Welcome to another TwitterTales. The rules are simple. I post a short tale with parts from it every Thursday and Friday for a whole month. This is December 2018:
The sound of hoofbeats echoed in the field, coming from behind me. I turned to find nothing there, no rider, no horse. I must be hearing things.
My car had broken down, and I was in the middle of nowhere with zippo cell reception. At least the moon gave off some light. The next town was only a mile or two away. I could walk there.
Hooves pounded the frozen ground. They were getting closer. I ran until I hit the edge of a line of trees. Something had to be after me.
My heart pounded, and I bent over to catch my breath. The dense foliage would be hard for any animal to travel fast in especially a horse. I could rest for a minute and continue without worrying if the beast was following me.
A neigh filled the air. My eyes grew larger, and I turned around. A jet-black horse stood at the edge of the forest. Smoke billowed from its nostrils, and the eyes were the color of blood. The rider was a shadow.
“Run,” my mind yelled. “Run.”
My thoughts took a second to seep into my brain. After it did, I stumbled and took off, running at full speed. I step sided the trees in my path and jumped over a fallen log. The horse couldn't follow me in here, right?
Nothing was behind me. I was safe. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. The horse and the thing it carried wasn't following me.
I turned around. The horse was there, and the rider reached for me.
"Your turn," it said.
"No way," I said. I scurried away, running blindly. I needed to hide. But where? Flowing water roared nearby. If I could get there, I could swim. I would escape. I ran until the clearing.
"Your turn," the rider said behind me. It pulled me onto the horse's back. The rider climbed off the horse, and his body transformed into a man.
My body turned into a shadow.
"Your turn," he said before flames consumed him.
I knew. I needed to turn 1000 bad souls into riders for the rape I did. The next car had one.
I so wanted to do more with this one, but ran out of words. After the tale is done, I always share a peek of next months:
"You need to leave. I'll stay behind and work the lighthouse," Merv said.
"But the storm," his boss said. The sky darkened and the ocean churned. If the boat didn't leave soon, those on there wouldn't get out alive.
"Don't worry. I got this."
To read the rest of the lighthouse tale search for #TwitterTales and @kamengauthor on Twitter. You can also find more tales from other writers by searching #TwitterTales.
Thanks for stopping by. -K.A.