Like the wind that lifts a bird higher than it has ever flown, she came into my life. It was so unexpected and so surprisingly easy. Before that day I had closed myself off to any and all who tried to get inside. This time it was different though, and I felt something almost the moment we met. She was the most innocent thing I had ever seen in my entire life, but beyond that childish stare, lurked more wisdom than I could possibly have ever imagined. I thought I knew everything…but I discovered this day, I did not. And I have learned a lot of valuable lessons in my short life, but perhaps there was none I learned more valuable than this... “In the eyes of defeat, when your entire world has come crashing down…don’t ever give up, don’t ever surrender, for there will always be a little Hope…”

Morgan awoke to the annoying sounds of cackling birds. A quick glance of his surroundings revealed at least a couple hundred huge ravens feasting upon the dead that now littered the ground around him. Still groggy, Morgan was able to regain his focus just in time to witness one huge black feathered scavenger plunging its long boney beak into the eye socket of a nearby corpse. He was not able to look away as the bird ripped out the man’s eye and swallowed it down with one gulp. It was not quite the “good morning” Morgan would have liked. His stomach lurched, and he nearly threw up at the sickening scene. His senses were on full alert already, because he quickly realized where he was and what had happened. He knew last night’s events were not just some dream. A nightmare may have been easier to digest, Morgan imagined. The sound of a horse snorting nearby suddenly drew his attention to the right. And there he was…the great white horse, just lying in the nearby grass beside him. His savior…and his new friend! Morgan was thankful for the horse’s allegiance. Ghost stared intently at him and oddly he looked well rested. Morgan somehow knew the horse did not sleep the entire night. He sensed the horse watched over him as though he was his new found protector and guardian. And for that…he was even more thankful! Morgan stood up slowly, clearly exhausted. His body was sore, but he was happy to have survived the previous evening. Obviously so many had not been as lucky as he was. He tried to imagine how many bodies lay on the ground before the house. He realized it was way too many to count. The rest of the army, at least a hundred men, burned in that barn. Well, a hundred and one anyway. For Morgan, he would never forget that ONE…NOT EVER! The large man hurt him like no one ever had before…and not just physically. Ghost stood up as well and he strode over to Morgan’s side. They both walked towards the house together. The house seemed too quiet for his liking. Morgan continued to approach with caution and a lot of apprehension. Part of him screamed out loudly to his senses, telling him to jump on the back of his friend, ride like heck and never look back! But the other side…the one he knew that would win him over, wanted to know more than anything else. The day was clear, sunny, and seasonably warm for late October. Morgan took in a deep breath of air, happy just to be alive. Suddenly he heard a soft gravely groan off to his right. Looking down at the ground in that general direction, he watched in amazement as a man’s torso was crawling towards him! “Shit…not again” he muttered those words in disgust. The man had nothing left from his waist down dragging his intestines behind him! They were covered in dirt, and of course the stupid thing just had to be crawling his way! “Of course you are…I shouldn’t expect anything less at this point!” Clearly he’d had enough. It was time to put the theory he had recently discovered to the test. He grabbed the handle of the ancient sword, drawing it slowly from its sheath. The sweet song played once more. Oh how he loved that sound already! He walked casually over to what was left of the crawling man. With one abrupt motion, he thrust the sword deep into the creature’s skull. The sword was like lightning and the skull split easily into two pieces. The dead man’s torso no longer moved. “Well, at least that question is answered” Morgan half grinned as he wondered who he was actually talking too? Then Ghost snorted in reply. He smiled again realizing the horse was the only one listening. The test had proved what he already suspected, that the common thing the living dead all shared with each other was they could die again. And this was good news of course for the living! Fire seemed to work also, as he recently discovered, and now a lethal blow to the head was the only proven methods he had found at this point. Strangely, it all made sense to him. He saw men back on the battlefield who did not get up. He was pretty sure he saw bullet holes in their heads as well. Of course there was the large man in the barn, he never changed into one of them either, and Morgan knew the steel tip in his head was clearly the reason for that. Morgan could not imagine that man as one of these things. What destruction he would have caused! The man was a force in living form, never mind an almost unstoppable dead creature! It was a crazy revelation, but some how it all made perfect sense. He walked onto the porch and discovered there was no longer a front door. Now there was only a large shattered opening, where the door once was! He could see the glass in every window was broken out and the glass shards covered the floor. More bodies littered the porch. One man lay within the entrance of what used to be the door. Morgan continued to scan everyone one of them for head wounds. Soon he was satisfied they were all dead. He pulled the body from the destroyed doorway and dragged it out onto the porch with the others. Morgan entered the house with trepidation. Ghost remained outside just to the edge of the porch, and he watched Morgan’s every move intently. More broken glass and large amounts of blood covered the main floor within. Seeing the blood, he knew that someone must have been injured and most likely worse. He searched the entire first and second floors discovering more of the same, but there were no bodies, no family members, no anything! There was just a lot of damage to the house and blood everywhere! Morgan knew deep in his heart the family had to have been massacred…and he was just too late…he was always late, or so it seemed.

Morgan finally returned to the first floor. He found another door and he figured it must go to the cellar below. He turned the door handle and pulled, trying to open it. The door was not locked, but it would not budge. He quickly realized the door had been nailed shut…from the outside! Morgan thought that was very odd. There were nails all around the outer portion of the door, securing it to the frame. Morgan remembered seeing a hammer in the yard. The hammer was stuck in the center of one of the dead’s forehead. Examining the door, he started to hear the faint sounds of crying from the other side. “Hello, is there anyone down there? Hello?” Morgan called out. The crying stopped immediately and Morgan could hear the sounds of the creaking steps from within. Someone was there! “Hello? I’m looking for two brothers, Daniel and Johnny? I met them last night on the road to your house, are they in there with you?” Morgan heard some whispering. Then scuffling sounds coming from behind the door. He realized someone was there on the stairs just on the other side of the door. Morgan was about to call out again when he heard the sound of a long singular click. This sound was one Morgan had heard far too many times already in his young life! “Oh shit!” He cried out, and he dove to the floor. Fortunately for him, it was just in time! A loud explosion tore through the door, blasting it outward, sending large chards of wood everywhere! As the smoke cleared, Morgan looked up at what remained of the door and could see a huge hole in the center. Moving quickly, he rolled around the corner from the door, and out of harm’s way. He drew both guns as fast as he ever had. Morgan was relieved to know, the door was the only thing destroyed by whoever fired that shot! Morgan cried out, “I am not your damn enemy! I was only trying to help you people! Obviously you don’t want it, so I’m just gonna go now!” Morgan eased back slowly towards the front door. He slid both guns back in their holsters He was confident he would not have to use them if he just left the house. Unfortunately Morgan was very wrong. The remaining portion of the cellar door suddenly crashed open! Out walked a man. Morgan recognized him immediately, it was the younger brother Johnny, and he was standing in the hallway staring hard at Morgan. The man held a double barrel shotgun, and he was aiming it right at him! “It’s time for you to finally die, you rebel piece of shit!” growled Johnny. The man was poisoned by the war and Morgan knew there was nothing he could say to stop him from cutting him down like a dog. He knew the man had lost too much to the South, and to him, right now…Morgan was that South! Wasting no more time, he drew out his right side peacemaker! He was clearly faster than Johnny, and the bullet was off quicker than the actual draw. Stunned by the speed displayed before him, Johnny did not have chance to fire the shotgun. Johnny instead felt a very cold hand, grabbing for his shoulder. There was something behind him! Clearly distracted, Johnny let out a yelp! Morgan’s fired round zipped by Johnny’s face, and just in time! The bullet, struck the dead soldier standing behind Johnny, right between his eyes! The dead thing hit the floor about the same time as Johnny’s dropped shotgun hit the floor. Morgan continued to point his gun at the man, “Are you done trying to kill me now John!” It was clearly not a question. Johnny clearly realized Morgan had made a statement. He looked down at the floor to the dead man now lying at his feet. Johnny was scared out of his mind. He quickly looked at the shotgun, and then slowly back up to meet Morgan’s intense stare. Dumfounded and not quite sure what to say, Johnny slowly found the words, “You saved me? W-Why would you do that? We are sworn enemies, and yet you saved m-my life, even when I was about to take yours, I d-don’t’ get it?” Morgan continued to stare hard at the man, “I’m not your enemy John. I never was. I’m not even a rebel soldier, but that’s another story. One, I may actually tell you someday. Just for the record though, you were actually about to take my life. Or should I say try? You would have never been fast enough. But that’s okay, because I don’t want to kill you either John. I never did.” John paused and looked up, “I don’t know what to s-say” Morgan very plainly replied, “Your welcome?” An old woman suddenly appeared at the cellar door. She stood on the stairs glaring at them both, “Johnny you know that man just saved your life! That’s all that should matter! Now stop being a damn fool and thank the man for doing so!” Johnny was obviously embarrassed, and his face flushed immediately, “Okay Ma’, I’ll tell him” He looked back at Morgan. He was clearly defeated, “Listen Mister, a lot has happened since we first met, but you saved my life. You could have shot me, or even worse, you could have let that thing eat me! But you didn’t, and for that I owe you…I owe you everything.” Morgan could see the man had been humbled down, and he holstered his gun. He walked over to the man, and bent down, picking up the shotgun. Morgan handed it back to Johnny. He smiled at the man, “I think you dropped this.” He could see the man had pissed his pants sometime during the altercation. Morgan decided not to make much of it. He knew how scared he actually was himself, pissed stained pants or not. “Where’s your brother Daniel?” Morgan curiously asked, not seeing the man anywhere. Johnny and his mother both looked very distraught at the mere mention of the man’s name. Morgan realized right then and there, where Daniel must be. “He went after you Mister. He went out to find our younger brother Hank, and our ranch boss Thomas” Johnny stared solemnly at the floor. He was obviously shaken by what he saw, but he continued, “He never made it ten yards from the damn porch. S-Something big…I’m not sure what…” Johnny cried. “It was something that I’ve never seen before! I cannot begin to describe it, but it was dark colored and appeared to be a large animal of some sort. The thing stood like a man though. It was too dark to tell, but I’m pretty sure it ripped my brother apart!” The man cried openly now. “Did you see my other son Henry? Did you Mister? Tell me you saw my boy in the barn…or out there in the yard somewhere…didn’t ya’ Mister?” the old lady was pleading. Morgan was distracted by Johnny’s story, but he quickly realized who Henry was. He knew he’d have to answer for the man’s death. Morgan could not find the words. What could he possibly say to these people? “Hey folks I’m sorry. It was either him or me…I’m sorry, but it was him, as you can plainly see.” He knew he couldn’t say much, without setting Johnny off again. And just when he had finally warmed up to him, he laughed to himself. They seemed to sense he was lost in his thoughts and the woman spoke again, “I am Mrs. Anderson Mister, and this is my farm. This here is my boy Johnny, and Henry…he is my youngest son, and the only other living son I have left. If you know something, please just tell us now.” Morgan snapped out of his trance, he knew he had to tell them something. He could see the pain in this woman’s eyes. He knew she had lost way too much in the past few hours, but he realized she needed to know, “I’m sorry ma’am…I-I did see a very large young man back in the barn. I am truly sorry to have to tell you this, but I am afraid…he is gone. I’m so sorry for your loss ma’am.” Mrs. Anderson and Johnny held each other close and cried openly. The scene tore at Morgan’s heart. “They killed my family Mister! First it was my father, and then Daniel! Now they got Hank too! Ma’ what the heck are we gonna do?!” cried Johnny. “I have no idea son, I really don’t know” sobbed Mrs. Anderson. Morgan waited a few moments and then looked at Johnny and asked, “You mentioned another man, a woman, and a child as well?” Johnny frowned, “Thomas is most likely dead as well Mister. He’s our hired ranch boss and has been a valued member of our family for several years. He’s dead if he’s out there for sure. It’s no use thinking otherwise. The woman is my sister, she is the youngest, and her name is Ruby.” Johnny began to tear up, but continued, “The little girl…she is my niece, and she is very special to all of us. Hank was her daddy. She’s already lost her mother to smallpox and this will just crush her little heart” Morgan was about to come clean when he heard footsteps on the stairs, followed by a woman’s voice, “I-Is everything alright mother’? John? Are you guys okay?” Appearing in the doorway next to her mother was a beautiful young woman of no more than twenty years. She had long auburn hair and ice cold blue eyes, and she was holding the loveliest child Morgan had ever seen. The little girl’s hair was a darker red than the woman’s and her eyes were emerald green and they seemed bigger in contrast to her smaller face. She couldn’t be any older than five he imagined. They both looked scared out of their minds and he could only wonder what they must be thinking. “Who is this man?” Ruby asked, looking somewhat perturbed. Johnny placed his hand on his sister’s shoulder and said, “This is the man Daniel and I ran into last night. We owe him a great deal sis, he saved my life! Heck, he probably saved all of our lives!” Morgan knew the little girl was terrified, so he walked over to them and kneeled down to face her. He smiled, trying to set them both at ease. He extended his hand slowly to her, “Hello, my name is Morgan, and who might this lovely young lady be?” The girl smiled slightly and very shyly extended her hand to him, “My name is Hope Anderson, Mister.” The girl’s smile was infectious. Morgan’s heart warmed at the very sight of her. “Are you here to save us, Mister?” Hope asked. He gently looked into the little girl’s eyes and smiled, “Well…I guess I am. You can rest assured that there is no way as long as I am around, I’d ever let anything happen to you Miss Hope Anderson…I can promise you that!” The little girl smiled big. Ruby glared disconcertedly at Morgan, “What the hell are you gonna do Mister? How can you promise her anything? What are you gonna do that we haven’t already been doing!” she sarcastically proclaimed. “Ruby Mae Anderson, you stop that right now! This man is trying to help us!” her mother yelled. Ruby began to tear up, like a scolded child not getting her own way. She sat down abruptly in a nearby chair. “Listen, I know you have all been through a lot in the past few hours, but I don’t know how many more of these things are out there. You are obviously without a place to hide now” Morgan said, and gestured to the remains of the cellar door. “This place is a complete shambles and it will not keep anything out I assure you of that. We have no choice but to leave, while it’s daylight. You all should leave with me. It’s your only choice. You know I can’t make you come, but I wish you would.” They all stared at Morgan, but he could tell they knew the truth of it. “I’m an old woman Mister and this is my home, I can’t leave. What if m-my husband or Thomas comes back? I need to be here for them. They could still be alive ya’ know? I won’t leave them wondering where we went!” Mrs. Anderson proclaimed. Morgan realized she was in denial, “Ma’am, I can’t make you leave. I’m just telling you if you stay, you most likely won’t survive another night. So at least think about this little girl and her safety, because she won’t be safe here. Heck, none of you will be safe here. And if anyone comes back…I assure you…they won’t be anyone you wanna deal with by yourself!” “He’s right Ma’, we gotta get out of here! It’s just not safe!” Johnny interrupted. Mrs. Anderson sat down and shook her head crying, “I won’t go Johnny, I c-can’t, but I want you and Ruby to go with this man. He will help you keep my little Hope safe. I know he will!” Johnny knelt down to his mothers side, “Okay Ma’, but if you’re staying…so am I. There’s no way I’m leaving you alone! Ruby and Hope can go somewhere safe with Mr. Black. Then maybe, God willing, they will come back with help for us. There has to be someone alive nearby who can help.” Mrs. Anderson shook her head in response, “JOHNNY! I am ashamed of you son, you’re actually gonna send your baby sister and precious little niece off with this complete stranger, all because you don’t want to leave me alone? What are you, crazy boy?! We hardly know this man!” Johnny looked down at the floor with a resonated sighed, “Ma, it’s our best chance and you know it! You can’t travel very far…and I can’t leave you alone! So don’t ask me to even consider that!” Ruby got up from her chair and walked over to her brother staring hard right into his eyes, “That’s just great John, don’t I get a say in any of this? You think you can just send me off with some s-stranger? What if I don’t want to go?” Suddenly the little girl walked over and stood between them, “Don’t fight, I wanna go” she said meekly, looking up at her Aunt and Uncle. The siblings began to argue back and forth not noticing her presence at all. Hope spoke louder, “I wanna go with Mr. Black!” Everyone just stopped and stared at her. “Aunt Ruby, please go with me. Gramma’ is right. I don’t wanna stay here anymore, and it’s too scary” She pleaded with her Aunt. Ruby leaned down to face the little girl, “Its okay Hope, I won’t leave you alone. We will go with him. I promise okay?” Johnny smiled back at Morgan, “It’s settled then, the girls will go with you, and if you find some help, then you will have them come back for Ma’ and me. Please get these two young ladies to safety…It’s all I really can ask of you Mr. Black. You are a better man than me Mister, because I-I would have let that thing eat you if our roles had been reversed.” Morgan smiled back, “I would be honored to do it for you and your family John. You have my word they will be safe. And I will get you and your mother some help as soon as I can. Everyone has the right to change. Even you have changed some since you last tried to kill me!” Both men smiled knowingly and they shook each other’s hand firmly. Morgan walked out of the house and onto the porch. He waited there while the family said their goodbyes and parting words. He grinned at Ghost who was still standing there waiting. The horse remained in the exact spot he had left him. What a horse he thought…what a magnificent horse!

Shortly after, Ruby walked out of the house alone. She called out to Morgan, “Hey Mister, can I talk to y-you?” She looked at him weirdly, realizing he was speaking to someone. Wondering who that someone was, since nobody was obviously outside with him, she began to rethink her decision to go with him. Morgan smiled at the woman, “Of course you can Miss…ahh Anderson.” She walked right up beside him. Her body was almost touching his. Ruby stared up into his eyes directly, “You can call me Ruby ya’ know…it is my name….and yes it is Miss, I aint’ got no time for husbands.” She leaned in real close and lowered her voice to almost a whisper, “You need to understand something Mister, that little girl already trusts you for whatever reason, I don’t know why, but she does. I actually don’t even care at this point, but you need to understand she is no ordinary little girl. She is very special and I will never let anything happen to her. She means the world to me and my family. So don’t think for a minute I’m as trusting as she is. Cause’ I’m not…you got that?!” Morgan nodded his head in complete acknowledgement as she backed away a bit, “I got it…Ruby. I understand your concern. I know you don’t trust me. I get it, but try and trust this. Both of us will be dead and gone before I ever let anything happen to that little girl. On that we can fully agree.” Ruby continued to stare, “Well, I guess we shall see, won’t we Mister?” Morgan stared back at her as she continued. “She’s special, and you have no idea how special she really is…but you will see.” Morgan thought he understood her meaning, but for some reason his gut told him probably not. He just shook his head to acknowledge her, despite his true feelings. He leaned in to her and whispered back “my name is Morgan, ya’ know?” You can call me that… it is my name after all” he grinned. She tried pretty hard to not smile back. Morgan knew she wanted to “Well that’s nice...Mo…Mr. Black” she plainly replied. “By the way…who the heck are you talking to out here anyway?” Hope came out the house at that moment. She was followed by Mrs. Anderson and her Uncle, “Whoooooa! Mister, he’s a beauty! Can I ride him? Can I please, can I!?” Hope obviously was referring to the big white horse standing next to him, which strangely enough, Ruby obviously did not see??? Morgan didn’t know how to answer her without offending her. Actually from what he knew of the horse already, he was kind of surprised Hope could see Ghost at all. He was a bit startled and quite relieved he wasn’t just imagining the horse after all! Regaining his composure, he finally answered her, “Well, Hope, he’s not exactly my horse. He’s kinda his own horse, if that makes any sense? He’s very special…like you are, and he’s not really the kind of horse you just take a on a ride. In fact, I don’t think anyone gets to decide if they can ride him or not. It’s more like he does the actual deciding. Do you understand what I am trying to say?” She kinda frowned, but Morgan could tell somehow she understood. “HOPE? What are you talking about honey? What HORSE are you guys talking about Mister? All of the horses have either died in the barn, or they got out and are running free! There is no horse Hope!?” She quickly shot Morgan a puzzled look and then gave him an even more alarming glance, realizing he was plain crazy! “There is no damn horse Mister!” “Here we go with the INVISIBLE horse thing again!” replied Johnny. He began to roll his eyes. Morgan didn’t get a chance to respond. Hope smiled and pointed right at the creature, “He’s standing right over there! How do you all not see him?” Her family blankly stared at each other with obvious questioning looks. Morgan knew they didn’t see him. Nobody seemed to see this horse, nobody but him...until now. “Let me show you” Hope approached the horse at that moment. The strange markings on the horse began to glow like the flames from a fire. Morgan suddenly realized Ghost was starting to materialize and everyone else could see him as well! The looks on all of their faces said it all. He imagined his face was displaying the similar shock he was seeing in them. The closer she got the horse, the brighter the markings became and the horse became a much fuller image to everyone present. Ruby awoke from her initial shock, and tried to yank her niece back from the suddenly appearing and glowing horse! “Hope you stay away from that animal! There’s something n-not r-right about him! Don’t go near him again! You hear me!” She screamed, and Hope turned on her aunt rapidly. She glared at her with complete ferocity! Ruby appeared quite unsettled by that sudden glare, and she released Hope’s arm immediately! The little girl’s face changed right back to the innocence it was, and she smiled, “He’s beautiful Aunt Ruby….He won’t hurt me. Mr. Black is right. He’s special, just like me!”

This was just a portion of Chapter 3 -

"Want to read the rest? Please pre-order Black, when prompted."