Shorts

the horsemen and world domination

She woke up like every day. The dream happened again. She'd traveled to the mystical far away land of...rural Pennsylvania...and a huge power grew and then she died. The same dream happened every night, and it always effected her the same way: tear trails dried down her cheeks and her ring finger had a logo rebranded into it. She'd never gotten any tattoos or piercings of her own will, but when she woke from the first of the dreams, she had an insignia on her hand, a spiral with a rapier across it. It sat on the underside of her ring finger, and a small band branded itself around the finger, like a ring.

It had been six months since the first incident. There was a enormous storm brewing on the horizon, headed straight for Florida, the part where she lived. There was no time like the present, so she evacuated to the place from her dreams--nightmares--as soon as she was told to leave.

When she arrived, all she saw was a huge hillside, covered in flowers. It was empty of all plants and creatures aside from the wildflowers. She climbed and stumbled to the top, where three other people were reaching the same place. There was one other girl, and two guys. They all looked about her age.

They clasped hands and stood in a small circle. Lightning struck the spot they stood in. Wind swirled around them, whistling into a tornado. Something began to glow brightly. Then they all fell to the ground, dead.

They awoke about an hour later, only to find that their ring fingers now hosted small bands, their insignias still branded underneath. They knew what to do next, it had been emblazoned on their minds. Conquer the country, then the world. Kill the human race, unleash the apocalypse.

"Aresa. I'm still Aresa. I am not war." She said, struggling with her nonviolent nature. "I do not start wars, fight in them, kill in them. I am not a murderer."

Meanwhile, the other girl and the first boy did the same.

"Not disease, just Pestilencia. Pestilencia. I want to be a doctor."

"Not famine, just Famino. I want to be a chef."

Of course, the other boys didn't care. "Eh. Sure I'll be a horseman. Is there free food involved? Am I going to have time for important things still? Like netflix?" Thanatos didn't give a damn one way or the other. It was fine to kill people, fine to not.

"Anyone up for coffee? I know a place near here with awesome scones," Pestilencia announced hesitantly.

Famino's eyes brightened, "Food." He sighed in glee. Aresa shrugged. Thanatos was indifferent. He simply followed.

They ate quietly, sounding weary of their whole situation. "I want to open a café!" Famino suddenly exclaimed.

"Yeah okay." Aresa replied genuinely.

"Can I do latte art?" Pestilencia eagerly queried.

He shrugged. Thanatos sighed. "I guess if everyone else is doing it. Ugh." He looked bored. "What do we call the café?" Thanatos actually giving a question caused some raised eyebrows.

"Famino's?" Famino suggested.

"No." The group yelled.

"Apocalypse?" This was Aresa.

"No." Said Famino.

"Coffeee, with three E's?" Famino again.

"No." Said literally everyone but Famino.

"Sad College Students R Us?" This was Thanatos.

"Hmmm...no." Pestilencia disagreed.

"Sleep Deprivation?" Tried Aresa.

"No." Famino decided.

"World Domination?" Thanatos queried.

"Needs something coffee related to be legit." Famino stated.

"Is that a real rule?" Pestilencia questioned.

"Is now." Famino said.

"WORLD DOMINATION bean?" Aresa asked.

"Yeah, okay." Murmured the entire group.

And thus they began a successful coffee chain. They later changed their name to Starbucks, for marketing reasons, but they became extremely successful.

The End

P.S. Thanatos kills people sometimes, but only on holidays and when they act like buffoons. He doesn't have a choice, he's death!