The Outcast
Jenny Mills regained consciousness after several hours. She remembered that the Horseman had shot out her cars tires, causing the vehicle to careen over the road and crash upside-down. Mustering all her strength, she tumble out of the broken window and fell out into the street. She tried to get up, and managed to sit against a tree. Henry Parrish, known to her as the Sineater, was the 2nd Horseman. Jenny had tried to reach her sister, Abbie, on the phone to tell her what she had discovered, but it had gone to voice-mail. She had to get to her and Ichabod and tell them, but she didn't have the energy to walk. All she could do was sit and wait to recover enough strength to somehow find help.
About 15 minutes passed before she saw a Dodge sedan coming down the road. She waved her hand and tried to shout to get the driver's attention, and it worked.
A man got out of his car and rushed over to her, "I'm calling 9-1-1. Here, let me help you..."
"I've got to find Abbie... The others-have got to warn them..." she murmured as the stranger cleaned some of the blood off her face after he called for an ambulance.
"Let's just focus on getting you to the hospital. That is one nasty-looking crash. How did it happen?" he asked her.
Despite being woozy, she was alert enough to see the star on the man's belt, "You're a U.S. Marshal?" "Yep, does that mean something to you?" the marshal looked at her with a curious stare.
Jenny knew that with Ichabod, Katrina, and Abbie unaware of Parrish being the 2nd Horseman, they were in serious trouble. She was in no condition to find and warn them, but perhaps the marshal could. It was highly doubtful that he would believe anything she said, but at this point she was desperate. "What's your name? Maybe there's family or friends that I can contact to be at the hospital with you?" the stranger asked her another question.
"Abbie is my sister. Perhaps you know her, Sheriff's Deputy Abbie Mills?" Jenny relayed this information to him.
"Now that you mention it, that name sounds familiar. I may have crossed paths with her at one point..." he replied.
"I tried calling her, but she didn't pick up. I'm afraid something happened to her. Can you look for her?" she requested.
"Sure, but first let's get you to the hospital," the marshal focused on her health.
It was then that the shattered glass of the SUV's window caught his attention. The pattern of it caused alarm bells as he turned back to Jenny, "Someone shot out the window in your car, which means this 'accident' was intentional. Do you know who did this?"
She flinched, knowing the marshal was on to her. Unfortunately, telling him the truth was the only possible way she could help her sister and Ichabod and his wife, "It was the Headless Horseman. I know that's farfetched, but it's true..."
The marshal didn't seem surprised at all, which left her in shock. Did he actually believe her? She soon got the answer to that question.
"It's not farfetched at all. With the type of shit I investigate and the people I chase down, that seems pretty reasonable," the man nodded.
"Wait, what kind of marshal are you?" Jenny realized she may have found an ally.
At that point, sirens pierced the stillness as several police cars and an ambulance approached in the distance.
"There will be plenty of time for explanations later. For now, let's get you patched up," the marshal stood up to direct the first responders in to the crash site.
A couple of hours later, Jenny woke up in a hospital room after being given a sedative. She looked around and saw the marshal sitting near her bed.
"So you're Jenny Mills, sister of Deputy Abbie Mills. We didn't get the chance to have a proper introduction. My name is Aetius Cassian, U.S. Marshal of the Strategic Tactics Division. I operate out of the New Rochelle bureau, not too far from here. As far as your sister goes, I called the Sleepy Hollow PD and her house. No one has reported seeing her at all. I think it's safe to say your sister is in some sort of trouble?" the marshal calmly spoke to her.
"You do believe me about the Headless Horseman?" Jenny wanted to make sure he was on her side.
"I do. In fact, the reason I was driving by where you were was to track down a fugitive by the name of Henry Parrish. The feds want to talk to him about some chats he had with death row prisoners. We have him on charges such as using false names, impersonating a priest, and other such things. There is also another reason why I was chosen to track him down..." Aetius explained why he was there.
Abbie's sister started to understand what the marshal was getting at, "Your branch of the marshals is for investigating paranormal occurrences, isn't it?"
He smiled, "You learn quickly. Whenever something out of the ordinary is reported and there's some evidence to back it up, we get sent out to contain it and protect people. In the case of Mr. Parrish, we've learned that he has magical powers of some sort. I'm gathering you know him by the fact that you just mentioned a headless horseman..."
She couldn't believe her luck. Here was the chance for her to have help from the feds to save the world from Moloch, but was it too good to be true. The thought crossed her mind that Aetius could be a fraud, "Before I answer that, prove to me you're a real United States Marshal. I need to know you're not pranking me or something."
He took out his identification papers, which included photos of his swearing in several years ago by a federal judge that Jennifer recognized. She let out a sigh of relief, "Okay, so I know you're the real deal. Well, this Parrish guy as known as the Sineater. He touches people and absorbs the memory of their sins, basically helping them forgive themselves. I assume that's what he was doing with the inmates you were talking about. But he played us the entire time..."
"That doesn't surprise me. He's a master liar from what I've read about him. Every time I get close to nabbing him, he's always one step ahead of me. It's very hard to get a bead on him, and I've been chasing him from NYC through Albany. So how did he play you?" he questioned her.
Jenny sat back and told the story, "There was a clue about the 2nd Horseman, War, being associated with some kind of saint. I went to look at an abandoned church that might give us some more information on that. Turns out it was called St. Henry's Parish. That's when I realized he was the Horseman of War..." Aetius was stunned, "Horsemen as in the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the ending of the world?! Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"I know it sounds insane, but this demon named Moloch is in charge of Purgatory and wants to bring an end to civilization as we know. He wants to rule the world, or what's left of it after his Horsemen do their damage. He's the one responsible for raising the two Horsemen in the world right now," she dropped a bombshell.
The U.S. Marshal gritted his teeth, "Shit, I was hoping this wouldn't happen..."
"Wait, you knew about this?!"
"This is why the Strategic Tactics Division was created in the first place. We have marshals in all 50 states keeping tabs on demonic activity and other paranormal events. Any time you've heard rumors of demon sightings, that was us shutting it down and keeping people safe. You and your sister aren't the only ones with access to artifacts and documents that help to combat these evil SOBs. The intelligence section of our division had picked up some hints of a possible apocalypse, but there was no concreter evidence for it. We just thought it was a bunch of bullshit. Turns out we were wrong..."
"Combat them? The Marshals Service has weapons against demons?"
"Yep, silver bullets, rudimentary lasers, knives with tips containing elements that break down electromagnetic compounds, etc. The Department of Justice gives us a good budget for that type of stuff, but I don't think any of it would do any good against the Horsemen. It's worth a shot, though." Jennifer was absolutely taken aback. All this time that she, Ichabod, and Abbie were battling Moloch's minions, the federal government had been doing the same thing across the country using the Marshals Service. "So let me get this straight. The Department of Justice has been fighting demons Moloch sent out this entire time?!" she looked incredulously at him.
Aetius nodded, "And it's been kept top-secret too. Alarming the public won't help things that much, so we keep a low profile. People in New Rochelle think I'm just a regular marshal who chases down wanted fugitives."
"Do you think you can help me find Abbie and Ichabod?" Jenny asked the fateful question.
"I have to say if what you're telling me about two of the four Horsemen roaming around Sleepy Hollow is true, then our worst fears may be realized. The government has no idea how to kill these guys and prevent the apocalypse from occuring. If you and your friends have experience with these scumbags, then maybe we can use that to our advantage and figure out a way to defeat them. I would be happy to help you, but who's Ichabod? You're not talking about the folk tale character from the short story, are you?" he wondered what the hell he was getting himself into.
"Uh yeah, he's a real person. He was a soldier for General Washington in the Revolutionary War, and even then they were fighting Moloch. His wife put him in a type of spell where he was resurrected after dying in battle against the Headless Horseman. After a whole lot of adjusting, he and my sister are cops with the police department. We've fought and beaten demons like the Sandman. Just recently, we discovered Washington's tomb and a map he left behind to get to Purgatory. We needed Ichabod's wife, Katrina, to cast a binding spell on the soil where the 2nd Horsemen was supposed to emerge. She's trapped in Purgatory, and I have no idea if they got her out or what Parrish did. That's when the headless guy caused me to crash as I tried to warn them about the Sineater," she explained from her hospital bed.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I believe you..." the marshal replied in a solemn tone.
Jennifer almost jumped out of the bed, "Then let's go and find them! There's no time to waste."
Aetius restrained her, "Let's just make sure the doctor says you're good enough to be discharged. He told me you were in remarkable condition considering the massive crash you were in. A lot of cuts and bruises, but otherwise unharmed. Promise me you'll stay here while I check with him, okay?"
She reluctantly agreed, "Alright, alright, but make it fast."
He nodded and exited the room to see if she was healthy enough to be discharged. After some arguing with the doctor, he came back in, "I was able to convince him to put a rush on your discharge papers. We should be ready to go soon."
"Good, I just got my sister back in my life, and I don't want to lose her again..." she was relieved to hear his news.
Once ten minutes had passed, the doctor finally gave them the okay to leave. Aetius helped Jenny walk to his car. Once they were both buckled in, he turned to her, "Any idea where Ichabod and Abbie went?"
"Somewhere in the woods. Do you have a piece of paper? I might be able to draw some of the map Ichabod showed us," she turned to him.
He gave her what she asked for, "Take your best shot."
After several minutes went by, Jennifer had completed a rough sketch of the map, "We need to go to this section of the woods. I'll point you in the right direction as you drive."
"Then let's go find Ichabod and Abbie," Aetius smiled as he stepped on the gas and the car roared down the road.