After a long trailer ride, we finally stop. Being awake on my adrenaline, my nerves spike as the back door opens. I raise my head well above Dusty's back, the chestnut stallion. He has been showed to not mess with me, so he lets me put my head over his back. The mares charge out, a couple almost trampling their babies. All but one mare leave, Raven standing against the fence that divides the mares from the stallions. Bear walks out, expecting his mom to come along with him. When he turns to look at her, his eyes go wide as he spins around and charges back up the ramp.
" Hey! What about that other mare with the stallions?" One human yells to another. Raven nervously whinnies to us and Thunder returns it. A human slips through the door and spooks her out of the trailer, Bear stumbling out loudly. The human turns, running down the ramp and is gone behind the trailer door. The first couple stallions make their way down the ramp slowly, while others are pushing and shoving behind them, nipping and biting each other harshly. Thunder turns, pushing me towards Dusty. I try to hold back, straining against him. He lowers his head to mine and whickers softly.
" I can protect you." With the bond of trust, I take a couple stumbling steps towards Dusty, following his red tail. The metallic trailer banging and clunking loudly. I shy as the sunlight shines off the trailer door and into my eyes. Blinded for a couple seconds, I stumble out onto a cold and hard ground. Stopping and sliding along the icy ground, I regain my balance and follow Thunder from several horselengths away. A human rushes up behind Thunder and closes the path off, turning and flagging a red thing around. Terrified, I turn the other way, following the pale fence line towards another herd. Smaller horses dot throughout the herd and I soon find Raven. Whinnying her way, she whips her head up and whinnies back, trotting over. We stop and sniff, Bear tossing his head and following his mom.
" Aurora! We haven't seen you in forever! And when I saw you on the trailer, oh! I was so relieved when I saw you." Bear nuzzles my chest, nickering softly. A stocky, cream coloured mare neighs for Raven. She looks back but ignores her, turning back to me and walking to the left. I follow at her hip, Bear trotting away to two other goals, a grey filly and a bay colt. She brings me to a pile of hay and we start to eat. A taller, bay mare walks over and Raven pins her ears, kicking her away.
" You were hungry, weren't you?" She asks, diving deeper into the hay.
" Yeah. Did I tell you I'm pregnant?" Her head shots up, hay clinging to her forelock
" Really?! Congrats, Roara." Feeling regret and anger rise up, I let out a rushed breath, brushing away the nickname.
" Thanks, how's Bear handling the human life?" Ravens ears swivel, listening to the stallions calling for their herd mares and foals.
Just as Raven lowers her head to the hay, a tiny squeal rips through the air. Raven throws her head up, turning around. She looks around, head weaving.
" W-where's Bear?" I look around the paddock, not seeing the small, painted colt.
" He was just here, I swear." I try to comfort her, walking up to her with bobbing steps. A gate squeaks to my right, a black and white figure catching my eye. Raven spans her head to the right of me, I follow her hallow look. Bear struggles against the rope tied around his neck, two humans pulling him into a large barn. Raven surges towards the fence, a sharp whinny escaping her lips. Bear looks back, eyes filled with terror. I trot up to Raven, her heaving breaths fogging the air before me. The one light that shines against the barn highlights his patterns as they pull him into the shelter, the door soon closing behind him.
Raven freaks.
She rears up, crashing down on the fence. All the mares spook from the hay, their foals springing up from their bellies. Raven screeches, calling for Bear. Silence from the barn, no returning calls. That just alarms Raven even more, making her turn and kick at the fence. Her hoof getting stuck, she thrashes it harshly. I wince at the blood, the crimson liquid staining her fetlock. She hurls herself back, crashing in to the fence tail first. And out of nowhere, three humans rush to the paddock, ropes in hand.
" What's wrong with this mare, again?" One asks another,
" Shawn's going to go snip snip on her colt. Let's get her away from the others before they get hurt." Their dark shadows enter the pen, closing in on Raven. Angry, I burst toward the closest one, knocking him off his two, flimsy feet. He cries out, the two others scattering amongst the mares. The cream one squeals, turning her tail to him and starting to kick. He manages to slip away like a snake. Suddenly, a heavy rope encloses over my neck, tightening just below my jaw. I screech, pulling back on the line. Raven rushes over to me, sniffing the rope and trying to figure out how to get it off. Another one gets thrown, whooshing through the air like a leaf. It slips over Ravens head, hitting my eye where I was wounded. I feel the rope being pulled forwards, I panic, sidestepping into Ravens tail end. She snaps her head back, almost going to kick me.
" Sorry." I call to her, being pulled towards the gate need more. I lurch towards the human and he presses against my chest uneasily. I rear up, landing back down where the human was supposed to be, but it's gone. Another tug to my head and I'm suddenly out of the paddock, Raven following behind me. I kick out at the human leading her, just narrowly hissing its head. Frustrated, we give in, letting the humans guide us into the warm and empty barn. With the flick of a knife, the human leading me cuts the rope. I gallop into the opening ahead and stumble on the soft ground. Raven barrels in after me, tripping just as I did. The sweat that coated my neck dries and my exhaustion catches up on me. Raven, pacing the wooden fence, drags her hooves slowly.
" Raven, it will be okay." I assure her. She walks over to me, head hanging low. She collapses and falls asleep. I lie down across from her head, sinking into the weirdly soft dirt.
Authors note
Yay! I finally updated! What do you think happened to Bear? You'll find out in the next chapter!
-Acacia
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Born Free
AdventureBook 1: Born Wild Book 2: Born Free ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a little foal, Aurora has always loved to run. She sometimes sneaks in with the race horses and gallops along with them, just to get that feeling of the race. After getting told not to do that a...
