𝙳𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝙳𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛

Twenty - Four

[Two weeks after the Olympic team was announced, 2.5 Months before the Olympics]

Isla and Kailey returned to the barn after a trail ride when Isla noticed a funky smell in the air.

"Do you smell that?" Isla asked her friend as they both stopped before the barn to dismount their horses.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's nothing. Let's finish here, and I'll take you home, OK?" Kailey responded, walking into the barn with her horse.

"OK," Isla responded, following Kailey, still slightly concerned about the strange smell that engulfed the air.

The two continued untacking and taking care of their horses. As time passed, the smell Isla smelled earlier was getting worse, so she followed where the smell was coming from; it led her up into the hayloft.

The hayloft was the source of the smell; at first, Isla just thought it was the smell of fresh hay that got wet and dried out, which always made the barn smell horrible, but it wasn't that. A fire had broken out in the hayloft, already too big to put out with a fire extinguisher, and with all the hay around, it was bound to get bigger.

Isla quickly texted Anna, knowing she wouldn't answer her phone as she was visiting her family in Tennessee, but she still wanted to inform her of the situation. Isla then rushed back to Kailey.

"Kailey! Hayloft is on fire!" I've already sent Anna a text. I'm going to call 911; you start opening stalls and trying to save whatever you can," Isla told Kailey, trying to stay as calm as possible.

"On it," Kailey responded, running to open stall doors to let out the horses.

A few minutes later, the smoke had become thicker, and it was getting harder and harder for Kailey and Isla to see. They had gotten all the horses out of their stalls and outside. All the horses had their sheets with information tags in case anything like this happened.

~~~~

"Kailey! Go!" Isla shouted as she tried to find a way to get out of the wash stall she had trapped herself in on accident.

Isla had run into the wash stall to try and put out some of the fire, or at least dissipate the smoke to make it easier for her and Kailey to see, and it was working, but just as she turned off the hose, a  big part of the hay loft fell in front the wash stall, and she was trapped.

"Isla, I am not leaving you here alone!" Kailey screamed, coughing after finishing her statement.

"Kailey, I'll be fine! Just go!" Isla screamed back, covering her mouth and nose with a towel before coughing! "51 should be here soon! Just tell them where I am! Now go!"

Kailey hesitated before running out of the flame-filled barn to wait for 51 to show up. Moments later, 51 showed up, with the familiar Ram truck following closely behind.

Jay and Hailey exited the truck, looking around the yard for their child. Hailey noticed Kailey standing alone, looking frightened and worried. Hailey and Jay ran over to Kailey, hugging her and checking her to ensure she was OK.

"Are you OK? Have you called your parents? Do they know you're OK?" Hailey asked her daughter's best friend.

"I'm fine *coughs* I shot them a text since *coughs* they're on a plane to Germany right now *I coughs* Mr. and Mrs. Halstead; I wanted to stay with her, but she told me to come out here. I am so sorry!" Kailey said, tears streaming down her face; Hailey pulled her into a hug, trying to calm down her daughter's best friend.

"Isla's inside?" Jay asked, worried about his daughter.

"She's trapped. *coughs*We had just finished getting all the animals out;  *coughs* she ran to the indoor wash stall *coughs* to try and put out some of the fire; *coughs* some of the hay lofts fell, *coughs* and it trapped her inside the wash stall." Kailey finished.