Four Horsemen Read online

  “You are going to dress up with me if you are going to go.” Shawna looked down at the carpet, suddenly serious. “Unless you don’t want to go with me.”

  The fight left me at seeing my roommate’s vulnerable expression. I had only known her for a week, but she already struck me as confident. Seeing her less than that shocked me.

  “I am going, don’t worry.” I walked over to my closet and grabbed the skinny jeans in the far back. Shawna convinced me to buy them when we were shopping for my bedding and new clothes. “But I will be picking my own clothes.”

  Shawna’s face brightened and she skipped to her closet and started tossing clothes on her bed. An hour later, we stood outside a large house on the outskirts of campus. Music boomed through the walls and college kids looking drunk already dotted the lawn leading up to the door. I clenched and unclenched my fists over and over nervously. This was the first time I had been to a party in a year and it was my first college one. Shawna gripped my hand and I swiveled my head to look at her in surprise. She looked as nervous as I was although her glittery pink eye shadow hid it well.

  “Ready?” She asked, squeezing my hand.

  I squeezed back and we both walked up the three steps to the door and pushed it open to face the chaos. The music got significantly louder when we entered the house and bodies crowded every room. We forced our way through the undulating masses to the kitchen where we found some reprieve and drinks. Shawna held acquired her cup of foul smelling liquid up to me and I cheered with her at our accomplishment of getting through the house unscathed.

  “Ready?” Shawna shouted over the noise.

  Instead of shouting back I tilted my head in confusion causing her to chuckle. She grabbed my shoulders and turned me around, pushing me back out into the crowd. I let her guide me even though I didn’t want to dance. When she pushed me far enough, she came to stand in front of me and moved her hips to the music. I stood like a statue among the moving bodies, suddenly feeling self-conscious. I glanced around and was met with drunk revelry.

  Shawna grabbed my hands and moved them up and down in an attempt to get me to dance. Seeing how happy and relaxed she was I decided to push all my worries aside and just have fun. College was about new beginnings and I would make the most of it. I followed her lead and lifted my hands above my head as I moved my hips to the music. At some point, after a song or two, we made our way back to the kitchen and downed a couple more drinks. This time I could taste the alcohol as it burned a path down my throat. Shawna looked to be even more affected by the drinks and I had to stop her from grabbing another one, instead leading her back out to the dance floor.

  A couple of guys positioned themselves near us and took control of our movements. Shawna turned to face her partner, draping her arms around his neck without a care in the world. I leaned my head back to see my partner. His face was unfamiliar, and he stared down at me with a sexy grin. I figured one dance wouldn’t hurt. We moved in sync and I let the music and alcohol wash over me, dulling my senses and letting me enjoy the moment.

  The warm body behind me disappeared abruptly and I stumbled back having lost my support. I spun around to scold the stranger who had been dancing with me and came face to face with angry hazel-brown eyes. I threw my head back and sighed in annoyance before bringing my gaze back down to glare at Liam.

  He leaned forward and hot breath tickled my ear as he whispered, “I thought I told you not to come here.”

  I stepped back and put my hands on my hips. “Like I said before, you cannot tell me what to do. I go where I please.” I looked around to see where Shawna had gone but she was still dancing, however now there were two guys vying for her attention.

  “Go home, Phi,” Liam growled.

  “Or what?” I tilted my chin up at him, feeling like a five-year-old but I didn’t care.

  His eyes narrowed and a small smile pulled at his lips. “Are you challenging me?”

  My eyes widened, and I took a step back. Liam loved challenges and made it his mission to conquer every single one. He was dangerous and ruthless and would do anything to win. I did not want to challenge him. I caught myself before I took another step, knowing he would love the chase if I ran. Instead I stood my ground and pulled the nearest guy I saw to me and started dancing with him. The guy was only shocked for a second before accepting it and moving to the rhythm with me. Liam’s jaw tightened and he stared me down for another second before walking away with clenched fists. I smiled in triumph and pushed him from my mind.

  A few songs later, I was drenched in sweat and my hair stuck to my neck. I had no idea where Shawna went and the guy in front of me was new. I wondered when that happened. My partner led me to the kitchen where we leaned against the counter and took gulps of refreshing water and caught our breaths.

  “You’re an amazing dancer,” the boy next to me complimented.

  I smiled and put my cup down. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

  He grinned and reached out, running his hand down my arm. My skin tingled and my breath caught. I wasn’t completely sober yet, but my mind was clear enough to know what was about to happen. Was I going to let this stranger kiss me?

  Glancing passed his shoulder I saw russet brown hair and green eyes. Kaden was on his way over to me. I quickly grabbed the stranger in front of me by his hand and led him away from the kitchen to one of the halls that were not as crowded. I didn’t want Kaden to yank this guy away like Liam did to the first one. When I figured we were safe, I released his hand and leaned against the wall. Misunderstanding my actions, the guy leaned forward and cupped the back of my neck, bringing my head closer to him. He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. At first, I stood frozen, sandwiched between him and the wall but once I got my mind to understand what was happening, I brought my hands up between us and pushed him away.

  He frowned. “What’s wrong, I thought that’s what you wanted.”

  My words stuck in my throat and I bit my lip instead. I didn’t know what I wanted but I was pretty sure he wasn’t it. The guy strode forward and kissed me again, trapping me with his arms, making it hard to break our contact this time. I shook my head to dislodge his mouth from mine, but he only laughed. My heart started racing with panic as I pushed against him, but he wouldn’t move. Tears stung my eyes and I kicked my leg out at his shin which only made him crowd closer. I tried to bring up my hands again, but his body blocked them. I tried stepping on his feet and moving my head to the side again, but he had a firm grip on my neck and seemed unfazed by my stomping.

  “Shh, it’s ok, no need to fight it. I know this is what you want.”

  I felt sick and I was suddenly wishing I hadn’t left the crowded room. Fear burned a path inside my chest and a sense of despair and loss filled me from head to toe causing a new kind of tears to spring forth. In addition to those feelings, anger caused the burning in my chest to spread and filled me until my lips seemed to burn too.

  The guy gasped against my lips and suddenly fell back, freeing me. I collapsed and closed my eyes, feeling vulnerable and tired. I still felt that sense of loss and despair, but the burning anger was gone. I breathed in and out multiple times until I got my racing pulse under control. When I felt a little better, I opened my eyes. The sight of the boy that forced his kisses on me lying on the ground with black bubbles on his skin made me scramble back and scream. He looked like he was dead, but I couldn’t be sure.

  Three men appeared hulking over me and blocked the light. I screamed again hoping someone would hear me over the music. One of the shadowed men stepped forward and bent down so I could see them.

  Relief washed through me at the sight of Liam. The other two stepped forward and I could finally see that they were Kaden and Trevor. Liam looked from me to the diseased looking corpse on the floor.

  “It looks like you were right,” Kaden said resignedly.

  My eyes snapped up to Kaden, wondering what he meant by that.

  “I was hoping I wasn’t,” Liam r
eplied never taking his eyes from me face.

  I was gathering the courage to ask what happened and demand answers but a crash from behind them halted my words. Liam sprang forward and scooped me up. I tried to look behind him to find out what had him spooked but he tucked my head against his chest making it impossible to see anything. I struggled against his hold, hating the helpless feeling coursing through my mind and body. I was just trapped against my will, I didn’t feel like repeating it.

  Liam finally stopped and glared down at me. “Stay in here and don’t come out.”

  “Where-” I didn’t get a chance to finish my question as I was dumped on the floor. Liam shut the door to whatever room I had been dumped in and I heard a click as the lock engaged. I scrambled up and banged on the door. “Let me out! You can’t just lock me in here! That’s illegal!” I wasn’t sure if it was actually illegal, but I figured it could be considered kidnapping.

  I put my ear to the door to try and hear what was going on but was met with only silence. Not even the music from the party penetrated the room. I decided waiting was my only option, so I looked around the room I had been put in. It was dark but I could just make out a broom and a toolbox, as well as some coats on hangers. Once I realized where I was, I gasped in outrage.

  “No. You. Did. Not. Just lock me in a closet,” I spoke out loud, though I knew Liam could not hear me.

  I kicked the door and slumped against it. The image of the stranger’s skin came to mind and I nearly gagged at the memory of those black boils. It looked like some kind of disease but how did he come down with it so fast? Was it infectious? I touched my lips in horror. Eww, was I going to suddenly break out in black bubbles and collapse? I stood up, frantic to get out and see a doctor. I banged against the door again shouting for someone to let me out.

  The door opened as I was about to break through with my shoulder, causing me to lose my balance and fall forward. Trevor caught me and helped me get my balance before stepping away to give me space. I stared at him with wide eyes and looked around for the others.

  “What hap-” A foul smelling cloth was placed over my mouth and nose from behind. I stared in fright at Trevor who stood by with a guilty look on his face. I struggled to remove the cloth but the longer it was there, the more the fight left me. The last thing I heard was Liam telling me to sleep then darkness took over.

  “Phi, it’s almost noon. Are you going to wake up anytime soon?”

  The voice sounded familiar and I struggled to find consciousness so I could open my eyes and answer the concerned voice. A hand shook my shoulder helping to wake me up. I blinked open my eyes, wincing at the light from the window. Shawna’s face appeared in my line of sight and relief washed over her face.

  “Finally! I was worried you would sleep the whole day away.” She helped me sit up and gave me some water.

  “What happened?” An image of a dead body came to mind. I gasped and gripped Shawna’s shoulders. “Is everyone okay?”

  Shawna gave me a weird look before chuckling. “Um, as far as I know everyone is okay. Kaden and two other guys approached me at the party with you passed out in one of their arms. They said you had a bit too much to drink and were starting to cause a commotion. We brought you home and you have been sleeping ever since.”

  “Drank too much?” I looked at my blanket with furrowed brows.

  Had all that other stuff been a dream then? My head hurt when I tried to recall the memories clearly. I was almost sure that I had seen a dead body and had been drugged. I drank some more water and figured I could ask the guys about it later. And by ask, I mean twist their ears and demand answers. I reached for my phone and pulled up my contacts but stopped when I realized I didn’t have their numbers. I had deleted their numbers a year ago when I burned their motorcycles and never put them back in when I got a new phone. I sighed, resigned to having to wait until class on Monday before I could ask them anything.

  “Hungry?”

  The question surprised me, and I remembered Shawna saying that it was almost noon. My stomach grumbled in response. Shawna laughed and threw some clothes at me.

  “Get dressed and we will go eat.”

  I did as she ordered, leaving the room to do my business in the communal bathroom. Looking in the mirror I gasped at the white streak in my hair. It was still an inch wide but now a second streak laid next to it. I groaned and tugged at the second streak. How was I going to explain that? I knew trying to get rid of it would be pointless, so I quickly finished my business and rushed back to my room.

  When I came back, Shawna held her purse and a look of determination. If she noticed the new streak of white in my hair, she didn’t show it. Instead she turned me around and marched me out of the room and down the hall. I was still kind of out of it, so I let her lead me to food not caring what kind it ended up being. We ended up in another student union on North campus with a little food court. My body immediately went to the Jamba Juice. Smoothies were life and I needed one. Shawna broke away to go get herself Einstein’s bagels and coffee, leaving me alone to traverse the crowd in my half-asleep state. I made it to the line, got my smoothie, and headed toward Shawna who still waited on her food.

  Halfway there, someone bumped into me roughly, causing my smoothie to tip over and fall to the floor, splattering delicious strawberry banana bliss all over the place. Students around the blast zone jumped away when some of it got on their clothes and gave me angry glares. I stared in shock at the smoothie on the ground then looked up to see who had done such evil. A girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes gave me a smirk and stared at me with hatred burning in her eyes. She wore what looked to be a letterman’s jacket but instead of a letter there was a symbol of a cross with a sword overlapping it.

  “Better watch where you’re going next time. If I see you again you will regret it.” The girl sauntered away never apologizing or looking back.

  I stared at her retreating back with an open mouth, shocked that someone I didn’t even know could hate me so much. Shawna came up to me a moment later, staring down at the mess on the floor.

  “What happened here?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

  I swiveled my head to look at her, unsure how to explain what just happened. “Um, someone bumped into me.”

  Sudden anger washed through me and I snorted. If she ever saw me, I would regret it? If she ever saw me again, she better have back up. No one messed with my smoothie or threatened me. She was lucky I was too shocked to react that time.

  Chapter 4

  Monday rolled around and I was suddenly anxious to get to Math class. I sat in the same seat near the door that I had claimed last week and waited for the familiar dark hair and blue eyes of Trevor. The professor walked in a few minutes later but the seat next to me remained empty. I started tapping my foot against the floor impatiently. I had never known Trevor to miss a class. Another few minutes went by and the class officially started but Trevor never appeared. Had he finally realized he didn’t need that class?

  The basic Math class was stuff I had already gone over in high school, so it barely needed my attention. I took notes but my focus was on the door, though the more time that went by the more I realized he was not going to show up. By the end of class, I had resigned myself to having to ask Liam about Friday night, rather than Trevor. Once class ended, I quickly exited the Math building and raced over to the Language Arts building. I was fifteen minutes early and figured I would be able to talk to him a bit before class started. I grabbed a rolling desk-chair and sat near the back like usual and waited for Liam. The professor came in a few minutes later and started setting up his presentation. By that point I was spinning around in my seat as if I didn’t have a care in the world but really, I was a mess on the inside. Were the guys ok? Had something happened to them? I stopped spinning and my heart began to race as a thought occurred to me. What if they contracted the same disease as that guy at the party? I was still not a hundred percent sure that was a real memory, but if it
was then maybe they were already dead.

  A knot formed in my throat at the idea. They weren’t exactly my favorite people at the moment but that didn’t mean I wished them dead. Just as I was about to have a mild panic attack, Liam walked through the door. The class immediately quieted as they watched him walk through the class. I expected him to sit next to me as he had done all last week, but he chose a seat on the opposite side of class near a group of girls. He never once turned his head to look at me despite my not-so-obvious attempts to get his attention. The girls giggled and leaned forward to touch his arm as they talked to him.

  The professor called the start to class but I couldn’t focus. I continued staring at the back of Liam’s head urging him to turn and acknowledge me. I didn’t understand what his problem was with me today. All last week they made it their mission to bug me and stalk me but now that I finally wanted to talk, they were nowhere near me.

  At the end of class, Liam was the first one out. I struggled to push through everyone to reach him but when I finally got outside, he was nowhere to be seen. I sighed in frustration and decided I would just let it go for now. If something truly bad happened, I’m sure I would have heard about it through the rumor mill or on the news. Shawna surely would have heard something by now. I hopped on my bike and rode off to the Engineering building. The rest of the day went by smoothly and by smoothly, I mean the guys never appeared.

  I was given a new project in one of my last Engineering classes and I decided to start working on it rather than worrying about Friday night’s events. There was no point in worrying about something that probably didn’t happen. I really did not want to go back to my room to study, knowing Shawna would want to go out somewhere which would put off our work. I would rather go somewhere quiet where I could be alone. The library came to mind and I smiled. I sent Shawna a quick text letting her know I would be back later and headed to the library.