Triskaideka

“Wow, so you’re, like, a REAL FBI agent?” The young mare looked over Redeemer’s badge, comparing the picture to the handsome brown stallion before her. The bartender brought over Redeemer’s bottle beer and the mare’s tall fruity cocktail.

“That’s right,” he said, taking his badge back and grabbing his beer. “I’m here working a case. I was hoping you might be able to help me.”

“Is this about Libra and the others?” she asked with concern. “Because I heard those were just animal attacks.”

“Is that all you’ve heard?”

The mare’s eyes darted around nervously and she took a big sip of her drink. “No,” she said quietly, “I’ve heard it’s the Triskaideka again. It’s what a lot of ponies are saying.”

“What is Triskaideka?” Redeemer asked, leaning in close to the mare. She looked at him with wide eyes and took another sip.

“It’s like, this big unicorn with glowing red eyes, and he’s really tall, and he cuts ponies up and puts their pelts over his.” She seemed genuinely afraid to talk about the topic and Redeemer put his hoof on hers reassuringly. The mare looked down and smiled.

Cold Case was questioning some local stallions across the bar and looked up to see his brother holding the mare’s hoof. “Really, Deem?” he asked under his breath. Redeemer looked over and smiled awkwardly as the mare wrote down her number on a bar napkin.

“So what’s FBI wanna know about an urban legend?” One of the stallions Cold Case was questioning sunk his shot and walked away from the pool table. He sat down across from Cold Case and looked at the pictures that were laid out.

“Because we’re not sure what else could have done this.” Cold Case watched as the stallion looked over the autopsy photos and grimaced.

“Yeah…that’s…yeah.” The stallion couldn’t find any other words to say and continued to stare. Cold Case put the photos back into their manila folders and slipped them into his jacket. “So you think Triskaideka could be real?” the stallion asked, clearing his throat.

“We don’t know what to think right now, but why don’t you tell me what you do know?”

The stallion looked around and lowered his voice. “The thing’s just an old ghost tale, but I’ve heard it ain’t all made up. Way back, there was this scientist…Crypt Key I think was his name…went crazy after his wife died.

“Started doing all these experiments, bringing the dead back to life, ya dig? Story goes; it took him thirteen tries before he got one to stay alive.”

“I’m guessing that’s Triskaideka.”

“Bingo. Hey, I’m up.” The stallion grabbed his pool stick and approached the pool table.

“Thank you for your time,” Cold Case said, patting the stallion on the shoulder, and walking to the bar where his brother continued to flirt with the young mare.

“Hey, if you need anything, you call me,” Redeemer said, smiling as the mare got up and joined a group of friends. He turned to look at his brother who was giving him a disapproving look.

“You done?” Cold Case asked. “Cause I got a name.”

Back at the motel, Redeemer and Cold Case were each doing their own research. Cold Case sat, staring at his laptop, digging up everything he could about Crypt Key. Redeemer poured over his father’s journal trying to find anything on bringing back the dead.

“Got it,” Cold Case said at last. He turned the screen toward Redeemer for him to read. On the page was an oil painting of a stallion and mare with mildly happy expressions on their faces.

“They look thrilled, “Redeemer commented. “Who’s the mare?”

Cold Case turned the screen back towards him. “That would be Crypt Key’s wife Lilium. Says here she died while foaling, and neither she, nor the foal survived.”

“Sucks. So this Crypt Key character lost it and resorted to making monsters?” Redeemer asked.

“I’m getting to that,” Cold Case replied. “He was the suspect in about twenty murders before the Cosmo killings, but they could never get enough evidence to convict him.”

“Manehatten law enforcement for ya,” Redeemer said, taking a sip of his beer. “Go on.”

“Those murders weren’t like the ones we’re seeing now. Too clean. I think it took him twenty years to get it right. Once he got Triskaideka up and running, he had it do the dirty work. ”

“Okay, so he built thirteen prototypes off of twenty ponies? Why keep killing? He should have had an army by now.”

Cold Case turned the screen back towards Redeemer, and now a black and white photo of a mansion engulfed in flames was being displayed. “Crypt Key died in the fire that destroyed his house. If I had to guess, Triskaideka is just running off of its original programming.”

“Well it’s gotta be hiding out somewhere on the off years. How much you wanna bet that house had a few hidden underground chambers?”

“I’ll get the address.”

-v-v-v-v-vv-v-v-vv-v-v-v-v-v-v-vv

“That FBI agent was SO hot,” Cream Puff said dreamily. “I can’t believe he gave you his number!”

“I know! I should call him right now!” Raspberry said, taking out her cell phone.

“Whoa, haven’t you heard of the three day rule?” Cream Puff’s coltfriend Frosty asked.

Raspberry looked at her phone hesitantly. “Ohhh, but I want to at least have a hook up for Nightmare Night!”

Cream Puff nabbed her friend’s phone before she could hit dial, and put it in her purse. “Trust me, you’ll have one by the time tonight’s over.”

“Are there going to be a lot of ponies at this party?” Raspberry asked as they made their way to the edge of the city. A cold breeze swept a wave of leaves out of the forest. Raspberry looked into the woods nervously then back to her friends. “The party is out there?”

“Yeah, there’s gonna be bonfires and booze and lots of stallions,” Cream Puff said seductively. She gave Raspberry a little push and led her down the dirt path. Frosty grinned and put his hoof around his marefriend’s neck, and whispered something into her ear.

Twigs crunched somewhere in the darkness and Raspberry tried to stop, but her friends pushed her on.

“Keep moving, we’re almost there,” Cream Puff assured her.

“Isn’t this near where Libra—”

“No, we’re not going that far in,” Frosty interrupted. They continued on into the darkened forest with strange rustling noises all around them. Cream Puff whispered something to Frosty and he nodded. They slowed their pace and let Raspberry continue on.

“I thought you said we were almost there…hello?” Raspberry turned to see she was now alone in the darkness. Strange noises emerged from the trees and dark shapes moved all around her.

“Aaaaaaaaah!” A scream echoed in the distance. Raspberry recognized it as Cream Puff’s voice, and she ran up the path toward where she thought she’d heard it. She burst into a clearing by a lake and saw her friend lying on the ground, covered in blood.

“Cream Puff! No!” Raspberry shouted, running toward her friend. Something stepped into the clearing behind her, and she turned to see Triskaideka clumsily making its way out of some bushes. Raspberry screamed as the giant stallion trotted towards her.

“Roaaar!” the creature bellowed. A meat cleaver suspended in a yellow aura swung at Raspberry and she fell to the ground. As she lay quivering with her hooves over her eyes, she heard a snicker. She peeked out to see the creature was laughing at her. And then she heard more laughter from behind her.

“That was too funny,” Cream Puff said, standing up and wiping tears and fake blood from her eyes.

Raspberry’s face turned a brighter red and she began shaking with anger. “That was mean!” she shouted, pushing her friend angrily.

Frosty and several other ponies emerged from the woods and joined in the laughter. “Lighten up Rasp, look, the parties here!” Frosty said, indicating to the other laughing ponies.

“No! I’m going home!” Raspberry shouted. She turned, but the fake Triskaideka was blocking her path. Several flashlights now shone on it, and she realized just how fake the costume was.

“Come on, lighten up,” the actor said, teetering around on his elevated horseshoes. He levitated the mask off his face to smile at Raspberry. She let out a scream and turned to run from the actor. Before he could question why, his head was lobbed off by one swift swing of a machete. The real Triskaideka walked into the clearing and glared at the gathering with its piercing red eyes.

The gathering of youth dispersed out into the woods, all screaming as they fled for their lives. The monstrous stallion was too fast for most, and trampled its prey before hacking wildly with its machete.

Raspberry listened to the screams of her friends behind her, but kept running regardless. All too soon, she was lost in the woods, and ended up running circles in the darkness. She heard a scream to her left and watched as Triskaideka bore down on Frosty and began goring him with its horn.

It stopped to look at her, blood dripping down its horn and onto its patched face. Frosty gurgled and his hooves flailed in the air, trying to ward off his attacker. The creature then turned back to finish the kill. Raspberry took the opportunity to run, but she found herself going back to the clearing. Bodies littered the forest floor and scavengers were already coming out for the free meal.

Only, what she thought was a wolf looked distinctly pony shaped and it worked hurriedly on one of the corpses. Raspberry heard the creature muttering as it pulled entrails out and placed them into a container. She stared for a moment before a machete swung inches from her head.

“Run!” a voice shouted. One of the stallions from the group smashed into the creature as it was about to behead the mare. Triskaideka didn’t even budge, and the stallion began back stepping from the mistake he’d made. “Yeah, you want a piece of me?!” the stallion shouted with false bravado.

Raspberry bolted in the opposite direction as the monster began chasing the brave stallion instead. She tripped and landed in something warm only to find it was the blood of Cream Puff. Her face was to hers, and an expression of true fear had been frozen in place. Her purse was still on her side and Raspberry fished through it frantically.

Redeemer’s number was still dialed into her cell phone. She pushed call and held the device to her head. She sobbed quietly as it began ringing and she prayed he would pick up.

“We gotta get out while we’re young
“’Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to ruuuuuun!”

The Spruce Springsteam hit played from somewhere in the distance, and Raspberry looked around in confusion.

“Hello?” the gruff voice of Redeemer came through the speaker and from somewhere a short distance away. The beam of a flashlight passed by Raspberry and landed on Cream Puff’s corpse. Raspberry stood up and began waving her hooves frantically.

“Please help! They’re all dead!” Raspberry begged. She galloped towards the two and collapsed into tears at their hooves.

“Deem, isn’t that the mare from the bar?” Cold Case asked.

Redeemer looked at his cell phone and ended the call. “Raspberry, what the HELL are you doing out here?” he asked, looking down at the quivering pile of pony.

“Deem!” Cold Case shouted just in time for his brother to duck the swinging machete blade. They both turned and began firing their pistols into the creature. Their bullets sunk into its flesh and a thick black substance dribbled out of the holes. The creature didn’t so much as flinch as it walked through their fire toward them. Its red eyes fixed on Raspberry.

“Get her out of here!” Redeemer shouted.

“I’m not leaving you here!” Cold Case shouted back. They continued firing into Triskaideka’s skull until their weapons clicked empty.

“Now, Cold Case!” Redeemer shouted, switching to his knife. Reluctantly, Cold Case got Raspberry off the ground and carried her back to the path. Triskaideka’s gaze followed the mare until she was out sight, and then it turned to Redeemer.

“Yeah, just you and me now,” Redeemer said, adjusting his grip on the knife. Triskaideka levitated the machete at the ready and took a step forward. It swung the machete, but Redeemer managed to duck under it and stab his knife into Triskaideka’s chest.

The machete got lodged into an oak tree and the creature resorted to swinging its powerful legs. Redeemer had the wind knocked out of him as the creature’s hoof struck his chest and sent him flying backwards. It put its head down and charged at him. He rolled to avoid the attack and stood back up as it was making another round.

He sidestepped the charging stallion and hopped onto its back. The threads holding its pelt together began to tear under the pressure of Redeemer as it ran. With a sickening rip, a section of stitched pelt slid off the creature’s muscles. Redeemer tumbled to the ground with the pelt still in his hooves.

The grotesque monstrosity stood over Redeemer with its muscular system partially exposed. Black fluids were still leaking from the bullet holes the brothers had put into it.

It put its horn to Redeemer’s chest and began applying pressure. He screamed as the horn tore slowly into his flesh. He put his hooves up to try to stop it. Triskiadeka’s face slid beneath his hooves and ripped completely off. The muscles of its face made it appear to be smiling as it bore down on him, and its eyes never blinked.

“Hey!” Cold Case shouted. The creature looked up and caught buckshot between the eyes. Its skull cracked and bits of brain began to leak out. Another shot collided with its torso and the ribcage and several organs became exposed. Still the creature stood resolute, staring with a single red eye.

Cold Case tried to reload the shotgun, but the creature turned and bucked him into a tree. He fell to the ground next to his brother and gasped for air. Triskaideka stood over them as if it was contemplating what to do next.

“What’s it waiting for?” Redeemer asked. He continued applying pressure to his wound which was now soaking his jacket in blood.

The creature snorted, sending a spray of blackish red fluids all over the ground before turning its back to them. It wandered off into the darkness, leaving the two brothers alone.