“Sure.” I replied walking over and sitting down.
Chapter 4
School
School just passed way too slowly. I felt like it was dragging on with no end. Kayla bumped into me in the hallway, and we headed to the cafeteria.
“So, you find Sandy?” She asked.
“No, talked to the police last night, about the fence though. We’re pretty sure it has to do with her but we’re not positive.” I mumbled, not really wanting to talk about it.
“Well, that’s a bummer.” Kayla grabbed a salad and headed for the drink line. I continued down the line looking for something that might catch my fancy for the day. Only a few more days of this and I’m free! A smile crossed my face.
“What’s so funny?” A deep voice behind me asked.
Startled, I jumped a little and looked behind me. Aaron, a boy from two of my classes this year, was standing behind me. His brown hair, barely long enough to touch his ears, was styled up and off his head. He had a devilish smile. I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Nothing really, just can’t wait for school to end.”
“That’s a bummer for me though.” His cinnamon brown eyes danced like honey, pulling me in.
“Why do you say that?” I asked trying not to trip as I moved down the line.
I was nearing the end and still had nothing on my tray. I grabbed the first thing in front of me, still focused on the figure behind me.
“Because.” He flashed another smile. “I wouldn’t get to see you anymore.”
I tried not to smile, it was corny but cute. Turning, I grabbed a bottled soda and headed to the cashier to pay for my lunch.
“Would you mind if I sat with you?” He asked as I walked back towards him. He fell instep beside me as we headed towards the tables.
“Not at all.” I flirted back.
I saw Kayla out of the corner of my eye. She heard our conversation and rolled her eyes, turning she headed in the other direction. I guess I won’t be sitting with her today. I turned my head to call out to her, but decided not to.
“Where would you like to sit?” I asked him.
“How about here.” Nodding to indicate a table. “So, your family does horses?”
“Yeah, my parents do.”
“Cool, do you have a horse of your own?” He asked sliding into his seat.
“Yeah, my parents gave me a horse for my birthday. Her name is Sandy. She’s a two year old, grey, Morgan filly.”
“Was she your first horse?”
“No, I had a pony named Bell. She died not long ago.”
“How?” Aaron asked.
“Colliced.”
“What’s that?”
“Intestinal problems.” I replied shortly, taking a bite of my lunch. I hoped he would change the topic.
“So, since I would like to see you again.” He smiled. “Do you think I could come over and see your horse one of these days?”
“No.” Feeling bad for my shortness I continued. “She’s gone, we’re not sure if she broke out of her stall or was stolen.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you have some pictures of her?”
“No, we do have her papers picture. But those were taken when she was a year old. Why?”
“My brother catches wild horses to keep the herds from getting too big. If she ran away and my brother catches her, I’ll be able to recognize her if I know what she looks like.”
“Sounds good. How ‘bout coming over to my house and I’ll make copy’s for you.”
“Alright, Friday is good for me, how about you?”
“Sure that’s fine.”
“All right, see you then.” Aaron said as he left the table.
“Bye.” I replied as I picked up my half eaten lunch.
The rocking and careening ride was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. I snorted my distaste for the nasty smells coming from the contraption that was pulling me. When it finally stopped, I gave a whinny hoping some other horse would answer, but no one did. I could smell the others, why didn’t they answer back? But the fear hung worse in the air. I heard him undoing the door.
It was cracked enough for me to burst through it. I pushed it open as I went out. As my eyes grew accustom to the light. I looked around the area. There was a fence made of old decaying logs. The fence stretched far back behind me. The contraption I had just escaped from was sitting in an open gate. An old rundown shed sat next to the fence. I could see some horses gathered in a tight group under it. They looked worried. “Here’s your new home horsey.” He chuckled. “For now.” Closing the gate, he got into the truck and drove off.
Chapter 5
Pushing for a Breakthrough
The sun was starting to set as I walked down to the barn. I could hear the horses letting us know they were hungry. I laughed as I heard the impatient stomp from one of the older geldings. Giving him a pat on his face as I passed, I walked towards the feed room.
“Hey, where’re we at?” I asked joining my Dad with the feeding.
“Just started.” He replied. Bringing a scoop of oats out of the bin in front of him.
I grabbed the buckets of feed that were already measured and headed out into the barn. Once I had given them to each of the horses, I headed to the end of the barn and ran up the ladder. Opening the trap door, I weighed and dropped down the hay through a small opening in the ceilings above the stalls.
“What became of the cops? Did they find anything?”
“No, not really. There are thousands of trailers with the letters NJQ.”
“And, there’s nothing else they can do?”
“Not really. Missing horses don’t hit the top of their must find list. They’ll keep an eye out but other than that...” He left his sentence unfinished. “I’m sorry M.” Dad continued with a sigh. “We tried. Hopefully, the scoundrel will mess up and take her somewhere where she’ll be recognized or where they’ll check her tracking number.”
“It’s fine.” I said quickly. “I was planning on selling her anyways.” I fessed up.
The look on my Dads face said it all.
“It’s just not my thing anymore.” I replied gruffly and hurried towards the door.
“M.” Dad called out.
I kept walking.
“You can’t change what happened. And, beating yourself up won’t help anything either.” He called out after me as I slipped out of the barn and bolted for the house.
Tearing through the house, I escaped into my room. Throwing myself onto my bed, I controlled my tears and pushed them aside. Getting up, I searched for my Ipod. I turned it on and jammed the buds into my ears, tuning out the barn, my feelings, everything. I needed to escape, and my music was the best way to do that. Flipping through my playlist I found my favorite and sat back down on my bed. Reaching down, I pulled my boots off, fell back onto the bed, sighed, closed my eyes for a second, and just let my mind escape.
Waking up, I moaned softly. My neck muscles screamed at every movement. My left bud had fallen out in the night but my right one was sill in. I picked up the Ipod. The screen was blank. Drained battery. I just wanted to roll over and fall asleep again. But sleep was impossible at the moment. And, lying in bed just didn’t help my restlessness. I carefully turned my neck to see the time, 6:32 a.m. I stifled my groan into my pillow. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I reached for my boots, and then quietly snuck down the stairs and out the front door.
The fog was barely visible in the early light as I strolled down to the barn that I had just bolted from hours earlier. I pushed the door open and slid through it. The horses nickered their greeting as I made my way down to Bell’s stall. Taking a deep breath, I went in and sat on the water bucket.
Time slipped away, I might have been physically sitting there but mentally I was two weeks into the past. Rushing through the feeding for Bell, I was running behind on time. Not bothering to turn on the barn light, I had bolted up the ladder into the loft. Grabbing two flakes of the closest open bale, I tossed it
down into her stall. Back down the ladder and across to the feed room I scooped her grain and rushed it over to her feed bucket. With a pat on her head I had turned, tossing the bucket towards the feed room. I will deal with it later. I had thought. Not waiting to see it land, as I had already left the barn.
I had been so careless over a stupid movie I was going to see with some friends. Scrunching my brows together, I bit my bottom lip. How could I have been so heedless when it came Bell.
Coming back from the movies I had run down to deal with the bucket. I flipped the switch and a flood of light had blinded me. The horses nickered their welcome, as I had walked down the alley. Grabbing the bucket I put it away and walked over to say goodnight to Bell. She was lying down and didn’t make a move when I called out to her. Her bedding was pushed all up against the wall like she’d been rolling.
“What’s wrong girl?” I had asked her. Opening the door, I walked over to her head. I knelt down and stroked her face. She gave a slow nicker, and groaned a little. Worried, I had found her main vein on her neck and checked her heart rate. It had been high. I had then scooted down to her belly to listen for gut noises. Listening for what had seemed like forever I knew she was in a colic. I jumped up and checked the last of the hay to see if that was what had sent her into it. I remember lifting a handful of hay to my nose and taking a breath in. It hadn’t been hay. I had fed her alfalfa. I leaned against the wall and slid down. The tears had come like a waterfall, cascading down my face. Her breathing had gotten shallower. I crawled over to her. Crying into her neck I heard her take her last breath and close her brown eyes forever. Grabbing her neck I had screamed out her name till I couldn’t talk. I heard pounding of feet moments later but wouldn’t pull my head out of her mane. I felt my Mom had sat down next to me, rubbing my back. She has said something but I couldn’t remember the words. I cried till nothing would come out, and then had just lay there numb. Later, my Dad had picked me up and carried me to the house, but by that time, I had passed out. I sat there wishing it had been all a dream, a nightmare that I would soon awaken from.
But, it wasn’t. I told myself. As I came back to the present, I could feel the tears falling down my face. I heard someone breathing near the door, and I glanced over. It was Hannah. I quickly turned my gaze back to the stall wall.
“You okay?” Her voice was barely over a whisper. She didn’t dare come any closer.
I didn’t reply, I couldn’t. No words could ever make what I did okay.
“It’s not your fault.” She said a little stronger. I scrunched my brows again and darted her a look. Yes it is. I knew it was and so did everyone else. Hannah turned and looked into the stall before continuing.
“We all do stupid things, things that hurt others.” She let that linger for a bit. Staring directly at me. “But beating yourself up and having a pity party isn’t going to change anything either.” She stressed each word.
Biting my tongue I breathed through my nose. As much as I hated to say it, she was right. “What are you doing down here this morning? Just come to irritate me?”
“It’s my turn to do morning feeding.”
“What time is it?” I jumped off the water bucket. Wiping my face, I turned towards my sis.
“8:33.”
“Crap! I got to go!” I rushed out of the stall. Suddenly remembering something I slammed on my breaks, turned, and with as much sweetness as I could muster I smiled at my sister.
“Hey, can you do me a favor please? Aaron’s going to be over later. But I am going swimming with Kayla today and can’t meet up with him. Can you let him see Sandy’s papers? They’re in my desk.”
“Why?”
“He needs a picture of Sandy just incase he sees her.”
“Sure.” She said walking off to do morning chores.
“Thanks! See you later.”
“Bye.”
Chapter 6
Hannah’s Uncovering
M was gone, feeding was finished, and I was starting to clean out some of the stalls.
“Hmmmm.” I said out loud. My young mind racing. Why would that boy want Sandy’s papers? Aaahhha! I blurted out, starling the horse in whose stall I was in. Giving her a quick pat, I finished the stall and pushed the wheelbarrow out of it. He stole Sandy! That has to be it. Why else would he want to see her papers? I can’t let him know that I’m onto him. Hee Hee Hee, very clever. You think you’re so smart. You’re not fooling us! But I am going to fool you!
Once done with the chores, I sprinted up to the house, taking the papers out of M’s desk. I went back downstairs.
When Aaron showed up later, I opened the door and led him to the office with the filing cabinets, computer, printer, and fax machine. The papers were on the table; I nodded towards them.
“My sis said to let you see those.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll be back.” I said leaving the room.
Racing to my room, I had bought spy equipment a few years earlier. When I got to my bedroom, I switched on the monitor to the hidden camera in the workroom but nothing happened. Reaching for the box I then noticed a label that said, “This is a toy” I rushed back down to the workroom, but all I found were the papers; no Alex. Hearing a noise, I turned around, it was the copier shutting down. No times to loose. I must tell Dad. I thought to myself.
Days dragged by. I didn’t have anything to do, I would pace back and forth. I had given up calling after the first few days. My stomach growled, hunger wasn’t something I was used to. There was no fresh grass in the pasture, and the hay was nasty and smelled bad. The only water in the pen was in a rusted old tub that stank of mildew. I looked over the fence wondering if my owner missed me. Why didn’t she come work with me? Did I do something wrong? She would come see me everyday, mostly to work me, which wasn’t that much fun, but I loved all the attention I would get. That is up until a few days ago. She had stopped coming as often, and she didn’t work with me at all. Was she punishing me? I hope not!
How much longer must I stay at this awful place? I snorted and trotted away from the group of horses huddled together near the shed. The fresh bite mark on my shoulder still stung from when one had chased me away. I knew I had to get out of here. Racing down the fence I looked for a low spot. There several feet ahead of me a top rail was down. I gotta get home. I walked up to it measuring its height; I can do this. Trying to pump myself up, I trotted away and circled around. Giving myself plenty of room, I barreled towards the fence. There’s no way I can make that! I slammed down my feet and skidding to a stop in front of the fence. No. I told myself I have to do this! I have to get out of here! Circling around again, I went for it. Bunching my body like a spring, I launched into the air. Tucking my feet as close to my body as possible I soared over the fence. Coming back down towards the earth I forced my legs out to catch me. Not the best lading in the world, I thought, barely catching myself. But graceful jumping was the last thing on my mind. I was free! Try as I might, I couldn’t figure out which way home was, so I started off in what direction seemed best.
“Sandy.” The voice was in front of me called out. A boy emerged from the trees. He knows my name? I wondered as he stroked my neck. The smells of home lingered on his clothes. He could lead me home! I thought and nickered softly.
“Easy girl, easy Sandy.” He said. Removing his jacket, he slipped it around my neck and led me back towards the fence.
He seems nice, but is he trustworthy? I thought, as he led me along.
Chapter 7
A New Discovery
I waved goodbye to Kayla and took off down the trail towards home. The birds singing in the trees above me made me smile. Evening was setting in, a yawn escaped my mouth, and I just wanted to take a hot shower and dive into my warm covers.
The peacefulness was disrupted by my little sister. Big surprise, I thought rolling my eyes. She bolted from her perch on the porch yelling my name as she spotted me.
“WHAT!” I yelled.
“
Your friend stole Sandy’s papers.”
“What are you talking about?” I stopped walking and waited for her to make the last few yards.
“I wasn’t sure about him so I tried using my spy gear to see if he would do anything suspicious, and it didn’t work. The stuff was fake. By the time I finally got back down to the room, he was gone. I was going to tell Dad, but he and Mom left for town once they had seen your friend off. I called Dad’s cell but he told me-”
“Hey, Hannah.” I said grabbing the top of her head and covering her mouth. “Try to breath, and not talk a thousand miles an hour.” Her blue eyes sparked angrily.
“I’m being serious here!” She got out after taking my hand off her mouth. “He tried to trick me by making a copy, but I heard the copy machine shutting off.”
“I guess it’s a good thing those were copies. I forgot to tell you, he was to keep those they weren’t the originals.”
“They weren’t?” Her shoulders sagged a little.
“No. Now, are you sure he stole them or made a copy to keep?”
“I don’t know.” Hannah mumbled, looking off towards the trees.
As tired as I felt, I didn’t want my little sis worrying her head off. I sighed. “I left my cell at the pool, so I can’t call him. I’ll just go and talk to him about it right now. So that we know for sure he didn’t steal her. Would you mind grabbing my bike, so I can run down to his place?”
Hannah was gone before the question was totally out of my mouth. The things you do for your younger sibs. I shook my head, walking up to the driveway. As she returned pushing my bike, the seriousness had returned to her face.
“Be careful.” She said gravely.
“I will.” I replied matching her tone.
Jumping on, I left her standing in the driveway. At the end of the drive, I turned left and headed towards town. Where does Aaron live? I questioned, riding down the road. His bus stop was just a trail, nothing that looked like a road. It was a little less than a mile up ahead, and seemed like the best place to look.
The road, if you could call it that, was narrow and overgrown. As I started down it, I decided that it probably wasn’t a road to his house and probably should go on foot incase it turned into a walking trail or no trail at all. Just a bit off the road, I jumped off my bike to stash it. Pushing it as far into the overgrowth as I could manage, I pulled the growth back over it and headed further down the road.