Fifth Rider of the Apocalypse

Chapter 8

"I suppose you think you're pretty clever."

Jacob looked up from his mac and cheese dinner. "Clever?"

Rachael sat down on the seat opposite him. The fast food restaurant was fairly empty and the few patrons were plugged into their headsets, providing them with the most privacy the campus had to offer. "Getting Conrad to put together a presentation for you, then having students do most of the talking."

"The president was happy and the deans seemed happy." Jacob shrugged.

"You forgot about the meeting."

"No." Jacob shook his head. "I wasn't aware there was a meeting in the first place."

"Don't you ever check your email?"

"What do you want from me Rachael? To play politics or to save the world."

Rachael crossed her arms. "Well if it took politics, we would be plenty safe now."

"Next time you handle the meeting."

"I can't do that." Rachael huffed. "I'm not the department head!"

"I never wanted to be a department head! I'm a researcher who teaches classes so I can get funding for my research. Now I'm supposed to come up with classes for an entire department and run a big fancy lab with equipment I have never had the pleasure of handling before."

"I would think that would make it easier to figure out what we need to do to stop the riders."

"Riders?" Jacob stared back blankly.

"Riders of the Apocalypse? You remember them, right?"

"If I ever forget, I'm sure you or your new boyfriend would remind me."

"Seriously Jacob, there is a freaking castle overlooking the school."

"I'm aware."

"So what are you doing?"

The mac and cheese stuck to his fork in an unappetizing blob. Jacob was sure it was getting cold by now. He pushed the dish away. "What do you suggest I do?"

Rachael seemed taken aback. "Maybe use the lab to search for some document to upend the one that started this whole mess?"

Jacob laughed. "You want me to use the shiny new lab provided by the college to discredit the document that not only produced those funds, but is very likely funding raises for the administration, not to mention all the new programs the university now has to offer? Are you nuts?"

"Well, I guess since you put it that way, it does seem kinda stupid."

"I don't think they would just fire me, I think my body would never be found." Jacob reached in his pocket and took out some of the cold remedy he was carrying. "I'm just starting to feel better. I don't think death would be an improvement." He washed down two tablets with his diet soda and leaned back. "I'm open to any suggestions that don't involve me dying."

"Maybe go back to the source of the original scroll?"

"Why didn't I think of that? Oh wait, I did. Dead end." He laughed at his dark joke. "Get it? Dead end?"

"Yeah, I got it." Rachael said dryly. "Not funny. It really won't be funny when we all wind up dead because you did nothing."

"I've been busy."

"Doing what?" Rachael demanded.

"Well today I picked up a new laptop, agreed to an interview with the school paper, assisted a student with a grad project and then ran a show and tell meeting I wasn't even aware was scheduled. Speaking of which, what kind of coordinator waits until the last minute to contact the person running the meeting for an itinerary? I should fire this Conrad."