Dormant

1

Superman, where are you now,
When everything's gone wrong somehow,
The men of steel, men of power,
Are losing control by the hour.
This is the time,
This is the place,
So we look for the future,
But there's not much love to go round,
Tell me why this is a land of confusion.

-Land of Confusion, Genesis

1

There was something new in the forest.

Every animal spoke of it; they chirped, they chattered, they squeaked, they barked. Their voices filled the forest with the sun high in the sky, drowning out the death and decay that the forest had recently been drowning in. The mysterious new thing that was in the forest distracted the animals from this and they gossiped what they could on it, welcoming it. The squirrels told of a creature dressed in red. The birds sang stories of men that were as tall as a bear standing on its back legs. The spiders spun webs of a Man holding a sword that was bigger than himself. The deer whispered of a creature that was not afraid of the demons or the angels. The mice squeaked of a horse that had hooves that left burnt indentations in the ground as it plodded along.

Sometimes the animals of the forest had arguments over what they had really seen. If they had truly seen a creature that was dressed in red, a Man that was as tall as a bear, a Man with a sword bigger than himself, someone that wasn't afraid of angels or demons, a horse that had fire coming from its hooves. Some said it was possible; there were already to guardians of the planet that were currently residing in their forest as a tiger and a griffin. Why could there not be something like they had seen? Others claimed that it was famine that was causing the others to see things. Even the guardians had been there for centuries, longer than anything that had happened in the last century or two.

But, what the animals did not know, was that they were all right.

There was truly something in their forest.

Something that was dressed in red. Something that was as tall as a bear when he stood on his back legs. Something that carried a sword that was larger than himself. Something that feared neither angel or demon. Something that rode a horse that had fire coming from his hooves.

Something that was no Man, no guardian or protector of their world.

It was something much worse.

The more curious animals had gathered near a path that the creature of Man was said to be walking down. They chattered in excitement, half expecting the thing of mysteries to jump out at them. It was only appropriate. With the attacks between Heaven and Hell becoming more frequent and random, most of the animals were anxious. There was a different feeling in the air, something that was off about everything. Only once before the angels and demons had fought against each other as they were now and the animals knew that it was bad. They knew that something was happening.

Thumpings slowly grew from where they were standing. Deer eased out from the foliage, their ears opened wide as their large eyes stared down the small pathway that the new thing was supposed to be on. Small birds and squirrels raced across the branches of the trees that leaned over the path, squeaking. Others squirmed near the deer hooves, waiting for the skittish creatures to dive off before they made their own moves. Soon the animals were so quiet as the thing approached that they could hear the breathing of the creature. The first that they saw of the creature was their shadow. It was huge; the branches of the trees above them were higher than what some of the others liked but the thing looked as if its head could reach the lower of the branches. A horse was distinguishable through the shadow, its head lifted up high proudly as its large hooves lifted to slam into the ground and back up in the air. Little orange sparks were flung with each step that the horse completed. The scent of smoke was heavy in the air and the deer pulled back into the foliage, ears low and their heads down. While they were undecided if these new thing was good or bad, the excitement to meet this new thing had slowly diminished. Most of the humanoid creature that was on the horse was still shadowed, but they could sense something. The horse's eyes alone glowed; the same colors of a flame shone from the markings on the horse's skin and the small eyes it had. When the horse snorted as the two passed the animals, dark smoke puffed out. Its mane, uncut and long, had lighter ends than the charred looking rest of it. Again it glowed and produced an orange hue. More of the glowing symbols marked the horse's thick neck, its shoulders, and then its haunches. Power radiated off the horse like the glow that came from its markings; muscles bulged from the short hide of the stallion and its hooves were easily the same size of a squirrel.