Marista, Relment, and Zanzeph continue to lead the herd through the burning forest. The fire is spreading fast! All it took was one tree to be struck by lightning to begin a mass inferno. As the horses weave through the burning trees and bushes, the blazing flames continue to get higher and wider.
"Where are we going?" Zanzeph asks Marista for what is probably the hundredth time.
"Zanzeph, please stop asking that!" Marista shouts. "I'm trying to figure that out for myself!"
"Well, you'd better find it out soon," Relment says. "The fire is getting bigger!"
Marista rolls her eyes. "Of course," she says sarcastically. "When we actually need the rain, it stops!"
As Sable and Zedly continue through the forest, Sable smells the unmistakable scent of smoke. This smell causes him to immediately stop in his tracks. He remembers that smell from when his barn caught on fire, and it is not a very pleasant memory to visit.
"I smell fire!" Zedly shouts, somehow recognizing the scent himself. "Over there!"
Sable looks in the direction that Zedly is gesturing towards. Sure enough, he sees a bright orange, red, and yellow glow swallowing up the trees, and gray and black smoke rising above it up to the sky. He suddenly stands his ground, frozen in fear.
Zedly stares up at the leader. "What are you doing?" He asks. "The herd could be over there!"
Sable thinks about this for a moment. What if the herd is over there? If they were unable to escape the flames, he would be the worst leader ever! And he would never see his newly found friends again; Zanzeph, Relment, Marista...
Marista! She is with the herd, too! Sable cannot bear to think of what would happen if Marista didn't make it. She is the only mare he has ever had feelings for... even if she doesn't know it yet.
I have to be brave, he thinks. For the herd... for Marista! He looks down at Zedly and tells him, "I want you to stay in that cave." For once, he is actually able to give the foal a convincing, stern look
"What? But why?" Zedly replies, realizing how serious Sable is.
"Because I'm going to that fire, and I'm going to make sure that the herd is okay," Sable says. "And you are not coming with me. It's too dangerous. You will be safer in the cave. If the fire ends up getting big enough, and spreading to this section of the forest, you should still be okay."
"But--" Zedly begins to argue, but Sable cuts him off.
"Zedly, please," he says. "I need your cooperation right now. I need you to promise me that you will go straight to the cave, and stay there no matter what. Do not leave it for anything!"
Zedly is silent for a moment, but then he replies quietly, "Okay. I'll stay."
Sable smiles slightly, but then runs off in the direction of the fire, leaving Zedly alone.
The foal turns around and heads back in the direction of the cave, hoping that the herd will be okay, and that Sable will be able to handle it if they are in danger.
Sable runs directly towards the bright, crackling fire just ahead of him. He hopes more than anything that his herd is okay... that Marista is okay. As he gets closer, he can feel the heat from the flames. It is so intense that he is barely able to get near it.
Then he hears a neigh of fear pierce the air from somewhere in the distance. Somewhere in the direction of the fire.
"Oh no," he says to himself, and then he runs even faster towards the fire.
As he approaches, he sees a few shadows through the thick smoke. He calls out to them, for he realizes that they are going the wrong way. Instead of coming towards him, and out of the fire, they are going the opposite direction, deeper into the fire! He calls out to the herd again, but the crackling of the flames is too loud for them to hear him.
From where he is standing, Sable can still barely take the heat coming off of the flames. But he knows that he has to find a way in, to rescue the herd. The flames are still spreading fast, anyway. They are coming straight towards him, so he doesn't have much of a choice. He stops, takes a deep breath, and then rushes in.
He has to weave around a few flames, and some burning trees and bushes, but he continues to rush towards his herd, not letting anything slow him down. Not the intense heat of the flames, or the blinding glow they emit. His natural instincts are telling him to scream and turn back around. But he is trying his best to push those aside, and continue moving forward.
Closer to the flames than ever before, he has to fight back flashbacks of his experience in the burning barn. Sweat begins to drip off his face, and the thick smoke begins to choke him, but he continues on. Finally, he catches up with the rest of the herd.
"Hey, there's our leader!" Someone says upon catching sight of Sable.
The herd erupts in excited cheers as Sable approaches.
"Follow me!" Sable shouts. "I know the way out!" He begins to run in the same direction that he came from, with the whole herd following right behind him. They have to again dodge burning branches and trees, but Sable finally gets the herd within a safe distance from the fire.
The herd, finally safe, cough and gasp to catch their breaths, glad to be breathing clean air. Some collapse on the ground, relieved to be safe.
Sable searches the herd, looking for Zanzeph, Relment, and Marista. He doesn't succeed in finding Relment or Marista, but he does find Zanzeph. Well, more like Zanzeph finds him.
"Sable!" Zanzeph hollers, running towards the leader. "We have a problem."
YOU ARE READING
Wild and Free #1: Freedom
General FictionSable is a young horse who was raised by humans. Claire, the little girl who takes care of him, is his entire world. He can't imagine a life without her by his side! But after a terrifying storm, Sable finds himself lost. After trying and trying to...
