Athens, Georgia
A little boy pointed and shouted, “Dad, look!”
The boy’s father slowed his pace on the sidewalk, and turned to see what had his son so excited. Off in the distance in the center of the small road he saw horses. They were slowly trotting in a row of four and they were massive. The cars were stopping and every person nearby stopped what they were doing to observe. Some were taking pictures.
Each horse was completely dressed in medieval garb, including shiny silver breast-, neck-, and head armor. Riding the horses were fully armored knights with white robes and what looked like a red cross in the center of their chest. The helmets from what he could see were the square, pointy type, and as they got closer, he noted two slits for the eyes. Each knight was sitting straight, facing forward.
Odd, the father thought. In all the years living in this small college town, he had never seen such an unusual sight. “Now that is completely random,” the father said, turning in the other direction, expecting to see a parade preparing to begin. Nothing, and not just that, virtually every person who seemed to notice the giant armored horses appeared surprised.
“Wow,” the little boy said, excitedly pulling on his dad’s hand. “Do you see...?”
“Just a second,” the father said, cutting him off. He was trying to ascertain what was going on, which was most likely an extremely elaborate college prank. There was a group of trees on the far side of the road and four more armor-clad horses came out, lining up behind the first four horses. Every once in a while, the college students would pull off something unusual, but never like this. An officer stepped out of his police cruiser and spoke into his radio.
“The officer’s actions indicate that there is no parade. So,” the father said, smiling, “this has to be a college prank.”
“Cool,” the little boy answered, pulling at his arm.
The father was just about to let go of his son’s hand so he could scamper off and get a better look at the rare sight. Only then did he notice something odd. As the horses got closer, he could not only hear the distinct clatter of multiple horseshoes on concrete, but he saw a very distinct shape of a black thin object on the right side of the knights’ hip. Weapons? Couldn’t be. He turned to see the police officer who was standing defiantly with his arms crossed as he was simply going to allow the alleged college prank to continue. He was even shaking his head with a slight grin. The father re-gripped his son’s hand, pulling him back. He had spent several years in the army, and he instinctively sensed something was not quite normal. His son was pulling at him in protest, but he was just going to wait a few seconds before letting him go.
Then it happened. The eight horses picked up speed, galloping forward. They separated as they maneuvered around the stopped cars. Faster and faster, they trotted and the father decided that his son was staying with him, and pulled him closer. A slight sense of excitement filled him as the unexpected unfolded before them—almost a nice change of pace in this boring little town. However, the sight of weapons nagged at him. Why would they be armed, or were they? He couldn’t quite see for sure.
As the horses came closer to where they were standing, it became apparent that these were not college students. They were big guys, and the closer they got he realized they were very big guys. The horses were clearly massive and muscled. The knights were at least nine or ten feet in the air and towered over everything they passed.
“And that is definitely a gun,” the father muttered, keeping his eyes fixed on the muzzle. It had to be a fake, but why? Knights did not use guns. Then the mounted knight on the left pulled out the gun, lifted and steadied it with the horse’s trot, aimed it at the officer, and shot him.
“This can’t be happening,” the father said in disbelief. “This must be an act.” He watched the officer fall backwards on the hood of his car, holding his throat. “Nope, this is for real,” he said, yanking his son along and ducking behind a parked car. The horses now were running and jumping over cars. All eight knights had guns out in front of them. The father pulled his son into an alley as the eight horses, now in a full gallop, were heading towards the college. The area echoed with the clatter of hooves on concrete. He waited for a few seconds watching them run off, and then went to assist the fallen officer.