Stayin' Alive

Chapter Six

  At the canyons, we all looped the horses' reins behind the horns on their saddles, and let them graze. Meanwhile, the rest of us went down by the river running through the canyon, and enjoyed the sights. 

     "It's so beautiful here." I breathed. Each time I came here, it still took my breath away. Robin and Maurice sat on the rock where I almost committed suicide last time I was here. I made a mental note to steer clear of it today. Allen came up behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders, watching the Bee Gees dubiously. I could tell he still didn't trust them. 

     "Can we go down to the water?" Barry asked. 

  I slid out of Allen's grip and answered him, "If you can find a safe way down, then yes. But don't get yourself killed. We still need you around to play your groovy disco." 

  This received a smile from him, and he followed his brothers down the side of the steep canyon walls. A warm breeze blew onto the water, causing a million little ripples to appear, making the water look like it was simmering. I took a seat on a nearby rock, my legs dangling down into the canyon. Allen followed my example only moments later. 

     "When do ya'll wanna head back?" I called down into the canyon. Three faces looked up at me and exchanged looks with their brothers.

     "Now?" One of them called back. 

     "Alright, sounds good! Get your butts up here and we'll get your horses ready!" 

  He (I couldn't quite make out which brother it was) gave me a thumbs up and began his climb back up the canyon wall.

  Allen stood up and got Comet ready for the ride home. I prepared Mistic, Sheena, and Reckless' reins. Barry scaled the canyon first, mounting Mistic and waiting patiently for us to get situated. Prince nickered at me as I swung myself into his saddle. 

     "Almost ready Robin?" I called. He had one hand on the horn and one hand on the cantle of the saddle, clearly hesitant to get back on. 

  Allen rolled his eyes and turned Comet away, beginning to canter home. I turned my attention back to Robin, determined to help him. "You're almost there, now just hoist yourself up into the saddle!" He hopped up and clumsily threw his right leg over Reckless' back. "Alright. Now get him to a walking pace. We'll take it slow until you get used to the rhythm of his steps again."

  We gradually eased into a trotting pace and stuck with it the whole way home. The sun was starting to set as the mansion slowly came into view. Maurice began a cantering pace and passed me on the left. There ain't now way I'm gonna let one of The Bee Gees beat me on horseback. I kicked Prince to get him to canter. It was a race. 

  A few seconds later, Sheena and Prince were neck in neck. There was only one more hill to scale and the winner would be determined. But then the unthinkable happened. One second Maurice was there, then the next he was gone. He'd simply vanished into thin air. In the midst of my confusion, I checked behind me to see if Barry and Robin had witnessed the disappearance too. They weren't there either. I whipped Prince around and backtracked a few horse-lengths to see if they'd fallen off. Sheena, Reckless, and Mistic slowed to a stop in front of Prince. I slid out of the saddle and checked all over the ground. There was still no sign of them. In the distance I could hear the barn door sliding closed. Allen had made it home already. I gave up on my search and led Prince back home by his reins, the other horses following us closely.

                                                                                                    *  *  *

  Allen had long since gone by the time I got the horses turned out to the pasture. I ended up closing the gate and walking back to the house. . . alone, as usual. 

  Back in the comforts of my bedroom, I checked the Bee Gees poster to see if it was still black as it had been before. I was shocked to see all three of their faces staring blankly back at me just like they had for so many years. I peeled off my sweaty horse clothes and pulled on a T-shirt and shorts. 

  On my way into the kitchen, I noticed a note taped to my record player. It was in Allen's handwriting.

  It read:

                 Veronica,

                           I saw what happened with that disco group earlier. The Bee Gees? They just vanished out of nowhere. I checked your poster to see if it was like normal. They're back in the poster now. I think they used some kind of magic to get a portal into the past. Or maybe they're like Michael J. Fox on Back To The Future and they have a magic Delorean that gets them to the past. That's my theory anyways. 

                                                           Love, 

                                                                         Allen:)

 P.S: I'll pay you a visit tomorrow if you want me to>> Just give me ring:)

  I set aside the note and ran back upstairs to my room to check the poster once again. They were back in the poster just as they'd always been. I laid my hand on the photo of Robin and sighed. If only they could stay here forever and never leave. That way I wouldn't have to worry about them vanishing into thin air without so much as a warning.

  With that final thought in mind, I prepared myself for bed in my large en suite bathroom, and crawled under the covers minutes later, hoping I'd wake up to the Bee Gees, here once again.

   Thanks for reading!:)

                                                                            ~~~**Peace and Love**~~~