Champions Until the End

Chapter Four

Feather pictured on top.

        I woke up an hour later or so, and I opened my eyes to see Faith eating some hay in the corner of the stall. Everything that had happened in the past few hours came rushing back. I realized that Parker had probably been treating Faith while I was asleep, because I saw a new bandage on her leg, which had stopped bleeding.

        I looked up and saw Feather still standing tied, so that meant Parker was still around. I check my watch, realizing that I had no clue what time it was. 8:15. Only eight fifteen?! I felt like the day was passing by super-slowly, but then again I did get up at four AM. I heard footsteps from outside the stall, and Parker slipped inside. "You're awake!" he said, flashing me that smile of his.

        "Yeah, sorry I fell asleep. I guess that's what happens when you barely sleep." I replied.

        "It's fine, you probably needed the sleep. No offense," he added quickly.

        "None taken," I smiled. Ugh, I thought. I hate sleeping with this prosthetic. My prosthetic had loosened while I was asleep, and it was getting a bit uncomfortable. I reached down and rolled up my pant leg, quickly adjusting it, trying not to think about how obvious it was.

        I looked up to find that Parker had a surprised look on his face. "You have a prosthetic?" he asked.

        "Uh-yeah. I was jumping, then my horse tripped and crushed my leg. They had to amputate it." I said, trying to sound nonchalant. "It's not exactly the first thing I tell  people," I added awkwardly.

        "It's fine. I get why you wouldn't want to tell me. You only just met me today, really," he gave me that smile again. "You know, I've heard of someone like this before. That famous cross-country rider or something."

        Amazing that he hadn't figured it all out yet. He would soon, though. It was pretty obvious now. Probably better if I told him. "Yeah-um. About that," I said uncomfortably. "That might have been me..." I murmured.

        Parker gave me a surprised glance. "You're Kennedy Hawkings?" he asked, and I nodded, feeling my face redden. "I suppose that makes sense, once you think about it." he mused.

         "Definitely not the first thing I tell people," I said quietly.

        He seemed to notice the expression on my face. "You don't like to talk about it?" he asked.

        "Not really. I guess it just makes people treat me differently. That's pretty much why I never had any friends back in Montana. That and the fact that there was no one my age around."

        "I'm sorry." said Parker finally. "I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're wondering. Only if you want me to."

        "Thanks, Parker. I'd appreciate it if you kept quiet, for now at least."

        "No problem," he smiled. "Sorry to leave you by yourself, but I have to go home to grab Charlie. Knowing him he'll probably still be asleep, and he was supposed to be over here fifteen minutes ago."

        "You go find him, I'll probably make a quick run home too. I didn't really get a chance to eat. Plus, Whistle probably needs a walk. She's my dog" I added.

        "See you soon, then," Parker slipped out of the stall and was soon out of sight. I went over to Faith to check her over, and once I was satisfied she was okay, I started to jog home. As soon as I got inside, I grabbed a sandwich from the fridge and called for my dog. "Whistle!" I heard the scrabble of paws, and Whistle came running from the living room, wagging her tail like crazy. "Hey, girl! How would you like a walk?" At the word walk, Whistle's tail wagged so hard she was wiggling her entire body. "All right, all right!" I said, opening the front door, Whistle charging past me, then looping back around, barking.

        I ran with Whistle all the way back to Pine Road Stables, panting from keeping up with my hyper dog. I went in to check on Faith, and once I knew she was okay, I went outside to an empty pasture to throw a stick for Whistle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~T I M E S K I P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        I checked my watch. 11:45. With Faith injured, I had to skip today's lesson. Sad, because today was supposed to be cross-country. My favorite discipline. I sighed, wishing once again that I was back in Montana. I wished my dad was here. I heard footsteps behind me, and turned my head to see Parker. "Hey," I said, wondering why he was here.

        "Hi," he answered. "I was wondering, that since you can't ride Faith, if you wanted to ride Ferni? Charlie wasn't up to riding today." (Ferni is a nickname for Fernidad)

        "Is he okay?" I asked, hoping he wasn't hurt or sick.

        "Yeah, he's fine. Just a random stomachache. So what do you say?"

        "Sure!" I replied, eager to get a chance to ride, even if it wasn't on Faith.

        "Great! I'll see you on the cross-country course." Parker smiled, walking off.

        I got up to go catch Ferni and get him groomed and tacked up, and luckily I didn't have to spend a lot of time catching him, seeing that he was right near the gate of his pasture.

        Once I was ready for cross-country, I rode Ferni out to the field where we were supposed to meet, making sure to warm him up. Mike rode over on a big gray Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse named Lexington, and all of us riders lined up on our horses, ready for the cross-country to begin.

Sorry if this chapter wasn't that exciting, I plan on adding more in Chapter Five. I hope you still enjoyed this one, though! Next chapter will be the cross-country, plus a little extra stuff I plan on adding. Live free and be happy.

Glorybringer1163