Experiment Scarecrow

Chapter 2

The gate screeched as Brooke pushed it closed, relocking Thunder in his paddock before making her way to the grey, white accented, wooden shed, bordering it. Slipping inside, she reached to loop the bridle back on the rack before stepping back outside. The sunlight gleamed, forcing her pupils to retreat. She blinked a few times as they readjusted from the dark atmosphere, of the shed, before finally managing to glance toward the house on her left.

Inside, just beyond the large, front picture window, her mother sat at the kitchen table with a pen in hand, scribbling away at a paper.

Her eyes widened, instinctively sprinting for the woods bordering the south across the main road. Brooke descended into the ditch, trudging through the tall grass before climbing over the worn barbed-wire fence. Once she managed to escape into the safety of the woods, Olivia emerged from behind a gnarled oak tree in front of her, arms crossed. "It's about time."

Brooke panted, temporarily bending over, placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "We-Well, I had to make sure my mom didn't see me, and that Thunder's gate was locked."

Olivia nodded, unfolding her arms, and turning to begin leading the way through the woods. "Your mom must be rich," she quietly commented.

She shook her head, hands pushing her back up to straighten her figure, before following. "Not really. I mean, we technically got Thunder for free."

Olivia lifted an eyebrow. "Yeah, but what about vet bills, food, tack...?  That's all very expensive."

Brooke sighed, carefully following her over a fallen tree, blanketed with moss, laying across their newly forged path. "I know, but it's-it's not a big deal..." she mumbled, not daring to dive into details.

Noting the silence, and the lack of details, that followed, Olivia fell silent, deciding not to push her. Instead, her eyes flicked toward the canopy the trees formed above, beginning to cast a dark atmosphere below, besides the occasional beam of sunlight managing to force its way through and onto the forest floor. "So how did you get Thunder anyway? I already know the why, you love horses."

She smiled and nodded, eyes flicking up to the shimmering leaves as well. Besides the occasional rustle of a squirrel or the chirp of a bird, the woods held an eerie silence the further they travelled. "Well, Thunder was kind of a mistake, actually," she began, only for Olivia to interrupt. 

"I thought people were really careful with that kind of stuff? Like... horse breeders, and separating the males from the females, or whatever."

Brooke shrugged, making a gesture of protest with her hands. "Well yes, but you can't control what happens when a stallion manages to get loose into the mares' paddock... especially when they're in heat. It happens a lot more than you think."

Olivia nodded, listening as she forced herself through a patch of bushes before them; attempting to form a small path for the both of them. 

"Anyway, they tried to sell him, but no one wanted him. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone around here could afford him either. So... they grew desperate, and were willing to give him away for free. My mother heard about it from my grandmother, who knew I loved horses, and, well... that's when she got him for me," she explained, following her through the bushes, whose branches whipped back toward her face. She winced, head jerking back in response to the branches scraping across her cheeks.

Olivia whirled back around, her eyes widened. "Sorry! Are you all right?" 

Brooke nodded, wiping the small amount of blood building to the surface with her sleeve--the twigs managing to pierce her skin enough to leave deep scratches behind. "Yeah, it's all right..." she mumbled, frowning as the crimson color mixed into her pink sleeve.