I paced the floor with my hands clasped behind my back the whole hour. While the boys left in excitement, the party literally died the moment they were gone. None of the girls left either if only to stay behind for my sake. Evie and Uma anxiously watched me pace all around the room, not saying a word and mulling to myself. By midnight, my nerves were cracking. And yes, I completely forgot about my promise to Daddy; that wasn't even on my radar at the moment.
"Too long….. They've been gone too long," I heard my voice for the first time in the hour. Everyone peered over at me. "There really is a Headless Horseman, isn't there Mal?" Evie's tone was peppered with worry. Hearing her say his name out loud set me over the edge. All their eyes grew as I suddenly turned around and headed for the warehouse door.
"Mal, wait!" Uma made a mad dash to catch hold of my arm. "Something's wrong. They should've been back by now," I exclaimed. "You shouldn't go looking for them. What if something happens to you too?" "I have to go. They might need me," I stayed resolute. Uma's grip on my arm tightened. "You seriously can't go in that forest alone." I locked eyes with her- mine glistening with sincerity. "I have to. My future husband's life may be on the line," and with that I tore my arm away from her and ran out the door and down the street.
I wasn't really scared, though I'm not sure if that was the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I reached the entrance to the forest within five minutes and man, was it uninviting. I'd been in it several times before but never this late at night. My feet stalled at the front end as I listened for any noise coming from inside. Nothing. I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. With a deep, deep inhale, I forced myself to step through the dark threshold. It was even creepier inside, which wasn't surprising at all.
"Well, no sign of a Headless Horseman yet," I spoke aloud to break the eerie silence. Toads cricketing and owls hooting only made things worse; I soon missed the imposing stillness. The further in I got, the more sounds permeated the air in between the trees. The howling wind, the sound of branches hitting tree trunks, and crows crackling. Every small scary detail became more potent to me. Lots of noise but no sounds of the boys or the horseman yet. Just how far did they go into the woods?
I climbed through this patch of trees; any semblance of a path had disappeared some ways back. Through the thicket I went, and when I came through the other side, I immediately spotted a considerable figure laying some ways in the distance. It clearly wasn't human- including a headless one- but I couldn't make out what it was. Or at least it started to move, acting as if I accidently woke it up. My heart skipped a beat and instantly calmed down a bit when it approached where I was standing.
"Oh, Shere Khan- thank goodness, it's you." "Well, Mal. This is a surprise," the regal tiger greeted me in that sophisticated tone of his. "Sorry; I didn't mean to wake you up just there." "Think nothing of it. But tell me, dear child; what could you possibly be doing out in the woods at this time of night? Not running away from home, I hope." "I'm looking for someone. You haven't seen any of the VK boys tonight, have you?" "Mmmmm, you're the first human I've seen. Why? What are they doing out here?" "They're uh, looking for the Headless Horseman," I replied meekly, embarrassed on their behalf. Shere Khan looked taken aback. "The Headless Horseman? Why would they do that?" "They're boys and they're stupid and they may need my help. I need to find them before the horse guy does." The tiger watched me for a second before yawning and stretching. Then he came up beside me.
"And you think you're going to find them alone by yourself?" Shere Khan grinned. "Well, now that I've found you….." I also smiled. The tiger turned his back to me, glancing at me from over his shoulder. "Hop on." He didn't need to tell me twice. I can't believe this is the same cat who tried to kill Mowgli; but he had every right to fear man's gun and fire if you ask me. He was almost shot by Gaston, for crying out loud. Shere Khan wasn't bad; just misunderstood.
I hopped on top of his back and we took off like a shot. Shere Khan's fur was a lot coarser than I'm imagined, like really rough hair. But he could run really fast. It made me wonder if a tiger could outrun a horse- even a dead horse. Something which might be useful to know later.
He ran off and on again, pausing every so often to sniff the air. Then he'd take off again. About ten minutes later, after repeating the pattern several times, we wound up in this open patch clear of trees. It was small but big enough to be distinct. Shere Khan stopped at the entrance to the clearing and I scanned the interior. My heart leapt to my throat in joy at the sight of all the boys on the opposite side- safe and more importantly, alive. All of them. Unlike me who had been freaked out of my wits, they were laughing and bolstering and looking like they were having a grand old time. Shere Khan didn't say anything as I jumped off his back and scrambled my way over to them. Boy, did they looked shocked to see me there; Harry and Jay were in the middle of playfully shoving each other's shoulders when all heads suddenly turned in my direction. All their smiles instantly faded.
"Mal?!" Harry's eyes were huge. "Thank god! You're all alright! Come on; we need to get out here now!" I ran up to stand in front of Harry, holding my arms out imploringly to all of them. My beloved's expression went from shocked, to confused, to enraged in a matter of seconds. I'd never seen him so angry before. "I told you to stay put!"
That was all he had time to say. All of us froze at the sudden and horrific echo of the most insidious laugher filling up the clearing. Our heads dashed to the side to find the terrifying sight of this headless rider at the other end. His ghostly black horse bucked and his long deep crimson cape swayed out behind him. The man wore a full black suit, covering him from finger to toe. In one hand was a long sharp sword and in the other a flaming pumpkin. Harry's first instinct was to grab me and pull me into his arms, which mine immediately wrapped around him. We all stared with the widest, more terrified of eyes at the mind-numbingly frightening figure in front of us.
The Headless Horseman!