. For every massive army she claims, I keep a single child from starving. But I am far from perfect, there has been many a time where I had to destroy an entire harvest and watch the farmers and their child fade away to nothing. This is the antithesis, the light and the dark of being a Horseman. This is the cosmic role I have accepted and which I embrace.”
“But why me? What makes me so special that they chose me for this bet?” The frustration was boiling over in me till I felt Famine’s hand on my shoulder. She placed a thin finger under my chin, lifting it up till I looked her straight into her blue grey eyes.
“You humans are a fascinating specie and you know so very little. There is a bigger plan in motion for you child, bigger than anything your mind can imagine. But I cannot reveal it yet for that would be tampering with the events of time itself and I am forbidden to do so. Just know that whatever happens out there today, your story will continue. Be it in death or life, this is not the end.”
“I’m scared.” I whispered, burying my head in her shoulder. Famine held me by the shoulders and I could the belief in her eyes through the tears in mine.
“It’s alright to be scared child, nobody would expect anything less from you. Never forget that you will never be alone, there will always be someone by your side. Raise your chin now and remember that the story carries on.” She hugged me tightly and faded away into nothingness. Just as quickly as the spirit of the Horseman arrived, she was gone again. All that was left behind was an ethereal whisper and the sound of my heart beating steadily.
“The story carries on.” I repeated to myself, feeling the first rays of the morning sunshine stream through the bars. It was as if time itself had moved forward from night to day, bringing new hope to me. A rattle of keys in the lock brought me back to reality. One of the soldiers had appeared and was opening up the cell. If he had heard my conversation with Famine, he wasn’t giving it away and it was like time had stood still for him. It was truly amazing.
“Your time has come.” He said gruffly but weary of me before slapping irons on my ankles. Slowly, he marched me out of the prison and to a nearby courtyard. The soldiers were neatly lined up in regiments and the entire town folk had gathered to see my hanging. They started jeering and booing me, louder with each passing second. A rotten tomato hit me in the back and soon fruit and vegetables raining down on me. But I kept stoically walking on, my chin raised high and my eyes straight forward.
“Witch witch witch! They chanted as some of them tried to break through the barrier of soldiers to get to me. The crowd wanted blood and they would only be happy when they saw a corpse swinging on the end of a rope. The soldier pushed me roughly up the wooden steps leading to the gallows and unlocked my ankle chains. An executioner in a black hood was waiting for me and placed a rope around my neck. A murmur spread through the crowd as the Commander approached, he was fashionably dressed and plumped himself up for the occasion. He looked me up and down like one would something washed out by the sea before nodding to a nearby lieutenant. The wire thin man unfurled a piece of parchment and cleared his throat.
“The witch child known as Helena stands accused of the crimes of piracy on the high seas, the grievous murder of British personnel, theft of one of the King’s ships and witchcraft. Consideration was given that you be shipped back to England to be analyzed by our Royal surgeons and scientists but the commander has deemed it too great a risk. You pose too great a threat to King and country and will instead be hung by the neck till dead. Your corpse is to be placed in salt and shipped to Boston for further examination by our Royal corpsmen stationed there. May God have mercy on your soul and may He forgive your heinous crimes. If you have any last words, now is the time to say them.”
I was at peace with the world and I could not hear the chanting of the mob around. The only thing I felt was the soft tropical trade winds through my hair and the bright morning sun on my skin. I looked at the lieutenant and simply smiled at him.
“I’m coming home.” I said as he shuddered, his face becoming white and pale. He motioned to the nearby drummer and stepped back. His drum rate became frenetic and the crowd held its breath as the Commander lifted his hand. Suddenly the drum roll stopped and his hand came down. The executioner pulled the lever and the platform gave way under me, snapping the rope tight.
A figure in black appeared on a nearby rooftop and raised a musket before taking aim down the sights. He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The musket ball travelled true, ripping the gallows’ rope perfectly in two. He stood for a moment admiring his work before stepping back and disappearing off the roof. In a heartbeat he was gone. The crowd scattered in confusion and sheer panic at the gun shot as I hit the ground with a mighty thump.
“Run Helena run!” The thought flashed through my head as I picked myself up off the floor and fled from the chaos. In the melee, the soldiers tried to make a grab for me but the surging crowd pushed them back. There was only one option left for me and that was to get out of town and lose them along the way. I flung myself in a general direction, running blindly as I weaved my way through the alleyways of the town; throwing as many crates and barrels over behind me as I could. My escape would be short lived, the thumping of jackboots already sounding up behind me. I thought the white washed buildings would never end till finally I broke free and clear. To my horror, I realized that I had made a mistake- the jungle was too far away to make it and only open country lay before me.
There was nothing left to do but to go for it.
I barely made it a hundred yards when the first soldier appeared behind me and took aim, sinking down to one knee for a better shot. His head spun around and his eyes grew wide as he heard the thundering of paws behind him. Adelmar leapt on his back and drove his face into the dirt before running after me, red tongue flapping in the wind. I kept on running, not realizing the cub was gaining on me till my luck finally ran out. The soldiers knew they had me trapped and slowed their pace. I had made a fatal error, a steep cliff drop looming up before my eyes and nowhere to go to anymore. The choice was clear- die at the hands of the soldiers or makes the fatal leap yourself. As I ran for the edge, I heard the howling of Adelmar behind me. He jumped in my arms and I held him tightly as we sailed into the air and plunged to the jagged rocks below. There was nothing but the serenity of letting go and falling to our fate. Suddenly, a portal opened below us and wrapped itself around the cub and I.
We were falling but through space itself, the cosmos and entire galaxies rushing past us. We looked on in awe as we saw the end of the universe itself, a rupturing of the heavens in an impossible fireball of fire and light. The birth and death of untold civilizations happened in a blink of an eye before us, shining so bright before fading away into dust. We had travelled through the realms of the gods themselves. Finally, we saw the end of our journey, a pinpoint of pure light as we plunged through it.
I landed with a shudder on hard black ground, the rain pelting down on me. Lights flashed past me as I held my head in agony- an explosion of sound erupted as one. My screams could not drown out the sounds of a million screaming monsters around me. I stood petrified as giants, taller than the heavens itself looked down upon me. A howling horn thundered behind me and the lights lit up my terrified face. At the very last second, I managed to dive out of the way and watched the metal demon rush past me. Something inside me, told me to run and I scurried down a nearby alley and took refuge behind a strange stinking metal box. I was freezing from the rain, lost in a strange world filled with towering giants and screaming monsters. Raising my hands and staring in wonder as the rain droplets ran tracer like down them, I turned it slowly over.
They were the hands of a young woman.