THE HOMELESS HORSE V2

Chapter One

A crack of lightning danced across the sky and the thunder drummed through my ears louder. I splashed through the thick mud, covering my white and brown legs in the sticky, brown liquid. I urged myself further into the shadowy night, quickly dodging a fallen log. I could feel the sweat dripping down my sleek coat as the heavy rain began to pound over me. I left the canopy of trees and out into the open field, hidden in long grass. Every strand tickled the sides of my belly, legs and flanks. I continued on, pushing my hooves deep into mud. The pounding rain began to overpower the constant drumming of hooves. I spun my head around to search for him, for that large, strong stallion who was the Sire to the foal being brought to life inside of me. I called for him, raising my voice over the unseasonable rain. It began to echo through the scarce amount of trees. There was no reply.

I cried out again, begging for a reply. And finally, I received one.

"Quick, Amazon! They're coming, you must hurry!"

In any other moment, if I could've gone any faster, my legs might've fallen off; but we were in a chase. A life or death chase.

I threw my legs heavily down towards the slippery, mobile ground below me. I let out a large huff of breath and began to push myself harder into galloping. My legs started to tremble, becoming weaker with every stride. But I kept going. I wasn't going to stop and allow my foal and I to be captured.

The group of mounted men came barrelling around the tree-line, trying to cut us off. Their mean, bearded faces scared me, and soon enough they had cut me off. I couldn't stop; if I did, they would capture me.

Their lassos began to swing around and slap against my flanks. I let out a scream, backing up. I ran into a tamed horse, who threw his head in the air. The rider on top of him pranced onto my back, gripping my mane tightly. I reared up, trying to remove him, but alas, he had an amazingly strong grip.

I heard Ranger call to me, bolting away beside Spirit. They weren't in the circle I was. They were still free. The horses around me began to shuffle nervously; their hooves clapping against the hard rocks hidden beneath the muddy ground. Ranger stopped, Spirit trying to get him to move, but he didn't.

He stood still, waiting for me to join him.

The man on me started to shout in victory, as I had silenced and froze. I kicked up my front legs and when they landed, immediately began to bolt towards the men in front of me. They tried to keep their horses still. They hadn't realised I was going to jump; no men ever did.

I gathered myself below my waist, launching myself into the air; high above the mounted men. They looked above me, watching as I cleared them.

I landed with a loud thump and my legs smashed down on the ground, causing me to slip. I re-stabled myself, dashing away from the men. Their horses turned, watching in shock as I ran away. They didn't follow me.

I soon caught up with Spirit at a nearby pond. It's refreshing, clear water was surrounded by long, green grass and beautiful multicoloured flowers of all sorts. Ranger trotted happily over, nibbling on a flower as he approached.

"When did you learn to jump like that?" He asked, sounding astounded.

I turned to him.

"It's a secret." I whispered.

He was confused, he nearly always got a proper answer.

"But, I want to know."

I shook my head at his ignorance. "There is a magic in these lands. It runs through our veins. It is ours. I did not learn to jump like a elegant antelope, I felt the jump. And I jumped like a horse. Do you understand?"

There was no response for a moment. I continued munching on the sweet grass surrounding us. Spirit appeared from a patch of dying grass.

"Amazon, you must see this." His usual smooth yet deep voice was cracked, like a vase dropped by a child.

I told Ranger to stay where he was, but he was still in a trance from my earlier speech.

I followed Spirit around the corner. Nothing I had ever witnessed had prepared me for what I saw.