History Of The Crossroads

In the Western time, railroads were brand new. The early stages of production were drawn by horses, but in the early 1800s a man discovered the steam engine. These prototypes were invented all over the world, trying to recreate the novelty the Germans had created. In the beginning, they could only carry small loads of goods from one town to the other, but as determination rose among the humans, more and more prototypes were flying into the industry. But there was only one railroad that was built from one side of the country to another. Only one man was brave enough to make the trip nobody had ever completed. His name was Markus Henry. He had been a conductor for many years of his young life. Not listening to his peers, he set on the journey to bring supplies across their country. Hauling twenty five cars filled to the top with supplies, he and his forty men made the distance across. Any left over room was reserved for families wishing to journey across the land and start a new life out west.

On the day of their departure, an old woman stopped Markus, telling him of a grave and terrible story. The reason no other conductors or member on the train made it alive, were because of the "riders". She could not describe their features, only that they rode on ghostly steeds, with red burning eyes and hooves which kicked fire from the ground with each step. She warned him not to make the journey, for death would be waiting for him between the mountain pass. Markus was a brave young soul and would not take her words lightly. Nobody was going to convince him otherwise. He assured the old woman he and his team would be perfectly fine and in the spring, they would return with gifts from the other side of the country. The members boarded the train, wishing their families well, crying tears of sadness, as well as hugs of hope. They did not know this would be their last time to see the ones they loved. The train left in mid day, traveling at a fast pace of sixty miles per hour. Shoveling more coal into the furnace, the train picked up speeds to about eighty miles per hour.

Markus stood in the conductor's place, watching the scenery around them roll by with great speed. Looking down to his pocket watch, he surmised they were making great time. He did not sleep on this night. The anxiety of finally making his journey was enough to keep him awake. For the next few days, nothing happened. The people were enjoying their time, passing the day be socializing and the women knit quilts. The children ran along the halls, playing with wooden swords and playing hide and seek. Cheer and laughter filled the cars. Markus thought back to the old woman. Surely she was wrong by now. Late one night, a thick fog began to roll over the clouds, covering the view of the midnight moon. The lunar orb shone very bright, but through the collected moisture, Markus could no longer see it. Looking ahead of the train, he saw the fog roll over the train tracks, covering them in darkness. The passengers were tucked away in their beds, while the men powered the train to continue.

As the fog continued to cloud their vision on the outside world, a loud thump rang against the side of the car. Markus looked to the rear, trying to see the source and the fog vanished. Whirling around to face front, he could no longer see any fog. The sunlit moon was brightly shining through the clouds. Markus left the conductor's cabin and moved about the train, searching for the origin of the noise. It would not be long before he discovered the truth. A loud shriek moved through the cars. Picking up his pace, Markus headed farther from the engine of the train. As he opened the door to a passenger car, he saw a woman, clinging onto her child and screaming for her life. Looking to the open window, Markus saw a rider. He did not have a human form, he was almost transparent and then he saw the eyes. The steed the ghost-like figure rode upon was just as the old woman had warned him. Markus moved to her, pulling her arm closer to him and slamming the window shut. Then, as if a great wind forced itself against the windows, they all flew open. More screams and hollers rang throughout the car. Markus ran through, shutting the windows as fast as he could, but eh could not save them all. Many vanished from the car, never to be seen or heard from again.

When he finally closed them, he looked out the window to spot a sign that spoke of working being done ahead. The track was supposed to change to the other lane on it's own, but it did not budge. The train was headed for the construction zone. Markus raced towards the lead car, the engine and his men. Trying to slow it down, the tugged at the breaks, breaking the handle off on accident. Another male tried to dig the coals from the furnace, tossing them over the side of the train, but that also failed. Many of the men shared burns from the hot coals and still the train would not slow down. Markus poked his head out to the side, in the night sky it was hard to see the dark figures before him. They were nearing a bridge, he knew this much as he could hear the sound of rushing water. He forced his men to go and calm the others, but it was useless. Their screams ached his ears, forcing his head to develop a migraine. As the train chugged closer and closer to the bridge, he could finally see it had not been fully constructed yet. They were going to fall to their deaths and none would be making it alive.

As the front wheels fell from the end of the bridge, Markus looked behind to the rear of the train. His eyes caught sight of four figures, riding on horses. The one which seemed to be the leader, forced the horse to kick up on it's hind legs and release a blood-curdling neigh from its mouth. As the train fell over the edge, the world grew silent and Markus could hear no more. The cars plunged into the rocks and water below, the impact against the cars forced them to become mangled and break. None survived. Over two hundred lives were lost that day. Nobody ever discovered the reasoning behind the horsemen or why they do as they do in this life. But on foggy nights, some may hear the evil neigh of the red-eyed beast, riding along with its rider and accomplices. Reports have even said witnesses have seen more of them since this attack. The bridge will never be completed and after hundreds of years, they finally built a new track.