Episode 28: Part 1
A cold wind blew through the air as a tall hunched figure trudged through the icy streets of the city. The early rays of the dawn sun had not quite peeked over the mountains overlooking Hyperion Falls leaving the nearly empty streets in a state of shadowy twilight. As the figure in a raggedy green cloak continued down the street, it stopped as the headlights of a police patrol car stopped upon it and two policemen stepped out.
"Is everything ok here sir?" the officer asked giving the cloaked man a suspicious frown, "A little unusual to be out this late and in this cold, don't you think?"
The green cloaked figure turned its head slightly to the officer and said in a wheezing voice, "I'm very sorry officer. I just got lost. Do you think you could help me?"
The second officer sighed toward his partner and walked over to the raggedy man, "Relax Frank. It just looks like some old homeless guy. He's not going to hurt anyone."
As the officer touched the raggedy man's arm, the officer froze as ugly dark green boils and blotches began to form upon his skin.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that," the ragged man laughed as the officer gasped and toppled over onto his side.
Immediately, the other officer pulled his pistol and radio, "Dispatch! Call a bus. Officer down! I repeat, officer down!"
Turning to the ragged man, he called, "Put your hands up, right now!"
The figure in green raised a hand and flicked a wrist, causing the second policeman to contract the same dark plague. As the officer instantly collapsed, he looked up in fear as the man in green rags loomed over him, "Who… are you?"
The rag man extended a green boil covered arm and pulled back his hood revealing an even more hideous face grinning down on him, "Remember my face human. For I am Pestilence, and this is only the beginning of your suffering."
"So this is the third time you've had this dream in two weeks?" Claire Li asked as she sat on her bed, hugging her pillow.
Joe restlessly paced around her room and stopped to look out the window. Outside, there had been a light dusting of snow which now reflected the Saturday morning sunlight.
"It's the strangest thing," the Red Ranger sighed continuing to look out the window, "Each time I have the dream, it seems like things become slightly clearer… like I'm getting closer to something. I still can't understand what Archangel Auriel is saying, but I know he's trying to tell me something now… something important."
The White Ranger nodded, "If something is going to happen, maybe he's giving you a vision of the future. Or maybe a clue?"
"Bishop did say that Auriel had a powerful trumpet that he used in battle to make himself stronger," Joe frowned, "But what does that have to do with the mountain, or the snow?"
Claire pursed her lips thoughtfully as she glanced at her Keyrune, "If it's not a prophetic dream, maybe it's symbolic instead?"
The Red Ranger gave a tired sigh and sat back down on the edge of her bed, "Who knows? If it's something this important, you would think that Auriel would have just flat out told me by now."
Claire gave a gentle smile. She knew that Joe was stressed and anxious about these strange visions, but it was only because he cared and felt responsible. She knew he tended to put a lot of pressure on himself and always worried about doing whatever was necessary to protect his team. If that meant acting alone and putting himself at greater risk, then so be it. It was one of the things she loved about him.
Claire moved over to sit beside him and put a gentle hand over his, "Hey, don't worry so much. All of us will help and I promise we'll figure it out. We always do, right?"
The Red Ranger turned and gave a faint smile, "Yeah… thanks Claire."
"Good. I'm glad you came to talk to me about it… though I'm a little surprised you didn't mention it to anyone else yet."
Joe gave a sheepish look and shrugged, "Oh, well… I just felt I could trust you most with something like this, you know?"
Claire raised an eyebrow in amusement, "Really? I thought Danny was our second in command."
"Yeah, but do you think he'd take this half as seriously as he should?" Joe replied with a smile.
"Ok, what about Nick? He's your roommate and best friend here at school."
Again, the Red Ranger laughed, "True, but I figured I'd ask someone who's got a little bit more going on in the brains department."
"Ah, then I'm guessing that rules Izzy out too," Claire added chuckling.
Joe rolled his eyes playfully, "Claire, be nice. Maybe I should go now and ask for her take on this, just to prove you wrong."
Claire gave a surprised look before he gently nudged her shoulder with his to let her know he was joking. For a moment, both Rangers glanced down and realized they had unconsciously begun to hold hands while they were laughing and sitting together. The two looked up to each other in surprise before exchanging another quiet smile.
Moments later, a knock was heard and the door to Claire's room opened slightly causing the two Rangers to split apart, "Claire! Are you in?"
Claire looked up in complete surprise to see her two parents enter the room. Mr. and Mrs. Li were a kindly middle aged couple, both dressed well and both of Chinese American heritage.
"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" Claire gasped, jumping to her feet. "I uh… didn't know you were dropping by campus this weekend."
"We figured we'd just surprise you today dear," Mrs. Li smiled giving her daughter a hug and stroking her hair for a moment, "Besides, there's a nasty bug going around and your father was called in to help care for the patients at the downtown hospital."
While he stood off to the side, Joe remembered Claire saying that Mr. Li was a doctor with a fairly sizeable practice out in the suburbs. The doctor looked about the room to make sure everything was in order before giving an appraising look toward the Red Ranger.
"Claire, isn't it a little early in the morning to be having boys in your room… alone?"
The White Ranger gave a mortified look, "Dad!"
Joe gave a timid smile and held out a hand in greeting, "Um… hello Mr. Li. My name is Joe Hale. It's nice to meet you. I uh… promise I'm just a friend… and um... have nothing but respect for your daughter."
Mr. Li scrutinized him more before breaking out into a friendly laugh and shaking Joe's hand, "Relax son. I'm just pulling your leg. It's nice to meet you too."
Mrs. Li rolled her eyes and sighed as she gave her husband a light slap in the arm, "Harold, behave."
Turning to Joe, Mrs Li smiled and gave a little wink, "It's nice to finally get to meet you too Joe. Claire has actually spoken a lot about you to us."
The Red Ranger gave Mrs. Li a puzzled handshake as Claire gave another outburst, "Mom!"
Mr. Li interrupted and put an arm over his daughter's shoulders with a smile, "Listen Claire, we still have a little time before I have to be at the hospital. Why don't you and your friend join us for brunch?"
"Oh, that's really nice of you to offer Mr. Li," Joe said diplomatically, "But I wouldn't want to impose and cut in on your family time here."
The White Ranger paused a moment in thought before giving her friend a tug on the sleeve, "Nonsense. Grab your coat. We're going to brunch."
Later that day, Mr. Li reentered the emergency ward of the city's central hospital. After having brunch with his family, he had gone to see the first of the new patients and was shocked by the strange unknown epidemic that was spreading quickly around the city. It was like nothing he had ever seen before.
As he made his way from the examination rooms, he was floored by how many people were still waiting to be seen. A growing crowd of patients sat in their seats, groaning and moaning from the mysterious disease plaguing them. All along their skin were ugly blotches of discoloration and infectious looking boils. It was at that moment, Mr. Li wished he hadn't eaten before coming in to work that day.
The doctor turned to one of the nurses and gave a grim expression, "Give the boys down in the lab a call. We're going to be really busy today finding out what the heck this plague is. In the mean time, let's double up on the infection control protocols."
As the nurse left, Mr. Li paused and frowned as he noticed strange behavior from the patients in the waiting room. To his shock, they all froze and went silent for moment before standing up in unison. As the infected people began to shuffle out the door like a crowd of zombies, Mr. Li followed behind trying to call other hospital staff and security to restrain the patients.
To their surprise, the large crowd of infected patients pushed aside all resistance and shuffled out of the hospital into the cold with single purpose. There in the parking lot of the hospital sat the hideous horseman Pestilence, clad in his ragged green cloak.
From where he stood, Mr. Li froze in horror as he witnessed the monster laugh again and begin leading the crowd away toward some other location. Looking about, he saw several other terrified members of the hospital staff staying back, not wanting to get in the way of the monstrous rider.
As a doctor, Mr. Li couldn't let those people go. He had to try and treat their illness and he had to make sure they couldn't run loose to infect others either. Gathering up his courage, he huddled into his white lab coat and left the hospital, determined to try and figure out what was going on.
Meanwhile, Joe and Claire made their way home from the restaurant where they had eaten brunch. As they walked back from the far edge of campus town, Claire gave a content sigh and took in the cold air, enjoying the sight of the gently falling snow now. "You know, it was nice doing this sort of thing together… don't you think?"
"Sure," Joe smiled gently, "I mean, I always have fun hanging out with you… but it was also nice to meet your folks today. They seemed very friendly."
"Well, they seemed to like you too... though I hope they didn't scare you too much telling some of those embarrassing stories about me when I was younger."
The Red Ranger grinned, "Nah. I'm glad. I got to learn about another side of you… one that's a little more silly, and irrational, and expressive than what we're normally used to at school… err, not that I don't like you the way you are now…"
"No, I get it," she said with a reassuring laugh, "I admit, I can still be a little reserved and icy in a way. Maybe that's another reason I have an affinity for the element."
"I don't think you're that cold or icy," Joe said absently, "I know you're kind, and caring, and fun, and it reflects from your dad. He wouldn't be a doctor if he didn't genuinely care about others, right?"
Claire smiled, "Well… to be honest, he's the reason I want to go to med school and be a doctor too. I've always looked up to my dad and want to make him proud by being just like him."
Joe smiled and stopped, putting his hands on her shoulders, "That's really noble of you Claire, but remember to not be too much like him. You have lots of other great qualities to bring to your future patients, ones that are unique only to you."
The two stood for another moment sharing a lingering smile before their phones went off. Claire sighed and silently cursed as the moment was ruined, but she knew if Ranger duty called, it always took priority. Already, she felt her stomach drop as Joe hung up and turned to her with a grave expression. "That was Dan. We've got trouble downtown near the central city hospital. Let's get going."
Dr. Li ducked through the side streets and alleys following the crowd of infected people who were now causing chaos and fear through downtown Hyperion Falls. While the patients and infected citizenry shambled along, they didn't move to harm others or cause wanton vandalism.
Instead, they moved like a mindless growing wave of zombies following behind the ghastly green clad Horseman at their head. Here and there, Pestilence waved his hands, spreading infections and plague to terrified civilians trying to escape the streets.
As Pestilence rode through the streets, he stopped as he came across a young woman in the street struggling to rise. The heel on her shoe had broken and she twisted her ankle while trying desperately to escape in the rush. The green Horseman sneered and slowly raised his hand to curse her when Mr. Li rushed in and stood in the way.
"Stop right there!" the doctor called out defiantly knowing he couldn't just sit back and watch any longer, "I won't let you harm any more people!"
Pestilence reared up for a moment and sneered in amusement, "Ah! I remember seeing you back at the hospital. Are you that desperate to sacrifice yourself so others may live? Physician, heal thyself!"
As Pestilence used his dark magic, Mr. Li staggered as he felt himself suddenly become weakened and infected with the debilitating plague. Pestilence laughed again, watching the doctor crumple to his knees in agony before a volley of golden blaster shots rained down from above, striking the ground around the Horseman.
Pestilence reared back and snarled as the morphed Red and White Vanguard Rangers descended from the skies onto the battlefield.
"End of the line Horseman!" the Red Ranger called drawing his gladius while trying to swallow his own dread and buy time until the others arrived.
Pestilence laughed scornfully, "I heard that you Rangers slew my brother Famine, but do you really think that only two of you will be able to stop the spread of my Pestilence?"
The Horseman gestured to the crowd of infected thralls behind him, "Look around you Rangers. All these weak humans' bodies and minds now belong to me."
Claire turned her head for a moment and caught sight of her father lying in the street, writhing in delirious pain from the boils and plague infecting him. She immediately broke away and rushed to his side beginning to cry in hysterics, "No! Dad! Stay with me. You have to fight!"
"Claire!" Joe shouted forcefully trying to recall the White Ranger to battle. She didn't seem to hear him and instead remained kneeling and pleading at her father's side. Turning back to the Horseman, he gripped his sword tightly and growled.
"It's no use Ranger," Pestilence chortled raising his weapon, a green glowing mace, "Now, die for me!"
The Horseman whipped his mace around, throwing green poison bolts forward but the Red Ranger tumbled through the blast and locked his Keyrune into his gladius, summoning his saber sword.
Pestilence growled and brought his free hand around, firing a billowing cloud of toxic gases and poisonous smog toward Claire and her prone father. As Joe twirled his blade and ignited it, he moved to block the attack and saw the light of his Keyrune suddenly grow brighter while the flame of the blade intensified.
With no time to think about the mysterious event, he countered the stream of poison fumes with a blazing slash and ignited the gases into a volatile stream of fire. To his surprise, the combusting toxic spray surged back toward the Horseman and exploded on him in a fiery cloud.
"All right! Score one for the good guys!" Joe cheered in relief as he saw the other 4 Rangers arrive and drop down from the skies.
Pestilence growled and brushed off the flames that momentarily engulfed him. Glancing at the panicked White Ranger, the Horseman turned away, "We'll finish this later."
Before the other Rangers could attack or give chase, the mind controlled people infected by the plague formed a literal human wall to cover the Horseman's escape. To the Rangers' frustration, Pestilence lost himself in the sea of people and galloped off. Only when he was gone did the monster's aura disappear and the victims collapsed to the street in agony.
"Wow... what the hell is going on here?" Danny asked in astonishment while surveying the epidemic before him.
"Long story," Joe sighed lowering his sword and looking back toward Claire. By now, the White Ranger had pulled her Keyrune and was desperately trying to use healing magic to temporarily ease her father's suffering.
Turning back to the others, he could hear the sirens of ambulances approaching, "Come on Rangers. Let's get to work helping these people out. We're going to have our hands full today."
