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It’s a horse.
The five of them stand, just looking at it. It looks back at them through bars of its stall.
“It’s a horse,” Klaus says from Luther’s arms. Luther glances down at him and then back at the horse.
It’s a big horse, Luther thinks, not that he knows much of anything about horses and would be the first to say that his sense of scale might be slightly off with his own large size. But if he thinks the horse is large, it must be large. It’s a big, dark brown beast of an animal.
There’s a soft explosion from the other side of the door. The horse startles at it, tossing its head, ears flat back.
Whumpf! “Alright, that should buy us a little time to get out of here,” Five says as he appears on Luther’s other side and already moving to the heavy double doors at the end of the long aisle. He makes it a few steps before he realizes none of them are following him. He spins back around. “What are you all lollygagging about for? We’ve got to move!”
“There’s a horse,” Viktor says.
Five looks between them and the horse. “Yeah, it’s a stable. That’s usually where horses are. Let’s go.”
He makes to leave again. They still don’t follow.
“He’s stuck,” Klaus says when Five turns back around with another huff. He gestures to the warped door, stuck fast while all the other stalls are open and empty.
“Then open it and we can go.”
Klaus looks up at Luther, eyes large and pleading, and pats at his shoulder. Luther glances at the rest of the family.
Viktor is looking at the horse with worry and pity. Allison gives him a dubious shrug, starting to drift after Five. Diego rolls his eyes, also starting towards the door. Five has his arms crossed and is practically tapping his foot with impatience.
Luther steps to the stall door, adjusting Klaus carefully to free a hand, mindful of his brother’s horrifically snapped ankle. With a little lift and a little shove, he gets the door to slide open. They all shuffle to the side to give the horse room to bolt out to freedom and safety.
It backs up instead, hitting the back wall with a loud thud, its head still tossing and hooves pawing at the straw, the whites of its eyes visible.
“There. It’s free. Now, let’s go,” Five says. Diego and Allison move after him. Luther starts to follow, too, despite Klaus’ continued taps on his shoulder.
Viktor stays frozen, frowning at the horse. “She’s too afraid to leave. We have to help her.”
“She’s definitely a he,” Klaus interjects with a quick glance lower on the horse.
Five stands very, very still, lips pressed into a thin line and eyes narrowed. He lets out a very careful breath through his nose. Voice tight, he says, “Viktor. Horses choose to die all the time. It’s what they do. Let it. We did what we could and now we have to go.”
“No. We caused this mess, he shouldn’t die because of it. We can get him out.”
The horse neighs at them and kicks the wall with another heavy thump.
“It doesn’t want to get out,” Five hisses, stepping towards Viktor.
“He’s too scared to know he wants to get out,” Viktor insists. His complexion is starting to pale. Luther nervously adjusts his hold on Klaus.
“We’re wasting time!”
Viktor takes a step of his own towards Five. “Only because you’re refusing to let us help him! We’d be on our way by now if you stopped arguing!” He’s definitely lost most of the color from his face, now. Luther strains his ears for a tell-tale warning hum.
Five brings a small hand up to his face to rub at his temples. “Why is this your hill to die on? It’s a horse! You met it a minute ago!”
“He’s innocent,” Viktor insists. “I’m not killing an innocent horse just because we messed up!”
Because he’s standing next to him, Luther catches Five’s muttered, “You have already killed every horse on the goddamn planet…”
Of course, Viktor hears it too, as amped into his power as he currently is. His posture straightens and his jaw firms. “So then you understand why I don’t want to kill this one.”
Diego and Allison frown at the apparent non-sequitur. Five sags ever so slightly and lets his hand drop to give Viktor a very long look. “It’s a horse,” he tries one last time.
“He’s a horse.”
If it had been any other sibling making this stand for the horse, Luther is sure Five would have forced them to move on by now. It’s Viktor, though, so they’re still here. Five stares at him for another second before flinging his arms out. “Fine. Fine! We’ll save the fucking horse!” He spins to Allison. “Can you Rumor the goddamn horse to leave its stall?”
Allison blinks at him and then glances at the horse. “No,” she says once she’s processed how things have just shifted. “They don’t work on animals.”
“Fucking spectacular.” Five stalks down the aisle away from them, looking for something. They all slowly turn to watch him go, frowning. He steps into an alcove and rummages around for a few seconds before reappearing at the stall door, a bridle in hand.
Five pauses to look at Viktor. “If it bites or kicks me, that’s it. I’m leaving it to become glue.”
Viktor is so shocked by the sudden turn of events that he just nods dumbly, color rushing back into his cheeks.
Five enters the stall.
Luther shares a confused glance with Diego and Allison and then they all shuffle forward so they can see what the hell Five is doing.
The horse has backed itself into the corner of the stall, ears plastered to its head. Five unceremoniously kicks a bucket over so he can stand on it and reach its head, bridle outstretched. They watch in fascination as, through some miracle, Five manages to get the bridle over the animal’s nose at its next head bob. The horse snorts at the trick, chomping on the metal bit now in its mouth. It swings its head around and Five is gone, in the opposite corner by the time the horse’s mouth snaps shut in its attempted bite.
“You’re such a goddamn dumb asshole,” Five tells the horse. “I’m trying to save your dumb hide!” He returns to his bucket and forces the bindings shut as the horse continues to resist.
“There!” he says a moment later. He loops the reins down and holds them out. “We have a horse. Someone take it. We’re leaving.” The horse darts its head out in another attempt to bite Five. He sidesteps and sends the animal another murderous glare. “Viktor!” he snaps, shaking the reins at him.
In a light daze, Viktor steps forward to take them from him. As soon as they’re out of his hands, he’s stomping out. The siblings dubiously follow, Viktor and the horse taking up the rear.
They make it almost halfway down the aisle when Viktor calls after them, “Um!”
“What fucking now,” Five mutters as they turn back.
There’s no Viktor and no horse. “Viktor?” Allison calls.
“He won’t move!”
“Then leave it!” Five calls back.
“Five! You said!”
Luther thinks they’ve hit the closest Five has ever come to abandoning them. His nostrils are flared and that might actually be a vein pounding in his temple.
There’s another soft explosion. The horse neighs again and Viktor makes a few, hushed noises of comfort.
“We have to go!” Five yells.
“Here,” Luther says, backtracking with Klaus. At the stall, he shifts his brother again so he can reach a hand out for the reins. Viktor gives him a relieved, grateful smile and passes them over. The horse tosses its head at him.
“Hello, again, Bartholomew,” Klaus tells it.
“Did you just fucking name it? Don’t name it!” Five yells from the aisle.
Luther gives the reins an experimental tug. The horse holds strong for a second before taking a single step forward.
Alright. “We’re good to go!” Luther calls over his shoulder, letting Viktor dart out before continuing to pull the horse, Bartholomew, after him.
They make it to the stall door before they hit another problem. Bartholomew freaks out at leaving the apparent familiar safety of his stall and balks. Luther tries to keep pulling him along but the jerk is enough to jostle Klaus’ ankle. Klaus’ face pales immediately and he tries to swallow his surprised cry of pain, involuntarily grabbing Luther’s forearm in a tight grip, fingers digging in.
Diego winces, attention on Klaus’ leg. “You good?”
“Just… peachy…” Klaus manages between gasps.
Five is ignoring them, staring hard at Viktor. He meets his gaze, silently pleading.
Something heavy shifts and groans from the other side of the door. There’s muffled shouting.
Five lets out a long, long sigh.
“My rule still stands. If it bites me, I’m leaving it.” And he walks to Luther and holds his hand out for the reins. Luther frowns at him. What is Five going to do? The horse is at least ten times his weight and he’s not stronger than Viktor, who also couldn’t move the horse. They obviously don’t get along, either. Five clears his throat impatiently.
Luther gives him the reins.
“Back up,” Five instructs.
The siblings shuffle back.
“What are you—“ Allison starts.
Five throws the reins over Bartholomew’s neck and disappears in a flash, reappearing in the next second on the broad back.
Bartholomew flips at the sudden, if insignificant, weight and bucks.
They all gasp, Diego almost falling forward with arms outstretched to illogically try and catch Five.
Except Five is still on the horse. He sits tense on the horse’s back, expression a grimace of concentration as Bartholomew tries another sidestep to throw him. He gives it a couple more thrashes before it becomes clear Five isn’t going anywhere and the horse settles, ears stilled pinned back and giant sides heaving with massive breaths.
Cautiously, Five relaxes a little. He untangles his hand from where he’d been gripping the mane in front of him and shakes it out. Getting the reins in both hands, he tugs them one way and then the other, Bartholomew’s head turning slightly at the directions.
“Alright,” Five says with a heavy sigh. And he kicks his feet in, hard, at the horse’s sides and Bartholomew, against all odds, takes a step forward.
They stand back in open-mouth wonder as Five rides the horse out of the stall and starts down the aisle.
“What the fuck,” Diego finally manages to say.
“We’re going. Let’s go,” Five calls back. Bartholomew’s hooves clop on the floor.
“What the fuck,” Diego says again, with feeling.
“Come on,” Allison says, the first to recover. She leads the way after Five.
“How the hell do you know how to ride a horse?” Diego demands as he catches up to walk beside Five, head tilted back to catch Five’s eye from his perch atop the horse.
“I told you. I know how to do everything.”
“I-I-I—Yeah, I mean, sure. But, Five. A horse? What, there were horses in the apocalypse?”
Five looks down at him with a withering, unimpressed stare. “Yeah, Diego,” he says, tone biting. “When I got to the end of the world where every living thing on Earth was dead, the one exception was a horse. Animals well known for their durability and survivability. And I befriended it and learned how to ride it instead of eating it my first winter when I almost starved to death.”
The siblings blanch.
“Jesus Christ,” Allison mutters.
“You can just say you learned how at the Commission,” Viktor says, wincing.
“Why did you learn how to ride a horse in the Commission?” Diego asks, too stuck on the absurdity of the situation to put the obvious pieces together himself.
He gets another disappointed look from Five, although he’s distracted from answering for a second as he has to navigate getting Bartholomew to go through the large door to the dark grounds outside. Bartholomew tries to reach back and bite his leg again but Five yanks the reins to stop him. “You don’t deserve to be saved,” he tells the horse before turning to Diego. “How do you think people got around for millennia? Cars have only been around for like a hundred years. So, horses. Unfortunately.”
They duck into the cool night, the sprawling grounds of the compound illuminated by the flickering light of the burning building they’re leaving behind them. They skirt around the edge, Five leading the way on his mount. “Unfortunately? Five! This is so cool!” Klaus says.
“I don’t like horses,” Five says. He holds a hand out to for them to stop, pulling Bartholomew to slow as a truck barrels past, armed men on the back. The car’s headlights miss them in their position in a small alley between the stable and what might be a storage shed. Bartholomew is much more eager to cooperate now that they’re out of the building with fire and explosions in it.
“If you were nicer to them they’d like you back and then maybe you’d like them,” Viktor offers softly.
Klaus frowns at him. “Have you secretly had a horse this whole time?”
He shakes his head. “I just think they’re neat.”
“Horses don’t like me either. And if Viktor actually knew how to ride a horse this whole time, I will leave you all to get out of here by yourselves. Come on, coast is clear.” He kicks Bartholomew to go again and trots away, leaving them to scramble after him.
Luther expects it to be more of an ordeal to sneak off the grounds – they’re not a subtle group and they have a horse with them – but it’s just a matter of ducking away from patrols and keeping moving. The fires and Five’s explosions they left behind them have done their job to pull attention.
As they’re jogging after Five and Bartholomew, Klaus hums. “Why did they have horses?”
Allison scoffs around her heavy breathing. “They’re rich. Rich people have horses.”
“Yeah,” Klaus agrees, holding his leg in a vain attempt to stop Luther’s gait from jarring it. “Wait, but then why didn’t we have horses? We were rich. We are rich!”
“We turned out like this and you want to add horses to that mix?” Diego asks.
“That—ahh, Luther, ow, ow, ow—that would have been messy. But we could get horses now! That could be fun. Then we all get one, not just Five.”
“We’re not getting horses,” Five calls back over his shoulder. “Duck over, I think this is the last patrol ahead.” He leads them off the drive, tucking Bartholomew behind a cluster of artfully landscaped trees. The rest of them huddle in the next clump over – they learned the last time they hid that Bartholomew likes to kick. They wait for the lights and footsteps to pass.
Back on the road again, Allison calls up to Five, “What is your problem with horses? I thought you’d be a fan of all life after all the nothing.”
“Yeah, that sounds like me,” Five mutters, swearing in his next breath as Bartholomew spooks at an errant leaf blowing over the drive. Louder, he says, “I’m a fan of useful life, you all being the exception to that rule. I’m a fan of humanity, in general. I like dogs alright.”
“How are horses not useful? They got you around everywhere in the pre-car days,” Diego says.
“They were a necessity; doesn’t mean I think they’re actively useful. They filled a job until something better came. They’re just smart enough to be insane about the dumbest, littlest things, they’re an evolutionary nightmare, and if you just look at them wrong they snap a leg and keel over dead and leave you in the middle of the prairie in 1874 when you’re two days walk from civilization.”
Diego and Klaus snort. Luther shares a smile with Allison and Viktor.
“One horse kicked you off and died on you so now you blame them all?” Allison teases.
“No,” Five says. “I told you – horses hate me. That one wasn’t special. They all try and kick me off, so I had to get really good at staying on. You can’t trust them.”
Luther thinks back on how Five has managed to cling onto Bartholomew, bareback, and has to grudgingly admit that Five does seem to have been very successful on that front.
“Why did you learn to ride them if it was such a pain, then?” Viktor asks.
“I had to. I’m a fifty-eight-year-old man. For a lot of history and where I was going, if a guy that old hadn’t learned how to ride a horse it would be really weird. I’d stick out like a sore thumb. I’d avoid it when I could but just enough of the time I did have to ride. As I keep saying, an unfortunate necessity. Is that a parking lot ahead?”
Five’s abrupt question pulls their attention past Bartholomew’s hindquarters in front of them. “Filling station, maybe?” Luther offers.
“Vehicles are good, lets get a vehicle,” Five says. He leads them off the road, cutting through a grassy field until they’re a few hundred feet from the lights. Luther was right – it’s a private filling station for the compound’s cars. Among the few vehicles parked, there’s a large van in front of the small building and only one man that they can see guarding it. Five gives a meaningful glance towards it and then back to Allison. She sighs but nods and then ducks off to secure the van for them.
“I’ll give her backup,” Diego decides and sneaks after her. The remaining siblings watch them go.
“I’m leaving the horse here,” Five announces, dropping the reins and teleporting off. He reappears by Luther, Bartholomew snorting and startling at Five’s sudden disappearance from his back.
Luther feels Klaus stiffen at that. Viktor frowns too. “Right here?” he asks. “Where there’s cars and stuff? I thought we were freeing him?”
Five scoffs. “It’s just going to run back to the house. It’s dumb.” He moves to start shooing Bartholomew on his way.
“Wait,” Viktor says, holding out an arm to stop Five. “What if he doesn’t go back to the house and does decide to be free? We should take the bridle off of him, give him a chance.”
“By we you mean me, right?” Five asks dryly.
Viktor bites his lip but nods.
Five sighs but approaches the horse more slowly. “This is what I get for indulging you,” he mutters to himself. “Come here, horse. I’m freeing you.”
“His name is Bartholomew,” Klaus supplies.
“I’m not calling it that.” Five tugs the reins down until Bartholomew’s head is low enough for him to reach the bridle’s straps. “Here, Viktor, hold it here for me.” With Viktor’s help, he has the bridle undone in a matter of seconds and slips it off.
“Well,” Five tells the horse as it continues to stand and simply stare at them, “thanks for the ride, I guess. You’re welcome for stopping you from becoming barbecue. Leave now.”
Bartholomew keeps standing for a long moment, still staring, tense, ears flicking up and back. Five sighs and moves to push him to go when Bartholomew lunges and does what he’s been trying to do for the past half-hour: he bites Five.
“Mother—” Five curses as the horse’s teeth close around his bicep and he flinches away. As soon as he ducks, Bartholomew cuts back and takes off, galloping across the field and disappearing in the darkness.
It’s absolutely silent as they stare at Five with wide eyes and he glares after the horse, the beat of Bartholomew’s hooves fading away quickly.
“I am. So glad we made it back to catch that,” Diego says from the side.
Five turns to glare at him, rubbing at his arm, and that breaks it. Viktor leaks a small snort and then he’s gone, shoulders shaking in silent laughter. A chuckle escapes from Luther, unable to hold it in any longer. Klaus laughs, punctuating each ha with an ouch as their combined mirth jostles his leg. Diego grins at Five while Allison looks on with a wry smile.
Five just looks at them all, lips pressed together and letting a very long breath out through his nose. When there’s a brief pause for breath, he asks, voice pinched, “Can we go, now?”
“Yeah,” Diego says, still grinning, and he motions for them to follow. “See if you can wrangle this van for us, get us home.”