A Note from the Four Horsemen Follow story

He took in several deep breaths in a race to calm the storm brewing in his body, the fear eating at his heart, and the ball of foreboding wrapped around the pit of his stomach.

Why did he keep seeing the four horsemen of the apocalypse? What were they trying so hard to convey to him? This time around, one of the horsemen drew close to him, but he could only hear one word; a name that threw him into a world of befuddlement, 'Samson'.

Why would the horseman mention that name to him? What was he trying to reveal to him before he turned to smoke and he was yanked to wakefulness? The horsemen had looked so worried, as if the world's baggages were on their shoulders. He had been frightened by their presence, intuitively knowing whatever they had to say would be bad.

He was a senior priest in Lebanon, and in his life of servitude, he had heard a lot of tales about the horsemen and the evil aura that surrounded them. They were known as the harbinger of deadly news, and the kings of destruction and chaos. So he was alarmed to see them knocking at the doorstep of his dreams, and haunting his waking moments. He had to find out what they were after, if he had any hope of having any peace. He just had to, though he didn't know how or where to start. One of them had said the name 'Samson' before he disappeared, which makes him believe that the mystery lies in the name or around it. His duty was to unravel it and stop whatever chaos was looming ahead. He would start his research in the morning. Now he needed to catch some needed sleep. He sighed wearily and plopped back down to sleep.

He sat up with a start, jerked awake from the same dream that haunted him. This time his foreboding and fear was laced with elation because he had heard the message of the horsemen. He couldn't believe what they revealed to him. They had handed him a note filled with insights, garnished with warnings. He couldn't believe he was at the heart of things and was the key to stopping the end of time from arriving in such a catastrophic manner. He had only one job to do; to stop the son of the antichrist from opening the gates of hell and bringing damnation to the world.

He raised his hands to wipe the beads of sweat forming on his forehead only to stumble out of his bed in shock at the note that dropped from one of his hands.

How in heaven's blaze did that get here? That was the same note the horsemen handed to him before they dissipated into smokey dust. What is going on here?!

Gingerly, he moved towards his bed, eyeing the strange item on his bed like it was a deadly snake from the pits of hell. It might as well be, judging from the evil premonition it carried. Grabbing it, he ran his gaze through its content and marveled at how he became a supernatural medium to the horsemen in stopping a calamity greater than any the world had witnessed before.

The horsemen in a desperate attempt to prevent the son of the antichrist from using them as a destructive tool to end the world and submerge it in darkness, searched the world for a valiant priest who was pure in soul and had the heart of a knight. They had searched for a priest they could communicate with, and as fate would have it he was the chosen one. The one to save the world from its untimely end. The one to end the apocalypse that the four horsemen would rain down on the world should the son of the antichrist succeed in his evil plots. The one to find and destroy Samson before he destroys the world.

He let out a resigned breath, thinking how he hadn't expected his gift and ability to exorcise a demon from a possessed body to come back and bite him in the butt. To add salt to injury, he didn't know the son he had saved from his possessed mum's body and adopted as his son would bring the doom of the world. He hadn't known the demon he had exorcised from the pregnant victim and banished to the pits of hell was the antichrist, and the baby she carried was the devil's spawn. He had had no idea and had opened the doors of his home to the boy who was now a demonic weapon roaming free. The boy had sheath his claws for fifteen good years and had tread on the right path or so he had thought. Finding out the contrary, that he had raised and brought a monster into the world was a hard pill to swallow and gave him split headaches.

He needed to find him and stop whatever evil shenanigans he had up his sleeves. But he must wear the cloak of caution and sheath his intentions. Samson must not get wind of his intentions or his mission impossible would fail before it even started.

How does one fight the devil's son without any solid preparations or plans? How?

The only hint given to him by the horsemen was to find Samson's secret cave and destroy the portal he was creating for the gates of hell by using the special relic found on one of his holy pilgrimages to Mount Sinai. The relic was a cross set in gold and precious gems. When he found the relic on top of the mountain, after he had prayed his heart out for the safety of humanity, he never knew the artifact would play an important role in saving the world from a catastrophic end.

His heart broke at the task ahead, at the impending confrontation that would take place between a young man he considered a son and him. Samson had made his dream of fatherhood come true, and he had promised his mother to take care of him and treat him like a son sired by him. But now, he feared he wouldn't be able to keep his word. The warnings listed in the note from the horsemen were as clear as day and left no room for navigation. He would have to heed their warning and save the world from an apocalyptic doom, even if that meant going up against his son.

Ha, he hated this! He hated this feeling and tightness squeezing his heart. He hated the mission ahead but was bound by a duty greater than the bond of fatherhood. He had a duty to protect the human race and all living things. He couldn't allow his feelings to overshadow his sense of duty.
He hunted down his possessed son after taking care of his hygiene, checking his room first but finding Samson gone. Samson seemed to be doing that a lot lately; disappearing without any heads-up, and appearing at odd hours. He wondered what the boy was up to. It couldn't be good. Looking around Samson's room, everything seemed in place. It was so tidy his eyes hurt looking at it. No normal person's room could be this tidy and perfect. It was almost as if it was done on purpose and there's a vicious trap beneath every shiny surface. He suspected Samson would know and notice if he touched anything, but he couldn't allow that little setback to dissuade him. He needed to glean as much information as he could from his room.

He shuddered, the coldness of the room seeping into the pores of his skin and bones. The negative energy in the room was so dark, that it suffocated him and made it hard to breathe. His flesh broke out in goosebumps and beads of sweat kissed his forehead.

How could he have missed this? How could he have missed the telltale signs that the baby he saved was touched by darkness from the king of darkness? He thought he did a great job of saving the baby. Now he was paying for his naivety.

Sighing deeply, he focused on his surroundings, trying to find hidden secrets and proofs in the space before him. He needed to unveil all Samson had accomplished, then put a sizable dent in his efforts. There's no better place to start than the lair or room of Samson. If he was Samson, where would he hide a secret big enough to destroy the world? A secret he wouldn't want any other eyes to be privy to. A secret he wouldn't want to keep too far away from him.

So there must be a secret chamber, or some evidences in Samson's room that would lead him in the right direction.

He must try and find it.

Samson must have hidden the key to his secret in plain sight, but not easily noticeable. He flittered his gaze across the room, just looking for that one item that stood out or seemed out of place. Finally, his gaze settled on a figurine of a broken angel. The angel seemed so sad it was heartbreaking. The tears of blood that ran down his cheeks were strange and disturbing, and he wondered where Samson got such an item from.

Taking cautious steps towards it, he touched the angel's head with his fingers and held his breath. Nothing happened, so he made to wipe off the bloody tears running down the fallen angel's cheek and gasped when the wall behind the shelf it was mounted on pushed inwards and shifted a bit to the side, paving a narrow entrance to a darkened passageway.

What was this he just stumbled upon? A secret passageway to an ungodly place right under his roof. Pray tell, what's hidden at the end of the tunnel? He must find out, but first, he must prepare himself and grab the relic from his hidden safe in his room. He closed back the door by wiping the other cheek of the figurine and retreated quickly to his room. He needed to be fast and stealthy in his act before Samson got wind of it.

He needed to stop his son at all costs.

Geared with his Holy Bible, holy water, and the relic cross, Priest Richard stood before the secret passageway once again, psyching his mind for the task ahead. Drawing in a deep fortifying breath, he took the step that would either save or end the world. He hoped it was the former for everyone's sake, including the elusive and mysterious four horsemen. He used a small torch to guide his path and arrived at an opening that reeked of blood, and made his gag reflex go into overdrive. Distress mingled with disgust swept through his body, rooting him in place.

What had Samson done?

How could Samson do such a demonic filthy thing?

Before him hung seven young girls he assumed were virgins. They were dressed in white and hung upside down with their neck slit at the side for their blood to slip out into a small well made of clay until their life force drained out of their body. His heart squeezed in pain as he noticed their pained looks as they died a brutal death.

"Help us."

"Please help us!" Some hushed voices reached his ears, and he turned towards the sound, gasping in astonishment when he noticed five more girls locked in a cage. They looked so scared and exhausted his heart broke in two for them.

Eleven sacrificial lambs to open the gates of hell. He never knew he had raised a monster. How could Samson do this to these innocent girls? How?

"Please, help us! He is going to kill us all. The son of the devil is going to kill us all to bring about the apocalypse. He...he wants to end time and shove the world into chaos. You...need to stop him before he completes the blood ritual that will open the portal to the gates of hell and unleash damnation upon the world! Please!"

So these girls knew about Samson's plot. They knew about the disaster the four horsemen were trying to stop. These horsemen were breaking the rules just to save humanity, and prevent the devil from using them to wreak havoc upon the world. They have done their part, now, he must do his. He quickly released the girls from their confinement but halted when he heard a tsking sound that sounded condescending to his ears.

"Oh, Father, where do you think you're going with my priced goods?"

"Goods? Samson, have you lost your mind? These are innocent girls you're using for your demonic rituals–"

"My father demands it to purge the world into ruin. Leave now, and I will spare your life."

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Then you leave me no choice. You will die with them all!" Samson threw out his hands and smoke blistering with firestones flew out to hit them. He used the relic to shield them from the heat of it. Suddenly, Samson stopped and asked where he got that from.

"Are you scared now, son?"

"Don't call me that! You know very well who I am. I'm the spawn of Satan."

"Lies! You're my son, and if you let me, I will prove it to you."

"You really must think me a fool. You once exorcised my father from my mother's body, and now, you want to deceive me and exorcise me from this body. Not a chance! I won't have the same fate as my father's. The world will burn at the feet of my father, and you, my precious fake dad won't be able to do anything about it. Hahahaha!!!"

"We would see about that," he said and rushed towards the bloody well and dropped the relic cross into it. "Close your eyes!" he warned before the room exploded into a light so pure and blinding, it obliterated the dark energy in the room and Samson's skin off his body, and had him screaming in excruciating pain as he turned into ashes. His heart cried at the loss, but on the flip side, his heart felt elated he was able to save many more lives.

He felt a tingle in his breast pocket and brought out the note he had mysteriously received from the horsemen. He marveled in surprise as the note glowed and the words changed from a disheartening one filled with a promised gloom to words of praise and success that brought relief to his soul.

At last, the world and humanity were saved from a demonic apocalypse. Thank God, for that.