I know what is coming for you
I loved the woods. Every weekend, I would pack a bag and drive to the woods just outside my town for a hike. It was therapy to me. It was a place where I could unwind from a busy working week, clear my mind and just... breathe. Writing that makes my chest ache with yearning.
A few weeks ago, I went on my usual hike. It was a clear and cool day, my favourite kind of day. I was feeling good, letting my thoughts roam free and appreciating the tranquillity. I must have walked this same trail what must be thousands of times, so I was on autopilot heading towards my usual lunch spot. It was a clearing in the trees fairly deep into the woods that had a small lake. I loved it there, it was idyllic.
I made my way through the tall, dense trees and into the clearing, only to find that a group of three men had beaten me there. It was rare to see anyone in these woods, part of the reason I liked it so much, but it did happen every once in a while so I wasn't too surprised at seeing them. I was surprised to see that they had four horses with them however.
I debated turning around and just heading back to avoid having to share the small space, but hunger won the argument. I continued towards the lake and sat down at its edge, further down from where the group were sat. I took out my sandwiches and admired their horses as they lazily grazed on the grass, they were beautiful. They each had shiny, bright coats and were clearly well looked after. One of them however stood out to me most. It was a very pale, almost green colour, I'd never seen anything like it before.
“That one's Thanatos.” I turned to my right to find one of the men had approached me. He was pointing towards the pale horse with a smile, having noticed me staring. “The white one is Zelus, the red one is Ares and the black one is Limos.”
I smiled back at him a little embarrassed. “They're beautiful, I've never seen colouring like Thanatos has before.”
The man chuckled, “he's certainly one of a kind that one!”
The man was tall with extremely light, blonde hair. I noticed the rest of his group had started to make their way over behind him. They were all equally as tall as him and the whole group looked to be in their 30s. The second man to reach us had chestnut red hair and the third had dark black hair.
I politely smiled at each of them, not yet decided if I was in the mood to socialise with strangers, but I quickly realised I wasn't getting a choice. The blonde man pointed at the ground next to me. “May we sit with you? We've been travelling for a while, nice to see a new face.”
“Be my guest,” I nodded with feigned enthusiasm, “where have you been travelling?”
The men exchanged a look and laughed a little. The red haired man answered me. “It would be a shorter list to say where we hadn't been, been a bit of everywhere over the last few years.”
“That sounds exciting, for work or pleasure?”
“Bit of both.”
I nodded with a smile and took the last bite of my sandwich, not quite knowing what other small talk to make.
The blonde haired man put his hand to his chest, “My name is Victor by the way,” he then pointed to the red haired man and then to the black haired man as he told me their names, “Marcel and Fames.”
Victor offered his hand and I reached out and shook it, “My name's Libby.” The other two men also shook my hand. “What do you do for work then?” I asked them.
Their faces turned very serious and they looked at me intently for a moment. Marcel finally answered, “we each have our own jobs to do but we work to the same goal.”
The conversation seemed to have turned tense all of a sudden, but I couldn't help but feel they wanted me to ask further. I shifted awkwardly wondering where this was going. “And what's that if you don't mind me asking?”
“To bring forth the end of days.” Fames almost whispered.
Great, I thought, they're nutjobs.
Not wanting to get sucked into the conversation any further, I began making my excuses. “Interesting! Well, it's been great to meet you guys but it's getting late, I best start heading back to my car before it gets dark.” I started putting my things back in my bag to make it clear I was leaving.
Victor raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Don't you want to know how it happens?”
“Ignorance is bliss if you ask me, Victor!” I half-heartedly laughed, trying to mask my fear. I was beginning to get worried that they weren't going to let me leave. I was cursing myself for not skipping lunch and turning back when I had the chance.
I began standing up to leave. Victor grabbed my hand tightly, “no, you have to see.” Then I blacked out.
While I was out, I saw Victor, mounted on his white horse with a golden crown on his head. I saw him in the ears of world leaders, encouraging them as they made the decision to invade their neighbouring countries, although they did not acknowledge his presence. He was there as their militaries crossed borders, watching them shoot and kill anyone they came across. He watched them storm buildings and massacre anyone inside and he watched when they took the land for themselves.
Countries fought back, drafting every able bodied man and woman they could to defend their land. Marcel on his red horse was on the front lines, screaming a war cry and rallying the soldiers to fight, but again they did not acknowledge his presence. Bombs fell from the sky as the entire globe turned against each other, a world war that would have no winners.
I saw Fames on his black horse in the ears of soldiers, guiding them to destroy farms and contaminate water supplies. They followed his guidance but again, they did not acknowledge his presence. He watched as people crawled through the streets looking for food, water and shelter. He watched as those people slowly died right there on the street. He watched Mothers and Fathers weeping whilst they suffocated their children in their sleep, sparing them from a slow, painful death.
I saw the back of a woman upon the pale horse. The weather had become extreme and unbearably hot. She watched as flames engulfed the entire planet, permanently staining the sky orange and extinguishing what little life was left. Once it was over, she rode Thanatos through what looked like the ruins of my town before she eventually came to the lake in the woods. The ground was scorched, the lake was dry and the trees were dead. She stopped Thanatos at the edge of where the lake was and dismounted. She bent down and touched the dry ground, her hand lingered there for a moment before she stood again, looking around at the death of the woods around her. This was the first time I saw her face, and it was mine.
My eyes snapped open and I scrambled to my feet. “What the hell was that?!”
“That was the end.” Victor uttered.
I could feel it was the truth with every fibre of my being, but denial felt more comfortable. “No, no it can't be.”
Victor put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it off. “It is Libby, it's already begun. Some of what you saw has already happened, I'm sure you recognised it.”
Of course I did, and that terrified me. “I saw myself! Why was I there?!”
“It is the responsibility of all four of us to make sure what you saw, happens.”
I shook my head defiantly. “No, this makes no sense.”
Fames knelt down to my level. “It is true Libitina.”
“How do you know my real name? Who are you?!” I was screaming now.
Marcel sighed, “who we are does not matter.” I stared at him incredulously as he continued, “we know who you are more than you do. You will learn more with time but you need to come with us. It is nearly time for you to play your part in all of this.”
My head was spinning and I felt numb. “Why do they all need to die?” I whispered.
“Mankind put themselves on this path, we are simply maintaining it to ensure it leads to ruin.”
“But... why?”
“All they do is hate, kill and destroy each other. It cannot be allowed to continue without someone stepping in to reset the cycle.”
“Can't we just warn them? Make them turn it around? There must be a less extreme way to fix this, surely!”
“There have been warnings, plenty. Even from their fellow man. They ignore them for their own selfish gain. It is too late to stop what's coming now, it has to end somewhere.” Victor was matter-of-fact.
I couldn't process any more and I bolted. Victor made a move as though to stop me, Fames put a hand out to stop him and told him, “give her some time.”
I didn't stop running until I got in my car, where I immediately broke down and cried.
Since then, I've spent the last few weeks trying to process all of this, trying to figure out what to do with this information. I know what you're thinking, why would I believe anything they have said? But I do. I can't explain it, I can just feel the weight of the truth of it. Something inside me has changed, I can't see any other path forward than the one they have shown me now.
I've been alone my whole life. I've never known who my parents are or been able to make any friends. I used to feel bitter about it but I suppose all of that makes sense now. It's because something bigger was waiting for me. I couldn't have connections to people if this is what was planned for me.
I've been having dreams every night of what awaits me and they're becoming more urgent in nature. I think this means they will be coming back for me soon, and they will be expecting me to join them. I know I won't be given any more time or a choice in this when they do. This is my fate.
I feel helpless, I can't stop what is coming. Writing this is the only thing I can do, to prepare you for what is to come. I'm sorry.
Tomorrow is not promised and today is short.
The end is nigh.
Credited to SpookyBitch_
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