Tales of Gloomsdale #5: The Gallop from Beyond

Chapter Three

I jumped out of my skin as I heard the hoof steps approach me, but these were different. I caught the familiar scent of a horse, as soaked as I was. Then I felt something wet and soft nuzzling my arm.

"Chestnut!" I wrapped my arms around him as he buried his muzzle into my shoulder. I was almost as happy to see him as I would've to find the ghost horse. Actually, maybe a little more. I still wasn't entirely sure I hadn't imagined that, and it definitely wasn't as soft as Chestnut. But I was still slightly annoyed at him.

I let go of him and gently stroked him. "Boy, am I glad to see you." Then I narrowed my eyes at him. "But not too glad, because of what you did. This is the second time you've thrown me off. How many times did I tell you..."

I trailed off as he lowered his head, stumbling down. At first I thought he was trying not to hear me, but then I realized he was limping. "What's wrong?" I asked in concern, crouching down next to his legs. As I gently ran my hand over one of them, I jumped as I felt what had to be blood along with the rain. I realized he was injured.

"Oh, you poor thing!" I exclaimed, forgetting all about my anger. I stood up and wrapped my arms around him again. One of my arms still throbbed slightly, but it had mostly faded by now. "Come on, let's get you out of here." I decided to save the lecture for later.

I gently took his reins and carefully led him down the mountain. I was almost relieved he was injured, since it meant he couldn't take off again like that ghost horse had. I couldn't stop thinking about it as I headed down. It had to be a ghost. And if it was, that meant it was a dead horse. A horse forced to roam the mountains where it died...

"Rachel!" I jumped out of my skin as I heard a faint voice in the distance, calling my name. "Rachel, where are you?"

"Phoebe?" I called, feeling relief wash over me. "Skye? Is that you?"

When I heard them call out again, I started running faster down in excitement, only to slow down as I heard Chestnut let out a pained whinny behind me. I tightened my grip on the reins while keeping my good arm around him. I let out a sigh of relief as I reached the bottom of the mountain and caught sight of my friends. They were standing next to their horses, staring at Chestnut and me in concern.

"Rach, there you are!" Skye called, beginning to run up to me. Phoebe pulled her back. "We were so worried. I was about to head up the mountain to find you."

"You would've if I hadn't found you," Phoebe added, looking just as worried. "Where on earth have you been? We thought something terrible had happened to you!"

I couldn't believe they were still here. I had expected them to run away and head home as quickly as possible. I felt slightly touched, before remembering what I had seen.

"Are you alright, Rach?" Skye demanded. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"No, but Chestnut did," I explained. "But—"

"Oh, no! What's wrong with him?" Skye exclaimed, crouching down. "That looks pretty bad. We've got to get him out of here, as soon as possible."

"Forget about him. What about her?" Phoebe added. "Are you sure you're okay, Rach? Chestnut rode off pretty fast. I was terrified just watching you." She petted her own horse. "I guess mine isn't that bad after all."

"I am now, I guess," I shortly replied, desperate to explain what I had seen. "After Chestnut threw me off—"

"What?" Skye exclaimed, glancing up at me. "He threw you off? I always knew he wasn't the best horse to ride."

"And it was the second time!" Phoebe exclaimed, shuddering. "You said it happened before. It must've been terrible in this weather."

"Not just that. I saw something," I added, struggling to get the words out. I kept sputtering and stammering, struggling to wrap my head around what I had seen. "It was crazy. I mean, incredible. I couldn't believe my eyes—"

"What's your problem, Rach?" Skye demanded while standing up. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I almost laughed at how perfect her words were. "That's because I have!" I blurted out.

They quickly went silent, staring at me in shock. I went silent as well, realizing how crazy I sounded.

"What do you mean?" Skye asked.

"I saw it... I think I did," I explained. "I might have imagined it. But it's just like that story you told me, Skye. It was white and shiny all over. It stared straight at me as it walked over, and its mane and tail were shimmering—"

"What are you talking about, Rach?" Phoebe demanded, confused.

"The ghost horse," I blurted out. "Just like the one who died in this place, remember? It had to be him. I saw him in the rain, glowing just like a ghost. He even had that thing on his head. You know, that patch. I tried to reach out to him, and then he..."

I trailed off as they kept staring at me. They probably thought I was going crazy. I wasn't entirely sure I wasn't.

"Don't remind me of that awful story," Phoebe groaned, closing her eyes.

"Rach, are you feeling okay?" Skye asked softly, staring at me in concern. "Chestnut threw you off and you landed on the ground, right? Maybe you began seeing things."

"But I did! I saw him!" I insisted, trying to convince myself as much as them.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you that story," Skye admitted. "I think it scared you too much. I can't blame you. I would be scared too, if that happened to me. I'm just scared being out here in this weather."

"So am I," Phoebe agreed, tugging the reins of her horse. "Come on, let's get out of here. I was going to leave by myself if we didn't find you."

I glanced around. It was pretty dark out, and the rain was obscuring everything. Maybe I had imagined it all. It was so surreal and incredible, it couldn't be real. And I did land on the ground pretty hard. My head still ached slightly. Maybe I was just going crazy.

"You know what, maybe you guys are right," I agreed. "Maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me. I'll feel better once we get out of here."

My friends seemed to be relieved I'd dropped the subject. I reluctantly followed them out. But the entire time, I couldn't stop thinking about the ghost horse. The more I thought about it, the more I was sure I had really seen it. It had been unbelievable, and at the same time, I remembered the horse's soft whinny and the way the icy eyes had stared straight at me, the way the coat had glistened and glowed like the moon. Or like a ghost.

I couldn't get the thought out of my head as I tacked Chestnut up at the stables with my friends, who were fussing over their own horses. I almost tugged Chestnut too hard, briefly forgetting he was injured. I couldn't stop thinking about how the ghost horse was probably even more injured on the day of his death. Even when I arrived at home, I knew I had to find that horse again.