Clopwyck River - revised version

Chapter Eleven

My hands shake with fear, anger, and the pump of adrenaline as I've never punched anyone before.
"What's the matter with me!? My God, Leo, are you serious!?" I blink at him. "You just jumped out at me. I'm clearly not the crazy one here!"
  ​ "Jump out at you?" He pulls himself onto an elbow, his other hand pinching the top of his nose. "I was trying to help you. You're welcome, by the way."
   ​"What?"    ​
"I saw you running out here on your own and I was worried you'd get lost."
​"How very stalker of you."
​ "I went to your house and Andrew said you'd gone for a run." He regards me for a moment, a smile spreading across his face. "He also said that you were going for a run with me. Normally girls lie to their parents when they are going to be spending time with me."
​That catches me off my guard. "Why, what would you be.....never mind. You didn't tell Andrew I was lying did you?"
​"Give me some credit, Demi. I thought I'd better find you and then I saw you running down here. You know this would take you right to the river, don't you? I thought you might be scared being there alone again."
  ​ "And you thought jumping at me from behind wouldn't scare me?"
   ​"I was shouting your name for ages but you couldn't hear!" He stops, takes a few breaths then speaks again, calmer this time. "Look, I'm sorry if I scared you, I really didn't mean to."
   ​My heart is starting to wind down now. "So you weren't trying to kill me?"
  ​"No, I wasn't trying to kill you." He puts his hand out to me. "Do you think you can help me up without breaking any of my bones?"
   ​"Sorry." I put my hand around his, and feel a shock of static scorching up my arm as I pull him to his feet.
​"You landed a really good punch."   
​"You just surprised me." I frown at my hand. "I've never hit anyone before. My hand is killing me."
   ​Leo's face brightens as he laughs. "I hope you don't mind if I don't give you any sympathy."
   ​"Is it broken? Your nose?"
   ​"I don't think so, but I'm not sure how long my retinas are going to hold out if you carry on shining that thing in my face." He raises his hand and tries to block some of the bright light that's streaming into his squinting eyes.
   ​"Oh! Sorry!" I push the light down so it's angled at the floor. Great. I've blinded him as well as given him a nosebleed.
"Thanks. I was going to offer to run with you, but I'm not sure I should now. You know, in case of concussion. I think I'm going to head back. Maybe I could walk you?"
"Okay." I shrug, trying to seem nonchalant when the thought of Leo walking me home has got me jumping up and down internally. "I think I've run plenty anyway."
It's not my destiny to run in Clopwyck River so I join him and we walk back down the path. Walking next to Leo is like being escorted by a personable grizzly bear. A shiver runs through my body, and I'm not sure whether it's because of the cold breeze or because I can feel the heat of Leo's skin as he's so close by. Moonlight trickles though the trees and the sounds hiding in the dark are weirdly natural: not a smartphone or car engine can be heard, even when I strain to listen for something man-made. Suddenly Leo's voice makes me jump.
   ​"Sorry about earlier." ​I stumble and he grabs my arm, the touch of his skin almost making me stumble again. "Steady."
​"What for?"
​"Earlier in the hospital. When you mentioned my Dad. I know I went kind of quiet. It wasn't anything to do with you."
​"Yeah, I was worried I'd said something to offend you."
​He shakes his head, his eyebrows drawn together in concern as he looks at me. "No, no, it wasn't that. I just get defensive when someone mentions my Dad. It's kind of a joke to some people, that he's the parish priest. People made me suffer for it when I was younger."
​"Really? Why?"
​"Come on, Demi. Church? The bible? Singing hymns? It's not exactly a recipe for popularity. It was older kids mostly. I used to spend a lot of time with him, helping out at the church. Apparently serving your community just isn't cool."
​"You don't spend much time there now?"
​He shakes his head. "Not since my Mum died."
​I swallow the lump in my throat. "When did she die?"
​"Three years, four months, and eleven days ago."
​I look at his face in the corner of my eye, but it's obscured by shadows. "I'm really sorry."
​"Thanks. I heard about your Mum. I'm sorry, too." He turns to me, holding my gaze for a moment, then looks ahead into the light.
​"Thanks." I still don't know what I'm supposed to say when people mention my Mum. "I'm surprised he didn't mention your Mum when I met him."
​"Really? It's not an easy subject to bring up."
​"I know, but he knew about my Mum. He was really nice about it. I would've thought he might have told me you'd lost your Mum too."
​A few moments pass by on the wind, I look at him, worried that I've gone too far. He stops suddenly.
​"Leo, I didn't-"
​He puts a finger up to his lips. "Shhhhh!"
​"What's wrong?"
​"God, Demi, you're going to be the death of me! I said shhhh!" He hisses. "Keep really still. Look up ahead." He grabs my shoulders and turns me in the direction he's facing. "Can you see it?" Leo whispers.
​I swallow. "Yes. Yes I see it."
​A few meters in front of us, just where my beam of light merges with the shadows of the night, stands a horse, covered in black and grey patches as if it's just leaped through the smoke and soot of a bonfire. It's so big that the tree branches are almost caressing its head. Its long, regal neck is turned towards us as if it's been listening to our conversation, and it stares right at Leo and me, blinking its thick lashes over its petrol coloured eyes. The horse stands tall and firm, positioned right across the footpath, blocking our way home.
​"Should I turn my light off?"
​"No, I want to see what it's doing." Leo says, as he drops his hands from my shoulders.
​"Where'd it come from?"
​"Must be one of the fields around here."
​The wind whistles around our statue like bodies, sending a shiver from the top of my head down to my toes. The horse's mane ruffles in the breeze, but it doesn't move a single muscle apart from that. I gulp clumsily, my dry mouth making the noise audible to Leo and, I'm sure, the horse.
"I've never been this close to a horse before. It's massive"
​"Me neither." Leo's fingers feel out my own, and he clasps my hand, squeezing it tight. I squeeze back, thankful that he's standing next to me.
​"How do we get past?"
​"We could get over the hedge-"
​As Leo takes a step towards the hedge, the horse suddenly lifts its head and snorts, like a spell's been broken and it can move again, bobbing its neck up and down as it moves from one side of the path to the other, like it's standing guard on a drawbridge to a castle. Leo and I don't move an inch, hardly daring to breathe as we watch this beast move across the path. It stops moving as suddenly as it started, standing straight on, daring us to try and get past it alongside one of its flanks.
​"Leo, I don't think we should move!" I whisper.
​"Yeah, he didn't like that did he."
​"Do you think we should just run back down that way?" Keeping one eye on the horse, I point in the direction I was running earlier, towards the river.
​"I'm not sure. He seems kind of nervous. What if he runs after us?"
​"It's just a horse, Leo."
​My words act like some kind of crazy horse behaviour invocation spell, as the horse suddenly pulls packs its lips and neighs at the moon so loudly it makes my teeth rattle. My mouth drops open as the horse moves erratically from one side of the path to the other again, this time with much more force, catching the green undergrowth with its hooves.  His mane flicks from side to side as his head convulses, the whites of his eyes shining out at Leo and me.
​We stumble backwards, squeezing each other's hands so tight that I can feel the blood pumping through Leo's fingers. The horse continues to whinny, stamping and clawing it's hooves against the muddy ground as its movements gets more energetic, wilder.
​Leo and I gasp as the horse pulls up on its hind legs, its front legs battling out at an unseen enemy. It neighs at us, over and over, the piercing noise shrieking out towards the top of the trees, mixing with the branches as they heave and crack in the cold wind. The horse drops down to all fours again, and the ground shakes beneath our feet.
We regain our footing, Leo staring at me with wide eyes then back at the horse just as it gallops towards the trees that line the edge of the woods. I clamp my hand over my mouth, swallowing a scream as this majestic animal runs head first into an ancient, thick tree trunk. It hits the tree with a loud thud, sending leaves and twigs showering down around it. It shakes its head, backs down across the path and heaves itself up on its hind legs again, neighing towards the light of the moon.
​"No!" I take a step towards the animal, not knowing what I could possibly do, but Leo pulls me back. Tears roll down my cheeks, as the horse runs towards the same tree again, lowering its neck as rams its head against the jagged bark of the tree.
​Blood glistens on the tree as the horse backs up again, our gasps punctuated by the sound of its hooves as it runs at the tree again, smacking its head against the wood. It reverses again, and gallops in a tight circle, its wild eyes fixed on me and Leo. It pulls itself up on its hind legs once more, then charges at the tree, crashing into it again, this time with a blood curdling crack.
​The horse is still for a few seconds, upright on all four of its once strong legs, then it falls sideways, collapsing onto the floor. Leo and I daren't move, and we stand silently until we're certain it's not going to get back up. I think my sniffling breaks the silence in front of us, then I look round at Leo, realising the noise is coming from him.
​"Leo?"
​"It's dead." He lets go of my hand and wipes his nose.
​"Are you okay?"
​"No, I'm not okay. Are you okay?"
​"No. No, I'm not. What the hell was that?"
​We tiptoe towards the poor horse, and I gasp as I see one of its unblinking, marble like eyes staring up at me from where it lays on the ground. I reach a hand out to touch its head.
​"Careful," Leo whispers.
​I look round at Leo, then lean forward and press my hand against the side of the horses head. It's hot. Boiling hot and damp with sweat. It doesn't react to my touch.
​"It's definitely dead." I wipe the tears from my cheeks. "Do you think we should call the police?"
​Leo shakes his head. "I know the people who own horses around here, I'll give them a call. I think we should just get out of here."
​I am so on board with that plan. I shudder, wondering if the shivers are ever going to stop running down my spine.
***
We hurry back along the way we came. If I were on my own I would have sprinted back down the path like the devil was chasing after me, and I'm pretty sure Leo would be running too.
Leo seems to deal with witnessing traumatic scenes by filling the heavy air with small talk. If it weren't for the pictures of a suicidal horse etched in my mind's eye, anyone would think we were walking home from an uneventful night-time run together. I'm finding it a little difficult to catch my breath, which I think is due in equal parts to what just happened, and being alone with Leo.
​So far, we've talked about music (we share at least one favourite band), favourite films (he is such a boy), plans for university (he wants to study Biology with Sports Science, and I withhold the fact that I want to study Art History), and the most embarrassing things that have happened to both of us (his was so funny that that I couldn't speak from laughing, so got out of sharing mine).
​We emerge from our path of shadows, the glow from the streetlights inviting us back to civilisation and I don't protest when he carries on walking with me towards Daria's house. I'm happy for an escort tonight. The streets are quiet, houses shut up against the night-time, their secrets glowing through closed curtains, as we walk along, our steps in sync with each other's.
​Daria's house comes into view and couldn't look more inviting. I think of Elliot tucked up in his bed, dreams of Spiderman and Father Christmas keeping him safe from what lurks under his bed. The thought of him makes me want to get curled up under my own bed covers.
   ​"Well, we made it. With no more blood spilled." I blink at him, my stomach twisting as the crack of the horse's neck echoes in my mind. "I mean, not that, I mean from where you, you know...punched me?"
​He rubs the back of his head, leaving tufts of his hair sticking up in all directions. He looks so cute and sheepish that I can't help but smile at his faux pas.
   ​"Yeah. Sorry about that. Again."
   ​"I forgive you." He looks so deep into my eyes that I feel like I'm falling forwards. His voice shakes a little as I try and steady myself. "Hey, can I tell you something?"
​"It's not about horses is it?"
​He laughs, shaking his head. "Definitely not about horses. It's about you, actually"
   ​"Um, okay." I swallow hard, his gaze making me very aware of my entire body. "What?"
   ​He glances at the floor then looks at me again, and smiles. "I like your eyes."
   ​My mouth opens to say something, anything, but I just stand transfixed, a gaping goldfish that's grown a pair of very wobbly legs. He shifts on his feet and I can smell his scent as a gust of wind blows between us.
"I....I...thanks."
   ​He smiles and steps forward, his hand reaching up to my face. I close my eyes, and the hairs on my arms shoot up straight in anticipation of his skin on mine. A quiet click from the middle of my forehead makes me flick my eyes open, and my cheeks warm with embarrassment as I realise he was reaching up to turn off my head torch.
   ​"I don't think you'll be needing that from here." He turns and starts to walk away. "See you at school, Demi."
   ​Shell-shocked and exhausted, I jog up the garden and let myself in through the front door, firmly closing it shut on my embarrassment.