Four Horsemen

by Katie Dunn

  I hadn’t had the chance to go inside yet but when I did, it reminded me of the TARDIS from Doctor Who. The building made it look smaller, but the inside was enormous with four floors of countless twisting halls and hundreds of sections. I wondered how far back it went. I went to each floor and followed the stacks all the way back until I reached the other side. I enjoyed exploring, especially since there were not many people there.

  On the third floor, I found the most confusing layout of the whole library. Instead of being set up in a grid system like the first two floors, the rows twisted and broke off to form new ones. After following some to try and find the end, I got lost. I stopped after passing the same study room for the third time. I checked my phone to look at a map of the library, but my phone didn’t have any service which meant I could not use the internet. I guess I would study there until I had to leave, then I would worry about directions.

  I found a nearby table and laid out my books and materials to start working on my project. It was silent in that part of the library. I felt relaxed and peaceful for the first time since I started my studies at Penn State. There was no one around to bother me, no one to bring up old memories, and no weird dreams to haunt me.

  I was so absorbed in what I was doing that I nearly fell back in my chair when I heard a clanging noise from down the hall. I steadied my chair and held my hand to my chest, feeling my racing heartbeat calm. I waited for the person who made the noise to appear, but another clanging sound boomed down the hall. The noise got closer and my heartbeat picked up again. I stood up to face whatever was coming, suddenly feeling nervous and terrified since I was alone. I checked my phone again, hoping to be able to call Shawna but I still didn’t have any service. The clanging sound occurred again but this time a curse followed it. I frowned at the voice, wondering who could be making that loud noise.

  A metal library cart squeaked its way passed a shelf of books followed by an old lady. The cart crashed into a bookcase and the lady cursed again. I sighed in relief now that I finally knew what had been causing all the clanging.

  The library lady noticed me and gave me an embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry dear, did I disturb you?”

  Disturb was an understatement. She nearly gave me a heart attack, but I shook my head anyway. “The wheel giving you trouble?” I asked pointing to the wobbly front wheel that caused the cart to crash.

  The woman put her hand on her head in exasperation. “You have no idea.”

  I walked over to the cart and knelt to take a look. After studying it a moment to find the problem I realized it was a loose bolt. I always kept a set of tools in my bag, so it shouldn’t be too hard to fix. I quickly got up and rummaged through my backpack, finding my tools and bringing them back to the cart.

  “Oh, honey you don’t need-” the woman began to protest.

  I cut her off with a wave of my tool in hand. “It will only be a minute.” I straightened the wheel and tightened it up then stood when I felt confident it was fixed. “Try it out.” I stood back to give her and the cart room to move.

  She hesitantly pushed the cart a few feet. She turned to me with a wide grin. “Thank you dear! Now I don’t have to struggle so much with this old thing.”

  “Any time.” I waved goodbye as she took the cart and proceeded down the rows to do her library business.

  Looking at my phone, I realized it was getting late. I walked back over to the study table and packed up my books. I tucked my tools in the side pocket of my backpack then shouldered the bag but paused before leaving. I still did not know how to get out of there.

  Racing to the last place I saw the librarian I called out to her. “Hello, excuse me, I don’t know where the exit is!”

  I waited for an answer but was met with silence. Sighing I turned around and headed down the row the librarian had first come through. I would eventually run into a wall or someone then I could then find my way out. Just before I left the study area a noise stopped me.

  A clanging sound against wood filled me with hope. I thought I had fixed the cart but at least now I could follow the noise and ask the librarian for directions.

  I moved toward the noise and managed to get close to the last place it sounded from when a voice called out making me freeze. “Ophelia Bronson?”

  Who knew my real name? I guess it could be someone from high school, but I didn’t recognize the voice. At this point I didn’t care. Anyone who could get me out of there would be fine.

  “It’s Phi actually, but yeah. Hello?” I called out.

  A boy about my age stepped out from the stacks and smiled at me. I had no idea who he was but somehow, he knew my name. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes, but his jacket is what caught my attention. I had seen it before. More specifically, I had seen that sword overlapping a cross crest before. I was instantly on guard. I figured not everyone with that crest were mean but my only experience with it was bad.

  My poor smoothie.

  “I have been looking all over for you,” the strange boy said in a bright cheery voice.

  I narrowed my eyes at him, suspicious of his motives. Had that girl told him about our encounter and now he wanted to mess with me too? Maybe he was there to apologize for his companion’s actions.

  “You have? Why? And how do you know my name?” That gave me the biggest warning bells. I hadn’t even told the blonde girl my name.

  His cheery smile morphed into a scowl and he brandished a long metal sword from behind his back. I shouted in astonishment and nearly tripped over my feet as I tryed to backpedal away from him. He advanced on me and raised the sword over his head. Complete determination and bloodlust shone in his eyes. I screamed and ran in the opposite direction.

  How did he get a sword into a library without anyone noticing? More importantly, why was he trying to kill me with it?

  I zigzagged my way down rows of bookshelves, doing my best to lose the maniac and find an exit. However, no matter how fast I ran he was always right behind me. A thunk near my head made me flinch. Looking up I saw a dagger stuck into the wooden bookshelf above me. I screamed again and ran down another row, not wanting a knife to impale me next.

  I reached a wall but there was no door in sight. I would eventually find a way out if I followed the wall though, so I quickly made my way to the left, keeping the wall in sight. I glanced behind me to gauge the distance of the crazy boy. I couldn’t see him anymore and took a deep breath in relief. I was hoping he gave up on chasing me, especially since someone must have heard me scream. Hopefully that old librarian I helped earlier.

  I ran into a hard chest and stumbled back. I screamed again and swatted at the person I ran into, trying to defend myself. I would not go down without a fight even though I was completely outmatched. I felt bad for my parents in that moment. They would be even more crushed if their last child died. Hands wrapped around my flailing arms and forced them to my sides. My screams turned into sobbing as I pleaded with my attacker not to kill me.

  “Shh, you’re ok, tell me what happened. Why do you think I would kill you?”

  At the soft tone, I looked up into familiar hazel-brown eyes. The eyes hardened when I didn’t answer. “Who are you running from?” Liam ground out, concern evident in his voice.

  I pointed behind me as my answer and leaned forward into Liam’s chest. Liam wrapped me in his arms and let me cry. He smoothed my hair down which helped to calm me a bit, but my heart still pounded. He suddenly tensed and a deep rumbling sounded from his chest. I lifted my head and glanced at him curiously. His focus was on something behind me and I quickly spun, knowing I would see the scary sword wielder.

  The boy stood there with his sword by his side as he glared at the two of us. “I should have known one of you would show up.”

  “You better turn now and leave if you know what’s best for you,” Liam practically growled.

  My eyes widened at their exchange. Did Liam know this psychopath? Had I just run into the wrong arms? My heart told me I was safe wit
h him though, so I relaxed a bit but kept my eye on the other boy.

  “You four will destroy us all,” the boy spat. He raised his sword and pointed it at us. “It is my duty to stop you.”

  He charged at us and I squeaked in terror. I tried running again but Liam held me tight, forcing me to stay put. I dug my nails into Liam’s arm as I squeezed it, wanting us to move away from the sharp weapon. Fear washed over me, but it felt strange. Plenty of fear coursed through me already but this new feeling I was picking up on felt almost…unnatural. Unexpectedly, the boy stopped. His eyes widened in fear and his hands started to tremble. The sword dropped as the boy backed away slowly. I glanced around to see what had terrified him, but it was only Liam standing in the same spot, glaring at him. The boy turned and ran, leaving Liam and I standing alone with the fallen sword.

  I waited to see if the guy would return but a minute passed with no more attacks. I stepped away from Liam, confused about what just happened. Why did the crazy guy change his mind? We were defenseless. He could have easily skewered us. I crossed my arms over my chest, partly because I was still scared and partly because I was angry.

  “What the hell was that?” I decided to ask Liam, since he seemed to know that guy.

  Liam closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. When he opened his eyes, he seemed disappointed that I was still there. Well, boohoo, someone just tried to kill me, and I needed answers. Liam studied me. The stare off was becoming awkward but I didn’t want him to see how badly I was affected. On the inside, my body shook from the attack, but I kept a neutral expression on to hide it. I raised my eyebrow waiting for him to start talking.

  “What happened is we were right,” he finally said.

  “You were right about what? You knew this would happen?” my voice was starting to border on the shrill side. If he admitted he knew I was going to be attacked tonight and didn’t warn me then I would stomp over to that sword and stab him with it.

  Liam bobbed his head side to side as if to say I was kind of correct. He walked forward and at first, I thought he was going to grab me again, but he moved past me and picked up the fallen sword. “It would be better to discuss this elsewhere. C’mon.” He strode back the way he came leaving me no choice by to follow. I didn’t want to be left there alone anyway. It would be a long time before I ever went to the library again.

  Chapter 5

  Liam led me away from the library, ignoring my every attempt to talk to him. His eyes stayed glued on our surroundings and eventually I stopped bugging him, knowing that I would get answers soon enough.

  When he finally stopped, it was in front of a large two-story house on the edge of campus with steps leading up to the door. It looked familiar but I couldn’t place where I had seen it before. Only when we were inside did I realize it was the house the party had been at on Friday. I was shocked the guys lived there and that they hosted the party where someone may or may not have died.

  Liam led me into the kitchen, calling out, “I found her. Get down here,” along the way.

  Two sets of footsteps thundered down the stairs. Trevor and Kaden appeared with relieved grins on their faces. Liam threw the sword onto the table causing a loud clanging noise. I flinched at the sound, reminded of running through the stacks only a little while ago to get away from that sword.

  “A Templar attacked her in the library,” Liam said with anger tinging his tone.

  “We figured that might happen,” Trevor reminded him.

  “Especially after Friday night,” Kaden added.

  I stayed quiet, hoping that if I did, they would spill some of the secrets they were hiding. However, I was bursting with questions. They practically admitted to something major happening at the party involving me and they somehow knew why a random college student attacked me. If they didn’t get on with the explanations, I was going to pick up that sword and threaten them. Looking at the three guys though I realized I wouldn’t get far with that tactic. Liam barely looked at a guy and sent him running. What hope did I have?

  The three guys stared at me as if hearing my internal anxiety. I jumped when Trevor’s hand landed on my shoulder and tried to calm my racing heart.

  “You’re probably wondering why you were attacked, right?” Kaden asked.

  I narrowed my eyes at him and threw my hands in the air giving him my best ya think? look.

  Trevor chuckled next to me and pulled out a chair. “I guess we better sit down. This is going to be a complicated discussion.”

  Liam gave out a long sigh and plopped into a chair. “I guess there’s no way you will just go home and forget this ever happened?”

  I shook my head and Liam put his head in his hands. Kaden held a chair out for me, and I slowly sank into it, knowing that once they explained whatever secret they were keeping, my life would be changed forever. Kaden sat in the last chair and we all stared at the sword laying in the middle.

  Trevor blew air into his cheeks and let it out slowly. “Well, I guess we can start with this,” he said gesturing to the sword.

  I knew they were trying to figure out how much to tell me and in what order, but my patience was wearing thin. My body had finally stopped shaking from the traumatic event, but my mind was nearly going crazy from waiting for answers.

  Kaden looked at Liam and Trevor with a raised eyebrow. When he realized they weren’t going to start the conversation he leaned toward me and clasped my hands. I stared into his green eyes and felt a little calmer. Kaden had always been the kind, outgoing one so it was probably best for him to begin.

  “The guy who attacked you with this,” he gestured to the sword, “was part of a group called Order of the Templars.”

  I frowned trying to remember the stories of Templars in history. “I thought they were in Jerusalem or something.”

  “Yes, the main headquarters are but young Templars are sent on missions to the States and UK sometimes. Specifically, to places where we happen to be,” Kaden explained.

  “Why would they want to go where you three are?” I glanced at all their faces trying to pick up the answers from their expressions. “Aren’t the Templars a religious thing?” I didn’t mean for it to come out rude, but I had never seen them go to church or show any interest in religion.

  “The main goal of the Templars is to protect holy sites and humanity from religious threats, so yes they are a religious thing,” Trevor said fighting a smile at my words.

  I nodded very slowly but what he said made no sense. If they stopped threats, then why were they at Penn State? What kind of threat could possibly be at a college? Images of the poor boy at the party collapsing with black boils on his skin came to mind. Was I the threat? I mentally shook my head at the idea. I would never hurt someone like that on purpose and I was no threat to humanity.

  “That doesn’t answer why they would be here.” I looked at each one of them, but they avoided my eyes. “Why was I attacked tonight by a Templar?” My voice rose after each word, and the guys flinched.

  Kaden leaned back and crossed his arms, refusing to be the one to say more. Trevor stood up and rifled through one of the cabinets bringing back a box of Ritz crackers. He started munching on the crackers making sure his mouth was full so he wouldn’t have to talk, which meant Liam was the only one left. Liam stared at me with determination, but it was the sadness in his eyes that nearly made me get up and run. Whatever he was going to say I wasn’t going to like it.

  “We are the four Horsemen,” he blurted.

  Silence descended until all I heard was the crunching of crackers in Trevor’s mouth. The only thing I knew about the four Horsemen was that they were the first part of the apocalypse. I stared at the boys around me. They were gorgeous and looked like traditional bad boys that rode motorcycles, but they didn’t look like they could bring about an apocalypse. Maybe they were talking about a gang name or something.

  “But there’s only three of you,” I pointed out. I decided I would assume they were talking about a gang rather than
a religious prophecy.

  The guys looked away but not before I saw anger and tragedy in their expressions.

  “Owen was the fourth.”

  I didn’t know who said it, but the words were like a soccer ball hitting me square in the chest. A lump formed in my throat and I tried to suck in air. I would not cry. I would not cry. I would not cry. “Owen?”

  Liam looked back at me, reflecting the pain I would bet shown in my eyes. “We were the four Horsemen but the Templars,” he cleared his throat before continuing, “the Templars got to him. Made it look like an accident.”

  I stood up, knocking my chair back loudly and walked backwards until my back hit the wall. “Accident?” I whispered.

  “We thought that would be the end of it, but they showed up during graduation,” Kaden added.

  My head whipped to him. “They were at graduation?” I clenched my fists. They had to be messing with me, but it was cruel to use my dead twin brother as part of their prank. I glanced at the sword, wondering if I could get to it fast enough.

  The three guys stood up as well and stepped closer to me until they were in a half circle, blocking my exit.

  “We dealt with them, but that was when we realized that maybe you were in danger, even though…” Kaden trailed off.

  I glared at him. “Even though they already killed my brother?”

  They nodded and that was the last straw. I crumpled and would have hit the floor if it wasn’t for Liam’s strong arms catching me. He held me up and let me sob into his shirt as all the emotions I had pushed back over the year came flooding out.

  The doctor said Owen was in a motorcycle accident. After hearing that I went to the guys’ houses and burned their motorcycles down not wanting anyone else to die because of those death machines. I also burned them partly because I blamed Owen’s three best friends for his death. They were the ones to get him into motorcycles and living on the dangerous side. Was there more to the story? Had it truly been murder rather than an accident?