by Sara Clancy
“Are they keeping you in?”
He snorted. “I’ve shown up with injuries that are unaccounted for, twice in two days. There are some theories floating about that I’m hurting myself. Or that someone’s hurting me,” he seemed to get confused for a moment before he picked up the conversation again. “Aspen is talking with my parents right now. They don’t look happy. He looks tired.”
“Has my mom spoken with you?”
“Yep,” he chirped. “Quick question; what the hell, Nicole? You told her everything?”
“We need her help.”
“Huh, that sounds like something a very wise person said a month ago.”
A soft smile tugged at her lips. Of course, even while drugged, Benton was ready to point out that he might have been right.
“Yeah, well,” she said weakly. “I’m sorry I told her about you. After I told her, she wasn’t ready to listen to me about the horseman.”
“I tried explaining, too.”
“How did that go?” she asked quickly.
“Not good,” Benton said. “She was a lot more focused on the criminal stuff.”
“I don’t suppose she gave you any hint if she’s going to follow through on laying charges.”
“Not really. She’s kind of hard to read.”
Her stomach dropped and she suddenly had a great need to move. With no real destination in mind, she began to wander out into the exhibit.
“Nic,” Benton moaned again. She could hear him squirming deeper into his bed. “My hand hurts. Stop worrying so loudly. It’ll be okay.”
“Thanks,” she smiled.
“Worst case scenario, just blame me for everything,” Benton said.
“What?” Her steps faltered as her stomach lurched. “Benton, did you miss the part about criminal charges?”
“Nope,” he said with a lax sigh. “But better me than you, right?”
“Let’s keep it as plan B.”
She walked across the small streaks of water left behind by the recent mopping. Her mindless path brought her in the field of sensors. Brilliant floodlights clicked on, reminiscent of the noon day sun. Hidden containers sprayed the scents of grass on earth into the air as the recorded sounds of the rampaging herd boomed throughout the empty building.
“What’s that?” Benton asked suddenly, the frantic question followed quickly by the sound of rustling fabric.
“Just a recording,” Nicole dismissed.
“Recording?”
“Of one of the museum exhibits. I'm just finishing up my shift.”
The speaker of her mobile crackled slightly with his jaw-cracking yawn, “Don’t you work at a diner? I remember a diner …”
“I was filling in at the diner as a favor for Trish. My actual job is at the museum,” Nicole explained quickly, eager to lure him back to a more important topic.
“Do I know Trish? I don’t know a Trish.”
She opened her mouth to respond, her breath halting as Benton began to mutter ‘Trish’ repeatedly like he just couldn’t wrap his head around the word. The hospital staff had definitely given him something for the pain.
“I introduced you. Twice. Never mind that, what’s going on over there? You need to keep me up to date.”
“No one’s keeping me up to date,” Benton muttered.
“When we were in the cave, something grabbed me. It was the horseman, wasn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Benton said. “I’m guessing by that question that you still didn’t see it.”
“Everything was so dark.”
Benton snorted again, his words turning into a soft mumble. “For you. My eyes are still aching. Well, that’s not true. I’m actually pretty buzzed at the moment.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “You are?”
“Yeah,” he giggled, the sound loose around the edges. “Burn victims get the good stuff.”
Nicole smiled as she switched the mobile phone to her left hand, leaving her right to hold the cool railing as she headed up the stairs. It only took a few steps for guilt to come creeping back in. After all that had happened and with everything that was waiting in the future, it just didn’t feel right to smile right now.
The exhibit on the third floor depicted just how important the Buffalo Jump was. Not just for survival but for the overall sense of community, for the different tribes that called the plains home. Unfortunately, there wasn’t adequate space to properly display the sheer size and scope of the gatherings that would take place. So instead, they had settled for one depiction of a typical campsite with a detailed mural describing the rest of the scene.
The exhibit was completely interactive and allowed guests to enter into the real sized teepee set up against one wall. This, of course, meant that a few odd items were often found scattered about the place. Most commonly, there were just things that could have slipped from someone’s pocket as they sat down to explore or take a photo of a kid’s shoe. It fell to whoever was closing to search the place thoroughly.
“What do you think that fire was about?” Benton asked with a sudden rise of interest. “I’ve been thinking about it, but all I came up with is that it was an elaborate prank. Or it has something to do with that symbol you kept yapping about. But that just brings up a whole lot more questions.”
“Do you see fire with any of the other symbols?” Nicole asked.
“Nope. They just looked like paint to me.”
“So,” Nicole said as she reached the top of the staircase. The recording abruptly turned off, leaving only her footsteps to break the silence. She shivered as a chill swept across the back of her neck. Whirling around, she searched the shadows in an attempt to pinpoint the person she was sure was watching her. All she was met with was the long sweep of the three-floor staircase, and the trail of lights weakening the shadows into a soft gray.
Swallowing hard, she forced herself to pick up her lost line of thought. “Either those symbols are wrong or this one is designed to do something different.”
“Huh?” Benton mumbled as if just startled awake. “Um. Yeah. Maybe. Hidden purpose. That makes more sense than what I was thinking.”
Nicole took a step away from the stairs and felt her stomach twist into a tight knot. The sensation of being watched settled again onto her shoulders.
“What were you thinking?” she asked for some sense of distraction.
“Supernatural Smores.”
Nicole paused, looked at the mobile phone in her hand, and stifled a laugh.
“You’re so high,” she said as she pressed it back to her ear.
He grunted, “We need to consider all options.”
“Okay, well.” Nicole shook her shoulders but couldn’t dislodge the sensation. Slowly, she walked across the space, checking the usual spots people tended to hide their trash. Each thump of her shoes rolled like distant thunder across the wide expanse of the room. “Maybe the first question to tackle is why he was there? I doubt it was just to grab me.”
He mumbled a reply. At the same time the hospital speaker system came to life. It was impossible to make out what was being said on his side, but it was clear by the tone and rhythm that the nurse’s station was trying to page someone. Tapping her finger against the mobile on her ear, Nicole waited for the noise to die down. There was no way she would be able to hear Benton with all that was happening in the background. It felt like years had passed before his side of the line fell quiet again.
“Was that about you?” she asked quickly. “Is someone coming in?”
“Huh?” he grunted. “Oh, no. Dr. Youngman’s dinner just got delivered. The nurses are threatening to eat it if he doesn’t get there soon. I’m still alone.”
“Good,” she said as she once again switched the phone to her other ear. It wasn’t likely that either of their parents would let the call continue if they found out. “I missed what you said before the food announcement.”
“Is it normal that they announce that over the hospital speaker system?” Benton as
ked with way more consideration than the question required. His voice became slow and lax as he continued. “It seems really weird.”
“No, Dr. Youngman’s always late for dinner.”
“How do you know that?”
“Everybody knows that,” Nicole replied. She pulled her free hand through her hair, sighed deeply, and placed the mobile phone against her ear. “Benton, please focus. What did you say before the announcement?”
Benton tried to put energy behind his words, but he still sounded on the edge of sleep. “It said your name.”
“What?”
“The horseman. It started to say your name. Please tell me you heard that.”
“I think I heard something,” Nicole said. “But then you screamed and I kind of went deaf for a bit.”
“It said Kimberly’s name, too. Right before it ripped her heart out.” Benton’s words sounded sluggish, like he was fighting to keep his thought as he gave voice to it.
“That’s it!”
“It is?”
“Well, it’s a start,” Nicole said with increasing energy. “You can’t really do an internet search for ‘headless horseman’ and get anything useful in response. But ‘headless horseman that kills by saying your name’ is a lot more specific. There can’t be that many legends of something like that. I can find it.”
“And old stories will be helpful?” he said slowly.
The dragging pace of his voice made her smile.
“Legends often talk about the paranormal creature’s weakness, Benton. It worked for the Leanan Sidhe.”
“Right,” he said softly. “Right, right, right. Wait, you shot the Sidhe in the head.”
“Details. The point is, I’m right.” Checking her watch, she quickly continued before he could correct her. “I need to finish up here before mom picks me up. I’ll hit the laptop as soon as I can and you get some sleep.”
“It pushes me out.” The drug haze in his words couldn’t conceal the hints of growing fear.
“I know,” she said gently. “Be careful, okay? Call me as soon as you wake up.”
Benton agreed, but didn’t feel thrilled with the plan.
“Okay, I’m going to hang up now,” she said.
“Wait,” Benton said sharply, startling her into keeping the phone by her ear. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I don’t intend to,” she smiled with warmth.
“You never intend to,” he shot back. “But you always do. And it always backfires.”
“It does not.”
Benton kept talking like she hadn’t said anything. “Just, keep a tight hold on your stupid impulses until I’m around to absorb the worst of the fallout, okay? Do that for me?”
A cold lump of remorse pressed heavily against the pit of her stomach.
“I’m sorry you got hurt, Benton.”
He hushed her. The silence that followed made her heart ache.
“My parents are coming back. I have to go.”
He had hardly finished the sentence before the line went dead and she instantly missed the connection. Without it, the silence crowded in around her like a physical force. Hunching her shoulders against the encroaching cold, Nicole slowly lowered her phone and put it back in her purse. She stroked her hand over the fur, raking her fingers into the soft material and pulling a measure of comfort from the familiar sensation.
A gasp choked her as an unexpected burst of light blazed through the shadows. An instant later, the building was filled with the recorded sound of the charging herd, the phantom hooves crushing the earth as they charged. Nicole’s hands tightened around the straps of her purse as she fixated on the golden hue of light spilling down over the level below. Something had tripped the motion sensor.
The sound of her footsteps died under the clash and thump of the recording as she slowly backed away from the mouth of the staircase. She waited, straining to hear her mother calling for her, or maybe the sound of a stray worker she hadn’t known was still there. Anything that would prove she wasn’t alone. But there was only the buffalo.
Careful not to get too close to the display by her side, Nicole took another step back, staring at the staircase, not daring to blink until her eyes went dry. The track came to its end and was cut off. As quickly as the darkness had been broken, it reformed to consume the museum. Silence rushed back and seemed to blanket the entire earth. Standing in the middle of the wide, empty space, her light-drenched eyes slowly adjusted back to the dimness while she held her breath.
She didn’t want to go down there. And, since the museum had been built into the side of the mountain, she didn’t have to. One more flight of stairs and she could exit out onto the top of the Buffalo Jump. There were dozens of walking paths that led down both sides. It was a steep walk down to the parking lot at the base, but even attempting it in the dark seemed like the better option than waiting for whatever was down there to come up and meet her.
Keeping to the shadows as best she could, Nicole silently moved towards the final staircase. It too was lined with little guide lights; their faint glow just enough to leave her completely exposed the second she set foot onto it. From the base, she could see the exit, but she still hesitated to run for it. Ice encrusted her veins as the metallic click of a lock rattled down towards her. With a soft clack of the latch, the door swung open.
Her heartbeat throbbed with a strength she didn’t know it possessed. She shuddered with every beat of it against her ribs as she nervously edged her feet back. Drums and a chorus of voices broke into existence as light erupted from the exhibit next to her. She whipped around to face the display depicting a scene of family life. A cold sweat broke out on her skin as the lights splashed a shadow across the side of the teepee; a large, broad shouldered, headless man.
Nicole bolted. She almost tripped down the stairs as she pushed herself faster than her feet could move. The gift shop lights were lit brightly before her. The recorded voices filled the space, comforting and terrifying. She had heard the short recording more times than she could ever recall. Still, she couldn’t be certain that one of the multitude of voices hitting her ears wasn’t the voice of the horseman.
Stumbling to a stop, she searched the middle floor in quick glances for any hint of the horseman. She couldn’t hear its movement over the blaring of the stereo system. Couldn’t catch sight of it as she vainly searched every trace of light and shadow. The lighting of the gift shop cast a glow over the distance separating her from the next flight of stairs. Still, the distance felt insurmountable. She was gearing herself up to make the final sprint when the timer ran out and the flaring lights clicked off.
Her ears rung in the presence of the bellowing noise. The only thing she could hear over the piercing sound was her own ragged breathing. She grappled with her purse, yanked it open, and snatched her mobile phone back out. Her fingers fumbled as she hit the speed dial button and pressed the device to her ear. The ring tone repeated in her ear as she hurried into the relative safety of the gift shop, restlessly casting her eyes over everything around her. Finally, the call connected.
“Mom, where are you?”
“What’s wrong?” Dorothy asked instantly.
“It’s here.”
“What is?”
“The horseman,” she whispered.
She eyed the shelves of the gift shop, caught between her desire to run for the stairs and her gnawing need to find a place to hide.
“There is no horseman,” Dorothy said, her voice now carrying a sharp but tired edge.
“Yes, there is,” Nicole said in a hushed voice. “Can you come and get me now, please?”
“You need to stop this right now,” Dorothy quipped back.
“Mom!”
“You need to start thinking about the consequences of your actions. I won’t tolerate you lying to me.”
“Mom!” she raised her voice as loud as she dared. “Someone is going to kill me. You can lecture me later but right now, I need you!”
A
booming crash slammed against the top stair behind her and Nicole jolted back with a sudden scream. The sound cut through whatever Dorothy’s next comment was going to be and her mother shifted to repeating her name with a hint of desperation. But Nicole’s attention was focused on the footsteps. They descended towards her, growing ever louder, banging like they should rightfully crack the stone stairs. She didn’t bother to disconnect the call before she shoved the phone back into her purse, leaving her mother’s voice to create a slight buzz in the air.
The resounding footsteps died and she was left grappling for any indication of where it had gone. And any hint of where it was now. No matter how many times she told herself that she had to think, she couldn’t come up with a single idea of what to do next. Run. Hide. Both seemed like equally damning options. Either way, she’d hear its voice. On a split second decision, she broke into a run and sprinted towards the exhibit.
She ran until the sensors picked up on her movement. Noise shattered the silence as lights poured over the area. Standing on the rim of the exhibit, she couldn’t even hear her own panted breath, let alone any whispers. Her momentary sense of safety was destroyed as one of the massive buffalos was flung to the side. The base where it had stood was reduced to splinters as the huge animal hurled across the distance and slammed into the wall.
Protecting her face with both arms, she threw herself back, her feet threatening to slip out from under her with every step. The air itself seemed to hit her, hard enough to shove her cleanly off her feet. The air rushed from her lungs as her back crashed full force against the tiled floor. She managed to curl herself just enough to keep the back of her head from colliding with the floor. With a broken yelp, she instantly forced herself onto her stomach and pushed off like a sprinter.
Even as she fled, the whispering began. The sound crackled along the back of her skull, buzzing in her ears, but unable to compete against the blaring noise from the speakers. No matter how fast she forced her legs to move, she couldn’t escape the earth shaking footsteps that followed. It hunted her down. Pain exploded across her back as something solid struck her.
