Angel Wings

Angel Wings Chapter 3: Catch 22

The strong scent of horse set Lauren's head reeling. She wasn't going to be able to do it. Everything about this place just reminded her of DiCaprio.

"Lauren!" Gina popped out from a stable. "We're going to an auction today."

One thing about Gina was that she was a godsend. She always took in abused and abandoned horses from auctions in the hope of being able to retrain them and give them another chance in life. She then tended to give them to her pupils if they needed them. It was a perfect system. Lauren immediately perked up. It meant she could get away from this yard, and not have to see DiCaprio's empty stall. She followed Gina to the pickup and climbed into the front seat.

The auction was about a ten minute drive away, and they made it there in good time. The whole place was filled with people hoping to find a future eventing star without the cost. Most definitely all of them would go home disappointed. But Gina and Lauren picked their way through until they came to a paddock filled with horses that nobody even wanted to look at. There were three horses, and none of them looked in great shape. Two were greys, and one was a dusty brown colour and a mane so covered in mud that they couldn't tell what colour it was. But the look in the horses eyes took Lauren's breath away. It looked so tortured and panicked, yet so kind and gentle at the same time. The poor horse kicked desperately at the flies that were swarming round their filthy mud filled little pen.

"I'm sure the greys can be fixed up. Not so sure about the chestnut one. It just seems so lifeless. I don't know if it would even survive tonight," Gina sighed. She hated leaving horses behind, but sometimes it had to be done if the horses were too far gone. The chestnut lowered its gaze, as if it knew it had been rejected. Lauren felt something rising up inside her, and she choked back a sob.

"No!" She cried. "Please, Gina. It'll be okay. Can't I take it? And look after it? I can't bear to leave it here."

Gina looked round, astonished. Lauren had been extremely reluctant to go anywhere near a horse, and now she wanted to take on a probably untrainable horse? But of course this was positive. Most people who had an accident as bad as Lauren never wanted another horse, especially so soon. So perhaps it was for the best. Then again, if the horse didn't survive Lauren would feel worse than before. It was a catch 22.