CHRONICLES OF THE FOURTH HORSEMAN

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I walked in the hall while yawning still rubbing my achy eyes.Another day had dawned and I still felt weary.I thought the feeling would lessen with time as Ophie had assured me but it only felt more burdening.Maybe telling the group the truth would have helped, after all, a problem shared is a problem half solved.Maybe it was never a good idea to keep the secret, maybe I was just being selfish by doing so.I had so many thoughts that I couldn't sleep and now my eyes had this dull pain that made me fell like rubbing them.I knew someone would ask about it and I planned to lie which was the reason why I walking so slow.I hoped to get the perfect lie by the time I got to the hall.

"I was starting to think you would never wake up," Tom said looking at his watch.I looked around and noticed that there were empty plates and cups on the tables."You guys already trained and took breakfast? Why didn't you wake me up?," I took a quick look on my watch and it was half past 9:00 in the morning.Even Ally was up earlier than me with over three hours, suddenly I didn't feel all that achy anymore.Instead I felt lazy and incompetent.

"We need to get going," Ally said.She looked so excited and I couldn't remember why."Wait, we have a case?," I looked around and everyone was looking at me weirdly."No dummy today is prom day we need to be in the mansion for the pick up...don't tell me you forgot that Azzy...Wait a minute, are you playing dumb on me again?," she smiled with the corner of her lips."You got me," it was a nice save and I didn't have to explain that I had forgotten Ally's most important day."Phanu will fly you to the mansion, I have a few things I need to do and I am already late," a lie I didn't intend to tell and yet I did.I walked to the kitchen and took my breakfast there as I waited for the people to go out on their planned day out.

After they had all cleared, I walked out of the kitchen to find Ophie seated on the table alone.He had been waiting for me to come out."You know, you are doing avery crappy job at keeping the secret. I mean look at Phanu and i, we haven't changed our behavior and we are so not acting weird.When did you last sleep?," he asked making a gesture for me to sit down.I explained to him that I was having a hard time sleeping which by the way was more obvious than I thought.Even the bunker had noticed it.I told Ophie that I didn't know how to live with the secret as it was eating me from inside out.That was when he came up with a very good bad idea.

"You need assurance to help you believe that you are making the right decision by keeping the secret, I have just an idea that will give you that," of course I went on and asked what idea that was even though I knew it was not a good one."You can be at a place and yet not be there, I mean you can make yourself invisible.Why don't you tag along with the guys and see if they are happy.If they are, you let them be for the festive season, if they are not, then you will know there is no need to keep the secret from them, what do you say?," it was a bad idea, the last time I went spying on someone behind their backs, something went wrong and I found myself being told just how much I was hated in front of strangers.I also procured myself a slap on the face.However, it was a good idea as seeing the happy would assure me that i was doing the right thing.I remember Ophie's exact words were "At least you would not be the Grinch" didn't know what that meant, but I had a clue if was not a very good thing.All I had to do was make sure I was rested enough for my powers to work without fails that would blow my cover.

Ally's big day was not until evening and that meant I could follow Geo first.I knew he was supposed to me on his long break from job, but he always volunteered to help people whenever he could.Most especially during the festive seasons he called it bringing cheer and bringing gaps.He and his friend had mobile medical camp that was Planned to help get healthcare services to those who were not able to go looking for it.They checked on the elderly and took vaccines to children, they gave free consultation and treatments and on top of that ,the had army biscuits and gift to give.I followed him for about two hours and all I saw was a more radiant, much more contented Geo.

He gave hope to those who needed, medicine to those who needed them, he looked satisfied and full filled.He and his military doctor friends also talked about there past encounters and most especially recovery journeys of some of their friends and workmates.Their stories were filled with pain that kind of convinced me that maybe it was not a bad thing for the world to end.If it did, war, battle, pain and loss would end with it.No one would ever have to tell all those bitter stories.Especially the kind where the good guys were beaten up and maimed and killed.Those where people died on other people's hand and now those people cry ever time they remember those days.Maybe the end of the world was not for the worst of humanity.Maybe that was exactly what the world wanted.Maybe i needed to tell the secret.The boys and girls had to be aware of what was coming.Telling them wouldn't make me the Grinch, it would make a friend that cares enough to keep them on the loop.

But then, the boys told the story of whatever came after it was all over.There was peace, there was love and they had made the world a better place.In fact, that was when Geo and his friends decided they wanted to be more than just soldiers.The needed to help heal the world in more than one way.They wanted to heal the world by taking pain away and not just inflicting it.They went back to military medical school and now they could help sick people get better.They carried medicine and injections and biscuits that are not very scary compared to guns and bombs.Isn't that a very good move, the humans maybe a bit crazy, competitive, destructive and even hateful, but they always go out of their way to make ends meet.Not all of them are bad.I thought maybe they needed to have a say over what happens to them and not having other beings that have no idea just how much they have worked to be where they are decide their fate.

I figured maybe Geo needed to go through with his helping spree without being stressed about the end of the world.I wondered just how he would react to the news right about then.He would probably wonder why he had to help if all the effort he would put in it would all go to waste sooner than later.I figured he would get too badly crushed by the news that he would choose to go back home and drink himself to oblivion while waiting for the inevitable to happen.Maybe keeping the secret was the best thing to do for him as of the moment.

I went back to the bunker weighing my options.Being around Geo and his friends was supposed to help but instead it confused me even more.I told Ophie of my findings and he asked me to follow someone else and this time I followed Nandi.She was working as janitor in a local hospital, ever since she started working there two weeks ago, the healing rate of the patients had tripled in numbers.I followed her closely to see just how she pulled that off.The first thing she did when she got there was to go the closet.There she transformed, put some of her magic horn dust into the cleaning bucket and then transformed back.She geared up,took her cleaning equipments and started her job.It was a crazy tiring job but she didn't seem to mind.

Most people around her treated her wrong either because she was black, or because of her work, or for both.I followed her to the elevator and watching the people cursing her and asking her to wait for the next one almost pushed me to do something, but then I remembered the slap and decided to stay put.One at a certain point, a lady even made her get out of the elevator claiming she was going to awaken her allergy which she claimed was caused by the smell of dirty people.Nandi was supposed to get mad and report the lady but instead she apologized and walked out of the elevator.She waited for half an hour before the place completely cleared out and she could go up.When she stepped off the elevator, the first thing that met her were curses from a nurse who had been looking for a cleaner to mop up some vomit on the floor.Ones again she apologized and went down to business.

I watched as she cleaned the floor with her magic dust for soap.I could see shiny fumes from the floor going up to the sick peoples nosestrils and they would start to feel better almost Instantly.By the time she left that ward, all the patients were at peace and non of them was vomiting anymore.It was the ward where cancer patients were and vomiting was a common thing as it was one common side effect of chemotherapy.She walked onto the next ward where the lady who had kicked her out of the elevator was.Her son was ill and lying on what seemed to be his death bed.Nandi went down to working her magic and in almost an instant, the boy's shortness of breath went away.Everyone around him including the lady was happy and so was Nandi.However, when the lady looked at Nandi and saw her smiling, she threw a harsh word to her and Nandi had to leave the room.I followed the poor lady around.Seeing how the world was unfair to her just because they had no idea who she was made me hurt badly on the inside.

I was now more than ever confused on what side to join.Maybe it was not a bad idea to take up my place in the war and end all that madness.A woman like Nandi deserved better than she got.And yet she was satisfied with her days work.Even though she had to go through all the cursing and the yelling, at the end of the day, what mattered to her was that someone was feeling better.All she ever wanted was to save just one more life.Maybe she deserved to have a say over what the world would come to be.I decided to go back to the bunker as following her didn't make anything easier, in fact, it made everything harder.I walked into the elevator headed back down.I didn't even have to use the damn thing but I did.

One floor down, the allergies lady joined me, an evil thought crossed my mind.I plucked out one of my wing feathers and touched the tip of her nose.She sneezed just in time to get out of the elevator and a relatively huge balloon from mucus formed.There were lots of people out there as the elevator opened and they saw all of that.Due to embarrassment, she wiped her nose with her handbag instead of getting her wipes.In an attempt to get out of there as first as she could, one of her heels broke and she fell on the ground nose first leaving another balloon of mucus there.The people around her laughed and she had to talk back to them which only made her look much worse.Then from nowhere, Nandi showed up, came towards her with a tissue box and helped her up.A wave of anger creept up my stomach.Why did she always have to help everyone including the bad ones who just cursed her?

The people who were laughing became silent and then one clappped, the another and before long everyone was clapping for Nandi, all except me.The lady got up, wiped her nose, straightened her tiny dress and left the room with one shoe, she never even thanked Nandi. "Such a waste of a good deed," I thought as I left.The last stop I made was at Ally's school.The girls there seemed so happy to be on the dancefloor.Beautiful dresses and suits all over.A fruit punch that seemed to somehow make them drunk, and slow music.I went through the crowds and finally found Ally right in the middle of the dancing crowd.She seemed so at ease on Alex's arms.The way she looked at him, the way he looked back at her reminded me of those days and Tom, John and I would go down to the river and try to dance with the fish. Fun days indeed.

Finally it was time for lame speeches and then the best part, the naming of prom king and queen.The names were read out and to my surprise it was Alex and Ally.Names like nerds, book moles among others circulated as whispers among the crowd.I could have never be more proud.I watched as the two were crowned and later watched them kiss for the first time and again I almost blew my cover as I tried to reach out and stop them from doing that gross thing.I however stopped myself and decided to be just happy for them instead.They talked about college, about the secrets Ally had and finally they were on the lemou and headed back home.Apparently, Phanu had made it clear that Alex was to bring back Ally before temln.A promise he took way too serious then that he knew Phanu was more than just a super overprotective sister.

I joined them even though the could not see of feel me around.Men had I missed being in the shadow just stalking people around but I didn't miss the death time part and I was glad that was not the reason why I was lurking in the shadows tonight.By now I had my mind made up and I hoped I would be able to live with the consequences of my decision.I knew it would crush the hopes of my friends but deep down I knew it was the the right thing to do.Back at the bunker, I no longer had a hard time being me, I no longer behaved differently and no one had a reason to ask any questions.I knew together we were going to figure things out but in the moment I needed every one to go about Christmas business as usual.We were to go home in a week and we planned to be back in four weeks and plan the way forward.Until then, I planned to keep the secret to myself.Ooh and also the gross kiss from earlier that I couldn't get out of my mind by the way.