Sleepy Hollow 🔖

Handsome Strangers

As I processed what just happened, I remembered my mother's anthem when I was little and she would leave the house. Heck, she had told the same thing this morning as I set out on this journey.

Stranger danger. Stay away from strangers. Blah blah blah.

But she had failed to be more specific.

Stay away from handsome strangers.

Tony was a handsome stranger.

He hadn't answered any of my questions. He just stared at the floor.

"Do you know these guys?!" I shouted causing all of them to jerk suddenly from my high pitched voice.
The headless horseman just chuckled.

"Of course he knows us. He led you right to me" he sneered.

If looks could kill, I would've put Tony six feet under by now. He tricked me, made me look like a fool.

"Look, Rebecca, I'm sorry. I just.."

"Save it" I raised a hand to his face.

"I was forced to do this. I tried helping you get away but you kept making noise and ..."

I slapped him. I don't know when but I did, on impulse. His voice seemed to make me angrier.

"I deserve that" Tony said dejectedly.

"As much as I'd like to watch more of this, we would have to save it for another day. You're coming with me"
To his men, "Get her"

Two men stepped forward and roughly grabbed me. They yanked me up to my feet rather rudely.

"Didn't your mother teach you how to treat a lady?" I said as I withdrew my hands from their sinewy grip.

"No" One gave me a cheesy smile. "My mother was a slut. Gave birth to me and dumped me somewhere. Boss found me and raised me. And trust me we do not know how to treat ladies". As he said the last sentence, the two of them started laughing for some reason unknown to me.

They dragged me outside to the open, ignoring my screaming and protests. I really wish I had paid attention during my father's self defense training, not that it would have any effect on six guys and a supernatural horseman.

"Bring her here" the horseman thundered. "Where we're going, you'll have no choice but to obey me. One word of disrespect from you and I'll send you to the underworld. Let's go"

The men all got on their horses, forming a circle. Tony hitched a ride with one of them. The horseman grabbed me and effortlessly threw me on his horse. He got on. I tried my best to stay as far from him as possible. The mist from his neck still creeped me out.

I expected them to start riding but instead they all started muttering some chants. We were engulfed by a powerful gust of wind. It was unnaturally cold. Goosebumps appeared on my skin and my red hair whipped around. It seemed as though we were in the heart of a tornado.

I screamed and shut my eyes as the wind got stronger and we were carried by the force.

Then it suddenly stopped.

I opened my eyes one at a time. We were now in a huge courtyard. There was a fountain in the middle with fishes swimming around desperately.
There were roses around, but they were dark not red or whatever colour you'd expect. The courtyard was lit by torches placed specifically on the walls.

I was roughly yanked down from the horse but I kept studying this new environment. The sky was dark and there was not a single star in the sky.
Around the courtyard, were smaller buildings with a taller castle-like one among them. They were painted black for some reason.
The window frames were a red shade. It was beautiful. Gothic, but beautiful.

"Come here". One of the men slipped a metal collar on my neck and did the same for my hands. The shackles on my hands had extended chains which he held. They felt cold and rough on my hands.

I patiently walked behind the procession with the headless horseman in front. I was keeping up with their pace but the sick guy holding the shackles kept yanking me forward for his amusement.

Apparently, seeing me in pain and hearing my grunts gave him pleasure.

Ugh, the sick bastard.

Tony kept glancing at me apologetically but I ignored him. I was so sad and disappointed. He had been a great guy at first but I saw him as a jerk now.

We had entered the castle and we're now walking past a very grand throne room. There was huge chandelier that seemed to levitate. Atop red marble tiles, a dark carpet led to a dark throne. It had some touches of gold. At this point, the dark didn't surprise me anymore. The horseman apparently, had a thing for black and darkness.

Three of the other guys stopped here. The horseman led us through a corridor and up a flight of stairs.
One of the guys opened a door and I was dragged in behind the horseman.

The room was lit by three torches that never went off no matter the disturbance. The room smelt of sweat, blood, moisture and other unholy things. I scrunched my nose in disgust.
The horseman laughed.

"I'm glad to see you like it" he mocked, sarcasm dripped from his voice. "Because this is where you'll be staying for the time being"

The shackles were taken off rather rudely and I was shoved into an open cell at the far end of the room. In all, there were fourteen cells. There was a path, seven cells on either side as you walk through. Twelve, including mine, were already occupied. These cells were cages, I was surrounded by metal bars. However, since mine was placed at the end of the room, I was privileged with a wall.

"Yes, now we can go on with the rituals. We have all twelve girls". The horseman said happily.

"Sir?" I recognised Tony's voice.

"What?" The horseman thundered.

"You said if I got you another girl, you'd release my sister. But you speak as though we never had an agreement. You should be having eleven girls now and I should be leaving with my sister"

"Ah Tony, you're right. But I don't keep my word". To his henchmen, "Seize him. Throw him in one of the cells"

But instead of letting himself be captured, I watched as Tony fought the three men. But he was overpowered and imprisoned.

"Traitor!. Liar!. Creep!". Tony shouted as he shook the metal bars of the cell.

The horseman laughed it off. "I've been called worse. You see Tony, releasing you sister would mean waiting for another year. I can only visit earth at Halloween and I can't just waste a plan twelve years in the making. Once the rituals are completed, I'll have my head and be free to visit earth as I please. And then, initiate phase 2 of the plan, take over the earth"

He sauntered out of the room laughing.
I glanced around the other occupied cells, they were all occupied by young girls also.
They all sat, staring at me wide eyed, through eyes which sat in visible sockets. They all looked frail, pale, hungry, tired and exhausted.
I looked around the cell looking for somewhere to sit or rest. The cell was horrible. The previous occupants had written his/her affliction and pain on the wall. And there seemed to be a countdown also to what I presumed to be his death. I sat down at the far end of the cell. Each cell as I noticed, was placed by a small window that barely fit my head.

As I stared out of the single window in my cell, I thought about my captivity and what would become of me. What sort of ritual does the horseman have planned for us?

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Love,Vicki.💟