The Fire Horse

Chapter 8 - Nina

     I woke with a start. I was in a dark room and couldn't remember how I'd gotten there. Then the memories came flooding back. I remember being knocked off my horse and teleported here. I had fought them the entire time but it was no use. I was thrown into this room and just left here where I fainted from pain and exhaustion. On the bright side I think I managed to break Sabine's nose while trying to escape. I glanced at my watch, which now had a cracked screen, and saw it was around three in the morning. I wish Thunder was here I thought to myself. Then the weirdest thing happened. I heard a voice in my head say Nina!? Confused I suddenly realized the voice was Thunder's. Thunder? Can you hear me? I thought back at him. If anyone could read my thoughts right now it would sound really weird. Nina! Where are you!? Thunder replied. I was starting to figure this out. Somehow me and my horse could talk with telepathy. I was pretty happy about this. Things seemed a lot better when I wasn't so lonely. In a dark room somewhere I replied. I told him everything that had happened including me breaking Sabine's nose. I honestly had no clue where I was. I tried the only door but it was locked and I doubted I could break it, it was solid steel. I knew I had to get out of here though. Thunder, do you know how to break a steel door? I asked him hopefully. Perhaps if you were to hit it with a strong blast of magic he suggested. I tried three times but wasn't strong enough. When I told Thunder this he replied I will lend you some of my power. I suddenly felt powerful magic flow through me, and I blasted that stupid door clear out of the wall. It now just laid on the ground, covered in ice. Unsure of where to look for an exit I began to search. I found a big door and pushed it open but what I saw inside broke my heart. There were at least twenty horses, all in stalls that were to small for them. Every horse looked thin and dirty and some were injured. When I told Thunder about this I could feel his rage. I made a choice not caring if it got me caught and flung open all the stall doors. The horses eyes me warily, not trusting me. Thunder how can I get them all to trust me enough to at least get them out of here? I asked. Thunder didn't respond but sent more magic power causing me to glow a little. The horses all looked at me and must have recognized Thunder's power. Thunder had mentioned to me he was well know by the horses on the island since he had helped them out a lot. The horses all followed me. I wondered what Dark Core had been doing with so many horses. Where had they gotten them? Why were they here? These questions raced through my mind, and I could tell Thunder could feel my every thought. I didn't want to stop whatever connection I had with him right now though. I didn't care what he heard me think, I was glad he was here even if it was just in my mind. I thought we might get out with no problem. Of course I couldn't be that lucky. Thunder could sense Ace wasn't within two miles of me which was fine with me. But I did run into a few dark core guards. Ok maybe more then a few, there were at least twenty. I turned and ran down another hallway, the horses trailing behind me. I finally lost the guards somehow by guiding all the horses into a room, grabbing a few books and throwing them down the hall. I didn't think it sounded like us but the guards were pretty dumb. They went after the sound of the books. I locked the door to the room they were in deciding to wait until they went back to their posts. I looked around the room and saw a desktop computer with a large monitor. Well I might of just found their computer I told Thunder I'm going to take a look, maybe I'll see what they are planning. I turned on the computer and was asked for a password. Dang it! Thunder noticed my frustration and said Ask the horses. I was confused but said "Umm... Do any of you know the computer password?" Surprisingly a small palomino quarter horse came up and whinnied something at me. It's 723976 Thunder translated. I typed it in and saw it was correct. "Thanks" I whispered to the mare. These horses seemed weirdly intelligent. Most horses don't remember computer passwords. Even Thunder agreed this wasn't normal horse behavior. The computer loaded up a database of Dark Core's things. I explored around a little and found a map saying where we were. This base was somewhere in the middle of the Mountians of Jor, east of Firgrove. I told this to Thunder and continued to explore. Then I saw a file labeled "Mountain Base Horses" I clicked on it and what I found shocked me. No wonder the horses acted strange. If these files were true, the Dark Core had turned people into horses.