CHRONICLES OF THE FOURTH HORSEMAN

GLOOM

"Ooh crap, Ophie, you need to find a better way to sleep there are beds everywhere you know," Alice's voice echoed through the halls.She was yet to get used to Ophie and his preferred mode of sleep.Alice had been in the bunker for two weeks now.She was quickly learning to be fearless and her fighting skills were sharp.She especially loved the two swords samurai style.Watching her skills grow made me feel optimistic.We had been having a pretty hitted argument over her going back to school.She didn't want to but I kept insisting to her that school was important.She thought she was finally free from the struggle That she could just do whatever she felt like.To her, school was just a waste of time.I understood where she came from, I also knew the teenage struggle.That feeling of being grown up and not understanding why everybody is treating like q child.We infact just had the fight the previous night and she had gone to bed angry.She probably took sometime to think about it and understood that she was wrong .For the few days I had known her, she had proven to be one of those that try to do something to make up for their transgression.She woke up that early morning to prepare breakfast hoping it would make amends.Now she was standing over Ophie, holding her heart as if it could fall off any moment.Ophie woke up alarmed and in the process he changed to being Ophie.Completely forgetting that he was naked.An awkward moment was shared and for a while the two could not look each other in the eye.

The commotion woke everybody up and they went to check on what was going on.As I was walking out I almost bumped into Ophie who was running to his room to get some clothes.Luckily Tom, John and Duke were not out yet.The situation would have gotten much more awkward.Squishy and I didn't need to sleep and we were out in no time.He had his horns out.He loved to sleep free.We got into the hall to find an embarrassed Alice seated on the chair with her face in her hands.Squishy walked over to her and held her shoulder.He could feel her judging herself from within and he wanted her to know that things like those happened ones in a while.Especially in a place with soo many people wo were soo different.

Everybody was now up and about.It was the beginning of a hopefully peaceful weekend.The week had been full of schooling and training and arguing.We thought a break was due.We planned to have a weekend indoors.Just us, a few beers and games.The elements still had the magix under control and it was giving us time to train.The bunker had plus two other members and we were expecting another one in four days.The morning began with Ophie and Tom preparing breakfast.Alice came to me and apologized for the previous night and agreed to go back to school.She also agreed to live with me and the boys in our house since she was still a little bit scared of Ophie.Her visions were getting stronger by the day and through them we were able to save a few people from untimely death.She no longer sleep walked or blacked out.She was happy.Her life had turned around seriously, not just hers though, mine too.

By then I had grown to be more human than I cared to admit.I still had my angelic powers and all that but I was beginning to feel things.I could feel emotions and tell them apart.I could also express them.I didn't know whether to be happy or sad about it though.Just months ago I could give anything to have my human side for a little longer and today, I was feeling bad about having them back after they were gone.I even felt a little bit jealous of Tom and Ophie's newly found bond.I felt like Tom was taking Ophie further away from my grip and I didn't like it at all.

Everybody seemed happy.Breakfast was delicious and it was time to start with the planned days events.It was a game of hide and find.Ophie would hide stuff all over and we would look and whoever found whatever was hidden first got a gold coin.The morning was going just fine and the games and beer were going on but we recieved a hit on the new alarm machine Ophie and Tom had created.

It was a combination of technology and a little magic.It registered ubnormal occurrences which could be involving magic.It would then raise an alarm and give us the location.This was its first task and it would be the one to determine whether the machine was working effectively or not.At first we had to check what kind of situation we were dealing with.We needed to know what weapon to carry to the fight and for that two people were sent ahead.I took Ophie with me.Not because he had to be the one, no, I took him because I wanted to separate him from Tom for a little bit.I wanted to spend sometime alone, just the two of us.

We found ourselves in a small town in Bayfield county.A small corner of heaven.I had heard about this place from people around me.Larry was the one who told me about it and the way she had explained it sounded like heaven that was the reason why we referred to it as heavens corner.Here everybody knew everybody and according to Larry it was a happy place.As we walked into a cafe, everybodys eyes were fixed at us.The place was beautiful and the aroma made Ophie hungry.We had gone there to investigate but first we sat down to eat.It was weird and concerning how people looked as us every time we smiled or laughed.Something was definitely going on.The place didn't look or feel heavenly, it was sad and cold . Ophie finished with his meal and I walked up to the counter to pay as I ordered a milk shake for Ophie,his love for those was undeniable and I found it rather odd.At the counter I tried to make small talk with the strong looking cashier but he didn't seem at all interested.I figured I just had to go straight to the point.

"Hey can I ask you a rather odd question?," I asked.He was standing by the coffee maker pouring a cup for this lady in black also wearing a gloomy face by the way.He didn't even turn back while he talked to me."You have already asked an odd one, but by all means go on ahead," he answered now turning to go for the pen."Have you seen or heard people talk about a strange event recently? Ooh and is everybody around here all that serious always?," I went on.He looked at me and without any more words he showed me out.From the look on his face I knew what would follow and without any other words I walked away.Ophie followed me out and we had to endure cold looks from the people around.

Once outside, we kept walking and didn't look back at the people who would even stop doing whatever they were doing to look at us.We had just walked for about half a mile when we saw a boy seated by the edge of the lake, throwing pebbles into the water and watching the water ripple.In any other day that would cause amusement and the boy would be happy, but he wasn't.The place also looked and felt strange and different.Bayfield is known for its music and art.On a normal day there could be groups of people dancing and performing to a lively audience.But for some reason there was no sign of singers or dancers anywhere.My instinct was to keep going.Ophie had a different idea though.I watched him walk over to the boy and he sat next him.He reached for a few pebbles and threw one into the lake horizontally with all his strength.It bounced off the surface of the water for like ten times.The boy was struggling to not look excited but he eventually found himself talking about the throw out loud.After a while he was aware of his excitement and he put his hands over his mouth and moved towards Ophie in fear.

Ophie held the scared boy to his chest and assured him he was safe, the boy was however not convinced and he started to cry.I walked over and sat on his other side and reached out for his hand.What was soo scary that the boy feared it would come for him just because he was happy?As soon as my hand caught his, the boy jumped up in fear but was relived to see it was just me.He leaned back onto Ophie's arm and stayed there.A little less scared but still gloomy."Hey its okey...did someone hurt you?,"Ophie asked stroking the boys head gently.The boy responded my moving his head from side to side.He was getting edgy and Ophie noticed it.Within no time he was shaking like a leaf.Ophie looked at me and I knew the face.I took him and the boy and flew them back to the bunker.

At first the boy was surprised but then he went back to being quiet.I was not good at talking kids down and I just walked away leaving the boy to Ophie and Tom.They talked to him for a little while and then Tom called for the rest of us."You need to hear this," Ophie said asking the boy to repeat his story for us."It all started a month ago, " the boy started, I took my usual sit mid air.John grabbed a chair and sat down.Duke sat on the table while Alice stood right next to me leaning on my shoulders.We listened quietly as the boy continued to tell.

"My mum, dad and big sister were talking about the trip we had taken to grandpa earlier.Funny things had happened with dad earlier and they were all laughing at him.I was however not laughing since I was mad at mom.There was a huge bang at the door and then a tiny monster with red skin and ugly teeth came in and tied my parents and sister up he took something from them and they were never the same again and neither is anybody else in the village.They all seen terrified and no one laughs anymore," a short and self explanatory story.I knew the one magix creature capable of doing that, the ghumba.

These were little ugly creatures who looked like badly deformed human children.They were known for causing mischief and walked in a group of twelve.Their worst move however happened whenever they got hungry.They feasted on peoples laughter and happiness until there was non left.They laughed themselves crazy as they deed all that.The only way to kill them was to make them listen to their own crazy laugh, and then they would turn back to being normal human kids ones the ghumbas inside them were dead.Now I understood why everybody was gloomy.They had their happiness taken and now they were just there.Doing things because it was routine but not because they enjoyed doing them.They felt like their lives and existence was all for nothing.They were just there because they breathed and walked and talked.

Taking out the ghumbas was not all that hard to do.We just had to find a way to bring them to us, then record their laughter and play it back to them.I had more trips to make now that we had two more members.I didn't complain though, in fact I was happy.Duke and John were however not happy with the being carried like babies part.They wanted a more independent less "diminishing" mode of transportation and Tom and Ophie were working on that too.Once at the Bayfield town, we went into the boy's ,who we had known his name to be Mike, home.His parents were in there being the usual gloomy selves.They didn't talk much because they didn't feel the need to.They let us have the house in one condition.We were not to laugh or make any funny remarks as it felt bad to them.We agreed even though we had no plan to uphold the promise.Ophie and Tom put up the speakers and connected a recorder to them.We then locked Mikes parents and sister in the basement and we went on to play the games we had planned to play during the day.We laughed and made fun of each other.Mimicking, ridiculing and roasting each other with no harm intended.We made fun of the awkward moment Ophie and Alice had that morning and in doing so we caught the ghumbas attention.There was a bang at the door and Mike ren off to hide.Tom hit on the record button and it started.The tiny ugly ghumbas then charged at us, laughing themselves hoarse.One of them caught me and it brought it filthy mouth towards me.Tom was in the mood of getting back at me for making fun of Ophie and he let it get close enough to my mouth and I could smell its stinky breath.Only then did he hit the play button.

The ghumbas walked back trying to hold their years but it was not going to work.We had made sure to bring enough speakers.Mikes family was banging hard on the basement door shouting to us to keep is down.For a few minutes we watched the ghumbas dance around, crying out loud, begging us to stop.They then dropped on the ground one after another and within no time they changed back to being normal, healthy not ugly or stinking children.The red skin was also gone.Left behind were toddlers about three years old crying themselves crazy on the ground."ooooo...you are soo cute little babies, aren't you," Alice said walking towards them.The people also got their happiness back.

Tom opened up for Mikes parents who had no slightest clue of what had happened.It was like the whole month had not happened, for them and all the other victims of the ghumbas.Mike's father was threatening to call the police but the little boy stopped him.He said we were friends and that we had helped him.We explained ourselves to them and we had the recording to back up our claims.It was almost sunday morning and we all decided to play games for the rest of the night.In the morning we walked around to see if the city was back to normal and of course it was.Dancers, singers and happy children were all going about their normal business.We went by the cafe and Big O as we learned his name was had become a different person.He didn't remember me but that day he served us happily and gave us free smoothies.We spent the day enjoying and having fun until it was finally time to go back home.But before we deed that we had to make sure the babies were safe.We took them to the towns children's home and left them there with a loving sister.We then went back home in time for one more last game.We looked forward to a busy week as it was also an exam week back at school.