The Island

Chapter 8 - Neigh

Nighttime

Bianca was soaked. Well, she was battling water creatures. In the Pacific Ocean. As one does.

Bianca had heard the bird call, and saw Ben a few hundred meters away. She didn't call out to him, though, since she didn't want to draw attention to him. Ben was injured, and he wouldn't be able to defend himself very well against these murder-horses.

She could barely handle them herself and her only injuries were a few broken ribs and minor things. Bianca thought she saw something swoop down at Ben, but she wasn't paying attention.

She sidestepped as a horse leapt up at her. There had originally been three horses, but Bianca killed one of them. She didn't know how she'd done it, but she knew she'd better figure it out soon before she gets killed. The second horse neighed and galloped away, giving up. One more to go.

Most people Bianca's age worry about who to take to prom, grades, and your average teen stuff. Not Bianca. Bianca's been worrying about murder-horses, nearly getting killed five hundred times in the last 24 hours, and how not to die.

Bianca fought the strange urge to laugh as she rolled under a horse, its hooves just missing her face. Bianca leapt back to her feet and slashed her spike like a sword at the horse's face. The horse skittered backwards, whinnying angrily.

Somehow, Bianca ended up behind the horse, and she knew that the stupid thing was going to kick out, so she did the rational thing in reply.

Bianca yelled in defiance and, using her spike as a pole vault, jumped up on top of the horse, straddling it like a jockey would. She hadn't gone horse riding in a long time, but she did go to a rodeo in Calgary a couple weeks before the trip. She tried to remember the techniques the people had used when they rode their 'untamable' horses.

To be honest, it was mostly clinging to the saddle for dear life and screaming a lot. Bianca didn't have a saddle though, so that was an issue.

The horse seemed a little shocked for a moment, like it couldn't believe Bianca had managed to mount it (Bianca could relate), but it quickly came back to itself and started bucking madly. Bianca wrapped her arms around the horse's neck, clinging on for dear life.

When that didn't work, the horse dropped down and rolled in the water, either trying to drown Bianca or shake her off. Bianca was pretty sure the horse didn't care which. As long as she was dead.

Amazingly, Bianca was still able to hold on. Soaking wet and spluttering, Bianca coughed out nearly half a gallon of water. She figured she'd inhaled about half the ocean. The horse stopped for a moment, and glanced over its shoulder at her as if to say Why aren't you dead yet?

"I don't know either," Bianca said. The horse nickered and turned back to the front, bobbing its head slightly. Bianca didn't dare relax her grip though, she had a bad feeling that this horse was only just getting started.

She was right.

The moment the horse realized that Bianca wasn't gullible enough to fall for the 'I give up' trick, it let out a shrill neigh and leapt nearly a foot into the air. Bianca screamed and tightened her already tight grip on the horse.

The horse stopped, breathing hard, then gave her a look of pure loathing. Bianca didn't like the evil glint in its eye. Bianca had just enough time to think uh oh before the horse reared onto its hind legs like in a movie, and then took off. The horse was running out into the ocean, away from the island.

Bianca would've been relieved, but the horse was only doing this so it could kill her, and the others were still stuck there. Most likely dead or dying.

Bianca needed a way out, and though she hated it, back to the island so she could save the others.

"Bring it on, Horse," she said as she got taken farther out into the Pacific.