No Longer Are We Free

Chapter Twelve

Chapter twelve ~ edited

I screamed again but it came out as a neigh. No I couldn't be a horse. But I had hooves. I was so confused and caught up in my own thought, that I didn't realise the humans rode up to me. They threw a rope over my head. It landed around my neck. I just stood there, phased by what was happening.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

"You need to trust me, Summer. Just run." I heard the stallion again.

"How do you know my name?" I asked

"Run. Fight back and help me."

This all seemed too familiar.

I was scared. I froze and didn't move. I wanted to run but couldn't. I was stuck. Useless and stuck, like in the dream. The beautiful herd was being captured and losing their freedom and I didn't know what to do. I heard a chilling neigh. The beautiful stallion had been captured. He reared and fought. He was so beautiful. His coat, as black as the night. His form was that of a thoroughbred. He rose into the air, kicking before landing and hitting the ground hard with his front feet. His ears flattened back.

"Come on girl." A young guy said to me. He had light brown hair and green eyes.

I looked at him then back to the stallion. I was now a horse. Would I ever be human again? We got loaded onto a truck. I was the only one not fighting the humans.

"Hey. New horse." A colt next to me said.

"What?" I asked.

"Why weren't you fighting like us?"

"I don't know."

He looked at me then turned to talk to one of the mares on the other side of him. The last horse to be loaded in this truck was the stallion.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"It's fine. Don't worry."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Midnight."

He lowered his head. I felt sad. I was stuck again. I didn't know if I could change back. I didn't know if I would ever see my family agai... Oh god. Did they think I ran away? I sighed. I hoped they knew I loved them.

We'd been driving for ages. I was becoming restless. I needed to run. I started pawing the ground with my hoof.

"When will we get out?!" I asked, annoyed.

"When we do I guess." Midnight said. I sighed. I needed to get out.

"If we don't get out of here soon, I'm going to teach them a lesson." I complained. Midnight laughed. As if hearing me, we came to a stop. People started talking.

"The stallion is feisty. How are we going to get him out?" I heard someone ask. It sounded like the young guy.

"I don't know but that dapple grey mare is pretty chill. She should be pretty easy to unload."

Think again.

The young guy opened the truck. He tried to calm Midnight down. Midnight bit and kicked him. An older guy came and grabbed the rope around Midnight's neck. Another guy handed him a whip. I watched as Midnight got hit repeatedly.

"Stop! You're hurting him!" The young guy yelled at the other two.

"Shut up Caleb!" One shouted.

"He's too dangerous. He deserves to be punished!" The other said.

"I'll try take him again." Caleb said. The other guys looked at him in disbelief. They started laughing. Caleb walked up to Midnight.

"Midnight try to calm down. Let that young guy take you." I told him. He calmed down and let Caleb take him.

"Good boy. That's it. Nice and easy." Caleb said to Midnight as they walk to the yard. I pulled my head up a bit and the rope came undone (With help from my teeth). I waited for the old guy to come get me. I waited until he stepped into the truck. Time to act. I kicked him and turned. I bolted out of the truck and ran towards the woods.

"Dont worry. She'll stop when she hits the fence line." I heard the old guy say. I kept running. I saw the wooden fence. I could make it. I slowed to a canter and prepared to jump over it. I got closer and closer. I got ready to jump. I went to leap. A rope landed around my neck. I screamed out in surprise. I ran into the fence and fell over. I got up. The guy looked angry. I looked at the three horses.

"You shouldn't have done that." A palomino mare told me.

"Yeah he isn't a very nice person to horses." A chestnut gelding added.

"What is he going to do?" I asked.

"Your training is soon. If you're lucky, Caleb will train you. Otherwise it's Trent who will be the one training you." The last horse, a blue roan mare said. Not the answer I was looking for.

I calmly followed the horses and guys. I wished I wasn't here. I wished this didn't happen. I limped as I walked. My left hind leg hurt. Caleb turned around and looked at me. He frowned.

"I'll take her. You can go unload the other horses." Caleb told Trent and the other guy.

"Alright. Don't let her go." Trent said.

I watched them leave me, Caleb and the blue roan mare. Caleb stopped and dismounted.

"What's your name?" I asked the mare.

"Stride." She replied.

"Good girl. It's ok." Caleb said as he walked to me. He put his arm out for me to smell his hand. I smelt his hand and he moved it to the left side of my neck. I flinched at the touch but calmed down. He moved to my hind quarters. He trailed his hand down my leg. "Lift it." He said calmly. I obeyed and lifted my leg. "There isn't anything wedged between the frog and sole of your hoof." He trailed both hands down my leg. He stopes at my fetlock. "There's heat in your fetlock. Let's go back slowly."

We walked back. When we got to the stables, I got put into a stall next to Stride. An appaloosa stallion was in the stall across from me. He told me his name was Spot. How original.

I turned around and faced the back of my stall. We hadn't been fed yet. I wondered what we would be getting. I wanted to get out of here. What would he do to me for running away? Whip me? Sell me? Dump me in the middle of nowhere? I wished I was home.