Gus
Katy ran in the house.
"Katy?"
I stood up.
She had blood all over her.
"It's chasing her!"
"What?"
"It's chasing her!"
"What? Who's chasing who?"
"Flicka!"
"Flicka is on the Ranch?"
"Yes."
"How did she get here?"
"Ooh. That's a long story."
I caught Katy as she was falling.
"It's chasing her." She whispered.
I laid Katy on the couch.
Rob
I hurried into the house.
"Gus, we're riding out--"
"To find Katy?"
"Yeah."
"No need."
"What?"
"Katy came in the house by herself a couple hours ago."
"Okay."
"So, either she ditched Flicka somewhere or she cut her loose entirely." Jack commented.
"Why does Katy have scratches all over?"
"She didn't say anything except one thing."
"What did she say?"
"It's chasing her." She kept repeating it over and over. Until she collapsed from the amount of blood she lost."
"What's chasing who?" Howard questioned.
"Apparently, something is chasing after Flicka."
"The same something that did that to Katy's face?"
"Probably."
"Baby? Katy?" Nell called, pushing her hair out of her face.
Katy groaned.
"Wh-- What happened?"
"We're hoping you can tell us that."
"The Mountain Lion--"
"Not this Mountain Lion theory again." Jack commented.
"Well, it's real! It's very, very real!"
"Then why has nobody except you seen this Mountain Lion?"
"I'm not the only one who saw it."
"Then who else did?" Gus questioned.
"And if you say, Flicka, I swear to God. I'm gonna knock your head off. After the stunt you pulled today."
"Miranda and me were riding along the Meadow. It wanted to come out and play. And of course, that stupid horse threw me off him again. So, we ran down the Mountain."
Rick
The phone rang.
I answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey. It's Rob."
"You find her?"
"Yeah. But we need to talk to Miranda."
"Miranda!" I called upstairs.
Miranda walked down the stairs.
"Phone's for you."
She took it from me.
Rob
"Hello." It was Miranda.
"Hey."
"Please tell me you found her?"
"We have. She's fine."
"Thank God."
"Did you happen to see a Mountain Lion with Katy?"
"Oh, yeah. It was crazy. Katy pulled me down the Mountain after Yankee and Rufus Mayhem threw us off them and bolted."
"Thanks, Miranda."
I hung up.
"So?" Jack pressed.
"The Mountain Lion is very real."
"Told you so!"
"Relax."
"Jack, Gus, go find her."
"Flicka is running for her life. Do you think she's gonna stop for them?" Katy questioned.
"Well, guess what, Sweetheart?"
"What?" She inquired.
"Your head is bleeding. Which means you're not going anywhere."
Katy stared up at me with puppy dog eyes.
I sighed.
"Jack, she has any more signs of serious issues, bring her back."
"Okay."
She ran out in front of them.
"Seems no Mountain Lion is gonna keep her down." Howard commented.
"You are in big trouble for this!"
He looked down.
Nell sighed.
