One thing I may have forgotten to mention; the Horsemen and I are our most advantageous when we aren't around anyone and can use our powers freely without harming people. Unfortunately, Aaron and those (I can already tell they're all assholes) Gravedusters have made it especially sure that we are not going to be fighting them on an even playing field. The Horsemen do not play with the lives of innocents, but it seems like these people would rather kill us brutally and publically than discretely, with or without killing hundreds of innocent people along the way.
Oh, and you just figured out my name last chapter, huh? Andrew: that was my name that I was going to reveal when something special or significant was going to happen. Aaron, however, sought to spoil the surprise. Fuck him. He thinks he can underestimate us? Give us some time, and I have some tricks up my sleeve for them. But first, we must not be afraid to get our hands dirty playing innocent; at least, in the eyes of bystanders.
The classes were predictable, except with the Gravedusters sitting behind us and trying to harass us by throwing an assortment of shit (pens, pencils, erasers, spitballs, hell even nail clippings) at us. They take great fun in provoking us, knowing that if we draw attention to ourselves, the Viceroy can get a little suspicious. Then it will be over, as the Businessman and the Viceroy are not necessarily type of supporters. Any trouble we bring will cause the Viceroy to throw us out, whatever it may be.
You're probably thinking that Famine could've used his dead vine ability to hang these guys upside down by their pants, strip them naked, and drag them around the school and embarrass them. But the Viceroy is not someone I want to piss off, certainly not when I need this schooling, and the Horsemen have all agreed to not do anything to antagonize too severely. Great, basically this is an internment period for us and we're going to have to suffer through it for an indeterminate amount of time before I figure out how to kill them brutally. Sorry, inner psychopathic moment there. I'm going to skin that traitorous bastard.
Setting: As of that moment, we're sitting at lunch. Those assholes are sitting a couple tables behind us, laughing about whatever shit they might be planning against us. God, I want to just pull out the Sig Sauer that Death cloaked and just unload into all of them while they're still depowered.
Death thinking: Andrew, please don't fall victim to such violent thoughts. We have to maintain a cool head so we can beat them.
Me: You're right. But I can't shake the feeling that unlike you guys, this guy was my best friend from my childhood. I hate this fucker with all my being.
Death grabs my arm and squeezes tightly. She gives me a look of sternness and caring and begs me not to do anything yet. I could hear those fuckers howl behind me, probably thinking of how they could twist the knife between me and Death.
After lunch, we head to our last class and sit through a boring ass lecture about how relevant Statistics is to our daily lives; all the while being pelted by invisible pencils and erasers. We head to our lockers, quickly group up, and start to walk home as fast as possible. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a route to shake them and they materialized behind us instantly.
Shaunnad: You know, for the current incarnation of Death, you really have done a terrible job at fitting in with people. Not being able to make friends until you came across Andrew here? I bet he must be some kind of boyfriend of yours; perhaps you two are very close? Honestly, if it weren't for the fact we have to kill you, I would probably try going out with him. In fact, I would probably be the dominant one in this relationship. He'd be my bitch, just like your sister. (Death gets REALLY pissed at this)Wouldn't be the first time I'll get to break someone's body while making you watch.
Every fiber in Death's body screamed out a nerve signal of completely pissed off, but I squeeze her arm firmly. Don't respond Death, like you said to me, I'll say the same to you.
Karsnip: For the incarnation of War, you really are just a little pussy. You didn't have the balls to defend your family, so you hid under their while they got stabbed defending you. And you didn't even have the mind to kill Conquest, what a fucking shame. You really are far more dickless than I could ever think of you.
Jaundice: Another one of your pathetic strategies that failed. I'd say we currently have a 55% chance of victory over you, wouldn't you agree "Khan?" Wait, I shouldn't take your word for it considering you've proven to be quite unreliable in ensuring the safety of your friends.
Alistair: How pathetic, a Horseman who may actually be dickless. Never mind War Karsnip, but Sarvty may actually have no balls. Couldn't even stand up to his father, couldn't even stand up to me, and couldn't even protect that baby. You remember, don't you, how I stomped that old man's head in and let that baby burn? I think it proved quite toasty for us guards, and we got to prove once again that the weak cannot afford to survive. Which makes me wonder why you still choose to live? To resolve your sins, I presume? You still can't resolve shit with those habits of yours.
At any other moment, I think I would've removed Restriction Power Seal 5 and let them loose. But we reached our house side door and we walked in. They stand outside the driveway, just next to my mailbox, being that I have grounds to shoot on site as permission was granted by the Businessman. They left, knowing that they pissed us off. But I figured out their strategy; to fuck me up. It's an added bonus that all of them are from the Horsemen's pasts, but they want to fuck up my life. If I get fucked up, the Horsemen lose sight of their goal, and we'll get put on the defensive. Then it'll be over; the Trigger will find the Rainfall Testament, the Gravedusters will kill the Trigger, and they'll be in control to do whatever the fuck they want with the weapon.
Me: I know y'all want to smash everything in the kitchen and create giant holes everywhere, but think about what we discussed during lunch, and what you all just figured out. Now that we know that the goal of the Gravedusters is to fuck up my life in order to find the Trigger and obtain the Rainfall Testament, we have to make sure we don't get isolated from each other.
Conquest: Yes, if we assume correctly that their position is the separation of the Agnum from the Horsemen protecting him, and that they wished to avoid a direct confrontation as Jaundice probably deduced that we had a better chance at winning; we can presume that what they wish for is the separation of the group. They are going to try and break us by isolating us from each other; whether it's socially, academically, or outside of class, there is a roughly 33% chance for each of them happening.
Famine: What about the last 1%?
War: I would assume the last 1% is Conquest being entirely wrong and that they try to attack us while we're sitting at home is that correct? Would it be wrong to postulate that based on their confidence in antagonizing us, it would be entirely possible that they could try killing us at any moment and only fail to do so because they take special interest in torturing us?
Conquest: Yes War, that is very intuitive. War brings up an excellent point. If there is a chance that they already have a plan other than isolating us down the middle, and instead about attacking us while we're at our strongest, we can safely assume that these enemies already have a plan in motion.
Famine: So in the end, we're fucked. We're fucked because they could either divide and conquer or hit us at our strongest, and we have no idea which it's going to be.
At that moment, a very weird and possibly incredibly stupid idea came into my head, something that anyone would find completely out of character and strange. But fuck it; I've had 4 Horsemen come into my life and this entire Christian symbolism crap throw itself at me without the existence of a God. My life didn't make sense then, and it sure as hell won't make sense now. Best do something nonsensical. Wait, that's how we'll win, but I won't share that right now.
Me: I have a proposition. We'll all sleep together in the same room.
Due to the mental connection I have with the rest of the Horsemen, I could instantly feel Death light up with joy. The rest of the Horsemen are ambivalent to this, and go to get some spare sleeping bags from the closet.
The purpose of the dumbfuck strange plan was to make us bond together quicker. See, if you throw a bunch of humans in an arena of death and force them to work together other, they will adapt quickly. Well, the arena is my bedroom and the arena of death is owned by the Gravedusters. My idea is that if we all are uncomfortable as fuck in the same rooms as each other, we'll have to do something to normalize ourselves with each other right? This will force us to talk with each other, open up more about our strengths and weaknesses, and then we can think of better ways to strategize against the Gravedusters.
Famine and Conquest slept on the floor in sleeping bags, while War leaned against the wall, not being able to find a big enough sleeping bag.
Death insisted in sleeping in the same bed as mine. I'm starting to think my idea wasn't necessarily the most thought out one, as I assumed that intimate privacy was an untouchable boundary. Well, it won't be as uncomfortable as my planned trip to see the Gatekeeper tomorrow. I haven't told them yet, as they would likely try to object.
Death: Hey Andrew, thanks for holding me back there. I honestly don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been there to help me. Hell, I don't know what I would do without you. (Look, this line seems fairly cliché, but it's only cliché if you don't know how to explain it. Watch and learn people, I'm about to take this cliché apart.)
Me: And you did great as well. Actually before we fall asleep, I have to ask: I need some further elaboration on the nature of my importance to you. Good god, I know I'm speaking like Conquest here, but I need to know specifically why you find me so important and why you care so much about me.
Death: About time you asked, Andrew. Remember how I told you that I never was able to fit into any group prior to me meeting you?
Me: Yes, I remember.
She looks straight into my eyes, that piercing look of hers seeming as if she's about to shoot heat rays straight to the back of my eye socket.
Death: I'm not going to go into specifics, as that's not the point here. The point is I deeply care about you because you are the first person besides my parents and my sister that cared about me at all. See, my foray was a Horseman was unable to do anything to save my sister. I discovered she was killed by Shaunnad when I left to become a Horseman, secretly killed by hidden dynamite in a boat as she was traveling downriver. All that was left was me and my role as a Horseman.
Death: Then I met you. Before we got to the homeroom, I considered you to be nothing more than a brat that we had to escort and protect. Your grades were certainly reflective of your lack of drive to succeed in life. I give everyone the same customary smile. But something was different about you compared to the other Horsemen and Agnums I interacted with. You were the first person that truly treated me as a person.
Death: Before, I could never truly feel as if I belonged. The Horsemen I encountered laughed at the same jokes, but every time I joined along it would turn towards awkward silence. It takes a toll on a person, being subjected to the same damn thing year after year. It turned me into a machine, just going through the motions of the role until the next batch of Horsemen came, and then it was back to the same old thing again.
Death: But you though, at lunchtime, during class, even at home, you made me feel as if I was human again. You laughed at my jokes, conversed with me equally along with the others, and never failed to include us in activities. Even that stupid arts and crafts competition between homerooms we failed hilariously at.
Me: Yeah I remember that. You tried to create the Eiffel Tower out of toothpicks and ended up collapsing every time we almost got to put the last one on. You were so damn frustrated.
Death: I was and still am. You invited me to join, you know? I never got invited to anything with the rest of the Horsemen or the Agnums. Usually, I asked and they declined, saying I was needed on guard and out of sight. So when you gave me an invitation that you couldn't give less of a shit about, only for the purpose of making sure we didn't feel excluded, I wanted to kiss you out of joy. You took care to ask us and invite us to every event we've had so far. I can't put into words the proper gratitude I need to thank you for this. You made me feel alive again. So, I was thinking I could give something a little more obvious.
Yeah, the other Horsemen aren't oblivious. They sprinted out of the room very quickly. You can all guess what's about to happen.
Death plants a warm and passionate kiss on my lips. Full of gratitude and happiness, she finally did what she must've longed to do in her heart; repay the person that made her feel like a human being again. I could feel years of sorrow and anguish flood out as she gave me the one thanks she could give to me.
The kiss lasted a whole minute, and yet I didn't dare break free to catch my breath. I pulled her closer towards me, and we agreed that we would try our best to help each other defeat what came between us. Not only have I made Death feel alive again, but I may have begun to finally find some determination to make myself feel alive as well. We slept soundly, two flawed people finding solace in the presence of the other.