Justin rolled his eyes at his girlfriend’s stupidity. “It means- Britney- that we are going to have to go horse-back riding with Lance and the other guys instead of the date we had planned.”
“Oh, ok Justy! Whatever you say,” Britney said. Horseback riding with Lance- what fun! …No. Justin sighed and grabbed Britney’s hand, taking her lazily out to his Mercedes and politely opening the door for her to step inside.
“I hope I don’t, like, break a nail or screw up my hair. It took my stylist, like, forever to do this new thing; see how it’s tapered there, and the highlighter is like that?” she motioned to a few of her blue-tinged strands. Justin didn’t even look at her.
“Yeah, I see,” Justin said. Britney elbowed him.
“You didn’t even look!” she said. Justin turned his head sideways for a moment, then faced the road again.
“There, happy?” he asked.
“What got you in such a crappy mood?” She asked him.
“I. Hate. Horseback riding,” he told her, his rage slowly welling.
“Well then why do we have to go?” she asked. The wind whipped past her head, spilling her hair back in a golden turquoise waterfall. Justin continued to stare at the road, its gray hue going almost ebony from behind his purple tinted shades.
“I lost a bet to Lance,” Justin said wearily. Britney gazed up into the sky. The green grass that surrounded them on all sides was completely dull. A glistening black speck rose higher in the air. An eagle- perhaps.
“What bet?” She asked, her hand wrapping around his shoulder.
“He bet me that me and you would get together, and I bet him we wouldn’t. The stakes were if he won, I would bring you and we –as in all five-err-six of us- would go horseback riding. If I won, we would go ice-skating. Lance hates ice-skating,” Justin informed her.
They rode the rest of the way in silence, the Mercedes streaking down the two-lane road to the quiet rolling hills where Lance owned a small ranch. It took about an hour of riding through dull and boring country before they made it. The others were already there.
“Hey, glad you could make it!” Lance said, grinning almost evilly. Everyone else was inside of the barn already. Lance owned ten horses and a hundred-acre plot of land. One of the only things he had engorged his money in, the small ranch rested before the barn, and it was only a quick trot to get there. Justin walked into the barn and felt the stench of horse manure and just plain horse fill his nose. Britney cringed and covered her nose-politely, of god given course- to block out the smell.
“Pick a horse,” Lance said to them in his usual. Joyful. Too perfect. Tone. Justin sighed and studied the ten horses with his girlfriend. Joey and Chris had taken the two large, Arabian mares. Lance had his usual, dusky gray horse, Cloud. That left JC with his favorite horse- a blood/palomino mix -appropriately titled Strawberry Blonde. Justin found a small dapple and nodded to Lance, “I’ll take this one.”
Britney chose the small black horse beside it. She stepped back a ways as Lance led the horse out and saddled them both. JC, loving horseback riding and doing it often, had already helped Chris and Joey with their horses.
When everyone had finished, Lance led the horses outside to the corral. JC mounted his horse first, followed by Chris and Joey. When it was Justin’s turn he climbed the three steps and lifted up his left leg.
“Wrong leg, bozo!” Joey said to him. Justin rolled his eyes, raising his right leg to the stirrup and hopping on. He sat comfortably in the saddle while JC led the horse aside, Lance bringing Ebo- Britney’s horse- up to the steps. He held her hand as she climbed up the steps.
Ebo’s eyes rocketed and he reared up on his hind legs. Nostrils flaring, he pounded down to the ground and bolted. JC guided Blonde into a gallop and caught up to him before anything bad could happen. He brought the horse back to Lance. Britney was standing, terrified, with a small yet very visible wet mark on her jeans.
“What the heck is wrong with that horse?” she asked. Lance rolled off some apologies and then brought Ebo back to the steps. As Britney tried once again to mount the horse, now calm, he shied back and her leg fell into open air. Lance caught the back of her tube top and pulled her back before she could fall. On the third try, he held Ebo against the steps and Britney climbed shakily onto him. He shifted and Ebo side stepped under her weight, his mouth foaming a little and his eyes wild.
“It’s ok, sweety, it’s ok, auntie Brit is going to ride you today mmk?” she whispered into his ear, patting the side of his head- which, I vitally say, only scared him worse. Lance mounted his horse, and the six tromped out into the wilderness.
Cloud blazed the trail, stepping nimbly ahead of the others. JC flanked Britney- second to last in line and following steadily behind Justin. There was a small fence which they would need to jump. A black raven danced away as the six horses approached. Lance pulled back on the reins.
“Ok, look, it’s only, like, a half foot high. Your horse should make it over without a problem, just hold on tight, and don’t squeeze with your thighs. Joey, your heal is in the wrong place. Ready?” he asked them all. Justin rolled his eyes and gazed up at the endless blue sky. He nodded and watched as Lance’s horse neatly made it over the fence. Joey and Chris followed without any problems. When it was his turn he held on for dear life, cringing as he landed. Britney backed up her horse, as JC told her to and then aimed Ebo’s head at the fence. She dug her heals into his sides and let out a wild scream as she toppled off, head over heels, and fell to the ground. Ebo pranced away from his fallen rider and stopped a good distance away. JC turned Strawberry in that direction and went after him.
Justin leapt out of the saddle. Well, he tried to get out, but only managed to fall, his tennis shoe entangled in the stirrup. He landed next to Britney with a thud and cringed as he felt a sickening twist in his left foot.
Lance hopped down and ran over to their sides. Chris and Joey followed suit, the three horses remaining frozen until their riders returned. Lance looked down at the two and lent Justin a hand. Justin was too busy yelling to Britney to notice.
“Oh my god! Britney, are you okay! Are you hurt, are you alright?” He crawled over to her- very difficult when you have a broken ankle.
“Ugh, look at my hair,” she complained, taking a loose twig from the mess on her head. She had, luckily, landed in a huge pile of mud, breaking most of her fall. Her slutty tube top rested around her waist and she quickly pulled it back up to cover her two plastic members. She grinned sheepishly and stood up, wet mud dripping off of her to the ground.
“Justin, I wanna go home,” she said. Justin nodded to her. As he got up he winced in pain and fell back. Lance caught him from behind.
“You okay man?” Lance asked him. Justin had grabbed his ankle and was holding it in his hand.
“Um, no,” Justin said, biting his lip in pain. Lance wrapped Justin’s arm around his shoulder, supporting him, and motioned for JC. JC brought his horse over and lifted Justin up into the saddle in front of him. He grimaced as his ankle banged against the saddle. Britney insisted on riding with Lance this time. Lance sighed but helped her to climb up and then took mount behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and cringed as he felt the squish of her mud-covered back against his stomach. JC had already taken off with Justin and was a disappearing speck in the distance. Lance said that they should all try a canter to get back. They nodded, though inexperienced, and followed his lead back to the ranch.
When the quartet arrived back at the ranch, an EMS was waiting outside and Justin was being hauled out on a stretcher, protesting the whole time.
“Is this really necessary? No, I’m fine, what the hell is that. Uh-uh- you aint’ sticking that needle in- ow! That hurt! Watch it big man, or else I’m going to have Johnny kick your behind when I get outta this. Hey! What’s that needle say!? WHAT! You put me on anesthetic! Oh… I’m gonna… kill you… when… I… …” Justin fell back against the pillow and was wheeled into the vehicle. JC managed to hop inside in the chaos before the car sped away and the four were left alone to watch the truck disappear into the horizon. Lance sighed for about the billionth time that day.
“Do you have, like, a shower that I could use?” Britney tugged on Lance’s shirt. He looked down at his own mess, the big brown splotch from where Britney’s back had pushed up against him. He looked at her and nodded, taking her into the house and leading her to the single bathroom.
The wallpaper was decorated with different North American birds. She hopped into the shower, quickly stripping off her clothes and taking them in with her, she only had one pair and they would need to be washed before she could wear them again.
An hour later Britney emerged from the bathroom. Her hair was tied back into a messy pigtail and her plastic counterparts bounced joyfully within the white tube top. She looked around and noticed that she was alone. The house was dead silent. The only sound that crept through was the eerie cry of a raven outside. She went into the kitchen and read the note on the counter.
Brit,
Girls take too long of showers. We all went to see Justin at the hospital, It’s at this address. The Mercedes is here for you to drive. See you soon
Gee I wonder
She took the note and walked outside, staring at the glimmering Mercedes a second before hopping in and twisting the keys- which Justin (stupidly) never removed from the ignition- to start it up.
She arrived at Raven Medical Center an hour later. She walked in and was instantly surrounded by media. God. Damn press.
“It’s said that Justin Timberlake is in the hospital, are you here to see him?” Britney plastered a smile on her face and walked past them. Her hair flung out behind her in a snobbish fashion and she was soon enveloped by the well known face of Lonnie.
“J’s upstairs. Take the nurses corridors,” he motioned to a man standing by a white door. She went up to him and he led her to a small room. Lance, Chris, Joey and JC were standing outside. Britney walked up to them.
“Justin still hasn’t come out of the anesthetic. They’re doing surgery and he should be done in about … now” Lance said with a glance at his watch.
As it turned out it took another half an hour before Justin was wheeled out, his foot in a cast, and still groggy from the drug. As he saw the four guys his face lit up and his grin widened.
“Dude! Can you, like, sue these guys for putting me under anesthetic!?!” he said. The nurses tensed at the word “sue”.
“Justin, you little dim-wad. Is that all you think about? Shut up and get some sleep. We’ll be in to see you when you feel sane,” Chris said.
“Moron,” Justin yelled to Chris as he was wheeled down the hall. They took him to a private room, with white walls, white floors, white curtains. Hell, white everything.
“You think you’re going to put another needle into my body after what happened to me last time I got that little prick? I’ll sue you!” Justin screamed at the nurse as she went for the IV. She backed away quickly and ran out of the room.
“Hey, hey, It’s OK I was just kidding!” He yelled after her to no prevail. He sighed and leaned back against the pillow. Stupid horse. Now what? The tour was over- thank god- but the next one would surely start in a few months. How fast would his damn leg heal? He groaned as he heard the telltale thud of JC’s huge shoes against the floor. Minutes later he was enveloped by five very eager faces.
“Hey, Justy, are you feeling ok?” Britney asked, leaning over and giving him a huge, wet kiss. He gasped as he felt her tongue slide into his cavity. Lance pulled her off of him.
“I don’t think so! You two aren’t going to make out in a hospital!” Lance exclaimed. Justin sat up and continued to complain.
“This really bites man, what’m I goin’ a do now? I’ll be in a cast for, like, what? Two months? Did you know that they put me under anesthetic?”
“Yeah, as if we haven’t heard you complain about it like a billion times,” JC rolled his eyes.
“So, um, where AM I again?” Justin asked
“Raven Medical in my home state of Mississippi,” Lance stated with pride.
“Because he is from Mississippi, you know,” Chris teased, flipping his hand over Lance’s hair the wrong way. Lance grinned and knocked Chris’ hand off.
“Regis! We’ve got your next contestant here. That was really genius Chris,” Justin mocked him.
“Ok, everybody out! Mr. Timberlake you’re free to go,” A nurse came in- different from the one Justin had scared off earlier.
“WOW! Really? That easy?” Justin said gleefully. The nurse nodded and adjusted the crutches to the highest setting. Justin crawled up out of the bed and hobbled around till he got used to the crutches. Then the nurse made him sit down in a wheelchair (‘hospital policy- you know’). He complained some more, and Britney flanked him like the loyal dog (female, of course) that she was. They went out the back way, away from the press, and Justin hobbled into JC’s car.
Raven wheeled slightly to the left, circling higher on the warm thermal. Her eyes danced on the Mercedes that sped down the highway, well over the speed limit. She watched the girl as her falsely colored hair streamed backward. Britney Spears. If there was anyone on this world whom Raven hated- it was she. She cringed as she watched her arm snake across the back of Justin’s shoulders.
Blood from her last kill still lingered in full on her tongue. She hadn’t wanted to kill, but had been forced to. Now she desperately wanted to take a life. That life. Her life. She watched the car fade on the horizon. Her ebony wings tucked against her body and she dove down to the ground.
“Snake, snake, hear me now,” She called into the breaking heat. A huge water snake came up from a shallow pool of wetness by the swamps. It slithered up and raised its body from the ground.
“I need your help, dear river guardian. Send your language to your friends that Deba is coming.”
“Yesss, highnessss,” the snake bowed his head and Raven alighted back into the warm air. Her body went through a series of spasms and she vanished.
Raven reappeared above the airy blue ranch house, belonging to her most favored member of the band- Lance. His hair blew back and forth gently in the long, lowland wind. As he saw the Mercedes approaching, his eyes brightened and he walked to the driveway to meet his guest. Raven spiraled down and landed in the grass.
“Snake, snake, hear me now,” she called into the wilderness. A smaller snake than the last emerged from between the high grasses.
“We got your messsage, highnesss,” he said to her. He bowed his head low and she acknowledged him with a slight turn of her head.
“Good, my dear friend, then you already know that Deba’s spirit resides in that creature.” Raven nodded towards Britney’s bouncy figure stepping out of the car.
“Yesss,” the snake said.
“Make good use of her body, but leave the kill for me,” Raven instructed. The snake nodded, yes, and then she was off again. She watched as the six horses were led out and at Britney’s... attempt… to mount the horse. It was a very smart horse. It could sense the evil that poured out through her pores. Very smart horse indeed.
Raven flew above them and ahead of them, landing on a small fence that she knew they would undoubtedly have to cross. As she saw them approach she took off back into the depths of the woods. With her binocular vision she could see a dark colored snake making it’s way closer to the group.
Lance led the way over the fence and for a moment she was taken by the unity of horse and rider. Then Joey leapt over, accompanied by a harsh grunt as he landed, and she was jousted back to reality. The snake crept closer to Britney’s horse and just as she was preparing to leap the snake struck out at the horse, biting into soft flesh just above the hoof. It was none-poisonous, and did not hurt so much as frighten the horse into a wild rear.
Britney toppled face down into the mud. Raven smiled. Her fun was only beginning.
As Justin was carried off in the EMS, Raven flew swiftly downward and back into the heavily wooded areas.
“Deer, Deer, here me now,” her voice echoed into the stillness. She had to wait for about a minute before a beautiful old buck came into her view with giant pronged antlers. He halted in front of Raven and made an elegant bow.
“How can I be of service to you, milady?” he questioned her. His brilliant antlers glistened in the sun that filtered down through the green leaves. He stood proudly and Raven knew that she would beseech him many times. He needed a name.
“My good fellow, what do they call you?” she asked him. His black eyes tightened for a moment before he answered her.
“Anog,” he said. He straightened a little more, if that were at all possible, at the sound of it. It did have a nice ring to it, sounding almost godly. Raven nodded her head and paused for a moment before she spoke.
“Anog, would you like to help me?” she asked.
“In any way possible, milady,” he said.
“I am appointing you to half hold over this whole lowland region. I need you to summon the leaders from every pack and every group of animal, to meet here. Make sure that you get the powerful ones, but even the weak are going to be important to my plan.”
Anog turned to leave. “Oh, one more thing, my good friend, sharpen those antlers of yours. You will need it.”
He nodded to her and then bolted back into the forest, his song already echoing into the summer heat. Raven lifted into the air and then vanished once again.
She reappeared, two-dimensional, and watched as Britney climbed into the shower. The curtain closed and Raven awaited the completion of her wash. As she stepped out, ages later, Raven glanced aside, her eye the only thing moving so as not to give her away. What seemed like an eternity later, the pop-superslut stepped out of the room, her hair groomed enough to look suitable and her tube top a rather gray color. Raven spasmed again and then she was outside. She called into the air a small burst of victory. She could’ve taken Britney down right then and there. Could’ve. She had remained in control the whole time. It had been practice for what she was going to have to live with soon.
Justin hobbled out of the car and into the ranch on his crutches, JC standing beside him incase he should falter. Lance opened the door and they all walked into the cool building. Justin plopped down on one of Lance’s couches and set his crutches down beside him.
“Want something to drink?” Lance asked Justin. He set the suitcases down and stretched while he awaited the answer.
“Yeah, that’d be great, Lance,” Justin said. Britney bounced up in front of his face suddenly and, spooked, he jumped. JC hid a chuckle behind his hand at his band mate’s reaction. Everyone hated her. She couldn’t sing at all. All she ever did was lip sync anyway, when she wasn’t busy using her lips for pleasure purposes on Justin. Lance despised her the most out of the group. In the beginning, he had had a major crush on her. He had hung around her a lot. That was before Justin and her became “boyfriend/girlfriend”. Then Lance saw what Britney really was. And now he, along with the other three, hated her. He shook his head at the sight of the gushing kiss the two were giving each other.
JC glanced at Lance, an equally disgusted look plastered across his face. Chris made himself look busy, and Joey stared at the floor until they were done. Finally, Britney pulled out of the kiss and stared into Justin’s eyes for a moment, a devilish light brightening her face.
