Wild and Free #1: Freedom

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: FINALLY SAFE

"Now what do we do?" Relment asks Sable, both of them still dragging Marista as fast as they possibly can.

"We have to keep going!" Sable replies. "We have to race the tree!"

"But it's coming down too fast," Relment says. "We'll never make it!"

"It's the only chance we have," Sable says.

The two horses pick up the pace even more, though having to drag Marista isn't helping them much. Faster and faster they run, as the tree's pace quickens. It is not far from the ground now. Just in time, Sable and Relment, along with Marista, make it out a split second before the tree hits the forest floor with a loud Crash!

Relment and Sable, finally able to lay Marista down safely, breathe in the good, clean air heavily.

"Great work Sable," Relment says, giving the leader a bright, relieved smile. "You're following right in your mother's footsteps."

Sable smiles too as he recalls his favorite Kelay story his mother told him.

"Come on," Sable says to Relment as the still-sprinkling rain begins to fall down harder. "Let's get back to the herd."

"Let's try to wake Marista first," Relment replies.

Sable smiles, looking down at the beautiful, white mare all covered in ash. "It looks like the rain has taken care of that for us."

Now Relment looks down at Marista. Sure enough, the mare is slowly opening her eyes as drops gently fall against her face. Still lying down, she looks up at Relment, and then at Sable.

"What happened?" She asks them with a moan.

"Well, the forest caught on fire, Sable came in and saved the whole herd, went back into the fire, and then saved me and you," Relment replies without skipping a beat.

Marista looks back up at Sable. "Is that true?" She asks him. "You saved the entire herd?"

"W-well, um..." Sable stammers. He has been here for a few days already, but he still feels nervous around Marista sometimes.

"You bet it's true!" Relment replies for Sable.

Marista smiles at Sable. "Just like Kelay," she says quietly. She slowly stands up, with Sable and Relment's help. Then the three of them walk through the rain and in the direction of the cave that the herd is in, smiling the whole way.

Sable, Marista, and Relment finally make it back to the herd in the cave not far away.

"Hey, there's our hero!" A horse cries when she sees Sable coming into the cave. The rest of the herd neigh their approval, except for suspicious Zanzeph, who just watches from the back of the cave in silence. Tellis, who is standing next to him, begins to neigh along with the rest of the herd, but when he sees the disapproving look that Zanzeph is giving him, he immediately stops.

Sable smiles. Maybe everyone respects him more than he thought! Maybe it will be easier to adjust to this new life after all.

But then he remembers Zedly. Where is he? Did he stay inside the cave like Sable told him to?

"Has anyone seen Zedly?" He asks around in the herd, but no one appears to have seen him. As he stares out of the mouth of the cave at the pouring rain, he begins to panic.

"What if he is still out there? What if he tried to follow me, and is still stuck in the fire?"

"Hey, calm down," Marista tells Sable. "I'm sure he's not stuck in that fire. The rain is coming down pretty hard again, so the fire is probably out by now."

"If you guys are talking about me, I'm right here," the two horses hear Zedly say. They turn around to see the foal coming into the cave, out of the rain.

Sable sighs with relief, but then says, "Where were you, Zedly? I told you to stay in the cave, no matter what."

"I just went a few feet away," Zedly replies. "I wanted to grab a bite to eat. It's no big deal."

Sable sighs once again. He, Marista, and Zedly now go to the back of the cave with the rest of the herd.

"You did a great job today," Marista tells Sable as they all stand in the cave, waiting for the rain to die down so that they can go back to the wide-open range where they all love to be.

"Um, thanks," Sable replies with a shy smile, blushing slightly.

"I think your mother would have been very proud of you," Marista adds.

"Yeah," Sable says. "I just wish that she could be here with me, right now. It's hard to believe that I'm probably never going to see her again."

"Well, at least that is something you have in common with Zedly," Marista says, as the two horses look over to the corner of the cave to find Zedly curled up, fast asleep.

Marista looks back at Sable, and notices something. "What happened to your face?" She asks, as she stares at the dried blood on his left cheek from the new scratch that he has there.

"Oh, that... It happened inside the fire," Sable replies.

"It looks pretty deep," Marista tells him, looking at the cut closely. "It might even leave a scar."

"It's okay," Sable says with a smile, "I don't mind it. It doesn't hurt anymore."

Marista smiles back. "It will serve as a reminder of how brave you were on this day," she says. She then walks into the midst of the herd to check on everybody, and make sure that they are okay.

Sable watches as she walks away, and disappears into the darkness of the cave. He then walks outside of the cave, where the rain has finally stopped completely, and the full moon is shining down on what is left of the forest. The deadly fire burned down about a third of this large forest, but Sable knows that it will soon grow back, and be lush and green once again.

As this young leader stares up at the stars, he thinks about his mother... and about Claire. He can't even begin to describe how badly he wishes that both of them were here with him right this moment. But even without them, he still feels happy. With Marista and Relment here to help him adjust to his new wild and free life, he knows he will be able to make it through.

He turns around, goes back into the cave, and announces to the herd that they are now going home. He has to wake Zedly up, but they all make it back, and then settle in under a blanket of bright, twinkling stars for a much-needed sleep.