The days before they left on their journey were rife with preparations. On foot, it would take them two days to get there, if they stopped to camp.

The old man didn’t want to leave it that long, and no one was thrilled at the prospect of camping when there were undead afoot, even if they weren’t ‘that’ dangerous.

Apparently, lesser undead were known to attract bears, if the participating corpses were fresh enough. Even in a world gone mad, amateurs don’t mess with bears.

That meant riding lessons.

If Neil ever expected to have some latent, undiscovered, or divinely attributed talent for horseback riding, he was wrong. He only took some small pleasure in actually being able to get on the damn thing, which put him in the top two-thirds of his team.

Though June—as usual, for most group activities—didn’t show up, and Thomas—also as usual—left within ten minutes of discovering that it required even a modicum of effort.

Anne was barely doing better than him.

She and her horse, a splotchy white-and-brown mare affectionately dubbed ‘S’mores,’ trotted around the corral, a careful and focused frown on her face as they came up behind to lap Neil again.

Neil’s partner for the morning, a sturdy brown horse loaned directly from the stable master, stubbornly refused every one of his entreaties to get her moving faster.

Her name was Aura, and she didn’t like Neil very much.

The stable master offered him the stunning advice “She’s a beast, not a lump of wood, you’ll never get her to do what you want if you sit like that.” Before rolling his eyes and overseeing the stars of the show.

Neil was starting to hate Jackie and Peter. Not literally, but…

They rode beyond the enclosure, racing on horses that might have been carved from marble, small tufts of grass ripping from the ground as they stormed through the sweeping green plain in the distance.

…It was hard not to be bitter. Still, he had to learn to ride a horse at some point, didn’t he? Better to take advantage of his lessons while he could.

“That,” said Neil, gesturing when Anne came into his orbit, to pass him “…is a load of horseshit.”

She blinked at him, eyes wide, as if surprised. She slowed her horse’s pace, trotting beside him. “I think they’re beautiful.”

Her voice was high and dreamlike; Neil could barely hear it over the clopping staccato of two trotting horses.

“Beautiful, sure.” He dipped his head to one side. “I’d like to think that I’m not the kind of guy that gets jealous of other people’s talents, but that’s just…”

He gestured again, slouching in his saddle.

They did look beautiful. Like they’d been riding all their lives. The sun hung low over the woods to the east as they stormed south. The morning light was filtered orange by the haze of fog clinging over the trees, and the bank of thin clouds painted across the horizon.

They cut through the morning dew like twin knives, leaving the scent of cut grass in their wake that Neil could smell even from there. The two banked right, turning back towards the enclosure, and the deep base of thundering hooves against grass grew louder.

“…that’s just disheartening,” Neil said, finally, after seconds of staring.

“I think they’re inspiring.” Said Anne, smiling at them. “It’s nice having friends that are so… pure.”

“Pure bullshit,” Neil responded, then winced. “No, sorry, I didn’t mean that. They’re…”

He sighed, murmuring in a low voice, “…They’re lovely people, I guess.”

Anne inflicted her soft smile upon Neil. “They are.”

They rode on in silence for half a second longer than he was comfortable with.

Not total silence, which was a small mercy. The horses beneath them made all sorts of sounds, chuffing like living engines: one of which barely tolerated her rider. Not to mention the distant warble of birds celebrating the morning, or the sounds of the not-so-distant trees, rustling in the wind.

“So,” started Neil, shifting uncomfortably in his saddle, “you got any tips for me, riding-wise?”

Anne tilted her head to the side, her considering gaze floating down Neil’s body until her eyes rested on Aura.

“She’s strong.” She said, smiling softly once again. “But she doesn’t trust you.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” Neil muttered, frowning down at the horse.

She tread on at a steady gate, unperturbed, not caring about Neil’s opinion of her.

“It’s because you’re so stiff.” Said Anne, “What if you thought about something that relaxes you?”

“Walking relaxes me,” Neil said immediately, as if by reflex, with a little bite in his voice. He winced again. “Sorry. I’m just… a little out of my comfort zone, here. I’m trying, but…”

Anne hummed. It was an oddly musical sound, in her alto tone. “You’ll get there. It just takes a bit of practice. It’ll get easier as you get to know her better, and as she gets to know you.”

“Sounds like a plan.” said Neil, half smiling, “Too bad it won’t turn me into one of them anytime soon.” He gestured with his head.

“You’ll get there,” Anne repeated. “I believe in you.”

Neil shifted uncomfortably in his saddle.

“Thank you.” He said cautiously, the ghost of a frown touching his brow. “I… believe in you too…”

“Thank you,” Anne replied in turn, a dream-like smile floating across her face as she focused back on her own horse, and pulled ahead of Neil.

He stared after her, frowning fully now, as his head tilted to one side.

‘That might’ve been the longest conversation we’ve had.’ Neil thought, lips pulling back into a half-smile.

She was nicer than he thought she’d be, for how quiet she was. Weird, definitely, but nice.

He looked down at his horse, and did his best to think relaxing thoughts.

…

…

“I’m not saying I can’t ride, I just think it’ll be more efficient if I learn on the job,” Thomas said, in an oddly deep voice.

Neil thought it was odd, at least. But then, he was watching from a safe distance as Jackie berated the larger man for bailing on riding lessons.

Thomas decided his time was better spent in the library, where Jackie found him eating a bowl of soup.

Thomas also decided that this was a hill he was perfectly willing to die on, rather than taking his lumps and spending a couple of hours getting to know a horse.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“That,” said Jackie, in a patient, yet iron-wrought voice, “might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard today.”

“My time is better spent here.” Thomas insisted, scowling. “It’d be more dumb if I wasted it by playing cowboy.”

Neil watched on from his desk with A Definitive Guide propped open in front of him like a shield. He peeked out over it like an alligator, watching the two argue.

“It’s not ‘playing’ if you can’t even ride one.” Jackie shot back.

“I know how to get on, and I know how to get off—that’s basically all there is to it.” Thomas’s voice was even deeper now, “And I’ve been doing actually useful stuff here.”

“You were eating soup,” Jackie said, voice gone flat.

“I was doing research.” Insisted Thomas once again. “Ever heard of it? That thing where you use your brain to learn stuff?”

“Oh, research? By all means—” started Jackie, gesturing to Thomas and his adjacent book, now closed. “Please. Share what you’ve learned. I’m dying to know.”

Neil couldn’t see Jackie’s face, but he assumed she must have been making a good one, judging from the biting sarcasm in her voice.

Thomas’s face he could see, and it was tinged a light, irritated red—from his giant eyebrows down his scraggly-bearded neck.

“By my calculations—” Thomas’s voice had hit its maximum depth, and would go no deeper. “—The town we’re supposed to go to in Mavith Valley is a little over thirty miles from here—fifteen hours to get to on foot.”

“‘Calculations?’ We’re not—” She shook her head. “We already know how far away it is, and we all saw the map. Do you want to walk?”

“All I’m saying is that I could walk if I left a little earlier than you guys.”

“Thomas.” She gestured directly at him, speaking slowly and clearly. “Not only is that a bad idea—you literally, physically could not do that.”

“Uh, I could.” Thomas insisted, tilting his head to the side. “Average human walking pace is two miles an hour. I wouldn’t even need to run and I’d make it.”

Neil still couldn’t see her face, but something in Jackie’s posture changed as Thomas spoke.

“Are you gonna bring any supplies on that little walk?” Her hands moved to her hips. “Weapons? What about food and water? What about the walk back? Do you think you’re gonna be safe by yourself in the wilderness? In the dark? What’s the farthest you’ve walked by yourself? Could you walk ten miles without stopping to rest? Could you walk one? What are you gonna do—”

Neil stopped listening when a masculine voice whispered on his left, “I’ve never seen her get this mad before.”

His hands gripped A Definitive Guide a little tighter but otherwise remained unfazed by Pete’s sudden appearance.

“I swear to god, Peter, if you do that one more time, I’m getting that bell,” Neil whispered back.

“Shush, you guys, it’s just starting to get good.” June’s voice whispered from Neil’s right, tickling his ear with her warm breath.

Neil’s shoulders immediately shot upwards, and he made a sound composed solely of consonants.

“Fkrmrjr.” He managed to yelp without raising his voice above a bare whisper.

June snickered, and they all huddled as one behind Neil’s book.

“Did I miss anything?” She whispered, close enough to Neil that he could feel the distance between them like static.

“Nothing important,” Pete whispered back—similarly, though perhaps less impressively, close to Neil. “I think they might be two of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met, though.”

“Awesome, I was feeling kind of bad when I told Jackie that Thomas was here, but this is totally worth it.”

What, what?

“That was you?” Neil asked. “I thought Jackie sniffed him out like a bloodhound or something. I only found him by accident.”

“Hehe, yeah, it was me. Thomas is screwed, isn't he?”

Pete frowned. “Why are you laughing? Don’t you think you’re gonna be next?”

“No way, I used to work on a ranch in the summers, I’m awesome with horses,” June whispered

“Really?” Neil asked, glancing sidelong at the woman.

“That’s awesome,” Pete commented.

June only shrugged, attention forward, prompting Neil to look back at the spectacle.

His first thought on doing so ran something along the lines of, ‘Boy, this really is the maddest I’ve ever seen her.’

Her face, far from the rictus of anger that Neil was expecting, was blank. Her lips were not pressed, pursed, or even puckered. Her dark eyes contained no malice, no rage, and no annoyance.

And yet, her expression—as mundane as it was—seemed as if it was carved from ice. Something in the stillness of it, maybe, Neil guessed.

Some people tremble with rage. Not Jackie, though.

Jackie was doing whatever the opposite of trembling was. She was still. She projected stillness. Sound drained from the air, and the quiet—native to most libraries—pressed downwards, subverted to the towering woman’s whims.

Neil’s second thought ran something along the lines of, ‘Oh, she’s looking right at me.’

“What—” Jackie asked, in a voice as high and clear as crystal. “—Are you three doing over there?”

…

…

“In our defense,” said Neil, shifting under the weight of Jackie’s glare. “We were rooting for you the whole time.”

Thomas scowled wordlessly at him, gesturing in a way that Neil read as ‘what the heck, man?’

“I wasn’t,” Pete said, raising his hand apologetically.

Neil’s expression tightened, and he nudged him aggressively.

“I wasn't.” He maintained, in a high voice. “I think Thomas might have a fear of horses. It’s not his fault if he’s scared.”

Pete weathered his own scowl and gesture from Thomas, and silently mouthed ‘sorry,’ in return.

Neil looked to June for backup, and was promptly let down.

“Equinophobia.” She nodded, catching Neil’s eyes with her own and smiling with them. “What? I’m not a suck-up, and I don’t take sides in other people’s arguments.”

‘Figures.’ Neil thought, turning to face Jackie head-on.

“Alright, you got me, I was spying. It was wrong of me, and I apologize. But…” Neil winced, even as he continued, “In my defense—I was here before you, and you weren’t being quiet, and...” his wince deepened, “We’re kinda in a library, you know?”

Jackie blinked at him, slowly.

“Plus, it was super entertaining,” June added, in a dry voice.

“It couldn’t have been that good.” Thomas scowled, finally revoking his silence.

“I haven’t watched TV in forever—it was good enough.” June countered.

“I’m surrounded by…” Jackie spoke, for the first time in several long moments, “by…” she shook her head. “I’m surrounded.”

She raised her hands to shoulder height, turning away as if surrendering.

“I’m surrounded.” She repeated, walking away. “I’m just… surrounded.”

When she turned the corner past the library’s open doors, Pete stood, regret flashing on his face.

“I’m gonna… go…” He said, carefully. “Help Jackie through whatever it is Jackie’s going through. I’ll… see you guys later, I guess.”

And off he went, turning the same corner she did, leaving three in the library.