Dark Rider

“What’s the cougar club,” hesitantly Kassie questioned as she looked over the room, taking in all the overly dressed older women who were plastic and/or painted to look young again.

“Let me explain it this way, do you know what they call a woman at least ten years older than her lover, husband or boyfriend?” the woman asked as if she was asking a child the same question, and at that moment Kassie felt just as confused as one.

“A cougar?” Kassie innocently stated as she allowed the woman to grab her by the arm and seat her in a red velvet lining seat that a male and an older woman sat on too.

“Dear I would like you to meet Dana Walt and her boyfriend James Vanderfield, Dana is twenty years older than twenty year old James,” the woman introduced as she sat down beside Kassie and crossed her legs while placing her hands over her knee. “Dana and James this is—“

“Kassandra Mackerel,” she introduced herself as she held her hand out for a hand shake, but all three of the others looked at her hand like it was diseased. “I—uh.”

“Kass,” Kassie’s chest went light at the sound of her name being called; she looked up at the sound and smiled brightly at Rider as he stuck his head in the door, looking around suspiciously for Kassie.

“Over here,” Kassie waved him inside, Rider smiled and walked in with A.J. following, while they walked through the center of the compartment they were followed by dozens of eyes. Most of the women eyed Rider and his macho-man looks, the bad boy attitude seemed to attract the women like a moth to the flame for when he sat down beside Kassie, the cougars decided to come and circle him and Kassie like prey, sent in for the kill. “Oh dear…”

“Great,” Rider grumbled under his breath as he looked at each woman for a second, studying each individual fake face. He moved his head to stare at Kassie with wide eyes, far enough that the others couldn’t see. “Pumpkin, father is waiting for us. We must leave.”

“Oh but you mustn’t,” one of the more fake of the women said, who had near white blond hair, blue eyes and make up on her face that seemed almost sunk in from her massive weight loss, but what was really shocking was how much her voice sounded like a smokers, but it was high like soprano. “You have to stay around.”

“We really can’t, my father expects us back soon,” Rider’s sudden frightened tone caused Kassie to begin laughing, he could stare into the eyes of the devil and his demonic souls from the Abyss or worse Kassie’s father but leave him in a room with young men hungry older women and he turned into a scared kitten. “Why are you laughing, Kassandra.”

“No reason,” Kassie waved it off with a light after chuckle, she smiled as she grasped Rider’s hand into hers while the other held onto A.J.’s. “Let’s get going then, wouldn’t want to anger father. After all he is the reason for this trip.”

“Oh please, stay with us, dear,” the woman who brought Kassie into the compartment cooed as she sat down beside A.J. who scooted closer to Kassie out of pure habit and worry. “You must stay; we are going to tell stories of how we met our spouses soon.”

“Sounds like fun,” Kassie murmured quietly as she looked from the woman to Rider, who was looking in return to her. Both of their faces showed their inner turmoil with the subject, both wanted to run for the door and hop back into they’re little cart while they still wanted to be polite to the older women. “Should we go or stay?”

“I think we should go,” Rider said slowly as he stood up, but the woman’s hand pushed him back down gently to his seat in detest to his answer. “Or not.”

Through the stories, the sights and the signals of offering, Rider, A.J. and Kassie stood quietly in the corner after they were pushed from their seat on the chair when a couple decided to show their affection of one another to everyone there. Glancing from one side of the room to the other, Rider grabbed hold of Kassie’s hand who grabbed hold of A.J.’s and they slowly crept from the room, they had been there for a good three hours listening to the women explain their interest in younger males and why they were so affected by them. Their stories, oh so excruciating for themselves to hear would have been romantic and somewhat sweet if not for the details the ladies went into. Kassie had no idea how bad her luck was to have landed her in a room with the Cougar Club so quickly, but now she did. “That was interesting,” Kassie chirped with a quick laugh, it matched her attitude, completely dumbstruck from the meeting they had.

“That was one of the worst experiences I have ever had the misfortune to have,” Rider chided as he pulled Kassie down the small hallway towards the cart door where they would climb and walk across each cart to there own little cart that privacy was a sure fire thing. “I thought when I became an angel that my human hatred for other people would have totally faded, boy was I wrong.”

“That doesn’t fade with death,” Kassie murmured as she fell inside the cart, Rider caught her by the waist right before she hit the metal flooring and lifted her up into his arms for more a grip. “Thanks…”

“It’s alright; someone’s a little clumsy today aren’t they?” Rider smiled as he looked into Kassie’s amazingly bedazzling eyes, he found himself always interested in finding new sights in them. They were stunning, he wasn’t much of an eye person to be frank, he was more of a—well, let’s just say that he had other things to look at on women rather than their eyes. But hers were just so out there; he found it hard to look anywhere else but there.

“No,” Kassie gasped out as she felt the cold air run up her leg from the open sliding door. “I think it’s because of the train, can you sit me down. I’m feeling quite a breeze from this position.”

“Oh,” Rider chuckled lowly as he sat Kassie on her feet and slowly stepped back for more space to be put between them. “Go sleep, I’ll wake you up when we get to the next stop. We don’t need to be going all the way to Colorado.”

“Where would we be stopping then?” Kassie questioned as she made her way across the cart to her bedding that she made before they went to the bathroom inside the train, she lay down and rested her arm and head against a small mountain of clothes and her wrist she used as a pillow.

“Utah, somewhere in Utah,” he murmured as he took his bed back from before and rested quietly against his arms. “Good night you guys.”

“Good night,” Kassie whispered as she closed her eyes, letting the darkness envelope her like some kind of glove fitting over her. The darkness only lasted seconds before a small orange light lit up the area. Surprised, Kassie glanced around and frowned as she saw her old house’s hallway on the main floor, she didn’t realize it until then that she had A.J. in her arms, but he was small like five years ago. At his age of seven, he was gripped around her neck like a leech; scared to death and shivering he clenched a hold. Kassie wondered deeply to why he was so scared, it was like she couldn’t focus on him because her mind kept wondering, as soon as her mind refocused and remembered why he was so terrified it was too late. Walking up slowly like the big bad wolf stalking little red riding hood, Kassie’s father came into view with a look on his face so menacing that she even began to shiver. No noise was heard as he made his way closer, Kassie stood in her spot unmoving, letting her father come close and closer because she was so frozen in fear she couldn’t bring herself to move. She hoped to high heaven that it was all a dream but for some reason it didn’t feel like it, it felt like she was in the same position she was in five years ago. But this time she couldn’t make it outside for Rider to save her in time, she was stuck and she was a dead girl walking.

“Don’t worry,” her father whispered, sounding like a soft coo as he leaned down, slowly everything began to change from the old home she feared to ever see again to a room lit in red, everything that wasn’t reddened by the light was dark and unknown to her. But he was still there, standing over her, slowly leaning down. “You’ll always be my little girl.”

“Daddy no,” she whispered as his hands jerked forward suddenly, pulling A.J. from her arms with ease. She felt weak, vulnerable and frightened to like a scared child as she jumped to grasp A.J.’s outreached hands but it faded into light and she woke in a cold sweat, sheen of perspiration covering her face, neck and chest. She hadn’t noticed it until it was too late that she had been screaming.

“Kassie!” Rider jumped from his pallet to his feet and ran over to her, the fifteen foot space turned into three with his long legged sprint that closed in the gap and he slid on his knees, taking her into his arms. “Its okay, it was just a dream.”

“It was so real,” Kassie whispered as her eyes shut and tears leaked out from underneath them, leaving a trail running down her cheek of salty detest. “He seemed so real.”

“Tell me what it was about,” Rider glanced over her head to A.J. who still laid sleeping in his spot a few feet away, undisturbed by the loud bloodcurdling scream coming from his cousin. “Tell me what scared you so bad.”

“I—I can’t,” she sobbed as she leaned her head back, but let her head move forward to Rider’s chest as he pulled her closer to him. “I just can’t.”

“Just breathe, tell me when you can,” Rider leaned back and sat down on his bottom, holding Kassie in his arms with her sitting in his lap like a scared child who, like she had a nightmare. “Was it about your father?”

“Yes,” she whispered as she looked up into his eyes, bright and round with vivid worry. “He took A.J. from me.”

Hours later, Rider walked with Kassie in his arms, her head on his shoulder with her body turned sideways in a Bridal type hold. She had finally been able to sleep, after they had escaped off the cart to the woods outside the train station, A.J. had been quiet the whole time instead of asking questions to why she was so quiet and why Rider was so snappy. The reason was because he was worried for Kassie; her will was slowly breaking with every twist that came with the turns. As if she didn’t have what it took to be strong through the whole ordeal; he didn’t think she would last much longer and it saddened him. It wasn’t because she wasn’t strong emotionally, but she was drained so much from the details of everything, her father being the spirit stalking her and the fact that he wanted to take her away from A.J. the only person she ever loved and cared for, it was making her lose it. But if it took his last breath he had, Rider would make sure she survived it all; make sure that he made her stronger with every twist and turn down the road. With the good came the bad, as well as the opposite and he planned to make her see that. There might be the possibility that she would be killed, but if she was she wouldn’t be going down alone, he would be there right beside her to fall as a hero. “A.J. do me a favor, clear off a spot so I can lay her down.”

A.J. looked around for a minute before finding a somewhat clear spot for Kassie to rest, after sweeping away all the bugs and ants with his hands from the ground, A.J. pointed to the area cleaned and waited for Rider to lower her sleeping form to it. “Are we stopping?”

“No,” Rider leaned up and popped his back, holding Kassie was an easy task but after so many miles of walking with her extra poundage added onto his, his joints and bones began to protest in the worst way possible. “I just need a break, my back is killing me.”

“Is she that heavy?” A.J. looked down to Kassie who was folded up on her side, sleeping soundly. “I mean, she told me she needed to lose some weight but I thought she was the right size, not too big and not to skinny. I can fit into her jeans but I’m twelve so-”

“She’s not heavy; my back hurts because I’ve been walking for a couple miles holding her. I’ll pick her up in a minute and walk with her again, I just need a rest period,” Rider explained as he rubbed his lower back as much as he could with his fists pressuring the worked out spots in circular motion.