“3…2…1… GO!” The riders took off.
I was happily performing in the city’s first horse racing tournament. It was a warm day. The clouds were floating in the sky, creating interesting images that gathered the attention of the young ones. The horses galloped on the dirt, creating clopping sounds that raced through the racer’s ears. The stands were full of friends and family cheering me on, holding up signs and banners with my name on it. There were other racers too, 7 others to be exact. Though, they weren’t getting as much attention as I was. I may have felt bad for them, but I loved the attention that was spiralling towards me as I charged through the wind.
The finish line approached as the horses cut the corner of the racing track. It was intense. I slapped the side of my horse, trying to get maximum speed. The others did the same, gaining on me as the horse and I sprinted over the checkered line. The crows jumped out of their seats cheering, yelling my name, “ALEX! ALEX!”
The other racers passed the finish line. The third place finisher hopped off of her horse at maximum excitement. She seemed happy with her bronze medal. Though the second place finisher… not so much. He ripped off his helmet and threw it at the ground. It rolled around in the shattered glass of its own visor. I patted my horse on the side as I lead over to my family, “Alex!” my mother screamed as she ran over to me, more excited than I was, “Congratulations!”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said giving her a hug.
“Good job to you, Ace,” she said patting my horse on the forehead.
Ace is short for my horse’s full name, Ace of Spades. It comes from the single black spot in the jungle of whiteness that is Ace.
The horses cleared off the track and galloped into the center of the arena where they stayed leashed to posts, neighing away like you wouldn’t believe, running around the posts until the leashes got short enough that the horses bonked right into the post, spreading laughter throughout the stands. The horses were fine, just confused about how the leashes got magically shorter.
I was escorted to the top of the podium, alongside the 3rd place hottie and the 2nd place rage-monster. The cheerleaders happily placed the medals around our necks, dangling away in the daylight. The crowd cheered and the racers who placed 4th through 8th stood alongside the podium clapping. This was a magnificent day.
Once I got home, my parents made a celebration pumpkin pie just for me and cake for the whole family to enjoy. My mother engraved the number 1 in the cake and server it to the family. My relatives eventually showed up to join in on the celebration.
At 8:00, everyone left and I went out for my after-dark stroll. Ace was in his stall in the barn behind my house, eating away at the hay bales and apples we gave him after the race which I guess count as his “celebration pie and cake” but more suited to his liking.
It was less warm outside now. The moon was starting to rise, as the sun started to set. The streetlights flickered on and the house windows became dimmer as the children crawled into bed. I walked along the sidewalk, down the street I called home. All was great. I loved the sound of silence. Though I adored the sound of people screaming my name in the background of wind racing through my ears and the clopping of horse hooved more, silence was definitely second on my rankings. Not to mention it was more pleasant than any other second place finishers I’ve had to deal with.
I walked past the streetlight in front of my neighbour’s house as they turned out the lights. The enjoyable walk suddenly changed, but somewhat to my liking. An arrow whizzed past my head and stuck into the lamppost. CLUNK! It had a small piece of paper wrapped around it. I slowly removed from the arrow, spiralling it around and around until it finally came off. I opened it and read aloud, “Good ga-“ I got cut off, though I assume you know how the sentence ended.
“Hi!” the third place girl said as she hopped in front of me, holding a bow along with a quiver wrapped around her back.
“Hey…”
“You did well at the race today. You should be honored,” she said as she smiled.
“Why, ‘cause it was the first horse race, or am I missing something here?”
She grabbed my arm and spun me around, staring me dead in the eyes. She was shorter than me by 4 inches at least, though I still felt intimidated for some reason, “You were the first person to ever beat me in anything. You think I was smiling about my 3rd place finish because I was proud of myself? No. I was proud to see that I had an actual competitor in my life. Until now, life has been too easy and too boring,” she said as she punted a rock across the street.
“I’m confused right now. You always seemed to be happy when you won other stuff, like the archery competition last month and the swimming competition the month before. So what you’re saying is, though you are a complete and total boss and can beat anyone in anything, you are happier when you lose, then when you win?”
“That is EXACTLY what I’m saying,” she said. Weird, I thought, “So, what are you doing out here?”
“Just taking a stroll,”
“Do you always wield a bow and a quiver when you take your strolls?” I asked as I gestured towards her equipment,
“Fine, you caught me. I always see you walking around at this time, and I never got to talk to you after the race. It felt like a good time to congratulate you on winning.”
“Ah… okay. We haven’t properly introduced each other. I know they said your name when they gave your bronze medal, though I was kind of distracted by all my fans,” I said, smiling.
“Ha-ha, very funny. My name’s Judith, and my horse’s name is Quicksilver, ‘cause I assume you didn’t hear that either,” she said as she nudged my shoulder.
I smiled and responded, “I’m Al-“ I got cut off again, “The hell was that?”
I heard the sound of bones clattering against the ground. More sounds started echoing through the air. It sounded like pigs, though it was hard to tell, “It’s coming from the forest,” I whispered as I pulled Judith towards the forest across the street.
We ducked behind a bush, peering through the branches of the dead trees. I heard branches being cracked. Someone was clearly stepping on them, breaking them beneath their feet. That was when the figure stepped out from behind the oak tree about 20 feet away. It was dark, tall and wielded a deadly weapon. I had no idea at this time, though the thing that Judith and I sat staring at would change my life forever…
Chapter 2: Violet Spirals
Coming Soon…
Message from the author: What would YOU like to see happen? Post below and your suggestion might have an effect on chapters 2+
I was happily performing in the city’s first horse racing tournament. It was a warm day. The clouds were floating in the sky, creating interesting images that gathered the attention of the young ones. The horses galloped on the dirt, creating clopping sounds that raced through the racer’s ears. The stands were full of friends and family cheering me on, holding up signs and banners with my name on it. There were other racers too, 7 others to be exact. Though, they weren’t getting as much attention as I was. I may have felt bad for them, but I loved the attention that was spiralling towards me as I charged through the wind.
The finish line approached as the horses cut the corner of the racing track. It was intense. I slapped the side of my horse, trying to get maximum speed. The others did the same, gaining on me as the horse and I sprinted over the checkered line. The crows jumped out of their seats cheering, yelling my name, “ALEX! ALEX!”
The other racers passed the finish line. The third place finisher hopped off of her horse at maximum excitement. She seemed happy with her bronze medal. Though the second place finisher… not so much. He ripped off his helmet and threw it at the ground. It rolled around in the shattered glass of its own visor. I patted my horse on the side as I lead over to my family, “Alex!” my mother screamed as she ran over to me, more excited than I was, “Congratulations!”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said giving her a hug.
“Good job to you, Ace,” she said patting my horse on the forehead.
Ace is short for my horse’s full name, Ace of Spades. It comes from the single black spot in the jungle of whiteness that is Ace.
The horses cleared off the track and galloped into the center of the arena where they stayed leashed to posts, neighing away like you wouldn’t believe, running around the posts until the leashes got short enough that the horses bonked right into the post, spreading laughter throughout the stands. The horses were fine, just confused about how the leashes got magically shorter.
I was escorted to the top of the podium, alongside the 3rd place hottie and the 2nd place rage-monster. The cheerleaders happily placed the medals around our necks, dangling away in the daylight. The crowd cheered and the racers who placed 4th through 8th stood alongside the podium clapping. This was a magnificent day.
Once I got home, my parents made a celebration pumpkin pie just for me and cake for the whole family to enjoy. My mother engraved the number 1 in the cake and server it to the family. My relatives eventually showed up to join in on the celebration.
At 8:00, everyone left and I went out for my after-dark stroll. Ace was in his stall in the barn behind my house, eating away at the hay bales and apples we gave him after the race which I guess count as his “celebration pie and cake” but more suited to his liking.
It was less warm outside now. The moon was starting to rise, as the sun started to set. The streetlights flickered on and the house windows became dimmer as the children crawled into bed. I walked along the sidewalk, down the street I called home. All was great. I loved the sound of silence. Though I adored the sound of people screaming my name in the background of wind racing through my ears and the clopping of horse hooved more, silence was definitely second on my rankings. Not to mention it was more pleasant than any other second place finishers I’ve had to deal with.
I walked past the streetlight in front of my neighbour’s house as they turned out the lights. The enjoyable walk suddenly changed, but somewhat to my liking. An arrow whizzed past my head and stuck into the lamppost. CLUNK! It had a small piece of paper wrapped around it. I slowly removed from the arrow, spiralling it around and around until it finally came off. I opened it and read aloud, “Good ga-“ I got cut off, though I assume you know how the sentence ended.
“Hi!” the third place girl said as she hopped in front of me, holding a bow along with a quiver wrapped around her back.
“Hey…”
“You did well at the race today. You should be honored,” she said as she smiled.
“Why, ‘cause it was the first horse race, or am I missing something here?”
She grabbed my arm and spun me around, staring me dead in the eyes. She was shorter than me by 4 inches at least, though I still felt intimidated for some reason, “You were the first person to ever beat me in anything. You think I was smiling about my 3rd place finish because I was proud of myself? No. I was proud to see that I had an actual competitor in my life. Until now, life has been too easy and too boring,” she said as she punted a rock across the street.
“I’m confused right now. You always seemed to be happy when you won other stuff, like the archery competition last month and the swimming competition the month before. So what you’re saying is, though you are a complete and total boss and can beat anyone in anything, you are happier when you lose, then when you win?”
“That is EXACTLY what I’m saying,” she said.
Weird, I thought, “So, what are you doing out here?”
“Just taking a stroll,”
“Do you always wield a bow and a quiver when you take your strolls?” I asked as I gestured towards her equipment,
“Fine, you caught me. I always see you walking around at this time, and I never got to talk to you after the race. It felt like a good time to congratulate you on winning.”
“Ah… okay. We haven’t properly introduced each other. I know they said your name when they gave your bronze medal, though I was kind of distracted by all my fans,” I said, smiling.
“Ha-ha, very funny. My name’s Judith, and my horse’s name is Quicksilver, ‘cause I assume you didn’t hear that either,” she said as she nudged my shoulder.
I smiled and responded, “I’m Al-“ I got cut off again, “The hell was that?”
I heard the sound of bones clattering against the ground. More sounds started echoing through the air. It sounded like pigs, though it was hard to tell, “It’s coming from the forest,” I whispered as I pulled Judith towards the forest across the street.
We ducked behind a bush, peering through the branches of the dead trees. I heard branches being cracked. Someone was clearly stepping on them, breaking them beneath their feet. That was when the figure stepped out from behind the oak tree about 20 feet away. It was dark, tall and wielded a deadly weapon. I had no idea at this time, though the thing that Judith and I sat staring at would change my life forever…
Message from the author: What would YOU like to see happen? Post below and your suggestion might have an effect on chapters 2+
I dunno what I want to see. More Wither Skeletons and The Wither himself would be nice though.
TT2000, you are genius.
PROUD USER OF THE STEVE SKIN