Broken

The gaze peering through the gaps sent chills through my spine. I back into the corner, feeling safer in the barn than out there with those animals. But unfortunately they can come and go as they please.

You see I was taken not long ago. Every day a man would bring back someone new and tie them to a pole just outside the barn. Their spirits would break break one by one.

One day a young male was dragged into the arena. He was handsome behind all the muck and dirt and I could see so much determination in his eyes. He was a fighter. He kicked and fought as they tied him up, but it was no use. I wanted to warn him about what would happen if he kept struggling and yelling. My eyes watched him through a hole in my timber cell. I could see his muscles straining to get free as his mane of hair covered what seemed to be the deepest brown eyes I had ever seen.

The battle was relentless and raged on fir what seemed like hours. His efforts began to slow with fatigue. Young men were cheering from all sides, some sitting on fences making bets on how long he would last. My attention never wondered far from the sight in front of me. He was still standing when others had long since fallen and the determination on his face was awe inspiring. But the cruelty that faced him would surely break the spirit he held close because these men were here to steal our freedom and put us to work for the rest of our lives.

Finally he got a kick in that hurled the man away from him. I cheered from behind my barricade, Alas my short spirt of joy crumbled as the beast of a man had him again. Whipping him over and over till it finally seemed he crushed his hopes of escape, imprisoning him with the rest of us.

The moon was high in the sky as I lay still in the hay, wide awake from today's events playing through my head. The straw was so damp that it clung to my skin making it irritated.l and itchy. My mouth slightly parched as the water was too dirty to drink and I was so hungry.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Someone was coming. I stood, preparing myself for what was to come as they stopped at my door. The young man's gaze peering through the gaps of the enclosure sending chills down my spine. I backed up and crumpled into myself trying to vanish from his view.

The hinges on the door squealed in protest as he strolled in, a leather strap limply hung in his right hand as he threw an apple up and down in the other. He took a bite before offering it to me. I looked at him in disgust not  wanting to take his peace offering, but my grumbling tummy made me move forward to snatch the treat from his clasp. Before I could even take a bite of its sweet flesh, the leather strap was forced into my mouth and harnessed tight behind my head, pulling my hair. The leather was rough and wore into my gums painfully as I tried to spit it out, but it was no use.

The cruel young man began to drag me out of my cell. I resisted, dragging my feet but was beaten with a cane I hadn't noticed outside the door until the men I saw earlier showed up to help.

They finally got me to the centre of the field that I happened to be watching earlier. They took the leather contraption out of my mouth and tied me to the same post. Many had been in the same position before me and never came back the same again. Once satisfied, they all went to sit on the fences hollering at me till a man appeared. One that had broken so many before me, the one they call 'The Beast'.

His boots clacking on the dusty soil while one hand tipped back his cowboy hat to reveal his leathery face, his other hand swung around a lethal cane that was old and cracked from use. I cringed as I remembered all of those he had beaten; the young male... I had a sudden urge to kick that guy where it hurt and break his cane with my teeth. It was a thrilling thought.

He reached out and grabbed me by the hair. I screamed out, kicking and struggling with all my might. I didn't want to end up like all the others. My efforts didn't seem to be enough because before I knew it he was shouting, trying to turn me this way and that. I kicked blindly trying to shake him.

He didn't budge.

My mind raced. The only thing that would calm me was the memories of my youth. A land of colour, sweet smelling grass and freedom.... how I longed to be free again. To run, laugh and roll in the grass.

I was at the point of exhaustion and had nothing left to fight with. I just wanted to lie down and drift off in a peaceful sleep, to never see the 'Beast' again. But it was not to be, he slapped my sides, drawing blood and provoking me into one last effort to break free. But I couldn't get away from him. I just stood there, barely able to stand, not trusting myself to walk for fear of falling.

He had won, I would do anything to make him stop, anything...... even give up my freedom and become a slave. How had it come to this? The thought of death seemed a lot simpler and painless compared to what was to come. But I'm not ready to die and give up, not yet. I must live on, even if that means being unhappy for the rest of my days. The man sensed my decision and with a pat he led me back to the stables.

He had broken this stallion just like the others...