Rider in the Storm

“My car broke down right as the storm started getting bad. Being out in the open, I didn’t think it safe to stay put.

It was the worst storm I’d seen here in a long time, winds ripping through nearby trees. Across a field, I caught sight of a barn, dull and gray against the darkened sky. As the rain picked up, I started jogging between the rows of freshly planted vegetables. I was soaked by the time I made it to the massive double doors.

The doors rattled fiercely against the wind, tearing open the second I popped the latch. Just getting them to close again was a fight against nature itself. Once I got the latch to close behind me, I dropped a large wooden bar across in the slots across the entryway. It didn’t stop the rattling, but it diminished it for a while. It was pleasantly warm inside the old place, a stark contrast to the icy winds just outside.

I took a long breath as I lowered myself against the wall. It was dark in that place. Too dark to see much of my surroundings, so I pulled my cell phone out of my waterlogged pocket to use as a flashlight. From what I could see in the dim light, this barn has been abandoned for some time. Nothing had lived there for many years hence.

And I mean nothing.

A loud bang from above made me nearly jump out of my skin. Then another. And another. A cold wind rushing through the barn told me a window somewhere must have blown open. I used my phone’s light to search for a ladder leading up to the loft. It was a rickety old thing, but stable enough for me climb.

I followed the rhythmic banging back to its source. I took a moment to stare out into the windswept world. With a burst of wind, one of the shudders hit my wrist, sending my phone clattering to the floor. Just as I was turning away to retrieve it, a flash of lightning arced through the clouds, illuminating my surroundings.

What I saw in that brief flash, I wish I hadn’t.

Bones. Piles of bones scattered around the floor of the loft. The carcasses of small animals who seemed to have come here to die. Fear began to course through me. What could have caused all these creatures to come here? Why would they have chosen this place to die?

I got a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. A feeling like I may not be leaving this place, even after the storm. The crash of thunder all but knocks me from my feet. Another gust of wind brought sheets of rain pouring through the window. I abandoned my phone in favor of getting the shudders closed behind me.

When another flash of lightning ripped across the sky, I froze. I swear, I saw something out there. Four men astride large horses riding through the field, headed straight toward me. The rider on a white horse led the others in their charge. In the next flash, they were gone. Horses, riders, just vanished.

I couldn’t think. I could barely breathe.

On the horizon, I could see the clouds beginning to swirl, funneling toward the earth. Branches ripped from trees, the ground itself pulled into the sky as the tornado touched down.

I’d never seen one before that day, and luckily never seen one since. The sound was like nothing I’d ever experienced. It was in that moment that I knew my fate. I stood in that window, unable to move as the twister approached.

In the lightning strikes, I could see the riders again, ghostly figures through the sheets of rain. It was as though they were leading storm right to me.

My body acted on its own, staggering back from the window. I tripped over one of the wretched creatures, falling backwards. I curled into a ball, rocking into myself. If felt tears roll down my cheeks as I prepared for the worst.

I waited. The minutes ticked by like hours as I listened to the tornado. I don’t know when it happened, or how long it lasted, but I fell asleep, fear wracking my dreams.

When I woke again, the sky was clear, sun shining through the open shudders. When I looked around, I found myself in a place unfamiliar. No signs of the scattered bones, just blocks of hay.

Was I hallucinating? Dreaming? I don’t know.

All I do know is that I should have died that day. Death spared me then, and he’ll spare her too.”

I feel tears once again well in my eyes, as I gaze out the window of the hospital room.

“I know you’re scared,” I tell my son, sitting beside his mother’s bed. “Mommy’s going to be alright.”

The second I say it, I know it’s a lie. As I look to the ground below, I see him again. The rider on white horse. I see his eyes staring back into mine. He’s come for her, and there’s nothing I can do to dissuade him.

I cross over by my son, hiding my own tears from the lad. I’ll have to be strong for both of us now.