In a cold bathroom illuminated by the night-light coming through its sole window, Kody splashed a handful of cold water on his face. He scrubbed his forehead fiercely, trying to get rid of the glowing red eye on it. But it didn't disappear.
He let out frustrated groans.
Kody clawed at his forehead, and it didn't take long before drops of blood began falling to the ground.
It had hardly been a month since he turned sixteen. His marriage to Amelia had just started coming to fruition. When his life was finally getting good, this had to happen.
He looked at the mark whose glow seemed to mock him, his fists clenched.
The mark on his head was the symbol of the Horsemen: One of the Seven Pillars of humanity.
If it had been any other Pillar he wouldn't be so devastated. The Horsemen, however, were known for having an insanely low survival rate—one in a thousand. That was basically a death sentence.
His weak bones only made his certain death all the more inevitable.
He couldn't accept it. His eyes went to the pocket knife on the sink. He picked it up.
Perhaps, I can carve it out.
But his shaky hand couldn't gather the confidence needed to do that. The knife fell out of his hand as he slumped to the floor.
I'm going to die.
Something about that thought felt comical to him. A giggle found its way out, through the tears.
The more he thought about it, the funnier it sounded and he soon started laughing. A lifeless, sorrowful laugh.
In the middle of the night, Kody sat on his bathroom floor with a bloodied forehead and tears streaming down his face as he laughed.
Before long he had fallen asleep on the cold marble floor.
Kody woke up on the bathroom floor. He didn't bother to check the mirror; he knew the mark was still there. He didn't sulk. He washed himself and wrapped his head in a bandage.
He looked at his watch. It read 7:18. Kody let out a sigh.
I don't know how long I got. But, it won't be long before they come for me.
He didn't plan on telling his parents. He just wanted to spend some happy time with everyone before he was bundled away.
He looked in the mirror and formed the best smile he could manage.
His fist clenched as reality hit him once again, his eyes blurred and his smile cracked. A voice called for him, bringing him out of thought.
He placed his hands on the doorknob, fixed his expression, and walked out of the room. Their family had some connections with the district count so they were well off. Kody lived in a duplex with his parents.
Entering the dining room on the ground floor, he found his parents having a hearty meal. His mother was a woman in her mid-thirties. She had long black hair, an elegant demeanor, and pale blue eyes.
There was a chair for him. He walked towards it.
"What happened to your head Kody, are you okay?" his mother asked with concern.
"Just a small fall Mom. It's nothing major," he replied with a smile.
"That doesn't look 'small.' I can call the doctor—" "Don't worry about it. I'm fine mum," he interjected.
His mother was about to retort when his father said, "he's a man now Carl. He can make decisions by himself. If he says he's fine, I'm sure he's fine. "
The topic of Kody's bandaged forehead died there.
Kody made up his mind to enjoy the meal as much as possible but fate wouldn't let that happen. A knock rang on their front door and Kody immediately knew who it was. They were here to take him away.
His heart raced as he stood up and said, "I'll go get the door."
Every step he took towards the door felt like a lifetime. When he finally got there he looked through the peephole and to his relief, he found Amelia standing outside.
He let out a sigh as his heart rate went back to normal. With a click, he opened the door. She was wearing a blue silk dress and her fair skin glowed in the light. Her light brown hair, tied into a ponytail, complemented her dark brown eyes.
He didn't let her in, but stepped out of the house.
"Hey Kody," she said. "How you doing?"
Kody didn't respond. His gaze stayed solemn as if he were preparing himself.
"What happened to you?" She asked with concern pointing at his bandaged forehead.
He still didn't say anything. But his hand reached for the bandage and he skillfully unwrapped it. There were more than a few scratch marks, but the most noticeable was the glowing crimson eye.
"What's that?" She asked. Before she could say anything else it clicked.
Her hands covered her mouth as she stepped back. "Don't… don't tell me, you got marked, Kody," she said. Kody remained silent, his gaze on the floor. She needed time to register the situation.
"How…how did this happen," she said frantically after a moment. "You need to hide, maybe it will go away."
She paced around with her hands on her head. "Amelia it's not going—"
"You're going to die if they find you," she said cutting him off.
"If I run, I'll only put you guys in trouble," he replied with a devastated sigh. "Besides, they will end up finding me, they always do."
There was a silence that not even the chirping birds could break.
"So what do you plan on doing?" she said, her tone solemn.
Kody looked at the sunless sky, and replied, "I… don't know,"
"Do they know?" She asked, gesturing towards the house.
"I couldn't bring myself to tell them," he said. "They wouldn't be able to take it in."
Then out of the blue Amelia embraced, and said, "At least, you're still here. That's all that matters." Kody returned the embrace and in a muffled voice muttered, "Yeah." He could hear the tears in her voice and feel them through his clothes.
"Your food's getting cold!" His mom called from inside the house.
"I'm coming," he responded in the most normal voice he could muster.
"Let's go in," he said to Amelia as he wrapped the bandage around his head.
She just nodded as he held her hand and they both went into the house.
"I was wondering what was taking you so long," his mom said. Amelia exchanged pleasantries with her and Kody's Dad.
"You remind us of our old selves, acting all lovey dovey," his dad said with a laugh. Amelia was still holding onto Kody with her face away from his parents.
If this had been any other day, Kody would have blushed. But it wasn't. He just smiled.
"Have your seat," his mother said. "I'll get you something to eat."
"Thank you." Amelia's voice was cracked but luckily no one noticed.
His mother exited the scene and went into the kitchen. They finally parted, sitting on separate seats.
"So…" his father started. "When do you two plan on—"
A loud knock on the door interrupted his speech midway. Kody's heart sank. His luck had run out. Amelia grabbed onto his sleeves very tightly and looked at him as tears formed in her eyes.
"I'll go get it," Kody said.
To Amelia, that was a death sentence. Her grip tightened, but Kody just looked at her and in his eyes, she saw something, perhaps it was acceptance; perhaps it was something else.
Her grip slowly released and Kody went towards the door. As he walked away, his figure seemed to fade away to Amelia.
Kody looked through the peephole, and to his dismay, there were three men outside.
Two of them wore formal suits, each with a firearm in their gun pocket. Their suits had the emblem of the city's council on their left breast. The one on the left was operating a compass-like machine. He had curly brown hair and kept glancing between the machine and the house.
The one on the right had short black hair. His hand, covered by a black glove, was placed on his firearm, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice.
At their center was a middle-aged man who looked odd amongst the group. He wore a cloak with its hood down. He had blonde hair. And on his face was a scar that ran across his left eye which was a lighter shade of green than his right eye.
Kody's hands were shaking, no matter how he had prepared himself he still couldn't do it. To his surprise though, the door—which had been locked—opened by itself.
And he was face-to-face with the three men. The man in the middle had an exaggerated smile slowly emerge on his face making him look vicious, like a hunter staring at his prey.
"Hey," the cloaked man said in a calm tone.
Kody's father noticed the men and was already coming over.
Kody just kept staring at the man in a cloak as if looking away would allow the man to pounce on him.
"To what do I owe your presence, gentlemen?" Kody's father said in a formal voice.
The man on the right stepped forward. "Not you, Sir Rugard," he said. "Him." He pointed at Kody whose eyes were still locked on the odd man. Their staring contest was interrupted by his words. Kody turned to him.
"You have business with my son?" Rugard asked, his eyes squinting.
"We bring only good news to you, Rugard." This time it was the one in the middle who spoke.
"I am Tolkien, one of the three official Horsemen of this city."
Rugard squinted his eyes. Horsemen never brought good news, everyone knew that.
Tolkien continued, "Fate has bestowed your son with the opportunity to become a horseman and I'm here to take him in so his training—"
"Nonsense," Rugard said. "My son is a scholar. He has never even attended a cleansing in his life. He has nothing to do with the likes of you."
This time, Tolkien laughed. "Well, you see Mr Rugard, fate sometimes bestows the most undeserving of us with the most wonderful opportunities.
"Your boy has gained the mark, and therefore he must become a horseman. Besides, this is quite an opportunity for the young man, you should be happy."
"I don't know what nonsense you're spouting, but my son doesn't have any stupid mark. You can be on your way, we have nothing to give you." His father was about to slam the door when Tolkien said to Kody, "Show him."
Rugard looked at Kody and asked, "Show me what?"
Kody knew this wasn't going to end well if he didn't step up, so with a deep breath, he steeled his resolve and unwrapped the bandage around his head.
The silence was choking as everyone stared at Kody whose hands were moving with an unstable rhythm. When the mark was revealed, the silence still wasn't broken, but Rugard's breathing grew more unstable.
"Kody," he whispered. "What's that?"
Kody didn't reply, his grey eyes just stayed glued to the floor.
"It isn't real, right?"
No reply.
"How is this possible, you haven't been cleaned, this shouldn't be possible."
The trio, however, just stood there as if they had done this a million times.
Tolkien, still wearing a creepy smile, said, "You should be rejoicing. This is a gift bestowed by Lady Fate herself."
"Shut up!" Rugard retorted with his hands on his temples.
"What's going on," Kody's mother said, entering the scene.
"They wanna take our son away." He pointed at the trio.
"Who are you people?" His mother asked them. Her eyes filled with caution as she stared at them.
"I am Tolkien, A horseman. And I've come to take your son, so his training can begin."
"What type of nonsense are you spouting," she said. "My son is not—" Her words got stuck in her throat when she saw the mark on Kody's head. She stammered but no words came forth.
"I don't have much time, so I'll be on my way. I'm sure your son will survive." He turned to Kody and said, "Come boy."
But Kody didn't move, he just stared at his mother who covered her mouth as tears formed in her eyes. Tears threatened to fall from his own eyes, but he brutally pushed down the urge.
His father who had been pacing around walked to him and whispered into his ear, "Stay calm Kody, the Mayor owes me a favor. I'll get you out, no matter the cost. Just manage a few days. You're a man, I know you can do it." He patted Kody's shoulder and went to the telephone to make a phone call.
There's still hope, Kody thought. As he walked out the door, and followed the three men. His mother had crumbled to the floor crying, but she didn't say anything, she just watched him walk out.
He looked back and through the open door he saw his mother on the floor—Amelia was comforting her. They were both staring at him so he flashed a wide smile and mouthed, "I'll be back."