The Return of the Highwayman

by Batak Beatrix

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The road was dark, the feel of the gravel crunching beneath the wheels of Sara’s bicycle jarring her body. It was a cold autumn night, and her breath came out in puffs of fog. For the fiftieth time in the past ten minutes, she wished she would have taken the bus instead of braving the park this late in the evening.

The whinny of a horse cut through the air, startling her to a full stop. When she heard nothing else, she began to pedal again with a shake of her head. Try as she might, she would never understand the people in this city.

A black horse appeared in her path, the rider dressed like a character in a Harlequin romance novel. White lace dripped from his cuffs and collar, a black mask covering his eyes. She skidded to a stop.

“Stand and deliver!” he shouted, brandishing an old-fashioned pistol in the air. Her bike clattered to the ground, forgotten in the face of this such madness. The horse reared, red velvet cape fluttering dramatically in the wind.

She really should have taken the bus.

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Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. The Return of the Highwayman

    blueyedwonder's Buddy Icon blueyedwonder

    Posted about 1 year ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    hahahaha. i hope you’re planning on sequeling this. it’s great.
    i love the creepy-mystery feeling throughout, then the sudden change of mood in the last line.

  2. The Return of the Highwayman

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted about 1 year ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Neat, though I was giggling cause I had a flashback to a bad Adam Ant video. Neat idea.

  3. The Return of the Highwayman

    Howie Amourscow's Buddy Icon Howie Amourscow

    Posted about 1 year ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    My mind boggles at the fact that I’m not the only person around here who remembered the Adam Ant video when he came to that line in the story.

  4. The Return of the Highwayman

    Stovohobo's Buddy Icon Stovohobo

    Posted about 1 year ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Ha, this was great. As always, lovely descriptions and style. I like it, and nice bit of humor at the end.

  5. The Return of the Highwayman

    communitycheese's Buddy Icon communitycheese

    Posted about 1 year ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Oh God, Adam Ant…

    Nice story.

  6. The Return of the Highwayman

    Cavalry Calhoone's Buddy Icon Cavalry Calhoone

    Posted 12 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Yess!! Too much fun. Now I’ve got the Loreena McKinnit song based on the poem stuck in my head.

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