Long Since Forgotten
It was a stormy night when Kerli awoke to her wolf-hybrid growling at her door. As she stirred into wakefulness she could hear the horses in the barn causing a ruckus.
Figuring it was probably a wild dog or something taking shelter from the rain in the barn she grabbed her boots and a jacket and opened her front door. Hikaru dashed out the door in front of her and was soon at the barn clawing at the door. She picked up her pistol and trudged out to the barn door. As she went to open the door Hikaru started whimpering and backing away. Now if you knew Hikaru he never backed away from anything. He would take on a bear for Kerli if he had to. That’s why her boyfriend was not worried when he went away to the military. Kerli became slightly worried at this but quickly put it out of her mind as the horses grew louder. Flinging open the barn doors she stepped in. At first she did not see anything, and then a flash of lighting happened and in the back paddock she saw what looked like a white horse just standing there. Something the color of blood was smeared down its side. The other horses were rearing and kicking in their stalls. Yet this one was just standing there calm quite head down. Kerli shook her head that’s not possible she thought I only have three horses and she never used that stall. The lighting faded and she was left in the dark again. She took a step forward and felt a cold rush of air blow past her. When she turned on the lights in the barn the strange horse was gone leaving Kerli to wonder if it was ever really there. The horses started to settle and Hikaru was by her side again. Sighing she went to each horse to check and make sure they had not hurt themselves. Thankfully they were all ok. Shaking her head she turned and went back to bed.
She awoke with a start the next morning sunlight streaming through her window. Yawning she swung her feet over the edge of the bed. Getting up she went to the kitchen and turned on the coffee pot. She sat down at the table and waited for the coffee to finish. She was not so sure last night had not all been a bad dream. Hikaru was scratching at the front door to get outside. She pushed herself up from the table and walked to the front door and let him outside. Walking back she fixed herself a cup of coffee and sat back at the kitchen table going over everything she had seen and heard last night. It all seemed so unreal. She decided to go and check out that stall after her cup of coffee. Finishing her coffee she put the cup in the sink and walked upstairs and got dressed. Flitting back down the stairs she went to the barn. Walking into the barn she was amazed to find Hikaru laying down in front of the last stall ears forward like he was listening to something. “Hikaru, here boy.” Kerli called to him. Hikaru looked at here but did not move. Kerli giving a sigh walked up to the dog and leaning down scratched him behind the ears. “What are you doing in here?” she asked the dog as she looked at the stall. It looked like all the rest only it seemed to have a darker feel to it. Looking over in it she was amazed to see straw and 4 wild roses. Opening the stall gate she cringed as it squeaked open and walked in. Bending down she picked up the rose and was amazed to find blood or what looked like blood underneath them. She stumbled back out of the door and fell. Standing back up she dusted herself off and walked back to the house. Once inside she grabbed a little baggy and went back out to the barn. She would take that to her neighbor Snap later he worked in a lab in town and might be able to tell her who’s blood it was or if it even was blood. Placing the bloody straw in the bag she sat it down on the side of the stall along with the roses. She would take Demon and ride him over there no reason to waste gas in the Miata. She walked over and opened the door to the fenced in acre of land, turning back around she moved to let Sun Kissed and Storm Chaser out of their stalls. Hikaru took his spot by the other opened door making sure they did not run out of the barn toward the house. As she opened Sun Kissed’s door she reared and dashed out giving the last stall a wide birth. Shaking her head she walked over to Storm Chaser and moved back letting her out, however Storm Chaser did not move she stood their ears forward head low. “Come on Storm lets go girl.” Kerli tried to coax her out but she would not move. Kerli walked into the stall and rubbed her neck trying to get her to move. Storm Chaser leaned into it but still would not move. Kerli started to move towards the door and Storm Chaser moved with her. Giving a sigh she walked Storm out of her stall and towards the open door and when the got to the last stall Storm almost squished her against the wall trying to get away from it. Then in a flash she was out the door and running at full speed away from the barn. Shaking her head she grabbed the saddle and walked over to Demon’s stall. “Hey my pretty boy.” She whispered at him. He walked over and put his head out of the stall. She rubbed his head as she placed the saddle on the door. She grabbed his blanket and and started getting him ready for the ride over there. She closed the front barn doors and hopped up on top of Demon. She whistled “Coming Hikaru?” she smiled and she nudged Demon into a loping run and then into a full out gallop. As she hit the woods she slowed him down to a slow gallop. Hikaru lopped along beside her easily. It was about a half an hour ride to Snaps so she decided to give Demon a little more leeway and enjoy the ride.
As Demon clip clopped up the paved drive Kerli gave a sigh of relief she was afraid she had missed Snap. Dismounting Demon and tying him up to the front post by the water troth she went and knocked on the front door. Hikaru bounded around the back of the house and disappeared. Snap answered the door on the second knock. “Kerli hey what are you up to?” he asked with slight surprise. It was not ever morning he got a visit from Kerli. “Hey Snap, I have something for you. She pulled the bag out of her back pocket along with the roses out of her riding purse.” Kerli held them out to Snap and he looked slightly confused. “Well thanks Kerli but I am not sure what to do with them.” He gave her a smile. Kerli shook her head. “I need you to test the straw and see if that red stuff is blood and tell me where these roses come from.” She stated without hesitation. He looked at her incuriously “Why?” he asked a little more then confused now. “Well it’s a long story.” She said. “I’ve got time.” He replied. She nodded and stepped into the house and proceeded to tell him about last nights events.
Kerli was trotting back through the woods on Demon with Hikaru by her side. Snap had taken the story pretty seriously and agreed to check it out. She felt uneasy and on edge even Demon seemed more alert and fidgety then normal. Hikaru was on high alert she would say ears forward head to the ground sniffing tail up. She was not sure what was wrong, she had ridden this trail a billion and one times and each and ever time it had been the same but now it seem to have a different feel to it. It seemed to be getting really dark for 12 in the afternoon. She looked down at Hikaru and looked up when Demon stopped and started shuffling back and forth. “What is it boy?” she asked leaning down and stroking his neck. She was thrown off guard when he reared up slightly like he was going to all the way. She looked up quickly right into the bright green eyes of the same horse she had seen last night. It just stood in front of them and for a split second all time seemed to slow down and slowly stop. The horse in front of her raised its head ever so slightly and she could see cuts all over its body blood dripping from them. A deep gash in its throat showed all the way through. By all accounts it should be dead she thought. As she slowly went to dismount and walk towards it she spoke soft words. “Hush now let me help you.” As she said those words time seem to snap back into action, and like time does when it slows down it sped up feeling the need to catch back up with its self. In a blur she saw the white horse disappear and Hikaru growl and howl and Demon rear up and slash at the air with his deadly hooves. “Calm Demon, hush its ok now its gone hush.” She grabbed his reins and pulled down petting his neck as she did. He slowly calmed and Hikaru leaned into her leg still growling slightly. She remounted Demon and spoke quietly to him. “Come on boy lets get out of here.” With that she pushed him in to a full gallop all the way home.
Later that night as she walked up the stairs to bed she was surprised to hear Hikaru howl from her bedroom. Dashing up she stairs she looked in the room and he was standing at the window with it open howling. She walked over to the window and looked out nothing looked out of the ordinary. She scanned the tree line and had to do a double take she swore she saw a flash of white flitting through the trees. She stopped and stared at that one spot hushing Hikaru as she did. Once again she saw it and then the sound of a horse in pain in dire pain and as she stared out the window she watched as the same horse dashed into the open field and then vanished into a bank of mist that seemed to be rolling in. She started to tremble and suddenly wished that her boyfriend, Tyler was here. She quickly closed the window and got in bed shutting her eyes and praying for sleep to take her.
She awoke to her phone ringing. “Hello.” She said sleepily. It was Snap and he was talking so fast she could not understand him. “Whoa slow down hot shot I just woke up.” He slowed down “You just woke up? It’s like one in the afternoon. Anyway so you know the stuff you brought me yesterday? Yeah well that is blood on your straw but not just any blood it holds two DNA strands. Ones humans and the other belongs to a horse. Now here is the really weird part. The roses are wild and only grow in the Africa. There is only one known case of them every growing in the United States. Now you will never guess where that is… I will give you a hint you’re standing on it or your house it. The lady and her husband that lived their before you used to grow them and breed horses.” There was silence on Kerli’s end of the phone line. “Kerli did you hear me?” she nodded and then realized he could not see her. “Yeah but I want you to know this is now not the only case known.” She spoke quietly. “What do you mean?” he asked confused. “My whole back yard is covered in them.” She spoke her voice sounding afraid. “I will be right over.” There was a click and the line went dead. Kerli got dressed in a hurry and did her morning chores and then pulled out her laptop and set to work. She looked up the people that lived here before her. They seemed like a nice couple nothing really wrong for the first few years of their marriage and lives here. Then strange things started happening with them. It was all so strange all the roses around the house started to die first and then the horses went wild and all but one ran off. The Hallows had been their names she could find nothing on Mr. Hallow however she the same could not be said for Mrs. Hallow. She was a champion horse racer and breeder. The list went on and on about her accomplishments. However around her 30th birthday things started going down hill with the odd things around the house. Then suddenly every thing just stopped. There was nothing more about the Hallows. Nothing more at all not even so much as a follow up news report. She shook her head and shut her laptop. This was all so strange to strange for her. Then she heard it, she knew it had been going on for awhile now but only at the back of her brain. Hikaru was howling again somewhere off in the distance far away from where she was. Hikaru never ran off where could he possibly be at? She stumbled out the door and went to Demon mounting him bare back. She urged him forward towards the sound of Hikaru through the bed of roses in her back yard. “Hikaru?!” she called in a panic as his howls became more distressed. She urged Demon on even faster as the howls got louder. Suddenly it felt like someone was ridding with her beside her she dared not look over though for fear of what she might see. Suddenly she broke through the trees and into and open glade. She slowed Demon and looked around Hikaru sat in front of a stick stuck in the ground. Roses grew all around it along with many other wild flowers. He sat their howling what sounded like the most sorrowful sound. She dismounted Demon and walked forward and as she did images flashed into her mind. Of a horse in the glade a pure white one and a woman standing with it. Then it switched to a cry of pain and a whinny. Then again it flashed and there was a man and he looked very angry covered in blood. She shuddered and stopped falling to her knees in front of the post. Then she could feel it a presence beside her. She looked up to find the same horse beside as before. It looked mangled and like it was in deep pain. The horse lowered its head to her and she reached out and touched it. Suddenly she was flashed to a beautiful scene with a field with the same pure white horse and a woman. The woman was stroking the beautiful creature’s nose. “You did amazing today Ilkira. You’re such an amazing girl” then it flashed and changed she could see nothing but she could hear people fighting. “You’re always with that DAMN ANIMAL!” a man was screaming. “That DAMN ANIMAL as you call her is the only thing that is keeping me going. Ilkira is the only one that treats me like I am human anymore!” it was a woman and she sounded like she was sobbing. There was the sound of a slap and then the sharp intake of breath. It flashed again and she was above a scene with the man and Ilkira he had a whip and was beating the horse leaving small red lines on her. The horse already looked like she was in bad shape. The image started to fade but as it did she heard the words “You did this you took her from me.” Then in front of here there was the same man with a shotgun in his hands and the woman ridding Ilkira. She heard a shot ring in the air and saw the woman fall to the ground bleeding. Once more it flashed and Ilkira was standing tied to a post in the very field where they were only she looked like she had been beaten with someone big and heavy. A man came at her with what looked like a thick knife. He started slicing the horse slashing at her. Ilkira never moved she stayed where she was her head hanging low. She looked like she could barely move. Kerli yelled out for the man to stop but he never did and then she watched as he hacked into the horse’s neck. Tears fell from her eyes as she watched the scene slowly fade and then one thing appeared in her mind a mailbox with the name Hallow on it. Then everything when black and she fainted.
When she awoke she was lying in her bed. She ran down the stairs and looked out the door it was early morning still dark out. She went and turned on the coffee pot and thought hard about everything that had happened. Then she turned and picked up her laptop looking at it as it started up. She blinked twice the date it said it was the 28th but that could not be right it was the 30th when she passed out. She turned on the TV and checked the TV guide channel it said the same thing. She stopped and looked around the house a chill feeling creeping up her spin as she looked back at the TV.
(Sorry its so VERY long. This is my own story I came up with plot line and wrote it all on my own. ^^)
This poor girl's body is riddle with scars, and... are those... blood stains? D:
