The Fifth Horseman

Chapter 4: The Council

"The Charred Council? Who the hell are they?" I ask. "Watch your tongue when you speak about them!" She exclaimed. I raised an eyebrow. She sighed and continued. "The Charred Council are a group of all powerful beings, and our masters." I frown. "Your masters? But then - That would mean... They are the ones who gave you your power?"
She nods her affirmation and keeps going. "During the wars, when the four of us decided to turn on the rest of the Nephilim, we were trying to find a source of power that would be powerful enough to wipe out the entire race." Her eyes darken a bit, remembering the horrors she had faced while with her race, and the horror and pain she had inflicted on them.
"Somehow, the Charred Council got wind of what we were doing, and they offered us the power we sought. But there was a catch. We had to be their eternal servants, and we had to..." She trails off, not needing to finish the sentence.
"I get the picture. So, they forced you into bonded labor to them for all eternity?" I ask. "Not quite. Well - They didn't exactly force us, per se. It was our own choice." She replies, running a hand through her hair.
"Right. So, any idea why they want me?" I ask. "Well, you are the last survivor of the extinction of the human race. I can't see any possible reasons for them wanting to see you!" She says, her eyes wide and voice laden with sarcasm. I glare at her in annoyance. She throws her head back and laughs.
"When do they want me there?" I ask. "They gave us 2 months to track you down and bring you in." She says. I give her a sidelong glance, which she notices. "Don't worry. I'm not turning you in just yet. First, there are some things we need to do. Things I have to teach you." She says. "Things? What things?" I ask.
"Well, basic survival stuff - how to fight, how to build a fire, how to make and set traps, things like that." She says. "Exactly why are we doing this?" I ask. "What, did you think you were just going to lounge around for three months with me waiting on you hand and foot?" She asks. "That would be nice..." I muse, earning a punch in the shoulder.
"Shut up! You're going to learn how to handle weapons too!" She suddenly leans close. "And be warned. I'm not going to go easy on you even if you're a human!" She growls into my ear. "Really? When do we start?" I drawl, unfazed.
Before I can react, I'm on the floor, with her straddling my chest, her claw-like nails pressing into my throat. She leans down close and whispers. "You will be fighting monsters out there worse than the one on your chest. I expect you to take your training seriously, and consider the fact that your life is at stake."
I swallow and nod slightly, not wanting to pierce myself on those claws. She gets off my chest and extends a hand to help me up. I grab it and pull myself up.
"We start tomorrow. Sleep well, because if you don't wake up early, I'm going to drag you out." She says, before leaving the room. I look outside, at the quickly darkening sky. "Looks like the nights are longer on this planet..." I murmur to myself before heading upstairs to the guest bedroom, jumping into the bed, and falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
~
I was in a hallway. The whole place was covered in blood that reached my ankles. The hallway was bathed in a sort of strange orange light, almost like a sunrise, but not quite. The place seemed to be a hallway of a hospital, as there was a gurney in front of one of the doors. I stepped forwards, slowly trudging through the bloody mess on the floor.
A few seconds of walking, and I came across multiple body parts hanging from the ceiling. An arm here, a head there, eyeballs dangling from a sputtering light fixture, intestines hanging from threads, and other random mutilated, severed body parts.
I kept walking, ignoring the gruesome scenes around me, the blood on the floor, and soft scratching noises coming from some of the doors. Eventually, I saw a door at the end of the corridor, and, like a moth to flame, went to it. I reached the door, opened it, and went in.
Four of my closest friends were chained to the wall. Three friends, a boy and two girls, both of who I trusted with my lives, and a teacher who was very friendly with me and always tried to help me or anyone else with their problems, whatever they may be.
Their heads were bowed, their chins touching their chests. Their visceral organs were ripped out, and fixed to the walls with more of that black thread. Their eyeballs and tongues were also missing, but were nowhere to be seen.
There was a man in the middle of the room, wearing a formerly white labcoat now stained red with blood. He turned to me as I entered. His eyes and tongue were missing, and there was a dark, thick liquid flowing down his cheeks and out of his mouth. He held a bloodstained knife in his hand. I was rooted to the spot with fear, unable to move.
Suddenly, as one, my friends turned their heads to me and mouthed one word. Run.
I turned and ran for the door.
The man in the labcoat screamed, and I turned. He wasn't there.
I turned back, and he was right in front of me, knife poised in the air. Scarily, after getting a closer look at his face, I realized who it was. Me. He, no, I, shrieked and stabbed downwards, and I felt the blade pierce my heart.
I woke up in screaming. Panting, my body covered in cold sweat, I got out of the bed and went to the en suite bathroom to wash my face. I took off my shirt, since it was making me feel colder. I washed my face, looked in the mirror, and gripped the sink. "A nightmare. That's all it was. Just a nightmare..." I said to myself.
But it had all seemed so real... I washed my face again, and left the shirt out to dry. I crawled back into bed, pulling the covers over myself. A soft knock sounded at the door. I got up and opened the door. "Hey, I heard some noise. Are you all right?" She said. It looked more like she wanted to say 'I heard someone screaming like a little girl. Was it you?'
"Y- Yeah I'm fine. I think." I reply. She frowns and tries to push the door open a bit. I hold it closed. She raises an eyebrow. "I'm not decent right now..." I say. She rolls her eyes and forces the door open. I don't resist much, and let her in.
"Not wearing a shirt. You weren't letting me in just because you weren't wearing a shirt?" She says with a bit of indignation. "Well, I'm kinda modest. And thank you for simply barging into my room." She ignores me and sits on the bed.
"What happened?" She asks. "I had a nightmare." I reply. She nods. "Care to tell me about it?" She asks. I nod and tell her the whole story. "You know, dreams usually have some sort of meaning." She says at the end. "Really? Any idea what this one meant?" I ask. She thinks for a while before replying. "Well, maybe you feel that you are a loose cannon, and liable to easily hurt your friends. I guess that feeling got rooted deep inside the recesses of your mind, and manifested in the form of a nightmare. Or maybe you feel responsible for the death of your friends on Earth. Maybe you just have a very vivid, very gross imagination."
"Or maybe it's all of them." I say.
She dips her head a little, confirming my statement. "Um... You could... Uh... Sleep in my room, if you wanted to..." She says, glancing at me. I nod my assent. "Well, you'll be sleeping on the floor." She says. "No problem." I say.
She looks at me for a few seconds, then gets up and goes to her room. "Get the mattress. I'll get some sheets and pillows, since yours are covered in sweat. At least, that's what I hope it is." She says. I glare at her in indignation. "I did not wet the bed!" I yell after her. I hear a faint laugh. I huff and turn to the bed. I turn up the corners of the bed sheet before ripping out one of the two mattresses from underneath.
A few seconds of swearing and grunting trying to get the mattress through the doorway, then I'm at Fury's room. I raise my hand to knock, then stop. I decide to just barge in, like she did, and serve her a taste of her own medicine. When I do, the room is empty. A sudden loud 'BOO' from the corner startles me, and I scream.
Loud laughter follows. I feel my face slowly reddening from the embarrassment. Fury walks to the closet, still doubled over in laughter. I growl at her back.
I take the opportunity to look around her room. It's a typical girls' room, slightly messy, and a few morbid stuffed toys lying around the room.
Well, not really morbid, but I hate stuffed toys.
The bed is a four poster, with curtains of shimmering blue and pink blending together. The sheets are a little rumpled and messy, on account of her having just gotten up.
She comes out of the closet with sheets in her hand. She dumps the sheets on top of the mattress and says "Fix them yourself. I'm going back to sleep." She flops on the bed, and is out in minutes.
I clear some space on the floor, and lay down the mattress. Then, I proceed to lay the sheets on it. I lie down on the mattress, with the strange feeling I forgot something. I frown at the ceiling, trying to wonder what that something was.
A few seconds later, something soft and fluffy hits my face. "Hey! What the hell!?" I exclaim. I sit up to find that that soft something is a pillow. Well, now I remember what I forgot...
I lie back on the pillow, and within minutes, fall asleep into a thankfully dreamless sleep.
A hard poke to my back wakes me in the morning. "Ow! Hey, what the hell!?" I yell. "Rise and shine, bonehead. Today is training day!" Fury says. I groan and roll over. "I'll be up soon. Gimme a few minutes." I say. "Up. NOW." She commands. I sit up and rub my eyes.
Fury tosses a pair of clothes onto me. A biege T-shirt and drawstring beige pants. "These should fit. Made them myself." She says proudly. "Really? Beige?" I murmur. "Yeah. Beige. Got a problem with that?" She asks, a slightly threatening tone in her voice. "Nope. No problems at all. I love beige! Absolutely adore it! In fact, it's my favorite colour!" I say. Yes, that was loaded with sarcasm, but luckily, Fury either didn't notice or didn't care.
"Get dressed and meet me outside." She says before leaving. "Yes, master." I snort. I quickly get changed into the clothes. They feel light but tough, like wearing armor that was soft on the inside but tough on the outside.
I cross the room, open the door, run down the stairs and exit the house. Fury was waiting for me there, her hands on her waist. "Took you long enough. What were you doing, admiring your body flab?" She asks. "I'm not fat. And no, I was just dressing at my normal speed." I say. "Well, get ready faster next time, you snail." She says. I let the comment slide.
"So, what's the plan for today?" I ask. "Just some basic exercises to warm up, then some serious stuff to really put some muscles on that body." She says. I look down at my slightly out of shape body. "Well, I could definitely use the exercise." I say, poking my slightly bulging stomach.
"Great. Now drop and give me fifty pushups." She says. "Fifty!? But I can only manage 30 at most!" I exclaim. She smacks me on the back hard enough to send me sprawling. "Fifty. Now." She commands. I nod and start doing them.
After thirty two pushups, my arms finally give way and I collapse on the ground, gasping for air. "Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic." Fury says. "At least forty would have been passable." "Well, it's not like I train every day or something!" I groan.
"Get up." She says. I struggle to my knees, my arms protesting with pain. She walks a circle around me. Then, she stares at me shrewdly for a few seconds. "Well, here's what I think. Zero stamina, mediocre strength, and most possibly no combat ability." She says.
"Oh yeah? Do I look like the kind of guy who gives a damn what others think of him?" I growl. "And as for combat ability, put a sword in my hand and let's see how long you last."
Fury narrows her eyes at me. "Fine. Tomorrow morning, your sword against my whip. We'll see whose is better. I'll provide the sword.
"Challenge accepted. May the best man- or woman- win." I say. "Great. Now get out of my sight." Fury says. "No chores for today?" I tease. A dangerous gleam seeps into Fury's eyes. "No, unless you want to go scarab hunting. We do need food." "Scarab hunting? I'm not eating bugs!" I exclaim. "I'm not talking about the Earth scarabs. I'm talking about the van sized scarabs of this planet.
" V- Van sized, you say? Please tell me this is some kind of a joke..." I trail off. I desperately hoped it was some kind of a sick joke and Fury was just screwing around with me.
Unfortunately, she wasn't. Fury shook her head. "No joke. If you don't believe me, come along with me, and see for yourself." She says, her face completely serious. "Fine. I'll come along, but if you're joking..." I trail off, letting the threat hang in the air.
Fury simply rolls her eyes and walks to the house. I follow her in. She walks to a small alcove beneath the stairs, and reaches inside.
She rummages around for a bit, then comes out holding two long spears. The shafts are thick and hard, but slightly flexible. The blade on the head is shaped curiously, almost like a drill, with a conical structure and ridges curving along its sides. It seems to be about ten inches long, and about and inch or so wide. The blade seems to be made of some blackish steel, gleaming dully in the light.
Fury tosses one of the spears to me, and I catch it. It's heavy! I hold it with both hands and give it a few experimental twirls. "Takes some time getting used to. But don't worry. I'll be taking care of you." She says, smirking. I sigh and leave the house, Fury following close behind.
"Alright. So where do we start looking for one of these scarabs?" I ask. "Koragas." She says. "Huh? What? Koragas?" I ask, unsure if I heard her right. "Singular, Koraga. That's what we call the scarabs. Their real name." Fury says. "Uh- whatever their name is, how do we find them?" I ask. "You would be wise to treat names with respect, boy. True names hold power." She says cryptically. The meaning flies right over my head. "Okay. Cool. So... How do we track them?" I ask excitedly.
Fury groans and puts her head in her hand, murmuring something that sounds suspiciously like 'looks like we have a trigger happy idiot here.' She sighs, then says "Tracking Koragas takes time. A lot of it. And we have to be careful, and watch out for traps. Koragas love setting traps. They're actually quite smart."
"Smart, eh? What happens when we drive a spear through its head?" I say, smirking. Fury stares at me till I quail. She sighs. "You really think it's that easy, huh? You have no idea what you're getting yourself into." She says. So, you're saying I might be risking my life? Oh well.
Fury sticks her spear into the ground and looks at the range of trees at the edge of the forest next to her house. I sidle up next to her, wondering what she could be staring at. She points somewhere in the distance. "We head there. Stay close and keep up."
She breaks out into a full sprint, heading for the edge of the forest. I follow her, trying my hardest to keep up. It was tough going, as she was pretty fast, and I was out of shape and slow.
We finally reach the edge of the forest, she hardly breaking a sweat and me in a sweaty, panting mess. She hardly notices or cares about my condition, apparently, as she intently scans the forest.
As I recover my breath, she keeps staring into the depths of the forest as if she could uncover all of its secrets simply by staring at it. I glance up at her, wondering what the heck she's doing.
"I can smell you, but where are you?" She murmurs. Smell him!? What are you, a dog!? Hey, maybe she's part dog! I try to hide my smile before she sees it. "Well, is there any other way we can- " Before I can finish my sentence, she suddenly breaks off into a fast trot. I jog after her, but she suddenly stops again.
"Yes... The scent is stronger now..." she says, sniffing the air. Not loud wet sniffs like a dog, but more somewhat delicate sniffs like a cat. She takes a deep breath, then starts jogging, navigating the forest like she knew it like the back of her hand.
I follow behind as well as I can, tripping up more often than not over vines, small holes, and small bones.
She follows the scent deeper and deeper into the forest, where it gets darker, the sunlight being blocked out by the thick canopy overhead. We finally arrive at a cave.
The cave isn't very high, but the ceiling and floor are filled with jagged stalactites and stalagmites, as far as my eyes could see. The cave seemed to be rather long, and buried deep into the ground. The entrance was littered with the bones of previous prey, crunching underfoot. A smell of death and musk hung around the area. I gulped, wondering what sort of a creature the Koraga was.
"Well, now what?" I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "First, we set up a bait who lures the beast out." She says, looking directly at me. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she wanted. I was the bait. "And then?" I ask. "Then, we hunt!" She says, baring her teeth in a feral grin.
I am so screwed.

A/N: Sorry it took so long for this chapter, guys! I got distracted with a bunch of stuff, and then more stuff happened. :P
Long story short, the chapter wound up getting finished pretty late.
As always, vote, and any criticism is welcome.
Thanks!