*SORRY THAT THIS ONE IS SO LATE, WHEN LIFE RAINS, IT POURS*
Chapter 3: Pompeii
Once the group was safely inside the Vault they closed the hidden door that led to the tunnel entrance.
Diane was pacing nervously, trying once again to get her bearings in this new supernatural world to which she'd only recently been introduced, trying to make sense of what had just happened to her and her daughter.
"Ok… first off… I can't even begin to thank you two enough for saving our lives from that thing." Diana began. "But what exactly is it, and why did it come after us…?" she asked. "I know you guys know something, you showed up almost like you were expecting this…"
Ichabod nodded. "Agent Thomas, there is indeed much to discuss. There are things about myself, and what Miss Jenny and I are doing here which we have not yet shared with you. Before we get into this, I ask that you please understand that our intention was not to keep this information from you. We were simply looking for the right way and the right time." Ichabod began.
She didn't look too happy about that. For a minute or two she just stood there with her arms folded across her chest, staring at Ichabod as though he'd been outright lying to her since the day they met, but she nodded.
"Well at this point, just assume I'm ready for anything… shoot." She told him.
"Well, for starters, I am not of this time."
"Wait…what do you mean you're not of this time?" she asked.
"I was born in 1751, I was an officer in General Washington's Colonial Army…" Ichabod began but Diana interrupted him.
"Wait… the horseman was wearing the uniform of an eighteenth century British soldier. That's not a coincidence is it?" she asked.
"No. The horseman and I first met on the battlefield in 1781. I was gravely injured but I did manage to cut off his head before I lost consciousness. Events transpired that saw him…and me… slumber underground for, a little over two hundred years. Then, three years ago, a demon… one far more powerful than the one you and I defeated the day we met, raised him to ride as one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I and my partner, Lieutenant Grace Abigale Mills, who was also Miss Jenny's sister, served as the two Witnesses, whose sworn duty was, and remains to protect humanity from all manner of supernatural threats and stave off the End of Days so that humanity can endure for as long as possible." Ichabod replied.
"Ok that explains how you're connected to him Crane but what is he, and more importantly what does he want with my daughter?" she asked, turning her head toward Molly, who seemed to be waiting for them to finish their conversation, occupying herself by checking out the books, documents, and artifacts within the Vault. She had her back to them but they could all sense her listening.
"The horseman is Death incarnate. A single minded blaggard who seeks to reap a reign of terror and destruction the likes of which mankind has never before faced. It was Abbie's and my great misfortune to battle him many times. With Abbie gone, a new witness has inherited her legacy. Miss Jenny and I have sought that person since we learned of their existence, and ever since Abbie's death it is more than likely that our enemies have as well." Crane explained. He'd been dreading this conversation. So far it was going fairly well, but this was now the part where he dropped the bombshell he'd been holding back all this time.
"That still doesn't explain what any of this has to do with Molly." Diana insisted, though if she was being honest with herself, a part of her understood where Crane was going with this.
Ichabod took a deep breath and wished more than anything else in that moment that what he was about to say, wasn't true. "Actually Agent Thomas… it very well might. We have reason to believe that Molly is the new Witness we've been searching for."
"Th-that's not possible…" Diana insisted. "How could… she's not even eleven years old!" She shouted.
"Mom, calm down." Molly shouted back, now fully engaged in listening to the conversation. "I think they're right. I mean… I only understand some of what you guys are talking about, but…"
"But what…?" Diana asked. "What is it Molly?"
Molly took off her backpack, reached in, got her sketchbook, and handed it to her mother.
When Diana looked inside, she found numerous drawings of Ichabod Crane, and one of the Horseman they had seen earlier that night. All but the most recent was dated before Molly ever met Crane, even before, as far as she was aware, he'd even been in the city.
"I didn't see those things like I normally do, it was more like they came to me in a dream. I've been having strange dreams for weeks now, ever since I passed out, and they always seem to have Mr. Crane in them." She explained when she saw her mother's shocked expression.
While listening to her daughter, Diana had absentmindedly handed the sketchbook to Crane, who was now looking through it.
"My God…these are…" he began.
"What?" Diana asked sharply.
"What is it Crane?" Jenny asked.
"These drawings… it's as though several of them were drawn from Abbie's perspective. Look…" he said, showing them one that had a long haired version of himself looking up at someone who wasn't in the frame. "This one is from when Abbie and I first met." He told them. Then he turned to a picture Molly had drawn of the horseman. "And here is when the horseman slew her mentor…" Then he turned to a third picture, this one was a forest with four white trees. "This one here, was Abbie's first encounter with supernatural forces." He replied.
"Ok, yeah I…admit that, that is really freaky; but there's still no way it means what you guys think it means…" Diana insisted.
"Doesn't it? Face it Diana, Molly is the next witness. The evidence is right here in front of you, how could it be any clearer?" Jenny asked.
"Ok, considering that you guys have saved my life twice now I thought I owed it to you to hear you out but now I think you guys are both out of your minds…" she replied. Then she turned to her daughter. "Come on Molly, let's go home."
"Mom…"
"Agent Thomas, Miss Jenny and I recognize that there is much to which we are asking you to adjust; but at the very least you must admit that the Horseman, whom you saw with your own eyes is still at large, and believe me, it is Molly he is after." Crane told her. "She will not be safe outside the wards that protect this place until the sun rises. Sunlight, is one of the Horseman's only weaknesses." Crane explained. "I know you mean to protect her. That is our goal as well, and the best way to do that, at this present moment, is for all of us to remain here where our current enemy cannot reach us." Ichabod told her. He spoke slowly, calmly, but firmly.
Diana must understand this… I must make her understand this… Ichabod thought to himself.
"Mom, they're right… we can't go back out there where that thing is…" Molly pleaded with her mother.
"Sweetheart, I will protect you, we will do this ourselves, together, you and me the way it's always been…" She replied.
From the tone in Diana's voice, it was obvious that she was desperate to believe her own words. She didn't want her daughter to be the Witness, she didn't want there to be any supernatural forces at work, and she didn't want to believe that the Horseman was more than she could handle.
"How Mom? That thing was gigantic! It had no head! It's not normal!
Sensing that Diana was still about to run and probably take Molly with her, Ichabod and Jenny moved into position to block the entrance.
"What are you two doing?" Diana asked.
"Keeping you both safe." Ichabod replied calmly.