The Five Horsemen Book 1: Death Warmed Over

Chapter 9

Zephirah POV

2 days after crash 11:45 in the morning

I awoke with a start, gasping for breath that felt like someone was deliberately trying to prevent. I sat up and glanced around. There were several dead bodies of what looked like hospital staff, only they were almost mummified. Their bodies were skeletal and drawn. They looked horrifying, what the f**k happened to them?

“That would be me, hello little one, my name is Famine. I gleaned from your memories that you are called Zephirah, is that what you wish for me to call you? Or something different?”

I screamed. My head whipped from side to side then from all around. What the f**k was that?! Who’s talking to me and why does it sound like it’s coming from inside me?!

“I just told you my name little one, calm down take deep breaths or I will have to make you. I don’t want to forcefully take over your little body again to protect you but I will, even from yourself. Now, do as I say and breathe Gods-damned it!”

Suffice to say I took in a deep breath, then another. I heard bare feet coming to my room, the door opened. It was Artemis, she took a look around, grinned and said, “Ah, I see your new mental roommate has joined the party, who’d you get? I have War. He’s a f*****g horn dog and more than slight pervert- yes you are don’t interrupt me again!” She had turned away to say the last part, clearly talking to her own voice. “Sorry, anyway. Glad to see you awake, come on get up. Clean clothes are in the drawers and shower stuff in the bathroom. Everyone else is still out, though I can’t find Hemy…” She started out flippantly, but by the end, she had us both worried.

I got up and did as she instructed. By the time I was almost out of the shower, Void had stopped by and was checking on everyone it seemed. Good, good. We needed someone else to help figure out what was going on and find our eldest sister, Hemy. And somehow get home, from where ever we happened to be.

While I was in the shower, Fam- as he likes to be called- kept a running commentary about his and his brothers’ lives throughout the times they were alive. Turns out, they’re ancient. As in they have been around since the start of time, ancient. Not man, oh no- he was quite descriptive of their times in the Jurassic era. Turns out, I’m kinda jealous he rode on dinosaurs and I didn’t. What the f**k. Like, if I could ride a T-Rex, I’d be okay dying of happiness. “Ah, ah, ah little one. Don’t think that it’s not possible. Anything is possible when you’re one of us.”

“Hate to break it to you Fam, but dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years, as you should remember. How would me being able to ride one, be possible?”

“Because we have the ability to go back in time little one.” And with that bomb dropped, I froze. Wait, what? Time travel? Actually possible? Nah, he’s pulling my leg. “I most certainly am not. It’s called astral projecting. Essentially, it’s your spirit going back in time, for now. The Fates have hinted that with time and development, more is possible. So, start practicing if you want that ride.” I could practically see his excitement and smugness in my mind like he was right next to me. Huh, wonder what he looks like.

Just as that thought goes through my head, an image of a very large man appears in my mind. 7’2” tall, at least, gold eyes set in a handsome face, straight roman nose, red and gold curly and soft looking hair down to the middle of his broad back with lithe muscles that reminded me of a runners build who still worked out.

Wow, nice. All that’s left is to see the other presence I could literally feel inside me. It was warm, like a comforting fire on a chilly fall night. I felt love and comfort and peace within me coming from this presence. I also felt a wildness to it, like an uncontrolled fire that rages against the earth. Cool. I wonder what it was.

“That would be your Phoenix. Her name is Marigold. Mari for short she says. Eventually you’ll also be able to understand the chirps she does as words, but since you are a newborn supernatural, you’ll have me to translate little one.”

All of this was going on in my head as I got dressed and finished getting ready. They, whoever they were, had helpfully provided hair care products and other essentials, like toothbrushes and such. Yay! No more bad breath and messy hair. My hair tended to get unruly if I didn’t brush it often. My siblings would tease me about being a ‘princess’ due to how much I had to brush my hair. Well, my old hair anyway. My new hair that apparently came with the supernatural upgrade seems to cooperate better at least. I took a good look in the mirror, I actually liked what I saw too. I was never ugly, or homely, or anything like that. I was beautiful before with my dark brown eyes, dark brown hair with colorful stripes and tan/olive skin tone that I got from my Hispanic parents. Now though? I will ‘toot my own horn’ with out shame. I am drop dead gorgeous. My skin tone didn’t change, but my eyes were now gold like a lions’ and my hair. Oh boy. It was just like Fams, red and gold hues throughout, more red than gold though. Soft curls and very bouncy. And my eyesight? Oh man, I could see everything so much more clearly, and with more details, turns out I can also ‘zoom in’ and look at things more closely too. Awesome.

Well, time to get the day started, I guess. I need to find the others and figure out what was going on here, where ever that is. I step out of the bathroom after I finish getting dressed and styling my hair. I left it down in the soft curls that it now has because there were no hair-ties to put my hair in a ponytail like I normally do. I notice all the bodies that are still on the floor surrounding my bed. Opps, oh well. Fam said they were trying to hurt me. I’m not usually a cavalier person when it comes to killing, I don’t like killing, but if someone tries to hurt my family, they are going to regret it.

“Don’t worry little one. I can do the killing for you so you won’t have to.” I sigh as Fam tells me. I love that idea and quickly agree. As I walk to the door, I absently wonder how Voids adoptive parents are going to react to his and everyone else’s new transformations and the reasons behind it. Me and his mama don’t get along well, but that’s ok. She treats everyone else good and she loves them so it’s fine. I have my parents, but everyone else has strenuous relationships with their bio family. Even Hemy and her mom fight a lot. I know for years back when she was overweight her mom would call her fat and constantly tell her she needed to diet and lose weight or she was gonna die before age 40. As in almost every conversation they had, her mom would bring it up. Or money, gosh, Hemy used to be s**t with money. I open the door and step out into pandemonium.