Page 3 of The Pale Rider
“I’ll bash your fucking head in with this baseball bat if you tried.”
“Keep Smurfette on you at all times.”
“Smurfette?”
“That’s what you used to call your bat.”
I sighed and followed Aeron out of the hospital. The key to my past was in this grumpy ass, sword-wielding mother fucker who just showed up out of nowhere. I still didn’t know if I would stay with him, but if I would find out who I was, I needed to leave with him and hear him out.
Chapter 2
“I
m not getting on that,” I said, looking at Aeron’s big fuckinghorse.That wasn’t a normal horse. It wasn’t white, but I couldn’t describe its color except pale. It was way bigger than any horse should be, and I swear its eyes flashed red at me.
“Meremoth is a champion stallion, and he obeys me. You just need to sit up there while I control him. You aren’t scared of a horse after you just killed all those Rage Heads, are you?”
“Why is he so big, and why did his eyes flash red like that?”
“He’s big because all horses of his breed are that size. It was just a trick of the light. As you can see, Meremoth has perfectly normal eyes.”
“You’re telling me people use horses instead of cars now?”
He just shrugged.
“No, most people aren’t lucky enough to have a horse and go on foot. I could always ride him and make your ungrateful ass walk all ten miles home.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you are a huge asshole?”
“Well, you’re being a spoiled brat. It’s the end of the world. You need to be a little more grateful when people are offering to share their shit with you because there are some people out there who would just as well cook you and eat your flesh.”
“Well, you haven’t exactly told me what’s going on and why we got attacked by corpses.”
“Look at your surroundings, kitten. What do you think is going on?”
I looked past the horse. The sky wasn’t blue. It was some sickly orange color. Any grass I could see was dead. There were cars just abandoned, some on the sidewalk, some on the road and parking lot. Some of them, I could see dead bodies inside, and some had the doors open like someone had looted the car to see what was inside.
“How did this happen?”
“Not here. It’s not safe. Now, will you get on my fucking horse so we can get home sooner, or do you want to risk hoofing it on foot?”
“Sorry. I’ll get on the horse, but do you think you could be a bit more patient? I don’t even know my last name, much less what’s going on.”
Aeron ran his fingers through his white hair.
“This sure would be easier if you remembered,” he muttered.
The horse was so huge, I couldn’t even imagine how I was supposed to get myself in the saddle. I couldn’t reach it.
“A little help?” I asked Aeron.
This guy right here. He picked me up and practically threw me in the saddle. If I hadn’t grabbed the pommel, I would have flown completely over this fucking horse. He didn’t even give me a chance to settle before he heaved himself after me.
Oh. Were we going to sit like this? I didn’t even know this guy, and his crotch was pressed right up against my ass. He held the reins in one hand and wrapped his other arm around my waist. This was a little… intimate considering I didn’t know his last name or mine, and he was kind of an asshole.
I threw the kind of out the window and upgraded him to total asshole when he kicked his horse, and the thing started running so fast, I was sure I would fall off. I shrieked and clutched the pommel. Aeron tightened his hold around my waist.
“Calm down. We’ll slow down when we are less exposed. Don’t draw attention to us, or you’ll bring a swarm on us, or worse, stupid humans still using guns.”
