That's Bull

I patted Hana’s long equine neck. “You’ll do great.” This was a low stakes competition out in the middle of nowhere, but I still felt nervous.

I frowned as I heard whispering. This was my private staging area.

I followed the voices, but paused after rounding the stall. Six people, all dressed in black jumpsuits, were clustered around an enormous bull. This was the horse section. Besides, the bull fight wasn’t until tomorrow evening. What were they doing?

Now, this is where I should have exercised caution. Here were six adults dressed up like bank robbers, sneaking around where they shouldn’t be.

Instead, I yelled at them. “What do you think you’re doing?”

In unison, they turned on me.

I swallowed a sudden lump in my throat. “You’re not allowed in here,” I said, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice.

In response, one of them drew a gun on me.

I screamed.

Hana reacted to my panic, whinnying and stomping. The bull started to snort in agitation.

I bolted for the exit, screaming for help. Maybe I could make it to the door without getting shot. I’d heard that a moving target was harder to hit…

A gunshot nearly made me trip over my own feet, but the bullet struck the wall. I kept moving on adrenaline-infused legs, my heart pounding like a herd of stampeding horses.

I saw dark movement from the corner of my eye and had to dodge sideways to avoid getting bulldozed by a large man. My new course took me away from the door and towards the bull, which was facing my attackers.

I had a crazy, stupid idea. I ran up behind the bull.

And kicked it sharply in the leg.

It roared. I stumbled back, falling into a stack of hay.

The intruders scattered as the bull charged. I cringed, terrified it would turn on me at any moment.

Suddenly, the large double doors at the back were thrown open. Bright sunlight streamed in, revealing the mostly empty countryside beyond. This building was on the edge of the fairgrounds, so no structures or people were in that direction. The bull made one more run at a panicked figure in black before charging out the door.

After it passed, a distinguished looking elderly man stepped inside, looking completely unperturbed. He was followed by a short, wiry young woman and a bulky man.

“Hello,” the elderly man said pleasantly. “You should know that the ruckus has caught the attention of security. If I were you-which thank the heavens I am not-I would run.”

The black figures hesitated only briefly before turning and sprinting through the smaller door leading to the fairgrounds.

I let out a breath and stood shakily, knees weak with relief. “Thank you,” I gasped. “You saved my life.”

“Hmm, yes,” the older man said, his gaze fixed idly on the door. “Unfortunately, now that you have seen them, they will undoubtedly hunt you down and kill you.”

My relief vanished.

“Yes,” he continued distractedly. “Deepest apologies, but we will have to kidnap you. Very sorry, but it is for your own safety.”

“Excuse me?” I asked. Was I dreaming? Sometimes I had strange dreams before competitions. Like when I dreamed that Hana turned into a pig in the middle of my event and I was forced to hang on while people dumped vegetable oil on us.

“Ya know that security ya was talkin’ ‘bout?” the wiry girl drawled. “They gonna be heya soon. We betta git.”

“Of course, Fareen. Of course,” the older man replied airily. He pointed to the bulky man. “Brob, you take the child.”

“Yup,” the man, Brob, replied. His voice was deep and lazy, almost comically so. I might’ve laughed if I wasn’t about to wet myself.

“I think I’ll stay right here,” I said quickly.

The older man finally looked at me. Then he slapped his forehead. “Of course! Silly me. Children aren’t supposed to go with strangers.” He stepped forward and grabbed my hand, shaking vigorously. “I’m Havarin. These are Fareen and Brob. Pleased to meet you.” He let go of my hand abruptly and strode towards the back doors. “Now, Brob, grab her. Time’s wasting.”

Despite my protests that I could walk, Brob kept me swung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I tried yelling for help, but Havarin clamped a hand over my mouth and wagged his finger, as if chiding a petulant child. I was sixteen, for heaven’s sake, not six.

“Where are you taking me?” I finally demanded, once we were far enough away that Havarin wouldn’t cover my mouth again. His hand smelled like he’d been mucking out horse stalls without a shovel. I squirmed as Brob’s shoulder dug into my ribs uncomfortably.

“Hmm? Oh, we’re going to find that bull,” Havarin replied.

“She’s getting heavy,” Brob grumbled.

“Hmm? Well, put her down then, you silly man! No one told you that you had to carry her the whole way.”

Brob set me down, to my great relief. I considered making a run for it, but the fairgrounds were quite distant at this point, and Fareen looked quick as a fox.

“Why do you want the stupid bull anyway?” I asked snappily, rubbing my abdomen.

“Because the Polo’s want it, which means we can’t let them have it,” Havarin replied.

“The Polo’s?”

“Those ol’ rats we scared back o’er yonder,” Fareen said, thumbing over her shoulder. “They’s always causin’ trouble, they is.”

“Indeed,” Havarin agreed.

“Well, what do they want with the bull?” I asked.

Havarin paused, cocking his head as if he had never considered that. “I truly have no idea.” He shrugged. “But if they want it, it can’t be good.”

“We’ve never really been able to figure out their goal,” Brob clarified.

“Ya, cuz we alway’ stop ‘em ‘fore they reach it,” Fareen said, laughing.

“But then how the heck do you know they’re trying to do something bad?” I exclaimed.

Havarin chuckled and patted my head, as if I’d said something very silly. “Child, they are the Polo. Of course they are trying to do something bad.”

“Right,” I muttered sarcastically. “Of course. And who are you?” I expected them to say they were secret agents or something. I was wrong.

“We, my dear, are members of the Superhero League.” Havarin beamed at me as if awaiting an awed reaction.

I stared at him blankly. “Superhero,” I repeated flatly. He nodded eagerly.

“You’re insane,” I muttered, more to myself than to them.

“No, I’m extra-sane,” Havarin corrected, holding up a finger. “As being a superhero makes me above average.”

“How close are we to the bull, Hav?” Brob asked.

Havarin tapped his chin. “Not far now. It’s growing more blurry by the second. Soon, I won’t be able to see it at all!”

“Good,” Fareen said, grimacing. “Nex’ time, Imma take a car while y’all walk ya feets off.”

“I’ve told you, dear,” Havarin said with a sigh, “the windshield interferes with my sight.”

“Whateva,” she muttered.

I squinted at my three psycho captors. “What?” I fumbled for a more specific question, but was at a loss for words.

“Hmm?” Havarin glanced at me. “Oh! Yes, of course. I forgot. My superpower is to see things that are very, very far away.” He chuckled. “How else did you think we were following the bull?”

We walked until the foliage grew into a small forest.

“Ya sure he’s in theya?” Fareen asked, looking suspicious.

“He was about five minutes ago when I lost sight,” Havarin replied.

“He got too far away?” I asked.

Havarin gave me a very strange look. “No, we got too close.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that made no sense, but they were already tromping away into the trees.

It wasn’t long before we came to a small, clear stream. It reminded me how thirsty I was, and the dryness in my mouth became stark.

“This looks promising,” Havarin said brightly, glancing about. “Fareen and Brob go left, I and the child shall go right. Scream if you see the bull.”

They split, Havarin clearly expecting me to follow him. I reluctantly did.

Havarin suddenly cleared his throat. “Did you, perchance, get a good look at the bull before?”

I frowned. “Huh?”

“Did you notice anything…unusual about it?”

“Um, no...”

He nodded. “Just prepare yourself. This bull has likely been…tainted.”

I felt a tingling in my spine. “Tainted?”

“Hmm, yes. You see, Gurda, she’s one of the Polo, has the superpower of making animals look truly hideous.”

I tried not consider what that meant, but my imagination started conjuring up disturbing images. Vampire fangs and red eyes, claws jutting from hooves. Each step made my stomach clench tighter into a knot.

Eventually, I spotted something large moving a short ways off. I froze.

“Ah, there he is!” Havarin said cheerily. As if on cue, the bull turned to face us.

It actually wasn’t as bad as I expected.

It was far worse. Its skin sagged, fur sloughing off in clumps. Its eyes were enormous marbles of pure white.

I screamed.

“Oh!” Havarin exclaimed. “Good thinking, child. I forgot to do that.”

The bull suddenly started stamping its feet and snorting. I stumbled back.

“It’s going to eat me!” I screamed.

Havarin frowned at me, putting hands on hips. “Bulls do not eat people. Don’t be silly.”

“That one does!” I could almost see the hunger in its eyes.

He waved a dismissive hand. “It’s just an extra ugly bull. What, did you think Gurda could somehow make it more dangerous?” He chuckled as if he’d made a fine joke, but that had been exactly what I’d thought.

At least I wouldn’t be eaten. Just trampled.

The bull charged. I screamed again, but the sound choked off in my throat as the bull suddenly began moaning and turning in circles, shaking its head like it was trying to chase away an annoying bug.

Fareen and Brob joined us a moment later. I stared at Fareen. Her mouth was open as if she was screaming, but no sound came out. The bull continued stamping and circling.

Brob noticed my confusion. “Fareen can scream at extremely high pitches,” he explained.

Suddenly, Havarin pulled an enormous tranquilizer out of his boot and shot the bull in the right flank. The bull stumbled, and then fell limp.

“Do you just…carry that around?” I asked numbly.

“Of course not, silly girl,” Havarin said. “Only when I need to tranquilize bulls. Brob?” He gestured to the animal.

Brob lumbered over and bent down, as if he intended to pick up the massive beast. He strained.

“Too light,” the bulky man grunted. I gaped at him. Too light?

Fareen bounced over and perched on top of the bull. “How ‘bout now?”

In response, Brob lifted woman and animal as if they weighed nothing “Yup, that’ll do,” he said.

“Don’ drop me,” Fareen said sharply, pointing a finger at him.

Havarin stepped up next to me, a short, very sharp looking blade in his hand. “Can you use one of these?”

My eyes went wide. “Why would I know how to use a sword?” I exclaimed, my voice raising an octave or four.

“Hmm. You’ll do fine.” He patted my shoulder. “Just point it at the people you don’t like.” Then he smiled brightly. “You may not even need it. Maybe the Polo won’t catch up to us.”

“Can’t you just take me home?” I asked, a little piteously.

“Why would you want to go home?” Havarin asked, frowning. Then he slapped his forehead. “Oh! Silly me. I forgot! We didn’t go to the fairground to find the Polo. That was just chance. Unless…they were after the same thing as us.” His eyes widened as if the thought had just occurred to him.

“Which was?” I asked.

He clapped me on the shoulder. “Why, you, of course! Didn’t you know, you’re a superhero too!”